We moved house about three weeks ago (hence the delay in this newsletter) and it’s caused me some pondering.
Initially it was things like “why didn’t the previous owners fit a lock on the bathroom door?”. Or perhaps stuff like “what kind of things should we plant to survive future heatwaves?”. But this week, it’s mainly been about toilets.
I’ve lived in fifteen houses since birth; ten of them my own choice. Each one—as far as I remember—had a toilet. But I never got to choose it.
We spend a lot of time with our toilets: often they bookend our days, as bowel movements beget mindshifts. As I approach my 40th birthday, I’ve been reflecting on my “adulting milestones”: I’ve plumbed in a dishwasher; delivered a baby; bought (and sold) a house. But I’ve never so much as flicked through the porcelain section of the DIY catalogue.
I mean, who knows what my true toilet preferences are? It’s possible that, given the choice, I may naturally favour those rectangular-shaped toilets instead of the classic oval design. I could be a member of the minority who allegedly prefer avocado-coloured bathroom fittings. But I’ve never been given the opportunity to find out.
Inheriting other people’s choices is weird. When we moved into the new place, there were a bunch of echoes of the previous owners: decals and stickers on the walls of the kids’ rooms; diffusers and scents in the cupboard under the stairs. It’s hard to truly take ownership of a new home when it feels like the “real” owners have just popped out the shop while you cheekily moved your belongings in.
And so I sit (not a typo) on the loo of a stranger, where they previously sat before me. Did they remodel this bathroom? Did they choose the throne I sit astride (not literally, I’m typing this on the couch)? When can I truly call a home mine? Perhaps it’s only really yours when you’ve selected every constituent part of it.
I think we almost reached that stage in our previous home: over eight years we painted every wall, replaced every carpet, swapped out doors and outbuildings and rewired the main circuits. My confidence in my ownership of our new home has increased with every screw and plug I’ve added to the walls, each blinking lightbulb I’ve replaced, and every patch of filler I’ve applied to cover someone else’s poor DIY.
It’s a long road, and maybe one day, it’ll lead to the toilet of my dreams. Whatever that is.
Reading this week
1. Zuckerberg Is Right About Open, Decentralized AI. He’s Also The Last Person You Should Trust To Deliver It (Mike Masnick, TechDirt)
“Because in the social media realm, Mark Zuckerberg is the guy who is most responsible for taking us from an open, decentralized web where anyone could build to a closed, centralized data silo where if you tried to build on top of it, he’d sue you out of business. […] So forgive me for not taking him seriously here.”
Zuck wrote a semi-deranged AI manifesto where he thinks he sounds like Tim Berners-Lee but in reality sounds like he thinks he runs a company which is a non-profit community group with a history of people-centric, progressive policies that have historically benefited individuals. Don’t bother reading his 6000 word ego trip, but do read Mike’s critique of it.
2. Does AI stop children from learning? (The Economist)
I still feel weird about engaging with Economist content, but I saw this via Bluesky so don’t worry. This chart essentially summarises the piece: kids who use AI to produce high-scoring homework tend to drop off the chart when it comes to exams, compared to their non-AI-using classmates. Ho hum.
3. This Is Your Brain on X (John Ganz, Unpopular Front)
“The people inhabiting these publics think they are broadly representative of the world at large, rather than quite subcultural. The X-ing of Twitter made the Trump administration and right-wingers more broadly think they had a mandate for their most extreme ideas because they only saw a world of chuds staring back at them. The opposition also risks becoming demoralized because they also see this world of total idiocy.”
This is a well-written piece which expands on the classic “why are you still posting on Twitter?” argument into something more nuanced – and depressing.
Fun and miscellany this week
1. Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Mac (Héliographe / Bluesky)
“Susan Kare is one of the greatest designers ever and this new talk from her is just fantastic, it’s a must watch.
I had never seen this wallpaper she designed using the 16 (bad) original Windows colors, it’s absolutely stunning.”
This is a great video/talk by a graphic arts legend, but I just loved the beauty of the tapestry/embroidery above using the extremely basic Windows colour palette. Limitation and constraint is truly a gift to creativity.
2. Ordinary Abundance (Jordan Dworkin)
“Edward Bellamy once imagined that music on demand would be “the limit of human felicity.” A modern apartment is full of things that once drew the same kind of awe.”
I can’t adequately explain what this is so just click it. As you scroll through it, animated pieces of a home slide into view along with historical prose pondering the future creation of each of these objects, or the everyday joy found in their existence. Go play with it.
3. A pub quiz story from a horror magazine journalist (John Bull)
“Many years ago, when I first started writing for The Dark Side (Britain’s oldest horror mag) we had a bit of a friendly pub quiz rivalry with Empire magazine for a while.
We kept losing though. Until one week we discovered a secret weapon. “
Read all the way to the end.