2026-09-10 02:50:00
I was planning to write a reply to a post I read earlier today. I sat down in front of my computer, started typing, then a bunch of different people sent me messages for a variety of totally unrelated reasons, and I spent half an hour chatting with them.
When I finally got back to writing the post, I stared at the screen and I was like «what even is the point of writing this?». That is something that happens more and more often, recently. I still believe that dialogue is, by far, the best, and probably only, tool we have to make progress on a multitude of societal issues. At the same time, I’m more and more convinced that dialogue, on the internet, using the public digital spaces we have at our disposal, is almost impossible to have.
Some of the reasons why I think this is the case are not worth repeating; I already wrote about them plenty of times over the years on this site. But one reason I think is worth highlighting is that a core ingredient for healthy dialogue is the ability to listen. But listening is not part of the social internet landscape. You cannot perceive the listening; you can only perceive the saying.
And that is why social media dialogue is fundamentally unhelpful. It’s a lot of saying and not much listening. Which is why it often degrades into the lowest forms of communication: the name-calling, the ridiculing, the mocking, the shouting, the insulting. Not much progress though, which is unfortunate.
Which is why I think sometimes it's better not to say anything. It’s better to simply read, nod along or shake your head, and then move on.
Thank you for keeping RSS alive. You're awesome.
Connect via email :: Sign my guestbook :: Support for 1$/month
2026-09-06 15:15:00
I’ve been thinking about this mountain for more than a decade at this point, for reasons I’m gonna explain later. I wanted to hike it a few weeks ago, but there was a raging wildfire not too far from it on a nearby mountain, so I had to wait. Wait for better air conditions, because hiking with ash and dust in the air is not a smart thing to do, but also wait for a colder day.
Yesterday wasn’t exactly a cold day, it still got up in the 33° to 35°C range, but we—me and a friend—decided we were going for a hike anyway. We were out of the car at around 8:30 am and thankfully we got blessed with an overcast day which made the hike A LOT more enjoyable.
This is one of those quintessential mountain hikes; if you look at the elevation profile, you start walking, you go up, and you keep going up till you basically reach the summit. There were pretty much no flat spots longer than maybe 10 meters, and there was only a brief downhill part because we had to go through a mountain pass before going up again to the summit.
We had to gain almost 1500 meters of elevation in roughly 5.5kms and the climb averages at about 26% incline with stretches in the 75-80% range. From a purely physical perspective, this is not an enjoyable walk.
The trail starts on a stretch of concrete road, since there is technically a service road that goes up to the nearest mountain hut, but then turns into a lovely trail into the woods and I love walking into the woods. This area would also be a perfect spot to hang a hammock and just chill.
Roughly an hour and 500 meters of elevation gained we reached the Elio Franz Hut, a lovely, lovely mountain hut that is incredibly well maintained and clearly well loved by the people here.
It’s free to use and very well equipped, and I felt compelled to leave a small donation since there was a donation box inside it, even though we didn’t even stop here. But people who do this type of work deserve to receive some love. This is where the service road ends but the trail keeps going, first through the woods and then it hugs the side of the mountain with a trail that is everything but easy, with slippery rocks, loose rocks, rocks that are falling down, rocks that are falling away below you, sections with steps so high that I found myself with knees in my mouth (and I don’t have short legs).
About 2 and a half hours in, we’re at the mountain pass, we have gained about 1100 meters and the summit is in front of us. Thank god is overcast because climbing up this trail with the sun hitting on us would have been absolutely miserable.
Down we go through the only tiny downhill stretch of the whole ascent and this is where I stopped taking pictures before getting up to the summit. And that’s because the final stretch is bad.
It’s a scree, but not one of those where you have a clear trail marked or those where everything is soft enough where you can just sink your feet in firmly. No, this is probably just the result of rocks that must have recently fallen down. You can’t stick your feet in it, there’s not enough material and the rocks are too big. You can’t properly walk on top of it, because everything is incredibly loose, and you can’t even properly scramble your way across it, because there are stretches where there aren’t even big rocks to use as an anchor. And it’s steep, 50 to 60% grade. So if for some reason you slip, you’re going to slide down quite far and there’s nothing stopping you.
So we had to slowly and carefully find our way through this final stretch, trying to figure out the best way to go up this mess, and we eventually did. Boy was this not a fun thing to do.
The final bit to the top is a short, fairly exposed trail but that’s easy compared to what we just passed. On the summit, 3 people were enjoying the view. We learned that they came up from the other side, where there’s a much easier and shorter trail. Maybe I’ll do it one day.
The view from the top is very enjoyable, the sky full of clouds that are moving at a significant pace. A lovely spot to take a break before starting our descent. From up here, I can clearly see a place that’s stuck in my memory.
You see that green-ish dot, down at the bottom of the picture? That’s the roof of another hut I slept in 10 years ago, in August 2016 when with another friend of mine I first attempted hiking this mountain. Back then the plan was to do the first part of the hike, sleep, and the following morning summit the mountain. But I arrived at the hut that I was so tired, so exhausted, that we didn’t go up and for 10 years I kept thinking at this damn mountain.
And here I am, 10 years later, at the top, looking at that place from above. And I’m not even tired so take that 27 years old me. We’re getting better with age!
After spending almost an hour enjoying our time on the summit, it was time to go down. And again, not many pictures. The trail was so bad that we took almost as much time going down as going up, and that’s not usually the case. But we survived the long, long descent unscathed.
I am glad I finally hiked this mountain. I’m glad my adventure of 10 years ago can finally have a proper closure. But I don’t think I’ll ever do this trail again. This was not exactly enjoyable walking. It’s doable, clearly, but definitely not fun.
You love the outdoors and RSS. You're one of the special ones.
2026-08-30 00:15:00
I lost count of how many times I looked—and photographed—Mount Krn over the past decade. It’s impossible to miss, standing right there in the background of almost all my walks around the valleys, with its 2245 meters and its characteristic gently sloping side.
And yet, I never hiked it. The reason why I never hiked it was that it’s a long hike and past me wasn’t a fan of long hikes. But past me is, well, in the past. Current me, on the other hand, loves long hikes. And to be fair, “long” is a relative term. How long does a hike need to be to be considered long anyway?
The route for this hike has been sitting on my watch ready to go for weeks, waiting for the summer heat to come down a little bit. I’m a stupid hiker, but going up a mountain in 35°C is too stupid, even for me.
And down it finally went. Randevouz with a friend was set for 7 am. The plan was straightforward: drive together about an hour, crossing the border with Slovenia, going through Kobarid, to then reach a parking spot inside the Triglav National Park.
The whole area around mount Krn is a lovely plateau, gently sloping uphill, with cows and sheep free to roam around. The scenery is wonderfully relaxing. There are many ways to go up these mountains, our plan is to summit Krn first, and once there, do a long loop touching Mount Batognica on our way back to the start.
Climbing up is surprisingly easy. It’s a long, easy walk that takes us from roughly 1000 meters above sea level to the 2254 of the summit in just a bit less than 3 hours. I can’t remember the last time I gained this much elevation this easily.
And getting to the top is rewarding. The view is stunning. On one side, facing south, a mix of mountains, hills, and the sea far in the distance. On the other side, facing north, a gorgeous assembly of peaks and valleys, trees and rocks. Also from up here, an unusual angle of Mount Matajur. Funny how a place can look almost unrecognisable when seen from a different perspective.
Going from the Krn to the Batognica doesn’t take much. The two peaks are near each other. What I didn’t know is how much history is still up there, laying on a ground that carries the scars of the First World War.
Rusted barbed wire is everywhere. So are chunks of metals, and rusted shovels and other tools. A few artillery shells are also there, now a memorial. Also bunkers. So many bunkers dug into these mountains. Walking through these places never fails to remind you of the insanity that those wars were. So many lost lives and for what?
The clouds decide to pay a visit, the scenery turns grayscale in the blink of an eye. I’m glad the sun is not hammering us on the way down. It’s less hot than it was a few weeks ago, but it’s still summer, and it’s definitely not cold, even up here.
The descent to the starting point is long, and mostly enjoyable. A couple of rough kilometres towards the end, the humidity comes back, and the trail is all of a sudden slippery and a bit overgrown. We lose almost 700 meters of elevation in just a couple of kilometres.
The view from the other end of the loop is still magnificent. And the cows are still here, still minding their own business. What else are they supposed to do after all? A bit less than 7 hours have passed, and we’re back at the car.
Krn didn’t disappoint. Batognica is worth hiking. The whole Triglav National Park is worth exploring. Slovenia is a beautiful country, and if you’re an outdoorsy person, it won’t disappoint you.
You love the outdoors and RSS. You're one of the special ones.
2026-08-28 20:15:00
If you’re a fan of the web, you probably want to know that voting is now open for that lovely initiative that is the Tiny Awards, running for the 4th consecutive year.
I got asked to be a judge this time around, and my votes helped shape the shortlist of candidate that is currently up on the site and I was pleased to see that two of the five sites I picked are part of the final group.
Picking five from the list of submissions was a lot of fun. There were so many interesting websites submitted, and it makes me happy to see that the quirky web is still thriving.
Go cast your vote! You have time till September 25th.
Thank you for keeping RSS alive. You're awesome.
Connect via email :: Sign my guestbook :: Support for 1$/month
2026-08-22 00:35:00
I caught wind of the news that MacStories is back posting on X, the “everything platform”, and that seems to have caused some backlash. I am not a reader of MacStories (because tools are tools and I don’t read about new computers the same way I don’t read about new washing machines) and I’m also not on X. So why do I even care about this news? Well, the short answer is that I don’t. But after the move (I guess because of the backlash?) Federico Viticci, MacStories’ Founder, posted what he called “An Explanation” conveniently, not on MacStories’ homepage and not even on the site at all.
You should go read the whole thing if you’re curious, but there are a couple of things here and there that caught my attention. The first interesting thing is the attempt to separate Elon and his morals from X.
We want to be absolutely clear about something: returning to X does not represent a change in our values, what MacStories or we stand for, or an endorsement of Elon Musk. We abhor Musk’s politics, his rhetoric, his careless disregard for others, and the direction he has taken X. But we also disagree that participating on X means we have aligned ourselves with any of Musk’s views or actions. We reject Musk’s worldview and will continue to treat people with the kindness and respect they deserve wherever they are on the Internet.
I’m sorry, but this is not how things work. By being on the platform, by using it to reach the audience that’s on there, you are directly supporting the man. Because the platform only has value because people are on it, and you being there makes the situation worse, not better.
The main reason why MacStories is back on X is, surprisingly, money. Boring, yeah I know. Quoting from the post again:
It’s not just how we earn a living; it’s one of a small number of independent websites that still cover apps, Apple, and a growing list of topics, including videogame hardware and the automation and productivity side of AI. Readers shouldn’t have to think or care about the business side of MacStories, but we have to, which is why we returned to X.
If that is the situation, be transparent. Show how you run the site, how much money the site is making or losing, and make your case. But simply saying “Sorry, running a site is hard so we’re doing a 180 without telling anyone, not even the people who work here” is a shitty move. Especially because the move is pretty obvious: the amount of AI-related content on MacStories has exploded, AI people are on X, and if you want to try to grab some of that money, you have to play that game. Like, I get it, but at least say it and own it. Don’t try to play the running-a-business-is-hard card. Have the guts to put up a post on your precious website where you explain what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Tell people you want to chase more AI content, because you think you’re now more of a “builder”. You’re an Apple fanboy; have some courage.
People with strong values and morals seem to become rarer and rarer these days, especially when money is involved, and it’s so sad to see. And this whole AI moment seems to be exacerbating that.
Thank you for keeping RSS alive. You're awesome.
Connect via email :: Sign my guestbook :: Support for 1$/month
2026-08-19 17:50:00
You might be wondering why I’m already back hiking since I walked more than 40 km just a few days ago. And the answer to that is that I’m not hiking. This was a short stroll to briefly visit a church that would normally be part of the tenth and final segment of this ten-part loop.
As I mentioned in my previous post, the second half of this loop is so poorly laid out that some of the churches require some crazy changes to the main path in order to be visited, and the final segment of the loop in particular makes absolutely no sense. And I tried to figure out a reasonable way to include all churches in my walk, but there was no sensible way to include this one. It’s also so far from the valleys that I don’t even know why it’s included at all.
But there are 44, and I’ll be damned if I don’t visit them all, so off we go, this time with the dog, through the nice path that takes us inside the lovely park that runs near our destination.
As I said, this is not gonna be a challenging hike at all. I’m not even wearing shoes, I’m just casually walking the dog in the park with my flip-flops on. I walked this park many times before, but this time we’ll stay on the outskirts since the church is just outside of it.
The scenery is quite a bit different from my other walks, there are a lot of vineyards all around the area. Also, not many animals, aside from the dog that’s already hating the warm weather even though it’s still relatively early in the morning.
And just like that we have reached the church of san Martino vescovo (28/44) which, to add insult to injury, is inside a private property.
I’m not gonna bother adding extra links to this walk, as I said this was just a quick walk to cross the church off my list. But if you’re curious, the whole walk took just a bit more than an hour and was 3.6 km long. Legs are recovering fine from my previous long walk, so you’ll hear from me soon enough with pictures from more interesting places.
You love the outdoors and RSS. You're one of the special ones.