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What is Trust? - Issue #11

What is Trust? - Issue #11
By Benjamin Hollon • Issue #11 • View online
This year, I’m going to be doing something different. I want to take an in-depth look at how we can make more responsible decisions in the digital environment that permeates our lives.
I’m planning to post one or two articles a week on this topic. The first, this week’s, is about trust; what it is, how we decide who to trust, and how to know if we are trustworthy. Knowing who to trust is key in making smart decisions online, so we’re going to start with it as our foundation.
I’ve also written guides to RSS and Mastodon—two new ways you can follow me. I’m planning to add more guides like these in the future.

Blog Posts
Life is full of questions: Who should we trust? Why is there so much untrustworthy information available? How far should trust extend? This year, I want to do something different; I’ll be closely looking at how technology has shaped our lives and what you—yes, you—can do to be more in control of your digital environment. Understanding technology begins with understanding how trust works—at least, how it should.
seewitheyesclosed.com  •  Share
Guides
You may have seen links on blogs you follow labeled “RSS”. What are those links for and why should you care?
seewitheyesclosed.com  •  Share
You may have heard of Mastodon as an alternative to Twitter, but what is it and what makes it so special?
seewitheyesclosed.com  •  Share
Most software uses Semantic Versioning, or SemVer, to create versions for its projects that reflect how many versions there have been in the past. Some example SemVer numbers are v0.3.5, v1.2.0, and v2.0.1. Verbose Guacamole, on the other hand, uses Calendar Versioning—CalVer for short—to name its versions. The first version, for example, was v21.10 (technically v21.10.0). What does this mean?
verboseguacamole.com  •  Share
Website Changes
If you visit my site, you may notice that it is drastically different than it was yesterday. I launched a complete redesign for the new year, and I’m very proud of how it turned out. This design focuses on the content, trying not to distract you with bells and whistles.
There’s also a neat “Display Settings” box on the bottom right of each page; there, you can customize exactly how the page looks. This is a freedom I couldn’t allow with my previous design! More settings will come soon.
Finally, I’ve launched multiple new websites since I last sent an email.
Most of what I do I post in other places, so I use this site as a chance to pull it all together. Think of it as an overview of my online presence.
benjaminhollon.com  •  Share
An editor for writers (especially novelists) powered by markdown and git.
verboseguacamole.com  •  Share
As we begin to think consciously about pollution and cleaning up Earth, a solution many have thought of as ideal is to move critical infrastructure such as internet services into space.
kesslercascades.com  •  Share
The biggest change is that I have a proper personal website now—benjaminhollon.com. Because of this, I have made seewitheyesclosed.com only contain my blog. Coding and writing projects are at the new site.
The Kessler Cascades website is the result of a project I’ve been working on for the last semester as one of my classes at school. I also gave a Ted-Ed Clubs talk on the topic. (Note: I made a small mistake; I own a telescope, not a satellite.)
This digest will contain links to new content on any of my websites. Likely, this will be multiple items per week, as opposed to a single new item every couple of weeks in the way it’s been.
Space pictures!
I built myself a camera that fits onto my telescope.
The new telescope camera, built with a Raspberry Pi 3, Camera Module v2, and some legos.
The new telescope camera, built with a Raspberry Pi 3, Camera Module v2, and some legos.
If you’re having trouble visualizing it; the chicken sits on the telescope’s lens as if it were laying an egg on it. This means it’s always looking straight through and it’s easier to get a detailed picture. Here’s the first picture of the moon I took with it (after a little editing in GIMP):
The Moon in its waning gibbous phase, as taken by yours truly.
The Moon in its waning gibbous phase, as taken by yours truly.
I also took a picture of Jupiter and two moons (I can get a better picture; I was still figuring out the camera):
Jupiter and two moons.
Jupiter and two moons.
I hope to get some more good photos soon!
Quote of the Week
“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
– Albert Camus
This relates to some of the topics I’m going to be talking about over the coming weeks and months. I’ll let you think about it a bit before I cover it.
Have a great week!
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Benjamin Hollon

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