Hello fun-loving law-abider 🦹

Let’s acknowledge there’s been radio silence and that I’m not sorry for it, because … I have a good excuse.

I wrote a novel!

It’s just a short novel, only 64,000 words which I’m told is an “8.2-hour read”. Before now, I’d never thought about reading in terms of time because surely everyone reads at their own speed, and how long it takes to finish is bound to depend on the book.

But some people do very much measure books by how many hours of attention they’re ‘expected’ to put in. Some book retailers even have categories for “30-minute reads” and “1-hour reads” with reading speed most likely based on averages calculated from research. My own at-home n=1 research failed to replicate such results but, FINE, I concede my experience is not universal.

I guess it’s like watching a movie or TV show: if you watch at the expected 1x speed, you’ll get through it in the expected 1x time. But if you’re rewinding, fast forwarding, or watching at turbo speed, your record will certainly differ.

By this measure, reading my book would take about as long as watching Thor: Love and Thunder 4 times at 1x speed. Though if you must choose a jacked-up Chris Hemsworth over this risqué space-fantasy novel I poured my heart and soul into (sob!), can I suggest watching Thor: Ragnarok 3.7 times at 1x speed instead.

If you’d like to know more about my book, reply to this email and brace yourself.

You’re gonna have to get very okay with a bunch of things 😅

Update on Soft Signal archives: You can now find them on my website. A dedicated RSS feed is coming soon for those of you who love interoperable technology.

Sandy.
sanlive.com

Ps. By the way, my friend Kerrianne has set up a mental health support service in the Perth hills. If you or someone you know in that area is in need of regular social support, she can be reached at kerriannejenkins.com.

🤔

An illuminating affair …

From August 2021 to February 2023, Minnechaug Regional High School couldn’t turn its lights off after the building’s smart lighting software became unfixably corrupted. The company that originally supplied the software had changed hands, and no manual override was designed into the system. The school district’s assistant superintendent of finance reported that this software corruption was costing taxpayers a “significant amount of money”. The problem was finally resolved earlier this year, after up to 7,000 lights spent a year and a half constantly burning.

It’s the stuff of urban (suburban?) legend, but good lessons come from this — such as the importance of outcome-oriented system design, preparing for supply chain failures, and appreciating the risks of relying too heavily on proprietary software.

It makes me think about how my own life is set up, and where things might one day fail. I suspect it’ll be the day some Big Tech jerk decides to remove greyscale mode from personal devices, but that day has not arrived yet.

👩🏻‍💻

Finally, here's what I'm up to now.