@gcvsa@mstdn.plus
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

gcvsa

@gcvsa@mstdn.plus

[UTC -5:00] GenX, FilAm NPO/NGO SJW she/her @gcvrsa http://paypal.me/gcvsa

#bass #guitar #ttrpg #danmemo #palia
#fountainpen #filofax #pedalboard

#FreePalestine #FreeUkraine #FreeTibet
#antifascist #anticommunist #antizionist #nobridge

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gcvsa, to random
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

For all its warts, I think one book that really deserves to be re-read in these times is—and I almost cannot believe I'm saying this—Tom Clancy's "The Sum of All Fears".

In many ways, I almost cannot believe this book was ever allowed to be published, for how Clancy portrays the resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and I almost cannot believe that Clancy, of all people, actually committed those words to print.

He is the most unlikely source for such an idea.

gcvsa,
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

To wit:

(Wikipedia) ' Following the advice of Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (DDCI) Jack Ryan, National Security Advisor Dr. Charles Alden enacts a plan to accelerate the peace process by converting Jerusalem into a Vatican-like independent city-state to be administered by a tribunal of Jewish, Muslim, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox religious leaders, and secured by an independent contingent of the Swiss Guards. '

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sum_of_All_Fears

gcvsa,
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

The book was published 33 years ago, in 1991, long enough ago that it has faded from most people's memories, aided by the fact that this part of the story was entirely omitted from the script of the 2002 film, directed by Phil Robinson and starring Ben Affleck, adapted from it.

Reading this book was part of what caused the change in my thinking on the entire question of the existence of Israel and the plight of the Palestinian people, during a time when Islamist terrorism was far more common.

gcvsa,
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

To be clear, the book is a bit simplistic and ham-handed, as with all of Clancy's books, but I'm pretty sure this was the first time I ever read in print the idea that the Israel government could become so brutal in its oppression of the Palestinian people that the international community, lead by the US, would essentially force the dissolution of the State of Israel, or at least, symbolically, limited to Jerusalem.

This, I believe, is the only viable path forward. Israel must be abolished.

notjustbikes, (edited ) to random
@notjustbikes@notjustbikes.com avatar

This National Post article is about how the average Canadian now spends over $1.3K PER MONTH on their car.

They included this bullshit quote at the end.

This is what I expect from a lousy Conservative newspaper in Canada.

But here's the fucked up thing.

This quote is by the DIRECTOR of the the UofW School of Planning. 🤦

If even the guy in charge of teaching planners thinks you can't live "a full and rewarding life" without a car, is it any surprise Canadian cities are planned so poorly?

gcvsa,
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

@notjustbikes I've been car-free in my 10 sq mi Northern New England small town of only 7500 people for 2.5 years, now. I promise the benighted author of that article that I live a full and rewarding life. I own an ebike, and all necessary shopping and employment is within a 15 minute radius of my home on my ebike, with an intercity rail station less than 2 Km from my home. The nearest grocery and pharmacy is less than 1 mi away. $1300/mo CDN is more than my housing rent.

gcvsa,
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

@notjustbikes If I drove 12000 mi/yr in a car averaging 30 mpg (very optimistic), over the course of that 2.5 yrs, I'd have burned 1000 US gallons of gasoline into the atmosphere, along with all the other pollution cars cause and emit.

gcvsa,
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

@notjustbikes What I cannot buy and transport within the capabilities of my ebike, I can order and have delivered by local service, USPS, UPS, or FedEx, with global reach. The worst thing that could possibly happen is I'd have to ask a friend for a ride once or twice a year. Otherwise, I just do without, a concept that I recognize is foreign to today's instant gratification obsessed affluent neoliberals.

gcvsa, to fountainpens
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

I think the reason why so many people get into and quickly is because they don't simply get one good pen and one good ink, and make that the combination they use for 99% of everything they write. In the golden age, the was a utilitarian tool, a commonplace daily object, and people didn't regard them as "collectibles" in the same way they do in the 21st Century. Do you collect disposable or even refillable ballpoints? Do you carry a dozen ballpoints around?

unseenjapan, to Japan
@unseenjapan@mstdn.jp avatar

People who know nothing about Japan: Japan isn’t down with all this LGBTQ stuff!!

Actual Japan: on Feb 1st, Wakayama Prefecture will become the latest local government to pass a partnership system for same-sex couples. Such systems already cover 70.9% of Japan’s population.

image/png

gcvsa,
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

@unseenjapan It's progress, but Japan is still far, far behind peer nations in sex/gender equality and LGBT rights. It's not inappropriate to recognize this.

atomicpoet, to random

The people have spoken. You want a long music thread. So tonight, I'm sharing an absolutely nasty playlist that includes rock, hip hop, electronic, and outsider music.

Buckle your seat belts. It's about to get real.

First up is this live performance of "Ghost Riders" by the electronic punk band Suicide. Interesting fact about Suicide: they were the first band to call themselves "punk".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzFed7NO8BI

RE: https://firefish.city/notes/9ouq0lhfgltmai3h

gcvsa,
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

@atomicpoet TJ&MC if they were women.

gcvsa,
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

@atomicpoet Also, I'm hearing a band that would have fit perfectly on a bill with Drop Nineteens, The Swirlies, and Velocity Girl

Radical_EgoCom, to random
@Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social avatar

Capitalism functions seamlessly in exploiting individuals. The deliberate imposition of financial insecurity leaves people weary and preoccupied with the fear of poverty. This state of perpetual exhaustion and concern over income loss creates a vulnerable populace, making it convenient for those in power to exploit and underpay them. Relentless struggle for needs and fear of homelessness distracts the working class from challenging a system thriving on worker exhaustion.

gcvsa,
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

@Radical_EgoCom This is 100% false. In Economics, the return to Capital is "Interest". "Rent" is the return to Land. Capitalism is not the problem, Capitalism is the solution. All of the problems your post describes are attributable not to Capital, but to Landownership. The Landlord is the true enemy, not the Capitalist.

mcc, to random
@mcc@mastodon.social avatar

Twitter was a bad place for a long time but the fact is it made a lot of journalism possible (in the sense of viable) that wouldn't have happened otherwise. In the post-Twitter world we now live in, there will simply be less journalism. Which journalism disappears from the world will be selective; the power of speech will be granted to those who support or tolerate modern fascism, and denied to those who inhibit it. The second Trump term will be worse than the first one. https://mastodon.online/@alexwild/111726623827820471

gcvsa,
@gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

@mcc "what matters to journos" does not at all equate with "what's good for journalism". Mastondon does not need to offer what Twitter offers to be better than Twitter for journos and journalism.

pixiecata, to fountainpens
@pixiecata@apobangpo.space avatar

deleted_by_author

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    gcvsa,
    @gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

    @pixiecata The range may be limited, but at least some of the colors are beautiful. Their green is so gorgeous, if I had seen it before I ordered the two TWSBI greens, I would have bought it.

    enobacon, to random
    @enobacon@urbanists.social avatar

    wouldn't we all like our bolts properly torqued

    gcvsa,
    @gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

    @enobacon I know I would, but the last time I got out my torque wrench, it didn't work, anymore. The pawls don't engage in the ratchet head, and I'm not sure if parts are available anymore for a rebuild.

    Oh wait...you meant...oh, I see... :blushes:

    dangillmor, (edited ) to random
    @dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

    It is essential to stop using Chrome.

    Under the pretense of saving users from third-party spyware, Google is creating an ecosystem in which Chrome itself is the spyware.

    Given Google's overwhelming presence in the browser market, this is unconscionable.

    We should all despise the ad-tech business, and have no sympathy for the companies getting whacked by Google's actions. But we should not permit one monopolist to replace them all.

    https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/12/year-review-googles-corporate-paternalism-browser

    gcvsa,
    @gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

    @dangillmor The only problem that I have with this is that my transition to Firefox has not gone well. It's very buggy, and doesn't seem to work properly with too many websites.

    RickiTarr, to random
    @RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

    What do you think is a subject that most people misunderstand, and if they were more educated in the topic it would probably change their mind?

    gcvsa,
    @gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

    @RickiTarr Logic. Critical Thinking. Philosophy. Economics.

    SecurityWriter, to guitar

    deleted_by_author

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    gcvsa,
    @gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

    @SecurityWriter I think a lot of people don’t realize that the ME-90 uses the exact same Roland custom DSPs as the GT-1000 and GT-1000Core, just with a different, more physical interface.

    Private
    gcvsa,
    @gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

    @DocCarms It makes me so sad that one sells Red Horse anywhere near me, here in Vermont. I used to always drink it at my favorite Filipino restaurant in Philadelphia.

    My cousin in Manila just posted a picture of himself with a bottle of Red Horse.

    gcvsa, to random
    @gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

    Here's a good question for the community: As I no longer wish to use the pens I own that use cartridges, I'd like to get a squeeze bulb to flush them out and prepare them for sale, so can anyone recommend a particular brand of bulb?

    gcvsa, to random
    @gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

    I've noticed the blog, Mountain of Ink, has recently published reviews of Pelikan 4001 ink, and I'm surprised to note that one of the largest ink blogs on the Internet has apparently never before reviewed what is certainly one of the oldest, most popular brands of ink in the market. After getting my first good fountain pen, a Pelikan, in the early 1990s, I used 4001 exclusively for over a decade and a half, before ever trying other inks.

    parismarx, (edited ) to tech
    @parismarx@mastodon.online avatar

    As Hyperloop One shuts down, we need to remember that the Hyperloop was never meant to be built.

    Elon Musk’s goal was never to transform transportation for the masses, but to stop or delay high-speed rail from reaching North America. Sadly, he succeeded — and we all lost as a result. While the rest of the world moved forward, the US remains stuck in the past.

    https://www.disconnect.blog/p/the-hyperloop-was-always-a-scam

    gcvsa,
    @gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

    @cragsand @parismarx What is so sad about this is that so many people bought into it immediately, without considering even for a second the logistical realities of attempting to build an evacuated tunnel hundreds of miles long. It was obviously a boondoggle from the very beginning. Why are people so willing to believe in tech-wrapped delusional fantasy, and so unwilling to do the easy, non-technological things we should be doing to improve the world?

    gcvsa,
    @gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

    @cragsand @parismarx I meant “evacuating”as in the air from the tunnels, to create a vacuum, but you are of course correct.

    pixiecata, to random
    @pixiecata@apobangpo.space avatar

    deleted_by_author

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    gcvsa,
    @gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

    @pixiecata I bought my Christmas ham this week and my mincemeat pie last night, along with brandy and sherry to drink, but I haven't thought much past that about what else to make. There's just me to cook for. Maybe I'll make something with pumpkin, and green beans. Definitely gravy.

    pixiecata, to fountainpens
    @pixiecata@apobangpo.space avatar

    deleted_by_author

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    gcvsa,
    @gcvsa@mstdn.plus avatar

    @pixiecata Ah, those are the Nakabayashi inks. The Konjou I mentioned was from the “Blue Revolution” line, with the same packaging, but 50 mL bottes.

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