Ed is up to three. Go, Ed!
Twitter (and Facebook) Break
I’m–well before I tweet about this–on a twitter break. Facebook too, but that’s less of a compulsion for me. It’s good to take breaks. Whenever I take a break it’s a good 24 hours for my brain to stop thinking in 140-240ish character likeable soundbites. Realizing how fractured one’s own inner monologue has become is not a great feeling; however, it’s good to recognize and combat. My strong recommendation is that everyone do this on occasion (or forever?!). For me I found myself more present in moments I might have otherwise been reaching for the phone. Heck, I read an entire book this weekend (Ender’s Game. Total mind candy and I try to not dwell on the author’s personal politics too much.)
Probably missed out on some very good jokes though. Also, depressing news about everything.
More about Facebook Though
No one in digital advertising was very surprised about the Cambridge Analytica stuff. Of course FB would have major issues with giving people too much data. They themselves collect too much data that they don’t need yet have convinced themselves they do in order to maximize engagement. You’d better believe that had they not been caught (doing exactly what they have always promised they would do, mind you) there would have been no apologies.
Most people I talk to actively dislike facebook except for that one feature they do extremely well: Groups. They do this so well that it’s impossible to envision really leaving FB forever until the next big thing comes along. Alas.
Return of the King
“We’re all, of course, temporarily embarrassed Aragorns.”
GoodReads is not a great website, but I will always love it for solving the problem of knowing what my friends are reading. The design and UX on the site needs, ahem, some work. I’ve long since abandoned doing anything on there other than marking books as “to read”, “read”, marking them 1-5 stars (although, as a life rule if a book is trending towards 1 or 2 stars I usually just stop), and leaving reviews. I could write a lengthy post just about problems with GoodReads UX. However, they are the ones who sold their business for a hundreds of millions of dollars and I did not.
Anyyyyway, I finished a reread of The Lord of the Rings last week and wrote a review about it. The short version is that, wow, did I enjoy it quite a bit more than the first time I read it. I took my sweet time cross-referencing the maps as much as possible and it opened up the story in an amazing way.
You can read my “review” on goodreads.
SNES Logos
A wonderful person made high resolution versions of 300 SNES logos and this is just the best:
Replacing the Front Driver’s Side Door Lock Actuator on a 2003 Honda CR-V
All I have to say about this right now is triple check that you’re getting the right part. There are Great Britain AND Japanese made CR-V’s. Turns out that the GB CR-V door lock actuator is quite a bit different from the Japanese one, which I learned only after pulling the door apart, getting confused, and running to YouTube in which there are a hundred dudes holding cell phone cameras walking you through car repairs one-handed.