@BramMeehan@ohai.social
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

BramMeehan

@BramMeehan@ohai.social

Designing things and teaching stuff in the American desert southwest. Walking the dog when she feels like it. || Avatar by Colin Murdoch.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Introduction in pinned post, relevant hashtags include #SantaFe #NewMexico #GraphicDesign #Comics #Fencing #Greyhound #Polaroid

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

ChrisMayLA6, to scifi
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

This week I've been mainly reading, no. 148.

The first book of Ann Leckie's Radch trilogy, Ancillary Justice (2013) offers an interesting plot of AI, identity & insurrection. Leckie builds an interesting (political) world/universe for her tale of revenge & becoming, which while at times a little too tricksy, overall remains a compelling bit of space-opera. If at times the plot seems a little too convoluted, the central idea(s) is/are intriguing & developed interestingly


@bookstodon

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@ChrisMayLA6 @bookstodon Librarian friend loaned it to me with the warning (apparently common for this book) “OK, just trust me, get throught the first 100 pages.”

Oddly, the second was my favorite. The trilogy remains one of my top reads of the past decade.

DemocracySpot, to music
@DemocracySpot@mstdn.social avatar

🎧 Mood.

"Girls & Boys"
(1994)

🎬 Kevin Godley directed the video.

📷 Courtesy

▶️ https://youtu.be/WDswiT87oo8?si=HYgPEfbTxXfy9SIc

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@DemocracySpot I raise you Girls vs. Boys: https://youtu.be/EznT-07NKsY?si=DWW7pisCUSi9-J8F&t=58

Video may not be much, but that guitar riff remains one of my favorites ever.

BramMeehan, to bookstodon
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

Gift link: https://wapo.st/4atpBtq

@bookstodon

ChrisMayLA6, to books
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

At the risk of reigniting a debate that has been had in my timeline in the past... here's a report of a University of Valencia that looked at over 20 paper examine the differential effects of reading digitally & on paper.

The research confirms my experience (my own & in the reading of my erstwhile students) that reading digitally is less likely to lead to long-term educational (knowledge) benefits...

@bookstodon

https://www.upmpaper.com/knowledge-inspiration/blog-stories/articles/2024/makes-you-learn/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=PaperBecauseItsReal2024&utm_term=&utm_content=Image

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@ChrisMayLA6 @bookstodon My favorite article on the subject: https://nautil.us/paper-versus-pixel-234506/

BramMeehan, to bookstodon
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@bookstodon

Just finished eight recent spy novels in eight weeks (along with two unrelated nonfiction and 100s of pages of manga) as I recover from surgery.

I would recommend all of them for various reasons. I am also now qualified to run an intelligence agency; in fact, I think I’ve been running an intelligence agency and am ready to retire. AMA.

Beruit Station
The Helsinki Affair
The Peacock and the Sparrow
Alias Emma
I Am Pilgrim
Black Wolf
Red Widow
Red London… (1/2)

kimlockhartga, to bookstodon
@kimlockhartga@beige.party avatar

@bookstodon Even if it doesn't catch on, I would like to institute a hashtag which already exists, I believe? Anywho, whatcha reading?

Ben H. Winter's new book BIG TIME, and it's really good so far. It is lean, so perfect for those who hate padding in their stories. I don't want to give away the premise, so I will just say that it's a bit of a thriller that involves time itself.

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@kimlockhartga @bookstodon Will start Red Widow tonight, I’ve been on a spy novel tear. Finished off Black Wolf last night, overall liked it even as it unfolded slowly and was a twist on the genre. Just had one element that I felt got too much attention and kind of didn’t even matter to the overall story.

jonathanreed, to random
@jonathanreed@techhub.social avatar

The mastodon client, @MonaApp , is out with a new update today: version 6. It includes some great quality-of-life additions as well as some new features introduced by Mastodon last year. However, the most significant updates are in the area of automation, including support for the iPhone 15 Pro Action Button.

I’ve got all the details here, over on MacStories:
https://www.macstories.net/reviews/mona-6-moves-from-high-visual-customization-to-advanced-automation

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@MonaApp @jonathanreed Where do I set that preference to remove posts from a timeline if they’re in a list? I’m not finding it…

kimlockhartga, to bookstodon
@kimlockhartga@beige.party avatar

@bookstodon Do you own any autographed books? If so, did you personally meet the author at a signing?

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@kimlockhartga @bookstodon Most recently, helped with a conference where “E.” appeared, got a minute over breakfast to tell her how much I appreciated how very, very New England the book is.

TarkabarkaHolgy, to tvshows
@TarkabarkaHolgy@ohai.social avatar

If you think Bridgerton was bad for anachronism:
I am watching The Buccaneers right now and it has someone drunk telegramming his ex

😂

#TVshows #PeriodDrama #HistoricalAccuracy

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@TarkabarkaHolgy Any chance it’s Dickinson kind of fun anachronism?

mike, to random
@mike@thecanadian.social avatar

By the way, I deleted my Twitter account last week. Some years ago Twitter was an important component of my life. I always thought I'd go out with guns blazing. But I had basically been shadow banned into oblivion, and the whole place is just such a steaming mess. I said goodbye to a couple of friends and just quietly turned out the lights.

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@mike Still hanging on to mine, though I only log in when I get an alert.

Most distressing thing for me, ‘cause I’ll usually wind up scrolling a bit, is how much the same it is. I had a tight, curated list and they all seem to be there posting their stuff like it’s 2015.

LoganFive, to random
@LoganFive@beige.party avatar

Does anyone else have a hobby of buying domain names and then doing nothing with them? For like years? Just me?

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@LoganFive

TarkabarkaHolgy, to books
@TarkabarkaHolgy@ohai.social avatar

2023: The year in (good) books. My review of the best books I read this year is up on my blog. Fiction, Nonfiction, Comics, Poetry, Folklore, and a new category this year: Children's Books 😊

Read here:
https://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com/2023/12/2023-year-in-good-books.html

@bookstodon

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@TarkabarkaHolgy @bookstodon Hm. I once heard Myers-Briggs described as “HR astrology” and, as an INTJ, it all started to make sense..

Anyway, read John Allison’s Bad Machinery? Up there on my all-time top 10.

BramMeehan, to comics
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

The always-insightful, legendary Brian Hibbs with a realistic — though kind of optimistic? — look at the state of the comics business now: https://www.comicsbeat.com/tilting-at-windmills-296-were-one-success-away-from-saving-comics/

Feel like he backs off before calling out a lack of marketing though.

mike, to random
@mike@thecanadian.social avatar

I think a simple change in nomenclature could help Mastodon incredibly. Servers is an inaccurate term and instance is unfamiliar and vague. Both create tension for new users.
Why not simply call Mastodon instances what they are: Communities.
Ask users which Mastodon community they'd like to join. Have community rules, community policy, and community leaders. Not server rules, instance moderators and administrators.

Let me start. Everyone is welcome at our community, https://thecanadian.social

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@mike Absolutely get what you’re going for and understand so much why it’s necessary.

That’s the thing about Fedi, it can be what you want. I know you’re building a community on your instance.

But the whole “picking an instance” thing really hung me up. There were a few communities I kind of felt I was a part of? But maybe not?

Part of my message to new recruits is, the instance doesn’t have to matter. I’m on one where I never read the timeline. It can just be your gateway.

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@mike …well this just crossed the feed, communities vs. nodes; I’m just one use case, but a node user: https://merveilles.town/@lrhodes/110555014534253768

glennf, to random
@glennf@twit.social avatar

Is it sick fascination that leads me to be subscribed to the local county’s food-establishment closure alerts?

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@glennf https://www.gocomics.com/richards-poor-almanac/2019/12/27

rebrafsim, to random

me: did you know Asia was the biggest rock formation on earth?

Steve Howe: well, Yes

BramMeehan,
@BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

@rebrafsim

flockofnazguls, to random
@flockofnazguls@mastodon.flockofnazguls.com avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    BramMeehan,
    @BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

    @flockofnazguls

    video/mp4

    RickiTarr, to random
    @RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

    Okay, what movie/TV show/ book has the best take on time travel and why?

    BramMeehan,
    @BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

    @RickiTarr We really came around to liking Travelers https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5651844/ even with its various flaws and unrealized potential.

    Its time loop episode, legally mandated if you are telling a time travel story, was probably the handled best I’ve seen.

    Overall, had a solid concept around the wibbly-wobbly, got you to you care about the characters (even more as you learned their flaws), and tied it all together in the end.

    BramMeehan, to SantaFe
    @BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

    Short afternoon hike.

    onpaperwings, (edited ) to random
    @onpaperwings@typo.social avatar

    Oh my goodness. I’m only eight minutes into this episode and 100% hooked and relating to everything.

    Anyone that feels overwhelmed by the internet should try and give this some thought.

    (yes I see the irony of turning this into a “shorter, faster, more” post)

    “Is there a sane way to use the internet?” - Oct. 20, 2023

    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/search-engine/id1614253637?i=1000631989200

    BramMeehan,
    @BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

    @onpaperwings Listened last weekend and enjoyed, but despite them every so often noting that “the internet” is so much bigger, it really was just about social media (read: Twitter).

    Which, TBF, if most people’s experience of the internet.

    But.

    GottaLaff, to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    My dad, a dr., was an award-winning photographer, but would never take money for his work. He got his photos in National Geographic calendar and other places, won contests, etc, but wouldn’t take a dime.

    I’m going through his photos (he took, developed them himself, start to finish), have to get rid of a ton bc we can’t take them to Canada, 100s of mounted 11x14s. I’ll share some soon.

    & if you’re very very good, I’ll also share a pic of me at 19 that he took in London. 😊 Maybe even more.

    BramMeehan,
    @BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

    @GottaLaff We’ve got — I say we, not even sure which relative has them — probably hundreds if not thousands of slides from my grandfather. An amateur but, (I say, biased) pretty great photographer, well-traveled but also documenting life around him.

    It’s tough. We know nobody’s interested. Not even we are in going through them. We’re kicking the can down the road.

    Parents made a wall of 14 of their favorites of his prints, it’s really beautiful.

    TarkabarkaHolgy, to animals Hungarian
    @TarkabarkaHolgy@ohai.social avatar

    Alright Mastodon, tell me about your favorite weird animals 😄

    BramMeehan,
    @BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

    @TarkabarkaHolgy Our state insect? https://factanimal.com/tarantula-hawk/ Just. What.

    idoubtit, to StrangeTimes
    @idoubtit@mstdn.social avatar

    deleted_by_author

    •
    BramMeehan,
    @BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

    @idoubtit I mean, in a way, it’s not wrong

    davidslifka, to random
    @davidslifka@mastodon.social avatar

    How to Leave X

    Some of the best tips I've seen for transitioning to Mastodon.

    Don't delete your X account; instead go Mastodon-first, meaning:

    1. Open Mastodon before X
    2. Post new content to Mastodon before X
    3. Engage replies on Mastodon before X
    4. Keep using X but as a lurker; reply less, follow less.
    5. Post teasers on X ("My thoughts on ABC are posted on Mastodon. Username in bio.")
    6. Occasionally post on X that you're now on Mastodon, otherwise your absence is less noticed.
    BramMeehan,
    @BramMeehan@ohai.social avatar

    @davidslifka Something that helped me, somewhere between 0 and 2, was to just watch.

    Have an avatar, something in the bio, maybe that pinned intro. But just follow and observe interactions, customs, customs being broken, see what people are saying about their instances. Maybe you switch instances before it becomes a big deal.

    You’ve got time, take a week or two to see how it all works before diving in.

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