Hello there! 👋
I have been enjoying our new apartment in Osaka. Although just a few minutes from the busy city center, we are in a pocket of the city with many trees. There is a river famous for its cherry blossoms in the spring that I can see Osaka Castle from. I bought a bike which has extended my exploration range. it doesn’t have the historical feel of Kyoto of course, but it is very convenient. The kids are closer to school and friends which makes them happy.
I spent the middle of the month in Türkiye where I met my old pal and former co-blogger Chris Gunson. We walked all over the city as detailed in the blog post below, and even crossed over to the Asian side of the world’s only transcontinental city. So now I have been to the edges of Europe, but never anywhere in between! It is good to have goals.
Now that I have returned to the other edge of Asia, I am getting into year-end wrap-up mode, getting reflective by answering the 40 Questions survey linked below. The other major happening this month: I bought our tickets to fly home to Vancouver! Yes, we will be leaving Japan on July 8 2024. The countdown has truly begun.
Stay warm this December. Have a lovely winter holiday. I will see you in your inbox on New Year’s Eve!
Chad
🖋 From the Blog
Attending the Internet Governance Forum - Experience
What is it like to spend 5 days with 6500 people arguing over the future of the internet?
Attending the Internet Governance Forum - Stakeholders
So, who really does run the internet?
Istanbul — Look around, feel history
Travel report from the city at the crossroads of the world.
🧭 Elsewhere
📸 Photos from my trip to Istanbul Collection →
Deep dive on what it takes to operate Signal Link →
In-depth interview provides handy periodization of neoliberalism and its changing thought. Lots of nuance. Link →
Bought a bike. Rode to the Mint. Link →
“Some thoughts are come in to your head to die… but if brain is sick enough?” Genius 👏👏👏 ⌨️ Video →
Steph Ango has 40 Questions he asks himself this year. I have started the process. Link →
📖 What I’m Reading
How Infrastructure Works by Deb Chachra
(35% Complete)
Infrastructure systems are easy to ignore, but they are intrinsically collective and shows us at our best as we try to take care of one another. This book gets you excited about boring things! It really ties into my renewed interest in internet standards sparked by my experience at the Internet Governance Forum detailed in the blog posts above. She makes the point that we can achieve scale through standards, reinforcing the view that protocols are better than platforms.
(I'm sure she talks about the internet later in the book, I just haven’t gotten there, but already I can apply some of what I have been learning to internet infrastructure.)
Connect with me on GoodReads → or on Bookwyrm →