Remote
Doug Belshaw
@dajb@social.coop
mastodon 4.5.18"Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it." (Epictetus)
Notes: https://substrate.dougbelshaw.com
Setting up FIELD STATION https://fieldstation.xyz
2353 Followers
2198 Following
50 Posts
Joined August 26, 2022
Personal website:
Location:
Morpeth, UK
Morning
What @ivan @mayel@sunbeam.city and contributors have built with @Bonfire is nothing short of incredible.
Go and take a look at their newly-redesigned website which features fantastic case studies - including with @jacobin@mastox.euhttps://bonfirenetworks.org
I have a duress password as I use #GrapheneOS. Turns out if you use it at the US border then you can be charged with a felony.
Yet another reason I won't be going over there again anytime soon.
https://www.theverge.com/policy/971097/us-charging-american-citizen-wiping-phone-duress-password
On 'AI psychosis' https://substrate.dougbelshaw.com/on-ai-psychosis
I had a great catch-up with @epilepticrabbit@social.coop on Wednesday and she told me about a self-directed programme of study she's created. Which got me wondering...
https://substrate.dougbelshaw.com/how-to-iteratively-improve-in-self-directed-activities
Don't wanna brag, but I haven't even had breakfast yet
What if I told you that we could reduce the energy used per useful AI output by ~100x through existing techniques?
https://blog.dougbelshaw.com/ais-energy-problem-is-a-systems-problem
(I'm "looking forward" to people replying before actually, you know, reading the post. Maybe don't be that person?)
RE: @weareopencoop@mastodon.social
Thank you to @epilepticrabbit@social.coop @bevangelist@social.coop @bryanmmathers@mastodon.ie @redhe4dredemption@bildung.social & Hannah (not on the Fedi) for the memories ♥️
A few thoughts on the end of @weareopencoop@mastodon.social
Earlier this month @tom and I set up FIELD STATION (which needs a Fedi account!)
Our latest essay, which you won't find elsewhere: Decisions Have No Autopilot: AI doesn't replace organisational judgement — it amplifies whatever decision-making culture already exists.
https://notes.fieldstation.xyz/essay/decisions-have-no-autopilot/
As long as we have means of communication, there will be disinformation https://substrate.dougbelshaw.com/communication-and-disinformation
I've been at the Thinking Digital conference today - must be my 8th time, I reckon.
It used to be very VC and US friendly, which put me off a bit. While it's not *anti* that now, but the focus has definitely shifted.
I've updated my /now page
Replying to
I don't know wtf an oystercatcher is doing in a semi-urban environment ~7 miles away from the coastline tbh
Sent my parents this video and 48 hours later they've ordered their first EV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Gk6xm5IuY4w&ra=m
Some people have asked about how I self-host my websites and tools, so here you go: https://blog.dougbelshaw.com/cloudflare-tunnel/
I *needed* this sticker, but obviously I couldn't put it on my laptop (covered with stickers).
So it's on my home office whiteboard.
Spending some time away from blogging and social media, so I've created 'Substrate' to share notes, ideas, and reflections:
What an absolute pleasure it's been to run the pilot cohort of #TechFreedom with @Tom_c_watson@mastodon.social over the last six weeks.
Some really interesting people from three different countries attended the sessions and the conversation and learning was top-notch 🤘
Replying to
@ReneHenrich@norden.social Maybe. But Plexamp is my go-to music player, my family are all used to using Plex on the TV, and I've built other apps on top of it...
RE: @arstechnica@mastodon.social
Glad I got mine a couple of years ago 🤘
"You are free to do whatever you like. You need only face the consequences."
– Sheldon B. Kopp
Help! I'm after some Stripe checkout advice r.e. how to show shipping costs for my zine.
Some people outside the UK are forgetting to / not realising that they need to select 'EU' or 'Rest of the World'.
Is this why people use Shopify, etc. or is there a better / automatic way to do this in Stripe?
20% gone within 24 hours: https://blog.dougbelshaw.com/cognitive-wallpaper-001/
Replying to
What's next? I will be, and already am, working through my own business, Dynamic Skillset Ltd. https://dynamicskillset.com
Replying to
@chesheer@mastodon.bsd.cafe Yeah, not too interested in the logo tbh, just the functionality
3 things made me do this https://blog.dougbelshaw.com/archiving-my-writing/
Replying to
@thejaymo@mastodon.social Hmmm, thanks! It's all an experiment. So I could make an API call from my website, potentially...
Working on 'Workflow' https://substrate.dougbelshaw.com/working-on-workflow
Replying to
@johnmclear@mastodon.green Well indeed, but my point is that *none* of this is being shared in any way, or discussed (it would seem) at policy level.
I've also renewed my domain for 5 years, which made me feel very grown-up
News Canary: 26 July 2026 https://substrate.dougbelshaw.com/news-canary-26-july-2026
What have I been up to this week? Let me tell you...
What if... your thoughts were region-locked?
Yo dawg, I herd you like zines, so I put an zine in your zine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iYAMYsWMM8
A zine as a zine insert
Major updates from Bonfire https://substrate.dougbelshaw.com/major-updates-from-bonfire
"(Wisdom is) thinking without banisters."
— Hannah Arendt