‘Enshittification’ of the Internet

On By Rick McIn blogs Rick reads, economics, ethics, Facebook, Google, internet, TwitterLeave a comment

Cory Doctorow is without question one of the smartest and most eloquent of Tech pundits.

… an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of their licences for his books. Some common themes of his work include digital rights management, file sharing, and post-scarcity economics. …

HERE IS HOW platforms die: First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die. …

I call this enshittification, …

Amazon, Facebook, Tiktok. All of them.

The Google search engine app on my phone is totally ‘enshittified’ — nobody could appreciate so many inappropriate advertisements.

Wikipedia is not enshittified.

Why?

It’s not based on advertising. Ads are the main reason the internet is getting enshittified.

I don’t suffer much because I have every ad blocker known to man working in the Chrome browser. I rarely see ads, except on my phone.

Facebook ads are hardest to avoid.

I pay for YouTube Premium to avoid ads in the middle of my videos.

Click through to read the article for yourself:

The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok

Mick Herron – Joe Country

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

I’d been enjoying the Slow Horses series of books.

BUT this one #8 is not great, in my opinion.

It’s still getting good reviews ➙ Amazon.

In Slough House, the London outpost for disgraced MI5 spies, memories are stirring, all of them bad. Catherine Standish is buying booze again, Louisa Guy is raking over the ashes of lost love, and new recruit Lech Wicinski, whose sins make him an outcast even among the slow horses, is determined to discover who destroyed his career, even if he tears his life apart in the process.
 
Meanwhile, in Regent’s Park, Diana Taverner’s tenure as First Desk is running into difficulties. If she’s going to make the Service fit for purpose, she might have to make deals with a familiar old devil . . .
 
And with winter taking its grip, Jackson Lamb would sooner be left brooding in peace, but even he can’t ignore the dried blood on his carpets. So when the man responsible for killing a slow horse breaks cover at last, Lamb sends the slow horses out to even the score.

Silo – season 1

On By Rick McIn books, TV1 Comment

Silo is a series of post-apocalyptic science fiction books by American writer Hugh Howey.

The series started in 2011 with the short story “Wool”, which was later published together with four sequel novellas as a novel with the same name.

Along with Wool, the series consists of Shift, Dust, three short stories, and Wool: The Graphic Novel.

I read the books. OK … but not great.

The TV adaptation is much better.

I recommend it.

Hugh was self-publishing on Amazon until finally getting a print deal with Simon & Schuster.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Redeemer by Jo Nesbø

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Jo Nesbø is a super popular Norwegian writer. But I don’t much like Inspector Harry Hole, the lead character of his dark crime novels. An angry drunk much of the time.

At the start of The Redeemer (book #6), Harry is on the wagon. And even attends AA meetings.

Harry is both Oslo Crime Squad’s most brilliant detective, and its most frustrating. He struggles with authority

… the assassin – calling himself Stankić – arrives in Oslo and kills a Salvation Army officer, Robert Karlsen, during a Christmas street concert. Stankić has a facial anomaly known as hyperelasticity, wherein his facial muscles can be manipulated voluntarily to stop people from recognizing him. …

When a murder attempt is made on Robert’s brother Jon, it is believed that the Karlsen family is being attacked.  …

From there it’s a long, complicated plot. Well written.

Still … I’m not a huge fan of this series. I’m only reading it because I’m back in Norway.

London Rules by Mick Herron

On By Rick McIn books, TV1 Comment

London Rules is 6th in the Slough House series — where the washed-up MI5 spies go to while away what’s left of their failed careers.

The “slow horses,” as they’re called, have all disgraced themselves in some way to get relegated here. If they can’t be fired for any reason, they are reassigned to work under Jackson Lamb.

Herron is a very funny writer. Most of the best lines are from Lamb who’s a bigoted, philistine, obese, spectacularly flatulent, alcoholic chain-smoker.

But smart. And loyal to his misfits.

Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman plays Lamb in the TV series.

In this book — the weakest in the series, so far — the head of MI5 is trying to protect the prime minister.

Politicians are corrupt and much mocked.

Over at Slough House, somebody wants to kill their tech geek, Roddy Ho. Nobody can imagine why.

The new book is also set specifically after the EU referendum.

Its antagonist, Dennis Gimball, is the UK’s leading Eurosceptic MP, with a wife who writes a tabloid column.

As in earlier books, which featured a floppy-fringed bicycling Westminster populist, Herron adeptly negotiates the rules of satire and the laws of libel to create fictional public figures who simultaneously hit more than one real-life bullseye.

During a series of terrorist attacks on Britain, Slough House detects a threat to Gimball, making the reader wonder whether the espionage rejects are capable of saving the politician and, frankly, whether we want them to. …

Guardian

London Rule #1 = cover your arse.

Visiting Tromsø, Norway

On By Rick McIn cycling, hiking, travelLeave a comment

I spent a couple of weeks cycling and hiking out of Tromsø in 2022.

Returned to start a long cycling tour summer 2023.

It’s an unforgettable tourist destination. All the cruise ships stop.

It’s a year round attraction. Winter is even more popular as folks come to find the northern lights.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. Two of my favourite travel vloggers.

Want more?

Tromsø, Norway: Full Travel Guide

Why I’m Cycling Norway

On By Rick McIn uncategorizedLeave a comment

During the pandemic I had plenty of time to research future adventures.

#1 on my bucket list was cycling Norway.

AI generated image by Dall-e

Why?

  • fantastic scenery
  • cycle 24 hours a day in the north. Sleep whenever you want. There is no night during the Arctic summer.
  • camp wherever you want. It’s called allemannsretten (loosely translated as ‘the right to roam‘) 
  • low cost travel in expensive Norway
  • free ferries for cyclists in Norway. We are good for the environment.

My inspiration was MatthewNorway. He put together my 3000km planned itinerary, as well. Wish me luck. 😀

I start south today. Canada Day. 🇨🇦

Shout out for Tromsø Outdoor, an excellent bike shop.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

11 more Brunetti mystery books – Venice, Italy

On By Rick McIn books1 Comment

The series of novels by American academic and crime-writer Donna Leon, featuring Commissario Brunetti in Venice are easy reads.

I got hooked on them while traveling in Italy. I could listen to one audio book a day!

Read the first 5 starting with Death at La Fenice.

Ended up reading 11 more:

  • Waters of the Eternal Youth 
  • Friends in High Places
  • Transient Desires 
  • A Sea of Troubles 
  • Wilful Behaviour 
  • Uniform Justice
  • Bad Guy Wins
  • Willful Behavior
  • Through a Glass Darkly
  • A Question of Belief 
  • Give Unto Others

Recommended.

Donna Leon and the madness of Venice

Visiting Mikey in Trento, Italy

On By Rick McIn travelLeave a comment

I arrived northern Italy stomach sick from Tuscany.

Mikey found me a free place to stay. And a secure lock-up for the bike.

Day 1 = LAUNDRY.

Mikey and I had coached together in Bermuda.

He’s a world adventurer with big plans for future projects. Mikey only works long enough to get enough cash for his next challenge.

One day I cycled along the river north towards Bolzano on the Val d’Adige cycle path.

Those cliffs in the background welcome more wingsuit and BASE jumpers than anywhere else in the world. Trento is where new jumpers go to learn.

Mikey has hundreds of jumps already. And has started teaching wingsuit, as well.

I paid my first entrance fee in crowded Europe 2023 to visit the museum at Buonconsiglio Castle.

My initial plan to volunteer to WORK for a ticket was rejected. 😀

Trento is a cool tourist city. Better than Bolzano, I reckon, as a jumping off point for the western Dolomites.

There’s a good museum (MUSE) as a number of different Universities.

Tourists walk the pedestrian streets of the old town.

When Mikey stored my bike, I was free to takeoff with just my backpack:

  • Dolomites hiking
  • Switzerland hikng
  • Spain for AJ (Dave) Green’s 60th birthday party

The hiking highlight was getting back to my favourite day hike in the world ➙ Harder Ridge.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. 

Thanks Mikey!

Rok Straps for Cycling

On By Rick McIn cyclingLeave a comment

In the years I’ve done multi-day cycling, my biggest gear problem has NOT been flat tires.

BIGGEST PROBLEM has been tying additional gear to my bike.

After dozens of methods that didn’t really work, I’m finally using Rok Straps.

EXCELLENT.

They are cargo straps without hooks, most often used on motorcycles.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

More popular with cyclists are Voile straps.

  1. I can’t seem to buy them in Canada in 2021.
  2. The Rok system is better, seems to me.