1. Sometimes I make the mistake of thinking that my life is, sometimes, in its own little way, difficult. Then I listen to pretty much anyone else (including other middle class white men, althought that’s obviously a factor) and am consistently blown away by how much pain people suffer. I don’t know how you all do it. I don’t think I could cope. I’m scared to find out.

    Edit: to clarify, this is intended purely as expression of my amazement at other people, not in anticipation of me having hard times in the near future. Interesting and unpredictable times, sure, but I remain as optimistic as ever :)

  2. I only agree with about half of what I’ve read so far on thebookoflife.org, but it’s some of the most interesting, detailed, honest writing I’ve come across in a long time. Concise, philosophical analysis which glories in small everyday things. Maybe a good world-viewing lens to add to the collection.

  3. Shane Becker: The “we don’t know each other” song and dance that Yoda and R2-D2 put on for Luke on Dagobah is pretty great.

    @veganstraightedge additionally: when all watched in order (prequels, Clone Wars, OT), the most emotional scene in the entire thing is in A New Hope when R2 runs into Obi Wan and he says “hello, little friend” and you think “OMG they’ve been through so much together and now they’re totally going to pretend they don’t know each other for some reason actually what’s up with that?”

  4. Shane Becker: The “we don’t know each other” song and dance that Yoda and R2-D2 put on for Luke on Dagobah is pretty great.

    @veganstraightedge my headcannon: R2’s memory was never wiped after the clone wars, so he(it/they?) spent the entire original trilogy trolling EVERYONE. I keep meaning to pick out a bunch of scenes where R2 is making bleeping noises and add subtitles implying that he’s actually trying to tell everyone what’s going on (“vader’s your father”, etc) and everyone’s just ignoring him.

  5. : if you don’t like the new OSX Photos app and don’t want it opening when you plug your iDevice in, plug in the device, open Image Capture, make sure this thing is showing:

    and select the option you want (Photos, iPhoto, Image Capture, nothing)

  6. Tom Morris: For the blockchain enthusiasts angry at my scepticism, how is Namecoin getting on? Can I read your Namecoin-backed blog yet?

    @tommorris I’m hardly a blockchain enthusiast but it might still be possible to read my site at barnabywalters.bit if you have a namecoin DNS resolver set up. I experimented with namecoin a bit purely for the experience. Results: it does actually work, and isn’t a terrible experience (terrible being relative to the current system for buying and managing domain names) but whether or not using a blockchain for DNS is actually scalable or at all feasible for the entire web I have no idea.

  7. Thing I miss about not living in the UK: charity shops. Today, entire year’s worth of clothes shopping for £40, avg. price per item approx. £2.50, and all really good stuff including three lovely woolen jumpers.