Familiarity
I went to pick up some foreign currency. One teller told another “Troy is here to pick up foreign currency”. Not Mr. Patterson, Troy. Not “Troy Patterson”. I’m feeling maybe a bit old. I’m not a fan of this kind of familiarity.
However, I also kind of understand the issue. We’ve gotten to where a “Mr.” or “Ms.” could be offensive. I’m not sure if this a by-product of that, or if, as a society, we’ve just decided to use first names.
Commonplace
Doug Belshaw has created a new experience: Commonplace. Essentially, you can create Collections of links. Here is one of mine: Photography.
The site is still under development. (I had some trouble with Chrome, but Firefox worked flawlessly.) You can use an existing Mastodon account. (You can also use Bluesky or your own self-hosted site.) – Update, Chrome is now working for me.
I was able to create three “Collections” – Mac Open Source Utilities, Photography, and Note-Taking. I was also limited in the number of links that I could create right away (this is a wise anti-spam strategy.)
This looks really interesting. I need to figure out how this fits in with Hypothesis, which I still use regularly, and Joplin Web Clipper. The Joplin Web Clipper is a newer process for me. Since I’m playing around with the Link-o-rama section, I wanted a smoother process for publishing those links that I found of interest this week. Hypothesis is great for collecting them, but it was a little bit of work to put them into a list.
Podcast
Shawn and I had a great podcast over at Middle School Matters again the week. We’ve been talking a good bit about AI since that is the hottest topic in education right now.
Kettle Cove
Since I had to attend a Budget Workshop in the evening, I took some time before that to head out to Kettle Cove to take a few pictures with the new (to me) lens. I like the lens quite a bit.
52Frames
This week was “What is it?” for the subject. I took a picture of a Mooring Ring at Fort Williams Park. This has turned out to be my most commented post, so far.
Link-o-rama
The open web isn’t dying. We’re killing it | Ouvre Boite –
This makes the case that the “open web” is dying. Although AI is currently being blamed, Ouvre Boite makes the case the case that we chose large platforms which led to the loss of the open web.
We rebuilt our social graphs inside private databases not because the audience was already there, but because the platforms promised us one in lured us with vanity follower counts or view counts.
Collectively, we built the private, sectioned web. This seems especially true in Maine where Facebook essentially seems to be the web for many.
He looks to our behavior for change. Unfortunately, I really doubt that this is a viable answer.
Worth a quick read.
Rogue Amoeba – Under the Microscope » Blog Archive » Removing Tahoe’s Unwanted Menu Icons –
Found this interesting. While updating Audio Hijack, Rogue Amoeba notes that:
Apple’s implementation of menu icons across the operating system is simply not good.
Thus, Rogue Amoeba has made changes and removed some of the icons. I know that there has been conversations about Apple’s choices with icons in the menus, and it seems that Rogue Amoeba is taking action.
When Is a 100-Year-Old Lens Better Than Modern Glass? | PetaPixel –
Unlike modern lenses, the Foth 50mm f/2.5 was never designed to operate independently of a complete camera system. It lacks both a focusing mechanism and an adjustable aperture, requiring Stern to build an external solution before it could be used.
“This lens has no aperture and no focusing mechanism. So I need to find a way to adapt it,” Stern says.
Early attempts involved adding an aperture behind the lens and mounting it to an adapter system. While this allowed focusing, it introduced significant optical issues.
“I tried adding an aperture behind the lens and screwing it onto an elcoid adapter. The focus worked, but the tiny size of the lens combined with the placement of the aperture created massive vignetting.”
The engineering challenge was not simply mechanical compatibility, but maintaining the integrity of the image circle while controlling exposure. Because the lens was never intended to be separated from its original camera body, every modification introduced tradeoffs between usability and image quality. Stern ultimately refined the setup using a macro adapter system with integrated ND filtration, enabling him to control exposure without compromising frame coverage.
This combination of historical speed and modern sensor sensitivity creates a hybrid look that blends archival optical behavior with contemporary imaging flexibility.
“This naturally baked-in effect give the lens a deeply nostalgic feel,” Stern says.
Designing Collections – Mastodon Blog – takes a clue from Starter Packs in Bluesky. There is an interesting discussion about thinking through the actual use. For example, how would you handle mass unfollowing?
AI Company Clones Musician’s Voice, Then Copyright-Strikes Her Own Songs
They’ve since backed down, but this really points out some of the issues with copyright and copyright enforcement. I’ve far too many instances where bad actors have the advantage.
Seeing like a spreadsheet – David Oks
Thoughts about how the spreadsheet has changed our world. Whether you are a spreadsheet nerd or not, this is a good read.
The Misogynist Dinner | Science History Institute
I believe that it is really important to understand history. In school, we are taught the very basics of history. Once we start delving a little deeper, we start to understand how groups have been dismissed, downplayed, and discriminated against. This is another case of preventing women from participating. Unfortunately, we have tons of these examples. Here there was no attempt to hide the intention, they actually called it the Misogynist Dinner. Even though some of these participants worked next to the smart, effective, honorable women, they were comfortable in mocking them.
Oddlet – Daily True Stories About History’s Oddest People
Looking for some stories of note? A wealth of strange stories can be found here.
Xtracycle Swoop ASM review: The family cargo electric bike that adapts to your day | Popular Science
The progression and development of electric bikes is incredible. These bikes look very useful. They also cost as much as a new car used to cost.
She wrote the history of photography. Then they cruelly erased her from it | Digital Camera World
Here’s another instance of the world cutting out a woman of great note. Lucia Moholy was a skilled photographer and influential author of Bauhaus history. Her name gets removed from the photographs she took. She gets erased from writing the history Bauhaus.
These astonishing American Civil War photos are 160 years old – but some of them feel surprisingly contemporary | Digital Camera World
The National Gallery has acquired 35 images of Civil War era photos. These photos remind us that good composition is important in photography, more so than the technology.
Journey to the Moon – NASA
Still incredible that we can do this.
Doctors Believed Woody Brown Would Never Understand Language. He’s Publishing a Novel. – The New York Times
We are learning so much about Autism, and cognitive ability. We have so much more to learn. This story is an example of the trials and tribulations of an Autistic individual.
