I’m still Christian Payne, autotelic, photographer, writer and soon to be weekend surfer.
As ever in this weekly dispatch I seek out novelty, explore the relations between things, how we share, what we share and consume, but I have currently no idea where we might be going. Which in one way is refreshing.
Thanks for joining in.
Greetings! I have guests arriving today, so will be speed writing this jigsaw of a dispatch as I madly attempt to brain dump the things I remember happening this last week. Please take all errs as proof of life and my ineptness at doing brain based things under pressure.
I really should learn how to type. A quick go at Typ.ing has me down at 21wpm. Although it will be torturous to read, please let me know in the comments how fast you can type with two fingers (or all of them). I feel that considering what I do, even if I sometimes voice dictate, typing might still be a handy skill to have.
Love this… Shizza Majeedasks “Who is British?”
I really took my time getting round to watch this…
Obs this trailer for Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind is full of spoilers.
A reminder that heartbreak is a feature and not a bug. 4/5
And I waited even longer to get to see The Wild Bunch…
A brutal, moody western about ageing outlaws looking for one last job. There’s a surprising amount of violence for a film from the 1960s, but amidst the plentiful squibs it was all about loyalty, betrayal and old gunmen realising that the world has moved on without them. 4/5
I also enjoyed watching the documentary Onboard the Transcontinental on Netflix.
I posted the image below on Notes but I really must stop going on about all this. It’s just still so up in the air.
I still value human to human communication and when I say this is a human authored journal. It is.
I’m not saying AI is bad or that it is wrong to use it. I use A.I to help me research and fix things. I also ask AI to help me think. But not to do my thinking for me.
Here are my last 12 chats on ChatGPT. All my stuff sits in a folder as it’s not my account.
There’s a weird double standard emerging around AI use. Of those happily using it, many feel differently when they’re on the receiving end of AI-produced text. This podcast looks at recruitment, personal writing and creative work and ponders why knowing AI was involved can make us value something less. Even when the finished result might be good.
Main take away for me is that context still matters more than ever, but what are the much needed new social rules around all this?
Right now, when I begin to doubt the effort, I begin to doubt the care. But I still hold onto the hope that a love letter, a newsletter or a novel carries something of the person who wrote it. That effort can be evidence of care and as effort becomes harder to see, we might start to value it more.
It’s well worth a listen… Are We AI Hypocrites?
My friend Ian was round last week and spotted the Atomic Rooster album I mentioned in the previous dispatch. He told me that Nick Graham, one of the band’s original members and songwriters, was performing at the Edinburgh Free Fringe with his daughter Livi.
Together, they form the aptly named Nick’s Daughter. An acoustic folk-soul duo with a hint of rock from Nick and a touch of jazz from Livi.
So on Wednesday I went to Fingers Piano Bar, a venue I’d never visited before. There I watched Nick and Livi perform a mixture of their own songs and a couple of covers.
Their musicianship and the way they worked together was wonderful. Guitar changes and taking turns on a grand piano allowed some light hearted chat in between, but it was Livi’s voice and songwriting that took my breath away. In such a small, intimate room, it was hard not to be moved.
It’s rare to encounter such talent at an unticketed event that you can simply walk into from the street. A real gift.
If you get the chance, go and see them. They’re playing at 7.50pm each night until 30 August, except the 25th.
I took a few photographs linked here from my table in the front row. What an absolute pleasure.
A brilliant night out. 5/5
I’m hoping to also see them play in The Borders on the 1st of September in Stichill. Check the flier in this Bluesky post.
I have a bunch of audio sat on my phone that I really should piece together. Last weekend I got to explore Berwick Food and Beer Festival and spent time working my way round the breweries. (obvs). Here are a few of those that I recorded chats with.
From top left to bottom right… Bear Claw, First & Last, Cheviot, Tempest, Campervan and Hadrian Border. Some I know well and others I was getting to taste for the first time. Everything was great. There was also the Edinburgh Cider Co who blew my mind showing me what cider could be. Hopefully I’ll get that audio into some shape so you can listen at your leisure.
Reading Walter Hickey’s Numlock I spotted this article reporting the increased cancer risk from cosmic radiation for air crew. I’m not at all surprised as when flying back from Greece I was glad my Radiacode was on silent when the increased radiation at altitude set the alarm off. I had the alarm level set at about 5 µSv/hour when the normal on-the-ground rate is about 0.01 µSv/hour.
I have a new watercraft!
When I said I was looking for a surfboard my friend Richard recommended a surf shop in Cornwall. I think being in a popular surf spot and selling at volume means you can be competitive. And Mat at Hot Surf 69 was certainly that. Super helpful too. He answered all my questions. Even the annoying and weird ones and a few days later a massive box was delivered by Parcel Force.
I’d ordered a 8ft Hot Surf 69 Beginners Surfboard but when I opened the box he’d included the case, wetsuit boots, surf wax ,a leash and the changing robe you can see in the photo. Well happy.
I’ve a busy weekend ahead so will have to wait before I can try it out. Also the person I aim to surf with had ordered from Amazon and the courier was DX. As is their style the parcel has not arrived. Can’t be lost. How do you loose an 8ft parcel?
Might this be the future of bikes?
I enjoyed reading this. When I grow up. A life in cartoons.
Where are you based? Have you added yourself to the Documentally community map?
“Growing up, all we had was each other. Now they have the algorithm.” [Dystopia Warning]
I tried to log into this app called Coop but it might just be for people in the US at the moment. It reminds me of the app Love Fresh where you could buy produce from local producers.
Zuck has bought a castle in Ireland. For tax reasons or perhaps as another emergency retreat? His Koolau Ranch in Hawaii has a tunnel leading to an underground shelter of about 5,000 square feet but perhaps he needs another one over this way. 🤔
The single English county saying no to Palantir.
Some of my other places include these… and a ham radio newsletter here. Supporting subscribers also get access to a Discord server. Message me for a link. 👍🏽
Where to find the colours this screen can’t show you.
Rewinding the land can keep things green during a drought.
Thank you for dropping a like, a share or linking to my posts in other places. It all goes some way to gathering curious folk into the community.
And special thanks to those supporting subscribers who pay a small amount every month to receive this dispatch, access to the archives and all other content. ♥️
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Thank you for being here and supporting a human doing manual work with their brain.
This post may be truncated in your email client. So no idea why I am writing it down here. You probably can’t see it.
This Sunday I hope to see the Cure and Mogwai in Edinburgh and next week I’ll be checking the surf.
I’m now off to play radio with my friends who have just arrived. Here is a photo of them setting up. I’ll grab them a beer on the way out and toast to also to you. To full glasses, clear frequencies and distant stations.
Have a great week!
“Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.” — Albert Szent-Györgyi
Remember.
See you out there.
Over…
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