I’ve switched over to this Wordpress instance to share ideas, news, images with the world. It’s been a while but I think I’ve settled on something I like.

Before: I paid for hosting, but didn’t post much. I had trouble understanding the process of maintaining and accessing files and databases through the cPanel. I’d usually just give up after a while.

I started self-hosting some services (Mastodon, etc). Learning how to do this has been really eye-opening with regards to how much data, trust, money, and time we hand over to large web/social/cloud services. Some of that is worth it. Google drive is easy to use, and guaranteed to work. My Nextcloud server running on a microcomputer is going to be less stable that a series of server farms distributed across the world. I love LinkedIn for a lot of reasons (disclosure: I also work there). When deciding how to live my digital life, I understand the choices I have. I think that’s key: understanding that there are options, and what it is that you’re giving up when you opt into convenience.

So here I am, moving away from a lot of the big social, web, and cloud services that I was rooted in after many years, and owning my data. If I need to change something on my server, it’s in the room next to me. Sometimes it’s tricky, and I’ve had a lot of experimentation, successes, failures, and long nights, but I am excited about taking control of a lot of what I do online, owning the real estate myself, and pulling back to something closer to the original vision of what the internet could be.

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-circuit-board-with-clear-glass-case-163073/

A quick flight with the Mavic Air 2 over Morgan Hill, CA.

Good morning!

Just a reminder that we’re all out here doing the best that we can! Show yourself and others some grace today. You deserve it!

First blog post

I’m just looking to get this site up and running so I’ll keep this brief!

I’m someone with a tendency to obsess. The call of a distraction in my pocket on a smartphone is irresistable. Like many, I look at it any time things stop moving around me. I look at it when I’m waiting for my coffee to brew. When I’m walking to my next meeting at work. When I think of a question and I NEED TO KNOW THE ANSWER RIGHT NOW.

Rarely do I use it as a “phone”. I didn’t like how my device use affected my sleep, sense of well-being, connection, etc. It’s handy, it’s expected, but it’s also a wedge between my face and the rest of the world. I decided to change that!

I started using a “dumb” phone yesterday. I’ve already called my grandmother back, felt more focused at work, and also felt the urges to reach for the smart device that used to be there, to look up who was in that one movie, or check the stock prices, or check Mastodon, or LinkedIn, or see what I’ve been missing in the world. It’s an urge that will continue, until it doesn’t.

So, that’s the big news. It’s an experiment, to see if I can live like we did in 2002, with T9 texting, flip phones that you could slam shut decisively, and no way to know what restaurants within a 5-mile radius had the best kebab- unless you actually asked someone!