Say hello to apps.chofter.com, the new home for everything I build. The speed at which I ship new things has massively increased with the advent of AI, and I’ve been encouraged by the fact that, as I approach my sixth decade, new ideas for useful & fun things to build still come at me apace. These no longer fit on my personal homepage, which is a combination of work experience, interests, things I made long ago that are no longer relevant (but still interesting), and of course, the many apps &…

The computing industry is extremely resource intensive. In terms of materials. In terms of manufacturing. In terms of energy usage. In terms of the knowledge and expertise required to build and design computer hardware. In terms of needing computers to build the next computers. The list could, should, and will, go on, and on, and this was all the case before AI. AI has just thrown tons of cash and political gasoline on the already burning fire, that was already way out of control. Take a look…

Took the dog for a walk this morning. Feet hurting.59 words · 1 image

Find all previous and future episodes listed here or in your podcast app under “Barbican Station”. This episode I talk with author Frank Sennett about episode three, Resurrection. We talk about all of this episodes shocking returns, russian assassins and all the great guest performances this episode. Plus is Shirley the little sister of the Slow Horses and is the show a modern day Operation Mincemeat? Finally, who is up for a Fray Bentos? All that and more in this episode! Frank’s book Shadow…

Thanks to xIre for sharing I wish I had a good answer. It's her response to the following email I sent her, which referenced posts of hers including Solomon's Paradox, I have my moments, and starting over: Hi xIre, Thanks for putting a name to Solomon's Paradox, then floating third person journaling as a solution for it! It's been fun starting to explore myself and even some online identities like this one through that self-detached lens. I also enjoy how the practice tempers the emotional…

StarringLin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Renée Elise Goldsberry, Phillipa Soo, and Daveed DiggsDirectorThomas KailOverviewThe story of America then, told by America now.Presenting the tale of American founding father Alexander Hamilton, this filmed version of the original Broadway smash hit is the story of America then, told by America now.Review Hamilton The nuances and subtleties of this play only grow every time I watch it. After seeing it in person again last night, I put in the…

I took care of a few layout quirks on the blog, mostly stuff you won't notice like font sizes. You might notice the blog list page looks a bit different now. I feel like there's still something off, either the font choice or the line height, or a third secret thing1, but I'll figure that out in this very same post but Pt. 2. Please look forward to it. The most important update, though, is the new Kitchen page! I'd like to post some photos of stuff I cook in there. There are pictures already of…

A bit better this morning. Gave the bike a good clean and polished it. Frank and Dora came in the p.m. Ron brought Jane at 18.30. Dot came later on. Good play with Jane.

Tags: #dispatches #food #portraitsIn Woodside there is a one-star Michelin restaurant called The Village Pub which serves Fine Dining type food. And, we got there in our friend’s Tesla that drove itself from our house all the way to the parking spot, including navigating the often tricky 85 to 280 interchange merge at Foothill Expressway. It got an easy roll though, Northbound traffic on a Friday night is usually light and the other cars were particularly cooperative. The self-driving mode was…

One of my readers mentioned that eblong.com is now showing a "restricted website" warning for some UK users when browsing with iOS. Thanks to Stuart Langridge for the screenshot. I want to be clear that I didn't do this. It's a restriction built into iOS. It apparently popped several months ago: Apple is rolling out age checks for iPhone and iPad users in the UK that will ask them to verify if they are adults to access "certain services" such as 18-plus apps. After customers accept the latest…

Rorasuketo, a JRPG inspired by roller derby, SNES-era video games, and mental health, is a reality. A new video game appears on the horizon, and its name is Rorasuketo! My friend Cam deigned to become a game developer many years ago, and despite time, various setbacks, and the fickle nature of RPGMaker, that deignment became a reality, and Rorasuketo can now be bought and installed from Steam, which makes it a Real Game(tm), in this day and age. The name comes from the Japanese transliteration…

Today three more of Melbourne's bus routes will gain 7 day service. These are 236, 551 and 885. I discussed these (and the other bus changes starting today - notably around Caroline Springs) on Thursday. Is there some method in the order in which bus routes are getting 7 day service? Just before the 2022 state election I suggested upgrading more bus routes to run 7 days would be a good idea. I listed routes in decreasing order of Saturday productivity, since a route likely to be busy on…

"Do you even know what the Stasi is?" In East Berlin, 1984, a playwright (Sebastian Koch) falls under surveillance from the Stasi. They bug his apartment and an agent (Ulrich Mühe) listens in. This is a delicate balancing act between historical detail, gut wrenching tension and a little pinch of sentimentality. It’s a wonderfully realised testament to the importance of art and love in an opressive regime. I love the measured pace at which it unfolds. No thriller tricks of the trade here, just…

The WisDOT Active Transportation Plan is available now. It’s worth a read. I’ve pulled out a few things to highlight here. WisDOT envisions that walking, bicycling, and other forms of active transportation will be safe, accessible, and convenient for people of all ages and abilities. On average, people who walk and bike take more trips to local retailers and spend similar amounts when compared with people who drive. Bicycling contributes greatly to the state’s economy as well; In 2022, the…

l’ve started to learn several new crafts with wool this year, but none impacts me as much as nålebinding, a craft where you use a wooden or bone sewing needle to create woollen objects like mittens, headbands, hats or circle scarves. a nålebinding needle in a couple rows of stitches Above is my current on the go project, a cowl. I’m using a bone needle I’ve found on Etsy and I love it. Nothing makes me feel as centred as this craft does, even crafts I’ve done for many years. There’s just me, a…

How is it this hot and it is literal October?? It feels very wrong to still be in a t-shirt, and to have the windows open at home. It continues to be a super busy time, and looks like it might be that way for the foreseeable – but let’s take a breather with a book, a blog post, and a link. 1.) The link – exciting news! I was on Naga Munchetty’s Book Club on Radio Five Live this week, thanks to an invite from Kate of the Book Club Review Podcast. We were meant to have an hour of talking about…

On September 16, 2021, I published an article titled Rescuing a Ladybug On My Television. As the title suggested, I shared my heroic animal rescue story for the moral betterment of my readers. Unfortunately, I was unable to photograph the ladybug because I selflessly focused on its safety before providing visual documentation of my heroism. I compensated for this oversight by sharing a photograph of a ladybug I had taken outdoors in Texas in 2016 (not a bad photo if I do say so myself). In…

I was very lucky that @edent kindly lent me one of his thermal scopes - according to his review, the Topdon TS004 Thermal Monocular - to try out for Airsoft. I took it today, to Red Alert’s “Serious Saturday” game. This was an absolutely cracking day, which I should probably write about some point. I only used the thermal scope in the morning, for a little bit, for a few reasons: I did not try to mount it to my MTW (rifle); I just leashed it to myself, stuck it in a pouch, and used it…

just kidding. affirmations don't work

Originally published on Board Game Geek. Robinson Crusoe’s ship has floundered off the coast of a desolate island, he is the only survivor and he has nothing but his innate skills and behaviors at his disposal. The good news is he is a genius (+2) and can be focused (+1) from time to time. The bad news is he’s weak (0) and easily distracted (-1). In the game, these attributes manifest via a starting deck of 18 cards. You are not playing as Robinson Crusoe, though. You are Friday. But not the…

StreetComplete, heretofore an Android-only app, is now in beta for iOS, and I’ve been using it, and enjoying using it, for the past few days. StreetComplete is a “questing” app, with a goal of filling in missing details on OpenStreetMap, things like house numbers, business hours, and accessibility. In the screenshot above I was prompted to add the level above ground of Kent Street Market, and responded with “0”, as it’s on ground level.There are many ways to edit OpenStreetMap: the web-based…

Last edited 15 minutes ago. So the deed is done. The 11 year long relationship is over. There was no arguing or fighting or begging. Just a lot of crying and sobbing and bleary eyes. We took a walk through the park nearby, and I thought that was fitting. That was one of the first things we did after I moved in with him almost four years ago. It's been barely a week now, my mind is fuzzy and sometimes I feel good about it and sometimes I do not. A huge thank you to everyone who reached out — I…

Women Of Music 35Dani on cover Ceci Julian - Rock Right.mp3Cora Lynn & The Rhythm Snatchers - Train Kept a Rollin'.mp3cover - Dani.jpgDani - Le Chpoum.mp3Denita James - I Have Feelings Too.mp3Diana Lee - You Upset Me.mp3Donna And The Tennessee Moonshiners -The Root Of All Evil (Is A Man).mp3Elizabeth Thorn - Just A Little While.mp3Inga - The Beat Goes On.mp3Jai Malano - Matchbox (I'm Gonna Forget About You).mp3Jenny Grand Duc - Susie-Q.mp3Liz Phair - Wild-Thing .mp3Peggy Scott - Bailin'…

On March 19 I made the first commit to a small Mac app that reads RSS and Atom feeds. I wanted one thing from it: open a window, see what the people I follow have written, and read it. No account, no sync service, no algorithm deciding what I see first. Six months and around eighty commits later, it runs on the Mac, iPhone, and iPad. The rules I set three rules on day one, and they have held up. No third-party dependencies. Foundation’s XMLParser handles RSS 2.0 and Atom fine. WebKit renders…

When the October days are as warm as today you have to take advantage. Luckily I have a friend with a cabin on a lake and a canoe. We headed out for a paddle for a couple of hours and I even got some fishing line wet. I just love this time of year. Note tags: autumn, NovaScotia, canoeing

Thanks to the power of Apple Intelligence I’m not missing any phishing emails from a bank I’ve never communicated with and a @gmail.com address.

Please understand that if you ask me to join you and a friend I don't know somewhere where we need to be social and I ask you if they are going to be weird and exoticize me, one of the few wrong answers you can give is to start lecturing me about how all French people are not the same. I will definitely not come then. (This goes for just about any time a friend is looking for reassurance from xenophobia, racism, homophobia, etc. in an unknown setting.) #france #xenophobia #homophobia #racism

Last weekend, Wisconsin, and this weekend, Minnesota, one state to the west. I’m in Minneapolis, to get a feel for the city while Sloane interviews for a job. It’s too bad we don’t have time for a longer trip—two of my remaining eight states are Minnesota neighbors: North and South Dakota. We stumbled right into the the Twin Cities marathon tomorrow—the other twin being St. Paul, the capital city—which we only realized upon texting our only friend in Minneapolis, who happens to be running the…

This week was a bit different. For starters, it rained. And I visited the local office. And I consciously set aside hours to catch up on my writing instead of herding AI or doomscrolling, and again, failed at a bunch of that because–well, I lied. Work has been… odd, discouraging and, above all, draining, so I’ll just get that out of the way: Every time there is a reorganization, a bunch of wheels are reinvented. That is fine; it’s part of the transition process. But the kind of wheels that…