Almost a year exclusively using GrapheneOS for mobile and (many years before that) GNU/Linux for all my computing.
How quickly one gets spoiled. Found myself obliged over the past few days to help relatives use Windows and iOS. It was deeply shocking.
Windows on newish hardware is so slow that I didn't think it was responding. To say nothing of the privacy and usability nightmare.
And the Apple ratchet has tightened down a few more clicks in a year. A very high quality third party app that I bought years ago now appears in a new version "with in-app purchases," and the splash screen requires me to sign in via Google or Facebook. Perfectly ghastly.
@jameshowell Thanks for sharing, i´ve been lately loving baroque music and here in this video again I see the same enthusiasm by the musicians. Old music is such a gift for us living here now. :)
Truly I must be one of the most fortunate people ever to live. First-world material comfort, relatively healthy mente et corpore, and privileged to earn a living inspiring young people about science.
It's the last day of the semester and students are bringing me to tears with their words of authentic thanks. I just wish I could show them how grateful I am to THEM.
@jameshowell This article about the slimy corn indicates that there are even bacteria and fungi that can live between cells and do the same thing, companies seemed to be eager to market them, and since that was over 5 years ago, and i didn’t hear about an endophyte revolution, I wonder if it’s also a niche thing, only used by plants when there is no nitrogen available in the ground, but too costly otherwise, and thus not very high impact on the whole agriculture thing we have going.
Explaining to my wife how me and a bunch of globally distributed armchair etymology obsessives have spent the better part of the last week geeking out over the word "thing." She hoists her eyebrows high on her forehead. I AM TELLING YOU SWEETIE MASTODON IS A PARADISE FOR NERDS
In the german translation (never read the english original) the Ents meet to finally show Saruman his borders. And this meeting is called "Entthing" by Tolkien (or the translator).
Been using it for a couple years and I rarely get anything in a café that I enjoy as much. Then just today I got the Fellow Prismo and I was surprised at how much it improves the taste (not to mention the fussiness of the procedure).
"A thing was a governing assembly in early Germanic society. Things took place at regular intervals, usually at prominent places that were accessible by travel. They provided legislative functions, as well as being social events and opportunities for trade. In modern usage, the meaning of this word has shifted to mean not just an assemblage but simply an object of any sort."
@iron_bug@jameshowell Vikings made it through "Russia" (which didn't exist back then) from the Sargasso sea till the black sea. Maybe a bit of their culture, translated to slavian languages of the time prevailed?
Things are a form of basis democracy. And (one of) the oldest parliament is actually of norse (north germanic) origin, the Tinganes on the Faröer islands. Similarly the Þingvellir in Iceland.
Dr. Howell says READ THIS BOOK: the immortal Herman Melville, MOBY DICK (1851). I'm only about a third of the way through, and it ain't light reading. But holy crap: it pays you back. Penetrating, lyrical, and surprisingly hilarious.
@jameshowell A "historic" book that is actually easy to read is Victor Huho "Les Miserables". You probably know one of the movies ... but the book is better.