#A productive week

This was the week where I first saw an online talk with Aral Balkan.
He is an english designer, software developer and human data rights
activist. He moved from the UK because of new data anti encryption
laws there and is currently living in Malmö. He and his wife Laura
have a work platform Ind.ie, that remind me of CouchDesign. They've
created an app, Better, that stops you from being tracked while surfing
the web.

In his talk he explained everything I believe is important for software
development: The 1 % surveilling our every move through online services.
How we can take back our human and democratic rights through design of
decentralised services. He advocates the use of [Ethical Design](https://ind.ie/ethical-design/),
an ethical dogma that respects human rights, effort. That means designing
technology that is "decentralised, private, open, interoperable, accessible,
secure and sustainable", "functional, convenient and reliable" as well as
"delightful".

Watch the talk here: https://ind.ie/beyond-the-clouds/

I heard about him and the concept of Ethical Design from Jonas, when he
got home from Aarhus, presenting himself for the new team of students at
the [Chaos Pilot University](http://www.kaospilot.dk/). (He runs the
network Homebase there). His colleague Anders pointed towards the specific
talk as further reference for the students, and Jonas was eager to show
it to me when he returned home. It strook me as brilliant in its clear
and straightforward communication, it is definitely fuel for my motivation
to move on with the software projects in Debian Design.

However, that is now what I have been working on. Well, indirectly I have,
since I've spent two days working to bring down the update waiting time
for the editing role on the website [Byvandring.nu](http://byvandring.nu/).
I have also created a first draft of [a tag pool for
Vejviseren](http://byvandring.nu/vejviseren/arkiv) the [blog](http://byvandring.nu/vejviseren)
of the site. All created with the [Ikiwiki](http://ikiwiki.info/) compiler.
I also fixed a few things that has annoyed my eye for a while.

Like many other projects, this website is a work in progress, a prototype,
a place where I practice and learn. There are things that work well,
others don't exactly work well, but I'm on it. The author uses it
actively, and sometimes I also get to do some artwork. It's essentially
gratifying. And then the annoyances. I am on them with renewed enthusiasm.

About the annoyance, I need to work on that more. I tend to get annoyed
with all the things that could be better. My designs, my routines,
my skills. I get so frustrated, that I sometimes explode and take it out
on Jonas, and so I did this week. Our relationship survived, however.

I've spent two more days on a brochure design to be presented next week.
I'll share it when it's done.

I'll create a routine to share more of my work.

During the week I had half a day in Holbæk. I went for a meeting with a
former colleague from the small publishing group Fjordliv, I was a member
of a few years back (it's closed now). She has a book on the way, and
invited me to set it up for her, which I'll be happy to do. I love
designing books.

This week my choir, Orøkoret, started the new season. Every thursday evening
I'll be occupied singing and socializing with other local voices, endorphins
flowing.

I had been looking forward to a lamp making course saturday, but we were
supposed to be outside, and it was raining, starting half an hour before
and continuing for the rest of the day, so we called it off, and will try
again next saturday.

It's been a rainful week, and I have spent about an hour every day cutting
grass with scythe, raking and moving those small stacks of grass or pulling
burning nettles out of the soft, wet ground.

##What's next

Coming up is a meeting with my co-developer of design solutions at Friis-Holm
Chocolate. He and the owner are old friends, but hard to get at, because
of the busy life at the chocolate factory and the many conventions they
attend. So now we have decided to meet regurlarly, but shortly, every other
week. I'm convinced it will speed up our development time and also be
even more fun and interesting. We have a lot of designs on the way, but I'm
most excited to show him the bochure, it's really something.

Monday I'll join a course on sociocratic methods in local development projects.
This is related to the project [Mejeriet](http://mejeriet.oroe.dk/).

Yoga classes start tuesdag. I need this. I want to get back in my habit
of doing the five tibetans every morning, and my teacher is a strong advocate
of that particular habit, so I get to get a push in the back every week.

Also a meet-up in the local artist network is scheduled tuesday evening.
An exhibition is on its way, and we have two books on the way, which I am
designing, and have been putting off for a month now. The time has finally
arrived to restart those processes.

Saturday will be the lamp workshop.

[[!tag blog english free_software activism politics]]
[[!taglink Aral Balkan|balkan]]