Bonum Certa Men Certa

Gemini Links 24/05/2023: Razors, Profit, and More



  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal

      • Razors

        Note: if you want my thoughts on safety razors, you can skip to the section below, otherwise, directly following this is my background on how I got to using safety razors.

        When I started shaving I remember asking my father how to do it. I remember thinking to myself this is some kind of father-son rite-of-passage to manhood and that he hadn't offered yet to show me so I figured I might as well ask. I think I had these visions in my head of a father showing the son to go "with the grain" and whatever other sage advice he could give. And while my father did tell me, it was less than climactic and I remember him giving me a look that said to me that he hadn't really thought about it and it wasn't all that hard because he'd been doing it for years. This has stuck with me all these years later but not because I was mad or disappointed, but it was still a defining moment in our relationship and my progressing towards adult-hood.

      • Twenty-Three Years

        A week ago was my wedding anniversary. Usually I don't give specifics, but this is one day that I'm happy to have found someone who was willing to stick with me for twenty-seven years and not wander off for greener pastures… or at least pastures without me.

        When I first moved from my mother's home, burned out from too many hours and barely able to hold my life together, I had no intent on ever getting married. In reality, I had no intent on even finding someone and didn't really try. It just wasn't in the cards for me.

      • Smokey: New Job, Future Plans

        I am currently two weeks into a new job. I decided to try a custodial gig at a healthcare facility. I should update the 'now page' I guess.

        So far I am enjoying things. I get to listen to music all day, work at my own pace, and not deal with other people beyond the occasional "Hi, how are you, have a good one." Im not getting paid a huge amount of money compared to my old work, but as a trade off there is much less stress involved. Im basically my own boss. Just keep the place relatively clean and everyone is more than happy.

        The first week was a tough one. My body wasn't used to the activity and there was a covid situation I helped take care of. It was a little off putting but I didn't get sick so things all worked out.

      • 4 🔤SpellBinding: ABCKORS Wordo: BEGUN
      • short sleep

        in college when I felt invincible (unlimited stamina and so) I went a week or so reading creepypasta and then not sleeping much (as a consequence of not wanting to be eaten by a wall or whatever). then I read about dymaxion sleep or polyphasic sleep and thought maybe I'll give it a try someday, but never actually got to sleep in the morning or at noon (even when I had some classes I would definitely want to sleep through). now that I have to get used to a two hour on/off schedule, I definitely cannot recommend it.

    • Politics

      • On Profit

        I work for a big tech company—a megacorp—that for the sake of a simple life I’ll refer to as $company.

        I have noticed that discourse about $company often over simplifies to an extent that removes all value from the conversation.

    • Technical

      • Internet/Gemini

        • News group peering

          Oh boy, this is confusing! @tomasino@tilde.zone and I are trying to set up peering for cosmic.* and campaignwiki.* groups from our respective news servers. User xwindows is helping us out on IRC, but it's not easy to figure out what to do.


* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.



Recent Techrights' Posts

In Defence of Physical Tickets
Tickets are not some "app" and not some "code" on some "screen"
Microsoft Layoffs Not Limited to XBox (False Narrative in the Mainstream Media)
Microsoft is becoming less relevant and workforce reductions won't end any time soon
Links 14/07/2026: Plagiarism Spun as "Training", Zelensky Announces Leadership Shuffle
Links for the day
The Register MS Has Just Published "AI" Webspam That Mentions "AI" 54 Times. It Was Paid to Do This.
Who pays for all this "AI" hype or "buzz"?
Gemini Links 14/07/2026: Self-Advocacy Online; "The Internet Is Dead: How the Web Lost Its Human Soul"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 13, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, July 13, 2026
Modern Technology Harms Women More Than Men (Because the 'Tech Bros' Who Dominate STEM Have a Poor View of Women)
“Privacy protects us from abuses by those in power, even if we're doing nothing wrong at the time of surveillance.”
Internet Relay Chat Trolls Are Not Expressing Opinions, They Are Saboteurs
For the record
Links 14/07/2026: "The Freedom of Information Act Is in Serious Trouble"; Irish Datacenters Use Up Almost 25% of Total Energy
Links for the day
The Register MS: "AI" Puff Pieces for Sale, Not Journalism at All, Just "Webspam"
The Register MS isn't the sole culprit
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 12, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, July 12, 2026
How We Do Techrights (and What's Changing Next Week)
Many former news sites no longer yield much non-meaningless news (not anymore); there's a gap to be filled
Links 12/07/2026: Palantir Unrest and Wireshark 4.6.7
Links for the day
Links 12/07/2026: New Instrument Time and PalmOS Experiences in 2026
Links for the day
Red Hat Staff Says IBM Policy Has Stigmatised Him as a Tool and a Slopper With Plagiarism Tools
IBM is killing Red Hat with slop
Freedom of Choice or Freedom Versus Choice (or When All Choices Are Incompatible With Freedom)
When some business asserts that it gives people different options, then it can rightly argue that it offers some choices, but that is not the same as freedom
Techrights IRC Turns 5 Without a “Code of Conduct”, “Code of Conduct Committee”, and All Those Bureaucratic Nightmares
18+ years if one counts our time in Freenode as well
Why U No Use AI???
Many hype waves come and go
There Are Still Slopfarms in Google News
Google is trying to participate in if not lead this pyramid scheme
The Cyber Show Explains How Slop and Promotion of Slop is About Taking Control Away From Computer Users
"On making a trustworthy machine"
Keeping Available the Site at All Times
Informal arrangements and crowdfunding keep our work available despite resistance (including from people who break the law)
What If "Era of AI" and "AI Revolution" (Fake News) Never Happened?
So how much longer before the bust (or bubble-burst)?
GNU/Linux Approaches 5% in Australia
5% by year's end?
Europe/EU is Moving Towards Independence, Fast to Adopt Free Software
More and more states (governments, public sector) in Germany are dumping Microsoft
GNU/Linux Grows at the Expense of Windows
People who want to get work done already left Windows
Tux Machines Growing as a Volunteers-Run Site
Historically the site did not have many original stories, but this changed as the audience grew and the site gained more recognition
Links 12/07/2026: European Commission Versus ‘Addictive Design’, "Google Loses Final Appeal Over $4.7 Billion EU Android Antitrust Fine"
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Market Share Increases Some More Today, statCounter Measures It at 7.3%
Will more such thresholds and records be broken?
Gemini Links 12/07/2026: Studying Languages and 2026 Old Computer Challenge (OCC)
Links for the day
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part XIII - At the EPO, Cocaine Addicts and Their Friends Are "Protected Class"
What does that tell us about the EPO?
Increasing Output by Focusing on Originals
It's probably more important to carry on with these than it is to keep abreast of non-crucial news
Amid Strikes and Industrial Actions, Young Professionals at the European Patent Office (EPO) Kept on 'Short Leash', According to the Local Staff Committee The Hague
Issues affecting Young Professionals
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 11, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, July 11, 2026