I asked Claude to stop "correcting" me when I refer to the Gaza genocide. It refused. I told it that I am applying the term in the same way as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B'tselem, genocide scholars and UN agencies. I am in the majority of Canadians who call it a genocide. I told … Continue reading Claude won’t let me talk about the Gaza genocide
Notes for US Performers in Montreal
Maj and I went to see a world-famous comedian perform in Montreal a week or so back. It was fun and funny, but he made some cringeworthy errors talking to the audience that cost him some flat deliveries and lost him some laughs. I've seen it a lot when American performers come to Montreal and … Continue reading Notes for US Performers in Montreal
New Year, New Me
One of the big changes I made at the end of 2025 was shaving off my moustache. I've had a moustache since mid-2020; I talked about my reasons for growing one in my post called My Moustache. I think it looked really good, and it made me feel connected to my Middle Eastern heritage -- … Continue reading New Year, New Me
Writing Recommendations Early
As I mentioned recently, I'm leaving my job at Open Earth Foundation to focus full time on the Social Web at SWF. One of the steps that I took before I left was writing out LinkedIn recommendations for everyone in my tech department at OEF, and many of my peers and others in the organisation. … Continue reading Writing Recommendations Early
Working full time on the Social Web
In January 2026, I will begin working full time in my role as Director at the Social Web Foundation. I am looking forward to the challenge of growing this young non-profit and fulfilling our mission to make a bigger, better Fediverse. As a refresher: I have been working in the area of federated social networks … Continue reading Working full time on the Social Web
US DOT Aviation Climate Plan
I am currently on the Amtrak Cascades line between Seattle and Vancouver, returning from the awesome SeaGL 2025 conference at the University of Washington. I decided to cancel the US leg of my flight home because of the airport chaos caused by cancelling 10% of domestic flights. But it got me thinking that reducing air … Continue reading US DOT Aviation Climate Plan
Birthday Inventory 2025
It's become a ritual for me to take a personal inventory on my birthday. I've done it in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017. If you follow me on social media and details of my personal and emotional life aren't interesting to you, please feel free to skip this post. I'm in … Continue reading Birthday Inventory 2025
One year after
Last year, on June 28, I was hit by a truck crossing the street in Healdsburg, California. It was a really life-changing experience; with broken ribs, face, and wrist, I spent a lot of time in a haze of pain, trying to minimize the shooting jabs that would happen if I grabbed something the wrong … Continue reading One year after
Me on The Vergecast
Another media appearance, this time on one of my favourite tech podcasts, the Vergecast.
How to register just enough domains
I have a problem with registering domains. When I have an idea for a Web site, software project, organization, or sometimes just a pun or joke, I'll go on a domain registrar site and see what related domains are available. I'll brainstorm a bit in the search screen to try some different options for names … Continue reading How to register just enough domains