A year of National Trust Visits A year ago my wife received a joint National Trust membership from her grandparents for her birthday. We visited 24 places last year using the membership

Reflections on a year of National Trust membership.

www.jamesleighton.com/a-year-of-national-trust...

#100DaystoOffload #NationalTrust

Unsolicited Swag There's so much junk https://mike.helmers.me/blog/unsolicitated-swag/ #Swag #Waste #Consumerism #Rant #100DaysToOffload

Unsolicited Swag If you've ever attended any type of conference, you've probably come home with a collection of SWAG aka, stuff we all get. Within the marketing world, these are "promotional products". Pens, socks, flash-drives, coffee mugs, Yeti tumblers, more pens, balloons, fidgets, stress balls, hand sanitizer, towels, shirts, chip clips, water bottles, and more! The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) performed a study in 2024, and discovered that companies spent over $26.6 Billion purchasing these products. As time's gone on, I find myself collecting less and less from vendors. Why? It's mostly garbage. I don't want it. I have SWAG sitting in piles at home, that I'll either donate or toss. Speaking of donate, many thrift stores are great places to find second-hand SWAG. Because someone else already realized it's junk. Like, how many tote bags with a company logo do I need? An extra one per conference? Probably not. ## My Ethical and Environmental Concerns Elizabeth Segran lays out in an article for Fast Company the environmental tole of these products. There's a handful of companies operating in the promotional goods space. All competing to give you the cheapest garbage. Drawing parallels to Temu-style fast fashion she explains: > Ensuring an ethical supply chain and materials with the smallest carbon footprint, of course, tends to increase costs. We see a parallel here with the fast fashion industry, which also focuses on making things as inexpensively as possible, so you can buy a T-shirt for a few bucks at H&M or Forever21. But over the last few years, reporting on these practices has drawn attention to their enormously damaging environmental footprint, which includes producing water pollution, toxic chemicals, and terrible waste. The human impact is just as terrifying: Workers at low-cost factories that make fast fashion products often labor under inhumane conditions, and many have died because of a lack of workplace safety standards. These are cheap products built on exploitation. So these are bad before you decide that you don't _actually_ need that tote that says "Accenture". Even switching from plastic to cotton bags just impacts the environment in different ways. ## Broader issues with Consumerism The next time you're offered something for free at a conference, ask yourself, "Do I need this?". The answer is probably "No". And while it may not feel like it, every little bit helps. And I'm guilty of this as well, I see something and get excited! Two weeks later, it's in a pile, never to be used again. But when I can make a difference, I want to. This statement from u/Denden798 on Reddit reminded me of this: > A reminder that the choices we make at work can be most impactful. If we can, help our companies choose to buy less stuff So, what's the point of this rant? Lets all try to be more intentional about collecting junk in our lives, and discourage the creation and proliferation of it when we can. Thanks for taking the time to ready. Go look at the marvelous Miss Wendy as a palate cleanser. * * * #100DaysToOffload 19 / 100 posts written

Unsolicited Swag There's so much junk https://mike.helmers.me/blog/unsolicitated-swag/ #Swag #Waste #Consumerism #Rant #100DaysToOffload

Unsolicited Swag If you've ever attended any type of conference, you've probably come home with a collection of SWAG aka, stuff we all get. Within the marketing world, these are "promotional products". Pens, socks, flash-drives, coffee mugs, Yeti tumblers, more pens, balloons, fidgets, stress balls, hand sanitizer, towels, shirts, chip clips, water bottles, and more! The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) performed a study in 2024, and discovered that companies spent over $26.6 Billion purchasing these products. As time's gone on, I find myself collecting less and less from vendors. Why? It's mostly garbage. I don't want it. I have SWAG sitting in piles at home, that I'll either donate or toss. Speaking of donate, many thrift stores are great places to find second-hand SWAG. Because someone else already realized it's junk. Like, how many tote bags with a company logo do I need? An extra one per conference? Probably not. ## My Ethical and Environmental Concerns Elizabeth Segran lays out in an article for Fast Company the environmental tole of these products. There's a handful of companies operating in the promotional goods space. All competing to give you the cheapest garbage. Drawing parallels to Temu-style fast fashion she explains: > Ensuring an ethical supply chain and materials with the smallest carbon footprint, of course, tends to increase costs. We see a parallel here with the fast fashion industry, which also focuses on making things as inexpensively as possible, so you can buy a T-shirt for a few bucks at H&M or Forever21. But over the last few years, reporting on these practices has drawn attention to their enormously damaging environmental footprint, which includes producing water pollution, toxic chemicals, and terrible waste. The human impact is just as terrifying: Workers at low-cost factories that make fast fashion products often labor under inhumane conditions, and many have died because of a lack of workplace safety standards. These are cheap products built on exploitation. So these are bad before you decide that you don't _actually_ need that tote that says "Accenture". Even switching from plastic to cotton bags just impacts the environment in different ways. ## Broader issues with Consumerism The next time you're offered something for free at a conference, ask yourself, "Do I need this?". The answer is probably "No". And while it may not feel like it, every little bit helps. And I'm guilty of this as well, I see something and get excited! Two weeks later, it's in a pile, never to be used again. But when I can make a difference, I want to. This statement from u/Denden798 on Reddit reminded me of this: > A reminder that the choices we make at work can be most impactful. If we can, help our companies choose to buy less stuff So, what's the point of this rant? Lets all try to be more intentional about collecting junk in our lives, and discourage the creation and proliferation of it when we can. Thanks for taking the time to ready. Go look at the marvelous Miss Wendy as a palate cleanser. * * * #100DaysToOffload 19 / 100 posts written

Unsolicited Swag There's so much junk https://mike.helmers.me/blog/unsolicitated-swag/ #Swag #Waste #Consumerism #Rant #100DaysToOffload

Notes hebdromadaires 36 – lamecarlate.net Sucre et vie éternelle ; arc-en-ciel et baume à lèvres ; rien, rien, rien, rien à cacher.

Sucre et vie éternelle ; arc-en-ciel et baume à lèvres ; rien, rien, rien, rien à cacher.

Notes hebdromadaires 36 : https://lamecarlate.net/carnet/notes-hebdromadaires-36/

#carnet #blog #liens #100DaysToOffload (30/100)

Cut Worms, Transmitter (Jagjaguwar, 2026) The Cut Worms have transformed from the solo vision of songwriter Max Clarke to a collective of collaborators, with Jeff Tweedy jumping on board as a producer and player. Stri...

Cut Worms' Transmitter lands in 2026 with Jeff Tweedy producing. Kinksian jangle, 21st century loneliness.

Full #Larrys100 review: write.as/larrys100/cu...

#Music #MusicReview #Albums #IndieRock #PowerPop #100WordReviews #Drabble #CutWorms #Transmitter #JeffTweedy #100DaysToOffload

Session de cuisine des 4 et 5 avril – lamecarlate.net Je suis zorganisée en cuisine.

Je suis zorganisée en cuisine.

Session de cuisine des 4 et 5 avril : lamecarlate.net/carnet/session-de-cuisin...

#blog #carnet #cuisine #vegan #100DaysToOffload

Week Notes - 2026-14 This week I spent most of my spare time reading, I also played a little bit of Dragon Quest, and we finished watching the second season of Last One Laughing ...

Week Notes: 2026-14

https://www.jamesleighton.com/week-notes/2026/14/

#WeekNotes #100DaysToOffload

Irisé – lamecarlate.net Un ciel sur le sol.

Un ciel sur le sol.

Irisé : https://lamecarlate.net/carnet/irise/

#carnet #blog #100DaysToOffload (27/100)

Violet – lamecarlate.net Juste une jolie fleur en passant.

Juste une jolie fleur en passant.

Violet : https://lamecarlate.net/carnet/violet/

#carnet #blog #bloomscrolling #100DaysToOffload (26/100)

Original post on hachyderm.io

#Sandogasa update - now integrating our standalone tools we use for @centos #CentOSHyperscale work, as well as a long-overdue revamp of #ebranch for those who often backport large package sets from @fedora to #EPEL !

michel-slm.name/posts/2026-04-02-sandoga... […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

I tried to post something lighthearted for #April1st . I might have missed the mark, perhaps - I'll let you be the judge! Also there'll be a poll in the replies.

michel-slm.name/posts/2026-04-01-dnd-ali...

This post is day 34 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge […]

I'm back on Astro, and I don't think I'll be leaving again - Jarema's digital garden After months of over-engineering my site with Next.js and fighting the framework, I finally migrated my personal site back to Astro. I wish I'd done it sooner.

New blog post: I'm back on Astro, and I don't think I'll be leaving again :D

I dropped Next.js and went back to Astro. Build time cut in half, page weight down from 3.9MB to 506KB. I wish I'd done it sooner :p

jarema.me/blog/2026/04...

#blog #tech #webdev #astro #nextjs #100DaysToOffload (3/100)

Notes hebdromadaires 34 – lamecarlate.net Voyage en train ; pain d’épices interdit ; traumas ; poney rose ; Samson ; Culture ; IAg ; poisson magique & petite chatte mignonne.

Voyage en train ; pain d'épices interdit ; traumas ; poney rose ; Samson ; Culture ; IAg ; poisson magique & petite chatte mignonne.

Notes hebdromadaires 34 : https://lamecarlate.net/carnet/notes-hebdromadaires-34/

#blog #carnet #100DaysToOffload (25/100)

List of Helpful Mastodon Resources Handmade list of resources for the federated social network Mastodon covering, how to use, find an instance, find people, tools and more.

Updated: List of Helpful Mastodon Resources

- Add Posty Link

Handmade list of resources for the federated social network Mastodon covering, how to use, find an instance, find people, tools and more.

www.adamsdesk.com/posts/list-m...

#blog #mastodon #Fediverse #100DaysToOffload

Kahi and Lua: Tales of the First and Second Melissa Llanes Brownlee, 2022 A novella in flash fiction chapters about Hawai'ian gods living in late-stage capitalism. Kahi, the chaotic destroyer, and Lua, the philosophical cr...

A novella-in-flash about Hawai'ian gods navigating late-stage capitalism.

Through keen observations of modern life and immortality, @lumchanmfa.bsky.social uses the characters to reflect on the beauty & sadness of existence.

write.as/larrys100/ka...

#Books #100daysToOffload #flashfiction

Tigers, mice, and strawberries oh my!? What do you do while you wait? https://mike.helmers.me/blog/tiger-and-strawberries/ #Philosophy #Zen #100DaysToOffload

Tigers, mice, and strawberries oh my!? # A Parable _- Zen Flesh, Zen Bones #18_ > Buddha told a parable in a sutra: > > A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger waited to eat him. Only the vine sustained him. > > Then two mice, one white and one black, began little by little to gnaw away the vine. > > The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. > > _How sweet it tasted._ This is another favorite koan of mine. It feels fairly straightforward. What do you do when you're stuck somewhere and can't escape? There are times where we are in a no-win situation. We can't always be Captain Kirk when he was confronted with the Kobayashi Maru, where he changed the rules of the game. As much as I aspire to not be in a no-win situation, life can be like that, even in small ways. The Parable above, shows that life is fleeting. Time, like the mice, nibbles at us. So what do we do? We make the most of it. We eat the strawberries. One of the outcomes of my [depression] journey is that I work hard to find joy when I can. What the Army used to call "hunt the good stuff" in their Master Resilience Training (MRT). When I was at basic training or when I deployed, there was often very little I could do to change my circumstances. So I found the joy in sun on my back while eating an MRE. Or enjoying the beach, even if I missed my son deeply. Finding the joy is what keeps me going. It allows me to enjoy the shitty times more and focus on what I _**CAN**_ control. It's made me healthier, and I like to think, sets a good example for my son. It's even shaped how I approach other people's problems. I'm not ignoring the bad, I'm looking for the good. Because without the good, what's the point? Eat the strawberries, enjoy the sun, and hug your loved ones. Life can be hard. Might as well enjoy what's in reach. * * * #100DaysToOffload 18 / 100 posts written

Tigers, mice, and strawberries oh my!? What do you do while you wait? https://mike.helmers.me/blog/tiger-and-strawberries/ #Philosophy #Zen #100DaysToOffload

Tigers, mice, and strawberries oh my!? # A Parable _- Zen Flesh, Zen Bones #18_ > Buddha told a parable in a sutra: > > A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger waited to eat him. Only the vine sustained him. > > Then two mice, one white and one black, began little by little to gnaw away the vine. > > The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. > > _How sweet it tasted._ This is another favorite koan of mine. It feels fairly straightforward. What do you do when you're stuck somewhere and can't escape? There are times where we are in a no-win situation. We can't always be Captain Kirk when he was confronted with the Kobayashi Maru, where he changed the rules of the game. As much as I aspire to not be in a no-win situation, life can be like that, even in small ways. The Parable above, shows that life is fleeting. Time, like the mice, nibbles at us. So what do we do? We make the most of it. We eat the strawberries. One of the outcomes of my [depression] journey is that I work hard to find joy when I can. What the Army used to call "hunt the good stuff" in their Master Resilience Training (MRT). When I was at basic training or when I deployed, there was often very little I could do to change my circumstances. So I found the joy in sun on my back while eating an MRE. Or enjoying the beach, even if I missed my son deeply. Finding the joy is what keeps me going. It allows me to enjoy the shitty times more and focus on what I _**CAN**_ control. It's made me healthier, and I like to think, sets a good example for my son. It's even shaped how I approach other people's problems. I'm not ignoring the bad, I'm looking for the good. Because without the good, what's the point? Eat the strawberries, enjoy the sun, and hug your loved ones. Life can be hard. Might as well enjoy what's in reach. * * * #100DaysToOffload 18 / 100 posts written

Tigers, mice, and strawberries oh my!? What do you do while you wait? #Philosophy #Zen #100DaysToOffload https://mike.helmers.me/blog/tiger-and-strawberries/

Progressive Web Apps What's a progressive web app? https://mike.helmers.me/blog/pwa/ #Apps #Web #Pwa #100DaysToOffload

Progressive Web Apps # Progressive Web Apps As you may know, I like self-hosting things. Cloud storage, recipe books, media, and more. One of the more limiting factors with some of these tools/systems is the lack of a mobile app. And that makes sense. Many times, these open-source developers are building software with limited resources. So having an Android app, an iPhone app, and a web app is a lot. Enter the world of the progressive web application, or PWA. ## What are they? A PWA is a web application that can be installed on a device of your choosing. It's not tailored for just Android or iOS. I think that's pretty cool. Essentially, your phone's web browser creates a cached version of the website, allowing you to access the site as a standalone app. ## Why are they cool There is an open standard for these, using a "web app manifest" and a "service worker." These define the app and allow it to communicate with the backend server if needed. PWAs are primarily written in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — which means they can be developed universally, not limited to a specific operating system. These apps also take up much less space on your phone. They run faster. They sync to a website, so you're always running the latest version. ## Where they fall short PWAs can't use your phone's hardware as well as a native application. So a fitness app would be limited in what sensors it can use. Apple doesn't provide full support for PWAs. This is a business decision, as Apple prefers you use their App Store, their own way of enshittifying. ## Final thoughts I think they're neat. I like technologies that help you escape vendor lock-in. I shouldn't have to pick between phones based on what applications I want to use. I should be able to use what I want, on what I want. And PWAs enable that. ### Examples worth checking out Check out the list below of PWAs that I think are neat. Merry Sky in particular is used daily for my weather questions. Merry Sky - Weather App quickstuff.app - Neat utilities progressivewebapproom - An app store of PWAs guitar-tuner - A guitar tuner * * * #100DaysToOffload 17 / 100 posts written

Progressive Web Apps What's a progressive web app? #Apps #Web #Pwa #100DaysToOffload https://mike.helmers.me/blog/pwa/

Progressive Web Apps # Progressive Web Apps As you may know, I like self-hosting things. Cloud storage, recipe books, media, and more. One of the more limiting factors with some of these tools/systems is the lack of a mobile app. And that makes sense. Many times, these open-source developers are building software with limited resources. So having an Android app, an iPhone app, and a web app is a lot. Enter the world of the progressive web application, or PWA. ## What are they? A PWA is a web application that can be installed on a device of your choosing. It's not tailored for just Android or iOS. I think that's pretty cool. Essentially, your phone's web browser creates a cached version of the website, allowing you to access the site as a standalone app. ## Why are they cool There is an open standard for these, using a "web app manifest" and a "service worker." These define the app and allow it to communicate with the backend server if needed. PWAs are primarily written in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — which means they can be developed universally, not limited to a specific operating system. These apps also take up much less space on your phone. They run faster. They sync to a website, so you're always running the latest version. ## Where they fall short PWAs can't use your phone's hardware as well as a native application. So a fitness app would be limited in what sensors it can use. Apple doesn't provide full support for PWAs. This is a business decision, as Apple prefers you use their App Store, their own way of enshittifying. ## Final thoughts I think they're neat. I like technologies that help you escape vendor lock-in. I shouldn't have to pick between phones based on what applications I want to use. I should be able to use what I want, on what I want. And PWAs enable that. ### Examples worth checking out Check out the list below of PWAs that I think are neat. Merry Sky in particular is used daily for my weather questions. Merry Sky - Weather App quickstuff.app - Neat utilities progressivewebapproom - An app store of PWAs guitar-tuner - A guitar tuner * * * #100DaysToOffload 17 / 100 posts written

Progressive Web Apps What's a progressive web app? https://mike.helmers.me/blog/pwa/ #Apps #Web #Pwa #100DaysToOffload

Original post on hachyderm.io

Announcing sandogasa (why? it's a Japanese straw hat often associated with post-apocalyptic robots) - a collection of tools and libraries for @fedora packaging workflows.

With emoji support!

Status: 🥱 out of hours […]

Original post on hachyderm.io

Hi, my name is Michel, and I (reluctantly) use #LLM

Since I'm about to announce the existence of some tools I wrote to help with some workflows in the Linux distribution space, I figure it's only fair if I first write about why I ended up (having to) use LLM […]