aburtch

aburtch, 10 months ago to random

This is what happens when you pay people for the work they do. (Via @Radical_EgoCom)

aburtch, 3 months ago to eattherich

People can’t even grasp the concept of a billionaire. It just feels “rich” to them. But put it in terms of time:

1 million seconds is 12 days
1 billion seconds is 32 years

That’s what an obscene amount of money a billion dollars is.

#EatTheRich
#TaxTheRich

aburtch, 11 months ago to random

This is why capitalism purposefully produces cheap, crappy products that frequently break.

Look up "planned obsolescence" if you're not familiar with the term.

(via @Radical_EgoCom)

scottsantens, 1 month ago to random

Everyone in Alaska has enjoyed a Universal Basic Income for over 40 years for just breathing in Alaska. Has it harmed them? No. Employment increased. Inflation slowed. Poverty went down. Obesity went down. Child abuse went down.

They basically used Thomas Paine's argument.

https://www.libertarianism.org/articles/thomas-paines-solution-poverty

aburtch, 5 months ago to random

Lifted from @taylorlorenz Insta account, but had to share. I had this exact same thought the last time I went into one.

aburtch, 6 months ago to random

Remember it’s completely plausible that we could have said “how about no” to the murderous AI drones and “please spend that money on universal healthcare instead.” But the corporations that profit from making weapons and waging war also own our politicians by funding them, so nope. Killer drones it is. Remember this in 5-10 years when these things are used on protestors rising up against an increasingly authoritarian state.

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-closer-ai-drones-autonomously-decide-kill-humans-artifical-intelligence-2023-11

aburtch, 4 months ago to ai

#AI saying the quiet parts out loud.

(Swiped from @taylorlorenz IG account)

aburtch, 1 month ago to random

McSweeneys nails it once again…

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-message-from-the-chancellor-on-the-recent-student-protest

(via @MichaelTBacon)

aburtch, 7 months ago to random

If you ever wonder where our society went wrong, about $2.5 billion was invested in drone delivery companies between 2013 and 2019 with absolutely nothing to show for it. Money that could have gone towards affordable housing, universal healthcare, high speed rail…literally anything that would actually help people instead of dropping single jars of peanut butter onto people’s driveway from 12 feet in the air.

aburtch, 5 months ago to nature

Check out the fractal pattern on this lava flow! So clearly defined. (Photo from the Icelandic Coast Guard)
#fractal #nature

aburtch, 4 months ago to random

Humans are inherently social creatures. Community has been shown to be a powerful treatment for both addiction and depression. With the decline of organized religion, the rise of these atheist churches doesn’t surprise me.

https://theconversation.com/church-without-god-how-secular-congregations-fill-a-need-for-some-nonreligious-americans-215749

aburtch, 8 months ago to random

Sorry for the screenshot post, but this is too good not to share. Great idea.

aburtch, 5 months ago to random

Happy Winter #Solstice! It only gets sunnier from here...

A short GIF of the sun rising over Stonehenge, the ancient megalithic site that servers as an astronomical calendar.

aburtch, 10 months ago to Bloomscrolling

I think #Bloomscrolling is the best damn thing here.

aburtch, 4 months ago to random

The media industry is in a free fall. By @taylorlorenz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24SLlTu3sw8

aburtch, 5 months ago to random

So very true. Also the main theme of Rick Rubin's book.
(Stolen from Tumblr. Unknown source.)

aburtch, 4 months ago to random

I love Kacey Musgraves. She's a fantastic singer and songwriter and her last few albums are awesome. She's also brought a lot to the recent collaborations she's been doing.

Now that said, sometimes it's best to leave a song alone and maybe not do a cover of it.

Her version of "Three Little Birds" is not good (IMO). I don't recommend it, but if you MUST listen...

https://open.spotify.com/track/1xfF8Y370KZujtqcbOAwEE?si=a5829797a41e4b00

aburtch, 4 months ago to BillyStrings

Love this quote from the #BillyStrings Grammy interview:

Interviewer: One thing he [Bela Fleck] told me was, "There is no best."

Billy Strings: Yeah, absolutely. Everybody's kind of the best at what they do. I'll never be as good as Tony Rice, ever — not if I practice eight hours a day for the rest of my life. I'll never touch him. But if I just kind of focus on what I'm doing and try to invent my own voice, maybe I'll be the best one at that.

https://www.grammy.com/news/billy-strings-2024-grammy-nominations-interview

aburtch, 9 months ago to infosec

My cousin went camping

My neighbor is getting his kids a math tutor

A co-worker is throwing a baby shower

A college friend got wasted at the bar

My hairstylist bought a handle of vodka

A co-worker from three jobs ago bought a hideous flamingo chair

My buddy bought weed

An acquaintance keeps paying a woman who is not his wife for "sexual favors"

How do I know all this information? Why do I know it?

BECAUSE ALL YOU IDIOTS HAVE YOUR VENMO PAYMENTS SET TO PUBLIC.

#infosec

aburtch, 9 months ago to random

Cannot even begin to explain how HUGE this would be. Reclassifying marijuana so it's no longer a schedule I drug would positively affect many aspects of society. Criminal justice, healthcare, research, business, and banking to name a few. Plus it makes the process of national legalization easier. (via @Defiance)

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/hhs-official-calls-move-marijuana-lower-risk-drug-category-bloomberg-news-2023-08-30/

aburtch, 9 months ago to HashtagGames

Sunn O))) Greatest Hits

#HashtagGames

aburtch, 2 months ago to random

I'm not sure who needs to hear this but purchasing ESPN+ DOES NOT give you the ability to watch live sports airing on the main ESPN channel.

(It's me. I'm the one who needs to hear this.)

aburtch, 16 days ago to random

Holy Smokes! This is a HUGE goldmine of rare #SydBarrett and early #PinkFloyd material. Check out the track list. https://heads.social/@livetapes/112490426123252744

aburtch, 1 month ago to random

“For the first time in the history of the United States, billionaires had a lower effective tax rate than working-class Americans.”

(Gift link, no paywall)
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/03/opinion/global-billionaires-tax.html?unlocked_article_code=1.p00.CniQ.dJF8LuDD2GWj&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

#TaxTheRich

aburtch, 9 days ago to random

. @pluralistic is essential reading these days. No one else explains why we are where we are today and how we got here better than he does.

For example, check out this recent essay: https://locusmag.com/2024/05/cory-doctorow-no-one-is-the-enshittifier-of-their-own-story/
or listen to it here: https://pca.st/episode/3079b9c2-3178-48a8-b699-08eb5a802ba4

Q: Why is everything so bad these days? People get worse service at higher prices while those supposedly giving them to us also make less as the digital platforms suck up all the profit.