alifeee

articles # from articles.md

last edited: 2025-02-19 10:45:05 +0000

To me, an "article" is a "blog post" on a website that is not a personal website. I have lots of them bookmarked; see /bookmarks. Here, I provide a couple of lists of loosely related articles. Individual ones remain on /bookmarks (things should not be categorised until you have enough per category).

"How frictionless should your life be?"

• not? (this one got me started on thinking & reading about it) Highly Predictable Interactions - Terence Eden, 2024-10

• A Frictionless Life Is Also A Life Without Traction - L. M. Sacasas, 2011-05-05

• The introverts are winning - Marie Le Conte, 2024-07-25

personally, I align more with the latter two. While all the modern convenience is good for some people and everyone on some days, I think it's overall bad to rely on.

"why open data?"

• The benefits and value of open data - Publications Office of the European Union, 2020-01-22

• What is 'open data' and why should we care? - The Open Data Institute, 2017-11-03

• Why Open Data? - Open Knowledge, various authors, date unknown

"how do I start a blog"

see the many links on How to start blogging - alifeee, 2024-01-17, infrequently updated

some thoughts on LLMs (Large Language Models) and AI (Artificial Intelligence)

TheBullshitMachines.com is a very readable and understandable set of pages about the state of LLMs and generative AI. I'm sure you can guess their overall perspective, and I'm sure you can guess that mine is not far off.

Pluralistic has many posts tagged LLM that are worth reading, notably about the chances of general intelligence coming from LLMs, LLMs being used for botspam, and copyright considerations.

books # from books.md

last edited: 2025-02-04 18:19:07 +0000

You can find (in theory) all the books I've (recently) read, as well as the book I am (hopefully) currently reading on my RamblingReaders account. You can follow it on Mastodon !

Invisible Women

ever wondered if women are intrinsically at a disadvantage? I hope so. read this book and you'll learn so much more about male-bodied crash test dummies, the benefits-for-all of clearing the snow on footpaths before roads, the tyranny of bus tickets, and way more. it's good. you should read it.

documentaries # from documentaries.md

last edited: 2025-01-01 21:19:57 +0100

The Contestant

I watched this at the first Sheffield DocFest I volunteered at, it's about a Japanese man who spends more than a year alone in a room as part of a Truman-esque gameshow. Supposedly, it's the source of the eggplant emoji... metaphor. on wikipedia

Fire of Love

This is a documentary about two madly in-love vulcanologists. It's really, really, cute. Strangely, it's also a twin film as Werner Herzog released "The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft" at the same time. wikipedia

The Pirate Bay: AFK

this is a doc about The Pirate Bay. I love it because the "hacker stereotype" comes through amazingly, with the Swedes acting in such a blasé way in court. wikipedia. you can watch it for free in full on YouTube! (or watch the trailer first)

forum threads # from forum threads.md

last edited: 2025-01-10 16:06:29 +0200

Sometimes, I find a really specific forum post which is so relatable but so niche at the same time. I thought a collection of them could be nice.

STOP PUTTING MY MAIL IN JUNK! by suspense author

I want all the emails that I get sent to go to my inbox. With Microsoft's, this is simply not possible. The advice is always "add people to your contacts/safe senders list", but the emails I want to see are those from people who's emails I don't yet know, as they are new emails. It's super annoying. Anyway, it's nice to find someone who also thinks so.

images # from images.md

last edited: 2025-01-01 20:25:16 +0100

I just think it's neat. The source is https://wiki.xxiivv.com/media/refs/borders.png

miniseries # from miniseries.md

last edited: 2025-02-04 18:19:07 +0000

I don't watch many series, because I don't like it when they leave an avaricial cliffhanger after every season (Stranger Things… Snowpiercer… when do they end? never).

What I do like is miniseries, which wrap up their story in 6-to-10 episodes of a single season. Probably just because they're like a massive film.

This is a show about lots of men who freeze to death. It's a retelling of the mystery of "Franklin's Lost Expedition", an Arctic Exploration to find the Northwest Passage, on two boats: HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, in 1845-1848. It's 10 episodes, and it really puts you in the environment of the characters and provides a complete, satisfying story. I watched it once via a free trial to an online streaming service, and a second time via downloading it.

I will consume any media related to 80 Days Around the World, which probably started because of the 80 Days video game (on wikipedia). And this one has David Tennant! It's 8 episodes, a bit cheesy at times, and free to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Devs is a show about some people who get invited to a secret division of a FAANG-like mega-corporation and then shenanigans arise. It's very good. I watched it on BBC iPlayer.

mobile games # from mobile games.md

last edited: 2025-02-10 10:32:13 +0000

Polytopia

Polytopia, or The Battle of Polytopia is a mobile (and PC!) game that's like a super-simple version of Civilisation or any of those games that take a really long time. It's free to play alone or you have to buy a tribe (for £0.89) to play multiplayer. You can play it on Android or Apple or PC or probably a bunch of other places.

80 Days

80 Days is a narrative adventure through a neo-steam-punk Victorian world, effectively a very fun choose-your-own-adventure built around the story of Jules' Verne's novel. It's well worth £4.99 on Android or elsewhere. I will consume all 80 Days content, and this is my favourite of it.

Slice & Dice

Slice & Dice is an incredibly satisfying roguelite where your 5 heroes roll and reroll dice to determine their abilities. Naturally, you end up customising the dice, creating a build (trying not to make infinite reroll for the umpteenth time), and testing your luck. It's got a nice amount of luck vs skill which makes you feel like you're making decisions, and it's very slick.