Towards a comfortable focus please
I’m getting best value from a Personal Knowledge Management system that does not chase the latest tools or “must have” plugins or extensions. The value is in the focus. On actually getting things done. Producing value not just using popular things.
Towards a comfortable focus pleaseMy Crystal City friends can use Claude again
Defense Secretary Kegsbreath launched a broadside against Anthropic a few months ago and he restricted the use of Anthropic products from both his corner of the Trump Administration as well as anyone holding a federal contract.
My Crystal City friends can use Claude againWondering if Monique flew gliders
I don’t know if Monique Christine Petersen was a D-day girl, but something in my fading memory connects her teens to French Resistance. I’m thinking about these things because of an early morning group text chat with two college classmates.
Wondering if Monique flew glidersUsing a bloated daily checklist. My choice.
I’ve been exchanging audio notes with Simon Toon about using Obsidian. Today I offer a look at the checklist nature of my Obsidian Daily Note.
Using a bloated daily checklist. My choice.I survived Geisterfahrers
When living along the German autobahn in the 1980s, I survived two Geisterfahrer events. Specifically, I was on the A3 before midnight one evening when a unlighted Mercedes zipped past me above 140 kph.
I survived GeisterfahrersNorth of Arctic Circle with my Map Case
While listening to Simon Toon reminisce about his early days with modems and the internet, I thought back to the days when I would carry a map case to Norway containing alligator clips and an acoustical coupler.
North of Arctic Circle with my Map CaseHard to make things affordable again
It’s been a year since I left behind comfortable wages with as a university lecturer. I should have downshifted significantly because now I am feeling the pressures of affordability in daily life.
Hard to make things affordable againOnce again I am a digital hoarder
I need to follow up on the things that I save for later. I am getting worse. Here is a watch list of one-tenth of the content I saved into Fabric last week.
Once again I am a digital hoarderRelayed with Obsidian and @sm2n
I’m enjoying an unexpected connection powered by both three channels. One of the channels is a shared Obsidian Vault that uses a Relay Community plugin.
Relayed with Obsidian and @sm2nVisited a Man Cave and a Viewing
I went to Waterford to explore a N3 Man Cave and then onward to Dungarvan to attend a viewing of a former colleague. Along the way I made a short audio note to myself.
Visited a Man Cave and a ViewingLittle things from organic harvests
In our back garden we are between harvests from vines and harvests from stalks and trees.
Little things from organic harvestsInto the wood chipper
I am reading “Into the Wood Chipper” and hope Elon Musk never sheds that phrase of endearment. Musk’s shockingly ignorant, callous, and bigoted perspectives about America’s humanitarian institutions seep through the 209 pages of this page turner.
Into the wood chipperTipping and tech at Brekkie
While in the Lyrath Estate for the Amplify 2026 conference in mid-June, I enjoyed a lovely five star breakfast in the Eden Bistro and then saw how a hospitality worker could earn a tip without actually working a table
Tipping and tech at BrekkieWelcome rain in Ireland
After a long afternoon shower, I can now smell grass clippings and wind-blown pollen. It’s good to reacquiant myself with Irish mist.
Welcome rain in IrelandReading from the Book of Miessler
Since the beginning of citizen journals, back in the time of Live Journal and Geocities, reading text gave me a direct route to thoughtful people. Daniel Miessler, in his post Text is Thought, and Thought is Holy reverberates this essential truth
Reading from the Book of MiesslerFrom my war planning notebook
In the 1990s, I worked as a military planner alongside colleagues from NATO. When we reviewed potential conflicts, we knew there was never going to be a single war. We knew any conflict in the late 20th century would be a stress test of our global operating system.
From my war planning notebookChill Work Desk
One of the problems with my current work desk is my laptop doesn’t recognise my face. And I have to share my bench seat with my cat.
Chill Work DeskSharing my Pentagon Perspective on TippFM
I shared a few thoughts about how Trump won The Iran War Participation Trophy on TippFM, our local radio station. He plans incursions on a different level.
Sharing my Pentagon Perspective on TippFMRespect for braided cables
I have new-found respect for braided USB-C cables. Mainly because they are the only device that can keep all my equipment running.
Respect for braided cablesShopping with smart glasses
In 2023, we would go shopping with smart glasses because they often told us things we didn’t know just by reading the labels.
Shopping with smart glassesAI is a moving substrate
The phenomenal growth in the capability of AI is not linear. If I charted the speed and sophistication of the AI services on the Y-axis of a graph and time to execute a result on the X-axis, my graph would approach the vertical. Independent research from the UK’s official governmental AISI, …
AI is a moving substrateParents managing addictive scrolling
In today’s Sunday Times, Charlotte Ivers laments “GenZ is paying for our dire social experiment.” Her concern has resonated through the conference halls of major edtech events I have attended since 2024.
Parents managing addictive scrollingGetting ahead with smart connections
After 20 years with a public profile on LinkedIn, I believe I have figured out a way to minimise noise here. In my case, it means figuring out how to make meaningful connections
Getting ahead with smart connectionsLong Tail from 2006
Twenty years ago, I spent several days every summer recording what creative media students thought about books that were in Amazon’s best seller lists.
Long Tail from 2006First thoughts about AI Winter
I use my lens of “AI Winter” when reading vendor reports concerning the reach and capabilities of artificial intelligence. An abrupt “AI Winter” will occur by 2029, with reduced access to AI that will be driven by economic downturn and vendor failures.
First thoughts about AI Winter