Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal/Opinions

  • Chaos that Wears an Alluring Mask

    I've been exploring Addis Ababa for the past week and a half.

    The capital of Ethiopia is a sprawling, busy city where modern high-end living can be found right next to rubble and poverty. The luxury Airbnb apartment where we are staying (a ridiculous 4-bedroom, 5-bathroom penthouse) is an example of wealthy upper class lifestyle. Looking out the window on the 6th floor, I can see a slum of slanted shacks built from metal sheets next to a field where lambs are grazing. The busy street below contributes a constant hum of cars and the occasional beep of a horn. All around the city, new buildings are being constructed. I am told the poor are being continually pushed out to clear way for new projects. There is no end in sight for the rapid growth and development of the city. It seems everywhere you look there are entrepreneurs, street vendors, or an opportunity waiting for the right person.

    From a Nordic perspective, the slice of life I've witnessed has an improvised, organic quality. Functions often automated with machines in Europe, like ATM security and parking fees, are handled by actual people, sometimes just a person walking around the lot in a high-vis vest. Another example is the behavior of drivers on the streets: most cars are small and nimble, and the flow of traffic is akin to that of a mass of people walking on sidewalks, where cars intermingle haphazardly and, instead of relying on lights and signs, trust the cooperation of other drivers. It is not uncommon for one to U-turn directly into oncoming traffic, inching into the opposing lane until the cars decide to give way. Horns are commonly used to tell pedestrians that they've been seen and, no, we're not going to stop for you. People cross the streets and walk among the traffic with confidence, cars passing by only centimeters away. One time, I saw a person in a wheelchair proceeding along the middle divider of a busy street, apparently on purpose. Yet another example is grocery stores, where you find mismatched collections of items, and may receive a dozen eggs in a cardboard box originally intended for AA batteries. And speaking of stores, outside the city center you can see small stores everywhere: tiny rooms open to the street with collections of fruit, produce, flowers, car parts, clothing, and electronics. Often you see an entire stretch of street full of stores selling just wheel caps, ceiling lamps, jewelry, or a particular type of traditional white dress. There is structure to it, but it feels naturally grown, not architected and rigid like in Finland.

  • Two Dreams

    Two dreams last night. In the first, I'm at someone's doorstep. It's dusk. We played music together for years when we were younger. In grade nine, I heard through a friend that she said she'd like me (in the 90s romantic sense) if not for the fact I was friends with [another friend]. But now I'm outside what my dream-self knows to be her house. A little post-war bungalow in a city that is losing more and more of these to infill. There's a large, leafy tree in the front. Her front light is on. I ring the doorbell. She looks at me strangely and without recognition.

  • in praise of an open reading

    Ok I'm just thinking out loud so I'm not sure how coherent/eloquent this will be or how to best structure it. I wanted to write about open readings (just laying cards out without assigned spread positions), how they're better than spreads, and how I often see people do them in a way that's taking the worst of both worlds...

    An open reading allows the cards to exactly describe their relationship to each other just by their geometry, the images, the movement of the symbols between the cards. People moving, reaching, looking away. The suit symbols lying on the ground, flying through the air, transforming into other symbols and creatures.

  • Entry 27 - Review: The Ocean Bistro

    The special tonight's at the Ocean Bistro - the sammin with broccoli. Expectations going in based on last time I had dinner here: It's typically edible, sometimes even good, but flavor profiles are often unhinged & inconsistent.

    Aaaand as served ----- Yup, it's... sammin. It could have gotten a deeper sear, but .. it's passable, I'm thinking to myself, until I lean over slightly and see the side of the salmoniform on the plate in front of you and.. woah! It's blinding white, a gleaming clue under analysis by my taste buds prediction market.

    It's served with broccoli. "Oh wait I forgot ze secret!" yells the chef, as they rush to the table, opening a jar of Signature Select sesame seeds and sprinkling them haphazardly onto the plates just after they arrive to my table.

• Technology and Free Software

  • The price crisis in refurbished, top-tier smartphones

    If, like me, you're one of those rare people who doesn't feel obliged to own the very latest consumer electronics, you'll probably have been well served by the refurbished market for smartphones. Manufacturers push out new handset models at such a pace, that it's been possible to buy very sophisticated devices at a fraction of the original price after they've been on the market a relatively short time. In my experience, two to three years after release, refurbished premium devices sold for about one quarter to one third the original price. A device that originally sold for £1000 when new, could be had for £250-300 a few years later, in excellent refurbished condition.

    What a lot of people didn't realize -- at least until recently -- was that a three year old, refurbished flagship smartphone would be a hugely superior product to a brand-new, budget or mid-priced model from the same manufacturer, while costing no more.

    For example, in 2020 the _Galaxy Note 9_ -- Samsung's flagship smartphone -- sold for more than £1000. In 2024 I bought one for under £200. I'm not sure what I could have bought _new_ for £200 in 2024, but I'm certain the _Note 9_ would have outclassed it. In fact, this device holds up well even in 2026, for speed, screen quality, storage, and so on. If it weren't for the fact that [we can't de-Google Samsung cellphones any more], I'd be using it today.

  • Internet/Gemini

    • Micropelago Cross-Post: Isle Release 0.0.5 (Alpha) - CA Renewal!