A cybernetic feedback mechanism IRL.
One anti-feature I love about Micro.blog is that there’s no ‘like’ button. To me this feels like a good design choice.
Dahlia.
Stenocarpus sinuatus, ‘Firewheel’.
Today’s mood music: Beastie Boys - Intergalatic
First bloom on the Dwarf Alberta Spruce #bonsai
3rd edition of Ross Anderson’s Security Engineering is now freely available for download here.
There are also fifteen teaching videos based on the book for a Security Engineering class at University of Edinburgh available here: (https://www.youtube.com/@securityengineering1350/videos).
Why I use plain text files.
I don’t use plain text files because I hate Big Tech.
And I most certainly don’t use plain text files because I love the format either.
And I don’t prefer plain text files to numerous proprietary formats because plain text works better — in some aspects, it does, in some aspects it doesn’t.
So, why use plain text files? Because it requires less trust than using proprietary formats that requires that you put more trust in Big Tech.
Plain text files lets me edit my documents from virtually any editor, on any platform and from any era I choose. Want to edit my files from the command line interface on a HPE Cray supercomputer? Been there! Or how about on an Amiga 500? Got the T-shirt!
Big Tech will fail us in the years to come. Probably often enough, and dramatically enough, that it’s worth ensuring that those failures are compartmentalised and the impact as minimal as possible. That’s why I use plain text files.
Todays mood music: Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights
“Control the manner in which a man interprets his world, and you have gone a long way toward controlling his behaviour.” … Stanley Milgram #quotes.
Chrysanthemum Disbud. #flowers #photography
“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple system.” Gall’s Law, from The Systems Bible (John Gall, 2002)
Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden, Lavender Bay, Kirribilli.
AI will get someone killed soon enough: AI Chatbot Added to Mushroom Foraging Facebook Group Immediately Gives Tips for Cooking Dangerous Mushroom
today’s mood music: The Cardigans - Erase / Rewind “Director’s Cut”
Today’s mood music - Massive Attack - Teardrop.
Today’s mood music: Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
“Social media platforms as they’re designed today don’t reward depth.” a good observation from @moonmehta@mastodon.social
Today’s mood music: Beastie Boys - An Open Letter To NYC