Last week got busy quick and so I didn't update my weekly log before it was published.
The drive to Kingston was pleasant; real Ontario landscape: straight roads, so many trees, rock faces. We stopped at Mallorytown to charge the car and it's encouraging to see the EV chargers heavily used -- but the state of EV charging still kind-of sucks. You basically need an app for every different charging company / system. My son came down to Kingston to spend some of the weekend and needed to charge and doesn't really understand why it's not just like buying petrol: use some KWh and pay with your card when you're done.
Relatedly, I listened to a podcast about the Controlled Digital Lending lawsuit that's happening at Internet Archive and the line that "if libraries didn't already exist they would never be allowed to be created today" came up.
I think this is actually true and also I think if gas stations were created today they would all want you to pay with different apps. They already want you to use their loyalty cards. It's just that EV charging networks don't have a legacy of letting you pay a person in a booth or using just a card to anonymously pay.
I already come across as pretty anti-capitalist but it's a reminder that as it's become possible to gate things with technology, it's clear that's all that was holding back large companies. Airlines that only let you order food using their app (which you need to create an account for). EV companies that only let you pay with their app. If Loblaws could force you to create an account to use their grocery stores, I think that they would.
I am not a tinfoil hat cash-only user, but it's clear that (without EU-style consumer protections) we're heading towards an anonymity-free future when it comes to interacting with commerce. (Which, blood on my hands, I helped nudge forward in my time doing database things at Shopify, I suppose).
I started using ListenBrainz and it recommended a user to follow who's recommendation list is distressingly similar to music I listen. Obviously: I asked for this, it's part of why I'm uploading, but it's alarming to find out there's a "type of guy" and you are it.