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Greetings from Wales...
I’m Christian Payne, professional over-sharer, photographer and writer. In this weekly dispatch I seek out novelty, explore how we share, what we share and consume, plus where we might be going. Thanks for joining in and welcome to those whose have just arrived. I’m currently sat in the car, parked on a beach in Wales so this might be slightly different to normal.
#TheAction
If it wasn’t for the fact I’ve been assisting my Dad’s company Baavet this week, my screen time would have been through the roof.
There has been so much to check out online as I flit between platforms seeing where best to spend my time. Of course the best place would be on the pushbike. Peddling without a care in the world, without a screen to be seen. I managed a couple of hours in the saddle but the pixels beckoned and the phone buzzed. Pulling me from one platform to another. Notes, to Bluesky to Twitter.
And Twitter, yeah. It’s rapidly become my least favourite place. At a time when you can code a LLM bot army to write, look and sound like anyone, Twitter’s abandonment of legitimate check marks curses the platform all the more. Tech pundits (who may or may not be sore about losing their own check marks) are stating “eight buck shmucks are either idiots or fakers.”
Moving forward, verifying identity is going to be more important than ever. But that is only one slice of the cock-up pie that Elon is dishing up.
I did get to go out and do things. More on that below. And if you make it all the way to the bottom there is a rare competition and a quote from this guy.
#ThePictures
Otherwise… this week I’ve mostly been capturing audio, video and photos. No idea how long it will take me to make sense of it all. I’m preparing myself for a few days of editing.
Stumbled on this weird little thing. “I’ll sing loud enough for you to hear.”
#TheWords
Dougie sent me an invite for Blue Sky and I’ve been having a play. Nice and simple, filled with all the excitement of a new platform. But there is still so much missing. And that’s fine. On the one hand as it’s invite only, it’s not really launched yet. But there are some safety and security issues that need to be fixed before they even begin to sort out the usual features. Things we have taken for granted elsewhere. But that could still be done better.
I’ve managed to attach my profile to my own domain so should you want to connect, I’m @Documental.ly. it’s the shortest URL I could find that encompassed my whole username. I’ll need to be on there for a while before I’m given any invite codes. Which of course i’ll make a perk for any supporting subscribers. If you can’t wait, some were for sale on eBay for $300!
“Why is it called oxtail if it’s from a cow?”
#TheSound
Years of gig photography, motorbike riding and generally getting older has meant I can no longer hear certain frequencies. Test your hearing with this 22kHz to an 8kHz sweep. Wear headphones and don’t have the sound too loud. I can start to hear things around 14kHz. How about you?
This is Jez Riley French.
Back in issue 101 I mentioned I bought one of his hand made hydrophones you can see in this video. In the same issue I also experimented with Binaural recording using the Sennheiser Ambeo smart headset which seems crazy cheap at the moment. Here is an Amazon affiliate link should you want to play.
#TheConsumed
Last weekend, I found myself enjoying a tour of The English Distillery that ended, as all good distillery tours do, with a tasting.
My favourite moment was walking into the bonded warehouse. The air was filled with the delicious scent of spirit and oak. I got to sample five of their whiskies and more in the shop.
I came back with a bottle of something not available on the highstreet and two spare drams that I could add to my Infinity bottle.
Should you be interested as to what the infinity bottle is now composed of, it all started in 2017 and containes: Elijah Craig 12 years, Dunnville's Old Irish Whiskey 10 Years, Tin Cup American Whiskey, Writers Tears Red Head, Glen Orchy 5 yrs, Redbreast 12 yrs, Redbreast Lustau Edition and Glen Goyne 12 years. In 2018 I added anCnoc 12 Yrs, Skapa Skiren, Green Spot, Benromach 10yrs, Elijah Craig Small Batch, Rittenhouse Rye BIB and Eagle Rare 10yr old. In 2019 I added, Balcones True Blue, Aberfeldy 12yrs and Method and Madness Single Pot Still French chestnut. In 2020 I added Glencadam 18yrs, Glendronach 12yrs and Glen Scotia Victoriana. in 2021, The Glenlivet 12 years old (1970s bottling), Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition 50%, Old Pulteney Huddart, Balblair 15yr old, Arran Arranach D’issan Margaux 58% and Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky 2017 Odyssey Barley 46%. In 2022 I added a splash of Kilchoman Sanaig 58.9%, Glentauchers 6 yr 54%, Bimber - Ex-Bourbon Cask Batch No. 3 51.6%, Ledaig 10 year 46.3, Hankey Bannister Heritage blend 46%, Linkwood 12 year old 43%, Bladnoch Vinaya 46.7, Wild Turkey 101 50.5% and Blantons 46.5 and this week I added The English 11 year old 46% and The English Triple distilled 46%.
Obviously when the bottle gets full I have to syphon off a little into a hip flask. If we are ever likely to be in the same physical place let me know and I shall bring it with me.
#TheThings
Might this be how to make an anonymous Tor phone? I’m too lazy to follow the steps but love that people are still trying to flesh this out. I can’t help but think the comments on the post will fill with naysayers, but I like that people today, when with every second we are tracked and located, are still fleshing out options for talking privately.
If you ever do use any affiliate links that I share in my dispatch then please know that although Jeff gets richer, I do get to save up for more audio recording gear. Yes i’m back to lusting after more microphones and recorders. (Perhaps it’s because it’s Audio Bloggers Month in June.) More context here…
I’m currently saving for an Audio Technica 4025. Apparently it has the lowest noise performance of any stereo mic on the market. Also a Zoom F3. Even though I have the F6 I’d like something a little more compact for every day high resolution usage.
I picked up a couple of affordable little mics this week. A Korg clip on contact mic and a telephone pickup coil. I have been using them to capture vibration and electrical interference. Less than £16 for both.
Finally… I have a little competition for people in the UK. (Sorry but international postage is a killer.)
So, if you live in the UK and would like a luxurious Wool Duvet and pillow all you have to do is subscribe to the monthly-ish Baavet Newsletter (you can find it on the bottom of their homepage) and follow them on Twitter and or Facebook. They will then pick one lucky winner and use the email address to find out what size wool duvet is needed and an address. I’ll also announce the winner here. Good luck!
#TheThanks
I must thank the paying subscribers that pay $5/month to get all the content I share into this feed. If you’re able, please upgrade to become a paid supporter. Or if you prefer PayAsYouGo you can do that via PayPal. Either way… Thank you for reading.
#TheWeb
Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind is only £1.99 for the ebook.
This little NSFW film was shared into the backchannel on Wire by Gordon.
The Documentally community map does not show one reader on this part of the Welsh coast. I must try harder. Where are you?.
The history of A.I. in 7 lessons.
Adult-use cannabis delivers $15 Billion in tax revenues.
Some of my other places include Flickr, Strava, Untappd, Vivino, LinkedIn, YouTube, Mastodon (Documentally@octodon.social), a ham radio newsletter called 73 from G5DOC or search ‘Documentally’ on Wire, Twitter or Bluesky.
This guy... If ever I get too old to be me, I would like to be this guy.
#TheEnd
I’m sat here wondering what I have forgotten to put in here. I have had to remove a few links as this is crazy long, so i’ll drop them in a supporting subs post. Wales is beautiful right now but I really have to head for home. Next week I’ll be watching a man in a chair get a new hat. Be lucky!
“One of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings, is, that nature disapproves it, otherwise, she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind an ass for a lion.” ~ Thomas Paine,
Like,
See you out there.
Over…
I love the way you broke this down, what a great way to tour with you :)
Wow wow another adventure / I want a hydrophone too