Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal/Opinions

  • Mid-level detail

    Writing feels like an odd thing sometimes, though I suspect it's more me and the way I think that's the problem.

    I can write, and at times I even rather like writing. Trouble is, I'm only halfway decent at some types of writing. Other types I just run up against a wall and bounce off. And unfortunately, the type of writing that I'm attempting at the moment is exactly that sort. Not here, I mean the writing that I am trying to do for work at the moment.

    I can do big picture waffle. With a modicum of self control, I can even edit that down to be relatively clear and non-waffley. This is good for both work, and dungeons and dragons. It's good for having big ideas, and ranting at the state of the wold.

  • 🔤SpellBinding: BDEWLOF Wordo: TINNY

  • 70MM

    Last week (or thereabouts) I watched a documentary broadcast on SBS called "Splice Here: A Projected Odyssey". It was from 2022, made by an Australian filmmaker/projectionist about the death and slight-rebirth of film projection. It's a bit chaotic, clearly assembled from footage shot over years as a bit of a hobby project. But it delves into a full range of topics, from old Australian cinemas closed and demolished due to competition from TV, to the end of the profession of projectionists in the 2010s as digital projectors replaced film everywhere. Then it covers the film resurgence, especially about the higher-resolution 70mm film format which can still rival digital projectors for quality and was restored in selected theatres for screening Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight. The cinema in Melbourne where the filmmaker works wasn't selected, but he pushed for installing an old 70mm projector there for it anyway, and eventually managed to do so, even inspiring Tarantino himself to visit a screening of The Hateful Eight there.

• Politics and World Events

  • Trans rights are human rights [Ed: This conflates choice with biology; biology is not a choice]

    If you accept trans people being defined by their reproductive role... Then men can define all woman by their reproductive role

• Science

  • Latest crocheting

    I started seeing Cotopaxi coats pop up around Fairbanks a few years ago and had really wanted one, because I love stripes and colorblocks and the coats seemed so smart and stylish. The price tag was too high for me, though, around $300. However, last October, when I got my PFD and had a little spending money, I discovered that Cotopaxi has a secondhand shop on their website called Mas Vida. I found this black and ivory jacket for less than 1/3 of the new price. It was in beautiful condition and I was thrilled with it. Plus I loved the idea of reducing waste by reselling gear. So I am thankful God made a way for my little dream to come true of having a Cotopaxi coat!

    For the hat I used some ivory/beige yarn I had gotten for my birthday. I wanted to use a shell stitch, so I looked up a free hat pattern that used a shell stitch, then added on an extra row of increase to the crown, and the border of single crochets at the end.

    The hat turned out a little too big. I think it would have been perfect if I had reduced while stitching the border. But I don't mind. It ended up looking a bit like a cloche and as I enjoy listening to Maisie Dobbs books on Audible, this pleased my fancy. Maisie Dobbs' signature piece to her elegant wardrobe is a cloche hat.

  • News and Links Digest (publ. 2025-02-06)

• Technology and Free Software

  • Discord for role-playing games

    Discord really works well for my gaming. I even pay them. 😬 And as far as finding new players goes: essentially there are some generic servers, some servers for particular games or publishers, and for your tables. So you “look for games” in the first two category of servers and then you send interested parties an invite to the server for your table(s).

  • Minisign

    I’m not really using encrypted mails, but I often verify various downloaded file hashes or signatures (You, dear reader, also verify files downloaded from the internet, right? RIGHT?). So, I’m rather passive user of cryptography. And I’m glad to announce, that I’ve found a “new” interesting project: [...]

  • Internet/Gemini

    • The gopkg link is no more

      A gopkg url for only rssgoemail is totally a bad idea. Also, looking at the latest typosquatting attack against the Go's ecosystem, I though that avoiding future issues with my code ending in mirrors around the world is a good idea.

  • Programming

    • Why I like simple code

      So I was randomly browsing and found this talk by Peter van Hardenberg, “Why Can’t We Make Simple Software?”. [1] This YouTube comment summarizes it well: «This presentation is basically the talk I have with every stakeholder at some point but most of it just gets dismissed as “nerd shit”» - JordanManfrey