Bonjour and welcome to the second issue of the Tiny Sparks newsletter!
Hope you all are doing well! I was unfortunately sick last week, so I didn’t get to participate in the race I mentioned in the past newsletter. Luckily, I’m fine now and was able to complete a few runs meanwhile. So everything is alright on my side and quite a few things happened the past 14 days regardless.
This week’s edition will be international, so buckle up.
🗓️ Personal Updates
Here’s a quick rundown of the things that happened in the past two weeks:
- I expanded my personal website with a /til page. On there, I collect random bits of knowledge I pick up as I go about my day.
- In my attempt to get more involved in the IndieWeb community, I also joined the #JulyReply2024 challenge by Robert. I already wrote two replies myself, but the even better news is: Chris wrote a reply to my “personal home on the internet”-post. That really made me happy and also introduced me to another great blog I can add to my RSS feed (you should do the same!). Note to self: I should create a /blogroll page 🤔
- I finished the book “Going Mainstream (How extremists are taking over)” and jotted down some interesting parts I took from it.
- After mentioning in the last newsletter, that I’m deciding on what to build next, I’ve now settled on a Forever Diary. What that is you ask? You can read more about it in this post: https://dominikhofer.me/building-a-forever-diary
- The JulyReply-challenge is not the only one I took on the past two weeks. I’m also now in the process of learning all the countries in the world (because many parts of the world are still a black box in my brain where I virtually know nothing about). I wrote more about my why and sprinkled in some interesting facts about countries in Africa (the first continent I tackled), that you hopefully don’t yet know: https://dominikhofer.me/learning-all-the-countries-africa
🔮 Tool Recommendation
Let’s stay on the topic of geography, shall we? This week’s recommendation is more a game, but you’ll enjoy it regardless.
If you also, like me, want to broaden your general knowledge regarding the countries of our planet, I can wholeheartedly recommend Seterra. It’s by GeoGuessr (the Google Maps game) and has many quizzes that help you “become a geography expert and have fun at the same time!” (that is true). They also have an app, that is free (even though it’s titled “full version” on the App Store). You should check it out!
📚 Content Piece
Taylor Swift played two concerts this week in Zurich, and my girlfriend and I went to see the second show on Wednesday. Although I’m not a “Swiftie” by any means, it was still a really entertaining show.
As luck would have it, my YouTube algorithm recommended me two videos by the Wall Street Journal that both revolve around the topic of music concerts. One is more design focused (How do venues control the crowd?), the other one dives into the tech between these LED-wristbands you see more and more often. Fascinating deep dives into areas I didn’t know I wanted to learn more about. Check them out below:
Expert Explains the Hidden Crowd Engineering Behind Event Venues | WSJ Pro Perfected
How Concert LED Wristbands Work | WSJ Tech Behind
Well, that’s it already, thanks for sticking around. If you have some feedback, a recommendation of your own or just want to say hi, don’t hesitate to reach out! All the contact options are listed over on my /hello page.
And if you enjoyed this particular issue, consider forwarding it to your friends. That would mean a lot.
See you in two weeks!
Cheers ✌️
Dominik
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