@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

zakalwe

@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com

Culture Special Circumstances, detached.

pp desc for vision impaired: The N7 (Systems Alliance Special Forces) Seal from the Mass Effect games.

Neuro-spicy. Aspie pretending (sometimes badly) to be human (at least, it often feels that way) while fighting depression and chronic insomnia. Aspiring mostly-SF writer, burned-out IT geek, humanist who wants to see us make at least a token effort to stop enshittifying our entire planet. Is there really anything so incredibly, soul-threateningly terrible about the idea of giving a shit about other people?

Something I said pissed you off? It may be a misunderstanding, I'm far from immune to foot-in-mouth disease. Please check with me before you assume it was malicious. It most likely wasn't. If I don't think you're someone worth talking to, I just won't talk to you in the first place, period.

Follow-backs: If you have something to say, sure. No posts? Nothing to say? What would be the point? In the words of @PatternChaser, "I don't follow back, I follow interesting." I'm trying to keep the signal-to-noise ratio in my feed high. Still, if you follow me and I see it, I will do my best to at least find time to look. I can't guarantee I won't miss it, I'm not awake 24/7.
(And sorry, but don't expect me to follow you if you're posting the same dozen posts, day in, day out, day after day after week after month. In fact I'll most likely mute you.)

Came here to put words into my mouth so you could attack me over something I didn't say? (Yeah, sadly, it's happened.) Just don't. I WILL block your ass. Nobody has time for that shit.

Geek Stuff: I run Gentoo Linux, and I maintain a personal overlay with packages for dev-perl/Tk-MListbox, sys-apps/procmeter3, net-misc/icbm, media-sound/perljammer, app-crypt/sherpa, and app-editors/xnedit. Of those, net-misc/icbm and media-sound/perljammer are my own projects.

#nobot #writer #geek #linux #mysql #Gentoo #nosystemd #science

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

dangillmor, to random
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

Biden wasn't my first choice in 2020, and his administration has made some egregious mistakes.

But he has been a far, far better president than I could have imagined. His administration's achievements have been extraordinary in all kinds of ways.

Now the nation is confronted by the Republicans' plain-as-day goal: undo all progressive policies and institute what amounts to fascism.

If I ran a news organization, we would have one primary agenda: being activists to save democracy.

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@dangillmor The GOP's agenda can be summed up in two words: "Wreck America."

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

The real conspiracy that no one talks about is that Grasshoppers are around 200 million years older than grass.

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@RickiTarr Eh. Grass is just a passing fad to them. They'll move on.

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Again:


Orden:

Verdict in v.

Jury says Donald Trump must pay E. Jean Carroll:

COMPENSATORY:
Other than reputation repair program: $7.3M
Reputation repair program: $11M

PUNITIVE: $65M

TOTAL: $83.3M

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@JaneDoeTheFirst @Skepticat @GottaLaff "For Trump fans, that's the equivalent of 640.77 porn stars." — Popehat

zakalwe, to random
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

"I paid off MY myself! Why should these kids get theirs ?"

Dude. You had $3,000 in student loans. Some of "these kids" graduated from college $70,000 in debt for the same degree you got, now they're earning half as much as you did for a comparable job and they have no expectation of any retirement benefits, and they've been paying on that loan for fifteen years and owe more on it now than they did when they started paying it. They are being ruthlessly exploited by student loan management companies whose entire business model is based upon gouging people who are struggling to pay off their student loans.

Would it fucking KILL YOU to show a little compassion and understanding?

blogdiva, to random
@blogdiva@mastodon.social avatar

WOKE, when used as a pejorative by white people, is the 21st century's equivalent of n*-lover.

or, using Noel Ignatiev’s antiracism framework: if you are WOKE, you are not just a race traitor, you are a traitor to the whole concept of whiteness.

btw:
there’s a long philological history as to how antiblackness came to be in Europe, then the Américas. it started in Spain. as it always does.

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@blogdiva One of my books has a one-star review on Goodreads which complains that it is "full of woke".

You know, coming as it does from a person who apparently uses "woke" as an epithet, I'll take that as a compliment. 😇

sludge, to random
@sludge@journa.host avatar

NEW: Rashida Tlaib has proposed a bill to ban members of Congress from trading stocks in defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, as well as any other company that does business with the Department of Defense.

https://readsludge.com/2024/02/26/rashida-tlaib-proposes-defense-stock-ban-for-members-of-congress/

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@sludge In my opinion, members of Congress should be prohibited in trading in stocks of ANY business or industry which the legislation they pass (or block) could reasonably be expected to affect positively or negatively. In fact, I would go further and say they should not be permitted to directly trade in stock AT ALL. If they want to invest money in stocks while in Congress, create an index fund administered by an independent third party that they have NO HAND IN and they can put their money into that.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Since I'm thinking about it, let's talk about Ignorance. I have so many mixed thoughts on the subject. So, a little back story on me, for those who haven't already figured this out. My father was a pastor, I was raised extremely Conservative and religious, and while some of it struck me as a bit off, and I was certainly less Conservative than my parents, I was a good little girl and towed the party line. It wasn't until my little brother came out when he was 14, that my wake up call really began. Suddenly, it was personal, I love my little brother, how would he be going to Hell? If you start doubting one thing, then slowly you start doubting everything.

Because of this background, I do have empathy for what I consider true ignorance. For those who did not grow up in this environment, it can be really hard to understand how people can just blindly believe these things. They don't understand the cult like atmosphere that it truly is. All your media is this one thing, all your social circle are people that agree with you, you are quite literally in a bubble of propaganda. For me the combination of being around different kinds of people and factual education gave me the ability to see the truth, and it's something I still work on, with anything you consider fact, you should always leave a window open, there's always more to learn.

Sooo, if you read this far, What has been your experience with ignorance? What is something you've been ignorant about? Is willful ignorance actually a form of ignorance? Do you think there's any true ways to convince people they are missing out on the truth?

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@RickiTarr First thought: I tend to think of uninformed and ignorant as two different things. Anyone can be uninformed about anything, and in fact there is so much human knowledge now that it's fair to say that almost everyone is uninformed or under-informed about almost everything. And this can, and very frequently does, include not understanding how much you do not understand. The key thing about the uninformed state is that you are willing to become informed (as long as it has relevance to you and is not excessively difficult to do so).

Ignorance, on the other hand, I see as the state in which you don't CARE about what you don't know or are wrong about, you do not want to be informed otherwise, because what you "know" is good enough for you even if factually wrong, and you value your ignorance above anyone else's education.

Being uninformed is fixable. Being willfully ignorant is not.

skykiss, (edited ) to Ukraine
@skykiss@sfba.social avatar

’s security is our security. As allies, the UK & US fight aggression. We stand up for freedom. We stick by our friends. And we win. I urge the to continue its proud support for ’s fight against Putin’s aggression.

I am calling out the in Congress as Putin-owned who support overthrow of our government.

and republicans' open fealty to Putin, a hostile foreign intelligence agent, who is one of the most infamous cold-blooded killers in human history & wanted war criminal.

Mike Johnson & republicans are blocking a bill that would supply ammunition to soldiers, despite the widespread support in Congress and support of the American people. Showing the world that Republicans are anti-American & disloyal traitors to our allies and our constitution.

, where is treason weasel ? He's a communist loving traitor.

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@Npars01 @PeterLG @skykiss Yeah, NOBODY who isn't homeless or a migrant worker does not have a bank account. It's blindingly obvious he's hiding something.

ichbindabomb, to random German
@ichbindabomb@nerdculture.de avatar
zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@cstross @ichbindabomb For Easter this year I have created Attilabot, a bot that screams angry insults in early Scythian (since only three words of the actual Hunnic language are known).

Yes ... it's a cross bot Hun.

zakalwe, to random
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

https://time.com/6565415/rooftop-solar-industry-collapse/

How Wall Street has managed to turn rooftop solar programs into a do-over of the subprime mortgage crisis.

Via @pluralistic

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Where do you live and how do you feel about it?

Obviously, don't tell me exactly where you live, no actual addresses please! You can be as vague as you like.

I live in Central Missouri in the U.S.

Pros:

This is an absolutely beautiful place, green rolling hills, lots of rivers, lakes, ponds, and natural springs, cool caves to explore.

Lots of farming here, so great access to quality fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, and dairy.

It's relatively inexpensive to live here compared with other states, because it's a "flyover".

I'm close enough to three major cities, that it's an easy day trip, and I'm about halfway to anywhere in the U.S.

We have one of the best Conservation departments in the U.S. and this is one of the few things that is a bipartisan issue. Lots of awesome nature programs that are free or cheap, state parks, conservation areas, bird watching, hunting, boating, foraging available to everyone.

Cons:

Yeah, it's a big one, it is a RED STATE, while a lot of the cities are blue, there is a large rural population, that votes red. Abortion is not legal here. People often vote against their own self interest.

While I'm not against responsible gun ownership, lots of people aren't responsible, and people have access to guns that definitely should not.

We have very few employee protections here, while the cost of living is relatively low compared with other places, it's taken years to get to a $12 minimum wage, and it's still not enough.

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@RickiTarr The thing is, I remember when the Libertarian party sounded like the sane alternative.

Now, and especially since the von Mises caucus staged their coup, they've gone utterly and completely raving batshit, out-MAGAing the MAGAts. The VERY FIRST thing the von Mises people did when they took over was to remove the anti-racism plank from the platform.

I guess the problem is that when all of the actual middle-of-the-roaders who are looking tor a sane, reasonable balance give up and move on, all that's left is the frothing, raving lunatics.

skykiss, to random
@skykiss@sfba.social avatar

You're all people that have a lot of money.
You're rich as hell. We're gonna give you tax cuts.

His obituary will say: The depth of his greed and depravity brought great shame to America.

video/mp4

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@skykiss Good gods, he actually said that out loud.

zakalwe, to random
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

So you're planning on voting #against #Trump in the upcoming election.

You think you might vote for #CornelWest, he seems decent.

Every vote cast for Cornel West will help Trump.

Or there's #RFKJr.

Look, RFK Jr is BACKED BY STEVE BANNON. He openly ADMITTED recently that the purpose of his campaign is to help Trump.

You want to vote against Trump, great, sure, vote against Trump.

Just stop kidding yourself that there's more than one way to do it.

Snowshadow, to news
@Snowshadow@mastodon.social avatar

😖 Chicago police fired nearly 100 shots over 41 seconds during fatal traffic stop

"... police vehicles surrounded an SUV last month driven by Dexter Reed, allegedly for failing to wear a seatbelt. Video shows the 26-year-old Black man briefly lowering a window and then raising it and refusing to exit the vehicle as more officers arrived, yelled commands and drew weapons.
.... gunshots continued even after “Reed exited his vehicle and fell to the ground,”
1/2

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/videos-show-chicago-police-fired-nearly-100-shots-over-41-seconds-during-fatal-traffic-stop-1.6840185

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@Itchy @Snowshadow The military, for the most part, can actually follow orders and understands fire discipline. Talking about our police as "militarized" is an insult to the military. What they are is tacticool wanna-bes. I'm sure Kyle wossname, Rittenhouse, could get into any police department he wanted to. But the US military won't take him. He failed the ASVAB too badly.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Seriously heard someone saying they don't listen to many black artists, because they aren't really into rap. Bitch please, feel free to share songs from Black artists from any genre. Here is one of my favorites, if you like this song please check out her other work:

https://youtu.be/KovrJ8HXI1Q?si=HOYIG7YMuAUTsJz6

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@iamdavidobrien @RickiTarr https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGpzGu9Yp6Y ​:blobcatcheer:​

zakalwe, to random
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

"Try not to commit a crime on the way back to your car."

zakalwe, to random
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

I don’t want to hear one more fucking word about not voting for Joe “Actually the Most Progressive President Any of Us Have Seen” Biden from anyone with basic human decency who also maintains a Twitter account.

— @Catvalente

You know what?

I don't want to hear it FROM ANYONE WHO CLAIMS TO BE A PROGRESSIVE. Because if you are refusing to vote for “Actually the Most Progressive President Any of Us Have Seen” because he only checks nine out of the ten boxes on your scorecard, you are backing The Other Guy. The Mango Mussolini. Mr. Adjudged Guilty Of Rape, Mr. 91 Felony Indictments, Mr. Half Billion Dollar Judgment For Financial Fraud, Mr. Dictator On Day One (and two, and three, and...).

Yes, what's happening in Gaza is fucking awful. That's a lousy excuse for voting for it to happen HERE. The US actually has a lot less leverage on Israel, and specifically Netanyahu, than you might think. I totally agree we should be doing more to use what little leverage we actually have,¹ not to mention, oh, perhaps not using our UN Security Council veto against measures to try to stop the genocide. But if you think that not voting against Trump is somehow going to make that any better, oh boy, is 2025 under a Trump presidency going to be a rude awakening for you.

¹ And honestly, yes, I think we should be cutting off all aid to Israel, because while doing so won't stop or even slow down Netanyahu, maintaining it certainly won't either, and at least it would make our hands a little cleaner.

zakalwe, to random
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar
RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

What is the thing(s) that attracts you to a person romantically or otherwise?

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@RickiTarr Intelligence, compassion, and competence really top the list, I think. Not in any specific order, but all three have to be there. Oh, and integrity...

"I'm sorry, we'll come in again."

gemelliz, to ontario
@gemelliz@mstdn.ca avatar

Two frontrunners for Drump's next VP pick, JD Vance & Elise Stefanik, said they would NOT certify 'unfavourable' U.S. presidential election results.

BTW 🇨🇦​ - Ultra MAGA Republican JD Vance is a big buddy of Pierre 's Conservative candidate, Jamil Jivani currently running in the Durham, by-election.
Vance & Jivani met when they both attended Yale.

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@gemelliz If you won't commit to respecting election results that don't favor you, you are admitting to being an insurrectionist.

IveyJanette, to random
@IveyJanette@mastodon.social avatar

If we stay home?

Trump gets re-elected.

A third party candidate would do the same thing.

Ditto if we write in Bernie Sanders. https://truthout.org/articles/black-women-support-the-democratic-party-but-does-the-party-support-them/

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@IveyJanette @thepoliticalcat It's a quite clear choice:
You vote for Biden now, or you resign yourself to never again having a vote that's worth the paper it's printed on. If you have a vote in the future at all. The GOP wants to fundamentally make it so that only male Republicans can vote.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

https://youtube.com/shorts/NIvkzhylUfU?si=jsr4NXlD3tvxtyR1

Is this true though, Neurodivergents?

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@RickiTarr It takes me hours to get to sleep, if I sleep deeply at all, because my brain/mind will not shut down.

zakalwe, to random
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

🎻🎻🎻

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/04/elon-musk-loses-at-supreme-court-in-case-over-funding-secured-tweets/

Musk claimed he was the victim of "economic duress" when he agreed to the settlement and that the SEC "weaponized" the deal in order to "muzzle and harass Mr. Musk and Tesla."

🎻🎻🎻

dave_andersen, to random
@dave_andersen@hachyderm.io avatar

It's interesting that this article comments that "casual observers may be surprised" at (Chinese automaker) BYD's success and prices. I'm not surprised, because @mekkaokereke has been saying this about them for several years, if we're keeping score.

https://fortune.com/2024/01/06/byd-china-tesla-beating-electric-vehicles-maker-has-global-carmakers-in-shock-over-prices/

zakalwe,
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

@dave_andersen @mekkaokereke BYD makes something like 4 (maybe 5) of the ten top-selling EVs in New Zealand, and EVs were >50% of all new passenger vehicle sales in NZ in 2023. So BYD made something on the rough order of 25% of all new cars sold in New Zealand in 2023.

zakalwe, to random
@zakalwe@plasmatrap.com avatar

https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/02/microsoft_google_passkeys/

The tech, simply put, works like this: When you create an account for a website or app, your device generates a cryptographic public-private key pair. The site or app backend gets a copy of the public key, and your device keeps hold of the private key; that private key stays private to your gear. When you come to login, your device and the backend authentication system interact using their digital keys to prove you are who you say you are, and you get to login. If you don't have the private key or can't prove you have it, you can't login.

So ... "passkeys" are 30-year-old with a shiny new name.

Hey, you know what? If Microsoft and Google can finally mainstream public-key infrastructure, MORE POWER TO THEM.

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