I called this post transitions because I had a week that will hopefully set me up for a transition to something good for a while to come. It’s also a week where I have considered moving a few things around and supporting better causes than big technology companies.
I’m probably going to move this blog off WordPress soon and on to something more human in scale. It’s complicated, and I get a feeling of cognitive dissonance when talking about technology and the biggest of the biggest companies. I like tech and have been employed in it for more than 30 years, but whenever you look into the detail, you find that as big tech firms grow and as they can exert their influence, they become more and more about wealth extraction and wealth displacement. Inciting and controlling money into their pockets and away from the pockets of the average person. Astronomical profits from the likes of Apple, on the back of layoffs and hiring freezes, show the true colours of organisations that want more money, not more employment or more engagement in the community. And although they create tools for us to make and sell stuff, the real wealth is in selling those tools. This is probably a topic for another post one day.
I’m unsure how to reason with all this, and this entry is a little scattered. I’m ok with that for the moment. As I gather my thoughts and collect and organise them, I’m sure I’ll write something else on the topic.
Another big transition is coming soon, but that will have to wait.
Reading
I cracked. I bought the first of the I, Robot series. There’s just something about Isaac Asimov that clicks with me for Science Fiction. I’ve only just started it, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to finish it soon.
I have plenty of other texts I’m reading, some boring and some interesting. I’m spending a little time going over sports science papers about tennis. Interesting that the majority that I have seen are from China. I would guess that there is a concerted effort to produce one or more Grand Slam winners in the near future.
Of note
I have a reasonably large music collection. Or rather, I like a lot of music and can access it using a streaming service. Before, it was an extensive CD collection with several vinyl records thrown in for good measure. I moved (transitioned) away from them when I moved abroad and couldn’t access the music I liked in physical form. As a result, I continued collecting through digital means, albeit with lesser quality. I’m rambling.
What I wanted to say is that I’ve been a fan of The Dandy Warhols for a long time. My brother put me on to them, and I have really enjoyed their music ever since. But recently, I was playing a playlist through one of the streaming services, and I heard a track that I hadn’t heard before.
The track is called The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. I have listened to the two versions on high-quality headphones, and the sound is so nice.
I’m sure I would have fallen on this track someday, but I’m grateful to the music service for surfacing it.
Have a great week.
