Heather Flanagan
@sphcow.bsky.social
270 followers 350 following 230 posts
Digital identity & standards geek | Principal @ Spherical Cow Consulting 🐄 | Blogger, speaker, and cat herder of the Internet’s geekiest corners | Might be obsessed with knitting, spinning, weaving, and trashy romance novels | Intrepid world traveler
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I didn't know if or how the pectin would impact the final product, given that the stuff was cooked with the cores and skins for a comparatively short while. So, #til pectin is pretty sturdy stuff and will DEFINITELY impact the jam-making process even if you don't keep the apple bits in the pot.
The second batch, I tried something different: I just cut the little apples in half, threw them in the pot with water to cook and soften, then put them through a food mill to get rid of the seeds, stems, etc. The result is an even more apple-y apple butter that is also a lot harder.
Interesting experiment in making apple butter this month. The first batch, I carefully cored all the apples (including the little cider apples), which was a royal PITA. The resulting apple butter, though, was tasty and had the consistency of thick apple sauce.
Reposted by Heather Flanagan
The Declaration of Independence specifies 27 grievances with King George III and Britain.

Donald Trump and his regime have committed at least 20 of those same offenses highlighted in yellow.
#NoKings
I really should have called today’s post “Why Tech Supply Chains Limit Fragmentation (and Many Other Things)”. It’s the next in the series about Internet fragmentation.
Why Tech Supply Chains, Not Protocols, Set the Limits on AI and the Internet

I had one of those chance airplane conversations recently—the kind that sticks in your mind longer than the flight itself. My seatmate was reading a book about artificial intelligence, and at one point they described the…
Why Tech Supply Chains, Not Protocols, Set the Limits on AI and the Internet
I had one of those chance airplane conversations recently—the kind that sticks in your mind longer than the flight itself. My seatmate was reading a book about artificial intelligence, and at one point they described the idea of an “infinitely growing AI.” I couldn’t help but giggle a bit.
sphericalcowconsulting.com
Reposted by Heather Flanagan
I'm very excited to announce that @sphcow.bsky.social is joining us as a speaker at SW2con.com! Heather joins Adrian Cockcroft, Adam Seligman, Paul Kedrosky....oh, and @mikemaney.bsky.social....join us!
SW2 CON 2026
SW2con.com
Reposted by Heather Flanagan
We've launched registration for sw2con.com!
Our early confirmed speakers include: Adrian Cockcroft, Adam Seligman, Paul Kedrosky....and, @mikemaney.bsky.social.

Join us!
SW2 CON 2026
sw2con.com
Reposted by Heather Flanagan
The technical consensus is clear: you can't create a backdoor that only lets the "good guys" in. However they're dressed up, these proposals create cybersecurity loopholes that hackers & hostile nations are eager to exploit. 6/
One hour left before the next attempted flight to Authenticate. To drink, or not to drink. THAT is the question.
Flight was canceled and I’m having SO MUCH FUN at the bar!
AND! My flight was cancelled so guess where I am hanging out now? (Floret has tasty cocktails, just sayin’)
Wait, it’s a travel day you say? Well then obviously I must be at Floret @ SEA!
Another day, another trip! This time to the Authenticate conference in Carlsbad, California. After this, only 4 more trips this year. Yay!
I wish I could take a picture that captures Friday evening at a local wine cafe on the island where I live. A bunch of people, all who know each other enough to giggle and chat and join in other people’s conversations and be welcome to do so. I swear,
I see good use cases where passkeys are used to authenticate before access is allowed to the wallet, and then the credentials in the wallet are used for whatever authorization is going on. Doesn't sound like that's what the Swiss are doing, though.
I get the concern over synced passkeys for high-assurance use cases, but regardless of whether passkeys are synced or device-bound, they are still better than passwords! As for the authentication through an app, I wonder if they are merging authentication and authorization by using the app.
Reposted by Heather Flanagan
That's cool, seeing the rain go by.
Reposted by Heather Flanagan
Health Experts Recommend Standing Up At Desk, Leaving Office, Never Coming Back https://theonion.com/health-experts-recommend-standing-up-at-desk-leaving-o-1819577456/
Next up, test out a new fountain pen, work on mDL blogs for a client, sort out DNS issues for another client, and plant garlic.

This interleaving of my interests is one of the biggest things I miss when I travel.
So far today: advising on an identity-related not-for-profit's website (SIROS Foundation for the curious), discussing passkeys and the difference between device-bound and synced, talking about today's blog post (I'm really excited about this series), and finishing a batch of chicken stock.