Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal/Opinions

  • CHANGING

    This week I climbed a tree. There's been a run of warm Spring weather so I've been hanging around outside in the nude and I just thought I'd have a go. Not a big tree, just up to the fork in one of the dying gumtrees near to my house out here in the middle of nowhere. A couple of days later I climbed it again, then snapped some dead branches off a smaller wattle tree so I could climb that, then finally the tallest one - a conifer where I had to hold on to high branches and pull myself towards the trunk, sort of walking up the trunk a bit until I could get my foot up onto a branch. Then I climbed a little higher before I chickened out of going further and sat on a branch for a little while. I remembered later that I'd considered climbing that tree before, but chickened out at the sort-of vertical walking step. I considered the same thoughts both times: The ground's hard underneath, I can't know if a branch will snap, and for that risk of injury or even death, what do I gain? But I feel I gain more from these things now, even without being able to explain what I'm gaining, and I feel less fear. I guess I've changed.

  • TRAIN TO KERANG

    This continues off from my last post, but I thought it should be separate. Yes I really lost my battle to finish my phlog writing in a decent time this Saturday.

    My thoughts around music and holidays are also strongly fed by the idea that they'd be opportunities to meet women. At least with my two holidays so far, and all my day trips to places, that's just nowhere near happening though. Mostly I only see women at these places with men, but I don't know how to take an opportunity if I do get one anyway. I didn't mention it at all in 2023-10-06Train_Holiday_Day_two.txt, but one scene from the train journey between Bendigo and Kerang on that holiday I took three years ago is still lodged in my mind: [...]

  • scar treatment oils

    what my surgeon recommended and i tried to stick with as long as i could. i used it exclusively the first few months, when i was meant to apply it 3x a day but it smells so bad to me. literally makes me kind of sick. over time i've used two small bottles and i don't intend to go back.

• Radio

  • The Death of UK Local Radio

    Alright, this is probably going to be quite a niche quasi-rant/observation, but bear with...

    I'm a child of the late 80s and 90s. Some older and wiser than I may argue that I know not of the true "glory days" of AM/FM radio that pre-dates my existence, but this is my observations through my narrow and late window into the world of radio.

  • Re. The Death of UK Local Radio

    Tiff the Valkyrie writes passionately about the enshittification of the once diverse UK independent local radio environment, which has largely been bought up and turned into bland, grey, play-listed uniformity by Bauer Media and Global Media, which between them own most of the stations that were previously truly local and distinctive: [...]

    The Ofcom report also says that small scale DAB multiplexes will continue to be licensed in un-served areas, mostly focused on improving or extending coverage for existing broadcasters, including community stations. That sounds hopeful too, and I think there is a general recognition that consolidation in the independent radio sector has restricted listener choice even if the media companies claim the opposite, so I expect Ofcom's focus on the local and small scale to continue.