Is there anyone who thinks encryption on a social network is a good idea? Twitter in particular? The only “up” side, the way I see it, is that encryption is popular enough these days for Twitter to implement it.
Twitter’s Encrypted DMs Are Deeply Inferior to Signal and WhatsApp wired.com
Currently reading: Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake 📚
Yesterday, I went to visit a bookstore 📚 I thought I had been to before. Turns out it’s the wrong store, but it was still the very right one.
I think I’m starting to enjoy stickers more after my vacation in Italy…
📷 Captured on Prince Street, NYC.
Writing down thoughts like rain. And books.
The notebook 📝 “mind dump” experiment seems to find its footing. I can name it and define it, which means it has a more solid part in my morning routine.
My constructive thoughts - projects (work or personal), tasks, activities, journaling, etc. - fit in Emacs org-mode, a system I’ve used for four years. But these ideas need to start somewhere, and it’s not the computer.
Starting the day with coffee and a notebook at hand works for me. I have some precious alone time in the kitchen, and I start writing down thoughts and ideas.
Usually, it’s like rain. A drop here, a drop there, then as I continue, more and more ideas pour down on the paper. At other times, I wake up excited with an idea that was cooking on the back burner for a while, like this morning:
Books 📚.
I use a green frame for ideas that excite me and I want to do. I use a blue frame for chores and tasks I need to do. Also, in the picture are some blurred parts where I name specific people. usually it says “talk to Jay” or “email Denise” etc.
As for books, since you might be curious: There was a book I found in the bookstore in Italy about mushrooms. I didn’t get it from Amazon at the end; I decided I wanted to buy the physical book instead.
That store inspired me to try and take my reading habit more seriously. Instead of reading a couple of pages from a book, then get bored and put it down, I think I want to keep pushing for a bit (something I can define by page count or time) and then pick up another book if I don’t like what I’m reading. I used to be a reader, and I want to be a reader again.
Back Home
Being home is good. I missed my corner, my writing, and my tech. But I also miss the breakfast at the wonderful bakery down the street or going down Via Romana, where the pigeons bathe in the sunlight on the shutters 📷.
I returned with a nasty cold (negative for COVID for now) which I think I got on the airplane. My nose was constantly flowing, to the point I had to plug my nostrils with tissues. Afrin was able to cut it down to “normal bad allergy” levels.
This morning, feeling much better, I drank my cappuccino (slightly sweetened like in Italy) and wrote down my thoughts in my notebook. It will take a while before I’m “fully” back, but I was happy to feel excited about what’s ahead.
Florence is beautiful, and some areas around it look like they’re taken directly from a movie set. The wine was amazing, yet cheap and simple. I think I’m forever spoiled. The bakeries with excellent pastries for breakfast make my mouth water. The key, besides the freshness, was less sugar.
Now I plan on taking a nap (I am back to sleeping 5 hours a night), and then continue some more of my projects.
Day 8 - Copenhagen
Copenhagen also has public bathrooms on main streets and plazas, food boxes made from pure cardboard that flattens to a tray as soon as you open the cover, and dedicated bicycle lanes (with hundreds of cycles, more than cars) everywhere you go. But the thing that impressed me the most was the lack of something.
Crossing a main bridge to the heart of town, we passed over the main waterway in the middle of the capital. The air was clean and cold and we realized we don’t smell the water. The smell I grew up used to in the city and everywhere in the world was simply not there. Shocking. 📷
We’re heading home through Copenhagen. We have a connecting flight back to NYC tomorrow.
Walking around, we encountered weird metal stripes on the pavement; they reminded me of Braille. It occurred to me that’s what they are: a guide for visually impaired people who use a walking stick. Genius. 📷
We’re leaving Firenze tomorrow, and I think this is a good picture to capture a moment that will stay with me. Peace, flowers, hills of green. 📷
This was taken in one of the local wineries.
Day 7: Resting
One of the things we don’t like about Italy..? The mosquitos. This guy had its friend keeping us up at night, intruding our rest with a hungry ZZZzzzzzz whenever we closed our eyes.
We got him, and this one too. We’ll show them, we’ll show them all!
Folks of micro.blog, what kind of posts do you find more discussion friendly? Do you feel you interact more with a certain type of content? Writing? Pictures? A mix?
Why so?
Day 6: A Wine Tour
The wine tour turned out better than I expected. Small intimate group, fun guide, and the best part was that I was able to handle my wine well.
In the picture - barrels of Merlot from a cellar of an independent local winery.
Also pictured - the winery’s friendly cat was saying hi to us 📷
Finally, a relaxed day in Florence. I went on a walk and captured more of the essence of the place.
There are many small shops and bars, like this one. Whenever possible I avoided the crowds. 📷
I think today’s adventure in Rome, which involved lots of rain, several public bathrooms in unusable situation, and plenty of noise I see back home, we got to the peak of the vacation.
Tomorrow I hope to pace (as in “pache” in Italian) out.
Day 4: Rome
Rome is… Like New York. Similar grunge with millennia old structures scattered about.
We skipped the big ones. We’re not big for crowds.
With extra time to kill, we went to a video game museum instead. Playing old arcade games for free…? Worth it. 📷
This morning we woke up early to take the train to Rome. NK suggested we catch a snack before we start the day - a smart decision.
We got two Foccacias and two espresso (due espresso). When you drink espresso straight up, beating it with a little spoon before you sip makes it sweeter. 📷
The streets in Florence are narrow. The sidewalks often fit only one person. Even then, if you don’t clutch your camera bag close, a passing car will hit it and spray its contents all over the pavement.
We stopped often to examine stickers. I think we could use more of those in the streets in NYC. 📷
The best places in a trip like this are serendipitous. We stumbled upon a local bookstore, with delicious cappuccino and brownies.
I felt a natural pull toward the redical-anarchist books on the shelves.
The store owner said she doesn’t know if Cyberpunk by Raf Valvola Scelsi has an English translation. Doesn’t seem like it. I got a book about mushrooms instead. 📷
From a pass under the highway heading to a restaurant tonight in Florence. The whole tunnel is covered with graffiti like this. 📷
Day 3 - Walking Firenze
I wanted to use the phone for quick updates, but I couldn’t join the local network until a couple of hours ago. Some settings on the Google-Fi network needed to be turned on, others turned off, and magic, we’re back in the 21st century. In the meantime, I learned that my privacy-oriented Android phone is still very useful offline, with OSMand Maps, and the ability to take and sync pictures wherever Wi-Fi was available.
We just got back from La Fate Bistrot. A small restaurant seemingly run by my mother in a different life. She served us and cooked our food. Every meal on the menu was vegan, all homemade style served on nice plates. We had a glass of wine to end the long day and exchanged tired smiles. “Conto, per favore” has been added to my Italian vocabulary now.
There’s much to write and much to show, but it’s close to midnight and it’s been a long day full of walking. I’ll leave you with one picture I took yesterday with the phone; tomorrow I hope to take my camera and take some photos.
Buona notte, amici 📷
