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Liverpool Locks III

Notes 2026

Re: JulyReply 2026, a blog connecting month

June has just ended, and it was fun to take part in Robert’s Junited campaign, even though I had a few days with gaps and only managed to collect 29 links. For my first time participating, though, that’s pretty near optimal.

Today Robert has launched the next stage: JulyReply. Now it’s not just about collecting, but about replying to posts. Just the right thing for me, since I’m feeling a bit lazy about writing actually and prefer to tinker with my photos.

#JulyReply


This post is part of the #JulyReply campaign initiated by Robert Birming.

Good News on Google's AI Overviews

It was clear that Google’s unilateral abandonment of the quid pro quo principle of search — now effectively replaced by an AI-generated summary — poses a threat to the internet and will eventually backfire. Now there is a court ruling from Germany that holds Google directly responsible for false statements in its “search” results, whereas previously it could fall back on the excuse of merely listing the most relevant hits. Very good, keep it up. Perhaps this will help prevent the dystopias announced at this year’s I/O conference.

More Links:
TechPolicy: Google’s ‘New Era for AI Search’ May Threaten Democracy

#AI

Is AI Profitable Yet?

Is AI Profitable Yet?

I’ve been asking myself for a while now, with all the hype surrounding AI, who’s supposed to pay for all the money being thrown into this technological meat grinder… or rather, when the enthusiastic managers will realize that it’s them. So every fanboy deserves a look at this website …

#AI

Well, for you it's enough

This 20 minute video, I found today, illustrates impressively why AI and above all Generative AI is nothing more than worthless.

The original (and best version) is in German, but the translation in English (YT AI?) does the job…

Für Euch reicht’s from Fynn Kröger:

Es ist die Haltung von Influencern, Fernsehsendern, Filmproduktionen und Marken da draußen, das es für das eigentliche Publikum schon reichen würde, ihnen nur Schatten an die Wand zu werfen, statt ihnen die echten Objekte vor dem Feuer zu zeigen.

(It is the attitude of influencers, TV stations, film productions and brands out there, that it would be enough for the own audience simply to just cast shadows on the wall, instead of showing them the real objects in front of the fire.)


I miss thinking hard

This text accurately reflects the main problem with AI: We are gradually losing our cognitive abilities, because we are ceasing to train our biggest muscle: the brain.

“Vibe coding” satisfies the Builder. It feels great to see to pass from idea to reality in a fraction of a time that would take otherwise. But it has drastically cut the times I need to came up with creative solutions for technical problems

#AI

Teams Call and The Shining

We try to have as much fun as possible in the department, because everyday life is hard enough. A quick-witted and funny response not only immediately lights up conversations, it also helps to create a good working atmosphere in general. Laughter is medicine for everything.

I usually can’t write about funny business anecdotes in public, because on the one hand, it often requires context that I can’t provide, and on the other hand, it’s up to each person involved to decide whether something like that should be made public.

In this screenshot of a chat following a Teams call in which I and another colleague participated, whose first name also begins with K but who, unlike me, has not configured an avatar, I am making an exception because it is too good and only affects me:

Somehow, this picture reminds me of something.

Ah, I know.

🤣 Bull’s-eye! Where the hell is my axe …

#TIL |  Display horizontal container initially scrolled to the right

On my /stats page, I used the wonderful web component activity-graph to implement an Activity Graph that displays my posts over the entire lifetime of my blog.

Now, as is common in Western cultures, the graph starts on the left side and is displayed horizontally. This means that the most recent and interesting entries are on the very right, and you have to scroll to the end to see them.

The question was how to make the graph display directly scrolled to the far right at the start, and the solution is quite simple and uses the component’s various HTML levels:

<div class="activity-graph-wrapper">
  <activity-graph>
    <figure>
      <table>
       ...
      </table>
    </figure>
  </activity-graph>
</div>

Using the CSS direction property, I first rotate the graph in the reading direction to RTL (right to left) at the top level, then rotate it back again at the next lower level. This means that the browser displays the graph starting on the right, but everything below has the usual western-style reading direction.

.activity-graph-wrapper figure {
  direction: rtl;
}
.activity-graph-wrapper figure table {
  direction: ltr;
}

#CSS #TIL

Unexpected Visitor

Today, we had a visit from an animal that is quite rare in a city, a Gray Heron, which probably needed to inspect our neighbour’s little fish pond with the Kois. What a beauty …

Farewell 2025

I ‘ve found 2025 to be a particularly difficult and challenging year, quite apart from the political madness that is unfolding in so many parts of the world and which cannot leave a political person like me unaffected. No, even on a personal level, I will not forget this past year. Starting with my return from an absolutely amazing holiday in South Africa and two other wonderful breaks in Portugal and Sweden, the year has mainly shown me my physical limits. Yes, 57 is no longer mid-20s, and some decisions and habits in my life are now taking their toll, along with a few others that I hadn’t on the list.. and I’m struggling with that physically and mentally. Getting older is not for wimps…

My wish for 2026 is to achieve the serenity that allows me not to get upset about things I cannot change anyway, and to simply tackle those things that I can influence and shape.