Author Archives: jcs

Another Step for Open Access in the UK

Posted on 2021-08-23 by jcs

The UK is already a leader in achieving open access for journal articles but have recently taken a further step. The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a major funder of UK research, has announced that starting in April 2022, researchers … Continue reading →

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The Most Useful Emacs Operations

Posted on 2021-08-22 by jcs

The other day it popped into my mind to wonder what the most useful Emacs editing functions are. Various people—like Xah Lee—have taken actual measurements of the most used functions. The most often used function is, of course, self-insert-command, which … Continue reading →

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How To Reach Apple

Posted on 2021-08-21 by jcs

A week ago I wrote about my difficulties in contacting Apple about my concerns regarding their CSAM scanning. In addition to signing an online petition, I wanted to personally reach out to Apple and tell them of my disappointment at … Continue reading →

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The Tale of the Fake Sign

Posted on 2021-08-20 by jcs

Even though it’s Friday, this is not a red meat Friday post. But it is a whimsical tale to serve as a digestif for your week. It’s a charming story that is reminiscent of the famous MIT hacks except that … Continue reading →

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Emacs for Screenwriters

Posted on 2021-08-19 by jcs

As regular readers know, I’m fascinated with how non-technical users employ Emacs in their work. Paul Rankin has a video on how to set up fountain-mode for screenwriting. Artistic people are like the rest of us in that they like … Continue reading →

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Amazon and Walmart

Posted on 2021-08-18 by jcs

Back in April, I gave a status update on my quest to go walletless. In that post, I wrote that although I had been a frequent Walmart customer, COVID-19 had taught me that Amazon would deliver to my door the … Continue reading →

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War Is Peace

Posted on 2021-08-17 by jcs

WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH That’s the motto of the party in Orwell’s 1984. Apple’s Craig Federighi appears to want to add a fourth item: SURVEILLANCE IS PRIVACY Big Brother would approve. Federighi gave an interview … Continue reading →

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In Defense of C

Posted on 2021-08-16 by jcs

I spent most of my career writing C code. I’ve also got an old-timey and grumpy outlook so I’m inclined to look on those disparaging C with a certain skepticism. Often, complaints about C are easy to dismiss as the … Continue reading →

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Prettifying Org-mode

Posted on 2021-08-15 by jcs

Peter Prevos has a nice post in his using Emacs to be more productive series. The post, Ricing Org Mode: A Beautiful Writing Environment, discusses how to make the org-mode buffer “prettier.” It’s very much like Abhinav Tushar’s post that … Continue reading →

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Apple Doesn’t Want to Hear from Me

Posted on 2021-08-14 by jcs

Following up on Thursday’s post, I thought I’d let Apple know directly of my concern about their new CSAM monitoring. I’d already signed the open letter to Apple but I thought it was worthwhile to send a personal message as … Continue reading →

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