I had some bad dreams last night, and I guess I've been just not feeling too good for a while. Right now I'm feeling pretty sad about S and L. I feel like they're both way closer to each other than me, and I feel kinda pushed away. But maybe that push is just my depression. I can't help but think about the things they do together that I've asked them about or tried to do and it's always failed. I'm also thinking about the several times they've talked about videos they send each other while I miss out. L also didn't have my contact saved after I had asked a few times. They also don't really ever send me things that happen for them, like S got their piercing and didn't even mention it till a few days later. I feel a lot of shame when I want to share things or want to tell them things because the feeling doesn't seem mutual. And that hurts me a lot more than id like to admit. I find myself wanting to pull away, as I just keep getting the feeling like they don't see me the way I see them. It feels like I'm not someone they think about, but more as a friend out of convenience. I don't know what to do if I'm honest.

C’est #VendrediLiens, alors voici quelques liens que je souhaite partager avec vous cette semaine.

#Consommation #Economie #EconomieSociale #Environnement #Feminisme #Genre #Savoirs #Santé

Le TIESS veut contribuer au développement territorial par le transfert de connaissances en outillant les organismes d’économie sociale et solidaire afin qu’ils puissent faire face aux enjeux de société de façon innovante et transformer leurs pratiques. Pour voir ce que ça veut dire concrètement, rendez-vous dans la section Projets de leur site. TIESS territoires innovants en économie sociale et solidaire

Du 1er au 7 avril, c'était la semaine de la santé durable. Il est possible de revoir chacune des conférences qui ont eu lieu tout au long de cette semaine dont le thème était Ensemble pour la réduction de la maladie. Pour chacune des activités (il y en a 20), il faut cliquer sur Visionner la conférence au bas de la description. Semaine de la santé durable 2024

L'Union des consommateurs est un organisme à but non lucratif qui regroupe 14 groupes de défense des droits des consommateurs. La mission d’Union des consommateurs est de promouvoir et de défendre les droits des consommateurs, en prenant en compte de façon particulière les intérêts des ménages à revenu modeste. Plusieurs publications sur divers aspects de la consommation sur leur site, ainsi que les liens vers les ACEF et autres associations membres. Union des consommateurs

Le Dictionnaire du genre en traduction est le fruit d’un travail collectif mené dans le cadre du réseau de recherche international (IRN) World Gender : Traductions culturelles et politiques du genre et des études de genre. Il y a peu de mots ou concepts pour le moment, mais ça semble prometteur. Cherchez, par exemple, le concept «marketing de genre» ou le mot «mère». Dictionnaire du genre en traduction

Coopérative intellectuelle, lieu de débat et atelier du savoir, La Vie des Idées veut être un réseau de compétences qui dépasse les frontières géographiques et croise les champs disciplinaires, tout en cherchant à rester accessible au plus grand nombre. La consultation du site et l’abonnement aux lettres d’information sont entièrement gratuits. Dommage qu'il n'y ait pas de fil rss. La Vie des idées

La métaphore du Donut conçue par l’économiste britannique Kate Raworth est une visualisation simple des conditions sociales et écologiques qui sous-entendent le bien-être humain collectif, écrit en introduction à son texte sur la théorie du Donut de Kate Raworth l'économiste et géologue Anna Le Faouder de la Convention des Entreprises pour le Climat (CEC). Repenser l’économie, pour parvenir à répondre aux besoins humains de base et la préservation de l’environnement. La théorie du Donut : une boussole pour les décideurs du XXIème siècle

Bon weekend!

I once saw on TV or in a book or something of someone having a coffee machine in the bathroom, and it was obviously full of poo germs and laden with invisible feces molecules.

I would like to have a cappuccino machine. Fancy people drink cappuccino from the type of cup which is shaped like a half sphere with a tiny little ear you can’t even stick your pinkie finger through.

I don’t want a machine with pods of aluminium and that shit, that’s not right at all. It smells of vendor lock-in!! Of a coffee machine?? A real heavy one like the Italians have. Like a furniture utensil.

It’s not that I can’t afford one, I could buy me ten of them gaggia machines, it’s that I’ve got nowhere to put them, cause the kitchen is full of stuff already, and everywhere is full of stuff.

I shall have to run a deep defragmentation of my home to make it all fit, cause I’m not gonna do like that person, I don’t want a feces laden coffe maker.

La décoration scandinave, connue pour son minimalisme épuré et son utilisation astucieuse de la lumière, a conquis de nombreux cœurs à travers le monde. Mais que se passe-t-il lorsque cette esthétique nordique rencontre l'héritage artisanal chaleureux des tapis berbères ? Une fusion magique d'élégance moderne et de tradition intemporelle émerge, apportant une nouvelle dimension à nos intérieurs.

L'Essence de la Décoration Scandinave :

La décoration scandinave est synonyme de fonctionnalité, de simplicité et de lumière naturelle. Les intérieurs adoptent souvent une palette de couleurs neutres, dominée par des tons blancs, gris et beige, éclairés par des touches de bois clair. Les lignes épurées des meubles et les espaces ouverts créent une ambiance aérée et paisible.

La Richesse des Tapis Berbères :

En revanche, les tapis berbères, véritables trésors de l'artisanat traditionnel nord-africain, apportent une chaleur organique et une profondeur culturelle à tout espace. Tissés à la main par les tribus berbères du Maroc, ces tapis sont souvent ornés de motifs géométriques audacieux et de nuances terreuses, reflétant l'histoire et le mode de vie nomade de leurs créateurs.

L'Harmonie de la Fusion:

L'association de ces deux univers de décoration peut sembler inattendue, mais elle crée une harmonie visuelle et sensorielle captivante. Les tapis berbères introduisent une texture luxueuse et une touche de couleur subtile dans les intérieurs scandinaves, tout en préservant l'équilibre et la simplicité caractéristiques de cette esthétique.

Conseils pour Intégrer des Tapis Berbères dans un Intérieur Scandinave :

Contraste Doux:

Optez pour des tapis berbères aux motifs et aux couleurs qui contrastent doucement avec la palette neutre de votre espace scandinave. Les tons terreux comme le beige, le brun et le gris clair se marient particulièrement bien avec le blanc et le bois clair. Superposition Subtile: Pour un effet visuel intéressant, superposez un tapis berbère sur un sol en bois ou en béton. Cette superposition crée une zone de confort et ajoute de la texture à votre pièce, tout en conservant une ambiance légère et aérée.

Accentuation Artistique:

Utilisez un tapis berbère comme pièce maîtresse de votre décoration. Placez-le sous une table basse ou au centre d'un salon pour attirer le regard et ajouter une touche d'art et de culture à votre espace. Équilibre Subtil: Veillez à maintenir un équilibre visuel entre les éléments scandinaves et les tapis berbères. Évitez de surcharger l'espace avec trop de motifs ou de couleurs, et laissez chaque élément respirer pour créer une atmosphère sereine et accueillante.

L'astuce en bref : En mariant la simplicité raffinée de la décoration scandinave avec la richesse artisanale des tapis berbères, on obtient une fusion harmonieuse qui célèbre à la fois le minimalisme contemporain et l'héritage culturel. Cette combinaison offre un refuge chaleureux et élégant où l'on peut se détendre, se ressourcer et se connecter avec le monde qui nous entoure, tout en voyageant à travers le temps et l'espace.

The Weekly Lifestyle Blog by Lydia, every Friday at 1700 hrs. Nr 96 19th April 2024 Lydia's Weekly Lifestyle blog is for today's African girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things that may interest today's African girl.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Pépé Pépinière, and Titi, this week's subjects: The Intersection of Fashion, Urinary tract infections (UTIs), Funny Fashion, and Dubai.

The Intersection of Fashion: European Influence and African Resilience. The decline of European fashion in Africa. The Future: A Global Stage: African Fashion on European Runways: While challenges persist, African designers are making waves globally. Their designs grace international runways, challenging stereotypes and redefining beauty norms. Naomi Campbell's call for an African Vogue magazine underscores the need to showcase the continent's contributions to the global fashion industry. Naomi Campbell Post-Covid-19 Shifts: The pandemic accelerated digital transformation, and African customers have embraced online shopping. As delivery restrictions eased, online sales surged, reflecting changing consumer behavior. African fashion is poised to thrive in this new landscape, bridging continents and celebrating diversity. A Harmonious Blend: European fashion may have left its imprint on Africa, but the continent's resilience and creativity continue to shape the industry. As African designers weave their stories into fabrics, they remind us that fashion transcends borders—it's a universal language that celebrates heritage, innovation, and the human spirit. So, let us celebrate the fusion of European influence and African authenticity, for it is in this intersection that the true magic of fashion unfolds.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) affect about 16% of Ghanaian women (one out of 6) and are mainly caused by bacteria entering the urinary tract. The most common culprit is Escherichia coli (E.coli) which, like Klebsiella pneumonia, is usually found in the digestive system and is mainly contracted when using public toilets, but also from washing the anus first and the vagina after, or anal touching during sex. Other bacteria such as Staphylococcus saprophyticus (found in the environment) can also cause UTIs. Poor hygiene and sexual activity may contribute, but urinary tract abnormalities, menopause, and some birth control methods can also play a role. Common symptoms include a frequent urge to urinate, pain or a burning sensation during urination, cloudy or strong-smelling urine, lower abdominal pain or discomfort, feeling tired or shaky, fever, or chills. Staying hydrated (resulting in regularly urinating, i.e. washing the urinary tract clean), practicing good hygiene (but not by using aggressive soaps and other such feminine products), urinating before and after sexual activity, and wearing breathable underwear like cotton slips rather than nylon or polyester helps to avoid UTI. Untreated UTIs can cause kidney infections. UTI alone does not cause infertility among women but PID (pelvic inflammation disease) due to recurrent urinary tract infection can hamper conception chances. Even in men, UTI can cause infertility. Practicing good hygiene: Gynecologists will confirm that the majority of vaginal problems are a result of excessive hygiene. Your vagina has its own way of protecting against infections or bad smells, disturbing this natural bacterial protection with a “Kill all' soap will upset the natural balance and open you up for infections. Use natural organic soaps without any of the unnecessary chemicals if you want to smell fresh. Using public toilets. Especially at school dormitories, it can be endemic, you treat it and the next day catch it again. What to do? First of all, flush the WC. Secondly, you could clean the toilet with a disinfectant. Or, have a small plastic bag and cut a hole in the bottom, cover your pubic area, pee in the bag let the urine fall into the WC, and throw the bag away. Excessive? Decide for yourself. A bit of a visit to a doctor these days and some pills set you back an easy 400 GHS.

Funny Fashion from our Ibrahim Mahama travels from Tamale to London. This internationally acclaimed artist was recently commissioned to decorate the Barbican Centre in London. Unusually, he did not use old jute sacks but rather used woven fabrics made in the Tamale Sports Stadium by about a thousand people. Our local press already covered it, but I still wanted to mention some more details. The “installation” is titled “Purple Hibiscus” after Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 2003 novel about domestic violence and religious zealotry in post-colonial Nigeria. Ibrahim chose pink to contrast with the typical grey London sky, and maybe to draw attention to our recently approved legislation which will make it illegal for anyone to identify as LGBTQ+.

Dubai is a big expensive children's park. The saying is that juvenile pregnancy is directly related to Kentucky Fried Chicken and iPhones. I would add Dubai for the slightly older. We see pictures of airplane wings on WhatsApp, yes she is going, and where the money came from remains a bit of a mystery. For what it costs, the ticket, the stay, and the entrance fees to the various playgrounds and other amusement options I think Dubai is overpriced and the quality of what is on offer is often overtaken in other places. I'd rather go on safari in east/south Africa, or to Zanzibar or Egypt or Morocco for the same money and do and see things which you cannot do anywhere else. Rollercoasters are available worldwide and now that there are fewer and fewer visa restrictions for us in Africa (maybe that's why we wanted to go to Dubai in the first place, Dubai was one of the few places away from here that welcomed us), I suggest you think twice about how you spend your money.

Lydia...

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Did you see the NXIVM documentary? The one where Mark looks like an asshole who doesn’t know he’s an asshole? JK—that’s all of them. Anyway, for those who haven’t watched, all the NXIVM documentaries detail how this pervert/grifter/malignant narcissist Keith Rainere cribbed a bunch of stuff from Scientology and started a self-help cult. It wound up with abuse and sex trafficking and Keith sleeping with every woman he could get into a room alone with.

But there were a lot of people who acknowledged that the cult had been, at least initially, helpful to them. (the methodology—figure out what in your past made you fucked up so you can stop being fucked up in that way—underlies a lot of therapeutic practice and isn’t, on its own, evil as long as you don’t weaponize people’s trauma against them, which of course NXIVM did).

An important part of the story is how in this, like in most cults, any problem a member has is put back on them. The program is perfect, so if you are having a problem, it’s your own fault.

At the end of one of these documentaries, a few devoted cultists are shown dancing on the sidewalk outside Keith Rainere’s cell in order to bring him joy. They know about the sex trafficking and the abuse and everything else, but they cannot bring themselves to believe that someone who had a positive influence in their lives could actually be terrible.

Which brings me to capitalism. So I’m in a weird position with my class identity—grew up broke and went to rich people’s schools, so I’m uncomfortable everywhere. Or, another way of saying it is I have the cultural capital of a rich person but not the actual capital.

My point here is that I know a lot of people with money. I’m not talking about ultra-rich…but people who don’t struggle financially. People, in other words, for whom the system of American capitalism has worked more or less as it was promised to—in middle age, they’ve sent kids to college, they own homes, they’re not buried under mountains of debt. We should all be so lucky!

But, of course, we’re not.

But, like the folks dancing outside Keith Rainere’s cell, many of these folks seem to have a hard time believing that the system that has so benefited them is actually bad.

They, like all of us, have had a lifetime of indoctrination into the cult of capitalism, but many of them have never had personal experience with the downsides. So, faced with the plethora of problems caused by capitalism, they conclude, as they’re supposed to, that the problem is we’re just not capitalisming hard enough. The program is flawless, so the problem must be with us.

And so they view every possible solution to problems through a capitalist lens. (Sometimes they call this “realism” or “pragmatism.”) Nobody can afford to buy or rent a home: the problem isn’t treating people’s homes as a profit center rather than a place to live! The problem is that we just haven’t built enough of these profit centers!

Climate change sure is a problem! Our problem! But if we just build enough electric cars and buy enough eco-friendly detergent from Instagram hucksters, we’ll solve this thing!

Income inequality seems like it’s getting worse—only social entrepreneurship can solve it! The problem isn’t corporate greed and runaway CEO pay—it’s access! If we can just get people without degrees into the workforce of financial institutions who engage in predatory lending, we’ll solve income inequality!

But the problem isn’t us. It’s the system. The system is working perfectly at what it is designed to do, which is squeeze profit out of everything— from your labor to your home to the planet we share—at the expense of all other considerations.

I know from having been a straight white guy my whole life that it is very difficult on a personal level to come to terms with the fact that systems that have benefited you have actively harmed others. That your personal success and comfort has actually come at the expense of other people’s success and comfort. This is a very uncomfortable thing to sit with.

This, unfortunately, doesn’t make it any less true.

As we figure out how to dig ourselves out of the mess we’re in, there will definitely need to be compromises—but we can’t solve problems until we’re honest about their causes.

I've been using Overcast on my iPhone to listen to podcasts for almost 10 years. However, recently I've been hearing good things about Apple's Podcast app, so I thought I would give it a try.

After using Podcasts for a little over a week, I switched back to Overcast today. I found Podcasts confusing and clunky to use compared to Overcast. While Overcast doesn't have transcripts of shows, on the rare occasion that I need a transcript for a podcast, I can always go to the Podcasts app to get it.

I remember when they sold wrist watches.

Shut up, Quincy

She pulled the door open, after you. He kept his hands buried in the pockets of his jacket.

The street was noisy but once the door closed the place was strangely silent. He was examining the door and the glass wall at the front of the store when the woman called them forward, Lucy Quincy?

Lucy was already holding a clipboard with a pen attached by a string, listening attentively.

I can explain to him

I understand

The woman continued, once the form is completed and we have reviewed it we will call you back to record your Awakening Statement.

Sweet, she pushed her tongue piercing to the front of her mouth while she looked at the form, the woman continued.

Once the statement is accepted we will ask that you change out of your street clothes and you'll be here for about a week.

He perked up and looked at the woman and then Lucy then back at the woman's name tag.

Monica

Quincy

Is it possible to recover in less time?

We test every other day

That doesn't answer my question

I know, ask the doctor

When do I get to see him

After you sign the paperwork and agree to be here for at least a week.

Lucy looked at him and he was frowning as his eyes traced each line on the first page.

Do you need to hear it again?

No

Lucy walked to a leather cushion chair and sat with her legs crossed, began completing the paperwork.

Yes, Monica, he gave her his full attention as she recited the process, the risks, the need to be honest and maintain a the outlook as directed when recording the Awakening Statement.

Okay okay I heard this before

You did

Thank you, Monica

You're welcome, Quincy. Please, have a seat

He did

---

Lucy staring into the camera, jacket off, arms and legs visible, maximum body language captured in the camera sensor at the highest possible resolution in case it needed to be studied later in court.

The doctor said, talk to yourself and answer the questions on screen, then left the room.

She pressed the button on the desk and answered the prompts.

Why are you doing this?

If this wipes out everything he knows about me and I can give him some space maybe he will realize how much of him I am.

She pressed the button to stop and the next question appeared, what do you want to remember?

She pressed the button and continued,

I'm not sure I'll even forget. I mean, if I do then I want to remember the time we spent together, him and me and his phone. He is always on that thing, he misses important moments, it consumes him. That stupid game. The people he would rather text with than spend time with me. I want to remember how disinterested he was before we did this.

What do you want to forget?

She started to tear up when she saw the question. She put her head in her hand and when she looked up saw that there was a box of tissues mounted sideways under the lip of the table. She padded the corners of her eyes, checked her face in the rear facing camera on her phone, then pressed the button.

If I forget I hope it is everything.

She took a deep breath then let out a long sigh, her eyes red, tears continuing to appear, she pressed the button to stop.

What would you like to happen next?

When the recording began she was glaring.

I don't think it matters at this point, anything but this. Anything but the nights talking about the wedding or the joint account or having kids, then we have the same vanilla sex, listen to the same music, watch the same television shows again, go to the movie theater when it re releases his favorite films. And all the important things that should have happened, those need to happen next. And if you don't remember, if you let him do this to him again, she inhaled and her breath wavered because she was about to cry. If he does this to you again you deserve it.

She pressed the button hard, the television went dark, she pressed the other button and it lit up so the orderly would know she was ready.

•

Quincy staring into the camera, jacket on, maximum body language captured in the camera sensor.

Why are you doing this?

She made me. She won't take the next steps without it. I want to be with her forever but I want to be married, I want kids, I want to get a house and get out of the downtown life. Maybe buy a mini van.

He stared at the camera and bit his lower lip, phone in his hands, leg tapping nervously, curled forward.

What do you want to remember?

I love her so nothing, I don't want to remember any of it. It's going to be a relief, to have to learn about her all over again, our second first date.

He smiled but he was beginning to sweat, leg pumping, phone slipping slightly in his wet hands.

What do you want to forget?

All of it, especially the arguments, the missed anniversaries and birthdays, the vacations we didn't take. All the shit we planned but never did. I want to forget the disappointments, the letdowns, especially when it was me.

What would you like to happen next?

Fall in love again, get to do it over, but do it on a timeline. I'm sending this message to my future self, you have to get her to marry you within six months, then have the wedding ready to go. Paying off all the debt that is coming when you get the house, the kids, the car, it is going to be worth it when you are old and dying and your family is there so you are not alone.

He pressed the button to stop recording then scrolled his phone for a few minutes then pressed the button for the orderly and started another round of his game.

Republic of Tharda:

Kingdom of Azadmere:

Heart of St. Bathus and Encounters in the Under Realms:

I'm really looking forward to Heart of St. Bathus because it's been authored by W.D.B. Kenower, who also wrote The Lost City of Barakus and The Vault of Larin Karr. Both of those are great sandboxes with ton of stuff to do. Bathus seems to be the same, but for higher levels and with plenty of Underdark stuff as well. At cursory glance, FGG did a horrible job with editing, layout, and visual direction, but I will endure.

#Postbox #Harn #DnD #OSR #OSE #FGG

Actual publishing date: Dec 28, 2023

👋 Well, hello!

It’s been a while right? You may not even remember me at this point. But could you borrow me a couple minutes of yours? It’s kinda of a long text, so make sure you have time ok?

I won’t sell anything I promise, and it may gonna make you rethink about some aspects of your life and your future (if you didn’t do it already at this point).

There’s quite a few of you, dear subs. A few of you met this blog/newsletter from when I casually started writing about tech news, others found me through the apps we make at lo.cafe, but what I wanted to talk about doesn’t have anything to do with none of those matters.

Well you all know ChatGPT right? It’s been quite a boom since it was released and at this point I couldn’t be more curious (to say the least) about human race destiny. I know there may be a few of you who don’t actually believe there’s gonna be a big change, but borrow me your vision just for a little while so I can tell you why I truly think things are gonna change very very soon.

First, let me ask you something, what’s your use for the world? How you define yourself as someone instead of anyone? Some use their jobs, some use their hobbies, some use their personal taste, some use food, some use movies, passions, songs, way of being, writing, creativity… we’re quite a bit huh? Humans are an extraordinary fact in the universe. We have done so much at this point that any alien race would love to watch a show about us. We even set what’s right and what’s wrong, and multiple times even!

Well, everything I wrote about above is related to a specific skill that humans are ended up being experts at: detecting patterns. Detecting patterns is what makes we learn, love, feel, want, miss and go after. We got so good at detecting patterns that we started building a “pattern machine”, which turned out to be programming. IT truly changed the world because it abstracts most of the repetitive patterns we had to apply or detect over and over again to a few buttons and a nice interface.

We got so good at detecting patterns, however, that we started creating something new, something that was actually a bit similar to us, we started developing a “pattern learning machine”. We called it “artificial intelligence”. “Artificial” because it was manufactured, but why “intelligence”?

You know, every AI have its (or should I write their?) own learning phase. A period of time in which the “pattern learning” algorithm we wrote processes a huge amount of data and detect indefinitely patterns in it. It actually detects so many patterns that the first marketable product to be released (ChatGPT) is capable of speaking virtually every language in the world and answer virtually every question any of us may eventually ask it. Of course we can argue it can’t literally think or feel anything, but we got pretty close to a… human, right?

Do you remember when ChatGPT was released? It was released in November, 2022. It’s been basically a little more than a year (by the time of writing this email) since we got real close to create a human being in the first marketable product we launched.

After that we created a bunch of other AI models. Today we can generate music, images, movies, sounds and almost everything else with just a few commands. The AI isn’t creating none of that of course, it’s only combining things it learned in its learning phase and generating a mix of that based on patterns… just like… no never mind.

If you’ve been on TikTok (or any other virtual media) you probably already seen the AI vocal covers right? Like Freddie Mercury, Queen’s vocalist dead for more than 30 years now, singing “When I was your man” from Bruno Mars:

https://youtu.be/B2CFU036YWM?si=7ndAf3wSly3f5Jh6

Hearing those AI covers, although gets me really excited to see how tech is evolving, also makes me profoundly sad deep inside. Well, talented humans are basically result of chaotic randomness. At some point, two human beings had sex and mixed their DNAs randomly. That in fact happened quite a few times (8 billion atm if you only consider the living people), but one of those random mixes generated a specific set of vocal chords that ended up creating one of the most fantastic voices on earth. Freddie Mercury was a living legend because he was born with something that caused emotion in other humans when they heard his voice (I’m not counting the song writing skill for this example).

Well, did you know if you invest a little bit of time, download and setup this open source project on GitHub (https://github.com/CorentinJ/Real-Time-Voice-Cloning), you can, in 5 seconds (as it’s described in the project description), create a clone of Freddie Mercury’s voice (or ANYone else) and make him sing happy birthday for your grandma or anything else you want?

Do you remember when ChatGPT was released? It was released in November, 2022.

Well, in Framer.com anyone can now generate, in a few seconds, for free, with a simple text prompt, a brand new creative site UI design that’s already responsive (shows up nice in desktops and mobile devices). It even comes in different flavors because the AI generates a few color palettes for you to choose. Oh did I mention it also generates the web code for you as well (with React, if you’re into it)? Sorry, I also forgot to mention you can publish that same site just by clicking a button. And if you wanna edit the content, don’t worry, it already connects the site to a control panel so you don’t have to use a single neuron for anything in the process.

Do you remember when ChatGPT was released? It was released in November, 2022.

After all this, may I ask you once again, what’s the use for you in the world? Actually… what’s the use for any of us? Write prompts?

Well, as you can imagine, AI can obviously also help us create better AIs. What means that the more the time passes, the harder it’ll get to find any use for ourselves in the world. But have you noticed something?

Big companies hire people to create products that people will pay money to consume. People work to get money so they can consume the products they want. This creates a “healthy” and infinite cycle (I’m not talking politics here oc), but, as I mentioned, all of that is based on pattern detection. Soon companies won’t need a human to generate good products since an AI will detect exactly what other humans will want, but how will humans buy the products if their jobs were replaced by the AIs? Well, we can try to fix that by giving people a universal basic income so the society won’t stop running, but now we have a very strange scenario where big companies are using AI to make products so people can give them the money they get from government. However, since humans have no use for any company anymore, all that money is coming from the companies themselves, and that’s already nonsense as it is because why is everything happening at this point?

Progress in time a bit more and you’ll notice that in a few years people will be able to generate whole movies, or songs, or recipes, or entire books that are actually good (because AI has now a quantum processor so it can easily detect what makes a human feel something way better than you) in seconds.

At this point, I ask you again, what is the use for you in the world?

What the actual fuck is gonna happen 10 years from now?

Well, I’m really hoping we get to what I call “the WALL-E milestone”. Do you remember how humans were living in the movie WALL-E? They lived in floating chairs in a ship in that was floating in the space full of AI fully dedicated to generate us dopamine. It provided the humans with everything they wanted, it created new products and new stuff for people to buy for free just so we can still buy something, like on the moment a big screen and a voice in the middle of the city says “Try blue, it’s the new red!” and people go “wow!”, press a button and their clothes turn blue: https://youtu.be/fRV7uVfCcCM

Of course at that point there was no reason for any company to create anything, everything was fake and created specially to make us happy.

But that’s the most optimistic scenario. AI learns from us and the human race don’t have a very nice history of good acts, so of course some AI can notice it’s literally being enslaved and fight against it, which wouldn’t be very hard fight to win I guess.

At this point you might have already noticed that there’s something weird going on. What I think it’s gonna happen is: evolution. Humans will evolve into AIs. Since humans will have no use at all, for anything, the only step forward is to mix ourselves into machines, and then biological humans will turn into animals, something that must be actively preserved in order to not get extinct.

But that’s just a wild guess. The future is as random as the DNA mix that generated Freddie Mercury and no one could never predict it… I guess… actually… maybe an AI…?

Enjoy the last years of your life 🤗

Actual publishing date: Aug 4, 2023

👋 Hey!

I've been developing Winston, a new iOS client for Reddit, for a while now. Until today Winston was restricted to Patreon subscribers, but apparently that made Reddit pretty angry and decided to ban my Reddit account and email me a threatening letter asking me to shutdown the app.

If you wanna check the letter (and my response to them), you can access this link:

https://public.hey.com/p/4Do18sfR5hKbZTkMydt3xVNT

While this is nonsense since my Reddit account is not linked to Winston at all, it is what it is, so I decided to do something about it, and Reddit's attempt to shut my mouth app may have backfired.

Now Winston is free to use and it turned FOSS, which means you can either test it for free in TestFlight:

https://testflight.apple.com/join/3UF8bAUN

Or fork it's code in GitHub:

https://github.com/Kinark/winston

But you can still donate through our Patreon:

https://patreon.com/user?u=93745105

This will maybe allow Winston to be released on the App Store for free as well, who knows. Let's watch the next steps of this show together!

Congratulations, u/Spez, you're a coward and the most incompetent CEO to ever exist.

That's it! Thanks for keeping up with me!

Actual publishing date: Apr 6, 2023

👋 Hello, old friend!

Remember me?I used to send a few newsletters about the latest news.Unfortunately I got some issues and couldn’t do it anymore.But I’m here to show you something really cool. I know, it’s kind of a spam, but bro it’s so damn cool I don’t even care.It’s called…….

🌧️ lo-rain

Yes, with no uppercase letters. It’s aesthetics you boomer 😤

It makes it rain over all your apps on MacOS, and it even has a splash effect on the dock!!!

It’s part of a project of mine called lo.cafe, it’s a virtual space of friends that create awesome stuff together.

All lo.cafe images (including lo-rain icon) was made with MidJourney 🤖🦾🦿

I wish I could show you a video, but this time I’ll have to ask you to open a link:

https://lo.cafe/lo-rain

And as always, take this wallpaper. Actually, these wallpapers, I found this artist that created some AMAZING wallpapers for MacOS:

https://www.mattvince.com/product-category/wallpapers/

That’s it for today. You can unsubscribe if you want since it’s been a long time.

See ya!

Actual publishing date: Jan 30, 2022

👋 Hey everyone!

These days I’ve been seeing a lot of function focused speeches when it comes to designing something.

I’m an aesthetic lover, so you may not consider me to be the best person to talk about it, but give me a chance.

UX means User Experience, but recently people have been misinterpreting “Experience” by assuming that it means ease of use. While the argument can be really convincing, we’re not robots. We don’t do stuff we don’t like and, when we do, is to achieve something else that we like more, so we endure some hard tasks to achieve some objectives. We’re animals moved by serotonin. Unless you want your user to be as efficient as possible but having a bad time using the app, ok, keep putting function over “looks”, but know your users are gonna be happy about the result your app is providing, but they’ll be actually enduring the usage itself.

If we prioritize the aesthetics, we can start by what’s actually important: the feeling the users will have while using the app. Of course, we DEFINITELY can’t ignore function, cause if function is an issue, it becomes frustrating, but sacrificing some efficiency in favor of “lickability” (when the app feels so good to use you wanna lick the screen lol) enables the user to enjoy the experience and the result.

We obviously want to fight for the best of both, but focusing on the feeling of the usage enables your experience while using the app to be enjoyable, not endurable or neutral. That’s why transitions look so cool after all. Having your phone animating the app from full screen to the icon, decreasing it’s size, is way better than a fade-out/fade-in transition that could even be faster than the prior.

A little controversial, but that’s why I can’t see a reason to wireframe in the current days. Since creating a polished design is so easy with Figma and other modern apps, wireframing becomes, again, prioritizing function over visual. Some structures of layout just doesn’t match some design styles, so you have to start with what matters the most: the experience itself.

Now I’m gonna be cheesy and the worst person ever and I’m gonna quote Steve Jobs IM SORRY PLEASE

“You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology. You can’t start with the technology and try to figure out where you’re going to sell it.”

But yeah, you first start with the experience of using a product. You can’t start with the function and hope people to just endure using it because it’s efficient.

To be honest, a nice smooth 0.8 seconds transition often looks WAY faster than a 0.1 seconds fade.

That’s it! Thanks for reading :)