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

Polygamy, from Catholic Synod on Synodality to Social Control Media & Debian CyberPolygamy
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Only a Third of or 1 in 3 Web-Connected Devices is a Desktop or Laptop, According to statCounter
we can expect Android to widen its lead
 
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: Stimulants and Subscription Costs for DRM
Links for the day
When the Microsoft Aggressors Rely on Several Law Firms ('Attack Dogs', 'Guns for Hire'), Not Just One, Lawyering Up Against Techrights (Acting on Behalf of Americans Against UK Publishers)
From serving customers at some restaurant he has moved on to bullying people with demand letters
Links 24/06/2025: OpenAI [sic] May Soon Die (Too Much Debt) and Social Control Media Accused of Being Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda Amplifier
Links for the day
Nirbheek Chauhan in Planet GNOME Explains Why Wayland Pushers Are Losing
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
The Days Are Getting Shorter, the First Half of 2025 is Almost Over
We're gratified to see significant increase in traffic and also positive feedback on the work we do
Turning GNU/Linux Into a Political Football
X (not the site) is Free software
X Server Still Works for Many People
A lot of people will grow suspicious of Wayland boosters/pushers if they persist and insist on using these tactics
Exactly a Week Ago "BetaNews Staff" Said "Betanews Is Growing Alongside You". Since Then Every Article (All by "Camila Nogueira") Has Been LLM Slop.
BetaNews is basically a slopfarm
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 23, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 23, 2025
The "Tarzan Effect" in Compilers and Software
What happens when you forcibly make things 'work', either by hacks or by disregarding warnings (like those that compilers tend to issue)?
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: Mass Tourism, Hair Love, and Google Gemini as a Googlebomb
Links for the day
Law Firm Burgess Mee Does Not Fully Deny Participating in Abusive Litigation for Serial Strangler From Microsoft
I am not unfamiliar with these tactics
The Modus Operandi of Wayland Pushers: Make It Political
do what I say or you're a nazi...
Links 23/06/2025: RFE/RL Contributor Vladyslav Yesypenko Released, Recording Industry Cutbacks
Links for the day
Brett Wilson LLP Solicitors (M): Over 99.9% of Our E-mail is Self-Marketing, We Send You 3.5MB E-mails for Less Than 1KB of Text
Why would tech people entrust legal matters to such people?
Peter Moon's (Computerworld) Interview With Richard Stallman
Stallman: If you want freedom don't follow Linus Torvalds
At What Point Does Outsourcing Constitute Malpractice?
Brett Wilson LLP's new staff page is misleading
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sailing to GNU/Linux, According to statCounter
countries in that region will quickly learn the price of neglecting digital sovereignty
From Do Your Own Research to Do Your Own Search
The Web is full of garbage; search engines amplify this garbage
More People Moving to Geminispace?
at age 6+ Gemini Protocol seems to have gained some maturity and it seems like more people use it
Permutation in LLMs Does, Inevitably, Change Meanings and Therefore LLMs Cannot Properly Rephrase or Summarise Texts
LLMs lack actual grasp or comprehension of what they spew out
Links 23/06/2025: Many Security Breaches, Population Declines
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: "America at the Crossroads" and OpenWRT Surgery
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 22, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 22, 2025
Pure Dove
Different means different, and sometimes those who "deviate" from "the norm" have a point
Censorship is a Sign of Weakness Which Invites More Censorship Attempts
revolutionaries don't succumb to pressure from bullies
Why It's Unlikely That LLM Slop Will Dominate the Web in the Long Run
Slopfarms will eventually perish (they have no actual value) and "survivors" on the Web will be sites that never depended on search engines and social control media
GNU/Linux in Argentina Now Measured Near 5%
Like in central Europe, they must be seeing an increasingly hostile US
BetaNews is Fake News, Composed by LLM Slop
nothing in BetaNews is written by humans anymore
Links 22/06/2025: Giving Up on Smartphones and 'Jaws' at 50
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/06/2025: Furniture Construction and Bubble for Comments
Links for the day
Links 22/06/2025: Windows TCO Tales and YouTube Getting More Hostile to Users
Links for the day
The FSF Board and FSF Beard
So the FSF's Board has grown
Law Firms Facing the Consequences for Patently Abusive Litigation on Behalf of Microsoft Employees Who Got Arrested for Strangulation and Had Done Even Worse Things
Having spent 1.5 years bullying me with patronising letters on behalf of Microsofters, last week they got served a massive bill and, in effect, lost the Hearing
New Report From the EPO's Staff Representatives in The Hague (LSCTH) Reveals Many Unsolved Issues
Local Staff Committee The Hague (LSCTH) wrote to staff just before the weekend
LLMs Breaking Everything
Computing and the Net became a playground for scammers and "bros", like people who "invented" fake currencies and also try to tell us that LLMs spewing out things will have some real value
Links 22/06/2025: More Slop Lawsuits (Copyrights) and "America’s Oligarch Problem"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/06/2025: Gigantic Toolchest and Annoying Bots
Links for the day