Happy Diwali! 🪔
Last year it fell on Halloween which was lots of fun. All the kids would say “Trick-or-treat! Happy Diwali!” 🎃 🪔
This year it falls on the anniversary of us viewing and putting an offer on our house 🏡
And Bandi Chhor Divas is when the offer was accepted 🤝 🥰
Light to you all!
A slip of the tongue talking about social issues in Canada and USA gave me a particularly useful new word: 北米人 → 白米人 😜
The existence of hakubeijin implies the existence of 玄米人 🙃
Who is the Robert Moses of Vancouver?
🌧️ Raining in Vancouver. Man comes out of a shop with a very large format book 📕 I watch aghast 😮 as he walks slowly towards his car 🚗 with the book open in both hands, reading 💦 📖
He gets to his vehicle and closes the book to get in and I catch a glimpse of the title:
Weather
SMDH ☠️
What is a “moment”?
What is it like to be in one? What are we experiencing when we realize we are having one?
Moments are periods of dis-alienation.
(I think this is from Henri Lefebvre 🤔)
Knowing this makes me want to experience even more moments. Let’s get together!
Lewis Gordon on Frantz Fanon This is a beautiful interview with Lewis Gordon, scholar of the work of Franz Fanon. Gordon contends that many people mis-interpret Fanon, especially around his views of political violence. Gordon’s reframing of Fanon is succinct and captures a side I didn’t get before. Here are couple of choice quotes, but the episode is short and I encourage you to listen tot he whole thing. Dr Gordon is a great speaker.
Went for a walk in the forest with one of my oldest friends and his dog. Very content. 📸
These leaves are sooooo red! 🍁🇨🇦📸
These and a few more fall photos uploaded to www.flickr.com/photos/sa…
Every year I post a list of cool conferences that I want to go to. I have already gotten started on my 2026 list. Take a look, let me know if I will see you somewhere, and if you know of anything else interested please suggest! (oh and also share me your list and I will link it)
Good morning.
Looking out the window.
Contemplating impermanence.
Generative AI and news report from Reuters Institute:
A significant ‘comfort gap’ exists between AI- and human-led news production, with only 12% of respondents comfortable with fully AI-generated news compared to 62% for entirely human-made content
#ProtocolsForPublishers
Started listening to The Hobbit as narrated by Andy Serkis 📚
After one chapter it is delightful.
I am going to do a reread of the main four books and then expand into the full Tolkienverse over the next few years.
Finished Becoming Vancouver by Daniel Francis 📚
Really useful book. 👍 Will write a bit of commentary later this week.
Finished A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie 📚
The last 20% of the book was basically setup for the next book. That said, he sure packed in a lot in those two closing chapters.
5th Abercrombie I have read this year. Sheesh! can I hold off for the last two of the series!?
The #polyglotunconf afterparty was held at the False Creek Yacht Club. The organizers did a great job at making the weather nice 😎 Had a good time connecting with some very interesting folks. This is a great conf for bringing together people from many different walks of computing life.
Just finished #polyglotunconf 🎉 300 people showed up and collaboratively created a multi track conference. I went to sessions on building an eng team post-AI, LoFi software, self-hosting, and managing context in enterprise. Met a TON of new people. Now off to the afterparty 🍻
Gotta go to sleep early tonight since I need to bring the energy to www.polyglotsoftware.com unconf tomorrow!! 🎉🙌
#polyglotconf
@mikerugnetta.com’s excellent essay on slopaganda, agit slop, and what it really says about power
Been a year so I updated my Uses/Don’t Uses page: chadkohalyk.com/about/use…
Share me yours!
Early Xmas!🎄🎁 New kit! 📷 I mulled getting a Fujifilm X100VI when they came out but wanted something smaller. Been watching the iteration of GRs and when they announced the IV I signed up right away. Gonna carry this thing everywhere! #photography