Getting Stuff Done – Page 2

A short story about a drawer slider bracket, 3D printing, and the internet

Among my numerous hobbies is 3-D printing. My wife bought me my first “put-it-together-yourself” kit back in 2016. Since then I’ve upgraded to a Bambu Lab X1, which is as close to a home appliance as 3D printing has ever been. It literally has never failed me short of my own errors.

Recently, my mom called me up to tell me that multiple drawers in her kitchen cabinets were broken. The rails the drawer slides along had fallen down, and the drawers were no longer horizontally level. Her husband took one apart and found that the bracket that holds the rail to the back of the cabinet had broken.

She looked online to see if she could find a replacement part, but was unsuccessful. Knowing I have a 3D printer, she asked if I could print a replacement. Always eager for a fun challenge (and because I’m a good son), I said sure.

Before I started measuring and modeling the part, I took a look online myself to see if I could find replacement parts. Sure enough, there were other people were having the same difficulty sourcing a replacement part.

So I started measuring and preparing a model.

A few minutes into doing this I thought, “Wait a second, I wonder if someone else has come up with the same solution and already made a model?”. Guess what? Someone had!

In 2017 bmonnin created and uploaded their model for others to use. They had the same problem my mom had!

“I had several brackets that support the drawer slider on my kitchen cabinet drawers break. After looking around at several different big boxes and online I couldn’t find the same bracket anywhere.

So I got to printing.

A few minutes later, a solid replacement for the part was born.

I printed it in red because red makes it go faster

There is a slight, almost imperceptible, difference between the original and the model. The lip that holds the rail in place is on both the top and bottom in the original. Assumedly so the manufacturer could print one mold and flip it for either side of the drawer. bmonnin’s model only has the lip on one side. They provided a mirrored version though, so all is well!

Since my mom needed more than one, I set up the X1 to print enough for all her drawers.

A few hours later, and less than half a spool of filament, I was done.

The next time I saw my mom, I handed a box of brackets off to her and Ken. A few days later she shared these photos.

Huzzah! A resounding success. I hope they last as long as the old ones (26 years, since the house was built).

This is one of those mundane, but also incredibly interconnected, stories where technology – combined with the social aspects of being able to share information easily and freely – come together to create a tangible solution to a problem. A small problem in this instance, but I think an example of how even larger problems can be solved when we think and work together.

How to fix sync issues with Apple Photos on macOS

Notice that a selection of photos on one Mac are not syncing to the rest of your devices.
Restart Photos.
That didn’t work.
Restart the Mac.
Nope.
Open Activity Monitor and kill all processes with the word “photo”.
Hmm. No change.
Kill “bird”. You’re not sure what it does, but the internet says it’s part of the problem.
Nothing.
Delete the Syndication.photoslibrary deep in ~/Library/Photos.
Wait and be patient. Maybe days?
Ok, turn off iCloud in Photos preferences. Get nervous because that sounds dangerous. Wait, wasn’t all of this kinda risky?
Turn on iCloud in Photos preferences. Wait while you waste bandwidth and time.
The photos are syncing. Well some of them. Not ones that are edited. For some reason.
Wait, again.
Those dozen or so photos are still not syncing.
Rotate those few images to see if that helps.
It says it’s syncing! Yay
It does not sync all of them.
Quit Photos and then back to Activity Monitor again. Kill all process with the word “photo”.
Restart Photos. Wait.
Nothing at all.
Repair the library.
That was not it. Wait more than 24 hours.
Create an album with photos that won’t sync.
Share that album.
That almost works, except for any photos from the recent import that were edited.
So then you turn off (and on again) iCloud in Photos preferences.
Wait two days and it’s all fixed. ಠ_ಠ

Friends Don’t Let Friends Use Chrome

Today, ad blockers and privacy apps can ship filter list updates themselves, often using giant open-source community lists. Manifest V3 will stop this by limiting what Google describes “remotely hosted code.” All updates, even to benign things like a filtering list, will need to happen through full extension updates through the Chrome Web Store. They will all be subject to Chrome Web Store reviews process, and that comes with a significant time delay.
Ron Amado for Ars Technica

How is this not monopolistic abuse by the owner of both the largest video platform and the most widely used internet browser on the planet?

I’m a weirdo Safari user (There’s dozens of us!). I’d encourage folks to use Safari or Firefox. Not Chrome or Edge. Just as importantly, install a good ad blocker. AdGuard, Ublock, Ghostly, etc. Both on your desktop and your mobile devices. It will save you from predatory ads that track you across the internet, malicious code in poorly moderated ad networks, a terrible user experience of junk thrown in your face, and better battery life.

Subscribe and support the sites you use, some of which include a version of their service without ads!

Delayed thoughts from Wikimania 2023

I had this bit saved in my drafts for a while now. Getting it out there even if unfinished.

—

I’m currently sitting in a gigantic convention center. It’s part of a larger multi-block series of interconnected hotels and shopping malls. It’s in Singapore, which is 9,545 miles from my home. The furthest distance I’ve ever been from home, my family.

It isn’t the first time I’ve traveled since Covid. But it is the first time being around this many people and having to be “on” for long periods of time.

Im surrounded by happy people who are excited to be with one another.

It’s overwhelming, in what is quickly becoming “in a good way”.

Seven Years – or thereabouts

In January I will have been at the Wikimedia Foundation for 7 years. ¹ My role has changed a lot over those seven years, as has the organization and the wider Wikimedia movement. At the end of this year, I wanted to take a second to write down what I do and why. This is a pseudo-introduction post for social media (where I don’t have much of a presence) and a chance to pen a, “What I do for a living” blog post.

One of the big things I do is help with movement-facing communications stuff for the Wikimedia Foundation. The non-profit that supports Wikipedia and other free-knowledge projects. My job is to get teams at the Foundation to talk to the volunteers and share what they’re doing. Lots of behind-the-scenes feedback and input on how to find folks and where to talk to them – before we go and talk to them!

That’s always ongoing, never ending work that most of the time works well. Teams write their thinking down and understand what the community values (no surprises!). Folks know about the work we’re doing and can get involved. We understand their needs and concerns and address them. I try to be the voice of the community – as best any one person can – in internal conversations. So we’re as understanding and aligned as a 700+ org of folks, the majority of which are not contributors and are new to this community, can be.

The other big thing I do is help run a community news and event blog called Diff. https://diff.wikimedia.org This is also ongoing, never ending work, that most of the time works well. It’s the more fun, direct work I do in support of the first big thing I mentioned.

The name is super dorky. It’s named after the “differential” view between two edits on a wiki and the difference volunteers make in their work. I get to help share what people are working on from around the world in the pursuit of free knowledge. I’m like the hype man for the Wikimedia movement. Ok, maybe just a hype man, but I love my job and feel very lucky that I get to do this for a living.

In 2022, Diff saw 188,427 visitors making up 386,331 views. We published 640 posts in dozens of languages from close to 300 authors. We have over 720 email subscribers. On the scale of Wikipedia that’s small potatoes (English Wikipedia saw 96 Billion views in 2022), but on the scale of the movement of volunteers – editors, organizers, affiliates, staff, etc. – I’m happy with what we’ve done. For comparison we say we have about 300k contributors across all projects and languages, so to reach 188k “visitors” of that group, and a little beyond, is pretty good in my book.

Diff is very open. You can login with your Wikimedia account and submit a draft. I keep the site running on the software/feature side of things, documentation, and helping review the drafts that come in and answer questions from authors. That last bit takes up a lot of time. I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to write a post and I am here for giving folks the platform and support to share their work.

Here’s a short list of some of my favorite posts this year.

Araisyohei, a volunteer from Japan takes on a behind-the-scenes tour of OYA Soichi Library, a small magazine library in Tokyo. There’s some great photos of their event and an even more amazing video tour of this tiny library embedded in the post.

JA: https://diff.wikimedia.org/ja/2022/06/13/日本随一の雑誌専門図書館でエディッタソンを有/

EN: https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/06/22/editathon-at-oya-soichi-library-japanese-magazine-library/

Every year Jimmy Wales celebrates Wikimedians for their efforts. Expanded in recent years, the “Wikimedian of the Year” awards are always a highlight. These folks are doing such unique and important work in their free time.

EN (Numerous language selectable in the drop-down): https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/08/14/celebrating-the-2022-wikimedians-of-the-year/

One of the folks who won an award this year was Annie Rauwerda, from @depthsofwikipedia fame. I was fortunate enough to interview Annie in late 2021, right as she was blowing up. #humblebrag

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2021/12/07/from-the-depths-of-wikipedia-an-interview-with-wikimedian-and-influencer-annie-rauwerda/

Her work now has its own Wikipedia article in eight languages!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depths_of_Wikipedia

Wikimedians host photo contests throughout the year on various themes. Wiki loves Folklore, Wiki Loves Monuments, Wiki Loves Africa, Picture of the Year, and more. These contests capture the diversity of life on the planet and the amazing talents volunteers have – and share freely. I’m in awe and humbled every time we publish a recap of a contest. Here’s a recent one from the Wiki Loves Africa 2022 contest.

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/12/06/intimate-glimpses-of-home-expressed-in-wiki-loves-africas-photo-competition-on-wikipedia/

Another from April and the Wiki Loves Monuments 2021 contest.

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/04/20/take-a-journey-around-the-world-with-the-wiki-loves-monuments-winners-2021/

One of the cornerstones – maybe _the_ cornerstone of what makes Wikipedia work are citations to reliable sources. Access to these sources can be challenging. Many are behind paywalls or in journals that are hard to access. The Foundation helps by building a service called the Wikipedia Library, where volunteers can get free access to these sources to help create and improve articles.

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/01/19/the-wikipedia-library-accessing-free-reliable-sources-is-now-easier-than-ever/

I work with a lot of smart folks who are trying to figure out how to create, sustain, and grow healthy and independent communities. One way we do that is by developing programs, training, and resources for communities to succeed. In this three-part(!) series, Alex Stinson explores how organizing helps the movement grow in relation to our 2030 movement strategy.

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/04/05/part-i-anyone-can-edit-is-not-a-strategy-for-growing-the-wikimedia-movement/

Editing an encyclopedia seems like a boring, harmless endeavor. Until you realize that there are people who don’t want this to happen. They don’t like facts. Or laws that could greatly hinder how volunteers can contribute and what we’re able to host. Our legal department and our global advocacy team are some of the most caring, invested folks I know making sure people can express facts – and themselves – in areas of the world where that is dangerous.

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/07/12/what-does-the-wikimedia-foundations-human-rights-impact-assessment-mean-for-the-wikimedia-movement/

We also love to republish articles from elsewhere on the web. Wikimedian and deep learning enthusiast Colin Morris shared his work in trying to discover the _least_ viewed article on Wikipedia.

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/06/06/in-search-of-the-least-viewed-article-on-wikipedia/

Last, but not least, our product tames take building software for everyone very seriously. We have a new desktop interface (and I think secretly a new mobile interface too) coming in January. In this post the product manager, Olga a good friend and foxhole comrade, talks about how the web team approaches developing their work with equity in mind. The sort of thoughtful product development we need to see more of in the world.

EN (and seven languages):

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/08/18/prioritizing-equity-within-wikipedias-new-desktop/

The Wikimedia movement is messy. People can be jerks and the barrier to entry is far too high for my liking. I show up every day trying to increase awareness and participation of what folks are doing. To gather people together and connect interests and ideas. It’s funny to be working in the blog mines in 2022 – not just working – but thriving when so many folks consider a blog as an old antiquated thing. I think they have a place and more folks should turn to them to share what they are doing and learn from others. I don’t know where I go from here professionally. Something I’ve been talking about with folks, but whatever is next I hope is more of this. Positivity, working together to tell the story of our movement, and supporting one another through difficult times.