Friday Links 23-17

This week I enjoyed the tiny C compiler post and quite a bit of good news about the environment.

Work

Apply, Network, Repeat - "Skip the cover letter"

I Tried a Secret Google Project!  [YouTube] -  that looks like a pretty amazing and probably expensive way to do video calls. I also have no idea how this would help in group calls.

Rust-out is the workplace phenomenon making us all feel flat - just call it burn-out because that's what it is. 

How Are Leaders Experiencing Remote Work? - results from the Buffer survey

Engineering

SectorC: A C Compiler in 512 bytes - this is brilliant.

Ignoring bulk change commits with git blame - first time I heard about this, this would have been useful a few times. 

Credible Handwriting Machine - maybe this puts an end to homework!

No more ‘I took an arrow to the knee’: could AI write super-intelligent video game characters? - if you accept that current "AI"s are wonderful bullshit generators, then this is a good idea. 

Github Copilot and ChatGPT alternatives - I am trying to find something nice for Emacs.

Environment 

EU countries back ban on destruction of unsold textiles - nice

France bans short-haul flights to cut carbon emissions - I like this, especially if it leads to more trains overall. 

The nine hours in which Spain made the 100% renewable dream a reality - and this is without a lot of solar 

Road Transportation Emerges as Key Driver of Warming - surprise! 

Adverts claiming products are carbon neutral by using offsetting face UK ban - Is there something similar happening in the EU? 

Surf champ Lucy Campbell says her sport must be greener - I have to confess I never thought about this. It is also probably a tiny part of the problem.

Urbanism

Deadly Traffic in Suburbia Points to Deep-Seated Structural Problems - stroads strike again 

Can we fix the suburbs? [YouTube] - most likely not anytime soon 

Push for transit, walkable communities growing across US - "Nationwide, the number of pedestrians killed in 2022 rose 13%"

"Sex Work Bollards" is not a band name but should be.  -

Random Bicycles

Official Trailer: The Engine Inside - A Documentary About Using Bicycles To Build A Better Future [YouTube] - I am looking forward to this one, looks fun already

Simply the best: Tina Turner – a life in pictures - RIP

Hard times in the Big Easy [Podcast] - I recently watched Treme, a TV series about New Orleans after hurricane Katrina.  It's mostly about the music, but also touched the crime quite a bit.

Gamification [Podcast] - a critical view on the use of Gamification in organisations. 

Giving It All Away: My Philanthropic Plan - this is not an issue I have, but giving away a lot of money is not easy. 

Adam Savage Unboxes The Ghostbusters Ecto-1 1/6 Scale Vehicle! [YouTube] - I will put this on the list of things I want, don't need and have no space for.

Friday Links Disclaimer

Inclusion of links does not imply that I agree with the content of linked articles or podcasts. I am just interested in all kind of perspectives. If you follow the link posts over time you might notice common themes, though.

More about the links in a separate post: About Friday Links.

Friday Links 23-16

Clearly, work hasn't been on my mind this week.  The podcast about the future of work is a nice crossover between work and urbanism. 

The drought in Spain is still depressing and has been going through all the news.

Environment

Barcelona’s beaches could vanish as authorities abandon ‘enhancement’ - that would change Barcelona quite a bit.

Still dry

• Unprecedented €2.2bn drought response plan approved in Spain
• Drone footage shows Spanish reservoirs dry amid hottest April on record – video
• Drought spells 'catastrophe' for Spain's olive harvest 
• Fruit growers arrested for using illegal wells in drought-hit Spain 
• Drought prompts French ban on garden swimming pools  

Urbanism

Why are 15-minute cities so unpopular? [Podcast] - because people don't understand them and hate change.

What *is* the future of work? A discussion with Dror Poleg [Podcast] - it's really about cities. 

Arrested Mobility with Charles Brown [Podcast] - racism in policing in the US.

The Hague introduces €50 flat fee for parking to deter drivers

Random Skateboards

skateboardle - how would one even guess these?

Lazy guide to exercise [Podcast] - walking is fine, I guess. 

moderator mayhem - how good of a moderator would you be?

'You can't do that with records': Electronic cassette community reflects on boom in popularity 

Dancing to Ward Off Evil in “Kukeri” - beautiful

Friday Links Disclaimer

Inclusion of links does not imply that I agree with the content of linked articles or podcasts. I am just interested in all kind of perspectives. If you follow the link posts over time you might notice common themes, though.

More about the links in a separate post: About Friday Links.

Friday Links 23-15

The podcasts about the creator of LZ4 and the one about happiness science were interesting and entertaining.

Leadership

We Pay Out Unused Sabbaticals When Someone Leaves Buffer, Here’s Why - interesting choice.

With or without shared-component team - I don't really like specialised teams in general

Engineering 

Story: From Project Management to Data Compression Innovator [Podcast] - from the creator of LZ4 and ZStandard

Scaling up the Prime Video audio/video monitoring service and reducing costs by 90% - "The move from a distributed microservices architecture to a monolith application helped achieve higher scale, resilience, and reduce costs."

The beginning of the end of the password - Google going passkeys. See also: So long passwords, thanks for all the phish 

Sensenmann: Code Deletion at Scale  - dead code deletion.

Environment

Many Europeans want climate action – but less so if it changes their lifestyle, shows poll - surprise!

Still fine! 

• Drought in Spain: 'If water management doesn't change, the country will become a desert'
• Canal Segarra-Garrigues water canal closes irrigation only to serve 'strictly necessary' water 
• Faced with an early heat wave and a major drought, Spain questions its water management
• Weather tracker: Spain’s spring heatwave breaks April records 
  

Urbanism

Ian Lockwood: Thoughts From an Engineer [Podcast] - conversation between two urbanists

Can cities help us fight climate change? [Podcast] - yes

Using a bicycle to carry a week's worth of groceries in four different ways [Podcast] - I would prefer the baskets over the bags.

David Byrne Rode His Bicycle to the Met Gala - How is this choice "bizarre"?

Random Art

Miniature landscapes inside mint tins – in pictures  

The Man Who Invented Happiness Science: Marty Seligman [Podcast] - interesting how psychology just focused on the negative parts.

Bluesky Facts and Opinions - I'll stick with Mastodon

Friday Links Disclaimer

Inclusion of links does not imply that I agree with the content of linked articles or podcasts. I am just interested in all kind of perspectives. If you follow the link posts over time you might notice common themes, though.

More about the links in a separate post: About Friday Links.

Friday Links 23-14

I enjoyed the long read about Germany's flat-rate train tickets and the podcast about a British cult.

Leadership

TWH#56: Becoming a Startup VP Engineering - While I am looking for a position like that, it does mean something different for everybody.

How We Handle Severance In Cases Of Mutual Separation - interesting concept.

Environment

German police call for crackdown on growing climate protests - "preventive detention and longer prison terms"

This is fine:

• Spain's Barcelona faces drought 'emergency' in September
• Fish rescued from dried-out river as drought, torrid heat hit Spain  
• Spain braced for record April temperature of 39C as extreme heat causes misery 

Urbanism / Transit

Germany's Flat-Rate Train Ticket  - it happened despite the politics. 

Why Amsterdam is Building a New Red Light District  [YouTube] - are there examples where this kind of change worked?

The Next Great Cycling City [YouTube] - it looks so cold!

Random Books

A Room of One's Own [Podcast] - A perfect episode about something outside my normal interests.

A Very British Cult - Episode 1 [Podcast] - I can't wait for the next episodes. I get emails from similar sounding groups occasionally.

Using ChatGPT as a technical writing assistant - I think this also falls into the category of "stuff that nobody reads"

Mastodon Is Doomed - I disagree.

Friday Links Disclaimer

Inclusion of links does not imply that I agree with the content of linked articles or podcasts. I am just interested in all kind of perspectives. If you follow the link posts over time you might notice common themes, though.

More about the links in a separate post: About Friday Links.

Friday Links 23-13

Best croissant in Barcelona

For some fun, watch the "Best croissant in Paris" video. 

Less fun: Cory Doctorow about capitalism.

Leadership

Balancing your CEO, peers, and Engineering. - I like the supported/tolerated/resented framework. 

Before your next offsite 

Interviewing engineering executives. - "Avoiding the unicorn search"

Engineering

How We Built a Multi-Task Canonical Ranker for Recommendations at Etsy  - these are so hard to get right.

Work

Some Remote Workers Struggle With Leaving Home: Here’s How We Handle it at Buffer - not very well? 

Four-Day Workweek Update: Here’s How The Buffer Team is Feeling About It, Three Years In - "we encourage teammates to work on that fifth day if they choose to or if needed, based on their workload or the team’s needs."

Environment 

Weather tracker: heat in Spain could smash April temperature record - no rain in Spain. 

‘Frightening’: record-busting heat and drought hit Europe in 2022 - this is fine. 

Ban on disposal of bike tyres in landfill moves closer - I brought my old tyres and tubes to our recycle centre and they had no idea what to do with them. 

Andalucía accused of pandering to far right over plans for Spanish wetlands - not long until we see waterwars.

Urbanism

We Can Have It All: Shorter Commutes, Less Traffic. Why Aren’t We Doing It? - nobody likes change and everybody thinks they like their car. 

What prompted my U-turn on LTNs? I realised I was on the same side as Laurence Fox - nothing is more scary than being aligned with someone you don't liket.

Random Croissants

BEST CROISSANT IN PARIS [YouTube] - best croissant review ever!

Examining capitalism's chokepoints [Podcast] - this is overall very depressing. 

‘Such a fun way to consume music’: why sales of the ‘obsolete’ cassette are soaring - it's not just me! 

Friday Links Disclaimer

Inclusion of links does not imply that I agree with the content of linked articles or podcasts. I am just interested in all kind of perspectives. If you follow the link posts over time you might notice common themes, though.

More about the links in a separate post: About Friday Links.