One of the common memes to come from covid19 is to post a before-after photo of a famous city or landmark. The before covid19 photo is the city as we’ve become accustomed to it: brown air full of smog. The after covid19 at the same location, but with naturally blue skies and clear air.

With everyone social distancing and automobile/truck traffic near zero we have been given a rare opportunity. We no longer have to imagine what our air and cities could be like if we didn’t drive pollution emitting vehicles everywhere, we can see, taste, and smell it with our own eyes.

Air pollution from cars and trucks have been suffocating our cities slowly, like one boil’s a frog, so we acclimate and brown air becomes “normal” and the way things have always been. With the burner temporary malfunctioning we can see just what a precarious position we’ve put ourselves in.

When this is all done and our lungs have acclimated to clean air we’ll have a choice: do we go back to the way things were and forget what we’ve experienced, or do we the courage to demand a change.

https://twitter.com/sistercelluloid/status/1249027255797460993

The Slow Web

• The slow web is formulating your thoughts and expressing them fully. 
• The slow web is about owning what you produce.
• The slow web is open.
• The slow web is yours.

The Slow Web in Practice

Sharing

• Writing unique content that matters to you and like-minded people will find it via search
• RSS Feeds (standard in most all blogging systems)
• POSSE (Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere

Ignore the Numbers

Privacy

Don't Over Engineer

Making the Jump

def test_get_workflow(self):
    # Make sure that anonymous users are redirected to login
    # and that users are denied access to data that's not theirs
    self.redirect_for_anon_get()
    self.not_found_for_wrong_account() 
    # Check that our filter interface is filtering data properly so
    # calls to "mine" only show tasks assigned to me and so forth.
    self.filters_response(self.sub_task_data['title'], 'all', [])
    self.filters_response(self.my_task_data['title'], 'mine',
        [self.sub_task_data['title'],
        self.completed_task_data['title']]
    )
    self.filters_response(self.completed_task_data['title'],
        'complete',
        [self.sub_task_data['title'],
        self.my_task_data['title']]
    )

def test_post_workflow(self):
    # Make sure that all post requests are redirect
    # or return 405 and denied
    self.redirect_for_anon_post()
    self.post_not_allowed()

 Less code = Fewer places for bugs = Less maintenance

When someone says the word “Slow”, what comes to mind? People driving 10 miles per hour below the speed limit for no discernible reason? Snails sliming their way across the street? Business?

Probably not business. Business is supposed to be quick. We’re supposed to have gotten to market yesterday, rush around, be busy, work overtime, and grow forever.

We’re constantly looking for things quicker. We lay miles upon miles of fiber optic cable to get a measly 1ms faster transfer rate. We want our photos developed in an hour or less. We only have 7 minutes to work out, 4 minutes for a video, 2 minutes to cook noodles, and and 3 seconds for a sound-bite.

We bombard ourselves with pings from everything under the sun so we never miss an instant and we’re always on. For what?

What’s the purpose of all of this? Usually we hear something about demanding customers and better service, but usually it’s ‘shareholder value’. We focus on the short-term and neglect the long-term.

But is this the only way businesses are supposed to be run? Should we just accept it as the one true way? Does achieving all of this make us a success?

No, it doesn’t. This fast-paced always-on life style blends our home-life and our work-life together. We can no longer leave the office and are always just a text or phone call away. This makes sense for mission critical launches or in times of crisis, but it has become the norm.

There’s an alternative. It’s called Slow.

• Slow is recognizing that we work to live, not live to work and creating a culture that embraces this.


• Slow is growing at a considered and deliberate pace.


• Slow is building a business that respects its customers, employees, and community.


• Slow is quality craftsmanship and livable wages.


• Slow is long-term thinking and continuous improvement.


• Slow is sustainable and responsible.


• Slow is waiting for a well articulated response.


• Slow is cooking a healthy meal rather than going through the drive-thru.


• Slow is enjoying a sunrise and not tweeting about it.


• Slow is enjoying a moment for the moment that it is without needing to documenting it.

The best things in life: lovers, friends, wine — do not come in an instant, an hour, or even a year. They come over time. Slowly.

What can you Slow Down today?