@jmac@masto.nyc
@jmac@masto.nyc avatar

jmac

@jmac@masto.nyc

I live in New York. I get paid to write about databases. I don’t get paid to write about other stuff, but I do it anyway.

Tech writer at Google; Co-founder of IFTF, an interactive-fiction nonprofit; Liker of coffee, cats, open web technologies, et cetera. Co-admin of https://masto.nyc.

All views I express in my personal posts are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Five Borough Fedi Project.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

jmac, (edited ) to random
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Good mail day: Got my copy of "The Paradox" by @elainemwill

jmac,
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My collection of strange little comix that I have found either directly through Mastodon posts or at zine festivals that Mastodon has pointed me to grows. I love it.

jmac, to random
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An interesting and troubling trend around age-disability in the U.S.: increasingly, if an elder has a fall, the staff in their home doesn't help them get up. They call 911 instead, even if the elder is awake and uninjured. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/05/03/assisted-living-homes-senior-falls-911/

This makes nobody happy. The responders spend more of the day unavailable for truly life-threatening emergencies, while the elders just lie on the floor—frustrated, embarrassed, and ignored—waiting for the fire engines to arrive. It sounds miserable.

jmac, to random
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I found myself catalyzed yesterday into becoming a $20 / month donor to Earth Justice (https://earthjustice.org), an environmental-law organization that combats threats to our biosphere by throwing lawyers at them. This appeals to me.

I am a well-off tech worker who cares about climate but is unlikely to actually go plant a tree or whatever, so donating generously to charitable causes is the best way that I can help. If you're in similar straits, consider joining me?

GIFS_of_Puppets, to random
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Today's GIF of the Day is...

GIF of a group of characters from Jim Henson's Dog City all letting go of balloons at the same time in celebration

jmac,
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@GIFS_of_Puppets Dog City, man. This was the dream

mhoye, to random
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Automakers have thus far refused to give my proposal to replace the hum EVs make at low speeds with a recording of Raymond Scott’s “Powerhouse” the hearing I believe it deserves.

jmac,
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@mhoye Funny, I always thought “Careless Whisper” would work here

jmac, (edited ) to VideoGames
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I had a great time learning last night with a veteran friend's guidance, which means that now when I try a "trivial"-difficulty solo mission I lose because I get lost and run out of time instead of losing because all my guys die.

alerdyn, to running
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First run in over a year.
Well… I say run…aggressive shuffle is a better descriptor.
Lessons learned:
PT informed me that I don’t have flat feet. 30 years ago or so a GP said I did and I never thought to ask again.
There is a new balance store one block from where I work. I must have crossed infront if it thousands of times - never noticed it.
The view from around the Jacquline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir never gets old. (Below, ironically, is an old photo…)

jmac,
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@alerdyn This is one of my favorite city views, which I get to enjoy every time I go out for one of my own aggressive shuffles (unless I choose Riverside Park instead).

jmac, (edited ) to random
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Archie and Reggie demonstrating Positive Masculinity way back in 1960.

(Alt text: Vintage six-page comic where the boys can't rustle up $5 to attend a dance. After various failed schemes, they come to blows over a found $5 bill. But then Veronica ditches Archie as usual, so he invites defeated Reggie to the dance as his date. All is well.)
https://mastodon.online/@ComicBookProgressive/112382847122462219

ComicBookProgressive, to comics
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Harry Lucey 1960

Actions Speak Louder Than Words



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jmac,
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@ComicBookProgressive positive masculinity

seano, to random
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After volunteering at the TTWU for a short while, I finally pulled the trigger and joined my company's . I'm still learning how things work, but I hope I can be of some help!

Thanks to @jmac for telling me about his union experience and helping to nudge me in that direction

jmac,
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@seano Eyyyy welcome!!

jmac, to random
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A short and quietly lovely post on the Tao of Gaming board-game blog: https://taogaming.wordpress.com/2024/04/24/against-fairness/

It reminds me of the screenshot I shared the other day of an amazingly unlikely but entirely rules-allowed unwinnable situation I found in Cobalt Core.

I have also won and lost the game dozens of times, but I haven't shared screenshots of that: who cares?

It's the remarkable stories from games that we remember and retell, not rote victories or defeats. "All of us are just stories, in the end.”

jmac, to random
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Really one of the standout lines from the whole dang enterprise. Right up there with the “What is grief" one.
https://dementedandsadbut.social/@genehack/112374808756068264

jmac,
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@smadin YUP

jmac, to random
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I find these photos of a GWB-era mass protest at Columbia fascinating for one subtle reason: None of these protesters are wearing masks or otherwise obscuring their identities in any way.

This change in the way that protests are conducted in the U.S. feels like the least foreseeable side effect of the COVID pandemic.
https://mastodon.art/@jennylam/112373961712380437

jmac,
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Been thinking about this more after the Times ran a feature on this topic, just today. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/02/nyregion/college-campus-protests-anonymity.html

jmac, to random
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Oh no, my old NCR-flag T-shirt just changed from a somewhat in-jokey game reference to an extremely non-obscure TV reference, didn’t it. Boo

jmac,
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@dougo Who says I didn’t

foxandcity, to random
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Was doing some cleaning, and well...

...file these under "things I can't believe that I forgot I own."

Going in my office, for sure

jmac,
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@Patrickoldhiker @foxandcity Whoah!! I made a guess as to what these were before checking out the replies, and boom.

beanclock, to random
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people in iran speak farsi

people closer to you speak nearsi

jmac,
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@beanclock 🎶And Iran, Iran’s so far away-y-y…

jmac, to random
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Was reminiscing about a show I caught last year with a friend while she was in town. Her commentary today on this photo, and specifically the S-class photo-bombing happening behind us: "We were NPCs in that man's life.”

jmac, (edited ) to random
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An impressive doozy of an unwinnable situation, if I don't say so myself.

• Yes, that's the final boss with three HP left, and my ship's cannon lined up with its weak point.
• Yes, that's me holding 10 identical non-attack cards, each of which adds a copy of itself to your hand when you play it.
• Yes, each such card has the "This stays in your hand if not played" modification on it.
• Yes, there is a 10-card hand limit.

jmac,
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@dougo On-theme! And so's this, really; "Worm" is in the deck of the “hacker"-themed crew member, who I guess I deliberately infecting the ship's computer to gain temporary shielding, or something. Which works pretty great in a shorter fight!

jmac,
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Max seems like the weakest of the crew, with the weirdest deck, but he's so much fun to play when paired with the Tiderunner. His cards that pop off other cards based on their hand position also make the ship go sliding everywhere, and you can really turn that chaos to your advantage! On the other hand... this.

ComicContext, to random
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jmac,
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@ComicContext Man, just log off and touch grass, Supes

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