Jonathan Beckett

If there’s one thing that will stop me reading what you’ve written, it’s mansplaining. As soon as an author starts writing “you” rather than “I”, I switch off pretty rapidly.

First day off sick in a year. Just completed the trip to the shops to get energy drinks, paracetamol, chocolate, and cough syrup (which we all know doesn't work, but still hoping the placebo effect does).

Not stopping once you've figured out how to do something seems to be a particular failing in software and web developers :)

The one where I won't admit how difficult I found it to switch off my work computer this evening, after finally discovering how to do something that I've been working towards all day - with minutes of the day left.

For far too long it’s been a few minutes here - a few minutes there - and while I mostly subscribe to Norah Ephron’s comment about a blog being “sort of like an exhale”, there’s a part of me that would like to write something of substance - of consequence. Something thoughtful. Worth reading.

I'm trying to make more time for writing. When I look back at my personal blog - started over twenty years ago - I am often surprised at how good it used to be.

We shall see :) In my experience, those that complain most vociferously about the various social platforms do so because they either can't post objectionable views without being censored, or can't force censorship upon anything they don't agree with :) (and yes, those positions do conflict lol)

I used to fly quite often with work. Sometimes the weather would be kind, and the approach route into Heathrow would take us over "the city of London" - I could never understand why everybody else wasn't filling their phone with photos too...

The city can be beautiful when it wants to be... #london

I watched the movie "Her" a few days ago, and something has been eating away at me ever since. Shortly before the plug is pulled on "Samantha", she seems to have become self aware. There's a much better movie hidden in those few minutes that doesn't exist...

Exciting work trip into the heart of the city tomorrow. I wonder what I'll forget to take with me? #london

Why is it we look forward to the weekend, then when we get there we stare in horror at the mountain of chores that need doing? Why do we forget about this peculiar hell by next weekend, and again the weekend after that, and so on?

Am I the only person that resists following people because I don't want to look like I'm trying to play the system - but then realise I'll never get to know anybody otherwise :/

The major thing I'm starting to understand - it's taken me several years to build nearly 40,000 subscribers at YouTube, and nearly 2,000 subscribers at Substack - all through organic means.

I need to protect them now. I receive marketing offers every week. I'm getting better at saying no.

I can't help feeling that segwaying into ads in the middle of videos is disingenuous, and will harm my YouTube channel more than help it.

You only have to look at the visceral reaction to Threads mentioning they are looking at ads to see how over internet marketing most people are.

Interesting few days:
- I posted my first "paying member only" post on Substack - testing the waters towards offering readers more in return for a small subscription fee
- I turned down a marketing agency wanting to advertise a very well known mental health product in the middle of my youtube videos

The effort some people put into mansplaining to anybody and everybody what they should see, not see, read, not read, watch, not watch, think, not think, like, dislike, love or hate is staggering.

In other news, growing increasingly weary of the most vocal minority that disparage any platform that allows anything other than their perceived "allowable" views. I thought the whole point of free speech was that we all get it, and we can all choose to ignore that which we would rather not see.

Every like, follow, and interesting new person I cross paths with at BlueSky convinces me a little more that they might actually win hearts and minds - over so many other platforms that barely disguise their intention to consume and exploit. #bluesky

This.

I have mixed feelings about Applecare, and Apple. I once had an iPad fail, and they replaced it no questions asked (without Applecare). I had a Macbook that failed (structurally) in lots of ways (with Applecare), and they avoided touching it. I have never bought any of their kit since.

I'm scrolling the "discover" section of BlueSky, and all I can see is "Waaaaaaah", in all directions at the moment. Maybe it's time to go watch a movie, read a book, have a coffee, eat a cookie or something. Anything but keep scrolling and shaking my head - it's making my neck ache.

Waving hello to the US tiktok migrants landing on distant digital shores, getting a healthy dose of how it feels to be an immigrant :)

Note to self - probably best to avoid Forbidden Planet in London - it tends to empty my bank account frighteningly quickly. #comics #books

Boldly going to London :) #startrek

Will admit to being kind of amused at Tiktok being banned in the US - because how naiive are people about their own govts and corporations posting misinformation, and spreading calculated fear, uncertainty and doubt across news cycles and social networks to steer public perception...

YouTube video by Jonathan Beckett Livestream flight from Sonoma County to Salinas in the Sky Courier in Flight Simulator 2024

The one where I start a livestream from Sonoma to Salinas, and a bug in the simulator means we cannot follow air traffic control instruction so we change aircraft and start over. When will a flight go smoothly from start to finish I wonder? www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO8s... #msfs2024 #aviation

My mission is complete :) Lotus Organiser, running on Windows 3.11, running on Dosbox-x, running on a Raspberry Pi 500 :) #retro #raspberrypi #tech

I'm undecided about the removal of guard rails on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. At least if the worst of us are given enough rope, they will expose their prejudices for all - making it much easier to identify and block :) In my mind the algorithmic timelines are a bigger concern.

That's the problem experienced by every big company with many interests :)