Carl T. Holscher fights for the customers.

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A collections of things I’ve enjoyed and you might too.

Don’t start a new thing

Find a way to put the new thing inside the thing you’re already doing. Don’t make a new thing. Don’t split attention.
Analogue: The Fast and the Curious

I’m paraphrasing Myke above.
This is advice I need to hear again and again. I continue to want to make new things then split my efforts between the new thing and the current thing. Then I get confused where I should post what so I just… never post.

The entire episode is worth your time especially if you’re struggling to launch a new thing or have just launched a new thing. Analog(ue) #216: The Fast and the Curious – Relay FM

Welcome back to Low Stakes Ramblings as I Watch Star Trek After Work

Ted Lasso has been a fixture in my house for a long time. We watched the first two seasons all at once, once they were available in their entirety. Then we worked our way through the most recent (and final) season as it aired with the rest of the world.

As the weeks went on and the characters I knew and loved only matured more and more as their personal growth continued. No spoilers because many people may not have had time to complete their journeys and this show is too precious to take anything away from it.

This show has been a solution to the problem of the 2020s. It’s been a bright light and a relentlessly safe and positive place to dwell in a world that has been anything but.

We are now watching the series again from the beginning to reintroduce ourselves to our friends on the pitch for the second time. To meet them and see them as old friends, knowing where their lives would take them.

Ted Lasso is a salve. It’s not a cure, but a medication I look forward taking and hope to never develop an immunity.

It struck me tonight, as I was watching Star Trek: Strange New Worlds why I love this franchise. I grew up as a The Next Generation kid so Captain Picard is my captain. I watched the show originally piecemeal as an episode would re-air on network television. I had never seen the entire series until Netflix got the rights and I could make my way through it. I binged it over the summer and fall of 2011 (which is somehow 12 years ago???)

Some of the episode didn’t hold up. I enjoyed the space jellyfish, found the Just Say No to drugs episode and didn’t care for the episode which revolved around the crew getting stuck in the holodeck for one reason or another.

But as I laid in bed tonight, watching the latest version of my beloved space show, I connected with my friends on the pitch. I love Star Trek because it’s positive. Because it’s a happy show where problems are solved and the world, while terrifying and deadly, is still full of good people trying to do their best.

Sure it has its problem. It’s not a perfect show but a reflection of the world. There’s still bigotry and hatred. There’s plenty of war and generational struggle to overcome. Just because our crew doesn’t need money to pay their bills doesn’t mean there isn’t inequality and class struggles.

As long as there are new treks to the stars, I will ride alongside my friends in space as I have my friends on the pitch.

Woodpeckers: The Hole Story

Do you love woodpeckers? Have you grown an intense interest in birding in the past few years? Then you’ll enjoy this documentary from PBS.

Paul Giamatti tells you about all the different kinds of woodpeckers in the world and how they live and thrive in various environment. I was able to put in my local PBS station and watch the entire thing. It’s worth your time if you enjoy watching birds.

We have little downy woodpeckers that are so fluffy and sweet. We also have large red-bellied woodpeckers and every so often a northern flicker comes to visit.

Minecraft says No NFTs

Minecraft and NFTs | Minecraft

Each of these uses of NFTs and other blockchain technologies creates digital ownership based on scarcity and exclusion, which does not align with Minecraft values of creative inclusion and playing together. NFTs are not inclusive of all our community and create a scenario of the haves and the have-nots. The speculative pricing and investment mentality around NFTs takes the focus away from playing the game and encourages profiteering, which we think is inconsistent with the long-term joy and success of our players.

We are also concerned that some third-party NFTs may not be reliable and may end up costing players who buy them. Some third-party NFT implementations are also entirely dependent on blockchain technology and may require an asset manager who might disappear without notice. There have also been instances where NFTs were sold at artificially or fraudulently inflated prices. We recognize that creation inside our game has intrinsic value, and we strive to provide a marketplace where those values can be recognized. 

It’s great to see Minecraft putting their foot down and rejecting the entire premise of NFTs as detrimental to their values. Buy a link to a picture for piles of money. And hope it never decreases in value when the value of it to begin with is… ¯_(ツ)_/¯

They’ve even gone a step further in clearing prohibiting their use in Mincraft.

As such, to ensure that Minecraft players have a safe and inclusive experience, blockchain technologies are not permitted to be integrated inside our Minecraft client and server applications nor may they be utilized to create NFTs associated with any in-game content, including worlds, skins, persona items, or other mods

MINECRAFT’S STATEMENT ON NFTS

NFTs have no place in video games and seeing Minecraft take such a strongs stance will protect players, keep the game about gaming and fun versus speculative investments and will be a positive fo the longevity Mineaverse.

In praise of In Praise of Shadows

The essay viewed from a desktop monitor.

In Praise of Shadows

What was a batch of random sticks and leaves just a moment ago—click!—is now a complex web of marvelous shadows.

Robin Rendle

I enjoyed the presentation of this essay as much as its message. Opening it up on my desktop with its massive screen, reading the essay was like peering through a fence line. With each little glimpse of the world beyond holding up a post-it note of thought.

One thought. One moment. One quote. One picture.

I strolled through this essay. Stopping to admire the scenery and reading each little note as I passed by. I was struck by just how peaceful it was to enjoy. The web is brightly lit and devoid of shadows. It was nice to remember the shadows and breathe them in.

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