Kev QuirkModify

2026-08-01 22:28:00

Our new addition to the family, Nelly, has arrived and she's causing havoc already. 🤣

2026-08-01 20:46:00

Signed up for a Vinted account. My options to "secure my account" were adding a phone number, or to logout.

I fucking hate this side of the internet. Scumbags.

2026-08-01 15:47:00

Today is the first of August. Where the hell did the first two thirds of 2026 go??? 😵‍💫

2026-08-01 06:05:00

So many links in one post. I ended up going down all kinds of rabbit holes off the back of this single post (also the second time I've linked to Sal's blog today 🙃).

I discovered Coyote's blog, and Sylvia's. So went ahead and read some of their posts. I was already aware of Brennan's fantastic blog, but it's a great read, so check it out.

Anyway, I completely agree with what Sal, Coyote, and Brennan say in their posts - the backbone of the internet is the hyperlink, so go forth and link out to your fellow bloggers with reckless abandon.

It's what makes the web, the web. 🕸️

2026-07-31 17:52:00

Apparently left-handed people can't use a fountain pen as the left hand smudges the ink as they write. I call bullshit on that. I'm left-handed, and I use a fountain pen just fine - even with an "overhand" grip.

I read this post from Neal Stephenson a few days ago (thanks to Sal for sharing it), where Neal - a professional, left-handed writer who writes his books with a pen and paper - shares some of his experience and advice on writing with a fountain pen.

I've been back using fountain pens for a few months now and it's going great, but as Neal says - it's all about the paper. I use a decent quality notepad for writing my notes, with either a £30 Lamy Safari fountain pen, or a ~£100 Kaweco AL Sport. Both work great and I'm yet to find myself with pen on my hand. Here's an example of me writing in my notebook, using both my Lamy and Kaweco.

As you can see, I have an overhand grip where my hand swipes across the ink as I write, but the ink is dry by the time my hand gets there. Both these pens have a medium nib too.

So if you're left-handed and think you can't use a fountain pen, you can! You just need some decent paper.

2026-07-30 23:59:00

So much of this post resonated with me and aligned closely with my reasons to step away from Fosstodon. Being a fediverse server admin is a thankless job and as Jorijn says:

I find myself feeling more angry or discouraged after spending time as an admin, and that’s not what I want from social media or a volunteer project.

Over a year on since I stepped away from the Fosstodon team, I'm much happier now, but the experience has tainted my experience of social media. These days I probably visit Fosstodon maybe once per week. Every post I write is written here, on my site, and syndicated over there. I feel this is much better for me personally, as it keeps me away from the latest drama.

When I do go visit the timeline, it's usually fun because it's fleeting. I don't have time to get involved in the latest drama. I go, check notifications, quickly peruse the timeline, and leave. It's a much healthier way of engaging, I think.

More broadly, I think the issue with admin and mod burnout on the fediverse is what will limit it in the long run. It's almost entirely propped up by volunteers, who don't want to be involved with the drama, or be attacked for making a decision you don't agree with. And as a result, servers like toot.community fall by the wayside.

I don't know what the solution is here - I actually don't think there is one. It's a fundamental limitation of the way in which the fediverse is architected and as a result, another great server is gone. 😔