infrastructure
The first in a periodic series called "Reading," today's text covers a seminal academic article you might like, but find long and dense. I break down Susan Leigh Star's 1999 article, "The Ethnography of Infrastructure" and explain why it matters.
automation
Today's Friday bonus describes how I've (partially out of spite) automated my process for making slide decks. All with good, old-fashioned, artisan Linux tools.
The work we do may not always be entirely consistent with our own morals. How do we draw the lines of what's acceptable and what needs to change? And what do institutional software choices have to do with meat?
coping
Coping is short posts on Fridays about coping methods for doing creative and focused things in an unfocused world. In Coping 8, the power of language to feel like one's self.
technology
Software use and purchasing decisions are often seen as purely technical or functional. This hides the reality that software is loaded with politics. It's essential to attend to the politics of software when making choices about its use.
bookpile
Bookpile is short posts on Fridays about what I’m reading now and what I’m liking about it. This week, it’s a love letter to the joys of reading fiction.
standards
What is the relationship between standards and global flows of movement? This essay explains the replacement of geography by standards, bringing work I did in 2014 up to date, and laying out why you should care.
Critical technoscience, human readable
Coping is short posts on Fridays about coping methods for doing creative and focused things in an unfocused world. In Coping 7, the importance of being multiple.
In part two of "Understanding work," a brief trip into productivity; the Luddites were onto something; and half the world now works in the tertiary sector. What happens when the quest for higher productivity comes for the service jobs? (Spoiler: it already has.)
Bookpile is short posts on Fridays about what I’m reading now and what I’m liking about it. This week, it’s Participatory Research in More-than-Human Worlds, edited by Michelle Bastian, Owain Jones, Niamh Moore, and Emma Roe.
Work is a constant topic, with autonomy and human dignity under fire from increased use of automation, data collection, and casualization. Let's pause for a second and look at what work is, and at some of the core principles behind our view of work.
Coping is short posts on Fridays about coping methods for doing creative and focused things in an unfocused world. In Coping 6, the importance of sometimes not being in the moment.
Everyday things are collecting and transmitting data. This was one of the promises of the Internet of Things. A humble member of the IoT, the smart garbage can is becoming a ubiquitous street appliance. So what exactly is this thing?
Coping is short posts on Fridays about coping methods for doing creative and focused things in an unfocused world. In Coping 5, a little bit of recursion as I explain why the very text you're reading is a form of coping.
Public sector bodies can be very dependent on private sector software and technology providers, spending public money in ways that don't always put public values first. Some governments are beginning to demonstrate that there are other options.
Bookpile is short posts on Fridays about what I’m reading now and what I’m liking about it. This week, it’s The New Patriarchs of Digital Capitalism by Ben Little and Alison Winch.
The feeling that it's mandatory to achieve significance, originality, or novelty can be paralyzing. Where does the impetus come from, and can we escape the trap of significance?
Coping is short posts on Fridays about coping methods for doing creative and focused things in an unfocused world. In Coping 4, why I've made Wednesdays sacrosanct.
Automation does not, by its nature, need to be bad. Can we disentangle ourselves from automation that disrespects user rights and makes heavy use of computation? I make the argument for the importance and value of "stupid smart things."