Writing

They say that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expecting different results...

Biting the Bullet
For once, I instantly vetoed myself from buying more stuff “to be more minimalist”. As it happens, my current daily driver is a Leuchtturm 1917 A5, the same book that is slightly amended to be sold as the Bullet Journal 2024.
Writer, interrupted.Stuart Lennon

Deeper and deeper down a bullet-shaped rabbit hole I go.

Recoil
In fact, by design, it’s a bit awkward. It doesn’t even have a browser. What it does do, is allow you to make lots of notes by hand. A sort of electronic notebook.
Writer, interrupted.Stuart Lennon

Geopolitics

Nothing has changed. Putin will keep taking until he is stopped. Only Europe can stop him.

Europe is dependent on the US as an arms dealer, and if keeping them sweet involves blowing kisses to the orange Liberace in the gilded Oval office happy, while Europe rebuilds its arm industries, then so be it.

As a European resident, the most imminent threat to my security is Russia. The most powerful threat to my security is China and the most dangerous threat to my security is the USA.

Trump is the fairly elected President of the United States. He is raping the US economy. He is taking direct control of police forces, putting soldiers on the streets, firing anyone who allows anything resembling truth out and attempting to hobble the media. What happens next will be up to the American people, and I fervently hope that sense will prevail. But Trump and his acolytes will not surrender power easily.

Reading

Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson is an interesting read about the state of politics. It's US-centric, but I think should provoke thought for everyone. Ultimately, it poses the same question posed by Bob Geldof in 1984 and Bono (and many others ever since). "If the world easily has the means to feed everybody, why are babies starving?" To anyone thinking "Money, of course!" You do know that money is a human construct, don't you? It is quite literally made up.

I'm on to "By the Sea", a Nobel Prize winning novel by Abdulrazak Gurnah.

Home

I'm drafting this on Friday morning. I'm expecting a FF&L (five, fire and leave) from the home insurance company this afternoon. It seems to be their standard approach. In fairness, they must be incredibly busy dealing with claims for those poor people made homeless by the fire. I don't mind waiting.

The travel insurers have paid up, with the minimum of fuss. Huzzah!

Digital

I'm experimenting with Vivaldi as my browser. It's privacy first, and comes out of Europe. Early take? It's great. I'm also trying Kagi - a paid search engine that delivers results without the need to sell advertising or my data. As with Vivaldi, I'm enjoying it. Will I pay for it once the trial ends? That's the question.

That's enough from me. Have a cracking week, and be nice to everyone.

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