Corey Snipes

My yardstick for personal tech (laptops, phones, operating systems, software, and apps) is to be like a light switch: Do what I need, when I need it, with zero fiddling or thought required. Aluminum or copper wire? Push connectors or screws? Doesn't matter. I can think about those things occasionally if I want, but I can *use* a switch on autopilot. Technology should efficiently and unobtrusively extend my abilities.

On a recent family zoom call, my sister in law shared how she's been on a "news diet" for about a week (shielding herself from any reports of the concurrent national and global crises), inspired by a Buddhist friend. She said her mood and outlook have been MUCH better, as a result. She has been more productive, and generally more focused on her immediate life. Sounds pretty good, right? Inspired by this, I decided to take similar steps. For me,…

Here are a couple of recent stories from the Clarkesworld podcast that I have really enjoyed. "Aegiopolis Testudo" by Gordon Li People live in a city built upon an alien's back. The way that Gordon combines biology, planetary science, social culture, and technology are just exceptional. "Never Eaten Vegetables" by H.H. Pak Human pioneers struggle for a normal life in a remote planetary colony. A sentient spaceship reflects on her existence, choices, and impact on the people in her care.

I'm moving to hachyderm.io. Here's the background... When I left Twitter for Mastodon in late 2022, I chose fosstodon.org as my home. I appreciated the open source focus and it seemed like a well-run instance that would be around for a while. I also signed up as a monthly patron, to support the admin team and help keep the instance sustainable. In recent days, there has been a minor furor across the fediverse related to one of the moderators at…

My favorite new technology is not new. It's a natural-language game engine for creating text-based interactive stories. Inform 7 The latest version of Inform 7 was released in 2022. Aaron Reed's excellent and completely usable book was published in 2011. The game engine was created in 2006, as a rebuild of a project which was introduced when I was still getting carded for cigarettes (1993). This is a good and appropriate pace for technology. I am just getting started with…

I've been enjoying the short stories on the @clarkesworld@mastodon.online podcast. The story "Never Eaten Vegetables" by H.H. Pak from January 2025 was especially engaging. It hits a whole bunch of standard themes that I really like (biology, space colonization, advanced technology, corporate malfeasance) in a story that's super original, interesting, and well crafted. Plus, Kate Baker is always a great reader. If you're into such things, give it a listen. https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/audio_01_25b/

Just did a quick scan of my local Cleveland area Mastodon connections, and quite a few haven't posted since 2024. Many of those are active on Bluesky. Based on their posts and shares there, it looks like there's a pretty decent Cleveland local scene, at least for the material I sought on twitter (urbanism, community organizations, local journalism, local politics, sports). I have resisted creating an account there, because at it's core Bluesky just another Silicon Valley startup play (created…

I had no meetings this afternoon and we've had some good snow the last few days, so I decided to bug out early and check out the nordoc ski trails at Chapin Forest Reservation, out east of the city. The trails were wide open and there was plenty of fresh new snow. There were a few people out, a mix of hikers with dogs, skis, and snowshoes. Most of the time there was nobody around, though. Very quiet and peaceful,…