pluralistic

pluralistic, 22 hours ago to random

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Inkjump Linkdump; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/25/anthology/

#Pluralistic

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pluralistic, 23 hours ago to random

It's the start of a long weekend and I've found myself with a backlog of links, so it's time for another linkdump - the eighteenth in the (occasional) series. Here's the previous installments:

https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/25/anthology/#lol-no

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pluralistic, 1 day ago to random

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: They brick you because they can; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/24/record-scratch/

#Pluralistic

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The interior of a luxury sedan as seen from the driver's PoV, with the driver's hands on the wheel. Mounted to the vent is a Spotify 'Car Thing' - a $90 tablet designed to stream Spotify music. The image has been altered. The sky behind the driver's windscreen is animated TV static. The album thumbnail on the Car Thing UI has been replaced with a 'code waterfall' effect as seen in the credit sequences of the Wachowskis' 'Matrix' movies. A skeletal robed figure, clutching a sheaf of documents headed with the Spotify logo, reaches out a bony finger to prod at the Car Thing from the left side of the image.

pluralistic, 1 day ago to random

In "The Scorpion and the Frog," a trusting frog gives a scorpion a ride across a brook, only to be stung to death by his passenger upon arrival. The dying frog gasps "why?" and the scorpion replies, "I am sorry, but I couldn't resist the urge. It's my character":

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

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/24/record-scratch/#autoenshittification

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The interior of a luxury sedan as seen from the driver's PoV, with the driver's hands on the wheel. Mounted to the vent is a Spotify 'Car Thing' - a $90 tablet designed to stream Spotify music. The image has been altered. The sky behind the driver's windscreen is animated TV static. The album thumbnail on the Car Thing UI has been replaced with a 'code waterfall' effect as seen in the credit sequences of the Wachowskis' 'Matrix' movies. A skeletal robed figure, clutching a sheaf of documents headed with the Spotify logo, reaches out a bony finger to prod at the Car Thing from the left side of the image.

18+ pluralistic, 2 days ago (edited 2 days ago) to random

I can't get a definitive answer on whether TV static (see attached) constitutes a strobe effect that could endanger people with photosensitive epilepsy. Anyone know? PEAT (the only tool that measures this, seemingly?!) is Windows-only and won't run under WINE.

See https://craphound.com/static.html

pluralistic, 2 days ago to random

I have been a published writer since I was 17, and never in all those years have I encountered worse editorial suggestions than the automated ones generated by Microsoft Office365.

Makes Clippy look like EB White.

pluralistic, 3 days ago to random

Hey, @mozilla I'm really proud to be a paid Media Monitor subscriber, and I'm happy with the service, too.

But why do your emails pass their links through a tracking redirection service controlled by a third party?

My May statement links through https://blrv1ly5.r.us-west-2.awstrack.me/

?!

pluralistic, 3 days ago to random

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Red Lobster was killed by private equity, not Endless Shrimp; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/23/spineless/

#Pluralistic

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pluralistic, 3 days ago to random

A decade ago, a hedge fund had an improbable viral comedy hit: a 294-page slide deck explaining why Olive Garden was going out of business, blaming the failure on too many breadsticks and insufficiently salted pasta-water:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/940944/000092189514002031/ex991dfan14a06297125_091114.pdf

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/23/spineless/#invertebrates

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celeduc, 3 days ago to random

US politicians, the courts, the media, and even unions are lining up to knuckle under to another stolen election like 2000. But preparing for a general strike is a way to counteract this seeming near-certainty, to prepare for the worst, and most importantly to change the narrative of helplessness. https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/what-will-you-do-if-the-election (via @pluralistic)

pluralistic, 3 days ago to random

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: How finfluencers destroyed the housing and lives of thousands of people; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/22/koteswar-jay-gajavelli/

#Pluralistic

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pluralistic, 3 days ago to random

The crash of 2008 imparted many lessons to people who were only dimly aware of finance, especially how complexity was a way of disguising fraud and recklessness. That was really the first lesson of 2008: "financial engineering" is mostly a way of obscuring crime behind a screen of technical jargon.

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/22/koteswar-jay-gajavelli/#if-you-ever-go-to-houston

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pluralistic, 5 days ago to random

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Linkrot; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/21/noway-back-machine/

#Pluralistic

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A 1994 Yahoo homepage. It is animated. The blue links blur and then disappear.