hen I was about 7 Take That was created right here in Manchester, just like Oasis, Simply Red, and many other excellent groups/bands/singers. Take That was modeled after the first so-called “boy band” (in the US) and rose to fame in the 90s. Then something went wrong (people pursuing solo careers, with only “Robbie” becoming the “Beyonce” or “Michael Jackson” or “Justin Timberlake” of the group). In the past 3 nights Take That performed the same old show (“the circus”) that goes back 1.5 decades and last night I could very well hear their performance of “Shine”, followed by fireworks, flares, and colourful smoke. They will be back here for another night on July 1 (Wednesday) and then return to their hiatus (early retirement at age 55).

The limelight (or “fame” more broadly) brings ups and downs because there are highs and lows (sharp contrast apart). One day you’re practising dance routines (choreography) for several months in a row, probably in some basement or small studio, days later you’re “a star” (not for long); it’s not like they spontaneously show up on stage in front of large stadiums and the promotions (marketing) of their concert cost a small fortune, set aside salaries for extras, cost of equipment, security and so on. So the “glory” associated with entertainment – including football – is typically short-lived and temporary. Many of these people end up gaining a lot of weight, doing illegal drugs, even dying young like Ricky Hatton. They brought his dead body to that same stadium only months ago.

As Hatton found out, “fame” is not the thing to strive for; what matters is consistent delivery of something valuable (his rival/friend Manny found out the same thing, then explored inroads or a dabble in national politics to no avail).

When bands perform in their (much) older days hits they had in the 80s and 90s it means they are trying to relive the past instead of offering something new. Very few bands or artists can accomplish this; the inertia is dependent on a cult-like followers’ “base”.

T has been almost 43 years since Richard M. Stallman (“RMS”), “The Last MIT Hacker”, started GNU. He was about 30 at the time and he later quit his job to focus on GNU and avoid a conflict of interest.

I quit my job when I was 40 to focus on various endeavours and I have no regrets; if anything, there’s room to regret not doing so sooner. I could have done and written so much more (had I quit sooner), but at least I saved enough money to defend against lawfare.

Frugal lifestyles have earned credibility (resurgence) as the economies sank, energy became more scarce (or expensive), and political problems more profound. If you’re not seeking to become part of the solution you might be a passive component (or “cog”) of the problem.

The world needs more activists, not more capital.

am turning 45 this year. In December. 45 was the age of Pep Guardiola when he embarked on a new challenge by taking over (not just as head coach but as manager) a club that had potential but not (yet) many trophies and prestige.

45 is an OK age. Not too young, not too old. Not inexperienced, not yet frail.

The final match of “the season” is about to kick off; it’ll be a French winner versus this year’s English leader (based on the PL). There are lots of positive headlines from the Red Devils in Manchester and also from the Blues, though the manager leaving along with key colleagues gives rise to concerns and bittersweet sadness like Alex Ferguson’s departure from the Red Devils, leaving the whole club in “forever limbo” and no very major title (minor trophies only).

They say “life goes on” and after half a decade with Germany’s leading club and years in Spain’s (at the time) leading club he is ready to start a new challenge. Power to him! All the best! We saw him 6 days ago just 50 meters from our home.

To me, the near-term future is clear (I said the same in a blog post when I turned 40); I need to – not only want to – promote Software Freedom and justice. Those two concepts are connected and they also involve journalism, particularly exposing corruption. It’s expensive to do so, but it must be done. If not us, then who? And if not right now, then when?

People who think they can just “tire down” activists are making flawed assumptions about motivation, attribution, attrition, and the power of collective goodwill. We now have barristers again.

So provided one is patient enough, things go one’s way. It just takes a lot of hard work.

Many animals can coexist with many other animals; can humans coexist with other humans?

think it’s fair to say that I can adapt and work with almost anybody. Not everybody, definitely no absolutism here. Regardless of beliefs or nationality, for example, I’ve managed to work with fundamentally different people both personally and professionally. I realise that not everyone can do this, and there are many reasons this can be difficult.

There are still people I cannot have a calm and constructive conversation with, but that typically boils down not to culture but to basic things like nonsensical core. For example, people who judge people based on what car they drive are typically toxic people; people whose whole life is based on reality [sic] TV shows are hard to converse with, even if they’re not obnoxious. It’s just shallow and boring.

It’s probably important for people to assess whether they can get along with many other groups of people. And if not, why not?

IT will soon be 7 years since COVID-19 began. It’s hard for me to grasp or get around the fact that 7 years ago we had the party which preceded the pandemic and it was only 3 years after “Pep” began at ManCity. Sense of time seems to have been warped somewhat.

Years ago I kept track of excess deaths in the UK. Maybe that has improved, maybe not. I no longer keep track of it; it has been years since I last checked. I moved on. I do other things.

The gym shut down in 2020 and a year later we altogether stopped going there (after 20 years in that gym, for me at least) despite it still being open. Life has changed so much not due to the pandemic per se but factors that changed at that time.

ODAY it’s a holiday here (a ‘Bank Holiday’, not about banks anymore) and it’s exceptionally hot. We will be taking a break and try to avoid the overbearing heat.

Speaking of heat, there have been attempts by aggressive Americans to “put my feet to the fire” to distract from the fact there’s Microsoft corruption, bribes given to US officials, and an arrest for strangling women. In one case, there’s also a spouse accusing the husband of kidnapping, torture and rape.

Apparently I, for merely talking about it, am the “real problem”.

SLAPP in a nutshell:

his morning I was astounded to discover, and only because I was vigilant enough, that the integrity of my bicycle was no more. The front wheel was jittering a little bit just when I was about to embark and set off (and after inflating the tyres). Upon closer inspection a part of the mechanism (see above) was totally missing – it had been stolen, it could not possibly fall off without me noticing it and without a hell of a long-winded effort of tampering, unscrewing, etc.

Who stole it and why? I don’t know. I probably will never know.

If I didn’t check carefully enough and simply rode off, there would be a real chance of an unforeseen accident or high-speed fall (basically a wheel falling off completely due to no stern support). I read about such things online a decade ago; sabotage like this is sometimes done intentionally.

If someone stole it to make or save money, then this person has total disregard for the safety of other people. If this was meant to hurt me, I would never be able to prove it.

The search for a replacement part continues (whatever it is called).