This world that we, the smartest animals in the kingdom, call ours will be inherited by all the lesser animals we mistreat (or, at the very least, ignore) today. Then, and only then, Earth will heal.
Avenir Next is such an easy to read font! I wish it was decently priced, available to use on the web, and not ridiculously expensive as it is today.
This blog post, “We’re All Just Temporarily Abled”, from Jim Nielsen, pairs suitably with my previous train of thought. The older I get, the more often I find myself philosophising.
From Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective:
“‘You see this goblet?’ asks Achaan Chaa, the Thai meditation master. ‘For me this glass is already broken. I enjoy it; I drink out of it. It holds my water admirably, sometimes even reflecting the sun in beautiful patterns. If I should tap it, it has a lovely ring to it. But when I put this glass on the shelf and the wind knocks it over or my elbow brushes it off the table and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, ‘Of course.’ When I understand that the glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious.’”
Also, from The Wise Heart:
“One day Ajahn Chah held up a beautiful Chinese tea cup, ‘To me this cup is already broken. Because I know its fate, I can enjoy it fully here and now. And when it’s gone, it’s gone.’ When we understand the truth of uncertainty and relax, we become free.”
And, from Marcus Aurelius, Meditations:
“Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly.”
Naomi Wu is my new hero. This video converted me to her.
Life is a loop. The known universe is a loop. Everything is a do while loop. Thus, everything is a program in an enormously big computer.
We survived the weekend, alone, without the boy. Now onto the working week. Got to mow the wilderness that is our backyard, this week. Soon after I will have to do the same for the front. It never ends!
Chetan Kunte updated his page! Chetan’s site is one of the few I, almost religiously, check each day for new content.
This is the second, or third time I receive this email. It shows how to make it to my blocklist in one single step.
I’m afraid this is my last email to you about my suggestions for Data Flow (gasp!). I haven’t heard back from you yet and this must mean one of three things:
- You are happy with your current lead volume, CPL, and conversion rates.
- You’ve been too busy with deadlines/meetings/tap-dance classes but you’re interested (It’s not too late!)
- You’ve fallen and you can’t get up. Let me know if that’s the case, I’ll send help!
Please let me know - I’m worried!
Emails with a “friendly reminder” phrase in it irk me. Especially those requesting feedback—over, and over—for a service rendered. I know they are automated, but there is always a human behind them.
Boy is leaving for a week to the Keys before classes start again. Here comes a week of worries.
There has been eight 007s throughout the years. While going through my thoughts yesterday it struck weird that they all like it “shaken, not stirred”, are desired by women, are virtually un-killable, etc. Was that an MI6 requirement? 😂
The “Unknown unknowns”—things we don’t know we don’t know—have always fascinated me.
The former Attorney General is a discreet man.
“Discretion” is a complicated word. It can imply discernment, restraint and sober judgment, for example. It’s also a wonderful euphemism for covering up wrongdoing. And William Barr is a discreet man. — Bloomberg
After coming across “Vocal Fry: what it is, who does it, and why people hate it!” at Claud’s I cannot not notice it on just about any female newscaster.
Via @claudrod.
Conduit is the easiest, fastest, leanest way to run a Matrix server. A single binary, and a small configuration file. Can’t beat that!
Update: 17:33
Or, as George pointed out, docker compose up.
Feeling rather meh. One of those things that happen after taking a long break, or after taking a short one. Or just simply meh.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has no problems selling you a Postal Money Order. It will take your cash—or debit card—gladly. Now, try cashing one in, and you will be stumped: they carry no money to exchange for the Money Order. To cash it in you will need to deposit it on your bank. In other words, avoid them. This isn’t fully accurate.
My four days long weekend is over. Where did the time go?! The relativity of time is truly annoying. 😩
My Personal Identifiable Information (PII) leaked (unauthorized third parties were likely able to access and download full names, Social Security numbers, policy/account numbers, dates of birth, and addresses, among other), again, compliments of SaaS. This time it was “MOVEit Transfer”, which Corebridge (one of my retirement accounts financial institutions) uses.
This CVE provides details of the vulnerability that was exploited. Links within that page explains it further.
Duuuuuuuck! 🤬 Initial fraud alert—1 year—placed on the three major credit bureaus.
Update: 11/08
Partner is also receiving the same notification I got, today. The impact of the breach goes beyond Corebridge. Maybe you are affected too!
“Well, birthdays are merely symbolic of how another year has gone by and how little we’ve grown. No matter how desperate we are that someday a better self will emerge, with each flicker of the candles on the cake, we know it’s not to be, that for the rest of our sad, wretched, pathetic lives, this is who we are to the bitter end. Inevitably, irrevocably; happy birthday? No such thing.”
Update: 08:52
The above from one of “Seinfeld” episodes.
Based on what I have seeing of the gameplay and the looks, I have absolutely no interest, nor desire to play, Baldur’s Gate 3. Almost died of boredom! I will pass, 100%.
The sentimental in me found this blog entry, and was touched. So many times I have thought about Netscape, and what will it be if it was still around. Right after Mosaic, Netscape Navigator was the web browser I used for a very long time.
I am just surprised this didn’t come along earlier, and that it took a pandemic event to make it a reality. Going to an office to sit all day, and then go home never made sense to me. When pushed for a change, all we got—begrudgingly—was one “telecommuting” day per week.
“If they were to say ’everyone back in the office’, I would probably be asking for a raise,” said Coomber, who still visits the office once or twice a week. “You get more family time. You can actually finish work at five, rather than finishing at five spending 45 minutes trying to get home.”
“Despite having lost, the defendant was determined to remain in power”, prosecutors wrote. The 6 January 2021 riot was “fueled by lies” — Mr. Trump’s lies. The gigantic ignoramus also known as Donald Trump has been indicted—yes, again!—on four criminal charges relating to his involvement on the 6 January 2021 revolt.
From The New York Times:
The wheels of justice move slow, but thank goodness they move. I also found interesting what Will Hurd (a Republican presidential candidate) said about Trump:
“Trump’s presidential bid is driven by an attempt to stay out of prison and scam his supporters into footing his legal bills…”
When the girl tells me she is stressed, and had a mental breakdown, it truly hurts my heart—that feeling one gets, as if someone was squeezing it. It upsets, worries me so much! Why will there be things for which we feel so impotent to do anything?
“🎶 Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies…”
I don’t need, nor want, thinner bezels on an iPhone. I want to be able to comfortable hold it. What I want is an edge-to-edge screen which, sadly, will not come anytime soon. I am sure many are with me on this.
Oh, and keeping its pricing sensible. If it comes at $1,500, I would rather buy a laptop.
Watched a handful of football matches this weekend, as the FIFA Women World Cup is ongoing. Noticed that players didn’t get as upset as men do, nor did they get violent to each other, nor one ever yelled at the referee within millimetres of her face. Certainly refresing!
“I’ll leave tomorrow’s problems to tomorrow’s me.”
Re-watched season 1 of “One-Punch Man” with the kid this past weekend. Need to look for season 2—not available on Netflix, unlike season 1—to quench the thirst left by watching those few episodes.
Update: 04/08
My kid found season 2 online, watched first episode last night. So good!
Within my family (partner and I, both sides) there are only 4 people using a phone running god-knows-what version of Android. Everyone else is on iOS. Of all my friends there is only 1 on Android. So yeah, I believe this (that the iPhone market has increased, while Android based phone shipments have dwindled) to be true.
As of 9 June 2023 there were 37 charges against Trump; there have been some more since. How someone so criminally tarnished—to say the least—can even run for President of the United States? Then again, he “served” one term as one already.
Note: 13:03
I wrote this note with this today’s news in mind, which adds more charges to the born disgraced ignoramus.
Broccoli cheddar soup is my favourite soup. I like many soups, but no other brings more joy than the broccoli cheddar one. Having always had someone else’s, I am now ready to cook it on my own. I bet you can guess what’s on the menu this weekend.
I was skeptical, but thanks to George—and after watching the hearing—I am more willing to believe, and agree that there needs to be more transparency on the findings on UAP (formerly UFO) phenomena. Let’s hope something substancial comes out of this.
Update: 10:13
If you decide to watch the hearing video, be aware it is 2 hours 18 minutes long. I found that seeing/listening it at 1.5x, or 2x worked best for me.
Feeling a little bit nostalgic. I am sure it is part of things that happen “before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern”. That kind of thing.
The feeling I get when I visit my favourites GitHub repositories, and find new updates… That git pull sure is such an adrenaline rush!
Browsed to this website for the fun, stayed for the typography. Look at the legibility and beauty of that Garamond Premier Pro!
Pet peeve #19657: using relatives when referring to conclusives. “It looks like it is happening” rather than “It is happening”. “It looks like the firewall is allowing connections” rather than “The firewall allows connections”. It is not alledged when just is. Duck!
Well, now I know what I will be doing more often. I mean, it doesn’t take too long, and it comes with benefits I can sure use. I also mow the lawn once a week; believe me, that’s plenty of exercise.
It seems like Barbie and Oppenheimer are a total success, and a must see, as the worse have riled up against them.
Saw this on the Fediverse, from an automated account (bot) suitably named Picard Tips: “Don’t assume anything is possible or impossible until you’ve asked the people who will be doing the work.” Oh man… so true!
If only I had the state of mind that Hokusai had! For me these words come as the perfect example of optimism, and hope. Reading them makes me feel at ease.
“…until the age of 70, nothing I drew was worthy of notice. At 73 years I was somewhat able to fathom the growth of plants and trees, and the structure of birds, animals, insects and fish. Thus when I reach 80 years, I hope to have made increasing progress, and at 90 to see further into the underlying principles of things, so that at 100 years I will have achieved a divine state in my art, and at 110, every dot and every stroke will be as though alive. Those of you who live long enough, bear witness that these words of mine are not false.” — One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji.
Via The British Museum.
“It is in our power to have no opinion about a thing, and not to be disturbed in our soul; for things themselves have no natural power to form our judgements.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 6.
“What a horse wants, what a horse needs, is always having a patch of grass that’s ever green…” — Read/sing it with the music of “What a Girl Wants”, by Christina Aguilera. I sang it this morning to my partner. She is a Horse 😂.
This was not only a racist comment, but a stupid, uneducated one. The fact that he is still defending it makes it even worse.
“COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese,” he added. “We don’t know whether it was deliberately targeted at that or not but there are papers out there that show the racial or ethnic differential of impact for that.”
While on video gaming topic, specifically Diablo IV, I have decided to play a druid on Season 1. Unlike previously anticipated, I am picking Radagast for his name. I think it is quite fitting, right? 🙈
About Diablo IV’s patch notes there has been much controversy. Blizzard has truly made the game less fun with it, but it is a game, and I don’t give it much thought. Now for those who think the patch is the worse ever, think again!
On The Past Is Not True written by Derek, I liked this a lot, because if you give it a thought you will know it is oh-so-true.
“We think of the past like it’s a physical fact - like it’s real. But the past is what we call our memory and stories about it. Imperfect memories, and stories built on one interpretation of incomplete information. That’s “the past”.”
Via Hacker News.
“We are lost in space, just as the planets, stars, suns, universes. We are all lost, on a collision course to the unknown; our end inevitable.” — That was my first (and only) entry on Anytype. I am liking the app so far!
I have a general antipathy for the indented paragraphs writing style (that is, first line of each parahraph is indented). I truly dislike it, and very much prefer—and exclusively use—a block format.
Update: 13:01
It is not just that I don’t like it visually, it goes beyond that. I find the style hard to read. Maybe it is just the way my brain is wired.
For my fellow christians, what ever happened to Mark 12:17? Why do you insist on shoving your fanatic doctrines down everyone’s throats?
Note: 18:30
Please, understand that “you” in the context above doesn’t really mean you you. I am using the “royal you”.
I surprised everyone today at the gathering by having one slice of pizza only. The four years ago me would have eaten four, plus pops, plus cookies… the whole shebang! Not today. What can I say? I have been institutionalised 😂.
It is “Pizza Day” at work’s old offices. We finished a migration (moved half of our VMs to Azure), and management is treating us to it. It will be an opportunity to say hello, face-to-face, to old, and new co-workers. Looking forward to it, just let’s see how traffic behaves.
This one I had read before, yet still brought a few chuckles as I read deeper into it. Having a friend that owns (or used to, I am not sure now) a handful of old Porsche’s, I couldn’t resist sharing it with him. It made him laugh too! 😂
“Welcome to my Porsche 914. I imagine that at this point (having found the door unlocked) your intention is to steal my car. Don’t be encouraged by this; the tumblers sheared off in 1978. I would have locked it up if I could, so don’t think you’re too clever or that I’m too lazy. However, now that you’re in the car, there are a few things you’re going to need to know.”
Via Hacker News.
Truly loving Jessica’s approach of creating weekly notes. The weeks, I noticed, are not quite accurate (for example, 27 June 2023 is the 26th week of the year, not the 25th), but nevertheless, I love the use of the additive bullets for the week’s notes.
Update: 10:21
I just realised this approach reminds me of Logseq a lot. No wonder I like it so much!
The newly announced cybersecurity certification and labeling program is a step in the right direction. It is meant to “help Americans more easily choose smart devices that are safer and less vulnerable to cyberattacks”. My only worry is, wouldn’t these type of programs be easily dismantled by a future administration? That’s always my fear; many things change in our country based on the political party currently at the helm.
In case anyone doubted the influencing economic power of Taylor Swift.
“Despite the slowing recovery in tourism in the region overall, one contact highlighted that May was the strongest month for hotel revenue in Philadelphia since the onset of the pandemic, in large part due to an influx of guests for the Taylor Swift concerts in the city.”
Regarding this, I don’t have the option on my phone for it. I have searched The Tubes, and others are in the same boat. I figure it requires carrier activation, or Apple is throttling the rollout of the feature, or something else. Oh well, it is a beta after all.
“Tips are a wage subsidy to the employer,” she says. “It’s not a tip. It goes to your wage. It is just the amount that the employer doesn’t have to pay you. And people don’t understand that.” — NPR
Oh, I understand. I just don’t agree with it. Ask the employer to include that “subsidy” on the price of the goods, and then it will be up to the customer to decide whether spending the money at the establishment is worth it, or not.
Picking nuts out a bag without looking is better than placing then in a bowl. When you pick them from the bag, you get a random assortment. On the other hand, having them in a bowl tempts you to discriminate, and hand-pick what you like—which will, irremediably, result in waste.
Some words about happiness that resonated for me this morning:
“You’re saddled up; there’s no recourse. It’s, “Hi-yo, silver!” — Signed: Bad Horse
Child tried a root beer float—with vanilla ice cream—for the first time on his life last night. “It smells funny. Medicinal, even”, was his reaction to root beer. Yup, that’s root beer, for sure!
“See you in my 19th life” continues to be exciting, engaging, and overall lovely. Saw the most recent episodes last night, and I can’t wait for the next weekend 🙈. Imagine if re-incarnation was possible, and on top of it you remembered your previous lives? Anyway, no spoilers! A sweet plot twist on these series.
Upcoming iOS 17 Live Voicemail is as good as advertised. Some might call it magical, even. I do.
“Live Voicemail gives users the ability to see real-time transcription as someone leaves a voicemail, and the opportunity to pick up while the caller is leaving their message. Calls identified as spam by carriers won’t appear as Live Voicemail, and will instead be instantly declined. With the power of the Neural Engine, Live Voicemail transcription is handled on-device and remains entirely private.”
Today we kind of ended the most disorganised, painful, and convoluted engagement ever in which I have being a participant. We are left with a non-functional solution that is bound to produce headaches, and unpleasantness—and surprises!—for years to come. Yay! 😒
Running iOS 17 public beta now, as temptation got a hold of me yesterday. It has some glitches, and small bugs (mostly visual), but very, very stable, and usable. Buttery smooth as if it were a release.
Substack is the new Medium. It started great, now one gets those obnoxious requests for signing up. I have avoided any links driving me to Medium; adding Substack to the array.
It is this note timestamp, and I am going to sleep. I have been going to bed each day, for the last few weeks, past 01:30, and waking up at 06:00. It has now caught up with me. Youngster no more.
I am so tempted to install iOS 17 public beta! If anything for that Journal app, because I will use the heck out of it. Also because George told me “this is the only way we can test”. The fact that he already jumped in isn’t helping. 😅
Update: 16:11
Ugh, need to learn how to read the fine print. On the Journal app, from Apple, “Coming later this year”. Cry, cry, cry! Still, I think I will jump in.
Thunderbird 115 Supernova is out, and it is hideous. Not just the looks (I ducking hate that Outlook look!), but the bloat. Why couldn’t an email client remain just for emails? Couldn’t care less about its calendar. Ugh, I am getting too old…
Working physically—as in, not remote—at one of our datacentres today. Last time I went there was at the end of year 2022, let’s see how much it has changed. I expect visible changes in our cage, as we are trying to vacate it. Off I go to waste over an hour on commute!
Wow, just wow! Truly no words to describe how well done, how perfect, how entertaining was to watch this stop-motion animation. This one defines mastery. The behind the scenes video is a must watch.
Via Kottke.
Feature request for iOS: setting to allow all calls from Contacts to ring through, all others go straight to voicemail. In other words, an allowed list (as opposite to disallowed, duh!).
Local temperatures (in Celsius). Lovely, just lovely. We are not harming our planet, no. Not happening, nothing to see here, right?
Fascinated by this, as I have always being about keeping track of time—though, like everyone else, I tend to “waste” it. I like the simplicity and usability. I also love the optimism of the maker: “[…] assuming I live to 85 years old.”
Via Hacker News.
Oh yes, we know tipping—an endemic problem in the US—has gone out of control. This article Kim shared doesn’t make sense, though.
“No matter if you are dining in or opting to carry out, try to stick within 15 to 20 percent of the pretax bill.”
No, sorry, that’s not how it works. I might be an oddball, but I have been tipping when I feel like it, in the amount I feel like it—exceptions on places that include the tip on the bill. As the article briefly mentions, “businesses should pay their employees fair wages rather than forcing them to rely on tips.”
Upgraded my Mastodon instance to 4.1.4. Forever grateful to the “Update Notifications” bot which remind us all running the software to upgrade/update as needed. I would probably be in troubles without it.