tomjennings

tomjennings, 3 days ago to random

My friend Bill Daniel does these shows. Filmmaker, train hobo, pink artist weirdo. Known him since the 80s. He's currently living in an art trailer park up in the Bay area Delta, which is a tremendously fucked up and fascinating place (Wikipedia Locke, CA).

tomjennings, 4 days ago to random

Can anyone point me to an overview or description of wtf python is doing with pip vs. system-installed? on debian trixie.

I use gcloud for my static websites, and the google gsutil uses an external program, crcmod, to generate checksums.

crcmod needs to be installed via pip, but all of my python is installed via the debian system. They two are not compatible apparently.

I'm obviously not a python programmer.

I won't ask why there's parallel ecosystems... is there a way out of this mess?

RickiTarr, 7 days ago to random

I have a big group chat with my a large amount of my real life friends, then smaller groups out of that group that have particular interests:

One is for the people who live locally to plan activities.

One is for art, but maybe the kind of art that not everyone would want to see.

One for BBQ and cocktails.

One where we talk about terrible home renovations and shit exes.

One specifically for handyman information and planning if someone moves or needs help with a project.

One where we seem to mostly talk about cute dogs, and often cheese.

Plus individual chats.

But now I'm wondering who has chats without me, do they have a secret chat where everyone talks about how I'm in everyone's business?!

tomjennings, 7 days ago to random

I stumbled on a link to the PDP-8 FOCAL language manual... I used an 8 when I was 18 or 19, a baby programmer, and how lovely the 8 was to use with FOCAL. My memory of it is as "BASIC-like" but the comparison now is very rough, but it has the same sense of playful, as in just type shit in, see what happens.

FOCAL is a programmable calculator with (very) simple flow control. FOCAL was "usable" in 4K (12-bit words). No "OS", it was booted like an os with the bootloader.

Though not nostalgic generally it occurs to me to conjure up some ancient machine experience in say Arduino 2560 (4 serial ports, 8K RAM, 4k EPROM). Lots of pins.

I have a 240x320 LCD and a super cute tiny keyboard... Paper tape is a problem though.

1969. Users were invited to play and experiment. The manual is still kinda friendly and neato.

Umm, this machine was a revolution. But wow what an instruction set! This and the Signetics 8x300 were the weirdest machines I ever wrote code for.

http://www.bitsavers.org/www.computer.museum.uq.edu.au/pdf/DEC-08-AJAB-D%20PDP-8-I%20FOCAL%20Programming%20Manual.pdf

ParadeGrotesque, 8 days ago to random

Well, eff this, I am just going to write it myself and use to generate 3 fake pages for every page of content on my web site.

Because AI can go and kiss my butt that's why.

ai6yr, 8 days ago to ArtificialIntelligence

Dang, I missed my opportunity to get a fully automated robot farm. #auction #farm #robots

ElleGray, 9 days ago to random

at this point the only way to cool earth off is to deflect some of the sunlight with something like enormous mirrors that's right our planet needs to become this solar system's first disco ball it's about time we gave something back to this glorious galaxy

tomjennings, 9 days ago to random

Lol Dublin to NYC teleportal shut down because genitals, or something.

Aww come on seriously? Of course someone will do that. So what? Sure stop them, whatever.

Doesn't say which end, or both, complained.

Looks like they intend technical intervention, blurring etc. Sigh.

Plus there's no sound, so clearly they didn't intend to encourage conversation, just empty spectacle.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/inappropriate-behavior-shuts-down-dublin-new-york-portal/index.html

lauren, 10 days ago (edited 10 days ago) to random

***** A few words about Google's future *****

At #Google I/O today, the firm is publicizing an array of new projects. Some of them seem flashy and relatively useless, others seem like they could be very worthwhile. How many of either category will still exist five years from now is of course a crucial question given Google's history.

But Google I/O is merely the gloss, in many respects what has become the so-called "lipstick on the pig". Because Google executives have permitted their race for the golden and in many respects false prize of "Artificial Intelligence" to cloud their vision, and to permit an increasing number of basic services that billions of Google users depend on every day to, in effect, rot away.

The collapse of Google Search, once a global technological wonder, has been profound. Often incorrect or even inane generative AI responses now often supersede links to the very sites from which Google is obtaining the raw material for their AI systems (usually without any form of compensation, while driving down user click-throughs).

A similar decline is obvious in various other core Google services.

Of great continuing concern to me is the very foundation of how virtually all Google users access most Google services -- Google accounts themselves. I continue to be flooded by persons who have problems with their Google accounts through no fault of their own, including lockouts and permanently lost crucial personal data, with Google's automated systems providing them with no resolutions, only horrific frustration. Google's frankly poorly conceived and rushed implementation of passkeys -- and the pushing of users to them who typically do not understand them and have more problems as a result -- is making matters even worse. What good are fancy new services when your Google account needed to use them may lock you out at any time with effectively no genuine ability to appeal?

Some groups of Google users -- such as seniors and other users with special needs who may not be technologically sophisticated -- are especially affected by these sorts of problems and suffer mightily as a result. I don't think Google actually "hates" these users -- I think Google simply does not want to make the minimal efforts required to help them, basically treating them with much the same disdain as you might flick a bug off your shirt.

There is so much that would be relatively simple for Google to do that would vastly improve the user experience for these users and others -- but Google seems to only care about the majority, and if you're in the minority, well, if you swing slowly in the wind locked out of your account, too bad for you. Google's got other fish to fry to keep the profit centers humming.

I could go on, but you get the gist. I don't hate Google. I still have major respect for the firm and especially for Googlers (Google employees) in general. But I am enormously disappointed with the direction executives are now taking the firm, and this seems to be getting worse at an accelerating rate.

And that's very, very sad to see. -L

tomjennings, 10 days ago to random

There's a lot of this (orcas taking out boats) and I wish we could hear wtf the orcas are thinking.

I assume I'd side with the orcas somehow.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/14/travel/orcas-sink-sailing-yacht-gibraltar-intl-scli-scn/index.html

tomjennings, 12 days ago to random

Oh, Disco. Dogs sure know how to be comfortable.

tomjennings, 12 days ago to random

No publicly-traded corporation can be trusted.

Prove me wrong.

tomjennings, 13 days ago to random

Hairless dogs are vigilant about where they plant their bald butts. It's funny to watch them inspect the ground before dropping back. Sometimes they get lazy and plant their butt on something unpleasant and suddenly leap up with a shocked face when they land on something unpleasant.

evacide, 15 days ago to random

Everything about Durov's statement is so profoundly dishonest that I feel like engaging in a point-by-point debunking is a waste of time. If most of the messages on your platform are not end-to-end encrypted AT ALL, it is less private and secure than platforms whose messages are all e2e by default.

https://t.me/durov/274

MLE_online, 14 days ago to random

Here in America, there's basically just one hair removal tool that actually uses a real laser that you can buy for home use. And it costs $300.

I just looked on AliExpress, and they have ones for $20. Reviews say they work, and that you can tell because there's a burning hair smell.

I'm pretty tempted to try one.

sls, 14 days ago to random

Please keep the Northern Lights photos coming!

They occur thanks to the Van Allen belts.

James Van Allen still roamed his eponymous bldg during my physics undergrad. He was the only person allowed to smoke in the building. Not an official rule, just selective enforcement.

Fun fact: Just after announcing their discovery, Van Allen and the US gov't discussed nuking them. https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2010/07/01/128170775/a-very-scary-light-show-exploding-h-bombs-in-space (U-S-A!!!!)

tomjennings, 15 days ago to random

I had to go buy a bag of chicken food so I took the two knuckleheads, Disco and Devo. It's a short drive through Elysian Park, which has a 25mph that I generally stick to, half to piss off the speeding jerks who think of it as a high speed shortcut.

These kind of brief, arbitrary drives are totally joyous events for all of our dogs.

They partake of the Smell-O-Vision devices (vent windows) that in a car this old (1960) are LARGE and functional (A/C was exotic then) but also enjoy sitting in my lap (both of them) to rest their head on my shoulder with nose out my window. Possibly not legal... Safe enough.

Car is a 1960 Rambler American station wagon.

Cars without bench seats and vent windows are barbaric and oppressive. And dogs have difficulty navigating cup holders and consoles.

dogs behind the steering wheel, yes we're moving... Devo left, nose out with window, disco looking at the camera. orange instrument panel and novelty oversized steering wheel and chrome shift lever, the road beyond.

tomjennings, 15 days ago to random

Oh no! A review from a customer of 30 years ago!

A pleasant assessment of The Little Garden ISP from a customer POV. It skips over the parts where I/we would be up at 4am sitting in the dark in my underpants in front of a terminal solving panics but hey time wounds all heels or something.

https://blog.dshr.org/2024/04/the-little-garden.html

tomjennings, 19 days ago to random

Seeing chickens operate a machine is frankly mind-blowing.