Heritage

  I’m not sure why the history page about my ancestor, 甄舜河 (Gin Sun Hall), has disappeared from the family association’s page, but for others who are descended from him, here’s his pic from the Internet Archive. He lived in the late 13th century. Also from the Archive was this extract from a 1997 publication […]

Read More… from Heritage



Who pioneered phone food ordering and delivery?

Not that any search engine will find this, but according to the BBC’s The Secret Genius of Modern Life (episode 2), the inventor of the phone orders for food was the Kin-Chu Café at 137 South Brand Boulevard, Glendale, Calif., in 1922 (another link here). ‘Special Delivery Service 11 A. M. to 1 A. M.—Phone […]

Read More… from Who pioneered phone food ordering and delivery?



Having less and less faith in websites

It’s a pity Zapier’s email systems don’t work because the people seem very nice. I signed up to the service in December, but eventually unsubscribed from all their emails by going to the email preferences’ page and selecting the appropriate option. It didn’t stop the emails from coming, so I wrote to them to advise […]

Read More… from Having less and less faith in websites



From the fediverse: saving the news from Big Tech, and why you shouldn’t use Brave browser

Excellent links by way of the fediverse today. First up, Cory Doctorow about saving the news from Big Tech, with sentiments that aren’t far off my own, many of which have been recorded on this blog. His post is from June 2023. Highlights include this on contextual advertising: In studies, these contextual ads perform slightly […]

Read More… from From the fediverse: saving the news from Big Tech, and why you shouldn’t use Brave browser



Lucire at 25: how things have changed

The below was originally posted in Lucire. We have made it to 25 years of age there, and rather than reinvent the wheel, this little piece—as well as the one I uploaded yesterday hours after we turned exactly 25—reflect how I feel upon reaching this milestone.   Olivia Macklin, photographed by Josh Fogel, make-up by […]

Read More… from Lucire at 25: how things have changed



Chatting at a pro level on Leonard Kim’s Grow Your Influence Tree

Shared on my social media on the day, but I had been waiting for an opportunity to note this on my blog.    It was an honour last week to guest on Leonard Kim’s Grow Your Influence Tree, his internet talk show on VoiceAmerica. Leonard knows plenty about marketing and branding, so I thought it […]

Read More… from Chatting at a pro level on Leonard Kim’s Grow Your Influence Tree



Facebook allows ad preference editing again

I was surprised to find that I could access my Facebook advertising preferences again, after the section stopped working in January 2019. What was there was still way off, in June 2021, but it’s nice to be able to edit (read delete) them again after two-and-a-half years. Things move slowly in Menlo Park when it […]

Read More… from Facebook allows ad preference editing again



The FT covers lawsuit alleging Facebook knew about inflated metrics

I’ll be interested to read the judgement, should it get to that point: Facebook is being sued over allegedly inflating its audience numbers, and COO Sheryl Sandberg and financial officer David Wehner are also named.    The plaintiff alleges that Facebook has known this for years. The suit dates from 2018 but there are new […]

Read More… from The FT covers lawsuit alleging Facebook knew about inflated metrics



In the wake of terrorism in your own country

Above: Flowers at the Islamic Centre in Kilbirnie, Wellington on Monday. On 9-11, I wrote an editorial in Lucire immediately. It was clear to me what I needed to write, and the editorial got quite a few readers at the time.    Today is March 20, five days after a terrorist attack on our country, […]

Read More… from In the wake of terrorism in your own country



Life inside Google—an ex-Googler airs the dirty laundry

In amongst all the political fallout of the National Party this week—what I’m dubbing (and hashtagging) ‘caught in the Rossfire’—was a series (well, over 100) Tweets from Morgan Knutson, a designer who once worked for Google. Unlike most Googlers, especially the cult-like ones who refuse to help when you point out a fault with Google, […]

Read More… from Life inside Google—an ex-Googler airs the dirty laundry