What’s with the F1 Hype?

Or so I used to think all my life.

Until I watched an actual race.

Yesterday was the Monaco Grand Prix. I got pulled into it because my brother was watching it. And I was glued, the entire 2 hours.

I began to be desperately follow which engine is leading, which how the drivers are communicating with the team, the pit stops, the overtaking, et al.

I began swatting up on the minutiae of the game.

Now, I am glued.

And to think that I always hated cars! 😂

Fun fact: After the trophies are handed out, the national anthems of the winning driver and the team are played. For example, if Michael Schumacher won, the German (he’s German) and the Italian (his car, Ferrari is Italian) anthem would be played.

🚨 Say that I were to give a talk to EU policy makers and OSS communities at a very big conference tomorrow..

and that I want to spend half of my talk on how Google is locking down #Android through:
1. Device attestation
2. Developer registration
3. Age/identity verification

What should I absolutely include? 👀

Input is welcome, sorry for the short notice. Plain language + realistic calls to action pls.

@fdroidorg @GrapheneOS @postmarketOS @Fairphone @appfair @fsfe @murena @volla @IzzyOnDroid

Have You Read The Bet?

In college, I remember reading this fascinating short story by Anton Chekov called The Bet.

It’s about this banker who challenges his young lawyer friend to live in solitary confinement for a stipulated no. of years in exchange for a handsome sum of money. It starts off fun, but leaves you with a nice little lesson in the end.

I think of myself as that young lawyer. I like to stay by my lonesome mostly. Except no one pays me for it.

On a given non-office day, I will not step out of my home 99 out of 100 times. There’s nothing outside that is so appealing for me to get out of my inertia.

Despite all that it costs me, I still crave it.

Last Thursday was Bakrid, a holiday for us. And I took the following Friday off, too. That means I haven’t stepped out of my home in the past 90 hours. By the time I go to the office Monday, it would be 111 hours!

This is my no means a record for me. There were weeks when I lay sick, and then there was the pandemic.

I would love to change it, but my newly discovered condition of Chondromalacia patella (shitty cartilage in the knee) is a serious disadvantage.

And yes, I have one friend with whom I hang out occasionally.

I’ve been diagnosed with Chondromalacia Patella!

It’s not as fancy as it sounds. Only that the cartilage in my knees is almost worn out!

Best part, there is no cure for this condition.

Looking back, I can’t point to one single incident that may have caused this, though I know I exercised a lot in the past 6 years. Can’t point to the straw that broke the camel’s back.

All hope is not lost though. The only way out of this is to exercise properly, strengthen the quads, glutes, and hips, so the pressure on the knee reduces.

I’m doing that daily.

I need to lose weight also. Every kilo of weight added to the body increases the pressure in the knee by 4 kilos. The vice versa is also true. Working on it.

The day is filled with mild discomfort, severe limitations, and a lot of exercise (some voluntary, most involuntary.)

Take care of your health, people. Remember this quote:

Everything in Moderation, Including Moderation Itself.