Category: Switzerland

  • On WordPress and the Eleventy Experiment

    On WordPress and the Eleventy Experiment

    Reading Time: 3 minutesWhilst I have found WordPress to be a useful tool since around 2005 or so, recent changes have encouraged me to dump the platform. The first of these changes was when WordPress moved to react because this made the site slower, and heavier to use. React also has links to Facebook, and…

  • A Physical Bike Ride and Simplification

    A Physical Bike Ride and Simplification

    Reading Time: 2 minutesThis Saturday was a great day for group rides for one key reason. The temperatures were pleasant, but more importantly, there was no wind to blow us around. The result is that despite riding with Group 2 I felt energetic until almost the end. Usually I’m exhausted much sooner, with this group.…

  • On the Euphoria of Setting Up Activitypub With Gemini – Irony

    On the Euphoria of Setting Up Activitypub With Gemini – Irony

    Reading Time: 3 minutesI have spent many hours, and got Gemini to hallucinate multiple times, through multiple chats, attempting to get my Eleventy blogging experiment to talk with Activitypub and the Fediverse with limited help.Setting p a webfinger was easy, but getting follows to be accepted, and for posts to show up has been a…

  • The Sunrise Run and Croissant Loop

    The Sunrise Run and Croissant Loop

    Reading Time: 2 minutesNaturally we think of doing group activities in the evenings, after work, or over the weekend, when we’re free for the entire day. Some people take the opposite approach. They wake up early to go for a morning sunrise run or a croissant loop bike ride. The concept is simple. Instead of…

  • A Sunrise Ride Into the Wind

    A Sunrise Ride Into the Wind

    Reading Time: 4 minutesI set the alarm for 05:30 this morning and when it went off I was tempted to ignore it and sleep more. I had the self-discipline to get up anyway, shower, and then dress for a bike ride. When I was ready to go the watch told me “sunrise in 10 minutes”…

  • On group Activities that Challenge Me Physically

    On group Activities that Challenge Me Physically

    Reading Time: 3 minutesTwo days in a row I participated in activities that pushed me physically. On sunday it was a 60km ride with 900m of climbing and a 25km/h wind and the next day it was a 9.4km walk which is pushing my endurance further than usual. I found myself thinking that I should…

  • On Cycling into La Bise

    On Cycling into La Bise

    Reading Time: 2 minutesYesterday before the ride I could hear the wind playing with the shutter slats. I could also hear it against the combes, or roof, if you prefer that word. I looked outside and I could see that the wind was moving branches around. I also looked at the temperature and thought “Do…

  • The Declining Case for Social Media Giants

    The Declining Case for Social Media Giants

    Reading Time: 3 minutesYears ago I was interviewed by the RTS to speak about Twitter and my conclusion is that it would never pick up in Switzerland because there are too few users and they’re too dispersed. That is still true. Social networks that are alive and well are Meetup, GoSocial, Strava and Whatsapp. It’s…

  • The Sense of Fatigue

    The Sense of Fatigue

    Reading Time: 2 minutesYesterday I went for a run and I struggled. The distance was four point five kilometres so it was short. I suspect that it’s running straight after lunch that made me find the run hard. Last night I felt fine. I felt like cycling today, and I hesitated between the group ride…

  • The Over-Inflated Tyre

    The Over-Inflated Tyre

    Reading Time: 2 minutesToday, for the first time during a bike ride, I had a tyre puncture. I suspect that it wasn’t a tyre puncture but rather that I over-inflated the tyre, and that due to the wet, gravelly conditions of the roads, the inner tube eventually failed. The irony is that it’s because I…