One of my favorite shots of my MacBook and glasses.
“This is supposed to be a Koi pond” I toad him.
Well, I’m back after a not-so-brief hiatus. Trying to renew my account was a massive PITA. Yet somehow, through perseverance and a lot of swearing, I managed to do it. I feel like I need to take a nap now.
The Village Idiot
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
When I joined Lockergnome 20 years ago, I adopted the persona of “the Lockergnome Village Idiot”. I still feel like the village idiot. So many things that it seems everyone else believes, like religion, paternalism, equality, justice, capitalism; I don’t. I haven’t for nearly 50 years. It’s odd to feel so out of step with the majority of humanity. I’ve met others like me along the way. And we all have asked ourselves at some point, “Is it me?
Suspension of disbelief
Sunday, July 2, 2023
While watching a British police procedural on PBS I was reminded of one small action that English actors seem to never perform convincingly. Holding and drinking from a paper coffee cup, ala Starbucks. They way they handle the cup makes it obvious it’s empty, and they barely touch it to their lips while pretending to sip/drink from it. Suspension of disbelief. That’s what’s required in a drama. Little things like that spoil it for me.
Your call is important to us
Saturday, July 1, 2023
Coming soon to your town. “Thank you for calling 911. Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line for English. For Spanish, press 1 now. Please press 0 for a menu of other available languages. Your 911 center is supported by your tax dollars, and we thank you. We will connect you to the next available operator. You are caller number 8.”
Earth isn’t fine tuned
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
People who claim that Earth was designed by a deity just for the benefit of humans are looking at that concept the wrong way around. Roughly 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. The Earth is surrounded by the vacuum of space. Humans can only live naturally on 30% of the planet. Without specialized equipment, humans cannot live in the ocean, humans cannot live in space. In addition, Earth has earthquakes, wildfires, tsunamis, floods, landslides, volcanoes, and climate changes.
We humans think we’re so damned smart. How many human words can a dog understand? Up to between 100 and 200 words. How many dog words can a human understand? Zero.
If there’s one truism in tech, it’s “use what works for you”. Don’t listen to people who try to ridicule you for your choices. If it works for you, be it tech or app or OS, use what you enjoy and what works for you.
Billionaires are a single point of failure in capitalism.
Woke? Damn right I’m woke, And proud of it.
Racists, Christofascists, and bigots can all kiss my woke ass.
Capitalism Compromised the Internet
Sunday, June 18, 2023
When the World Wide Web, and later the Internet, came into existence, most of the nerds I knew thought this new means of communication would usher in a future of worldwide democracy, where everyone could talk with anyone, and freedom could be spread via modem. There were chat rooms and bulletin boards. And all this would be available to every person on Earth. Instead, we got just another capitalist venture, one in which the users, instead of charting its future, became commodities.
Clive was truly annoyed at having lost the chicken
Saturday, June 17, 2023
One minute he’s on the way to market, chicken safely tucked under one arm and whistling a random tune. The next moment Mr. Darby’s brainless spaniel runs up behind him and spooks the chicken something fierce, causing the bird to react violently. Unfortunately the violence was directed toward Clive and not the dog. Thank goodness chickens don’t have massive teeth. As it was Clive escaped the chicken’s reaction to the sudden presence of the yapping mutt by clawing Clive randomly about the face and neck.
The fight on the right is going to be ugly, and I’m looking forward to it. At the rate they’re going, soon you won’t be considered a good Republican unless you’re under indictment for something.
Love will overcome
Thursday, June 15, 2023
It’s hard to deny that some form of Christofascism is attempting to be entrenched in America. The most effective way to resist this assault on democracy is to use what it lacks against it. Christofascism is a movement that treats people as slaves to the powerful leaders. There is no empathy, no concern for those less fortunate. Might makes right. Every man for himself. We can fight this inhumane form of government by caring for each other, loving one another.
Micro.Blog, Where Art Thou?
Monday, June 12, 2023
Platform specific: I was reading an article by Manton Reece on his RSS feed and wanted to make a comment. I noticed that the article was also on Micro.Blog, so I clicked over to that. I still couldn’t comment as the site told me I needed to log in. OK, standard stuff. I gave my email address and they sent a link. Using that link I was signed in, but to my own timeline.
Nothing to see here...
Friday, June 9, 2023
Trump’s indictment, and those to come, are welcome distractions. They are allowing us to ignore for even a few moments that there are rich and powerful forces determined to undermine our democratic republic, as imperfect as it may be, and substitute for it a theocratic fascist state. They’re distracting us from the imminent danger our entire planet faces due to our terrible stewardship and our unbridled capitalism. The band’s still playing but the ship is sinking.
Chaos reigns
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Even big companies are conspiring to reign chaos down on America. Google is selling .zip and .ooo domains. Spammers are jumping on .zip domains. And Apple wants to drop “Hey” from waking Siri. Insane. I learned how bad that can be when I changed the wake word for Alexa to Computer. I never realized how many times I say computer during the day, usually prefaced with a profanity.
Complacency could kill us
Saturday, June 3, 2023
I guess climate change, growing fascism, and social inequality can be depressing, but it’s reality. If we let it overwhelm us to the point of denial we’ll never find a solution if there is one. No one (outside religion) ever promised us that life would always be easy and humanity’s future is assured. We could easily go the way of the dinosaurs, and much sooner, if we ignore all that’s going on.
