February 2024

I’m in one of my company’s offices and looking at myself in the zoom TV makes me feel very very old and tired.

Duolingo doesn’t seem to be the way to go for non-Latin alphabet languages. So, where should I go to learn Korean or Thai?

It's a shiny new blog post called: The Thief in the Public Square

https://lawver.net/2024/02/the-thief-in-the-public-square/

#CurrentEvents #AI #Automattic #copyright #Tumblr #wordpress

Dammit, I haven't even finished cleaning up from the last time I moved my blog. I don't want to have to do it agaaaaaaaaaaain.

Lemme see if I get this:

If I copy your shit as my own, that's plagiarism and it's bad.

But when I copy everyone's shit and run it through a mystery box that rearranges it until it barely makes sense, that's futuristic technology.

And if I take your shit and sell it, that's copyright violation and it's bad.

But when I make a place for people to post their shit and I just sell *access* to it so the mystery box people can have it, that's a viable business model.

Makes perfect sense.

Trans guys fucking rock, pass it on

I saw my first Kia EV9 on the road today while waiting for the bus, and it’s gorgeous - and not as big as I thought. It didn't look like it was any bigger than our minivan (also a Kia). So tempting…

Stumbled on Daudi Matsiko's music this weekend and it's heartbreaking. Reminds me of early Andrew Bird and Sufjan Stevens, and a little bit of The Antlers. Really melancholy beautiful stuff. Hymn is a good introduction: https://youtu.be/TijnBvCaV90?si=KlVQuByk8RCO3Nl1

American Fiction was really good. It’s way funnier than I expected, and the performances were all incredible.

Kind, brilliant, approachable, inspiring, funny, curious, joyful, passionate, beloved - Jim Weirich was a wonderful human.
10 years ago today he was suddenly gone. Those who knew him will never forget him.
Thanks for everything, Jim. We *still* miss you.

I was the CTO at a now-defunct recruiting startup. We played with ML screening for YEARS and every time, we came to the conclusion that it will NEVER work because it’s training on capricious, biased decisions made by people. It just makes those decisions faster and more opaque. Please stop the madness. There are a TON of ways to make recruiting more efficient, but screening isn’t one of them.

https://mastodon.green/@gerrymcgovern/111957557815840793

If you're an Overcast user, I discovered recently that the iPad app works GREAT on my Mac. #OldNewsYouProbablyAlreadyKnew

If you are #trans and a US citizen, you should absolutely, 100% apply for a passport this year, whether you plan to travel or not. Yes, it costs $$, but you can self-select your gender without bureaucratic BS (thanks, Joe), and it lasts 10 years and is valid ID everywhere in the world. Whatever fascist laws your GOP reps are proposing in your state legislature about gender markers on IDs, you will have a federal document that reflects your actual gender. And if necessary, you can use it to leave the country.

that’s numberwang

If you don't like saying “enshittification" may I suggest "decrapitation" instead.

This is so good, and reminds me a lot of The Abundant Community, which I feel like I refer to or look up a quote from almost weekly: https://everythingchanges.us/blog/look-to-your-neighbors/

“Our human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learned how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.” – Nelson Mandela

Study finds women more likely to apply to job ads with precise qualifications. For one vague ad, 6% of qualified women applied vs 22% of men. With more precise lang, 29% of women applied. In another, 42% of women applied vs 56% of men; precise ad=62% of women.

This gives some empirical support to the oft-quoted stat that men apply for a job when they meet 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them.
https://womensagenda.com.au/business/vague-language-in-job-ads-can-push-women-away-new-research-shows-how-employers-can-attract-more-female-applicants/

Dear Google Calendar: please allow me to set the time zone I will be in for a block of time so I can get people not to schedule meetings when I'm either asleep or not working.

Roses are red
My laughter is busting

Happy Valentine's Day! The half and half in my coffee curdled so, you know... yay.

“Gumption" needs to make a comeback.

Hello. I am a passive observer in the cultural event called The Super Bowl. Oh my, the commercials, the drama, the hyperbole, the balls!

What was the most revolutionary technology ever invented?

The wheel.

Although, the shovel was groundbreaking.

Some people also considered the invention of the knife cutting edge.

Yard Act = Soul Coughing + Kaiser Chiefs and I love them. They also make amazing music videos (check out The Trench Coat Museum).

Sysadmin: ephedrine

Chemist: I can't serve you that.

Sysadmin: sudoephedrine

Chemist: There you go.

I wear rainbow glasses for computer things, and have a pride flag hanging over my window... so I'm all rainbow all the time on zoom calls. I've had a few people assume I'm LGBTQIA+, and I'm struggling to find a way to tell them that I'm just an overly enthusiastic ally.

The new Galaxie album is ridiculous (in a good way). So noisy, so funky, best played in headphones. https://open.spotify.com/album/5xjD6pGqoH2Hgh8CqkwNtW?si=s9Sph-U4SHyd7KKYLQwblg

I swear I do the reverse of this all the time. "If this code doesn't work, I'm going to be a farmer and grow soybeans or something. I don't care.” http://www.marriedtothesea.com/020724

My mind palace is now more of a shed with a rusty door and a hole in the roof. A family of opossums has taken up residence and doesn't take kindly to me trying to come in anymore.

Doing that product launch thing for Pika today on Product Hunt. 🎉

We’re really proud of the beautiful blogging experience we’ve created with Pika!

If you’re so inclined, drop in to Product Hunt and let us know your thoughts.

First came the glassholes, and we all pointed and laughed. Now we have the proholes and ... yep... we can all point and laugh again!

Just finished it and… it’s perfect.

For All Mankind was great. A little uneven in the middle, but they really stuck the landing.

I am 75% through Emily Tesh’s “Some Desperate Glory” and it’s even more amazing than my previous report. It’s great storytelling, and the gender/sexuality content warning was warranted, but so far, it’s been beautifully done. I haven’t even finished and it’s going in my top ten list for this year.