Ian | Founder & Firestarter

Ian | Founder & Firestarter

@cubicgarden.com

Previously Senior firestarter at BBC RD, emergent technology expert and serial social geek event organiser. http://www.cubicgarden.com | @cubicgarden@mas.to

291 followers83 following209 posts

Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Glaciers and Borealis mix (KEF > YYZ) - My New Zero DJ mix Its a banger!

cubicgarden.comGlaciers and Borealis mix (KEF > YYZ) – New Zero mixI recently was in Toronto for a unconference with Mozilla. During that whole week I spend a lot of time with the Drift Zero and created a lot of mixes. Some were really good, others less so. A few stood out, which I needed to half redo because of a few mistakes with the volume and needing to stop the recording for reasons...

Ian | Founder & Firestarter reposted

Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

#Techgrumps 3.45 podcast is now live with the grumpy voices of @rnalexander.bsky.social @eastmad.bsky.social @wendyg.bsky.social and @mskakapo.bsky.social Listen on RSS.com rss.com/podcasts/tec... techgrumps.wordpress.com/2026/10/19/t... Or where ever you listen to podcasts

rss.comFree Podcast Hosting – Unlimited Episodes & Audio | RSS.comStart your podcast free with RSS.com! Unlimited episodes, RSS feed, analytics, and tools to grow and monetize your show.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

#Techgrumps 3.45 podcast is now live with the grumpy voices of @rnalexander.bsky.social @eastmad.bsky.social @wendyg.bsky.social and @mskakapo.bsky.social Listen on RSS.com rss.com/podcasts/tec... techgrumps.wordpress.com/2026/10/19/t... Or where ever you listen to podcasts

rss.comFree Podcast Hosting – Unlimited Episodes & Audio | RSS.comStart your podcast free with RSS.com! Unlimited episodes, RSS feed, analytics, and tools to grow and monetize your show.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Embarrassing time to update to Ubuntu 26.04.1 I certainly pick my moments!

cubicgarden.comEmbarrassing time to update to Ubuntu 26.04.1When I bought my Framework 13 laptop while leaving BBC R&D, I was so excited to set it up I failed to add LUKS disk encryption to the system. I knew I should but thought I can do it later... (big mistake) So 1.5 years later, having dismissing the task to add disk encryption over and over again; then wondering if I should move the to do date closer while traveling across international borders.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed reading how the prediction markets are arresting people, how smart TV's have been hovering up all data and how little push back Apple has received for live rewind? Its all in the Public Service…

cubicgarden.comPublic Service Internet monthly newsletter (Oct 2026)We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed reading how the prediction markets are arresting people, how smart TV's have been hovering up all data and how little push back Apple has received for live rewind? To quote Buckminster Fuller "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Getting hot in Athens - My first full Drift zero mix is now available to enjoy So good the captain of the plane came to have a look & listen 😅

cubicgarden.comGetting hot in Athens – My first full Drift zero mixThis is the first proper mix with the Drift DJ Zero while on holiday in Athens recently. It was done over two parts because of a crash with the beta firmware. Most of it in a lovely place in Athens (Morgan All Jeans) then second part on my flight to Barcelona, which attracted the eye of one of the captains of the plane!
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Is #Pebble's #Index01, the perfect dream capturing device? Maybe its time to build something to explore?

cubicgarden.comIndex 01, the perfect dream capturing device?I have been interested in the different ways to capture thoughts I have but with the wave of AI nonsense I have seen stuff which seriously is quite scary. With my focus on local AI control, I found the Pebble index 01 an interesting proposition. So I bought the Pebble index 01, as an external trigger for local recording. I thought it would be useful, as I like the idea and found speech to text very useful generally when trying to spell words or sharing my thoughts.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Sept 2026) We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed reading Zuckerburg's deranged superintelligent AI future post, hearing about pagers leveraged for data breach and what could ever go wrong with…

cubicgarden.comPublic Service Internet monthly newsletter (Sept 2026)We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed reading Zuckerburg's deranged superintelligent AI future post, hearing about pagers leveraged for data breach and what could ever go wrong? To quote Buckminster Fuller "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Its about the richness of the network bonds we all have

cubicgarden.comIts about the richness of the network bonds we all haveI recently posted this on linkedin. It came from an email conversation with Alex DS and my experiences with applying for jobs recently.I'll say it again, Alex is extremely smart and been a fantastic person to talk with about so many things, especially the rights and wrongs of the tech industry. A month ago, I remembered something fundamental: my network matters far more than applications sent into the void of public job boards.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

My whole DJ set from #EMFCamp is now live, enjoy the live mix and the incredible laser light show.

cubicgarden.comMy whole DJ set from EMFCamp is now liveFollowing on from the post where I decide to change my DJ name to cubicgarden. Here is the whole mix live from EMFCamp 2026. I am just transcoding it for Peertube but uploaded the full 8.6gig  cut to Youtube (very surprised its not been flagged...yet?) Enjoy the incredible lasers and even fire balls! Heck the firestarter is back?
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Beta testing the Drift Zero? Now I'm at happy place for some DJ mixes.

cubicgarden.comBeta testing the Drift Zero, how is it going?The last few weeks, I have been beta testing the Drift DJ and its getting a lot more stable. The hardest part I have found is my tunes are from all over, going from Rave stuff from the late 90's to more recent stuff with decent metadata. Some of it is recorded at as low as 192k to 320k but some at a sampling rate of 32, 44 and 48khz.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Machine readable wishes and the Quantified Self = Digital legacy? Garry's thoughts of using quantified self data for digital legacy, has me thinking quite a bit

cubicgarden.comMachine readable wishes + Quantified Self = Digital legacy?The whole video (17.5 mins) is available on Peertube and now legacy media (Youtube). Small enough for a TED talk even... I was reading through the Quantified Self newsletter and had a shock when I saw my talk about machine readable wishes from #EMFCamp featured. I shared it on Linkedin quickly but not on my blog. Ian Forrester, founder of QS-Manchester back in the day, gave a fascinating talk a couple of weeks ago at EMF Camp on…
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed hearing how Meta's Instagram approving illegal adverts, Claude AI chats appearing in public searches along many others and how did we all let one company break the internet? To quote Buckminster Fuller…

cubicgarden.comPublic Service Internet monthly newsletter (Aug 2026)We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed hearing how Meta's Instagram approving illegal adverts, Claude AI chats appearing in public searches along many others and how did we all let one company break the internet? To quote Buckminster Fuller "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Digital italic is dead, long live The Cubicgarden For a long time, I have been known as DJ Digital Italic. However people have gotten very confused and so today I'm changing my DJ name to The Cubicgarden.

cubicgarden.comDigital italic is dead, long live The CubicgardenFor a long time, I have been known as DJ Digital Italic. However people have gotten very confused and so today I’m changing my DJ name to just Cubicgarden. Digital italic, came about when I was starting my move from vinyl to MP3’s (yes I switched CDJs because I didn’t like the format for its…
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Have you thought about your digital legacy? at #EMFCamp 2026 Recently I had the pleasure of talking at EMF Camp about machine readable wishes. The slides are shared from google docs

cubicgarden.comHave you thought about your digital legacy? at EMF Camp 2026Recently I had the pleasure of talking at EMF Camp about machine readable wishes. The slides are linked here. The proposal originally was a workshop but converted to a 20min talk in the main stage of EMF Camp at 10am. Death is inevitable, yet our digital infrastructure remains woefully unprepared for it. While traditional "Letters of Wishes" provide a static roadmap for executors, they lack the agency to interact with our complex, data-driven lives.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

The recruitment agency scam, I almost fell for... I was sceptical and careful but this is a clear warning to those searching jobs. Becareful out there!

cubicgarden.comThe recruitment agency scam, I almost fell for…I almost fell for the recruitment agency scam... I was unsure but just had a some useful interaction with a recruitment agency. Back on 7th July I revived an email on my gmail address, not the one I mainly use for linkedin and lots of sites. Regardless I thought maybe they got it another way. Here's the email... Hello, I hope you’re doing well.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Following the discussion about wealth taxes in @garyseconomics.bsky.social's work. I was wondering what people feel about Ingrid Robeyns‘ Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth. Thoughts about a cap on how much one person can own being 10 million maximum blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofb...

blogs.lse.ac.ukLimitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth – review - LSE Review of BooksIn the face of soaring wealth inequality, Ingrid Robeyns' Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth calls for restrictions on individual fortunes.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

The in & outbound train DJ mixes 2 mixes while on the Eurostar train in June. If you like trance you will love it if not check it out anyway...

cubicgarden.comThe in & outbound train DJ mixesRecently on a conference trip to Amsterdam for the excellent PublicSpaces conference, I took the Eurostar and it was a interesting experience with the whole outbound ride taking 11hours (its a long story but glad I over spent on food at London as it things get real when the food runs out in the eurostar's onboard shops. Don't get me wrong a journey which should have taken 6 hours maximum gets tiresome once you get to 11hours!
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (July 2026) We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed reading the rule of the super rich on hearing about gig working nurses and how can we trust the ghost town of W social, let alone our feeds? To…

cubicgarden.comPublic Service Internet monthly newsletter (July 2026)We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed reading the rule of the super rich on hearing about gig working nurses and is W social European and open or not?? To quote Buckminster Fuller "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Whatsapp must never be public infrastructure PublicSpaces #pubconf26 made this super clear for me, with the people who are actually doing something about it.

cubicgarden.comWhatsapp must never be public infrastructureFor the longest time I have avoided using Meta's Whatsapp. Recently its become more difficult with more and more services using Whatsapp as there default way to communicate. Luckily my partner has become a bit of a human bridge to some Whatsapp groups. To be really clear this is not good! I'm very aware of the mental load women shoulder in society and relationships.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Its Pebble time… 2! Finally the Pebble time 2 came... As most of you know I was a big Pebble fan, for many reasons but battery life is a massive plus. The Ticwatch 5 pro was doing my head in, because although it will last a day no problem. Once you add sleep tracking its a very different story.…

cubicgarden.comIts Pebble time… 2!Finally the Pebble time 2 came... As most of you know I was a big Pebble fan, for many reasons but battery life is a massive plus. The Ticwatch 5 pro was doing my head in, because although it will last a day no problem. Once you add sleep tracking its a very different story. It's taken a little while (just under a year I think) to get back into the pebble way of doing things but after 2-3 days I have forgotten most of the affordances of Android Wear OS.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed seeing the problems with single sign on, Google chrome forcefully downloading 4gig of a LLM and why on earth is meta smart glasses selling so well, despite privacy worries? To quote Buckminster Fuller…

cubicgarden.comPublic Service Internet monthly newsletter (June 2026)We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed seeing the problems with single sign on, Google chrome forcefully downloading 4gig of a LLM and why on earth is meta smart glasses selling so well, despite privacy worries? To quote Buckminster Fuller "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

My latest #pacemakerdevice mix, recorded on Ryan Air. I present the under a solar republica sky mix

cubicgarden.comUnder a solar republica sky mixI spent a good amount of time in Berlin, Germany recently for the fantastic Republica conference. This was recorded on a Ryanair flight (I luckily booked my flights over 3 months ago) using a number of even newer tunes. I had to do quite a bit of editing from the different times when my arm was knocked but it turned out pretty well.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (May 2026) We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed hearing how Tesla robotaxis being remotely driven, seeing Linkedin spying and fingerprinting job hunters and the absolute madding thoughts of…

cubicgarden.comPublic Service Internet monthly newsletter (May 2026)We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed hearing how Tesla robotaxis being remotely driven, seeing Linkedin spying and fingerprinting job hunters and the absolute madding thoughts of Palantir CEO Alex Karp, translated for us lay people? To quote Buckminster Fuller "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

1 year ago I officially left the BBC after just short of 21 years. Looking back at a tricky year of running a limited business and thinking out loud.

cubicgarden.com1 year ago I left BBC R&D, what’s happen since?1 year ago I officially left the BBC after just short of 21 years. Looking back at the post I wrote about how I had been since August 2024, when I first learned my position was at risk and the one I wrote in March 2025. A heck of a lot has happened in the last year. I now have my own business doing a number of different things, but all still focused on the public space.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (April 2026) We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed seeing Gran-parents doom-scrolling, seeing Attie launching during the ATmosphere conference and the study showing people prefer sycophantic AI…

cubicgarden.comPublic Service Internet monthly newsletter (April 2026)We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed seeing Gran-parents doom-scrolling, seeing Attie launching during the ATmosphere conference and the study showing people prefer sycophantic AI bots. To quote Buckminster Fuller "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

A follow up to the post about cloning of my scooter licence/number plate. https://mas.to/@cubicgarden/116211317031564083 Speaking volume about right, automation and surveillance. Support the @openrightsgroup@social.openrightsgroup.org and @BigBrotherWatch@aspiechattr.me

cubicgarden.comFollowing up from my ULEZ fine – The computer is wrong!I have a follow up to the post about cloning of my scooter licence/number plate. Its been pretty hellish, with everything falling back to the analogue hole aka writing letters by hand to prove who I am with the DVLA. The MET police called me and after verifying they who they said they were, we had a long conversation.

Ian | Founder & Firestarter reposted

Open Rights Group
@openrightsgroup.org

Replying to @openrightsgroup.org

The UK government is stuck treating the symptoms, not the root cause of online harms. Nothing changes until we break the business model that drives hate and extremism; the harvesting of our data to maximise engagement and fuel advertising. It's time to #BreakBigTech. Sign and share our petition ⬇️

you.38degrees.org.ukBreak Big Tech: Dismantle the root cause of online harmsPlatforms like X, Facebook and Instagram harvest our personal data so that they can target us with ads. Their platforms are designed to keep us online, pushing out content that will keep us engaged.…
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

The shock of receiving a ULEZ fine for my scooter while flying over the alps last month. A more thought out post following my post previously. https://mas.to/@cubicgarden/116211317031564083 Can't believe the quote...Cloned number plates are very common in the UK, and the number of cases where…

cubicgarden.comDealing with a cloned motorcycle licence plateToday I received a ULEZ fine from Transport for London? Somehow I had broken the rules of the ultra low emission zone. On the day when I was flying over the alps in Europe on a holiday. My scooter hasn't been stolen as I have used it since, plus I have a ton of thick chains and trackers on it (although…
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

What machine readable wishes could do for your social death? Watch the whole video from FOSDEM 2026 and browse through the slide deck.

cubicgarden.comWhat machine readable wishes could do for your social death?Late last year me and Sam's talk for FOSDEM 2026 was accepted. We shared the slides here but now you can watch the whole video. Death is inevitable, yet most of us are woefully unprepared. Fear and lack of time often prevent us from putting our affairs in any order, leaving our loved ones to pick up the pieces of a difficult period compounded by uncertainty.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed hearing the insanity of prediction markets, potential governmental influence on app stores and Open AI confidence is dispensing. To quote Buckminster Fuller "You never change things by fighting the…

cubicgarden.comPublic Service Internet monthly newsletter (March 2026)We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed hearing the insanity of prediction markets, potential governmental influence on app stores and Open AI confidence is dispensing. To quote Buckminster Fuller "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Its been a while since I created a mix on the Pacemaker device, but a recent trip to Budapest gave me some time to try out a few new tunes on the old #pacemakerdevice I present the Budapest influenced : The shadow of concrete ruins mix. Turn it up!

cubicgarden.comThe shadow of concrete ruins mixIts been a while since I created a mix on the Pacemaker device, but a recent trip to Budapest gave me some time to try out a few new tunes in a mix. This mix is a real banger, with a lot of really great tunes alongside some classic ones to anchor the mix. Weirdly enough, the mp3 recorder ran out of battery just near the end and I had to recreate the last 3 tunes.

Ian | Founder & Firestarter reposted

Open Rights Group
@openrightsgroup.org

Age walls could be erected at the government's whim. New Henry VIII powers would give Ministers the ability to impose age verification across the Internet. And it goes way beyond social media. We'll have to surrender our ID to unregulated providers for everyday access to information and services.

Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

#techgrumps 3.37 is now available for your listening pleasure. #AI discussions sandboxed for your security! * rss.com/podcasts/tec... * techgrumps.wordpress.com/2026/02/10/t... With the grumpy voices of @wendyg.bsky.social @rnalexander.bsky.social @eastmad.bsky.social

rss.comTechgrumps 3.37 - AI Discussions sandboxed for your security | Podcast Episode on RSS.comTechgrumps 3.37 - AI Discussions sandboxed for your securityThe AI Skills Hub is a bit lightweight.https://aiskillshub.org.uk/Anthropic has invested 1.5M in the Python Software Foundationhttps://simon...
Ian | Founder & Firestarter
@cubicgarden.com

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Feb 2026) We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed hearing about the whisperpair flaw, Windows Bitlocker keys available to the FBI and owning nothing is freeing of your money. To quote Buckminster…

cubicgarden.comPublic Service Internet monthly newsletter (Feb 2026)By Linda DV We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed hearing about the whisperpair flaw, Windows Bitlocker keys available to the FBI and owning nothing is freeing of your money. To quote Buckminster Fuller "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.