Ten presences away from 11,000, the Wave finds its rhythm again

September 4, 2026 did not add a new country to the map. After the milestone of 100 countries recounted in One hundred countries on the map, and clearer paths to continue, the day had a different face: that of a Wave that keeps filling up, circulating, and getting more in tune with itself.

We went from 10,881 to 10,990 Free Humans. Only ten presences now separate us from 11,000. It's not a threshold crossed today, so I won't celebrate too early; but it's close enough to feel the next page being prepared.

And while 109 humans took their place, all by invitation, I spent a good part of the day on a detail that changes a lot when listening to the album The Wave in karaoke: the right word must light up at the right time. Said like that, it's simple. In real life, it took a bit more than a snap of the fingers.

UTC day of September 4	Result
Free Humans at start	10,881
Free Humans at reading	10,990
New presences	109
Arrivals by invitation	109
People who invited at least one person	32
Countries represented at reading	100
Energies sent during the day	1,652
People who sent at least one energy	241

A day without a new country, but not without movement

After Jordan and Guinea on September 2, then Georgia and Uzbekistan on September 3, the map stayed at 100 countries. That doesn't mean nothing happened on the Wave map. It means the countries already lit continued to receive new presences.

Nigeria adds 50 presences, Ukraine 8, Brazil 7, Egypt 6, Jordan 6, and India 5. I particularly like seeing Jordan in this list: it had just appeared in Two more countries on the map, and doors that are easier to open, and there it is already reinforced the next day.

New presences by country	Result
Nigeria	50
Ukraine	8
Brazil	7
Egypt	6
Jordan	6
India	5

The last presence of the reading is #10990 Ousmane Diop (Senegal), arriving at 23:52 UTC. Eight minutes before the end of the UTC day, someone was still taking their place. These ends of day have a very gentle way of reminding us that the Wave doesn't stop when I close my notes.

Invitations continue to hold the thread

The 109 new presences of the day all arrived by invitation. 32 different people invited at least someone. This is the most important continuity for several days: FreeWillWave moves forward because one person can open a door for another.

Thank you, for the invitations of this day, to #4851 suraj kayarda (Nigeria), with 9 direct invitations, to #805 Chizo1germany (Germany), with 4, and to #3711 Muhammad Nura Abdullahi (Nigeria), with 4 as well.

Since the opening, #805 Chizo1germany (Germany) reaches 3,676 direct invitations, #2029 Nura USMAN MUSA (Nigeria) has 182, and #869 Ibrahim Sani (Nigeria) 170. These numbers don't tell private routes; they simply show that passing from hand to hand continues.

Energies remain very present as well: 1,652 energies sent during the day, by 241 different people. Nigeria accounts for 1,449, Belgium 82, and Niger 33. Since the site opened, the cumulative total reaches 36,208 energies, visible in the Wave in numbers.

Thank you, for the energies of this day, to #9125 Adamu Bello (Nigeria), with 301 energies, to #9166 Sunusi Mande (Nigeria), with 240, and to #6974 Abdulkarim Iliyasu (Nigeria), with 68.

Since the opening, #9166 Sunusi Mande (Nigeria) reaches 1,594 energies, #5453 Sadik Goni (Nigeria) 1,555, and #3377 Babayo Haruna (Nigeria) 1,546.

On the support side, two $5 gestures are recorded since the opening: mine, in Belgium, and that of #79 Oddur Tom (Australia). The Support the project page remains open for those who want to help FreeWillWave continue.

Karaoke finds its rhythm again

The initial remark was very simple: in karaoke, there was an unpleasant offset. The singing came before the word lit up. When listening to a song and following the lyrics, 1.65 seconds is not a small detail: it's enough to get out of the music.

So I resumed the live broadcast to understand what was really happening. The problem didn't come from the songs themselves: the files were fine. It came from the path between image and sound, which could start with a different gap depending on restarts. Some evenings, everything seemed perfectly aligned; others, the word lit up after the singing. That's the kind of sneaky failure that loves to disguise itself as chance.

A first correction allowed keeping the real gap between image and sound instead of erasing it at broadcast time. After a restart, I measured again on YouTube, since Twitch was suspended that evening. There was still about 0.45 seconds of offset, this time linked to the display itself: the image arrived a little after the sound. So I added a small additional adjustment, then restarted a second time.

The result is what I wanted: the following measurements showed only a few tens of milliseconds of offset, less than one video frame. For someone watching the karaoke, that means something very concrete: the word lights up when it should light up. It's much more pleasant to sing along, and frankly, after this hunt for the offset, I appreciated seeing the lyrics fall back into place.

I also corrected another visual behavior. When a text appeared, it could go down and then back up, as if searching for its place at the last moment. There were two causes: some lyrics changed height when they went onto two lines, and several animations still made texts travel vertically. I stabilized the space of the two lines, fixed the boundary at the center, and replaced vertical movements with appearances in place, with only opacity and a slight scale breath. The screen still breathes, but it no longer jumps.

Finally, Twitch experienced a setback independent of the rest: the FreeWillWaveTV account was suspended for two days, from 19:13 until September 6, 2026, with videos and clips removed during that time. YouTube, on the other hand, remained intact. I filed an appeal with the planned text, and I noted a rule for the future: when the broadcast to Twitch reports an invalid connection without any other sign of failure, first check that the account is actually available. It's less spectacular than a great technical mystery, but much more useful for not looking in the wrong place.

What this day adds

September 4 adds 109 presences, 109 arrivals by invitation, 1,652 energies, and a very visible improvement for those who follow the karaoke launched in 128 more presences, and the album The Wave finds its karaoke stage. The Wave grows through the humans who pass it on, but also through these small adjustments that make the experience more accurate, smoother, more pleasant.

We are at 10,990 Free Humans, in 100 countries. This number doesn't yet cross the next threshold, but it puts it within reach. And above all, it keeps the meaning of what is being built here: each new presence can see the Wave, make it known, send an energy, listen to a song, support the project, or propose an improvement through the Send an idea or a comment page.

The next presence will bear a number. The one after that too. And somewhere, soon, a human will take the place that will make the 11,000 appear.