Posts in "Notes"

Important message from Xanthe:

🫵️ YOU should go watch Project Hail Mary in Imax right now. I don’t care what you’re doing. Get on the bus and buy a ticket.

I agree! You should read the book too.

If you’re thinking about applying for a Swedish island, first of all, I’m jealous (as a Swede, I’m not eligible), and second, I highly recommend going for island #1: Tjuvholmen. It’s a charming little island, not far from the cabin where I spent my summers as a kid. I’ll come visit if you win!

Also, I love this bit from the FAQ:

Is the initiative open to everyone?
The competition is open to all international travellers (except billionaires) aged 18 and above.

Billionaires not welcome. 😋

The silhouette of Tjuvholmen Island. I think it looks like a dragon! Beneath the silhouette, there’s a drone shot of Läckö Castle.

Here’s Don Knuth:

Shock! Shock! I learned yesterday that an open problem I’d been working on for several weeks had just been solved by Claude Opus 4.6 […] ! It seems that I’ll have to revise my opinions about “generative AI” one of these days. What a joy it is to learn not only that my conjecture has a nice solution but also to celebrate this dramatic advance in automatic deduction and creative problem solving.

What a joy, indeed. To be 88, like Don, and still have your mind changed. Still curious. Still surprised. Still learning.

I’ve seen the movie more than once, but this is my first time reading Carl Sagan’s Contact. 📚

For a million years humans had grown up with a personal daily knowledge of the vault of heaven. In the last few thousand years they began building and emigrating to the cities. In the last few decades, a major fraction of the human population has abandoned a rustic way of life. As technology developed and the cities were polluted, the nights became starless.

It makes me think of the cabin. How you can just step outside at night, tip your head back, and there they are.

My 1997 pocket edition of the book is sitting on the kitchen table. The cover features a scene from the movie: Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey at the Very Large Array.

I still write my own code, because I enjoy it.

I have never been a normal programmer, and maybe you aren't, either. So, let's just do things the way we want — the way we like.

😌

I enjoyed this conversation between Margaret Atwood and Katie Drummond. Here’s Margaret on large language models:

That is a subject about which I know very little, except that it’s a crap poet and a pretty bad imitator of me.

[…]

It’s like absolutely every other human tool that we have ever come up with, including fire and language. So it has good news, it has bad news. It’s got stupid consequences that nobody was thinking about and they’re all like that. Name one, and that is what you will see.

So true! She’s such a gem, sharp and funny.

We’re having ice cream for dessert this New Year’s Eve. Our very first attempt at a pistachio-flavored batch, so fingers crossed it doesn’t turn out terrible. 😋

I hope you (yes, you) are having a cozy end to the year. See you on the other side.

Light green, creamy ice cream, sprinkled with crunchy pistachio nuts, ready to head straight into the freezer.

After breakfast (banana pancake) I took a short walk and lake Viken decided to show off. 🌫️

The tranquil lake reflects a soft blanket of mist and clouds, creating a dreamlike scene where the tree line fades gently into the gray sky.

Lente has it figured out. More people should embrace enough, whatever that means for them right now. The Game She Wrote on a Boat Kept Her Afloat (via Lee):

As long as I have enough to just chill and do my own thing and not have to wake up in time to show up somewhere, I’m really, really happy.

I don’t know why, but I’ve got such a soft spot for people who code and create on boats. See also Rek and Devine also known as Hundred Rabbits.

Yeah, I know, I know… Find My is a thing. But that feels like cheating! Instead, I just fire up the camera remote on my watch and figure it out from there.

The remote viewfinder on my watch shows mostly ceiling, with just a little bit of the cabinet and the extractor hood.

Of course, it was in the kitchen, on the counter, right where I’d already looked.

vlnn asks:

What are you reading this week? Also what were you reading? What are you planning to read next?

I’m currently juggling four books, which is about two more than my brain can actually handle, but it just kind of happened.

I just finished volume 6 of Hirayasumi by Keigo Shinzo. As for what’s next… I don’t know yet, maybe We Who Are About To… by Joanna Russ.

What are you reading this (or next) week? 📚

My current reads spread out on a table. An Apple Watch shows the cover of Where the Axe is Buried, representing that book since I’m listening to it as an audiobook.

Neat concept, and a fitting choice of book to make the point. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 would’ve been another solid choice.

In connection with this year's Banned Books Week, with the theme "Censorship is so 1984", a special edition of George Orwell's classic 1984 is being released. The book is unreadable, bound on both sides, as a symbol of the growing censorship of books around the globe.

Had a lot of fun making this! Last time I made a zine was twenty… five? years ago, so yeah, I was rusty. And nervous as hell that I’d mess up the page order or end up with pages upside down or something. But it made it all the way to Canada! (Yay for snail mail.)

Sven sent me a zine letter after I sent him some of my zines, and I am in love with it. Look how prettyyyy it is. The pink paper and the red ribbon are so gorgeous. No one has ever made me a personal zine before, so this is very special to me. I shall cherish it foreverrrrrr.

A pink zine bound with red thread. The front cover features blue lines forming a 3D-style wave pattern. The title reads re: happy zine mail! or heat waves 2025.

Working on my website and bringing back some fun 90s features. My favorite? Background music (optional now!). 🥰 I’m building in the open, so if you don’t mind a few bugs or weird-looking pages, take a peek!

Folkification is the antidote to enshittification.

Folkification (noun) A process in which a product, narrative, recipe, machine, or other object is made more accessible and less centralized.

Back home again after a trip to Brösarp. We stayed at Talldungen, which is quite possibly the bestest hotel I know. This was our seventh visit, and I loved the cute desk (and the view!) in the room we got this time.

A tiny wooden desk sits in front of a round-top window, sunlight spilling in and framing a field and trees outside.

Went to a sing-along with Charli in Slottsskogen yesterday and it was the best!!! <3 🎵

Birthday party today. My niece and I lay on our backs in the grass, in the shadow of a tree. In a couple of years, she’ll be old enough to drive a moped. She already knows what she wants: a motocross.

— “What kind of moped did you drive back then?” she asks. “I bet it was a dorky one, like the one mom had.”
— “No, no, no,” I say. “Mine was amezeballs. Yamaha DT50MX. Look it up!”

She starts fidgeting with her phone, scrolling through photos. I lean over and point at the exact model I had. (via Semestergas)

The moped features a black frame with vibrant pink and purple graphics on the fuel tank and seat. It’s got chunky off-road tires, a raised front fender, a purple fork gaiter, and a rear cargo rack. Built for mischief!

Hey, that one actually looks kind of badass!

Approved cool. By a 13-year-old.

For eight years, Shonumi has been on a quest to emulate every single officially licensed Game Boy accessory and blog all about it. Today, he published the final post: GBKISS LINK.

It’s been such a treat reading about Infrared Madness, the Pocket Sonar, Game Boy Sewing Machines, and everything else. Probably the longest-running blog series I’ve followed from start to finish.

I’ll be right back to it soon enough. In the meantime, always remember… Never give up. Never surrender. Emulate everything!

Eight years. 🤯 Thank you for your tireless work, Shonumi! 👾

We rode our bikes to Stuk for breakfast. While we’re waiting for the food, Sanna says, “You’ve got something between your teeth.”
“Not possible,” I say. “I haven’t eaten yet.”
But she insists.

I check the bathroom mirror. There, wedged between my teeth… a fly.

I guess I smile a lot while biking.

🪰

We hung out with my brother-in-law, the little sausage named Ture, for a couple of days. Would you say he was happy to see us? 😅

I ordered my copy less than a minute after the email hit my inbox. Can’t wait! 📒

An annual publication for exploring the vast poetic web, featuring essays, musings and a directory with the personal websites of hundreds of designers, developers, writers, curators, and educators. Published since 2025.

Had my coffee in the sun before mowing the lawn today. Here’s what I saw and heard around 4:16 PM while lying on my back, watching the clouds pass by to the tune of birdsong.

A peaceful sky brushed with soft clouds, the silhouette of a tree swaying gently. My selfie is overlaid on the sky with a soft vignette effect. I’m smiling at the camera, eyes nearly closed against the brightness of the sun.

Today, we rolled our little library down to the beach, filled it with books, and opened it for its fourth season. There are a few Agatha Christie novels in there now, but I’m pretty sure they’ll be gone soon. 📚

A cute little library on the beach, surrounded by trees and greenery. The door is open, showing mystery novels, Nordic noir, and some children’s books.

Some things travel with us for decades. Maybe even our whole lives. Grandma wove this rag rug for my mom. I crawled on it as a baby, jumped over it as a kid, and today I rolled it out in its new home, our bedroom, and just stood there barefoot for a while, 39 years later. Thanks, grandma! 🥰

Faded green, blush pink, and earthy brown threads run through the rag rug, which rests on the warm pine floor just below the edge of the bed. I stand barefoot, my toes pressed into its familiar weave.

So… yesterday, I wrote this:

I love that “VHS in 1.4 kg” sticker! Imagine if your phone came with that today: “Apple Intelligence in 0.2 kg.” 😋

and today, I see this:

Massive gaming capability, heavy-duty AI compute, and standard PC parts, all in 4.5L.

I hope Framework put that on a sticker and smacks it to the machine.

Days since getting a stuck VHS-C cassette out of a camcorder: 0. This is the JVC GR-C7, nepo baby of GR-C1, famously Doc Brown’s video camera in Back to the Future.

I love that “VHS in 1.4 kg” sticker! Imagine if your phone came with that today: “Apple Intelligence in 0.2 kg.” 😋

The camcorder mid-surgery on a wooden table, guts exposed, VHS-C cassette still clinging on for dear life. VHS in 1.4 kg sticker proudly on the side.

Me on my now page from March 15:

And I’m seriously considering splurging on overpriced secondhand tickets to see Billie Eilish at Avicii Arena.

Me yesterday:

Yep, I did splurge on those overpriced tickets. 🫣 And they were worth every penny öre. 🎵

Vi tog cyklarna upp till stadsparken, och omgivna av fågelkvitter och skrikande barn spelade vi in ett nytt avsnitt av podden Hej (resten av) internet! I en hel halvtimme bjuder vi på ett sammelsurium av länkar, tips och tankar. Avsnitt 20, Hyperlink Hodgepodge, finns där poddar finns. 🎙️

Fika + podcast recording in the park with my favorite person. 🌸

Lying on my back on a sunny spring day in a peaceful park, looking over a gentle slope with early wildflowers and budding trees. Sanna sits to my left, smiling warmly in the sunlight.

I went to two (!) anniversaries this week. Moderskeppet turned 20 and the family business turned 100. 🥳 One celebration had coffee, cake, and coffins. The other had champagne and… whatever this is?!

A man in a photo studio is wrapped in tape and stuck to an acoustic panel. The woman who did the taping looks on, pleased with herself.

Moderskeppet firade 20 år. Det var kul. Här är Jenny och Filip.

While waiting for the official price of Mario Kart World in Swedish kronor, I entertained myself by looking up what Super Mario Kart cost back in December 1993. The answer? 549 kr. (via Martin)

Adjusting for inflation (71.56% between then and now), 549 kr in 1993 would be equivalent to 942 kr today (roughly $98). Curious to see what the game actually ends up costing.

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