🔗 The thing about chess | Seth
… maybe there should be. I mean if they can muck around with Cricket - why not Chess?
the tools are only as good as the questions we ask them.
I like the line - but I particulalrly like the page he links to.
‘Web’ means something. It’s about creating networks between writers. When it’s allowed to work remarkable things can be accomplished. Most people who think they’re using the web have never used it. The original web is still very much here, ready for us to start building on it again.
And …
“Most people who have never heard of RSS use it every day.”
🔗 In praise of Drafts // @ameripie
… an app by Agile Tortoise (AKA Greg Pierce), remarkably won App of the Year for 2025 at Mac Stories, a full thirteen years after its release.
💯
Apps @ameripie uses with drafts - with my annotations
- Obsidian ✅
- Things3 ✅
- Fantastical
- DayOne ✅
- Shortcuts - I really should use Shortcuts (more?)
- Dropbox - I use it - but not with Drafts
* Fastmail - Apple Notes ✅
- ChatGPT - I use it - but not with Drafts
* Ulysses - Mastodon - not really - my stuff arrived there thanks to Micro.Blog
- BlueSky - not really - my stuff arrived there thanks to Micro.Blog
- Micro.Blog ✅
PLUS
- Reminders
- Mail/Spark
- Craft
- Notes
As I have written before - 99% of my written words (outside of email) start in Drafts.
For your reading pleasure.
Paul Krugman on 🔗 MAGA, the Broligarchs and the Media - and inside he links to 🔗 The Authoritarian Stack
The appointment is reminiscent of Meta Platforms’ hiring of former British Prime Minister Nick Clegg as a global affairs executive in 2018 …
💬 Martin Peers - The Information - talking about Osborne and OpenAI
No he wasn’t. He was ‘Deputy’ PM - a bit like ‘Winnie’ and ‘Seymour’ in New Zealand at the moment (a thank you from the dominant party that still couldn’t get a majority on its own - so formed a coalition.)
Nick was so good at his job that in 5 short years as Deputy he took the LibDems from 57 seats to just 8. After which he lost his position, resigned from party leader and a year later lost his local election. After that the Brits made him a ‘Knight’ in the UK and Zuck made him whatever it was called for Meta.
Imagine how far he could have gone if he was a success.
🔗 Literal Enshittification: ‘Smart’ Toilets Play Fast And Loose With Your Pooping Data | Techdirt
… I’m glad someone is reporting on the important shit. (Pun intended).
Remember when we so concerned that all our ‘house data’ from Roomba was being sent over to Google - without so much as a ‘by-your-leave’.
… and then onto 2022 when Amazon got involved …
Fast Forward to 2025 - and …
🔗 Roomba Maker iRobot Declares Bankruptcy, but Tries to Ease ‘Bricking’ Fears
Turns out all your data is now all wrapped up and safe and over in China.
The Amazon acquisition wasn’t anti-competitive — it was iRobot’s last chance to remain competitive.
💬 [Gruber](https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/12/15/roomba-maker-irobot-declares-bankruptcy)
Im not saying that someone at the EU read 🔗 my post from yesterday - but I do wonder …
To save the click through …
Together, the EU countries hold more US debt than Japan and China put together - to the tune of $2 maybe 2.5 trillion. - well above twice that of China - and that doesn’t include the UK who is in the same ball park as China all by itself.
and then
No economist in this house - but I do wonder when a country - any country - will get to do something radical rather than putting up with this shit.
Ladies and Gentlemen - we have our answer »>
In other words, some of the factors that make a successful foreign war unlikely push towards the strategy of inviting turmoil into the United States and then seeking to use it.
💬 Timothy Snyder