We are going through a very hard time, but I guess the question I would ask is, is it really the world coming to an end? Or are we catastrophizing? There’s no decade in history except maybe the 1990s, I would like to go back to. I really like Snow Patrol and they were big in the 1990s.
~ David Brooks
Mine In Mono
Written by Robert, a Christian, aspiring minimalist, inveterate notetaker, software dev manager and paper airplane mechanic. This project is an effort to celebrate the earlier days of blogging.
Recent Posts
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Snow Patrol
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Trusting Agentic AI
Manton Reece commenting on Nick Heer from Pixel Envy expressing his distrust for agentic AI.
I also don’t trust AI for this. And yet, in 1995 a lot of people didn’t trust entering credit cards on the web. I’m open to the possibility that in 10 years, AI buying things for us will be normal.
I tend to agree that most of us will adapt and adjust as the plates shift underneath us from the tectonic changes that AI brings. I would make a distinction, though, in the types of agentic AI that will be much easier to get used to and that where we would prefer to keep our agency closer to the vest. As a developer, if I can use AI to remediate a CVE for me, I think it’s fairly easy to give up that control. As a vacation-starved worker bee who wants to plan a trip to Europe, I might even relish the possibiliy of booking that myself and certainly would have trouble trusting AI to do it for me.
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HEY HEY HEY, Goodbye
Though I love the service, I canceled my HEY email account. I’m not happy about it, but I am pretty sure it’s the right thing to do. The founders have been saying things I’ve been critical of for some time, but it has reached the point where I don’t trust the company with my data.
For weeks now, my wife has been telling me about data that she uses to do her job being deleted from federal databases. This includes economic and health information, such as statistics on energy burden (the cost of utilties vs. household income) and maternal and infant medical facts. Of course, my spouse is not the only one to notice this disturbing trend, but the examples she has provided seem particularly egregious and incomprehensible.
It’s shocking to me to go online and see people from 37Signals, which runs the HEY service, encouraging this type of behavior as a service to the country. If 37Signals is as cavalier about data as those they are praising, I believe it’s only natural to question if they are good stewards of your resources.
I’ve started my switch to Proton Mail, which is an appealing alternative, given their focus on encryption and security. I’ve never been one to go overboard on privacy protections, given that I’m kind of a nobody. However, with a government this adversarial towards many of its citizens (not to mention its own employees), known and unknown, I think it’s a good idea to start taking extra precautions.
My initial experience with Proton hasn’t been altogether bad (though there are some serious bugs with their MacOS client — which I will be soon reporting). However, Proton doesn’t have the same level of consideration and willingness to defy conventions as HEY, which makes the user experience less delightful. If I could in good conscience stick with a 37Signals product, I would, but it’s time to move on.
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Everything Old Is New Again
I was delighted to find out yesterday that one of my favorite EPs from 30 years ago, long out of print, was available on Bandcamp. I loved Peter from Eric’s Trip, but even when it was current, it was hard to obtain. I’m somewhat ashamed to admit that I ripped my friend’s copy to burn on a CD, a practice I was totally against, but felt I had no other choice. Now the band’s Rick White is releasing his archive through the indie music service.
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The Jesus Juke That Wasn’t
My brother-in-Christ was talking about the best ways to secure your household goods from potential burglars the other day. I reminded him of these words from Jesus:
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19–21)
Sure, it was a Jesus juke, but there was also a heaping helping of sincerity.
I’m not tempted to collect much these days. When I am facing the allure of physical media for music, though, I do feel the urge to splurge. I see those candy-colored vinyl records from bands whose output I most enjoy and I’m quick to open my wallet. It doesn’t help that I know independent musicians are often struggling to make ends meet while creating their art.
In a sense, though, it feels like the acquisition of physical goods binds us to the transitory treasures. Increasingly, I’m finding myself inclined to the ephemeral. Especially since there are so many options for having a life rich in art and beauty while still traveling lightly. I downloaded my Kindle purchases since that will shortly no longer be an option, but I’m not sweating it a great deal.
I’m looking at a Synology, but I’m not building bookshelves (I don’t have the room, anyway).
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Damnable Things Afoot
Regular readers know that I attempt to hold together two theological commitments that sit in tension. First, a hopeful eschatology where God, in the end, is “all in all.” Second, a fierce prophetic conviction that what we do here on earth matters and that God will judge the evils, injustices, and oppressions at work in the world. There are damnable things afoot, and much of it involves people who claim the name of Christ.
– Richard Beck