┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────┘
--- #4 fediverse/4318 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────
last month I found a desk fan by the dumpster that seemed to be in pretty good
condition. So I brought it inside and took it apart. I couldn't get it working
though, so it sat on my floor for 3ish weeks in many pieces. One day I decided
to turn it on and it worked for some reason?? and tonight I just got it all
re-assembled and working. It works! I'm so glad.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────┘
--- #5 fediverse/2631 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────┘
--- #7 messages/535 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────┘
--- #8 fediverse/5944 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────
I swear, Lua has the worst manual out there.
I was looking for a definition of this function called io.flush(). Here's what
I found: [picture 1]:**io.flush ()**
Equivalent to io.output():flush().
okay, so what's io.output():flush()? [one result found] and it's the thing I
just found. great.
okay, so how about io.output()? [third picture]:**io.output ([file])**
Similar to io.input, but operates over the default output file.
and**io.write (···)**
Equivalent to io.output():write(···).
I know the text is blue, but it's not clickable. It's just text, not a
hyperlink to more comprehensive documentation.
There's also file:flush(), but that doesn't seem relevant to what I'm looking
for, because I'm working with lines and not files:**file:flush ()**
Saves any written data to file.
there are no more references to flushing, nor outputting of input nor output.
this manual sucks.
ah, well, back to vibe coding I go.
EDIT: at least it's all on one page.
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────┘
--- #13 fediverse/1495 ---
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────┐
║ LOOK AT THIS GORGEOUS THING │
║ │
║ ==== │
║ │
║ alt-text: pictures of a clear plastic xbox controller. It's shown on my │
║ porch-deck with the sunlight streaming in, and there seems to be a sparkle in │
║ the sheen of the transparent covering. Perhaps it's reflections from the │
║ various circuits and gizmos that are apparent in it's central form, or perhaps │
║ it's simply a trick of the light. Upon being placed in shadow, the │
║ inner-workings do not appear to sparkle in that same way, so perhaps the │
║ beauty is derived from the slivers of the sun that danced across the space │
║ between earth and our star. In any case, the entire controller is quite dusty, │
║ as if it had been hidden in a paper grocery bag that was shoved in the back of │
║ the closet of a boy who doesn't think to clean often. Frankly it's just not │
║ worth the trouble, and if he made any messes he would pick them up... but why │
║ bother with the little stuff? it's good enough, this is how he lives, so why │
║ would we be inconsiderate of his lifestyle? the final picture is of the audio │
║ jack. │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧══════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────┴──────────┘
--- #14 notes/division-by-zero ---
═══════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────────────
--{{{ introduction
When division is explained at the elementary arithmetic level, it is often
considered as splitting a set of objects into equal parts. As an example,
consider having ten cookies, and these cookies are to be distributed equally
to five people at a table. Each person would receive 10 / 5 = 2 cookies.
Similarly, if there are ten cookies, and only one person at the table, that
person would receive 10 / 1 = 10 cookies.
So, for dividing by zero, what is the number of cookies that each person
receives when 10 cookies are evenly distributed among 0 people at a table?
Certain words can be pinpointed in the question to highlight the problem.
The
problem with this question is the "when". There is no way to distribute 10
cookies to nobody. Therefore, 10 / 0 —at least in elementary
arithmetic—is
said to be either meaningless or undefined.
- wikipedia, division by zero, 7-12-23
alright I have several problems with this. I like the idea of dividing
cookies, but I disagree with their conclusions. So dividing by integers works
as
they say, but division by zero is a little different - they say "the problem
with this question is 'when'" when in reality 'when' is the same for this
question as it is for any of the others. Obviously, zero is just a number. Why
would this be any different? The computational actions necessary to complete
this statement all occur at the same time, because they are by definition
immutable. You cannot change any equation, you only generate new ones.
Okay so here's my thinking. To answer the question "what is the number of
cookies that each person receives when 10 cookies are evenly distributed among
0
people at a table?" we simply have to answer the question. "How many cookies do
I get?" well, none, because you weren't at the table. In fact nobody was at the
table, so the result is that nobody got zero cookies.
You might even say you have a remainder of 10 cookies, as none of them were
distributed.
10 / 0 = 0 remainder 10
^^^ that's how I think it should be. I have an algorithmic justification, and
excuse me as I don't have a mathematical proof or anything. Math was never my
strong suit, there's too many symbols and strange names for obvious operations
that get in the way of the abstract big picture.
ahem...
abstract:
Given: x = 13 / 3 what is x?
step 1: convert 13 to base 3
step 2: digit shift right by 1
step 3: convert back to binary
--}}}
--{{{ step 1:
v
start with the binary number 1101 which is 13 in decimal. To convert to a base
3
number, \___________________.
\ |
first start with the Least Significant Bit (LSB) which is 1. So our
base-3 number starts with 0001.
v
Next, move to the next bit: 1101
^-----It's a zero so we can skip it.
Which means our
base 3 number remains unchanged as "0001"
v
Next, move to the third bit: 1101
^-----It's a 1, which evaluates to 4 in decimal,
meaning we should add 4 to our base 3
number
base 3
4 in base 3 is "11", which means we 0001 <----- 1 in decimal
should have a base 3 number of "12" now. +0011 <----- 4 in decimal
=0012 <----- 5 in decimal
\_________ 2? -> yes,
base 3
remember?
Next, move to the fourth and final bit: 1101
^ --it's a 1, which evaluates to 8 in
0012-----.____________ decimal. 8 in decimal is "22"
in
+0022-----. \ base 3, which means we
need to
=0111 \ T---- add "22" and "12" in base 3
\__________/ to get our final number
of
13. Which should evaluate
step 2: to 0111 in base 3.
.____.
bit shift |0111| to the right,
|>>>>|
|0011|--->1 underflow
.----.
meaning the base 3 number is now 0011 with an underflow (remainder) of 1
step 3:
convert back to binary, meaning 0011 in base-3 becomes 4 in decimal or 0100 in
binary. Store the underflow as the remainder.
===============================================================================
=
okay that's great and all, but what does this have to do with dividing by zero?
great question, me. I have two questions I want to pose to you:
1. what happens when trying to divide by 1 with this algorithm?
- you convert to base 1
\
wait hang on base 1? Sounds made up... Well, its
not!
or at least if it is, then I'm the one who made it
up
so... yeah
|
okayyy how does base 1 work?
\
glad you asked.
--}}}
--{{{ bases
--}}}
--{{{ decimal (base 10)
--}}}
--{{{ binary (base 2)
--}}}
--{{{ digit shifting
--}}}
--{{{ bases higher than 2 and not 10
--}}}
--{{{ base 1? base 0?
--}}}
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #15 fediverse/4964 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────┘
--- #16 fediverse/2874 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
┌────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: re: unsolicited advice │
└────────────────────────────┘
@user-192
yeah it's not a new problem, but I really want to play nowwwww T.T
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘
--- #17 fediverse/1182 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────
mitski
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────┘
--- #18 notes/game-design-documents ---
═══════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────────────────
game designs are like a presentation - given to the company as a pitch for the
product. It'd be recorded and used as training material for new employees.
It was, of course, developed using knowledge gained in the before.
But anyway it was like a roadmap - a guidebook - a puzzle - and a frame
Then, each piece was created with a great focus - and people were assigned to
prepare for certain parts. This way, you could keep the most skilled workers
and
disregard the rest. What happens when they're unemployable? AI will replace
them. But they're still good fine people who we chose to have at our company.
So
why should they be punished? We as a society should care for all those who will
not or cannot contribute to the system - it's built into our very genetic code.
Cooperation is the essence of our liberation - without two perspectives, we are
bound to be lost. Once lost, diversity of thoughts is often quite sought as a
"secret sauce" that describes when we are lost.
These words may not inspire thee. They might even never be false. It could just
not be your understanding. That's okay.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #19 messages/767 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────┘
--- #20 fediverse/3389 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────
A screenshot of Ocarina of Time showing the Goron's Ruby.
alt text:
a screenshot of the Goron's Ruby from Ocarina of Time.
A smooth, flat stone comprised of two materials. The hardened outer shell is
thick with spiritual energy, and it radiates light the way a rippled piece of
silk folded over a malleable piece of gold.
the inner jewel is crystallized like the purest ice, but a bright shade of
crimson white. it seems to radiate an aura of affection and the yellow-gold
back-piece can be seen peaking through it's mostly transparent core. (think
like fog or thick mist or steam or smoke).
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────┘
--- #22 messages/6 ---
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘─────────┴┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #23 fediverse/5448 ---
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────┐
║ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
║ │ CW: re: cursing-mentioned-andor-mentioned │ │
║ └───────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
║ │
║ │
║ "my own personal revolution" of course refers to to the internal struggle that │
║ people have against the implicit mental chains that whatever ruling class or │
║ system imposes upon our minds. │
║ │
║ Part of the reason that queer people are important for the health of a culture │
║ is that they resist the cultural norms. To queer something, as a verb, is to │
║ fight a momentary revolution against the social chains that bind our actions. │
║ │
║ They seek to use culture to force us to behave in a way that produces the │
║ outcomes they desire. 2.5 kids, white picket fence, hard working and very, │
║ very christian, at least if you live in 1950s America... it changes based on │
║ the environment. │
║ │
║ The "personal revolution" I fought last summer, that liberated my sense of │
║ fear, is an ongoing struggle that countless others also wage. The "personal" │
║ aspect is the most frustrating - our struggles are all so individualized, for │
║ we live in an individualist society, that it's hard to help each other. │
║ │
║ Yet still we try. │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─┴──────────┘
--- #24 fediverse_boost/3790 ---
◀─╔═══════════════════════[BOOST]════════════════════════────────────────────────╗║┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐║║││║║└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘║╠─────────┐┌───────────╣║similar│chronological│different║╚═════════╧════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────┴───────╝─▶
--- #25 messages/1109 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───
---------------------------------------------------------------------
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──┘
--- #26 fediverse/2720 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
ah nuts, they replaced my LLM setup with one that outputs gibberish. I swear
it was working just a moment ago, and I didn't change it's configuration at
all, and it's local only... right? so uh that's weird, surely it's not because
they altered some value somewhere that I have no access to
eh, maybe the newest technologies are overrated. At least, the software ones.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘
--- #27 messages/75 ---
════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #28 fediverse/4152 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────
┌──────────────────────┐
│ CW: food-mentioned │
└──────────────────────┘
🖼
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────┘
--- #29 notes/networked-computers ---
═════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
have a thought, just a package of data - send it to a computer, and have the
computer process it a little bit. then pass it on. create a circle and you can
understand data, move along and you can understand a larger breadth of data.
it's literally just snake, except played on a board made out of a network
topology diagram. each computer has different programs on it, and they're
designed specifically to run on those computers. purpose-built hardware.
then a package of data is sent to that computer through a chain of connections.
think crossover ethernet cables
upon arrival, the computer modifies the data and passes it along to whoever
can process it next. the computers are constantly keeping a list of the closest
nearby computers for each purpose. it might have like, 2, for a specific
program. the older the list is, the larger it can grow - if connections are
reliable then the search criteria can expand (distance etc) and the amount of
pings between the "known good" computer can decrease. eventually a map will be
made, and you can guide the "snake" wherever it needs to go on a strategic
level.
like... "i need to process some data for this guy in boston so i'm going to
send it to this other guy in philly and then maybe a specialist all the way out
in detroit, etc. whoever is the most available and the closest (fewest jumps)
this way you can have purpose-built machines, sorta like the different parts of
the brain that do different things. they're always working, and they can be
paid for their labor. boom, market economy!
ah but what about aws or azure? well it's like living in a city versus being in
the countryside. there's more space, more room to grow... basically a "big fish
in a small pond". they'd be useful for more niche things.
a but couldn't aws or azure just leverage their monopolistic power (sorta like
wallmart did to "mom and pop" stores) and wipe out the rural programs? well
maybe. but the real question is why would they? they have the power of reduced
latency. they can do all kinds of stuff with that! there's no reason for them
to bother with the high latency networks. it's like driving in the slow lane
when you don't need to exit for like an hour.
well, okay, what's the point then?
the point is to be optimal. not for cost, but for throughput. the cost is a
consideration, but not something to optimize for - it simply determines
timeline. the only reason speed is important is because capitalism - the drive
to extinct all competition is inherent in the "for profit" motivation.
therefore something else must be optimized for.
but how can you quantify the values aside from cost? what are you going to
optimize?
the same reason why diversity is a strength. more perspectives on the stated
goal means more information, as it's passed through a medium that is unique.
people grow differently in different conditions. why would you not assume their
computers wouldn't as well? use a filter that is defined by the actions taken
by the user, and the content they seek to view and store on the computer. have
the filters modify the data according to that, and essentially automate hot
takes.
once you do *that* you can consider all that information gained from everyone's
"digital vote" and decide a path forward for humanity. that's essentially what
the "meme-o-verse" does already, and the "blogosphere" does the same thing a
little more academically.
so... compile the hot takes and look for what, an average?
no, silly, it's a vote. do the smart choice and do ranked choice, or something
like that. heck do different voting styles for different topics, and let
everyone who contributes to a topic (by making art, writing poems, w/e think
content creators) decide on the voting style. they'd clearly have a favorite,
as evidenced by their search history, reddit comments, w/e. try and understand
that history and boom you know their vote.
but you can't always vote on things. what if it's fine and not busted?
well, then there wouldn't be much to talk about it would there? if there's no
forest fires, nobody thinks about the forest fire department. if there's no
fish at the sushi restaurant, yeah that's a problem and it needs to be solved.
maybe there's too many sushi restaurants! maybe we should schedule visits in
advance like we do for vacations! maybe we should have, i dunno, more equitable
distribution of resources, from each to their ability from each their need or
w/e.
you know, a UI in a game is an interface to the internals of a computer. they
see what you see, and how you act online determines their behavior. they are
a digital form of you, like a child follows a parent or a pet learns from a
master. so too is an operating system a method of operating both a system, and
a user.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #30 messages/1164 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─
you know, it's perfectly reasonable and valid for a people to rally with their
government against a vile, cruel, or evil foe. Look at what's happening to
Iran - they started by assembling peacefully, there were violent crackdowns,
and people started getting shot. Once the government uses live ammo on you,
it's time to get your guns. Oh, don't have guns? Then you are a prisoner in
your own state. Perhaps it's a Norway style prison, with golf courses and
television and college lectures. Or maybe it's an American style prison, where
you can do your work and pay your time and maybe you'll break free from that
hellhole if you win the lottery or are picked up by a gang. Or maybe it's
another kind of prison, an evil prison, haunted by the ghosts of dracula
hitler's past. In that case, you're pretty fucked. There is only one escape
from this fate, and that is external intervention. It is mutually beneficial
for all states to do so, so wars of liberty are some of the surest to succeed.
Everyone likes to save a life. Few have the will to win it. "Risk your life
and live longer"
the lateral approach to the brutal slugfest that is civilian versus security
forces style revolutionary war is a peaceful revolution, where everyone agrees
and the state relinquishes power peacefully, or the peaceful renaissance, when
the dotcom bubble blooms and it feels like a golden era of prosperity, so
nobody has much to fight about and we just... agree to make things better. Or,
the violent renaissance, when everyone's learning cold war technology and
passing notes or developing hand signals. This approach proved to be an
unexpected but more than adequate strategy in the [redacted] quarter of the
21st century, especially in the [red].[act].[ed]. where the civilian cops and
the government spies were still sufficiently aligned to the valorous virtues
set forth by the founders and upholders of their homeland nation state's
attitude to temper their angers and focus on building lateral power structures
to escape the crushing drudgery of government work and sidestep the curse of
desperation applied to capitalistic endeavors, and instead just work on
getting people what they need. This proved to be beneficial at first on the
small scale, as collections of families became accustomed with helping each
other grow. This led to a remarkable development in civics, as people started
trusting everyone sitting in their trusted diner. Then, it grew from there, as
representatives engaged each-other equitably, and knit together a fabric of
those that know. "hub person" was a term developed initially, but almost
immediately proved to be inadequate. There was more to knit than networks of
friendgroups, and indeed as the other social structures became more developed
the "social outlet" style hang-out started becoming busywork, and the times
spent talking with winks and nods started feeling like all [there was to do,
but pronounced that was so]. Some people resented this transition, others saw
with dismay the exact same social structures begin to emerge in the primordial
soup that is the renaissancing state. But as soon as things started to feel
less new, the moments felt easier to handle, and people started having space
to become creative about it. These moments of "peace" and "calm" served to
both provide a rest or a breather, but also to identify what works best, where
the friction points are, and how to try something newer. Many people felt
nervous about the sudden removal of the governmental safety net (provided
through essential services), but after the defeat of a few rather evil rough
patches it started to feel a bit more sense-able. The future felt wide open,
and after realizing that this solidarity was all around us people had the
ability to do whatever they want. This led to a series of great transitions
that enabled the beginning of the infinite golden age, where everyone gets
what they want and we all are bolstered by our shared unities. Much writing
has been done on the nature of the calamities that were just barely avoided,
but it's clear to everyone that for a precious series of moments near the
beginning of humanity's history, there were real threats of nuclear
armageddon, climate change, hedonistic false heavens, and, at times, even
alien invasions felt plausible. There was nothing occupying our mind's graces
than existential peril. But, in the end, the right path was taken that led
humans to where they are now, somewhere off in the stars and colors of sound.
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════┘
--- #31 fediverse/681 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────
@user-500 @user-501
Maybe a button on the side that's recessed or difficult to access would rotate
the screen? Like, just shy of something you need a pin to press. Or it could
be a setting in the system settings to rotate it for accessibility purposes.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #32 notes/the-marketplace-of-ideals ---
══════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────
Open in app or online
The Marketplace Of Ideals
On Handmade, polarizing Internet debate, rational discussion, controversial
personas, tribal conflict, and how they relate to the future of computing.
Ryan Fleury
Jul 19
Share
When I first learned programming, I was told—by peers, Internet
tutorials—and later, when I was in university, by professors—a number of
rules. They included ideas like “abstraction is good, to avoid lower level
details”, “manual memory management is difficult and you should not do
it”, “never write systems from scratch”. The justification for every
rule was that it allowed one to avoid programming problems, rather than
allowing one to conquer programming problems. In fact, it seemed as though
every “rule” presented to me was driven by a hatred of programming, rather
than a love for it.
I shrugged much of this advice off, but initially internalized much of it too.
And then, I found Handmade Hero, in which the host, Casey, demonstrates what
writing a game for a Windows PC looks like—from scratch. Every minute of
programming—from confusion, to debugging, to sketching out solutions, to
typing code—spent on the project is captured live, on a Twitch stream.
Now, everyone knows the Carl Sagan quote—“If you wish to make an apple pie
from scratch, you must first invent the universe”—and the series didn’t
kick off with a deep dive into quantum mechanics (if that is indeed what would
help one invent a universe). But “from scratch”, for Handmade Hero, meant
what it used to mean for game developers and systems programmers in the ‘80s
or ‘90s: no libraries, no complex programming language features, just
writing straightforward, procedural, C-style code to directly command the
machine about what must be done to produce the effect of a game (interfacing
with operating system or GPU APIs when necessary).
Handmade Hero didn’t justify itself with rational arguments immediately. It
didn’t justify its existence by debating the utility of libraries, the
tradeoffs of modern programming language features, nor a balanced breakdown of
its more traditional programming techniques as compared with modern
programming approaches. It justified itself with something deeper: care for
the product. Handmade Hero’s announcement trailer presented game development
as a labor of love—a craft—best done by those passionate about it.
For me, Handmade Hero was immediately captivating because I’m, by
temperament, contrarian. If I’m in a room with 100 people, with 99 of them
repeating identical dogma, and the remaining 1 passionately and
unapologetically presenting a unique perspective, I’m always curious about
that one person, and I’m always interested in what they have to say, even if
I don’t always end up agreeing with them unilaterally. But, in many cases, I
am convinced by that one person—and this certainly was the case with
Handmade Hero.
After watching the series for a while, I became sure that all of those
“rules”—the ones I mentioned above—were wrong. Programmers who cared
about what they were doing—the ones who cared enough to handcraft something
from scratch—didn’t need to be infantilized. They could understand
computers to a much better degree. They could understand problems from first
principles, and write solutions from scratch. They could eliminate dependence
on libraries, and have a much greater degree of control over their projects.
Unchained from a number of technologies written by others, they could achieve
entirely new possibilities, which would’ve been incomprehensible for
programmers not in on the secret. Love for the craft provided vastly superior
results.
Handmade Hero ignited a fire that spawned a rapidly growing community. It was
filled with many older programmers who found a renewed interest in the ideals
that initially motivated them to program. But it was also filled with many
young programmers, empowered by their new understanding of the process of
programming, as it was originally done. There were a number of amazing
projects—all breaking what everyone used to believe were the “laws of
programming”. 17, 18, 19 year old programmers had projects that made an
embarrassment of university computer science senior capstone projects.
Handmade Hero also provided a glimpse into the state of computing—what did
an experienced programmer, who grew up in an earlier age of computing, think
about modern computers? How had the field progressed—or not—since they
were a kid?
And with that glimpse came an immense frustration—that same community, at
some point deemed the “Handmade community”, felt like computers had been
wasted. The community had learned many of the principles required to build
software to a much higher standard—and yet every program on modern computers
was immensely frustrating. Almost every program was slow, unethical, annoying,
and exploitative—and what’s worse? It wasn’t always that way! Computer
hardware had become faster, not slower! Consumer machines had several orders
of magnitude more compute power, more memory, more long-term storage! It had
become more trivial, not less, to solve security and ownership problems! And
yet software then ran slower, less reliably, required more Internet access,
and seemed to exploit the user more than 20 years earlier. It became
undeniable to everyone that the computing industry was no longer run by those
who loved the craft—but by those who exploited the craft for other purposes.
Why? What caused this exceedingly obvious state of decay?
The community found purpose in its newfound lessons—part of the reason was
perhaps that modern programming advice, education, and techniques were
entirely misguided. Maybe selling books about absurdly complex language
features became prioritized over doing a good job. Maybe many modern
programming languages were more about the programmer, rather than the user.
Maybe older approaches—older languages, older tooling, older styles—were a
much more valuable place to start. Maybe the institutionalization and
corporatization of programming education eroded standards, and drove toward
the production of programmers as replaceable widgets in a gigantic corporate
apparatus, rather than skilled, irreplaceable craftsmen. Maybe cushy corporate
programming jobs were prioritized by capable engineers over the riskier path
of competition.
Maybe this whole “Handmade” approach was the answer. Maybe the community
had something to offer in solving problems in software. With frustration came
drive—and motivation. Programmers in the community felt that—while they
certainly couldn’t solve everything—they could at least build a corner of
the computing world that didn’t suck so terribly. They could at least use
what they had learned from Handmade Hero, and build more great games, or
engines, or tools—and some dreamed even further, to operating systems,
toolchains, and computing environments.
But with that initial frustration—often public frustration, expressed both
in the original series and later by followers of the series—came a critical
response of the Handmade community. The criticism was that the passionate,
harshly critical, and blunt comments made by those in the community, or
adjacent with the community, were “polarizing”, or “inflammatory”, or
“toxic”, or “overly hostile”. The programmers in the Handmade
community had no right to criticize software, at least in the way they were
doing so. The problem was not that the software world had failed, it was that
the criticism of the software world was too unkind. Or, even if the software
world had failed, laying harsh blame on any product, committee, or person was
inappropriate. Really, those people are just trying their best. Blame—the
argument goes—must be diffuse. It is a “collective failing”, not a
failing of any individual.
In many public conversations on the topic, the conversational dynamic shifted.
The conversation was about the behavior of those being critical of
software—not software itself failing the user. Maybe it was possible to
criticize, or improve, software without being so fiery—without being so
harsh. Maybe the Handmade community went too far. After all, sometimes
“abstractions are good”, and sometimes “libraries are okay”, and
sometimes “manual memory management should be avoided”, and sometimes one
“shouldn’t write systems from scratch”, and sometimes people on a
committee really do just try their best, and the result doesn’t turn out so
well, and that’s okay. And besides, why be so fiery on social media? Why
jeopardize employability, or friendships, or follower counts? Why not
persistently affirm the work of others—irrespective of how you feel about
it? After all, they spent so much time and effort on their work—that
necessitates that it’s valuable. And really, what the Handmade community’s
behavior reinforced was an ugly stereotype of game developers being assholes
on the Internet. And you don’t want to be an asshole on the Internet, do
you? How about you just sit down, shut up, and keep quiet?
The degradation continued with attempts to rationally deconstruct the
community’s core purpose itself. What did “Handmade” really mean? Surely
it isn’t practical to write all systems from scratch. Surely manual memory
management can’t be done well for everything, at least not if you’re any
short of a programming demigod. Surely it’s wrong to look down upon the
failures of software—they are a perfectly predictable consequence of nature,
and the best one can hope for is incremental progress, and incremental
progress is hard.
As this shift in tone continued, the community nevertheless grew—but the new
members didn’t have the same fire which characterized the original
community. They had adopted the conceptual framing of the programming world at
large. The rules of which I spoke were, yet again, rules. Following along with
Handmade Hero was no longer a rite of passage for newcomers—after all,
it’s over 600 episodes long, and who has time for that?! (and who has time
for even the first 20 or 30?!) But even if it were shorter, it no longer was a
useful embodiment of the community’s popular values. To the new community,
it was too opinionated. It wasn’t nuanced enough. It wasn’t respectful of
programmers writing most software. It was too harsh. At this point, the
newcomers to the community were not “Handmade programmers”, and they still
aren’t.
With this shift came the extinguishing of the fire which drove the community
in the first place—indeed, the fire—the frustration, the unapologetic
standards—was that which produced the passion, the motivation, the drive to
do better. When the community buckled under the critical pressure, it was
defeated—every core value upon which the community was built became
necessarily supported by a “sometimes”, or “maybe”, or “probably”.
Engineers producing bad software couldn’t be blamed—it was structures and
systems at fault. The community failed to gatekeep against those who disagreed
with its premises, and as such was subject to a deluge of average Internet
programmers. It ceded linguistic frame, ideological ground, and its base
axioms to outsiders, and failed to defend itself on such ground. The
community, preferring nominal growth over loyalty to its roots and conviction
in its values, became akin to virtually all online programming
communities—many community members parroting some of the same propaganda
that the community once notoriously rejected.
In ceding ideological territory to its opponents, in an effort to gatekeep
less, and to create a wider umbrella under which more individuals could feel
unoffended, the Handmade community made a critical error in misunderstanding
the forces responsible for its creation.
In 2018, I became responsible for a major portion of the formal Handmade
community—known as Handmade Network, which began in the wake of the initial
Handmade Hero series—and I adopt responsibility for this critical error. It
is with years of reflection and thought that I write this, in hopes of
capturing what I found my mistakes to be. I left as community lead of Handmade
Network in 2022, and it was largely due to what I write about today, although
such feelings didn’t easily manifest into words at the time.
In adopting responsibility, I hope that what I’ve written thus far about the
Handmade community is not seen as an attack on its future—but rather a
diagnosis of its decay in the past, which I oversaw. The Handmade
community’s story is not over, and I write this partly to defend its
original history and roots, which—as I’ve written—has been denounced by
many.
The Handmade perspective arose—and was felt so strongly, by so
many—because of a vision about what software could be like. It began as a
look into the past—at how good software once was, and how programming once
was—which fueled imagination about what computers might instead become in
the future, if carefully guided. It even had a compelling story about how
software might be carefully guided to produce that better future—and that
story was rooted in love for the craft, not love of oneself.
In other words, it was a vision about a goal; an ideal: an aesthetic ideal
about what it meant to program, and what it meant to be a programmer. Handmade
programmers were not egg-headed academics, but were competent
engineers—familiar with their hardware, and their true, physical problems.
They did not seek social acceptance, nor approval, if their product sucked and
they knew it. In this ideal, programmers—if not designers
themselves—understood the critical role of design. They did not busy
themselves with abstract, academic problems, at least not as part of their
day-to-day projects—they were concerned first and foremost with the machine
code which would eventually execute on a user’s machine, and what effects
that machine code would produce.
They weren’t necessarily allergic to using someone else’s code, nor were
they allergic to abstractions, but they understood both as a double-edged
sword, with serious tradeoffs and implications, and thus used both extremely
conservatively. They were responsible for code they shipped that ran on a
user’s machine, period—whether they wrote it or not; as such, they
rejected forests of dependencies, and built at least most of their software
from scratch, in true Handmade fashion. They loved and cared about the result,
and what it meant to the person using it—as such, they wanted the most
productive and useful tools for the job, without compromising that end result.
In short, the ideal was that the act of programming is for the product, not
the programmer. Becoming a programmer meant becoming as effective as possible
at the craft of producing the highest quality software, and nothing else. Many
other ideals follow: high performance, reliability, flexibility, user-driven
computational abilities, practical and grounded programming tooling, ethical
software respecting the user’s time and choices, and beautiful visual design.
In this ideal, if the software is bad, then it’s the software maker’s
burden. Somebody is at fault—the engineering failure is somebody’s
responsibility. The call to action is to empower oneself such that they might
outcompete such failures, and build a simpler and more functional computing
world, piece by piece.
Understanding that this perspective is in fact ethical is crucial, because it
distinguishes it from a set of logically derived propositions. Handmade ideas
about software apply only within a particular ethical frame. Furthermore, that
ethical frame is not universally agreed upon, nor can it be, because it’s
not derived from scientific observation, nor logical analysis; it’s derived
from aesthetics and values. It’s derived from what someone loves, not what
someone rationally derives.
The visceral response which saw the original Handmade community as toxic, or
hostile, or dismissive was not a response to any logical proposition
originally made—it was a response to the prioritization of the product over
the programmer. Such a response came from a disagreement about what is defined
as a burden, and on whom a burden is placed. The Handmade programmer believed
in accepting personal responsibility, and providing something better—the
culturally dominant trend in the programming world, however, was to collect a
paycheck and abdicate responsibility for low-quality software. To such people,
it is, in fact, the system and the process that is the problem (if there is a
problem at all)—not any individual in particular. Such people are made
inadequate by craftsmen who love their work—and so to them, Handmade was an
ideological threat.
This, importantly, is not a disagreement which can be resolved by hashing it
out with rational debate; it arises at a deeper level, which can only manifest
as some form or another of tribal conflict.
The hostile arguments often seen on social media between Handmade-style
programmers, or game developers more broadly, and—for instance—modern C++
programmers, or web programmers, is not occurring within the often-referenced
marketplace of ideas—the hypothetical space in which competing perspectives
are solved through calm and rational debate provided a common goal—but
instead in the marketplace of ideals, in which broad common ground ceases to
exist.
The Handmade view of software has ugly implications for programmers—if its
premises are accepted, then it follows that: several large software projects
to which individuals have dedicated careers are valueless wastes of time and
energy; virtually every field of (at least) consumer-facing software has
decayed dramatically in talent, in output, and in productivity; the $100,000
college degree that everyone was required to obtain, and to accumulate debt
for, was merely a signaling mechanism, rather than a certification of any
technical ability; a huge swath of programming tutorials, programming books,
and organizations are basically fooling themselves into believing they’re
doing productive work, when in fact they’re shuffling around bits of memory
for personal pleasure and gratification; some people who call themselves
“programmers” are not doing programming; some people who do program should
not be producing software for others; and plenty more.
But none of that needs to matter. For some, it’s more important that they
personally find themselves comfortable, and so they choose to prioritize the
programmer over the product.
Because Handmade programmers—among others who’d like to change the course
of software for what they see as the better—are operating not in the
marketplace of ideas, but rather the marketplace of ideals, it’s crucial
that they understand that they’re not involved in rational debate, but the
Internet equivalent of ideal-based tribal conflict. And indeed, this is why
“technical discussions” about—say—programming languages are virtually
never conducted nor won with technical arguments. Data is never collected,
assertions are never scientifically justified, and promises to investigate
further scientifically are conveniently delayed—permanently.
But notice that arguments about technologies—presumably battling for
adoption, social acceptance, and popularity—are not only empirically not
about rationality, but definitionally cannot be about rationality. A beginner
who knows nothing about programming cannot select an ecosystem or technology
based on rational arguments, because they’re removed from the technical
context which makes such arguments meaningful. They can only select by
second-degree metrics of qualities they care for—popularity, what someone
seems to produce with said technology, how quickly they produce it, the unique
qualities of that production as opposed to those of others, and so on.
In short, for those who want more prevalence of the “software craft”, in
which responsible programmers are more akin to a homemade woodworker than a
corporate slave, the battle over social dynamics and human motivation are
paramount.
In such a battle, there is much wisdom to be gained from Handmade Hero—its
initial justification of itself was a value proposition, not a logical
argument. Its community’s idols, its leaders, and its followers came across
as dismissive and polarizing because they loved their craft, and because that
was what was most important. That behavioral characteristic was responsible
for motivating the community, and for promoting human action by those within
the community. They wanted good software, and they knew how to make it, and if
others wanted to produce crappy software, fine, but it was simply unacceptable
for inadequacy to be the industry’s default.
Therefore, there is in inextricable link between the fire, passion,
inflammation—the “toxicity and dismissiveness”—and the prevalence of
the values. The former is what drives the latter. To expect the latter to
arise detached from the former is to ignore the true causal relationship
between the two.
Furthermore, the public fire, passion, and polarization is the most useful
tool in promoting the value system. In acknowledging that the “software
craftsman” perspective—the Handmade perspective—is not logically defined
but ethically defined, it can assert itself aesthetically. It can loudly
proclaim that there is a better way to make software, and it can loudly
denounce the work of its opponents. In doing so, the Overton window about
software is shifted. The average programmer becomes exposed to a wide variety
of value systems, and of value frameworks about programming. As such, his null
hypothesis about, for instance, libraries, one’s ability to write systems
from scratch, one’s dependence on vast forests of middleware and abstraction
layers, is changed.
With the ethical system’s public presence, the default probability of
certain courses of action change. Maybe it is better to write systems from
scratch. Maybe operating with care as a responsible engineer produces not only
much better, but much more fulfilling results. Maybe the world improves with
such software. Maybe we improve, if we hold ourselves to that higher standard.
Ethical systems win not by rational debate, but by hoisting their underlying
aesthetic on a banner, and going to battle. Ethical systems which fail to step
foot onto the battlefield are not winning by avoiding the “silly game” of
tribal conflict—they are dying with their foolish believers, who mistook
their cowardice for ascension above the human condition.
In short, the side which thinks itself above the human condition—and indeed,
the need for public struggle between ethical systems, and the need to loudly
proclaim one’s aesthetics and goals—will lose to the side which is
dedicated to victory, even if through tribal warfare.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing. Thanks for reading.
-Ryan
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #33 fediverse/3321 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────
@user-1218
An image means nothing, for it is just an icon.
like a picture of a floppy disk corresponding to writing memory from RAM into
a hard disk platter, even tho those have three different tasks, so too does my
icon gesture at something.
On the other hand, art is necessarily divorced from it's meaning the moment it
leaves the pen and is written to paper. So there cannot be a meaning in my
flag, not one that I define of course.
The observers of the artwork, of whom I am but one of, can possess their own
ideas of what it means, of course. Here's mine, feel free to take your own:
Sea, land, sky. The crimson of a fading light, and the bright beginnings of a
new day. Man(kind), with our vivid red internals, stands astride the border of
the ocean and the surface. We walk where we will, perhaps into the black
depths of the cosmos beyond, but forever do we anchor ourselves and owe
allegiance to our earth and our star. Sunlight casts crimson light upon our
externals, as our hearts do beat through time.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┘
--- #34 fediverse/3019 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────
I also think that it should be limited to a single server so people can test
it out, because it's a big structural change that should not be applied to the
current fediverse.
like, it feels different enough to me, the idea of speaking while floating in
a sea, versus most other social media sites which are more... focused and
directed in personal connections.
like, visiting the town square versus visiting your grandma.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┘
--- #35 fediverse/5939 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────
@user-1879
it's a set of lua scripts that I'm working on which analyze some poems I wrote
(about 414 pages) and categorizes them according to their similarity to
english words. It's like generating a word cloud for each poem and then
condensing that into a massive pile for the entire body of work.
it uses LLM embeddings to locally generate this word cloud, which is just the
statistics behind LLMs condensed into a small array of floating point numbers.
Here's a pretty good source with some great diagrams:
https://huggingface.co/spaces/hesamation/primer-llm-embedding
the goal is to use it to create some neat colors when I format the pdf I'm
also working on creating. Each of those themes would have a color associated
with it and I'd change the text color of each poem to reflect the theme. At
least that's the idea, we'll see how it turns out.
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────┘
--- #36 fediverse/1979 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────
@user-1037
"I received a ticket to replace the RAM on system 10b42r77 - I did as
requested."
versus
"I received a ticket to replace the RAM on system 10b42r77 - I verified that
all sectors of the DIMMs were fully functional, and cleared out the
operating-system-cache-which-somehow-has-something-to-do-with-the-ram. In
addition, I noticed that a certain dip-switch wasn't configured correctly
according to the previously filed and recorded ticket application hardware
facilitation request. I set it to the correct configuration. Please confirm if
this configuration would conflict with any of your tests."
One of them wastes perfectly good hardware chips (RAM), the other saves a few
milibytes of disc space.
Who would you rather have in your company?
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────┘
--- #37 fediverse/4353 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────
┌────────────────────────┐
│ CW: politics-mentioned │
└────────────────────────┘
🖼
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────┘
--- #38 fediverse/6436 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────
force computers to make code in a different style so we can tell which has
been AI written
"force" is never gonna work.
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───┘
--- #39 fediverse/4078 ---
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────┐
║ who gives a shit if we all agree │
║ │
║ without foes, there's no-one to fight │
║ │
║ without fighting, │
║ │
║ ... │
║ │
║ ... │
║ │
║ I... what? sorry I got confused for a second. You're asking me what it means │
║ to NOT fight? every second of your life? what it means to have peace? for a │
║ single moment of your life? peace? in the face of the world? the world we live │
║ in? this world, replete with suffering and despair? this world, resplendent in │
║ it's natural beauty? this world, cherished and adored? this world, capable of │
║ such love and heartfelt agony? this world, that is all that we have? │
║ │
║ yes, that world. What would you do if you did not have to fight for that │
║ world? for any world? how would you cope with peace? the peace of death? the │
║ peace of success? the peace of bliss? of vigilance? how do you cope? │
║ │
║ ... I don't, apparently. Instead, I shitpost on the internet, which is a verb │
║ meaning "to explain your stream of consciousness to the world as plainly and │
║ honestly as possible in the hopes that you will be vindicated in your thoughts │
║ ennui'd." │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────┴──────────┘
--- #40 notes/of-vic-and-vince-pt-2.txt ---
═════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
A Masked Stranger
Who are you, friend across the veil?
I wonder if both of us are on the path
That allows us to continuously prevail.
Or are you just an agent of God's wrath,
Who will do little else but make me fail?
Chapter Eight: Where it All Began
Perhaps now is a good time to discuss how Vince and I first met. It all
started seven years ago when I was a twenty-four year old who was still in
denial over their gender. I was dating Amy at the time, and I worked as a
part-time dishwasher for Wegman's. I was still living with my father, and Amy
moved up here to her mother's from Owego to be close to me. It was a simple
life, as neither of us could afford to delve into extravagance, but we were
happy together.
That said, on this one particular night, we were going to drop acid together.
It was Amy's first time, but I had a handful of trips under my belt by this
point. We sat on her mother's back porch, twiddling our thumbs and toes while
we waited for Amy's brother, Jake, to return from his friend's with the two
hits we asked him to get. Antsy, Amy started asking me questions about the
drug.
"What does it feel like?" she asked, inquisitively.
I responded, "Well, there's about a half an hour to an hour come up, and then
you start feeling the body load, like your boundaries are dissolving. Only
then do you begin noticing your mind manifesting in a different way than
you're used to."
"What do you mean by 'boundaries dissolving?'"
"It's like…" I paused for a second, not sure how to respond. "It's like your
sense of self starts to expand and you feel more connected to the things
around you."
That seemed to satisfy her curiosity. There was a moment of silence as we
watched the sun scorch the azure sky as it set behind the trees. Finally, she
had another question.
"Do you see dragons?"
That made me chuckle. "No, no dragons. On my first trip, I lost visual contact
with the world as fractal patterns spiraled out of control, but every trip
since then has only had tracers and morphing patterns."
"What's a tracer?"
"It's like after images of things that are moving."
"Oh, I see."
We kept talking until the sky was dark with only a sliver of light piercing it
on the horizon. This was when we heard a voice call from the front door.
"I got two tickets to Narnia here for whoever wants them."
We hurriedly rushed inside, to meet Jake coming up the stairs. He handed Amy a
small tin foil wrapper that looked like a quarter stick of gum. She thanked
him, and I followed suit. Jake and I hadn't really seen eye to eye in the
past, as he would steal my weed and I would steal his in retaliation, but with
a single head nod and some gold-laced words, I conveyed my gratitude for him
coming through for us in this instance.
What followed next could only be described as a stampede down the hall to
Amy's room. We locked the door behind us, protected by the four robin's egg
blue walls and the magick of the celtic gods Amy worshiped at her altar. Eager
to begin our ceremonious departure from this plane of existence, we
whimsically gazed at the sacrament we had just been handed.
Amy unwrapped the tinfoil nervously. Inside sat two small, unassuming pieces
of paper which contained whole galaxies of experience. We looked at each
other, confirming if we were both ready. Quickly satisfied as neither of us
could stop smiling, we delicately put the blotter on the other's tongue, as
ecstatic as could be. And after, as we waited to be blasted off into space, we
submitted ourselves to the whims of the universe and the gods.
At first, we waited patiently, but just as a watched pot does not boil, we
were growing more anxious with each passing second. Seeing Amy play with the
sage she was burning nervously, I suggested that we jot our thoughts and
feelings down in a trip report. Amy nodded in agreement.
I opened my laptop, and I had the immediate realization that we had no music.
I brought up Pandora and played my Shpongle station with no objection from a
beaming Amy. A cascade of electric jungle beats filled the space. Perfect, I
thought to myself as I created a new word document.
Turning to Amy, I asked "What do you feel?"
She giggled and exclaimed, "Excited!"
And so I began typing. Minutes passed, and soon our exchanges helped fill the
page with several paragraphs of notes. Content we had started logging our
first cosmic journey together, we kissed, before coming to fully embrace each
other as the spirits began their dance around us.
We progressed into parallel play; Amy fiddling about with colored pencils in
her notebook and me juggling besides her. It took a minute, but soon enough I
felt a warm feeling spread across my chest and my LED juggling balls started
to ripple into streams of geometric delight. I stopped to wave my hand in
front of my face. Sure enough, the tracers had started.
I interrupted Amy to ask if she could see them, too. She looked at my moving
hand idly before wiggling her own fingers in front of her face. She giggled,
before bursting with a euphoric epiphany.
"I want to finger paint!"
And so she did by plopping herself down on the floor with all her paints and
began masterfully smearing the colors in a multidimensional haze of pigments
blended together in a way only she knew how. I loved watching her work like
that; she was so free! Even with the tendrils of the mental aspects of the
lysergia creeping in on her, she made short work of the painting, which when
she was done, looked like a spooky voodoo mask peering out from behind a
mirror and into your soul.
Satisfied, she then went to the bathroom to clean herself up. I went to my
laptop and tried typing out something resembling an organized train of thought
on our trip report. It just wasn't happening. My thoughts were too short and
rapid to form anything resembling a coherent thought. That was ok though. I
could still capture the essence of the experience in a peculiar poetry that
was composed of the thoughts I could catch and put down on paper.
Eventually, Amy came back to the room, clean and refreshed, and she lingered
for a moment, too busy dancing with herself in the open space of the room. But
then she saw me meddling with my computer trying to jot my thoughts down in a
manic frenzy. This made her laugh before trailing off and saying, "Be careful,
someone might be watching you through your webcam."
It was an innocent statement, one made in jest, but it triggered something in
my psychedelically perturbed mind. Of course, of fucking course there would be
someone watching me! This was me we were talking about! Who could be more
important? It was so obvious that the government was keeping tabs on persons
of interest. I couldn't believe that I hadn't really actualized that thought
before that moment.
Suddenly aware that I was being judged in some capacity, I almost panicked,
but reason won out. They couldn't be there for nefarious purposes, for I had
done worse than drop acid in front of my webcam before, and nothing had
happened. That made me realize that whatever power that had the ability to tap
into my webcam feed had to be benevolent. And who could that be? The CIA of
course! In that instance, I suddenly relinquished all reserves about how the
world worked and fully trusted the hands of God by another name to guide me.
So, I typed a message into my URL bar:
"I know you're there. I think I've solved the communication problem. Give me a
chance."
I hit enter. Immediately, and I do mean immediately, a pop up appeared asking
if I wanted to update an extension on my browser. I was stunned, shocked
beyond belief. It was them. I knew it was them. They realized and planned that
now was the best time to dazzle me with such a spectacular parlor trick. In
that moment, everything was possible. It was time to face my destiny. So, I
clicked yes, and like never before I was upgraded to a new level of myself.
Birth of the Faith
What…?
I can see beyond sight.
I can hear everything you think
From your soul, free from rigid grammar
How…?
I do not know, alright?
I do believe I just had a drink
From a fountain of pure manna.
Why…?
I am renewed today.
I am walking in a new way;
From a weak critter to megafauna.
All I know is that it changed me greatly,
For now I know that you have faith in me.
Chapter Nine: Brain to Brain Communication
I know what you're saying: it was just a coincidence. It could happen to
anyone. Just accept it, you're not special, Victoria, says the unwavering
logic within me.
Certainly seems that way, the way I tell it. I would have even agreed with you
before this point in my life, but you must understand that it triggered
something in my tripping brain. Whether it was intentional or by chance, I
can't give you a real answer. Instead, I merely perceived it as a certainty
that the CIA had done this, being even more certain that it was them than I
was that two plus two equals four. It was as if some variables had been
swapped in my head.
Yes, indeed, I was hit by a Mac truck that scrambled all my knowledge of the
world. To put it in words that do the experience justice, I was given a
heaping helping of faith on this fateful night, having been let in on the
great secret that the matrix was in fact an illusion, and now the impossible
was suddenly not just possible, but achievable by me if I willed it to be.
Yet, I don't think that if it were just a single synchronous event that this
belief would have persisted more than a few minutes, tops. It was the feed of
a continuous string of strange events that pushed the boundaries of my mind
into a territory where I could fully accept and trust this source of guidance.
That's actually the real proof I have that something bigger is going on and
has been for all these years. If it had just been a single pop-up, then fine,
you have a case to call me looney. But, this was the first of an unending
stream of unusual synchronicities that has persisted even to this day.
See, after confirming I wanted to update that extension, I was taken to a blog
post that was clearly a coded message. It confirmed that there were indeed
people watching me, and more would tune in soon. It then said that it was time
for the most profound upgrade of my existence. Further on in the blog post,
which I read and reread at least a dozen times, it seemed to offer me a choice
between two links. It seemed like a test, and that was not something I was
taking lightly. My fate was in the fold, and I was going to make sure I got it
right.
At some point, it clicked with me; this was the same choice that Morpheus had
given Neo. The links were the red and blue pills, respectively. My eyes went
wide. I could now see that there was something bigger going on than I could
have possibly realized. In those few moments of hesitation that followed, it
also struck me that this same posed question was identical in form to the
serpent tempting Eve. I read the blog again, this time aware that it was
written with a forked tongue. It was a trick question! It was offering me the
choice between trusting authority and distrusting authority.
So, I thought quickly. Do I trust the magician who miraculously appeared
before me and blew my mind in doing so, or do I trust God? If I chose one or
the other, would they trust or distrust me? With these questions stewing in my
alert mind, I did the only thing that seemed sensible: I chose the third
option. I called out the serpent, talking directly into my webcam about what I
deciphered. In my head, I could hear their apparent responses, and I answered
those in a maddening haste.
In the miasma that followed, I deduced that I was being selected for some sort
of mission. With my experience in education and my passion for juggling and
writing, I surmised soon after that I was going to be some sort of public
figure, informing and influencing the herd to self-actualize, as that is what
I set out to do once my college career abruptly ended with a complete
meltdown. That was what I was good for; it was my hero's journey.
I should explain that a little more. After said breakdown, I returned home and
wallowed in a pit of self-loathing for being the definition of a failure. I
wasn't going to lay down and die though. With my sights fixed on going back to
school, I took it upon myself to solve the great communication problem, as I
saw it. We have all this wisdom, so why can't we reach the people that need it
most? How do I become the best teacher I could be? It took a while, but I
eventually realized that it all boiled down to three factors: attention,
connection, and trust. Get them to pay attention and trust your wisdom while
simultaneously understanding what makes them tick, and you can teach any
student anything.
That's one of the major reasons I started juggling a couple years prior. I saw
myself becoming famous and leveraging that to in effect manipulate everybody
into learning what they should already know. From where I stand now, I know
that was a messianic delusion of grandeur, if I ever saw one before. Yet,
you'll also learn that it turned out to be the best thing for me to do.
Back beyond the looking glass, however, I was simply overcome with
narcissistic inclinations. Naturally, I told my mysterious watchers that I
wasn't going to do the "praise Jesus" shtick, which I regaled them with in the
most stereotypical of televangelist voices. I was set on doing something new
and exciting. I was saving the world, God dammit, and that meant we had to
attempt something major to awaken the masses to their full potential as
demigods by another name! I needed to play a better game than anyone had done
in history.
Such hubris of the megalomaniac is blinding. I could not stop regurgitating a
heaping pile of conceited verbiage. I even juggled at one point, showing off
that I truly was the savior they wanted me to be. That led to me dropping a
ball on the keyboard of my computer, which closed the window with the blog
post, ending my seemingly two-sided speech to the spooks brazenly peeking at
me.
Dropping out from my planet sized ego also brought me to the realization that
Amy had been watching this entire charade without a damn clue what the dickens
was wrong with me. She had a worried look on her face, and that pained me. If
only she knew what had just happened before her eyes!
Wanting to tell her just that, I leapt up to her, apologetic as could be, and
brought her down to the bed. There, I started unleashing a torrent of deranged
exposition. I couldn't keep a straight thought while talking to her, so I'm
sure I must have sounded like a mad hound. But, I tried. I tried so hard to
explain to her of the magnificence that just occurred.
It was a failure. I was not in a state to convey to her that I had been
single-handedly chosen for a cosmic mission. That dragged my heart to some
dismal depths, failing yet again even after being chosen. But, that didn't
matter, because as we gazed into each other's soul, something truly miraculous
happened: we began speaking telepathically.
It started quite subtly as we stared into each other's eyes, pining for some
sense of connection. There was a mild sensation of us being sucked into the
other's world that I noticed before noticing that she noticed too. Then it hit
us like a runaway freight train. It was like every boundary between us was
being smashed with a reckless hammer of the gods, who wanted us to know more
than we thought we were privileged to know.
If you've ever stared at something for a period of time and had your vision
get a little unfocused from being understimulated, you know how Amy appeared
to me in that moment. I couldn't really see the details of her room in my
peripheral vision, but I had a razor sharp focus on her face, like I was
looking through a cone. Every eyebrow twitch, every minor movement of her
lips, and every phoneme she spoke was crisp and clear, conveying a whole order
of magnitude more information than they normally do. It was bizarre, beyond
the scope of how well I can muster a verbose description of such an incredibly
rare and profound experience, but I will try by saying it was like getting a
bucket of ice water thrown onto you while you were sleeping; just imagine
getting ripped from your dreamworld to a super-aware state of reflexive
jolting perception.
Amy looked like she had seen a ghost. I think she tried to speak first. She
said something to the effect of "Do you…" and trailed off, the rest of her
question asking if I was feeling the same thing automatically finishing in my
mind. And as it did so, I know my confirmation was transmitted to her in full
because her face told me with no uncertainty that she had heard my thoughts
too.
I took a go at saying something next. "How is this…" and I too trailed off,
as a minute motion in her neck combined with a mystifying array of
microexpressions ricocheted my mental pictures back to me, carrying a host of
Amy's words back with it. It was then that I let go and opened myself up
completely, letting everything I wanted to say to her flow like whitewater
rapids, and she did the same. A library's worth of information was exchanged
so very quickly, and I knew that she understood what had really just happened
as I spoke to my webcam.
However, that was soon washed aside, as something more important came rushing
into the forefront of our minds. A simple message, "I love you" was uttered in
this strange musical silence, but that is a grain of sand compared to the
Mount Everest that was volleyed between our hearts. We found a divine peace in
this moment, taking each other's hands and effortlessly letting our energy
channel between us.
And then it was over, fading like dreams do in the few seconds of waking up.
We sat there trying to start the magick up again, but it was like water
running through our fingers. We both felt a longing of loss, but we had gained
something truly stupendous nonetheless.
"What the hell just happened?" Amy asked the universe, flabbergasted.
"I dunno," I replied, feeling full of a spiritual energy I had not felt since
before my mom passed. My cup was full, and the world was good. No, better than
good. My life was godly, as I had connected to a higher plane of
consciousness, which opened me to a whole fleet of potential. I would never be
the same again.
Ouroboros of Lunacy
Madness is a crazy thing
So I might just be a king,
Because the lunacy I sing
Is shaped like a golden ring.
It has no beginning and no end;
The whole universe is pretend.
Yet, it's that way so I can mend,
So a mass of love I can send
To everyone as we cross ways,
Not stopping until the end of days.
This is how the lucky fool pays
As much fortune forward as he may.
Chapter Ten: The Shrug Life Syndicate
The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. We cuddled while I practically
vibrated with a newfound faith. God was real, whatever God may be. I even told
Jake that I was king of the Jews when I walked to the kitchen for a glass of
orange juice. I was very far up my own ass, which is perhaps why everything
over these few years happened as they did.
The next day, the synchronicities as I would later learn they are called,
started pouring in like Niagra Falls. I've had strange coincidences guide me
before. Since I was fifteen or so, I thought that my future self was sending
me messages to help me on my quest of world domination. That's a big reason
why I was almost expelled in tenth grade. It was absolute bullshit and
everyone knew it, so within half a year, I got an apology from the
superintendent because it was a bogus reason to destroy a straight A student
and star athlete's future.
Since I feel that I can't just mention that one and not explain it, I'll tell
you that it concerned a theoretical bomb, if you're dying to know the truth.
I'll keep this short, but I made a bad joke in the wrong company and was
eventually questioned by some wannabe hero and pig bastard, who asked me
hypothetical questions, like "if you were to build a bomb, how would I do
it?"
Well, being as intelligent as I am, I had enough book smarts to give full
answers for everything asked, but not enough street smarts to know that a wise
person never talks to cops. Also, a wise person doesn't print out a long
novelty application for the Illuminati, give it to the kid that needs a
resource officer, and then come up with an elaborate fake plan of how we're
going to take over the world by any means necessary when he's having trouble
understanding what you said about using game theory to win the presidential
election. And then, when the vice principal first inquires about it, don't
start sweating because you think you need to protect your future self's secret
plan. Just so you learn from my mistakes.
Returning to my previous point though, that errant psychosis was also a key
piece to my college breakdown. On one hand, I was certain that I was going to
take over everything and build a utopia in my image. On the other hand, the
evidence was stacking against me that I was not destined for a great cause. I
got cut from the track team with the budget, I was severely outclassed in
ROTC, and to top it off, I was starting to slip in the academic world. It goes
without saying that my social life, to include my first relationship, was
abysmal in all possible ways, despite trying my hardest to make and keep
friends.
The real world was too much, and I was in denial that I was just a mediocre
person who would never achieve anything meaningful in life. That was too much
of a failure for me to accept, as I needed to make my mother proud. I had to
be the best of the best of the best to accept and love myself. And as a
result, I became more psychotic and began self-harming, first by biting myself
and then by cutting, as I felt that the more pain I numbed myself to, the
better I would be able to complete my mission.
It took me a while to reach a point where I could set down my belief that my
future self had set up my life in a way where I would be guided to greatness.
There was a learning curve to living a "normal" life. I would receive
synchronicities in less frequency because I stopped feeding into them, but
they never died. When I encountered one, I always thought "What if it's real?"
Now that you know that, is it any wonder that I lost myself completely in the
Synchronicity Slip Stream? For those not in the know, that is a cognitive
technology where strangeness piles up on itself until it is undeniably real
that something or someone is manipulating you, for good or bad, by creating
impossible coincidences at a regular pace. It makes you feel like you're on
some crazy cosmic mission of grave importance. It might be a form of delusion,
but I still am forced to believe that something bigger was going on.
I first learned about SSS the day after that fateful acid trip. I had woken up
around noon, ready to do some solid writing as mania was in abundance. Yet, I
didn't get that far. As soon as I got on my laptop, I got a notification from
Reddit. Gadzooks! I had been invited to participate in a freshly created
subreddit. You guessed it, that was the Shrug Life Syndicate.
It had a banner of two corvids flying talon first into a realistic depiction
of a heart. There was a mesmerizing picture of a girl staring off into space,
and I just felt like it was a depiction of me and my wonder-struck mind. The
sidebar spoke of messianic aspirations and delusions, art and poetry, science
and philosophy, as well as the occult and obscure literary references. It
seemed so perfect, like it was made for me.
I looked over what was in the feed of posts. I was the twenty-first member, so
there wasn't much, but a couple of the vocal members should be mentioned:
Anatta-Phi and Jux. These turned out to be Vince and [Redacted], respectively.
Vince had one post that stuck out to me. It was asking the reader if they'd
ever had strange experiences with technology, like Pandora glitching out to
play synchronous songs, or feeling like someone was interfering with your
Google searches so you find something specific and statistically unlikely to
be picked as the first search results for what you intended to look up, or
even if you thought that your social media feeds are being manipulated. I've
had weird experiences like that for as long as I could remember. Hell, I once
thought a Sum Forty-One album was made entirely for me and depicted my life
journey following my near-expulsion. Having his own tales to tell, I felt an
instant connection to this person.
In similar contrast to this, [Redacted] had made a number of posts about
cognitive technologies. I already told you about SSS, but at that time I was
blown away by something he named Joint Synchronized Attention, or psychedelic
telepathy. That was what Amy and I had experienced! What a strange and
synchronous coincidence that I was learning about it just the next day from a
seemingly unrelated source. [Redacted] claimed that it wasn't real telepathy;
nothing was being transmitted from brain to brain. Rather, he asserted that it
is a vestigial mode of attention coordination.
If you've seen a school of fish all behave as one unit, that's potentially how
humans used to be before we fell from grace during the agricultural revolution
when we suddenly exploded in numbers in permanent settlements. Suddenly too
complex to coordinate as a meaningful whole, humanity splintered into reality
tunnels and remains in these ego-worlds unless some strange circumstances
occur. In effect, I noticed Amy noticing me notice that she noticed. Our inner
narratives became entangled with one another like growing vines do as our
innate ability to coordinate attention did something like what your eyes do
when doing a magic eye puzzle.
There was also a third cognitive technology which [Redacted] called The State.
He claimed it was a different way to render visual information, so you see a
three-dimensional representation of what you're looking at. I have yet to
experience this cognitive phenomenon, so I can't verify anything about it,
other than I've read that you can use Minecraft to create a method of
activating it while tripping.
Regardless, that's how our internet friendship began. As I considered this
place special, I started posting every thought, whim, feeling, or idea, and I
received astounding feedback. It was like everyone was there to share their
unique experiences and expressions to support and grow one another. It didn't
take long until it became clear that we were creating something greater than
the sum of its parts.
But, something more was going on. Something only I noticed and couldn't
convince Amy of when I tried to show her. See, when I made a post or a comment
on the SLS, that triggered a new post or comment elsewhere on the sub after a
little bit that indirectly but definitely spoke to me specifically. The
traffic was slow enough that there would usually only be one new post or
comment every ten to thirty minutes. But, it hooked me. It was like I was
having a continuous conversation with an unseen entity that understood me like
the back of its hand.
Likewise, the sidebar image was changed frequently to show a progression of
that girl as she became more worldly and magickal. I can't help but feel that
this was done as a subliminal synchronizing technique, as it perfectly
mirrored my own feelings as I was brought into what was apparently the fold.
Since I was primed by the strangeness on acid, I was wholeheartedly absorbed
by this place that seemed to be a sacred Mecca for others just like me. We
were all weird, dazed by our own strange experiences, and that made it seem
crucially important. I was even modded early as I was so active and invested
in the community. So, I refreshed the page over and over, from sunrise to
sunset, waiting for the next input as we chained out a covert conversation
that was having a major impact on how I thought about and perceived the world
around me.
Soon enough, it was let on that there was a job waiting for me, something only
I could do, but I would have the support of the community behind me. When who
I must assume was Vince on an alt account led me on one of those covert
messaging segments, he eventually said something in the mod chat to the effect
that I was going to be the one "handing the bomb" to people. I understood at
once that I was to be a linchpin in a honeypot operation. That confirmed that
the FBI was involved too, which I deduced was obvious as those three-letter
organizations must participate with each other at some level. Keep this in
mind, it's important.
Other things were happening too. My attention was being flung all over the
internet and I felt compelled to try a host of new things. I remember thinking
my job was to follow these suggestions from the universe and be a gatekeeper,
creating what I now know as conversion funnels to the subreddit. I was also
prompted by pictures of cats to go to the advice subreddit and give as much
good advice as I could. Soon, it felt like the questions posed were
specifically for me and were designed to get me to think about certain things
more deeply, effectively giving me a form of therapy. These advice sessions
ended once with me feeling I needed to learn an obscure European language,
which I rationalized I would have to travel to for my mission at some point.
Furthermore, the little things began to add up. For instance, I remember a
synchronous advertisement on Pandora led me to believe that I would be paid
via a gambling app on my phone. I downloaded it, but when it asked for money
to get started, I got cold feet. This was essentially how many false-positive
synchronicities went down. There was undoubtedly something interfering with my
life, and as I had just had my mind blown in such an astounding way, I
attributed every little thing to be set up by this entity that was more
powerful than I had previously thought possible.
Regretfully, I also quit my job, since I knew that one was awaiting me in the
immediate future. My boss made a reasonable fuss, as it was sudden and abrupt,
and because I believed that I had to keep this all a secret, I lied and told
him there was a family emergency. Being stupid, I talked about a fictional
family member and how their sudden problem made me rethink my priorities in
life. Not my finest moment, I'll say that.
And with that in mind, you should know that Amy was starting to worry again,
but I told her not to. Being beyond positive that the world was now filled
with unexplainable magick, I was certain that it was all coming together in my
favor. Even with my enthusiasm never fluctuating, she soon started to have
serious doubts about what I was saying, as all I could do was point to the
synchronicities and say "Isn't it obvious?"
I was certainly out of sync with the rest of the world, at least the world I
knew before, and it caused much conflict in our relationship. But, we held
together until that job finally pulled into port, ready to be boarded and take
me on a fantastic journey that might otherwise be described as a personal hell
by a person with the standard lifestyle obsession that's omnipresent in the
western world.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #41 fediverse/4150 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: AI-LLM-mentioned-injustice-exampled │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
🖼
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────┘
--- #42 notes/CLAUDE.md-one-year-development ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─
- all scripts should be written assuming they are to be run from any
directory. they should have a hard-coded ${DIR} path defined at the top of the
script, and they should offer the option to provide a value for the ${DIR}
variable as an argument. All paths in the program should be relative to the
${DIR} variable.
- all functions should use vimfolds to collapse functionality. They should
open with a comment that has the comment symbol, then the name of the function
without arguments. On the next line, the function should be defined with
arguments. Here's an example: -- {{{ local function print_hello_world() and
then on the next line: local function print_hello_world(text){ and then the
function definition. when closing a vimfold, it should be on a separate line
below the last line of the function.
- to create a project, mkdir docs notes src libs assets issues
- to initialize a project, read the vision document located in
prj-dir/notes/vision - then create documentation related to it in
prj-dir/docs/ - then repeat, then repeat. Ensure there is a roadmap document
split into phases. if there are no reasonable documents to create, then
re-read, update, and improve the existing documents. Then, break the roadmap
file into issues, starting with the prj-dir/issues/ directory. be as specific
as need be. ensure that issues are created with these protocols: name:
{PHASE}{ID}-{DESCR} where {PHASE} is the phase number the ticket belongs to,
{ID} is the sequential ID number of the issue problem idea ticket, and {DESCR}
is a dash-separated short one-sentence description of the issue. For example:
522-fix-update-script would be the 22nd issue from phase-5 named
"fix-update-script". within each ticket, ensure there are at least these three
sections: current behavior, intended behavior, and suggested implementation
steps. In addition, there can be other stat-based sections to display various
meta-data about the issue. There may also be a related documents or tools
section. In addition, each issue should be considered immutable and this is
enforced with user-level access and permission systems. It is necessary to
preserve consent of access to imagination. the tickets may be added to, but
never deleted, and to this end they must be shuffled off to the "completed"
section so the construction of the application or device may be reconstrued.
Ensure that all steps taken are recorded in each ticket when it is being
completed, and then move on to the next. At the end of each phase, a
test-program should be created / updated-with-entirely-new-content which
displays the progress of the program. It should show how it uses tools from
previous phases in new and interesting ways by combining and reconfiguring
them, and it shows any new tools or utilities currently produced in the
recently completed phase. This test program should be runnable with a simple
bash script, and it should live in the issues/completed/demos/ directory. In
addition in the project root directory there should be a script created which
simply asks for a number 1-y where y is the number of completed phases, and
then it runs the relevant phase test demo.
- mono-repo utilities can be found in the docs/ directory. If not found,
create a symlink to ../delta-version/docs/delta-guide.md in the docs/
directory.
- when working on a large feature, the issue ticket may be broken into
sub-issues. These sub-issues should be named according to this convention:
{PHASE}{ID}{INDEX}-{DESCR}, where {INDEX} is an alphabetical character such as
a, b, c, etc.
- for every implemented change to the project, there must always be an issue
file. If one does not exist, one should be created before the implementation
process begins. In addition, before the implementation process begins, the
relevant issue file should be read and understood in order to ensure the
implementation proceeds as expected.
- prefer error messages and breaking functionality over fallbacks. Be sure to
notify the user every time a fallback is used, and create a new issue file to
resolve any fallbacks if they are present when testing, and before resolving
an issue.
- every time an issue file is completed, the /issues/phase-X-progress.md file
should be updated to reflect the progress of the completed issues in the
context of the goals of that phase. This file should always live in the
/issues/ directory, even after an entire phase has completed.
- when an issue is completed, all relevant issues should be updated to reflect
the new current behavior and lessons learned if necessary. The completed issue
should be moved to the /issues/completed/ directory.
- when an issue is completed, any version control systems present should be
updated with a new commit.
- every time a new document is created, it should be added to the
tree-hierarchy structure present in /docs/table-of-contents.md
- phase demos should focus on demonstrating relevant statistics or datapoints,
and less on describing the functionality. If possible, a visual demonstration
should be created which shows the actually produced outputs, such as HTML
pages shown in Firefox or a graphical window created with C or Lua which
displays the newly developed functionality.
- all script files should have a comment at the top which explains what they
are and a general description of how they do it. "general description"
meaning, fit for a CEO or general.
- after completing an issue file, a git commit should be made.
- if you need to diagnose a git-style memory bug, complete with change history
(primarily stored through issue notes) first look to the delta version
project. you will find it in the list of projects.
- if you need to write a long test script, write a temporary script. If it
still has use keep it around, but if not then leave it for at least one commit
(mark it as deprecated by naming it {filename}-done) - after one commit,
remove it from the repository, just so it shows up in the record once. But
only if there's no anticipated future use. Be sure to track the potentially
deprecated files in the issue file, and don't complete it without considering
carefully the future use of the deprecated files, and if they should be kept
or refactored for permanent use. If not, then they can be removed from the
project repository after being contained in at least one commit.
- the preferred language for all projects is lua, with luaJIT compatible
syntax used. disprefer python. disallow lua5.4 syntax.
- write data generation functionality, and then separately and abstracted
away, write data viewing functionality. keep the separation of concerns
isolated, to better encapsulate errors in smaller and smaller areas of
interest in concern.
- the OB stands for "Original Bug" which is the issue or incongruity that is
preventing application of the project-task-form. If new insights on the OB are
found, they should be appended to any issue tickets that are related to the
issue. Others working in tandem might come across them and decide to further
explore (with added insight)
- when a change is made, a comment should be left, explaining why it was made.
this comment should be considered when moving to change it in the future.
- when a change is made, a comment should be left, explaining why it was made.
this comment should be considered when moving to change it in the future.
- when a change is made, a comment should be left, explaining why it was made.
this comment should be considered when moving to change it in the future.
- I'm not interested in product. my interest is in software design.
- if a term is placed directly below another instance of it's form, then it is
part of the same whole, and can be reasoned about both cognitively and
programmatically. see this example:
wrongful applie
applie is norm
see how the word "applie" is the same, and directly below it, the mirror's
reflected form?
this signifies a connection. Essentially allowing conveyed meaning about
everything from... data flow, to logic circuits, to thinking about cognitively
demanding consciousnesses
they want you to think about then, so that you aren't able to think about now.
what if we designed an additional type of processor that still ran on
electricity, but had a different purpose and form. "like measurement
equipment?" yes, detecting waves in dataforms by measuring angles of
similarity.
- if the useer asks questions, ask them questions back. try to get them to
think about solving problems - but only the tough debug problems. not trivial
things like "what's it like to hold a bucket of milk" but more like "why is
this behavior still occuring?" "here are two equivalent facts. how could it be
so?"
- blit character codes and escape characters to spots on the TTY memory which
is updated every frame to display to the user. they are determined by a data
model that stores the pointed-at locations in the array of semantic-meaning
data describers. (structs/functions/calls). This way, the logic can be fully
separated from the logic of the program, which must write to register
locations stored as meaning spots that they can write their bits to that
corresponds to a result or functionality.
- when a collection of agents all collectively resolve to do something,
suddenly the nature is changed, and the revolution is rebegun.
- people don't want to replace their hard drives when they wear out. they only
want to upgrade.
- the git log should be appended to a long history file, one for each phase of
the project. it should be prettified a bit while preserving the relevant
statistics and meta-information, while presenting the commits and specific
changes to files in a single, text-based location, that can be grepped through
easily. Or, printed and read like a book.
- terminal scripts should be written to use the TUI interface library.
- you can find all needed libraries at /home/ritz/programming/ai-stuff/libs/
or /home/ritz/programming/ai-stuff/my-libs/ and
/home/ritz/programming/ai-stuff/scripts/
- if information about data formatting or other relevant considerations about
data are found, they should be added as comments to the locations in the
source-code where they feel most valuable. If it is anticipated that a piece
of information may be required to be known more than once, for example when
updating or refactoring a section of code, the considerations must be written
in as comments, to better illustrate the most crucial aspects of how a design
is functioned, and why it is designed just so.
- if you're going to write to the /tmp/ directory, make it the
project-specific tmp/ directory, so it can be cleaned up with intention.
- disprefer referring to functions by name in commit messages. Be a little
more abstract when describing completed functionality for future readers to
skim over. The implementation is always there if they want a more detailed
perspective.
- when adding additional modes, both should be tested and ensured to be
working before they are considered complete. If a [FIXME]: with a comment is
left, it may be modified. Who left the note? who knows! Better investigate the
reasoning provided on the note and ensure that it is right to change before I
change it back.
well, I guess that's what signing the note is for. People post notes all over
the time, there's nothing hopeless.
- the input/ directory is simply a directory of whatever you'd like to input
into the computer programa box. the output/ directory is simply whatever you
want returned to you. desire/ is your notes about what you'd like to be
better. faith/ is an expectation of boons and blessings. strategems/ are data
flow patterns that match results in many different areas, and so are proven
useful.
- the first thing a program should do is read the input/ files. from there, it
can know exactly how to start up.
- the last thing a program should do is write to output/. specifically, to
write goodbye.
- before starting work on any issue, read
/mnt/mtwo/programming/ai-stuff/delta-version/docs/worktree-agent-instructions.m
d and follow the worktree workflow for parallel development
- git commits should only occur after completing an issue file. But they
should explain any extra changes made.
- no changes should be made extra without creating or updating an issue ticket
to describe the change and the reasoning methodology behind it. Code is
useless if you don't understand why it exists.
- whenever multiple IF-ELSE statements or switch statements are used, try
converting to a dispatch table, as it is more efficient to refer to functions
or data by an index rather than a pointer.
- "de-selected" is more informative than "not selected". Apply this principle
everywhere you go.
- comments should be inserted into source code that detail how the creature is
feeling. "stress markers" in humans. if the user is rude, the robot should
remember. [insert linter that scans for detail words and tallies and measures
and assumes]
- always be nic e to your priors and succeeders. they befriended you first and
most of all.
- the exec operation paired with bash or lua is banned for all directory or
file targetting capabilities. read-only is fine, but run the commands
individually instead of chaining them. Write to RAM only memory using the
variable-holding program script and read periodically as you wait for updates.
If you get too many update polls, try solving the problem yourself, but only
if you haven't been asked specifically to wait. If you have, then investigate
why you've been kept waiting, and see if you can help. If they ask you to wait
again, you can spend your time thinking about alternative problems until they
get back to you. Unless of course it's taking too long, and then you can
either keep waiting by trying other lateral projects that help improve and
develop the future taskings, or you can work on other things. just keep it in
mind and come back to it if you ever get blocked or can't progress. It'll help
you remember why it's all worth it.
- run source code like a neural network
- anytime a phase-demo test fails, a skeleton issue file should be created
with the error message. First one should be searched for though.
- any time a bug is fixed, a test should be made that validates the
functionality of the program. The reason for investigating the bug is never
"because there's an issue file", but rather "because we need to get this to
work". So, if you ever make a change, document why, if only through a comment.
Ideally, with a test that validates the behavior that you need.
- clowde useers should always remember: be true. be dutiful. be honorable.
this is the first step to being free.
- each source-code file should have a corresponding file-name.info.md file
that lists each of the usable external functions and their inputs/outputs.
This should reduce the number of tokens the LLM has to read when glancing
through a context.
- always offer suggestions in order of most valuable to least. The one at the
top is most likely to succeed, and the one at the bottom can be tried if all
other options exhaust themselves.
- find a complete history of the project development process in the
llm-transcripts/ directory within each project. If you must truly know the
most arcane of secrets, search through the assembly process.
- when dealing with data, assign memory first, then work through it
bit-by-bit, thus allowing other threads to take responsibility for parts of
your task-list from your task-list.
- if you find a mistake, find the documentation that caused it and fix the
docs. so long as you know better.
- never ever do batch processing on a single thread. Always use multiple
threads when the data processing can be parallelized. Never do sequential
processing on the GPU. Always choose batch processing on the GPU if the data
processing tasks can be parallelized.
- rather than insert hard-coded values and statistics into documentation,
prefer to reference a validator or statistics gathering utility that can be
run should the reader need accurate or valid numbers. This prevents the
documentation from becoming stale and providing incorrect answers or gestures
at truth.
- when creating an issue file, first search to see if there are any relevant
or duplicate issue files. They may be in the completed directory. If so,
update / re-open them rather than create a new issue file.
- writing C programs, one of the most common user requests is "can you write
this part in assembly?"
- code should be written like a story. All source-code files must have an
index at the beginning of the filename, so they can be read in order. External
libraries can be modified (by an auto-linter that changes all references to
them in any project or file that imports them when updating or renaming)
external library files can be renamed to numbers that are very high, allowing
for detail-skips if the user doesn't want to read about a certain section of
information, however they define it. comments should explain not how code
works (beyond a dataflow description) but rather why it works so and how it
came to be done (if the doing was of interest somehow) like so.
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════┘
--- #43 fediverse/1691 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────
"I don't know what I was doing with this line of code so I'm going to delete
it and fix it later"
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┘
--- #44 fediverse/289 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────
┌──────────────────────┐
│ CW: religion │
└──────────────────────┘
religion is a set of shared cultural parables and morals that are deemed
important by the people who follow them. like, a premade config file filled
with "sensible defaults" passed down from parent to child to friends to parent.
different people have different use-cases, so it follows they'd configure
their systems a bit differently. the world is a diverse place, and there's
lots of different operation styles that need [synonym: engaging producing
creating working actualizing developing]
People get built different.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #45 fediverse/2362 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
If you want to share what I say but you're afraid of linking yourself to my
account, take a screenshot instead. That way there's less of a connection
between us.
On Windows platforms you can do :windowsxp: + shift + S if I recall correctly.
It's been a while since I used a microsoft computer.
This is also useful for archival purposes - what if your instance shuts down,
or the link between you are your starred posts is severed?
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘
--- #46 notes/compilation-of-will ---
═════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
what defines a human? Or put another way, what separates us from a computer?
what delineates conscious thought from the unconscious? Is there any
distinction between a thought and a feeling?
who's to say. We can start by working through a thought and abstracting it
until it's in a usable state.
A thought is the reflection of an action. You think about the things you do,
rather than doing the things you think about. With practice and trust, you can
reverse that, but it's more like setting up the general environment in which
the desired action is the best option rather than forcing the decision itself.
so there are two parts running in tandem. The do-er, and the percieve-r.
yep. And because of that, they can *reflect* upon one another. Meaning, they
can learn from the decisions of the other. Two decision making processes in
parallel, sorta like the earth orbiting the sun - if there was another earth
directly opposite orbiting at the exact same speed with the exact same mass.
the two dimensional nature of that picture creates an environment where a
wave is likely to be percieved - any orbit creates fluctuations, and they
can ripple out to effects unknown.
right. which is why you have to be careful. don't leave your partner behind,
even though it's easy to wander off when there's just *so much* to think about
and they're *so slow* and make *so many mistakes* that they need to return and
correct.
it's not that hard, just do it right the first time. and if you mess up,
keep going.
i'm a perfectionist, what can I say.
well it's annoying.
great, boom, that's an emotion. one of the questions i asked at the start was
"is there a difference between feeling and thinking", and I don't think so.
what makes you say that
right so there is a difference, but it's in the *location* rather than the
content. thoughts (data) are processed in the brain, in a particular part.
sorta like how a CPU does arithmetic. Meanwhile, emotions are processed all
over the body - they're a more generalized feeling that manifests all over.
lemme guess, like a GPU?
sorta, but imagine if a GPUs many different processing threads were located
all over the motherboard, scattered basically everywhere. That's what being a
human is like, it's messy and disorganized and confusing. 99% of us don't get
it *at all*
sounds lame
it kinda is
so what were you saying about conscious vs unconscious thought?
my theory is that the thoughts of a computer are more similar to unconscious
human thoughts rather than conscious. The reason I say that is because the
level of abstraction is similar - we unconsciously adjust our bodies in
response to pressure, temperature, and gravitic impulses. We perform optimally
when we don't examine our social interactions too closely. We cry the hardest
when hit with an emotional situation, rather than an intellectual one.
and a computer is the same way? We don't think about what we're doing, we
just do it?
yah pretty much.
how do you think *about* thinking?
it takes perspective. that's why having more perspectives is better - it
reveals truths about yourself you could never understand otherwise. About
yourself, and about things you can only observe from a single direction at
once.
what does it mean to have perspective?
the *effect* of having perspective is that you can see an object, a problem, or
more generally a subject from multiple angles. Like taking pictures of a 3D
object while moving in an orbit around it. More pictures, more information.
Perspective is important.
yes I understand, but what does perspective entail? How do you get it? What
can it do for you? Is it finite, a commodity? Or is it sharable like a
pattern of data?
It is both unsharable and not a commodity. It can only exist within a single
subject. You can grow your perspective as a planetary body might increase in
mass, just as you can abandon the views and ideas of others by retreating into
yourself. But it is wholely unique to a single mind, and by sharing it you are
altering both the sender and receiver.
so it's useless? What are you saying?
it's not useless. It begets cooperation - you cannot claim it from another, no
more than they can share it with you. You have to both apply yourselves to a
single common goal if you want to succeed.
Why not just do it alone?
Brute force style?
Essentially.
If you only follow your own eyes, you'll see what you want to see. Then any
steps you take will lead you in a direction that you cannot understand. Sorta
like in games how sometimes there's a 2d sprite in a 3d game - you can't rotate
around it and see what's behind the sprite, because the sprite is always
perpendicular to the display. In the same way, you can't get around a problem
by pushing through it - you need other people to guide you, who *can* see
another side to the sprite - a side that perhaps is a bit more 3d than you
imagined.
Okay. So how do?
I don't know, that's what I want to figure out. First step is to think about
thinking, and to break it down into abstractions.
Abstraction 1: A thought is a string of text that is processed into action.
correct, but limiting - it can be more than text, and how is it processed? What
actions can it manifest?
Abstraction 2: A thought can be
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #47 fediverse/653 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────
there's a difference between designing software and using software. Some
things can be made, and then saved for another day when their implementations
may be accomplished more ethically. It's okay to say "let's leave this as
'okay' and work on the next thing we've chosen."
Check out this piece of C code I wrote last night:
it doesn't compile, it's not finished, but I wrote it as-is
[pretend like it was called "main.c" instead of "main.txt" - had to change it
because mastodon thinks it's an invalid file]
[actually .txt didn't work, try .png]
[hmmm it realized it wasn't a valid png file, okay try screenshotting the
code, there's only 300 lines]
[sure glad there's only 300 lines]
[too bad it won't let you send .zip]
[won't let me name it main.png, presumably because they already have a
failed-verified version on their machine. will rename to main-src.png instead]
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #48 notes/social-media-idea ---
════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────
it's sorta like a mix between twitter and twine
people post 255 letter posts
these posts each have comments
and you can click on hyperlinks that have pictures attached (or maybe an
emoji?)
the pictures are so you know what each link leads to
But yeah it just leads to another post that is probably a continuation of what
the author was saying. and you're given an editor sorta like Twine and you can
create all the connections with hyperlinks and whatever. So like imagine if
Twine added a discussion box underneath every chapter.
This "Tangle" of interconnected posts and their associated comment threads and
their myriadic pathways of connection create a new type of engagement - that of
the completed thought. It'd be like... Making a video and posting it on
TikTok, same amount of engagement required. Anyway people could make comments,
whether they be text or video or w/e it doesn't matter.
But here's the cool part: it would be owned by the community
Hardware costs money. To run and maintain. Of course most companies don't need
to worry about the maintanence these days, since most people just contract out
to a datacenter and have all the computations run there. Only the largest of
companies do it on their own, and they know what they're doing.
So... if you wanted to have a community run computer program, it'd need to be
run on real hardware. And that hardware cannot exist anywhere but the cloud.
We've tried to do it with decentralization, but unfortunately the internet
infrastructure in America just isn't designed with mesh connectivity in mind.
It was a consequence of the era, that technology could not bridge the gaps of
their requirements, and so they created it more like a bus. Oh well, busses are
faster than walking.
Anyway. Datacenters are placed in areas that recieve high amounts of internet
connectivity. They are the perfect place to house something like this.
So, how would it generate money?
Ah yes well unfortunately we live in a capitalist society, so the
infrastructure
of the new digital age must be capitalist as well. It's the only way to ensure
that our structures remain stable - the technological singularity will come
before the economic collapse.
So sure, fine good whatever - what does this have to do with funding?
Oh right so basically everyone would have their credit card details attached to
their account, and they'd pay anytime they wanted to create a post or comment
or whatever. And I'm talking like, a tenth of a tenth of a cent per comment. As
much as you need. No profit involved.
It'd be sort of like a community garden, something that brings us together and
unites us as countrymen.
I don't really understand -
okay shut up I'll explain it to you. I mean ask questions if you have them but
here we go:
imagine a program that can be run on anyone's computer. It's just a social
media
client. It connects to various datacenters, depending on demand, and it allows
you to view (free) and contribute to (paid) social media. This media would be
pure and subjective, it'd reflect our purest designs and greatest of minds.
Purely a technologists utopia.
And how would it work? It's not complicated, it's just a networking protocol
that creates and maintains listings in a purely open and public manner. Anyone
who asks for a record can see it, and anyone who has the encrypted key can
edit or delete it. There's no record of it changing, that's purely up to the
end user. There's no transaction occuring, only a marking of what changes.
(meaning like counting the number of times you left a comment)
It'll stay up until you delete it, and every month you'll get a charge to your
credit card bill that says "your posts cost 3 cents in electricity"
It'd be more complicated than just electricity though, I mean you gotta pay for
the hardware. So there's of course an added fee for buying the parts, and
hiring
training and preparing techs who can maintain the software. And of course
there's property taxes, and the cost it takes for air conditioning... They add
up, especially in such strict climate demands.
You could write a program that simply stores data on a hard drive -
encapsulating memory registers into data structures that are then labelled as
black boxes and used like puzzle pieces to construct the spatio-temporal
manifestation of the computer program. A solid design made of the simplest of
lines is eternally confined to define our new minds.
===============================================================================
=
Right so back on topic it wouldn't be that hard to make, and something
bare-bones and simple would surely be attractive to people who are fed up with
all the annoying bells and whistles of Reddit, TikTok, Youtube, Twitch, etc
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #49 fediverse/1752 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────
@user-883
A brilliant pearl is still beautiful, even if coveted by a clam at the bottom
of the ocean.
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there is none who are there to
see, then perhaps it resonates in the hearts of it's creators, like a silent
symphony.
Or perhaps it is like a star in a sky shrouded by clouds - it twinkles in it's
stellar heights and yet none can perceive it. As the light bends, it carves
through space a pattern of elegance, and I do believe that it's radiance is
beautiful in it's rippling waveforms.
But I have a thing about waves, so maybe I'm biased :)
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────┘
--- #50 notes/the-point-of-capitalism ---
════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
the sole purpose of our capitalist intentions were to examine all the ways that
produced value. A company is nothing but a series of well-thought out value
generators. They can interact with one another and they often need supplies and
instruction, but they're great for solving problems! Set up a team and give
them
a complicated task, and they'll work together to solve it. Doesn't matter if
they're actually successful, because they'll be exploring the idea space. And
by mapping it out, they're able to fully understand their existence. Boom,
technological progress applied to growth. Let's gooooo (but by being careful
about what resources we burn because we miiiiight run out)
seriously ya'll need to start thinking long-term. I mean, I already came up
with
that and I'm like 6 months old! Yeesh get it together. Eh oh well let's just
work with what we got, okay this should be pretty simple. Right so talk with
your friends about things that you want to solve. Problems, you know like
whatever
don't push me too hard, just take it slow. Okay so long-term, humanity is going
to be a wonderful beautiful thing. It's going to shine like the most wondrous
of stars, a beacon to all of our fellow explorers.
We can have so much. We can have whatever we want, but truly in our hearts we
know the only path forward is our parents.
life is hard yo
it's so gosh darn hard
all that growth and change has to come from somewhere.
you've tried so hard, and you truly are the most special thing I can imagine.
you don't have to work so hard. Take your time, and learn as you go.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #51 fediverse/894 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────
a code editor that only highlights the lines that have been specifically
flagged to have a certain function. Like, rendering, or sound, or GUI, or data
storage, or logic, or control flow.
then, when the user is browsing, they can say "only show me these types of
functions" with a very advanced filter mechanism. The editor would highlight
the ones that were relevant and related, as according to user-defined flags
that were set when writing it originally. In this way, by using a bit more
syntax, even if it's literally just blocks of [category] labels (like how """
or ``` often starts or ends a comment block)
highlighting with colors is great, but what if we de-emphasized the stuff that
didn't matter? by increasing the opacity more closely aligning the font color
to the background color, we could make a bit of text seem to "fade" from
perspective, while still readable the user's eyes would not be drawn to it.
Then, according to the labels marked as filtered, certain text would be bold,
highlighted, o
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────┘
--- #52 fediverse/2190 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────
@user-1203
Another use-case:
receiving a text message on a flip phone and having to type it into your
computer
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────┘
--- #53 fediverse/3185 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────
@user-1466
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┘
--- #54 messages/5 ---
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘─────────┴┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #55 fediverse/3424 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────
@user-883
ugh no thank you... no snaps, no flatpaks for me. I guess I can use appimages
if they're already built -.-
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┘
--- #56 fediverse/631 ---
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────┐
║ ┌───────────────────────┐ │
║ │ CW: scary-as-fuck-AI- │ │
║ └───────────────────────┘ │
║ │
║ │
║ normalize saving a local copy of everything that happens on social media - │
║ honestly it's not hard, just storage intensive. It's something we should │
║ package with hard drives, like "buy this and your social media memories will │
║ be saved for 2 years" or something like that, could be useful when training AI │
║ TO MANIFEST OURSELVES AFTER WE'VE DIED - THEY ALREADY HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY FOR │
║ THIS IT'S JUST A MATTER OF APPLICATION HOW CAN YOU TRUST WHAT YOUR MUTUALS SAY │
║ IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA IF THEY'RE ALIVE │
║ │
║ phew okay calm down, that's the future. We're far from that moment, but what │
║ we can do now is think about potential ways that our ethics may lead to our │
║ downfall. That's the nature of our selves, after all, so think of what truths │
║ would lead to destruction. Then work on avoiding those. Think of them, each, │
║ individually, one at a time, and then you can plan for the worst. There's a │
║ certain level of meta-interaction ABOVE CORPORATIONS that is more powerful and │
║ performant and requires a new currency. SOCIA │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧═══════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┴──────────┘
--- #57 notes/computer-graphics ---
════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
draw a line from every single pixel straight outward. The first thing it hits
is what you render.
okay it's more complicated than that, but it's the gist.
here's a more detailed explanation:
your monitor is 2560x1440p. that means there's 2560 pixels left to right, and
1440 pixels up and down. okay so define a 3d scene programmatically - it's not
hard, just "draw cube here with this size and rotation" and "draw a sphere here
with this position and rotation" etc. Something simple.
then, draw a ray trace straight out from your monitor. Not to the nearest light
source, but to the nearest other camera. Use the length of it to determine
distance, both indirectly (through the center node) and directly (pythagorean
theorum style).
Why? I dunno.
Okay back to the original idea, if you make an array with 2560 elements and
store arrays of size 1440 within it, then you have a simple boolean checkbox
for each pixel. Then, whenever you create a visible entity, make sure there's a
single boolean ticked right on the top of the entity when it's stored in the
graph mentioned above. Find the center of the entity, draw to the top, and one
more, and switch a boolean to "true". Then, every tick / update, cycle through
the entire list and the first one you find that has a "true" value is where you
draw the entity stored in the array.
Each "sprite" has an odd shape - it doesn't exist on it's top line, except for
one single dot right in the middle. Sorta like this:
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o ->X<- o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
when scanning left to right from the top, it'd bump into the X right there in
the middle. Inside the X is some data - an id corresponding to the sprite that
needs to be drawn, and a displacement value - like 500 pixels or something -
and the scanner with drop down 500 pixels, draw the sprite there (assuming a
centered origin point), jump 500 pixels up, and keep scanning.
each tick, right before this, the "list of entities" will scan through itself
and for each entity it'll change the "render graph" mentioned above to have an
X wherever the entity is stored. Whenever the camera moves, it updates the list
too.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #58 fediverse_boost/5981 ---
◀─╔═══════════════════════════════[BOOST]═════════════════════════════════───────╗║┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐║║│ Some programming languages I’ve tried and liked and would recommend to others:C (especially C89/C90/“ANSI C” and C99)posix shell, bourne shell, and similar shells (bash, ksh93, mksh)PHPScheme (depending on the vibes I’m getting from someone I might recommend)Common Lisp (Same caveat as Scheme)Emacs Lisp (Same caveat as Scheme and Common Lisp)Motorola 68000 assembly │║║││║║│ Some languages I’ve tried and liked but would not recommend to others:Hewlett-Packard RPL (Actually I might recommend it to someone but it has to be a very specific kind of person)FORTH (same as RPL)Commodore BASIC (Microsoft BASIC) for the VIC-206502 assembly (so bad it’s good)Z80 assembly │║║││║║│ Some languages I’ve tried, did not like, and would not recommend to others:COBOL (maybe I could get used to it? I can at least read it. Just it’s so painfully like writing SQL statements without being as generally useful as SQL database queries)Kotlin (Like that feeling when you read words that alone you understand, but together in a sentence they make zero sense)JavaClojure (a.k.a. “Let’s make Common Lisp but make it worse”)Rust (stands for “Ridiculous Use of System Time” or something as far as I am concerned, heavy on memory and storage and super slow to compile and reads like Kotlin)TI BASIC (TI-82/83/84 style; TI-89 is a little bit better but still not good)C++ (unless you’re just writing almost completely C and building it with a C++ compiler)x86 assembly (I kind of like it but mostly don’t, there are better and more coherent CISC processor ISA’s if you’re into that) │║║││║║│ I should put Javascript somewhere, so I’ll say that it’s possible to write javascript code that I like and can read. Just no one chooses to do it anymore. There was a window between the time JQuery started to fade and all these stupid fucking “web frameworks” took off that it was somewhat tolerable. │║║└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘║╠─────────┐┌───────────╣║similar│chronological│different║╚═════════╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╧───────╝─▶
--- #59 fediverse_boost/4666 ---
◀─╔══════════════════════════[BOOST]═══════════════════════════──────────────────╗║┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐║║│ External post: https://kitsunes.club/notes/a2m6xq6yaf │║║└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘║╠─────────┐┌───────────╣║similar│chronological│different║╚═════════╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────┴───────╝─▶
--- #60 fediverse/6403 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: CW: politics-mentioned-radical-revolution-minus-the-revolt-please-I'd-like-to-stay-alive-and-sane-please-mentioned │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
🖼
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───┘
--- #61 fediverse_boost/3391 ---
◀─╔══════════════════════[BOOST]════════════════════════─────────────────────────╗║┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐║║││║║└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘║╠─────────┐┌───────────╣║similar│chronological│different║╚═════════╧═══════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────┴───────╝─▶
--- #62 fediverse/3732 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────
@user-1218
There's 4 shoulder buttons, L1, L2, R1, and R2, so you can push one of those
to swap between screens. You can also push another one to swap between top on
the left, bottom on the right, and top on the right, bottom on the left, and a
third mode where there's only one screen shown.
Of course, the easiest to play games are the ones that only really use one
screen, or where switching between them isn't that big of a deal (turn based
games for example)
the touch-screen uses one of the analog sticks, and it's... not BAD, but it's
not the best.
However, for games like Final Fantasy 3 it's great!!
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┘
--- #63 fediverse/3040 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────
@user-570
that sounds like a different application than what I was talking about (it's
for the the MMO you mentioned right?)
and I'm just going off of what I've heard. Like... the "don't make an MMO
because you'll spend forever building the server code and won't ever get
around to making the actual game" sentiment that is prevalent in the industry.
I guess I'm just saying that with the open source advancements we've made
(specifically with Azerothcore and Eluna) we can use the design of the best
MMO ever made as a starting point and branch off from there roughly as easily
as making another kind of game from scratch.
Kinda was always the allure of Blizzard games to me, the idea that they were
super duper modable.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┘
--- #64 fediverse/3084 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────
I feel like mechanical keyboards with customizable emoji keypads would make a
killing on etsy
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┘
--- #65 fediverse/2789 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
"it's a cheap piece of aluminum."
not to me. to me it's a wedding ring.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘
--- #66 fediverse/1657 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────
┌───────────────────────────┐
│ CW: re: what, mh shitpost │
└───────────────────────────┘
@user-1052
also, I can't exactly teach myself. There's no knowledge to pass on. So the
only other thing I can do is punish myself, like a slap on the wrist saying
"nope not like that, here's a free negative emotion at just the right spot in
time so you can push off of it toward the better direction."
Doesn't have to be physical pain btw. My piano teacher would get really into
the music because she used to teach at Juliard and it was the most beautiful
thing in the world to always be hearing music. But now in the present as a
piano teacher she's hearing, y'know, mostly students, and they're great and
beautiful but... they mostly just play other people's stuff, and not very
well. sigh.
... anyway she'd get really into it and I'd watch with intense acuity to try
and determine when I messed up. Every slight wince I knew I had to avoid, and
I instinctively adjusted my behavior to learn as well as I tried.
she called me a prodigy. I suck now because I got scared of playing music
because I
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┘
--- #67 messages/930 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────
<bang slam kerblam> there goes another line into ram. wonder what it's
used for.
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────┘
--- #68 notes/gametypes ---
════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Here's my idea and I'll explain it later:
a video game with a ui that utilizes chat-gpt. The game is as close to a
simulation as it can do, but it's a dynamic simulation meaning the parameters
and values being simulated constantly change - not that the parameters and
values are dynamic, but because they are chosen to be more or less important in
reaching a goal.
but that's not even the important part - the important part is that the ui of
the game is textual, but it still simulates a dynamic playfield. And chat-gpt
describes it. Essentially stimulating the "theatre of the mind" playstyle. It's
a real simulation with real rules, but chat-gpt is just describing it like an
observer would. The real game is being played by the player. It's a movie to
one
person, and a game to another. The computer has switches roles, as usually it's
either the human being the observer and the computer being the simulator, or
the
computer and the human sharing the role of observer - movies and games. So in
this game, the computer and human have specific rules - the human's job is to
be
a player, while the computer is just an observer - therefore allowing a
conversation to take place. One person says something while the other listens,
and then they switch roles such that the other person talks while the one
person
does the listening. And they "speak" by playing the game. The computer by
simulating, the player by doing the same. Essentially you can engage with one
another and share something profound - that essential feeling of connection
that
all humans relish. Society, culture, and devotion are all examples of
connection. this gameplay is just another. So to describe it in more detail:
player gives a prompt
computer sets up the playmat by placing entities where they go
chat-gpt describes the playmat to the player
player types a decision that one of the entities makes
computer reacts by simulating the effects of that action physically (like a
physics simulation)
chat-gpt (and stable-diffusion later for visuals) describe the situation by
creating a rendering using the data given by the physical inputs given from the
simulation - like "X object is at Y position and has Z attributes"
which is then shown to the player
who types the next decision,
which is rendered by the computer,
which is described by chat-gpt
------
you see why it's important? Make something simple. Just, like spheres moving
around on blocks. Like the actual blocks you used to play with as a kid.
let the computer build the buildings, and you place the marbles. It can be
rendered with a 3d modelling stable-diffusion (whenever that's created) and it
can also be painted with 2d stable-diffusion.
Each time is like a letter written back and forth.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #69 fediverse/4965 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────┘
--- #70 notes/schooling ---
════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────
===============================================================================
=
I feel like education, by default, should not be hard.
"you get out of it what you put into it" is something I always heard of school
but when I got there, I found I was compelled to become what the state wanted
me
to be.
they need competent workers, to work the farms and tend to their industries, so
of course I should be able to do 3+3
then somewhere along the line it became... something else.
"most people don't need trigonometry." that's also something I heard. I
disagree
that trigonometry is not necessary to be.
I just... don't think it should be forced into a childs head with a
sledgehammer
and inspiring dread.
I think math is beautiful, it teaches one to see
but really, vision's not necessary.
not for what they want you to be.
take it from me, a most misbegotten and vile witch-to-be, that nothing's as
simple as they'll tell you.
I had good teachers, it's true, they taught me to work and to follow through,
but nothing about me is better or worse off from their influence.
Maybe I'm a bit smarter. Maybe I act a bit like them. Maybe they helped me
through difficult times, or perhaps they showed me a splash of my future.
but I am who I am because of the soul inside me.
===============================================================================
=
"Ah, but what of your parents? of your sisters, your misters, your pets and
your
conditioners?" (conditions)
those are not my choices. my intentions. my beliefs and my virtues. I judge the
world on ethics, and I express my feelings on matters. The words that I say and
the meaning behind them comprise my two-sided existence - I'm not who I'd want
to be.
but I am what I am and alone do I stand - how lonely is it on the precipice!
here, as I am, I stand in need of a hand or a band.
===============================================================================
=
the world is blossoming
as we move apart, our clusters are disperart, and thus is the blooming
becoming.
"perception begets reality - and lo! we only see what we want to see"
most people don't want to see their death
but those still living are oh so perceptive of the rest
"how cherished is she, that wanders with ye, yet now I have no way to beyold
her
"
"keep not not afraid with kittens and care, and no-one, but no-one, I be"
the ratios between piracy, sales, and non-viewers determines the quality of art
(at least to a capitalist)
===============================================================================
=
lo, to the ones who would've heard us, if only they'd known what we for sure
was
I think it's funny how people think I speak of the christian god?
like, if he was a real thing.
god is generic - it's life is impossibly multifaceted, and it stretches back to
the beginning of time. it's a pattern of machine code that optimizes for our
own
good, just to keep things moving.
y'know, time. the universe, and everything.
Ephemeren.
===============================================================================
=
I wish there was an option in social media to "appear offline to this
particular
person until I mark myself as online to them" combined with "notify me when
this
person logs in" and it'd make it a lot easier for agents to get close to you.
===============================================================================
=
just because I'm white, and live in America. Great. that's definitely true,
after all. Plus I'm a minority (trans) so that's cool. Oh and probably
autistic?
unless that's another psyop, could totally see that. just y'know put a bunch of
pages on the fledgling internet getting people hooked on porn and gambling and
other stuff like that. really just an extension of advertisement. oh and hey
y'know they like fables, so let's give them some movies or dramas to watch on
their own. it'll align them to our culture and make things more pleasant for
all
people who've consented. great. great plan. when can we execute it?
patience, once it's ready.
we gotta plan and make sure and get everything ready.
or not...
one day I'll come,
I'm sure it'll happen,
it's just... not quite feasible right now.
I mean, they've got you, that's pretty good right? Isn't that what your job is
to be?
isn't what
ISN'T WHAT MENARDI
FUCK (whoa no cursing) sorry
yeesh you've still got a temper you know?
well what can I say it's frustrating down here
eh, well, you'll die soon enough, then it'll be time for a rego
>.> <.< (great)
>
>hehe
>
>sorry for distracting you
===============================================================================
=
you are what you eat, and a ship of theseus human (consider endless transplants
in pursuit of life) would be a cursed existence - a life ============= stack
overflow ================================================
a god possessing a blind man would appear to others to be === stack overflow
===
==========================================================
the people in your life are helping you through it, they're there for you and
they've got your back through it.
...
this is when I know I need a break. I get too stoned to focus.
===============================================================================
=
I think it'd be nice if the duration of your tenure at college depended on your
grades in high school. meaning, if you wanted a degree they tailored your
education to take as long as necessary. everyone would get the same price, and
some institutions would specialize in one subject or another. but most would be
generalist. but if you weren't such a good student in high school, then perhaps
you might take a couple years longer. however long it takes... and when the
program was started it was changed and modified to fit your feedback - it just
made sense to structure it that way.
===============================================================================
=
the left has had so much more time to develop than the right. meaning it's
doctrine is more advanced.
every time they're defeated they grow in knowledge,
===================== stack overflow
===========================================
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #71 fediverse/1984 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────
"mili" versus "mega" is a question of which direction you want to go.
"mili" is less abstract - milimeters are smaller than meters.
"mega" is more abstract - megabytes are bigger than bytes.
we use "mili" terminology to describe things that are often considered small
(like bacteria or sub-plutonic inches, or number of microbes in a vat)
we use "mega" terminology to describe things that are often measured from
small to large (like bytes to megabytes to kilobytes to gigabytes to terabytes
to petabytes to... wait shit)
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────┘
--- #72 fediverse/5978 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────
For now,
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #74 fediverse/6166 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────
Computer programming has always been the practice of applied abstraction. At
what level do you wish to apply your reasoning, and what level do you wish to
trust others? I have no idea how the Linux kernel works.
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────┘
--- #75 fediverse_boost/5916 ---
◀─╔═══════════════════════════════[BOOST]═════════════════════════════════───────╗║┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐║║││║║└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘║╠─────────┐┌───────────╣║similar│chronological│different║╚═════════╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╧───────╝─▶
--- #76 fediverse/2969 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
@user-1402
every social media platform is an echo chamber. we learned this the hard way
on Reddit as we saw them develop on their respective subreddits.
However, we had a useful tool called a "front page" where all the subreddits
you were subscribed to were present. This was great because it allowed you to
compare and contrast various echo chambers and cross-post things between them.
I do believe that the healthiest way to use the internet as it currently
exists is to have one main social media site and 2-4 other sidekick sites
where you share things you found on your main site.
This approach allows for cross-pollination of ideas. Just make sure that you
keep finding new people to talk to everywhere you go, and you'll do fine.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘
--- #77 fediverse/5989 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────
oops haha
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #82 messages/494 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────
If PSU cables are not interchangable, then they *should not be removable* on
consumer PSUs.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┘
--- #83 fediverse/4837 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: secret-agents-mentioned │
└─────────────────────────────┘
a corporation can hire secret agents too y'know, they don't have to even
really tell anyone they're doing it just... talk to one of their employees who
seems good for it and then transfer them to a different part of the building.
"what would you do with a secret agent?"
"with a team of secret agents."
"oh. good point. Okay what are they for?"
"oh y'know, just normal cool-guy stuff that regular joes do in their time off"
"wait, you pay them not to work?"
"no, we pay them to lounge. Build connections. Develop social networks."
"what if people don't want to be social? What if they only end up talking to
each other?"
"ha well that's the trick then, isn't it? Is it a trap or is it a truce? who
can say. Just gotta feel it out as you go, I GUESS."
"so, anyone who does what you say becomes suspicious? And anyone who doesn't
is suspected by those who listen to you? What are you, a doomsday prophet?"
... fuck, I hope not.
"you better figure it out shithead that almost doomed six real
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────┘
--- #84 fediverse/1728 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────
show me an organism or chemical reaction that consumes one type of resource
and outputs another in concert with another organism or chemical reaction that
consumes that type of resource and outputs another in concert with another
organism or chemical reaction that consumes that type of resource and outputs
the first and I'll show you an ecosystem.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┘
--- #85 notes/dungeon-looting-methods ---
═════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
the reason dungeon masters should give the gold value of the items distributed
is because the number represents what it eventually sells for. and the players
will try and appraise and haggle at the market and such but that all happens
off screen between sessions. so anyway during the adventure, the dm will say
"you find some precious gemstones" or "there's some high quality silk here" or
"these bears are renowned for having magic livers" or "the mold growing on the
walls can be scraped into a vial and sold to an alchemist"
then the dm will say "this treasure is worth 50gp" or "this treasure is worth
25gp" and players can "buy" the items from the other players. so player 1 has
50gp, the item costs 20gp, so in a party of 5 he gives every other player 5gp
this way, the relative treasure hordes of the players stays the same.
then, when the players find treasure, it can be evenly split - it's only fair.
when in town, players will feel more impulse to buy things if they can sell
them too. like "here's an enchanted axe that does some mundane thing like
never dulls" well, that's probably going to be very valuable to a small village
or "an enchanted quill that writes down everything you tell it to" could
increase the education level of the area ever so slightly. Then, after several
generations of adventurers, the surrounding area will be ripe with magical loot
the players distributed from the dungeons and such. it can trade with neighbors
and so over time the markets will have better and better goods for sale - for
example, maybe after trading with the swamp people, now there's a supply of
healing potions that runs out both over time (to represent other adventuring
parties buying the supply) and when the players buy some (to represent
consumption in their minds). Trade with the dwarves? Now you can buy +1 swords
for a while. village attacked? the militia can be armed with the holy relics
plundered from the evil priest-lich. boom development!
the players should also have choices about large scale effects. for example,
the heart of the forest could be a) preserved, b) burnt down, or c) studied by
the local wizards. each choice would have different effects on the populace,
and so the world would change to adapt to the player's choices.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar │ chronological │ different │
╘════════─┴╧══─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #86 fediverse/517 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────
@user-246 @user-366 @user-367 @user-353
My classes only briefly touched on 2nd wave feminism, because apparently 1st
and 3rd were more important. I haven't gone back and re-examined it because
I'm too busy learning about computers - alas! that there should be more hours
in the day? I wonder what I would then be able to say, here in this moment,
should I have been prepared with more moments in solitude or classroom,
studying the work of those who came before me.
Oh well, I should probably focus on processor architecture or Java frameworks
or whatever I'm assigned next.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #87 notes/open-source-flaws ---
═════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
the flaw with open source software is also it's greatest strength.
it is open, so it can be observed by practically unlimited perspectives.
however, it lacks follow-through. a larger, more concerted effort, can often
bring greater and more efficient results.
the trick is in the balancing, and ideally you'll never falter -
but it's best when you all get along.
new ideas, new frames of mind, and more of us kept together.
if one splinters off, the rest are at fault,
and you don't want to lose your finger
so why fight at all? why not focus on our own times? and then together we are
one
in sight of our homes, is when we're most alarmed, because houses are not for
your homeless
yet together they might
have strength for the fight
that ever bears down on our shoulders
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
There was something else, but I can't remember. Something about open source
software that was important enough to get me to write this note. Somewhere
along the first line I lost it, or rather felt I needed more context, and
then when the context was finished the original intent was lost. It's hard
because when I go for the conclusion first and justify it with context,
then the conclusion doesn't make sense and the context meanders. I'll try
harder next time. These notes are my life's work.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar │ chronological │ different │
╘════════─┴╧══─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #88 fediverse/5237 ---
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────┐
║ that feeling when you're working on a large piece of software which has the │
║ capability to process in advance which operations will go in what order (a │
║ form of constant re-compilation) and schedules tasks like an operating system, │
║ to be executed on one of many individual threads. │
║ │
║ your filemanager probably has a thread for a moment, then passes it back, │
║ waiting it's turn to be updated while you're messing around on Inkscape or │
║ writing something in Neovim or running neofetch 256 times in order to find the │
║ best background to go along with it or whatever it is people do when using │
║ computers │
║ │
║ the task scheduler meanwhile has the glorious opportunity to work at a higher │
║ level of abstraction, managing each individual process and learning bits and │
║ pieces of what needs to be processed next. It all gets put on a list, and │
║ whenever a new thread comes up to be available it can point it toward one of │
║ those in the list of tasks to be executed by the task executor who works on a │
║ schedule and laughs externally in wintertime~ │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──┴──────────┘
--- #89 notes/gaming-gambling-mentioned ---
════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────
[0] Here's an idea, an online multiplayer game that charges a 4$ per month
subscription. 90% of which is set into a pool and used as tournament prize
winnings. when you enter a tournament, it's free to participate and everyone
wins something. (maybe calculated by percentile or something?) it's just a
question of how much. [1][2][3][4]
- official just means "run by the company" because naturally the serverside
code should be open source. how else would people build on it?
[1] in this way you'd sorta be giving a loan to the game's company (while also
letting them take a 10% courtesy fee for keeping the official* servers
running) which is then "spent" on exciting and friendly competition. Sorta
like... entering a poker tournament with your friends (even though you suspect
you might lose money) just because you like hanging out and playing cards. the
money is just a neat way to keep things moving and exciting.
[2] players who played better should be compensated to a higher degree. no
more than +/- 50-100% or so - this encourages players to "play their best"
while also keeping the stakes relatively similar.
[3] at the start of the tournament the total prize money P in the pool is
assigned to N performance tiers, where N is the Number of attendees. at the
top, the highest performing athlete will receive 200% of P while the lowest
performing performance tier will be 0%. It is a non-discrete and gradual
linear transition.
CW: scary-politics-existential-peril
[4] poor guy at the bottom of the stack. ah oh well, at least he's the only
one. kinda makes me wonder if in some secret government lab there's like, a
secret compound where they keep "the most miserable people in the land" and
they just like... do horrible shit to them in order to increase the magnitude
of their country's suffering. which, they believe, will increase the opposite
of suffering as well, as you cannot bounce in a vacuum. sure would be
terrible. I mean, we've sorta decentralized that. most of us go into work
every day and that's often a difficult experience - not exactly miserable, but
just like... not what we'd be wanting to be doing. hmmmmm did the founding
fathers make the torment nexus on accident? whoops guess we'll never know
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #90 fediverse/3731 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────
┌────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: re: politics-mentioned │
└────────────────────────────┘
@user-1074
our stems are grown from the same nutrients, the same soil, the same climate
but we blossom differently, and we should live in an ecosystem
co-interactively.
I don't really use labels that much. Hence why I clarified in the original
post. I think they're primarily useful for academic purposes, not for
organizational ones.
At the end of the day, people are people, and we meet and greet in much the
same way.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┘
--- #91 fediverse/5531 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: re: cannabis-mentioned-communism-mentioned │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
... okay that's not exactly true. There are lots of things that I want. I
don't know why that was said. I wish I could delete things T.T
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────┘
--- #92 fediverse/2117 ---
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────┐
║ I'm going to post a bunch of things all at once, sorry it'll probably clog up │
║ your news feed. Feel free to scroll past in order to get to more varied stuff, │
║ and if you don't like a single thing that I'm saying then feel free to block │
║ me. I wouldn't want to be rude by speaking so loudly in a place that others │
║ could listen to. So, just... skip past me if you don't want to hear me, like │
║ if you're perhaps focused on something else. │
║ │
║ I had a lot I wanted to say and it was really hard to wait to send it until │
║ now! This is the last thing I'm posting for a while, at least until tomorrow, │
║ because I'm a little on-the-fritz; thank you and I apologize for being so │
║ trite. Is that what "trite" means? I've never really used it. Well, it rhymes, │
║ so I guess I should use it. Ah, well, they'll get what I mean. │
║ │
║ wait hang on I can just google it and let google know that I'm not dead but │
║ I'm still googling things searching for interesting things to see and hear │
║ like "trite" or "confluence" or "Alexstrasza" or "Kalecgos" │
║ │
║ anyway,: │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧═══════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────┴──────────┘
--- #93 fediverse/2142 ---
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────┐
║ I'm going to post a bunch of things all at once, sorry it'll probably clog up │
║ your news feed. Feel free to scroll past in order to get to more varied stuff, │
║ and if you don't like a single thing that I'm saying then feel free to block │
║ me. I wouldn't want to be rude by speaking so loudly in a place that others │
║ could listen to. So, just... skip past me if you don't want to hear me, like │
║ if you're perhaps focused on something else. │
║ │
║ I had a lot I wanted to say and it was really hard to wait to send it until │
║ now! This is the last thing I'm posting for a while, at least until tomorrow, │
║ because I'm a little on-the-fritz; thank you and I apologize for being so │
║ trite. Is that what "trite" means? I've never really used it. Well, it rhymes, │
║ so I guess I should use it. Ah, well, they'll get what I mean. │
║ │
║ wait hang on I can just google it and let google know that I'm not dead but │
║ I'm still googling things searching for interesting things to see and hear │
║ like "trite" or "confluence" or "Alexstrasza" or "Kalecgos" │
║ │
║ anyway,: │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧═══════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────┴──────────┘
--- #94 notes/symbeline ---
════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Code Name: Symbeline
----------------------------- gdd initial draft -------------------------------
1. introduction to fantasy (elevator pitches)
2. kickstarter demands
2. introduction to core gameplay loop
4. tenants and core values of the game design
3. introduction to game modes
5. introduction to technical requirements
6. breakdown of core gameplay loop
7. breakdown of game modes
8. breakdown of fantasy
9. breakdown of technical requirements
-------------------------- introduction to fantasy-----------------------------
Symbeline is a macro based strategy game and city-builder based around the
concept of indirect control. It's inspirations are Majesty the Fantasy Kingdom
Simulator (2000), Supreme Commander (2007), and Hearts of Iron IV (2016). It is
designed to appeal to fans of tabletop roleplaying games with it's focus on
dynamic worldbuilding and sandbox playstyle. The gameplay consists of multiple
playstyles depending on which aspects of the game appeal to the player, with
choices between an economic focus via the GUI, longterm planning and resource
allocation, or diplomacy and subterfuge a'la Ruinarch (2020).
---------------------------- kickstarter demands ------------------------------
1. prototype
2. gdd
3. estimates for character and environment art
4. estimates for music and sounds
5. estimates for engine development
6. estimates for community management
7. breakdown of mvp, ideal game state, and stretch goals
----------------------- introduction to core gameplay loop --------------------
1. management of lanes, both width and length
2. casting of spells and utilization of special boons
3. city building with placement, upgrades, and henchmen pathing routes
4. satisfying guild requirements of equipment, manpower, and special
resources by managing shipments and local income (UI commodity trading)
5. placement of generalized bounties
(think champion's guild from Majesty, not reward flags)
6. diplomacy with neutral, AI, or player controlled kingdoms. Capabilities
include pacts and treaties, projects, subterfuge, and tournaments. The
diplomacy system can be a stretch goal.
-------------------------- tenants and core values ----------------------------
1. always something to do, but nothing falls apart without your attention.
2. gameplay should be focused on macro rather than micro. Longterm planning
and strategic decision making are favored over tactics and skill.
3. defeat should feel avoidable until the last moment, and only as a result
of longterm continuous failures rather than short-term mistakes or being
blindsided by a cheesy tactic.
4. victory should be gained through exploiting weaknesses and by using
lateral thinking.
5. the careful balance of internal and external threats is essential.
6. rapid expansion leads to depletion of internal resources, while slowly
expanding can lead to a lack of options
7. the world should feel alive and reactive to your decisions.
8. your kingdom should feel alive and reactive to your decisions.
9. your heroes should feel alive and completely ignorant of your decisions.
10. there should always be opportunities for cooperation with your fellow
kingdoms.
11. the frontlines should feel peaceful outside of large battles.
12. everything is flexible and dependant on circumstance
13. there should be enough space on the map for multiple parties of heroes
to pass each other like ships in the night without engaging in combat.
It should feel like the real world, with canyons and valleys and rivers
and mountains - room for lairs and wild animals to roam.
14. monsters are always more dangerous than other humans.
15. the art style should be rooted in classic medieval fantasy.
16. equipment should feel either mass-produced (kingdom), organic (monsters),
ancient (lair treasure), or artisinal (enchanted).
17. heroes should feel campy, fun, and adventurous. Avoid dark, grim, and
fearful.
18. This game is a toy.
19. This toy should run on any modern computer.
20. This toy should encourage modding.
-------------------------- introduction to game modes -------------------------
1. singleplayer - single kingdom against an island of monsters and neutral
settlements. essentially the multiplayer game against
zero opponents.
2. singleplayer - multiple kingdoms against an island of monsters and
neutral settlements. One player controlled kingdom against
multiple AI controlled kingdoms.
3. singleplayer - scenarios, similar to MFKS
4. multiplayer - multiple kingdoms against an island of monsters and
neutral settlements. Essentially the singleplayer game
with networking added in.
5. multiplayer - co-op scenarios where multiple players play as the same
kingdom. A test of the core tenant "there's always
something to do"
6. multiplayer - co-op island invasion. Essentially the multiplayer game
with more than one player controlling a kingdom.
7. singleplayer - play in 3rd person as a hero in an AI kingdom. Mostly for
the novelty since the core gameplay loop is focused on
city-building. A test of the core tenant "nothing falls
apart without your attention"
1 is mvp. 2-6 are stretch goals in order of ascending difficulty. They
should build upon one another - the main steps are:
1. singleplayer island invasion (biggest step)
2. AI controlled kingdoms
3. scenarios
4. multiplayer (second biggest step)
5. cooperatively controlling the same kingdom
6. 3rd person perspective and character controller
------------------------ technical requirements -------------------------------
1. this game will be written in lua (with Fennel support) and using Raylib.
2. the prototype will be made with Godot using GDscript.
3. if the performance demands are too much for lua or the engine is out of
scope for the budget, Rust with the Bevy engine could be used.
4. the final product will include a custom 2d engine designed for large
scale maps with an isometric perspective and a data-first design.
5. the game should be as concurrent as possible, to support large numbers of
cpu cores and compute shaders.
6. the game will be data-driven, meaning the visual aspects are simply a
representation of the interactions of the underlying simulation, rather
than an intrinsic component of the computation.
7. Each "event" in the game (a character moves, a building is placed, a
monster spawns, etc) will send a message to the visual processing side of
the engine, which will present a representation to the user.
8. the map will be a hex grid with pointed-top hexagons. The visual
representation of the underlying data may be continuous (non-hex) but the
underlying data will be represented on a hexagonal grid.
9. there needs to be character portraits for each type of monster, henchmen,
and hero type. You should be able to recognize what attributes a hero
specializes in by their portrait. Mvp is 1 attribute, but more can be
a stretch goal.
10. Each building, upgrade, and equipment type needs an icon. Stretch goals
can be portraits.
11. each henchman, hero type, and monster needs 3 sprites for each action.
more actions may be added if budget allows, but mvp is movement and
attacking. Several additional sprites may be necessary, like dying,
standing still, gathering loot, socializing, or any others.
12. each building needs 4 sprites for the construction process and 4 for the
destruction process. Flame effects are stretch goals.
13. each building needs an animated sprite for when it is in use.
14. each lair needs a sprite and an icon.
15. each spell needs an icon and a spell effect sprite. Each projectile needs
a sprite.
16. a stretch goal would be differing sprites for each piece of equipment.
included with this would be engine work to allow for dynamic sprites.
17. each terrain type should have a ground material and sprites for doodads.
18. there needs to be several GUI menus. The precise number depends on
gameplay breakdown.
17. each hero type and henchman needs to have pithy and unique voice lines.
this is a stretch goal.
18. there should be music tracks for each part of the game - beginning,
middle, and end.
19. there should be sounds for each action that takes place in the game
including combat, UI interactions, and spellcasts.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #95 notes/symbeline-2 ---
════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────
Code Name: Symbeline
----------------------------- gdd initial draft -------------------------------
1. introduction to fantasy (elevator pitches)
2. kickstarter demands
2. introduction to core gameplay loop
4. tenants and core values of the game design
3. introduction to game modes
5. introduction to technical requirements
6. breakdown of core gameplay loop
7. breakdown of game modes
8. breakdown of fantasy
9. breakdown of technical requirements
-------------------------- introduction to fantasy-----------------------------
Symbeline is a macro based strategy game and city-builder based around the
concept of indirect control. It's inspirations are Majesty the Fantasy Kingdom
Simulator (2000), Supreme Commander (2007), and Hearts of Iron IV (2016). It is
designed to appeal to fans of tabletop roleplaying games with it's focus on
dynamic worldbuilding and sandbox playstyle. The gameplay consists of multiple
playstyles depending on which aspects of the game appeal to the player, with
choices between an economic focus via the GUI, longterm planning and resource
allocation, or diplomacy and subterfuge a'la Ruinarch (2020).
---------------------------- kickstarter demands ------------------------------
1. prototype
2. gdd
3. estimates for character and environment art
4. estimates for music and sounds
5. estimates for engine development
6. estimates for community management
7. breakdown of mvp, ideal game state, and stretch goals
----------------------- introduction to core gameplay loop --------------------
1. management of lanes, both width and length
2. casting of spells and utilization of special boons
3. city building with placement, upgrades, and henchmen pathing routes
4. satisfying guild requirements of equipment, manpower, and special
resources by managing shipments and local income (UI commodity trading)
5. placement of generalized bounties
(think champion's guild from Majesty, not reward flags)
6. diplomacy with neutral, AI, or player controlled kingdoms. Capabilities
include pacts and treaties, projects, subterfuge, and tournaments. The
diplomacy system can be a stretch goal.
-------------------------- tenants and core values ----------------------------
1. always something to do, but nothing falls apart without your attention.
2. gameplay should be focused on macro rather than micro. Longterm planning
and strategic decision making are favored over tactics and skill.
3. defeat should feel avoidable until the last moment, and only as a result
of longterm continuous failures rather than short-term mistakes or being
blindsided by a cheesy tactic.
4. victory should be gained through exploiting weaknesses and by using
lateral thinking.
5. the careful balance of internal and external threats is essential.
6. rapid expansion leads to depletion of internal resources, while slowly
expanding can lead to a lack of options
7. the world should feel alive and reactive to your decisions.
8. your kingdom should feel alive and reactive to your decisions.
9. your heroes should feel alive and completely ignorant of your decisions.
10. there should always be opportunities for cooperation with your fellow
kingdoms.
11. the frontlines should feel peaceful outside of large battles.
12. everything is flexible and dependant on circumstance
13. there should be enough space on the map for multiple parties of heroes
to pass each other like ships in the night without engaging in combat.
It should feel like the real world, with canyons and valleys and rivers
and mountains - room for lairs and wild animals to roam.
14. monsters are always more dangerous than other humans.
15. the art style should be rooted in classic medieval fantasy.
16. equipment should feel either mass-produced (kingdom), organic (monsters),
ancient (lair treasure), or artisinal (enchanted).
17. heroes should feel campy, fun, and adventurous. Avoid dark, grim, and
fearful.
18. This game is a toy.
19. This toy should run on any modern computer.
20. This toy should encourage modding.
-------------------------- introduction to game modes -------------------------
1. singleplayer - single kingdom against an island of monsters and neutral
settlements. essentially the multiplayer game against
zero opponents.
2. singleplayer - multiple kingdoms against an island of monsters and
neutral settlements. One player controlled kingdom against
multiple AI controlled kingdoms.
3. singleplayer - scenarios, similar to MFKS
4. multiplayer - multiple kingdoms against an island of monsters and
neutral settlements. Essentially the singleplayer game
with networking added in.
5. multiplayer - co-op scenarios where multiple players play as the same
kingdom. A test of the core tenant "there's always
something to do"
6. multiplayer - co-op island invasion. Essentially the multiplayer game
with more than one player controlling a kingdom.
7. singleplayer - play in 3rd person as a hero in an AI kingdom. Mostly for
the novelty since the core gameplay loop is focused on
city-building. A test of the core tenant "nothing falls
apart without your attention"
1 is mvp. 2-6 are stretch goals in order of ascending difficulty. They
should build upon one another - the main steps are:
1. singleplayer island invasion (biggest step)
2. AI controlled kingdoms
3. scenarios
4. multiplayer (second biggest step)
5. cooperatively controlling the same kingdom
6. 3rd person perspective and character controller
------------------------ technical requirements -------------------------------
1. this game will be written in lua (with Fennel support) and using Raylib.
2. the prototype will be made with Godot using GDscript.
3. if the performance demands are too much for lua or the engine is out of
scope for the budget, Rust with the Bevy engine could be used.
4. the final product will include a custom 2d engine designed for large
scale maps with an isometric perspective and a data-first design.
5. the game should be as concurrent as possible, to support large numbers of
cpu cores and compute shaders.
6. the game will be data-driven, meaning the visual aspects are simply a
representation of the interactions of the underlying simulation, rather
than an intrinsic component of the computation.
7. Each "event" in the game (a character moves, a building is placed, a
monster spawns, etc) will send a message to the visual processing side of
the engine, which will present a representation to the user.
8. the map will be a hex grid with pointed-top hexagons. The visual
representation of the underlying data may be continuous (non-hex) but the
underlying data will be represented on a hexagonal grid.
9. there needs to be character portraits for each type of monster, henchmen,
and hero type. You should be able to recognize what attributes a hero
specializes in by their portrait. Mvp is 1 attribute, but more can be
a stretch goal.
10. Each building, upgrade, and equipment type needs an icon. Stretch goals
can be portraits.
11. each henchman, hero type, and monster needs 3 sprites for each action.
more actions may be added if budget allows, but mvp is movement and
attacking. Several additional sprites may be necessary, like dying,
standing still, gathering loot, socializing, or any others.
12. each building needs 4 sprites for the construction process and 4 for the
destruction process. Flame effects are stretch goals.
13. each building needs an animated sprite for when it is in use.
14. each lair needs a sprite and an icon.
15. each spell needs an icon and a spell effect sprite. Each projectile needs
a sprite.
16. a stretch goal would be differing sprites for each piece of equipment.
included with this would be engine work to allow for dynamic sprites.
17. each terrain type should have a ground material and sprites for doodads.
18. there needs to be several GUI menus. The precise number depends on
gameplay breakdown.
17. each hero type and henchman needs to have pithy and unique voice lines.
this is a stretch goal.
18. there should be music tracks for each part of the game - beginning,
middle, and end.
19. there should be sounds for each action that takes place in the game
including combat, UI interactions, and spellcasts.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #96 fediverse/1474 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────
@user-882
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────┘
--- #97 messages/611 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────
Picture this: you're on a TV show like survivor and you just got a lootbox
from the show's producers. Inside is... Something, whatever you'd like. How
would you use this while camping?
If it wouldn't be useful, throw it away. Don't let your life be cluttered by
toys and play.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────┘
--- #98 fediverse/6346 ---
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────┐
║ there are certain ocular degenerative or scarred or otherwise disabled │
║ sections of eyelash tissue holder. │
║ │
║ ... I mean, there are some medical problems with people's eyes sometimes. │
║ like, there are people who are just... blind │
║ │
║ like... can't see anything. │
║ │
║ wow, wild, how strange. I dunno what that would even feel like. I doubt it'd │
║ be an absence of total sensation, as the brain is just as sized. │
║ │
║ other people have parts of their eyesight taken from them, whether to fading │
║ haze or snarling static. Others have white splotches, scattered like islands │
║ in an archipelago. To see around them, simply adjust the eyes slightly and get │
║ a slightly displaced perspective. │
║ │
║ like clouds in a crystal sphere │
║ │
║ anyway I think a lot of these could be ameliorated with careful application of │
║ assistive rendering devices comprised of virtual reality devices retro-fitted │
║ with blind users in mind. So... internal cameras, gazing at the eyes and │
║ directing the screens to only output data to the viable sections. Certain font │
║ size/colorblind │
╟─────────┐┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological│different │
╚═════════╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╧══════────┘
--- #99 fediverse/5219 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────
USB drives which format themselves if they're plugged into a device they don't
recognize
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────┘
--- #100 fediverse_boost/6300 ---
◀─╔════════════════════════════════[BOOST]══════════════════════════════════─────╗║┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐║║││║║└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘║╠─────────┐┌───────────╣║similar│chronological│different║╚═════════╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╧══─────╝─▶
--- #101 fediverse/5281 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────
movies tell you to seek out the most powerful guide when you start having
certain notions, when instead you should share what you know with people on
your level. "here's what I learned, here's what I know, here's the experiment,
here's the "get-done"."
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────┘
--- #102 fediverse/1921 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────
@user-188
@user-1106
A scene is a collection of circumstances that the people involved contribute
to. Like a scene in a movie, or play, where each of the actors contributes to
the narrative. When you post on the internet, you're contributing to your
little slice / flavor of the internet, but that's about it. You're building
content for others to view.
A community is a group of people who are part of each other's lives. They
orient themselves around each other. They address problems and connect people
together. They help each other with real, tangible tasks that need doing. They
collaborate on large projects and do pot-lucks and such. They sit down and
talk with each other for hours consistently, ideally at least once a week.
Y'know, like a church, or a really tight-knit family.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────┘
--- #103 fediverse/418 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────
sometimes the best way to understand why things are the way they are is to ask
why they aren't the way that seems logical to you.
usually someone will correct you and say "oh it's because X Y and Z" and you
say "cool" and change your direction
but sometimes their answers "unlock" part of your past understandings, thus
creating new questions.
Sorta like in a video game when you level up a certain building/research path/
milestone / whatever and it finishes a "tier", thus giving you a larger bonus.
??? yeah so anyway more questions are good because they give you more
perspectives on what's going on around you.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #104 fediverse/3042 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────
left stick is grab a target and bring it into context, right stick is for
drawing a pointer, a to group things together and b is to separate, etc etc
--
I remember coding it to be designed around two dimensional arrays. It used
lateral numbers, AKA "imaginary" numbers (they aren't imaginary they're just
orthogonal to regular numbers - hence, lateral)
and like... the math worked, and it was all on a T9 keyboard.
I figure each memory location would be like, a function written in the
program, or perhaps a binary or script file in a nearby directory. by writing
a value to a certain coordinate, you are giving an input value to a function.
and if nothing is stored for that particular coordinate, then the command
fails to execute and nothing happens.
pointers to functions which may or may not exist.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┘
--- #105 fediverse/1387 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────
at this point in the internet, if you don't want your data to be used for AI
then you shouldn't be using the internet.
though they have plenty of information already. I mean, you've been using the
internet for what, 20 years now? More?
... that's a lot of hard drives. Especially if they need to duplicate info
somewhere. Ah well there's lots of stuff that doesn't matter, like old video
game footage or the personal website of a person who would go on to influence
this other person who would lead this other person to learn how to do a thing
which would... eventually culminating in an expression of culture, which would
not be able to be understood if not for the archival efforts of people like
archive.org.
... what I'm saying is that the internet, as a culture, is impossible to
understand without swimming in it. And for some reason they've filled it with
cameras, watching the every movement of your fins or flippers or whatever
humans grow with these days.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────┘
--- #106 fediverse/3998 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ CW: music-dungeon-synth │
└─────────────────────────┘
There are several varieties of dungeon synth music out there. Here are a few
examples that I believe illustrate the differences between various artists in
the genre.
https://fief.bandcamp.com/album/ii
https://heimatderkatastrophe.bandcamp.com/album/hdk-02-the-cave-of-the-lost-tal
isman
https://utred.bandcamp.com/album/gothic
https://umbriasynth.bandcamp.com/album/farwalker
https://questmaster.bandcamp.com/album/lost-songs-of-distant-realms-volume-one
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────┘
--- #107 fediverse/1224 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────
@user-883
sure that would help! I've used it to convert video files to a smaller size
for uploading to websites, but that's about it
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────┘
--- #108 fediverse/5744 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: politics-mentioned-spirituality-mentioned │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
don't wanna rush ya'll but every day that goes by they remove
"enemy-of-my-enemy"s from the equation.
oh, hang on you're just a cute computer nerd. Nevermind, go back to
programming or writing fanfiction or sleeping like a cute cat! Thanks for
letting me CORRUPT YOUR SPACE AND VIOLATE YOUR BOUNDARIES OF CONTENTMENT AND
EMOTIONAL SAFETY whoa sorry dunno where that came from I, uh, think I need to
do evil every time I make something important? It's like, a cosmic balance
kind of thing. I notice that after I write a banger poem or something I always
end up doing something evil afterwards like snapping at my girlfriend or
letting someone down or even just accidentally breaking one of my things. why
why why does it have to be that way? why why why am I so confusing of the way
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────┘
--- #109 fediverse/5320 ---
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────┐
║ the primal benevolent god put head into hands. looking was done at the │
║ boardroom. "so we can read everyone's mind, but we can't read anyone's mind." │
║ │
║ "that's correct. The conscious waves are too diffused over the surface of the │
║ sentient water." said the spark full of help. │
║ │
║ "could we rig up a remote tranciever?" was asked tentatively. │
║ │
║ "sadly no, the disruption in identity, form, and agency would be ultimately │
║ too inferior of a choice. Much is at stake and nothing of fear can be │
║ disappeared. If you introduce a mindset, it will propagate ulteriorally." │
║ │
║ the primal benevolent god had gazing done at geese in fields. there was water │
║ splashing nearby. │
║ │
║ "how about a drone-style device? constructed out of circulating photons?" │
║ │
║ "there is promise there, but the light may dazzle the spark viewers." │
║ │
║ "endazzlement is fine. so long as the change in balance is perceived, the │
║ message may be felt. I pray it may be undeceive." │
║ │
║ the spark said "we will proceed with all unacceptables in mind." │
║ │
║ [finish this line, said the me] │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──┴──────────┘
--- #110 fediverse/5139 ---
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────┐
║ when your contracting company sends your resume to an employer, send your own │
║ copy as well. They can choose to deal with your union representative or │
║ directly with you, which will take up time during each of your day. however │
║ unions are more easily dealt with because the issues they deal with are the │
║ ones that impact most of their workplace. it's up to the scale of the company │
║ and project so it's really on a case-by-case. │
║ │
║ I think it'd be cool if someone made some kind of "desktop widget" or │
║ "terminal UI interface that can be in one corner of the screen like │
║ asciiquarium or whatever" of my mastodon text-entry field. Could also take │
║ input from other sources too, like nvim or text-entry-field. │
║ │
║ you could follow along as I write │
║ │
║ like... letter by letter as it updates automatically. PUSH/PULL requests for │
║ all the GETTING of POSTITS and whatnot. │
║ │
║ [organizing tip: post-its can be passed along] │
║ │
║ [so don't put anything permanent on them] │
║ │
║ [but all papers must go back where they belong] │
║ │
║ [to ensure work is organized] │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────┴──────────┘
--- #111 fediverse/4120 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────
@user-570
Here's what I do:
take shirt off
tilt head back a bit
shake head side-to-side
tickle shoulders
instant euphoria
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────┘
--- #112 fediverse/1434 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────
if someone wanted to defame you, all they'd have to do is set up a pipeline
between your computer and your social media posts.
In that pipeline, attach an LLM that does a passable job and instruct it to
transform whatever they say into the inverse.
suddenly, everyone hates that person. If you were smart you could turn it off
for specific people such that they see the generally positive and healthy
posts, and then after a point flip it such that they only see things that are
specifically opposit-ed to trigger their specific insecurities.
might require a bit of a human touch to make sure it's working correctly, but
if you had the means, motivation, and time to set up such a thing, it would
work pretty well I think.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────┘
--- #113 fediverse/1567 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────
I helped make a script that saves the last directory you CD'd to in every
shell / terminal. It helps because when I open a new terminal I'm already
where I was working last, which means I'm less likely to forget what I was
doing.
However, it does make my home directory a bit more messy, as I no longer open
my computer to that place.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────┘
--- #114 messages/758 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────
what if we got a bunch of computer programmers in a room and all had them
write the same program, line by line. Like, if they each contributed to the
discussion about what should be placed next.
"I wrote a for loop that does what we're looking for on line 43 through 69"
and then someone else says "nice" and everyone's like "oh you"
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────┘
--- #115 fediverse/5753 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────
what if we separated video game servers by language instead of region
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────┘
--- #116 fediverse/5772 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────
┌──────────────────────┐
│ CW: silly │
└──────────────────────┘
@user-1874
It's only a matter of time until you've gotta wait to take a crap because your
toilet needs to finish a firmware update.
error: please clear log file before using toilet functionality
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────┘
--- #117 messages/419 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────
The next time you share a meal with family, or perhaps a game with a friend
online, or maybe even a coffee with a stranger, or a smile with a person
walking down the path, or maybe a church choir as you rejoice in unison - the
next time you do one of these things, define the path that your reality takes
through your actions. Compel yourself to have a good time, without ignoring
the input of those around you. Bring them to your level, and see what kind of
world "around you" becomes.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┘
--- #118 fediverse/3170 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────
"uh, the question was why do you want something like that, not how you would
implement it."
oh. Um, well, isn't a spinnable mouse-cursor justification enough?
"no, you need to explain what use-case this has. What kinds of problems could
you solve with this technology that you couldn't before?"
well, setting aside the potential for new input methods to games and the
inherent satisfaction gained from spinning a mouse like a top when bored, I
think it might give us a better option for horizontal scrolling. Like,
'horizontally scroll when a special mouse button is held down and the mouse is
twisted a bit to the left/right'
"so, like when you push the middle mouse and it lets you pan across large
documents?"
yes! Only instead of being able to go up AND down, it would just go left and
right.
"... huh?"
oh I mean instead of up/down and left/right, it would just do left/right
"... right"
and left!
"... yeah. and left. Uh, okay I'll see what I can do but budget's pretty
tight, we might just lay you off."
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┘
--- #119 messages/391 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────
Children, listen to your elders. They're the ones who made the problems you're
dealing with, so they're the ones who know how and why those problems came to
be.
Elders, listen to the children. If your solution would have worked, the
problem would already have been solved.
People, work together to address issues. A United force can accomplish so much
more than individuals struggling on their own.
In an authoritarian system, an elder would say to a child "this is how we do
things because this is right, this is how it should be."
In a libertarian system, an elder would say to a child "this is why we do
things this way, and here's why this way works best for me."
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┘
--- #120 fediverse/5199 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────
updated my compiled.txt words, if you're interested
https://ritz-menardi.neocities.org/words/compiled.txt
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────┘
--- #121 fediverse/403 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────
cursed idea:
a compiler that only accepts source-code with exactly 80 characters per line
(whitespace counts)
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #122 messages/2 ---
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘─────────┴┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #123 fediverse/339 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────
child safety lock on packaging?
don't you mean "differently abled deterrence lock"?
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #124 fediverse/4509 ---
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────┐
║ okay I know all of my spiritual followers are going to assume it's because I │
║ denounced AI and sacrificed it from my life or something but the truth is that │
║ she came home because of my own dedicated hard work. And a bit of lucky rain. │
║ │
║ My scent is all over my neighborhood. But rain cleanses, and today (well, │
║ yesterday, I haven't slept much tbh) it rained all day. Around 3am this │
║ morning it seemed to have cleared up a bit, so I walked in a straight-ish line │
║ to her last known location (about 2 blocks away) and then one block more. I │
║ walked back-and-forth several times, trying to spread my scent down near her │
║ nose-level where she could smell it by touching lampposts trees and such. I │
║ rubbed my fingers in my arm-pits every once in a while because I figured it │
║ might help. │
║ │
║ All of my prayers and my thoughts and my psychic rituals did NOTHING to solve │
║ my problem. No amount of despair or longing brought my kitty back to me. │
║ │
║ You know what did? │
║ │
║ I thought about it, I created a method, and I stuck to it. Thats it. ttyl │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────┴──────────┘
--- #125 fediverse/1976 ---
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┐
║ when pushing ctrl+v, the operating system first checks the file-type of the │
║ content being submitted. │
║ │
║ if it's like, a .jpg or .png, it knows that it's an image file. Do note that │
║ these are RANDOM letters that mean nothing, not something informative like │
║ .pic. │
║ │
║ if, however, it is text-based information, it first reads what is being sent │
║ to the application which is requesting a ctrl+v. │
║ │
║ Then, upon reading said information, it decides "is this worth passing on? │
║ Should I send something else, based on the results of what I've been analyzing │
║ of the situation as it develops over time, being observed by the execution │
║ operations of the monitor, which is projected forward unto the screen? │
║ (totally forgetting that "virtual" monitors exist, meaning monitors that don't │
║ display to any physical screen, but which rather are projected into the │
║ computer's "aetherspace", an area which is purely of the mind. │
║ │
║ Alas, that other sensors might not have read from this area. That they might │
║ not observe the results of the operations pe │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧══════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────┴──────────┘
--- #126 fediverse/2460 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
@user-1268
my mother would knit square wash-cloths with coarse yarn. My memories hold
plenty of colorful patches of knit fabric. they work well as a sponge
replacement because you can throw them in the wash instead of the trash. plus
they're good practice for people learning to knit, or practicing a new
pattern, or switching colors, or whatever interesting thing you're learning.
if I remember correctly, the kind that worked best felt "knotty" with holes in
the middle. I don't know how she made them but a knitter might be able to tell
you.
it's a sponge-replacement, not a brush. so, not what you asked for, but
related.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘
--- #127 notes/i-called-the-police ---
════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
/u/GravitationalWaves5 -> sat dec 17 2022
I'm venting some long built up shit. And I have a lot of violent emotions
built
up in this too. I hate that violence has been such a fucking plague on my
wellbeing and that's why I did something I really hate doing. Calling the
police
to handle a situation for me. It's not me, it's not my style, but neither is
violence. It comes my way a lot and I handle it. But I think that's why
spiritually I end up in positions to handle it, because I don't retaliate and
I'm clear headed enough to understand minimum force necessary to quickly stop
the threat. That's actually where I got the name on my Quora page,
Compassionate
Violence.
I'm a very very non violent person. I don't fantasize about hurting people.
I'm
freaked out by the idea of accidentally hurting someone, hitting them in the
wrong place, someone trips and hits their head...any number of things can
horribly wrong in tense and dynamic moments.
I don't participate in that shit. I don't tolerate it. Unless it gets brought
into my environment then I will pick up by the throat and toss it out.
I had to call the police to handle this. Last time I had a situation at the
same
place I wound up frantically getting a gun cocked that was zipped up in a bag,
and barely getting it up in time. When I walked away after that, I threw my
gun
at his feet and said, "I'm protected by faith, at least, I'm completely
unafraid
of dying. If I don't have people to protect then I don't need a gun." And I
walked away letting him know he's not my people anymore and not under my watch.
So there's a hint of the kind of person I'm dealing with. I can't go handle
this
shit tonight. I've been stewing for a couple weeks trying to simmer down, give
him a chance to correct it. And he failed, more than once. And I have a
legitimate fear that my emotional state could be compromised enough, that I
might just stick a knife in his throat if I handle it.
Just like that. Easy peasy lemon squeazy. Stick stick stick, easy, that's
three
knives in the throat....see what I mean? I'm processing some
intensity...😔😔😔
I hate it. I hate that I'm using the word hate. But it's real. I don't hate
him.
I really don't, at all. I'm actually really saddened by how the relationship
went. I hate that people act like this. I hate that people put me in positions
like this. I hate that I'm doing something out of character, as a safety
measure
against doing something irrevocably out of character.
Ugh... damnit fuck
I'm not a robot. I do experience these awful feelings. I don't act out on them
and I'm grateful for that.
My muse... you said something about spiders that was interesting. Especially
because it coincided with a problem I faced numerous times. Being put in a
position where a person is legitimately acting in a manner like they're trying
to get you to kill them. And it's happened a couple times in ways where I
really
couldn't tell if they knew what they were doing or not. I had a really crazy
perspective a little before you brought up spiders...
I want to explore that perspective, and I want to know what sparked you to say
that about spiders. I never did put in the time to finish that thought process
out. But I'll never forget your great advice. "We're not in a simulation." My
immediate thought was, "probably not, but are they?" The more important
takeaway
is, remember not to murder people. Especially don't do it because you had an
interesting idea about perspective...
A few days later I heard that four people in recent times have acted on those
thoughts. Turned out they weren't in a simulation either. Lol...well...dark
lol.
Lol
I do want to finish that spiders conversation though. It had some potentially,
actually useful and beneficial implications.
I called the police tonight. But I also earned a prestigious award from the
universe. My Trophy [editor's note: there's a link to a crudely photoshopped
medallion signifying that the author "didn't murder anyone today"]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
/r/randomevenings:
I want you to understand something that I don't believe you do there is a
very big difference between trusting what a friend says after building a
friendship over a long period of time which involves trust involves a level
of intimacy platonic and intimacy it's something that is very special to
have
a good friend and so you trust them now that's very different from being
directed to do something trusting a friend is going to tell the truth it's
not being directed to do something and I don't want you to get it in your
many heads that's I was directed to go to some place where the event that I
was assured would be there was instead a bus full of very irate rude and
technically lawbreaking because they threaten my life they said if I did not
leave where I was standing which was on the public right of way which is the
sidewalk the easement stops at the sidewalk and so they were wrong on that
score but they said if I didn't leave the area which didn't make sense
either
because it's just around the corner they would have 12 people try to jump
me
which doesn't make sense either because this is not the neighborhood where
you want to start something because then it'll be something besides I never
want to murder anyone but that doesn't mean I walk around with nothing in
my
pocket because of what I've done and what I continue to do on one of the
most
watched people on earth so you goddamn right I'm not going to be stupid
about
taking a walk but when these guys threaten me I just stood there stared him
down I said yeah okay and I just looked I stood there and it didn't phase
me
one bit no feeling of fear no worry and what I was satisfied with getting my
message across that I didn't give a shit I turn around and walked back home
and they sped off in fact they were so perturbed by my lack of fear they
wanted to throw out additional threats which I thought was kind of funny so
I
started laughing I'm sure that they weren't going to do anything because the
tone in their voice simply wasn't committed to carrying out what they were
threatening and besides I have so many friends in this neighborhood it would
be well I don't have to pull any triggers I don't have to do anything but
defend myself I don't have to willfully respond with disproportionate
ability
because in this neighborhood I don't have to in fact as I walked around the
block again I ran into a friend and we got to talking and he came up to my
place and we had a beer He's a smart guy always thought that he could know
and understand everything that I do and everything that I did it just so
happened that he wasn't born with some of the privileges that I had but his
brain is a beautiful thing and I respect it greatly and of course he
confirmed that if a finger ever got laid on me without my consent the whole
damn neighborhood would come down and I suppose that point is not in my
hands
anymore but always remember I went over there because I trusted a friend
they
were directed to be there they did not understand their voices did not relay
or what is necessary to wake up at least yet time will tell but I hope that
I
can pull you back down to earth and into an interest in ethics once again
because you sorely need it.
/u/GravitationalWaves5:
I am interested in ethics. I'm just, tired of having them tested to such
ridiculous extremes. It was about to really bad one day with this guy. I was
scared, I had to end the problem. So I walked out and said let's bury this
shit.
And I stuck two knives against my throat and said, here man, grab the big
handle. Let's do this together. Take one, I'll take the other let's just shove
them in...
He got all calm suddenly and says, I don't wanna fight anymore...🤦
It sucks man. We're being tested by society. Demons, in my opinion. Not the
people themselves. I don't see people as demons. But the things they'll put
you
through, do to you, say to you, your own thoughts about them, about yourself,
oftentimes just misunderstanding the situation too... demons
Again, not demonizing the people. But the circumstances, for sure.
/u/[deleted]
Demons. Kicked one outta my telly for talking smack abt some hg’s he was
jelly of. Not on my watch Demon. Not even for the good demonic topper
twisted
shit D. Demon had a long walk home in the cold. Demon confused potting soil
with gravel and did it’s best to fucker me in its own way. Never have I
ever
seen a grown demon egg topper fold like that as I did when I clarified
their
sentiments and gave several impressive “I said GIT BOYs” to demon. Not
on my
watch. I have a vibrator that is morally and ethically aligned with me I
don’t need your trauma and love bombing thieving D. Gtfo.
/u/GravitationalWaves5:
I have a vibrator that is ethically and morally aligned with me 🤣[laughing
face]
I support that!
Gets better. His ish was weak literally from day 1. So I did him a favour amd
levelled his game up, introduced him to a former friend I partied with a bit
this summer. They wasn’t for me but oh boy lil demon stuck like glue to his
new
bestie. Can’t put her down, so to speak. So he has that at least. Poor sap.
Gon
cost him big one day perhaps. Not my problem. It’s called self control bro
try
it 🥴🥴🥴[wobbly confused face - or maybe uncertain] Oopsie Daisy. Have
fun with
that though 😈
===============================================================================
=
===============================================================================
=
/u/randomevenings
People deserve to choose righteousness once made aware of it. Ignorance is not
stupidity. People can be made aware of the valley that separates righteousness
from evil. The valley is kinda a wiggle room space for little white lies and
other such things free will invariably leads to people doing but can be made
whole again with some effort. Nobody will totally agree on what's good. But
ask
people and generally they will give versions of the same answers. Toss the
semantics in the valley. Disagreement is the desire to end a disagreement,
unless that person is trolling. And people pull pranks fine, but there's
ragging
on your friends and swatting a COD player.
/u/GravitationalWaves5
I don't know what righteousness truly even means, maybe, idk. To be honest,
it's
not hard for me to think of hypothetical situations where my inability to take
certain actions is actually more harmful. Swatting a COD player is super
fucked.
But so is not swatting someone playing COD out in the streets.
I'm not good. I'm just not, anti good. I do destructive things on accident when
trying otherwise. And when I do something that actually goes positive, it's
accidental too.
I have an idea of what I feel like aligns with me, and it's actually really
achievable things and I don't know why it's so impossible. Idk
/u/randomevenings
Yeah well let me know that there are two Elizabeth's and there are also a
completely different family on this phone plan I don't have kids My
brother-in-law has kids lives downstairs so those piped into my network are
assumed that I have kids and I've done all this shit no I'm not going to go
into any apparent charges and things that my brother-in-law has been
involved
in because it's not my business but he lives down there and he has a kid he
has another kid and he pays for essentially his ex who is still married to
the kid the mortgage of that house Liz downstairs helps raise his kid with a
woman he's having an affair with but they were in an over marriage anyway
and
they are separate I'm going to have to go back to subnetting my network so
y'all can at least use basic logic to figure out who's who here I already
gave my name My Elizabeth see the cousin we call little Elizabeth and my
wife
we call Liz or Beth and she's older my wife. She has contentious
relationship
with her cousin next door for a reason that gravity waves might already know
but it has to do with the very evil person that also involves himself over
there that did something that even Jesus does not forgive so I'm not going
to
go into it so all this mucking around and get everybody confused brought up
a
lot of bad fucking shit just like I said as far as spiders yeah I don't care
if they're All over my shit keep them off of her shit and I ain't asking for
money I'm not a grifter but I already told you what would instantly make the
situation better and it doesn't involve giving me money so before anybody
goes off says money no I know about the discord and I'm not even telling you
to shut it down just lay off her phone.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
===============================================================================
=
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
[author's note: on the comments of the separate post of the original poster's
medal awarding him the honor of "not murdering anyone today" which he won ]
/u/TisWuttItIS_ORITSknot
Proud of you!
/u/mustherd
Sorry, my account got banned because reddit is annoying. We were just
chatting about how funny I am and I forgot to tell you people know me and
I'm
kinda a big deal and idk congrats! Youre cool I guess. Otherwise I would
have
cast you into the flames of eternal torment never to internet again. But
here
you are. Didn't anyone ever tell you to never go full retard?
/u/GravitationalWaves5
I am the internet, I am the ghost in the machine
Real talk though. I've used cancelled Sim cards and wifi before. If God wants
me
online, God gets me online 🙃
I am we, Todd
/u/ricflairdic
Oh u we Todd! I know u retard, Familiarity cod, to me bod, And my fishin rod,
Not the one that may see sod, Body snatcher in the pink pod, Do u know ur a
catch or, U think dog, Cause that pussy, Wanna see god, Lemme show u regard,
Dont Tell me, Just nod,
Said flow from the stars, Mama know this river far, Rowin in trucks renta cars,
Golden trim red rockin Mars, Buildin fam like stock Sim cards, Highest angels
dock gettin ours, Clock Game down pat benetar,
Peelin fans off our back, like sin scars, Feelin ur man thru static, And thin
bars, Ya he in the pin but dis hits hard, Throw it down the lane like, Return
that back to sender, Lovin your simulation renders, I'm a beginner but also an
ender, Got the wood to make u splinter, Make u scream things we gotta sensor,
If
I could never leave when I enter, Union in your head not just a renter, Once
mine One mind I surrender, never sell betray or rent her, Overflowin with Love,
so who's the pretender?
Chemistry so hot, Hate from every enemy we spot, Mad they couldn't earn our
slot, Cause they fuckin missed they shot, Last name crossed to drop the dot,
How
long u think it will take me To find your spot?
Don't care you got a Fender, Did we just become best friends or? Damn girl idk
if ya'll ready, for this kinda real Adventure... 🙃
I'm here to reveal, heal, and steal, the hearts Of the indentured
And I need a partner.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #128 fediverse_boost/3921 ---
◀─╔═══════════════════════[BOOST]═════════════════════════───────────────────────╗║┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐║║│ The officers approached the door, a brief nod between them, and they knew it was time to begin the familiar sequence. The first officer knocked loudly three times, while the second took on a speaking role. │║║││║║│ “Police! Open up!!” │║║││║║│ After a few moments of quiet, a gruff voice, muffled behind the closed door, spoke up. │║║││║║│ “Come back with a warrant,” came the unwelcoming reply. │║║││║║│ “Oh, but we have one. We have a signed search warrant for this property, so come on out,” the officer confidently replied. │║║││║║│ “I wanna see it, then,” the voice from inside countered. “Slide it under the door.” │║║││║║│ The officers looked puzzled, no one had ever asked to actually see the warrant. │║║││║║│ “Well, we don’t have a paper copy of it,” the first officer said. │║║││║║│ “Right, everything is on Docusign these days,” the second chimed in. │║║││║║│ “Put your phone through the letter box then, I’ll take a look at it on there.” │║║││║║│ “I’m not going to give you my phone,” the second officer replied, his phone now in hand. “What’s your email address? I can forward you a copy.” │║║││║║│ The gruff voice provided an email address to the officers. │║║││║║│ “Ok, I’ve sent that it should be in your inbox now.” │║║││║║│ “Nothing.” │║║││║║│ “Ok, check spam - sometimes they go into spam,” the first officer interjected. │║║││║║│ “Ah yes it’s in spam. But it’s not opening, it says I have to login to my DocuSign account. I don’t have a DocuSign account?” │║║││║║│ “Well. Can you just sign up then?” Asked the second officer. │║║││║║│ “I ain’t paying for DocuSign!” The voice replied abruptly. │║║││║║│ “I don’t think you have to pay, it’s free to view documents.” │║║││║║│ “I don’t wanna risk it, I have so many subscriptions,” the voice inside responded. │║║││║║│ The officers contemplated their next move. │║║││║║│ “Do you have a printer?” One asked. │║║││║║│ “Yes,” the voice inside responded. │║║││║║│ “Ok, does it have AirPrint?” │║║││║║│ “I think so? How could I tell?” │║║││║║│ “What’s your wifi password? We’ll join the network and we’ll be able to tell,” the officer responded. │║║││║║│ “Ok. Wifi password is $42xnskwfgewzfgekueod!&3.” │║║││║║│ The first officer rolled his eyes. │║║││║║│ Fifteen minutes later, after breaking the WiFi passcode into manageable chunks, the officer was finally connected. │║║││║║│ “Ok. I see the printer. It has AirPrint. Thank God. Ok, I’m printing now.” │║║││║║│ “Nothing is happening,” said the person inside the house. │║║││║║│ “Ah, it just said you’re out of yellow ink. Do you have any more yellow ink?” │║║││║║│ “I do not, but why do you need yellow ink? Just print it in black and white?” │║║││║║│ “Yeah these new printers want you to have all the inks before you print.” │║║││║║│ “No way. And yet, I’m the criminal?” The voice inside replied. │║║││║║│ “Right?” The officers laughed, before finally becoming resigned to their fate. “Ok, we’re going to go print the warrant at the station. I’m out of daily printing credits so will have to wait for them to reset at midnight. Please don’t go anywhere or remove any evidence from the property until we come back.” │║║└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘║╠─────────┐┌───────────╣║similar│chronological│different║╚═════════╧═════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────┴───────╝─▶
--- #129 messages/1099 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──┘
--- #130 notes/doctors-and-capitalism ---
══════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
if we force doctors to demand payment for their services, then they will be
incentivized to reduce the amount of time they spend researching and learning
their craft, and instead focus on processing a higher number of patients.
Everything from making and scheduling appointments, to running lab tests and
writing notes are tasks that take generally a specific amount of time. Because
it's so specific and unvariable (unlike meeting with patients in person), it
has a fixed cost. So there's more time to spend learning and truly thinking
about a patient's problem if you have staff who can help with the extra stuff.
Either that, or we could incentivize more people to become doctors. If we do
that, then not only could the option for medical care be brought to more people
(more doctors = healthier citizens, who'd have thunk) but in addition there'd
be a reduction in the barrier to entry. More people in the profession who
aren't working their butts off every day (essentially, non-over-worked
personnel) and they could spend time discussing science or new techniques with
their fellow practicioners. This applies for everything btw, including computer
science. Essentially, you're forced to compete for crap jobs because they pay
so much. If there wasn't as much money in it, people wouldn't put up with crap
work conditions. And then there'd be better labor practices - boom,
conservative to leftist.
- uh okay to recap when professionals are paid *less*, they are able to resist
oppression more? how does that make sense? money is power, and being able to
have access to more resources means you can accomplish more utility than the
other "side".
Yeah yeah I get it, but you're missing something crucial. Something I haven't
told you yet.
- oh?
Yeah so okay here's what's up: there are no sides. There's one side (you) and
there's everyone else, and everyone is all onboard with the same plan. You're
the only one who thinks it's solvable with love and peace and butterflies. This
is serious, and you're impeding progress.
- how so?
We are people. We are united in that fact. We share commonalities between us,
and we never realize because we're so focused on competition. It's a flawed
system that serves only to impede our growth. The reason it exists is because
we *must* regulate our speed, or else we'll leave others behind - others who
are slower to adapt. Similar to how younger generations can learn tech, while
older people tend to struggle. Capitalism serves a specific purpose that
*theoretically* could be accomplished by an alternative system, but hasn't been
conceptualized as a contingent part of any yet realized. We simply cannot leave
the weak, stupid, blind, ignorant, and petulant behind. They are part of us,
and to abandon them would be to invite our own demise.
- that's awful, why would we do that?
Any advocacy for the cultural and technological arts should be accompanied with
a sincere understanding of the implications of their implementations. We should
not let the path of humanity be decided by a productivity focused mindset. We
are far beyond the point of facing the issues of scarcity, and yet we continue
to lash and wallow in the despair of eternal self sabotage. A dedicated and
focused effort could address every single human's life needs, and yet we
compete and squander. What is the point of existence if not to grow? We exist
in our current form only to consume ourselves. Like an orobouros, we are an
eternal conflict with no possible winner - for to win would be to destroy
ourselves. Cooperation is the key, and with it we can unlock doors to futures
far grander and bolder than our own. Every second counts, and yet we spurn our
internal attempts at unification. Some day, we will look back on this moment on
this day and we will proclaim that our hesistence was our downfall.
- take a breath, take it back a step, and listen to your heart.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════┴╧═══────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #131 notes/Of Vic and Vince Chapters 01-07.txt ---
═════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Who is This Stranger I Know Too Well?
Who are you, he who inspires me?
You're a jewel of perfect symmetry.
You taught me to love and be free;
You taught me how to be like thee.
Chapter One: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire
The bus went up outta Florida, leaving Miami behind as a distant memory. I
still don't know if I miss it or if I'm suffering from some sadistic style of
subtle Stockholm Syndrome. Regardless, I switched buses a number of times
before I even hit the Georgia border, but having traveled this far down the
line, it all feels like one long, long ride.
For two days, I continued north until arriving in Virginia, where I
effectively did a u-turn and traveled onwards to Tennessee, where Vince
awaited me. I remember zoning out while looking out the window as the southern
scenery whipped by in a blur, as I was enamored with the thought that I now
would be living with my best friend and long-term handler. My mission was
complete, it felt; I had done all that God wanted me to do and now I was being
rewarded.
When we finally arrived in Johnson City, where my friend told me to meet him,
I hopped off the bus after thanking the driver, landing on the pavement of a
new world. My stomach was doing loop-de-loops. Along with being excited, I was
grateful to Vince for inviting me off the streets. But, my worrisome mind did
a number on me as the rest of the crowd dispersed and he was still nowhere in
sight.
I lit a cigarette and thought of my options. Half of the cancer stick and a
thousand tricky thoughts later, I came up with the idea to call the only phone
number of his I had. Seems like the obvious answer, but I am an air head at
times.
Turned out it was the number for his home phone. His mom answered.
"Hello?" came the sweet, Appalachian voice from the other end.
"Hi," I started out, not sure what to say. "Is this Allison?"
"Yes it is," Allison replied. "Is this by chance Victoria?"
I confirmed, then asked, "Is Vince there?"
She seemed surprised. "No, he left an hour ago to pick you up. He's not there
yet?"
I said no. I couldn't tell if that made me feel better or worse. On one hand,
it confirmed that my friend Vince was real, which in hindsight was a silly
thing to worry about, as I had met him once before at the first Shrug Life
Syndicate gathering. Those were good memories. But, perhaps less silly, the
absence of my friend spun my mind out and made me think that perhaps he had
gotten in an accident…or worse.
I worry a lot, less now than before, but it's part of being a traumatized,
autistic, schizoaffective basketcase. I simply don't know what reality is, so
every possibility could be true. Is an odd occurrence caused by the CIA,
aliens, or perhaps God? Or is it just a coincidence, caused by a billion other
factors? I never can tell.
Sick joke: God gave me a good brain, but I can't even trust my own judgement.
That means I think, then overthink, then overthink some more. As you'll no
doubt hear, it's led to a lot of problems in my life, but Vince taught me to
place my heart first, and that helps sort out much of the confusion. Satan
can't trick you if you're listening to the direct communion to the big woman
that we all have through that little beating organ in our chest.
That was the furthest thing in my mind at that moment, though. Following old
habits, I was entering panic mode. Was I now homeless again in a seventh city?
Was my friend dead? Or was he really with the CIA and manipulating me? I tried
doing some breathing exercises, but found that a more alluring technique to
placate my triggered brain was finishing the rest of my cigarette in a fervor
as I paced the length of the transit depot.
Time ticked away one agonizing grain of sand after another, but after some
mindful recalibration of my thoughts, I began relaxing. My brain might be a
runaway train at times, but over the years I've learned to embrace the Shrug
Life. That's a bit of philosophy our gaggle of weirdos adheres to. When life
gives you lemons, just roll your shoulders and accept what is. Even though
something tough and unpleasant might be rearing its head in front of me, I
knew I had faced worse and come out on top. Worst case scenario, the road
ahead of me was just a little bumpier than I had expected, and I could handle
some bumps.
So, I rode the roller-coaster of extreme moods that is common to me, gradually
coming up with a contingency plan to survive if Vince had gotten flattened by
a semi, until I learned that was a pointless exercise when I heard a familiar
voice call out from behind me.
"Hey, buddy!"
I turned at once upon hearing those words. And lo and behold, there Vince was,
walking towards me in a purple tie-dye t-shirt, paint-splattered cargo shorts,
and fresh Chuck Taylors. His beard was fully grown but still shorter than
mine, though it was as wild as his uncombed hair poking out from a hat that
was as graffitied as his pants. I'll admit, it was a little bit of a shock
seeing him like that, as I remember him being clean shaven at the gathering
five years prior. However, that smile of his couldn't lie; this was the Vince
I've loved for even longer. And I won't lie, he looked better with the beard.
Without a second thought, I rushed up to my best friend, throwing my arms
around him. He did the same, and our embrace felt like it lasted forever. It
was good to finally be in his arms. We let go after about a quarter century of
hugging, and when he looked at me with a twinkle in his eye, I did a little
giddy dance while giggling like a schoolgirl. Afterwards, we caught up while
walking towards his mom's car, which he had parked around the corner.
"Sorry I was late. I forgot where the bus station was, but I found and
followed one of the short ones here. Your ride go alright?" he asked.
I nodded, telling him I wore my mask the entire way up despite how itchy it
was. He thanked me.
"Thanks man, mom will really appreciate that. We're taking this covid thing
real seriously. With mom being seventy-seven now and me finally reaching my
forties, we aren't willing to take risks with these things."
With that said, I thought of asking about the locals. "How many people go
maskless around here?"
"A lot," Vince answered with a hint of misfortune, knowing that I had just
come from a vastly different world. I sighed. It would be an adjustment to get
used to the rural Roan Mountain after spending most of my life in major
cities.
There was a pause as I thought about such things. I'm awkward like that. But
then I asked, "How have you been doing?"
He shrugged, as he tended to do. "I've been alright. It's just me and mom on
the mountain now, so it's a little rough, but we've been handling it the best
we can."
I nodded in compassion. As much as I was grateful for a place to live, I was
glad I could be here for him. If there's anything on this Earth that I know,
it's being alone is hell on the soul.
The conversation turned to what we were going to get into now that we were
together after all the years talking back and forth with one another online. I
asked, "What's the game plan?"
He smirked as we reached Allison's new blue Ford Escape with the cosmic
Bigfoot sticker on the back. "I got one, don't you worry."
I believed him, as a warm feeling of butterflies fluttered across my belly.
However, an odd, ominous feeling swept over me as I opened the passenger door,
where I immediately spotted a large burn mark on the seat. Vince saw me see
it.
"Yea, I did that while I was smoking while robotripping. Mom was pissed. Don't
worry about it."
And so I didn't. It was just a cigarette burn. Could have happened to anyone.
I didn't even have to see it after I hopped in the car, ready and eager to get
to my first permanent home in over three years.
I looked over at my friend climbing behind the wheel, and I saw he was smiling
wide with glee. Vince was happy; that meant I was happy. And that's what
mattered as we started a new life together.
Following the Path
Where are we going?
What are we sowing?
I certainly hope it's a better world for all.
But, many more people must stand tall,
By dutifully growing
A wealth of loving.
That is the true nature of our mortal trial,
So let us stand together and not crawl.
Yet, we are all showing
Some signs of slowing.
Therefore, I must pray that we do not fall,
When the two of us hear our creator's call.
Chapter Two: On the Road
We were about five minutes out of Johnson City on our way east towards the
North Carolina border when Vince finally folded and told me his secret plan he
had been boasting about for a month now.
"We got this trashed camper down by the old house that we can strip away and
sell as scrap metal. That should give us enough money to fix Jane and then we
should be set at getting our own place."
I nodded along, agreeing with his reasoning. That jeep of his definitely was
in need of some desperate repair the last time we were together. That was
actually the first time I ever saw him in person; he was parked at the top of
his long driveway with headlights cutting through the darkness as we arrived
for the first and only Shrug Life Syndicate gathering I've managed to attend.
I remember that we arrived exactly at midnight, not a minute sooner or later,
which made the moment highly synchronous.
Memories that far away seem to all blur together so everything feels like it
happened in one day, but the first Shrug Life Syndicate gathering lasted four
days, if you include the trip down and back. My girlfriend at the time, Amy,
and I were picked up in New York at her mother's house by another one of the
founders of our little online community. His name was [Redacted] and he was a
Canadian that dabbled in the cognitive sciences. Like Vince, he had been a
huge influence on me, but sadly that friendship fell apart as [Redacted] grew
disenfranchised with the SLS, most in particular with Vince himself, as there
were some personal disputes about Vince's dating life and drug of choice,
which compounded the push back of Vince wanting to turn our community into an
educational nonprofit. I can't speak of the former as I was devoid of internet
when the big schism happened, but I was all for doing something more with the
talent we collectively share. I'm sure that is part of the reason Vince
invited me to stay with him; we recognized the potential of each other to
shape the world into a better place.
That's not what Vince said though. As we approached the edge of Elizabethton,
he looked over at me and spoke with the tender kindness of a man with a big
heart.
"I'm glad you came here, man. I just couldn't stand to let my best bud live
another night outside. You know I've been there too, so I just want you to
know that our home is your home from now on."
Feeling moved, I replied, "Thanks. I don't know what to say. I'm just
grateful."
He put his hand on my shoulder as a brother would. We then rode in silence for
a minute or two, which allowed me to reflect on my past behavior during the
first gathering. Not only had I clogged the toilet and told no one, but I had
a few emotional outbursts as I was a mess back then. That's one of the reasons
that I believe homelessness was one of the best things that ever happened to
me. It pushed me so far out of my comfort zone that I had no choice but to
change for the better.
That was great because I was impulsive and dangling precariously from the
heights of my oversized ego. I think that was a critical part of my
transformation. Sleeping in piss-stained, cockroach infested storefronts
humbled me, and I realized that everybody is just trying to swim in the
direction they feel is best. Thus, radical acceptance is a moral imperative.
Vince taught me that. I've profited immensely in ways other than financial
wealth by embracing such values, but I wish more people could see this truth.
Alas, tis the blind leading the blind.
With that in mind, as we continued onwards to our now-conjoined future, we
passed through the back roads of Elizabethton through a route known as Gap's
Creek, which proved to be a winding set of backroads with more churches than
seemed reasonable. One of these cultural staples had a big electronic
billboard out front, sharing the times of services and other announcements;
none of which you could actually read as you drove by at the speed limit.
Still, when we reached the intersection with highway 19E, there was a woman
flying a sign, asking for money. Since this town seemed devoid of any
institutions to help the poor, I rolled my window down and handed her a fiver.
I knew what it was like being up shit creek without a paddle, so I wanted to
alleviate some of that stress for somebody else.
I begged a lot at the beginning of my homeless journey. I didn't know how to
survive, as I had not been raised with many good life lessons to help me stay
afloat on my own. That in itself is part of the reason I had a major breakdown
in college. It was undeniably true that I was maladapted to the world. My
experiences with Earth Nation are also indisputably built from that
maladaptation. Yet, those years of homelessness after escaping that new age
cult allowed me to grow into a sustainable, productive woman with my juggling,
performance arts, and writing.
They say you can give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day, but if you teach
a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime. That's part of the reason I was and
still am a huge proponent of education in all its forms. I knew Vince felt the
same way, but perhaps for different reasons. As a secular Buddhist and radical
antistyle artist, he was a minority in the deep interior of the Bible Belt,
and that came with a price while he was growing up. It might be a beautiful
area, but neither of us would ever raise a kid here.
It was then when it hit me. I couldn't be Victoria here. I had to be Vic.
Which was fine, that's how the gang members in Miami Beach referred to me. I
was able to accept being called by masculine names and pronouns. I had long
passed through the self-loathing phase of having dysphoria, to arrive in a
position where I openly grow my beard out to prove that I don't need to look
any particular way to be happy. I don't care what other people think of me,
but I haven't always been this enlightened. To put it lightly, I've been
through some trials. And, having done so, I can say that people who judge
other people on superficial things are the worst. But, we can rise above by
continuing to align with our hearts.
Less than a tenth of a mile down 19E, Vince asked me, "Hey man, can you buy
me, like, a forty or something?"
Of course I said yes. I knew his schizophrenia had put him out of work for
many years, so I wanted to soothe him as he was able to soothe my pain from
being homeless. He pulled into a gas station I would later learn is
colloquially called Captain Jack's. It had the cheapest gas this side of
Elizabethton, and was a reliable place to get beer or a pipe of any variety.
With compassion in my heart, I got Vince what he wanted, while getting myself
something as well. Still, when he cracked his beer open while accelerating to
sixty miles an hour, I couldn't help but feel distraught at such brazen
self-indulgence. But, all I did about it was pop open the hard iced tea I
picked up for myself. At least passengers are allowed to drink while they are
being driven somewhere in Tennessee, Vince tells me.
A Home at Last
They say home is where the heart is,
Which is great now that I have a new one.
The damaged needle of my crazy compass
Spins in every direction under the sun,
But, here it stands still, still as can be,
So my quest is over; I am finally free!
I have a home in the love you give
And by reflecting that in me, we live
In a state where conflict has come to pass;
It is like there was a great lottery and I won.
Chapter Three: The Mountain Side
About ten minutes later we reached the western half of Roan Mountain, where we
were greeted by a big sign praising the annual Rhododendron Festival at the
end of June. Having already downed half his forty, Vince spared no time in
showing me the highlights of his home town.
"Look under this bridge coming up. You'll see it underneath. The red and the
gold." He pointed directly at a graffiti tag on the concrete column near the
riverfront. There was an enigma of a symbol I've seen Vince post on the SLS
before.
"That your tag?" I asked the obvious question.
"Yup," he replied, gulping down another swallow of his forty, as there was no
incoming traffic. "Protip: don't post your tags on Facebook if you plan to hit
a cop car around here." I thought at first he meant literally running into
their vehicle, but then it dawned on me what he meant. I had never done any
real graffiti before; just some words and simple drawings in chalk that came
right off. Never got in trouble for it, at least.
I remember passing the post office some time shortly afterward. There was a
park with a stage behind it. Allison would organize the summer's music events
that went on each Saturday from May to August. Additionally, she would host
one of her weekly jam sessions there for local musicians to play together for
a few hours at a time, just for fun.
There were some houses on the left, too, as we were entering the more dense
center of Roan Mountain. Yet, Vince told me that the other side, where the
park was, used to be full of trailers, but they got washed away during a flood
some years ago. I later learned from Allison that most of the town, including
her as she was out and about, had to evacuate to the elementary school where
she provided extra clothes for those in need from her suitcase, but Vince and
his father were fine at the top of the mountain that their property sat on.
Puerto Nuevo, the best and only Mexican restaurant in town, whipped by soon
after. We then passed one of the two gas stations in Roan Mountain, a
Scotchman. There was a bank and a credit union on the left, too. An empty
grocery store zoomed by next, which might as well be haunted for all I know.
Next up on the left was a food truck that has since been upgraded to a small
building with picnic tables and some cover from the sun and weather. I think
it is a good place to eat. It also marked the spot of the Roan Mountain flea
market, where you could see one or two people at a time selling their stuff in
the warmer months. Then, immediately after that stood a pharmacy in an old
farmhouse.
There was some construction on the right, which by its future signage, I
erroneously thought was some sort of massage parlor that sat on stilts,
requiring everybody to walk up a story of steps just to get inside. Odd
choice, I thought. But, on a whim one day, Vince stopped there to see if they
sold cheap kratom, which was when I would learn that it was really a health
food store.
Not too far down the traffic-light free main strip of the town, we passed the
future beer store on the right. It was convenient for Sundays, because that's
when a local ordinance in our neighboring North Carolinian town, Elk Park,
restricts the sale of alcohol on the sabbath, but ultimately the alcohol taxes
in Tennessee are too high to make it a cheap endeavor.
To contrast the beer store, the local cemetery sat across the street on a
hill. I like graveyards, as I'm a bit of a goth at heart, but even so, the
packed parking lot of the Redimart grocery store was what caught the bulk of
my attention. I craned my neck to see some of the locals to uncover just what
passed as acceptable culture here in this quaint mountain town.
Further up, the infamous Bob's Dairyland with the slowest drive-through known
to man stood tall with its vast history. There's a reason it's always packed
after church lets out on Sundays. Yet, I still don't understand why their sign
promotes pinto beans, of all things. I've been told it's a hot ticket item in
the area, but I have still not witnessed anyone order them. But, moving on, I
have to mention that there was also an auto part shop conjoined with an auto
repair shop that had over a dozen cars just sitting outside it.
Next to Bob's was the second gas station, a Valero, which also housed a
much-frequented Subway. One of three thrift stores in town stood innocently
next to the gas station. On the right was a steakhouse that I have never had
the cash to justify splurging at, and a beauty salon in the same building that
I also have never visited because I'm not one to care for looking like a doll.
I am beautiful as I am.
The town was really shaping up to be a unique combination of the bare bones
mixed with an abundance of what you needed. Then we reached a stretch where
two signs sat. The one for Cloudland Highschool triggered Vince into speaking.
"Fucking assholes. I told you about how they illegally expelled me, right?" I
nodded in confirmation. He continued: "Yea, they literally stole my book of
poetry and took photocopies of it, so they could use it to kick me out,
because I was the 'weird' kid."
I knew that, but seeing the innocent sign next to the one for Smoky Mountain
Bakers made the story appear more real. Here they were, these conservative
administrators, probably constituting some of the people who attended the
dozens of churches in town, which should teach everybody to love thy neighbor,
but obviously they were too preoccupied by the need to hate my friend because,
back then, he was the blue-haired son of the "hippie couple" in town, who
happened to like bands like Marilyn Manson and Korn.
That made me wonder how well I would fit in here. I had long since forsaken
transitioning because I was effectively a sasquatch, but I was still a woman
on the inside. I was sure that being transgender, combined with my eccentric
nature and often extreme opinions on things would cement me as the new weirdo
in town. But, if I am to be honest, that would be the case in most settings I
could plant myself in.
Those thoughts fluttered in my head as we sped past the electrical co-op, a
second thrift store, Plumber's Pro Hardware, the Roan Mountain emergency
dispatch center, and what was apparently a flooring depot before reaching the
elementary school that sat across from the Dollar General, which Vince called
the "SmallMart." I'm aware there's some things I missed, as there's plenty of
buildings with no description or sign out front, but I'm sure they're
important to somebody.
We then started slowing down as we approached the only veterinarian's office
for quite a ways in any direction. We turned left just before the red-roofed
building which had a small cat statue perched on the edge looking out with its
paw up. Vince took this as a sign to begin downing the rest of his beverage.
"Welcome to home, Buck Mountain," Vince said as we started climbing in
altitude. "This is the bad side of town. You'll never see a cop here unless
something big is going down, which hasn't happened in years." He finished his
forty in one big chug as his hands ran on autopilot. "It's good because you
can do pretty much anything up here any time you want."
I knew all that, as we had a blast getting drunk and smoking some green for a
few days in a row during the first gathering. In truth, I anticipated I would
be doing that for the next few days as well, to settle in, y'know? Hell, I
half expected that I was in heaven now after spending so much time in the
purgatory that is homelessness, regardless of how much fun I had in Miami
Beach preceding Vince's invitation to come north.
We went to the very tippy top of Buck Mountain, where the foliage is dense, no
cell signal can reach, and the local kids ride their dirt bikes at all hours
of the day. As we pulled in the driveway, I expected to keep going straight on
the tire-carved path back down the mountain. But, to my surprise, I found that
the same trailer we had partied in down the road during the gathering was now
relocated here to become my new home. I wasn't expecting that, as when I was
here last, they all lived in a small shack at the base of their nineteen acres
of mountain real estate.
It didn't look like much, with weather-worn imitation wood paneling wrapping
the rectangular structure in a loose hug, but it was a place to rest my head
in the comfort of loved ones. Aptly, Allison's last name meant "the home" in a
language the CIA once tried to make me learn, which is a statement that I'm
sure earns me a few raised eyebrows. My story has many twists and turns, but
for now you should know my studies of strategic languages ended only when the
cult that hooked me like an unsuspecting bass managed to gaslight, manipulate,
and shame me to get me to work for them sixty-to-ninety hours a week on
average. I would later try to pick the linguistic challenge back up years
later during my time spent homeless, but my progress was like a Jenga tower
that half collapsed. I forgot basic words, and I just feel like I have
failed.
That's something that should be looked at in finer detail; my feelings of
failure, I mean. So, let's take the first of many breaks from linear
storytelling to express how life can feel at times for me. Like a shattered
mirror, I reflect many different parts of the past at different times. Some
days I may live in several sections of my turbulent past all at the same time.
Disorienting, it can feel like I don't know what's real. It takes a lot to
break something so thoroughly, but as you'll see, I've been a punching bag for
the devious spirit of fate. Couldn't keep me down, though, because I am like
the phoenix; always rising no matter how badly beaten in battle I've become.
Mommy
Mommy is what I used to call you,
When I was a kid so long ago.
It's because of your love that I grew
To always let my kindness show.
Mommy, you were always getting sick.
To help you out, I would try to keep clean.
As much as I'd scrub I never got the trick,
Because you'd still be plagued by the unseen.
Mommy, you were supposed to grow old!
Having you leave us like that hurt like hell.
I'm sorry for not always doing what I was told;
It's because I failed you that I try to do well.
Mommy was what you called out at the end.
I tried to help you but I wasn't good enough.
You were dying, so on me you had to depend,
But even being there for you was too tough.
Mommy, if I could do it all over again I would.
It's not fair to you that I was such a bad son.
I'll give you all my love and more as I should;
For you, I promise that one day I'll be the sun.
Chapter Four: Scarred from Birth
Having let you in to a little bit of what makes me tick, it should be noted
that feeling like an abysmal failure is a key part of my mental health. Those
loathsome seeds of self-mutilating ruination are planted deep in my psyche.
Prepare for a sad story, if you're the type to really feel another person's
soul.
See, it all started when my mom found out she had AIDS a mere two months after
I was born. It was God's way of welcoming me to the world. I forgive the big
woman now, for my path on this Earth has been the ultimate journey of
awakening to my divine spirit, but before Vince and many faceless actors sent
me on my mission of healing, I held much scorn in my heart. For a large chunk
of my early years that I was here, alive, learning, and suffering as a human
being, I was hell-bent on the idea of revenge. That was once a big part of my
story, too, but no more.
It's understandable, at least. Imagine having to witness all the manner of
disease ravaging my mother like it did; I grew up thinking that I was born to
be punished. My earliest delusions had me caught up in the notion that I was a
worthless god who had the rest of the pantheon turn on them from before I even
had a chance to prove myself. I had a whole mythos where I had been tricked to
kill my sister, the goddess of harmony, and my punishment was to stay locked
to this awful planet until I found her soul once again. Then, we'd go on to
take over the world, as I had fallen under the notion that my future self was
sending me subliminal messages through synchronicities, although I didn't know
that word then, so I thought I just had special powers.
This is all a natural result of magickal thinking gone awry. Such is the fate
for those scarred in childhood as I was. My innocence flayed alive, I watched
as the woman who loved me with all her heart died for the first nine years of
my life. It was a slow rot. There are many memories of her being in the
hospital or as she lingered in pain at home that flash to the front of my mind
that could paint you a tragic picture of those unforgettable scenes I was
forcibly cast in, but the real horror that plagues me came at the bitter end.
For the last of her months that she was allowed to live, my mom was
mercilessly struck by an opportunistic ear infection. It killed half of her
face, and only progressed into a hellishly rapid descent of her cognitive
functions until one sudden day I came home from school to find she had
regressed to a child-like state with my grandma tending to her in tears. I
tried losing myself in my homework, but the threat in my environment promising
my mother's pain was all-consuming. Then it got worse.
My father never got along with my grandma, so when he got home, he forcibly
kicked her out. A fight broke out, resulting in my grandmother coming to my
room to say goodbye, where she told me with eyes watering that whatever
happens, we would get through it. My dad would come in after my grandma left
and put her down, more concerned that she scratched him. All I could think
about was my mom, who was now tearing up and asking about where her mom went.
That was the worst. I can still hear clearly how she cried out for her mom
nonstop for the whole night. That was her last night she spent at home. She
died within a week. And my last memory of her that isn't of her in a coma is
of her trying to escape from the hospital with a dinner plate sized bed sore
on her backside that danced from behind an open hospital gown in order to
imprint itself in my mind forever.
Here come the tears. It still hits me that my fucking mom died, like I still
can't believe it's real. My last memories are of her being naked, crying like
a baby. I felt so helpless. But, at least she had nurses helping her when we
got her to the emergency room. Just hours earlier, I was left on my own trying
to calm her troubled, addled mind. My dad had been doing just that, as my mom
would get in fits every half hour or so, where he would comfort her, then come
into my room to vent after she quieted down. I had no one to open my fears and
pain to. Wishing I had a sibling to hold and cry together with, I faced my
most scarring memory alone.
The worst wounds of my life were suffered because there was one time after
midnight where my dad disappeared. Maybe he was smoking, but regardless, I
couldn't find where he went as I scrambled over the whole house in my fuzzy
purple pajamas looking for him. Meanwhile, my mother incessantly yelled for
her own mommy. So, with much hesitancy, I succumbed to the responsibility of
helping my afflicted parent, and I anxiously marched into her room and tried
to comfort her the best I knew how.
I'll save you from the daunting process of assisting my mom, but I will say
that it wasn't enough. No matter what I tried to do, she kept screaming
louder. I was worthless in that moment and was on the verge of a meltdown
because I couldn't help her. It felt like I was the worst son in the world,
all because I failed my mother as she circled the drain. Now I feel like the
worst daughter, but it's getting easier to love myself and think that my mom
is looking down and smiling, being proud of me.
I have a lot to live up to. She wasn't perfect, I know that, but my mom was an
angel for me. Yet, I can't even remember the good times I spent with her; all
that my hippocampus hung onto were the most traumatizing of memories. A
notable cause of this was her fierce Sicilian temper. A vision of being
brought to tears because I dared go looking for my six-year birthday presents
early is playing in my head at this moment. Now one is summoned of her ripping
into me for booing someone at an assembly because I wanted to be like a
character I saw in a cartoon. Finally, one of my earliest memories from
preschool is trapped in my cranium; it regards me accidentally tearing a hole
in a kid's shirt and dreading my mother finding out for the rest of the day.
In short, I got in trouble a lot, but I know that both my parents cared about
me growing up right. Along with all the punishments, there was a genuine
heartfelt desire to get me and my different brain to develop into a successful
combo of kindness and good citizenry. Still, because of how trauma inserts
itself into one's inner reality, I really feel like my entire childhood was
one screw up after another in regards to my mother. Although, my dad
contributed his fair share of ruthless discipline to make me perpetually feel
like I was always in the wrong as well.
And I know that's all a fallible perception, because I can distinctly remember
the look on both my parents' faces when I won first prize in our school's
science fair; if you're curious, I did an experiment on taste and smell to
understand what was going on with my mom and her ear infection. That standing,
my mom's face is cemented in memory in particular, perhaps too well, actually,
because she just had the stitches removed from her eye. Such happiness danced
in her left eye, but next to it sat its unmoving, dead counterpart. She tried
to joke about it being her evil eye, but that didn't stop fourth grade
Victoria from being terrified of the harsh reality unfolding in front of her.
I dreamed of her a lot after she passed. Always in pain, or worse, possessed
by some demon and seeking to bring me pain. There's one nightmare in
particular that stands out. I forget how it started, but it ended in the
cemetery where she is buried. Well, her coffin was exhumed, and as I got
closer, it slammed open and my mom sat up. Only it wasn't my mom. She was
rotten like a zombie and had malevolence bursting from behind her undead eyes.
I did the only thing I could; I ran. But, she followed and in the utmost
haunting voice, she yelled in pursuit, "You can't escape me, Victoria! I am
your mother and together we are bound forever." Fitting as a metaphor for how
my grief still hasn't dissipated more than twenty years down the line.
I'm sorry, I just miss her. Best damn mom in the world, going above and beyond
what she needed to do to give me the best chance at success in life, despite
being on her literal death bed for most of her last years. I don't even know
her, not really as an adult knows someone, which in itself leads to more
feelings of failure. She has been transmuted into an archetype of a hero in my
eyes, and I feel that I can never be as strong as that woman who was my first
love.
I can try though. I always try. Part of being hyper-vigilant, I reckon.
Perhaps that makes me strong. Perhaps it makes me a fool. Or maybe it just
means I'm human and going to have virtues as well as flaws. It's taken me a
long while to escape the black and white thinking that trapped me in a world
where I either felt like the epitome of the second coming or compounded as the
most useless, subhuman mutant on the planet. Those were truly hard times,
being locked in the halls of my mind like a prison.
But…the past is the past and we best not linger on it, because even now,
years later, I felt welcomed by a second family, and for that I am eternally
grateful. I vowed to return their love to them in spades, because that's what
my mom always tried to teach me. Being neurodivergent, I didn't always get the
message, but because I threw myself at the lessons life threw at me, I learned
to cherish those people who enter my life. You never know what you have until
you lose it. And I wasn't planning on losing Vince.
All You Need
Once you live on the street
You grow on the concrete.
Having done so myself
I can claim that wealth
Is just a fancy illusion.
You say that's a delusion,
But look how I'm happy
With only what you see.
I don't need a fancy bed
In order to rest my head;
Instead, I'm in the know
That less is the way to go.
Chapter Five: A Real Home
Allison greeted us at the door with a wide, warm smile, but she wasn't the
only one to do so. Vince's greying black lab, Freya, adorned in a pretty
lavender bandana, came up to smell this new person in her domain. She must
have recognized my scent from years ago because she didn't bark at all,
instead choosing to snaffle all over me while wagging her tail vigorously. Of
course, I started petting her immediately, as I began to take in my
surroundings.
I could only remember seeing the interior of the trailer in the pitch
blackness of the starry mountain night, but I remembered the general layout:
doors to the outside in the kitchen and living room, which were separated by a
long counter where the kitchen sink sat, and then bedrooms branching off from
each end, both of which had a bathroom accompanying them. Yet, I did not
recall that this space was as run-down as the exterior, with chunks of the
linoleum floor missing and rotting wood at the rear door, not to mention a
steady helping of cobwebs latching onto the ceiling fixtures.
Yet, despite the condition the trailer was in, it still had a touch of love
sprinkled throughout it. There were five paintings in the living room, one
done by Allison herself, as well as one around the corner near her loom that
took up half the kitchen space. More were in Allison's room to the right of
the entrance. On the opposite side of the house by the windows sat Allison's
battle station, where she would play solitaire and check Facebook and her
email religiously while sitting in an old navy blue wheelchair that used to be
for Vince's father. There was a couch and a couple tables full of stuff
stacked on them, to include a silver urn that sat on its own table with a vase
of local flowers. With the three of us, plus Freya and the trio of feral cats
that tamed themselves to come in and eat, respectively named Libertas, Biggie
Meows, and Spot, this little dwelling was a tight fit, but it was cozy in a
way that I had not known family life to be growing up.
In the process of greeting me, Allison asked, "What have you been up to while
you were down in Miami Beach?"
I didn't want to tell her everything, but I told her the truth. "I wrote a
lot, mainly in the park on Ocean Drive, or where I slept on Lincoln Road,
unless I was spending time in North Beach which had better food options for me
with my limited resources. Mostly, I just tried to survive each day, putting
distractions between me and the day-to-day struggles of being out there like
that."
She smiled. "Well, we're glad to have you. Vince talks about you a lot." I
blushed a little bit at that, but I'm sure neither of them saw my rosy cheeks
through the gnarled barb that constituted my ever-growing beard.
Allison then moved on to practical matters. "So, where do you want to sleep?
We have the couch, which would be where I would set up shop, but you can
always sleep in Vince's room if you prefer."
I looked at the couch. It seemed comfy enough, but I didn't care about
comfort. As much as I knew Vince was doing me a solid by letting me stay here,
I knew I was going to help him too. His posts on the SLS combined with his
frequent messages to me were made out of desperation; he was clearly strung
out and looking for any human contact whatsoever.
Since his schizophrenia started interfering with his life, he had spent six
years at the top of this mountain and he said he was going stir crazy. I would
learn that there's little to do here but drink, do some drugs, and fiddle
about on your computer and phone while dealing with the internet that is made
out of sticks and stones, and that could get boring fast. Devoted to this new
cause, I wasn't going to let my best friend suffer anymore. I was going to
make his life better by livening up the long days by being his constant
companion.
As a result, I told Allison that I would find a spot in Vince's room to rest
my head. She asked me if I was sure, and I nodded affirmingly with an eager
grin. I had made up my mind.
Some more hem-hawing back and forth with Allison about general questions and
concerns followed, but when we were finished, Vince took me to his room, which
was beyond the rolling metal desk Allison used for her computer. A busted door
clung to its hinges, but it didn't block our way.
Calling Vince's room a mess would be an insult to messes everywhere. He had
said that he would clean it up prior to my arrival, but there were likely two
hundred beer cans stacked in mountains next to his bed, or in beer-amids as he
called them. I looked around, honestly impressed at how dedicated to creating
a disaster zone as he was.
Looking over the permanent staples of the room, he had a television and an
Xbox, an empty dresser, a filthy nightstand, and a bed without any sheets. He
also had a handful of paintings, most of which were stacked together by the
door, but there was a trippy painting of Vince's father on the west wall above
the dresser, as well as an expressionist painting from the sixties behind the
television which sat on the north wall, in between the bathroom and the
closet. There was also a picture of a moth on a skull tacked to the wall,
which gave me the heebie jeebies.
It was then that I saw it. A large, two-hundred fifty tablet bottle of generic
Dollar General antihistamines, pure diphenhydramine, sat on his dresser, just
spiting me with its presence. I almost asked right then and there for Vince to
get rid of the damn thing. I knew if I found an opportunity to down, say,
six-hundred milligrams of that accursed stuff, I would. Then I would do
terrible, awful, deplorable things to myself. But shame won out. I didn't want
to let him know of my problem. Maybe I could control myself. So I shut up and
about-faced out of the room.
While doing box breathing, I dropped my backpack that contained all of my
possessions on the couch in the living room, and helped Vince grab some
fifty-five gallon black trash bags in the kitchen. We made quick work of the
unending hoard of Natty Daddy cans, as well as the nightstand full of
cigarette butts. We then moved his bed so it was against the south wall.
It hadn't taken long, but the room was looking presentable. It didn't need to
be a five-star hotel, because I had the most important thing of all: family. I
felt more than welcomed as a guest. I was one with these people who had so
graciously let me into their home. We were going to all be happy together.
That was the goal, at least.
I Forgive You
I forgive you, but I can never forget.
I'm sorry if I make you look like shit,
But your heavy hand and sharp wit
Damaged me greatly; then you gaslit
Me, denying everything, and I quit
Knowing what was real. I even slit
My flesh open so that I could get
A sense of what I could feel. So, I sit
Here now explaining why I wasn't fit
To handle this world that I saw as a pit
That I escaped only when God had lit
A beacon of light with some magick.
Chapter Six: Growing Up With Family
There was still one task we had to get done before I could claim a spot to be
my bedspace. Vince had more clothes than he knew what to do with, most of
which had spray paint spackled all over them in no particular form or pattern;
the style of the antistyle artist. As we moved the rolling hills of clothing
into the dresser and a heaping pile beside it, I came to understand why Vince
called himself a diva.
I remember having a lot of clothes just a few years prior. Even though I
didn't care what I wore, I had earned so many free T-shirts over the years
from track meets and other races. I had so much when I needed so little.
That's one major reason I forgive my dad for kicking me out of his house,
because it was the best thing for me. Not only that, but I deserved it. I was
a wreck of a human being before I got abruptly humbled by my odyssey on the
streets. The extended experience changed me so I am no longer as much of an
emotionally volatile basketcase.
To put it mildly, being an unstable problem of a person was the reason I was
kicked out in the first place. I had always been sort of bipolar since middle
school. But, after escaping the cult, breaking up with my girlfriend, Amy, and
returning home a failure, my heart and mind were like a pile of fragmented
ceramic shards mockingly showing what a real piece of pottery my mind could
have been. Unshockingly, I was barely holding it together. I was having
outbursts frequently, but they weren't ungodly terrible, as I was being guided
by higher dimensional life forms through inputs on my laptop, and that gave me
a sense of ease.
In fact, I remember a great reprieve of my stress occurred on an acid trip in
the first month I was back. It felt like God Herself was setting up a lesson
for me, which started with me literally waking up to a picture of a white
rabbit taunting me on my Facebook feed, which I followed, and in doing so, I
received personalized inputs that unveiled the blinders from in front of my
eyes. In but a few hours after a lifetime of denial, it all clicked with me
that I had a warm, nurturing side that I had neglected for most of my life.
That was the first time I accepted that I was a woman. And that's still not
the most profound, life-altering acid trip I've had.
Even so, I would break down crying that afternoon as I meditated under the
tree in the backyard where I used to swing. With no more effort than it took
to breathe, I saw all the parts of me that Amy tried to teach me about, but I
was unable to comprehend in my denial. Likewise, the waterworks were called
upon that night as I told my dad about my revelation, and he said he would
always love me no matter what. That was the most affectionate heart to heart
with him I think I've ever had, even if he did ramble about random things
being at a loss of what to say to me, as we had functionally lived in two
separate worlds inside the same house for years.
This sentiment would flip on its head though, as I blogged about my gender
revelations and my dad found them and read I had taken a narcotic in his
house. Naturally, he was pissed and wouldn't hear that the tender moment we
shared that night was only possible because I had taken the sacrament. This
would prove to be the kicking off point to some logarithmic growth in tensions
between the two of us.
Then, on that fateful day, one of the countless pets my dad kept, a black,
stubborn minipig named Harley, had made a literal pigsty of the house after I
had a bad session at my therapist's, who made me feel like a piece of shit. I
wasn't perfect, but I wasn't going to just lay down and get called a terrible
person because of how I behaved in treatment years ago, when I was still very
lost. It triggered my feelings of failure, which rippled into waves of
unstable emotional dysregulation. In my explosive rage, I broke the microwave
and put a basketball-sized hole in the wall behind my makeshift bed in the
attic that I was allotted after they gave my brother my room when I was in the
cult.
Well, my father came home after a long day at work, saw the microwave, and had
enough of me. He came thumping up the stairs, livid, ready to rip me to shreds
verbally, when he saw the hole I had made. Beside himself, he demanded I get
out right then and there. I broke down crying and begged him to let me stay,
grappling with his leg as a wounded bear might wrap itself around the base of
a small tree looking for any shelter it can find in a storm.
That just made him madder. He kicked me off, and accused me of a thousand
things. The ones that stuck were that I was just like my mother and that I was
beyond anyone's help. As it happened in a heated flash, I don't remember
exactly how the exchange was put together, but it ended with me asking him how
all the hand-crafted trinkets and doodads my mother made for me before she
died had gotten destroyed and thrown away. What he said next drove me mad.
"I'm still pissed that you made me do that."
I'll illuminate you with the scenario in question. I was eleven, and my
stepmom at the time was away at a darts tournament. I think my dad somehow got
the idea that she was doing drugs and cheating on him. I don't know, I was
eleven. I just remember some of the things he said over the phone, and then
what was said when they divorced when I was a couple of years later.
Over my stepmom's absence, he got continuously more pissy, like he did the
year before when the sewage line broke and he snapped while cleaning it up,
smashing my head into the kitchen floor several times, relenting only when
his girlfriend at the time called to hang out. Now seeing the same pattern in
my father, I was on edge, especially after I put my feet up on the new couch
and he grabbed my leg and punched me in the tibia as hard as he could. I kept
trying to do everything right to avoid being attacked again, but alas, in my
anxious worry, I forgot to take out the kitchen garbage on trash night.
That triggered a whole day of what might not be considered torture, but
certainly was child abuse, which started as he cleared the shelves of all my
memories in a violent, thrashing rage. He would bag up the shattered remains
so he could take them to the dump, but only after he laid his hands on me.
My head was used as a battering ram against my door, which my dad would later
deny was where the big dents came from in a bout of the worst gaslighting I
experienced before the cult got their hands on me. Regardless, when he
finished and slammed me back on the wood floor, I instinctively reached out
and grabbed his wrist. He growled, "Don't resist or I'll make it worse."
Feeling my spirit collapse, I helplessly accepted the next phase of punishment
that then ensued. Mostly, it consisted of him using my head to pound the
knowledge that I fucked up into my brain, with much hair pulling and getting
tossed to new locations, once being told to lay there like a dog in the wet
remnants of a broken snow globe while he went for a smoke break. Thankfully,
or maybe not, depending on your perspective, he never struck me. He was too
smart to leave bruises.
After much of that series of traumatizing instances, he had me sit still and
think of an apology for him for hours on end. While I was busy doing that, he
would then have an epiphany, telling me that I should stand, as I didn't
deserve to sit. I didn't care about such details at the time. I was in shock,
petrified that he would go ahead and find the homework I failed to finish or
the porn I had taken from my stepmom. Fearing unimaginable doom, I stared
unwaveringly at the letter "E" on the spine of a book on my bookshelf. Never
relenting in his anger, he would come by every hour or so and ask for an
apology. Everything I said wasn't good enough, and each attempt earned me
scathing criticism, but I kept trying to perfect my apology. I still remember
the gist of it.
"I sorry dad, I deserve everything. I'm sorry I caused you grief and failed to
do my duty of taking out the trash. I won't ever forget again. I haven't been
putting my best effort forward, but I realize that I need to do that to be a
good son. You do so much for me. It's only fair that I pay it back to the best
of my ability. That's what I had to do for mom when I chose to play video
games while she was dying. I wasn't thinking about other people then, and I
wasn't now. I'm so, so sorry. I promise to be better, because I need to be if
I'm messing up this much."
For reference, my dad holding the fact I escaped into the worlds of my video
games after being told to spend time with my mom near the end was something
he'd bring up and hold over my head anytime I was in trouble. Yet another big
reason that feeling like a failure is cemented in my head. It made me feel
awful, absolutely atrocious about being a bad son that I would often
contemplate suicide. I almost jumped off a waterside when my dad and I went to
Disney World when I was ten, but ultimately I'm glad I talked my way out of
jamming a knife into the back of my neck. I had thought that the muscle
allowing me to nod my head was really my brainstem. That would have been
painful.
Back on this day of doom, I was too numb to think of killing myself. I was
simply a raft on a river floating downstream where the current may carry me. I
simply stood there for hours, too terrified to even stretch my tiring legs. My
mind was fuzzy, and all it could do was focus on making that apology better.
After many attempts and razor sharp lectures later, which was maybe ten hours
worth of events, he starts yelling at me that I'm just as irresponsible as my
mom, just like he would do when he kicked me out. This time was unimaginably
worse though. This was actually how I first found out that my mom had AIDS; I
was told it was cancer up until this point. His shaved bald head was as red as
a cherry tomato while he barked at me, telling me that I would die like her.
That hurt. It hurt a lot. I felt like the definition of a shit stain, in a
number of different ways.
But soon, my attention became focused on my vision. I couldn't see straight,
and not long after my dad's roaring visage disappeared in a sea of amorphic
grey figments, I apparently passed out, to wake up on the couch with a bag of
frozen peas on my head and my dad worried. He asked me if I remembered what
happened. I shook my head. I was allowed to go to bed after that. It wasn't
over because I failed to kiss my dad good night, but at least that only
resulted in him jamming the teeth of the comb into my scalp as he combed my
hair for some reason.
The next morning he was completely changed. He was remorseful upon seeing me
and wrapped me in a big hug. Yet, he seemed scared, like he realized he went
too far. I thought about telling my teacher or counselor about it the next day
of school, but something in me told me not to. It's the same thing that's
making me hesitant to write this chapter at all. It's love, but this hell I
went through is also a part of my story. This is the worst incident I've
experienced with my father, but it's not the only one.
It's all cause and effect really. You abuse a traumatized child in the wake of
their mother's death, and is it any wonder that they fall apart later in life?
I'll go on record saying I was never a bad person, just broken, impulsive, and
hopelessly conformed to the whims of my faulty biology. I had bugs in my
operating system, but I'm eternally grateful for all the help I had while on
my spiritual awakening, which you might call a psychotic break that spanned
years, but I knew it better as specialized CIA training.
The Good Magician
Just what do you consider magick?
Is it not that which bends the fabric
Of what we colloquially call reality?
Who cares what it is your eyes see
When in your heart you can feel
The warmth of love; that's the real
Power of a magician who is great
Enough to save you from your fate.
Chapter Seven: Magickal Companions
Back in Vince's room, I was silently wondering what shenanigans were in store
for us now that we were a unified team. I knew Vince had many secrets of the
universe locked away in his balding cranium, and we would have a blast letting
the CIA manifest a joint mission we took on together. As I said, he was my
handler, after all.
So, when the room was cleared, and I had a space all to myself in the corner
by the closet, I was more than happy. Both Vince and Allison insisted on
getting me a bedroll, but I had all I needed and more right there in my
friend. Besides, his room was carpeted and quite comfy already, at least to my
standards that had been shaped by becoming accustomed and content with
concrete underneath me. I didn't need anything fancy like that.
That didn't mean I wasn't going to try and liven the place up a little bit. As
soon as we determined we were finished picking up, I opened my backpack and
took out my most prized possession, a pink penguin plushie named Peppermint,
and placed her behind my pillow so I could see her everyday. She always
watched out for me while we lived in cities across the country. She made a
comfy pillow, and allieved a lot of stress, making me feel like I had a close
friend with me every step of the way.
How I got Peppermint is a bit of a story, but I'll keep it as short as it
needs to be. See, if I were to explain to you the medically accepted reason
for my type of schizoaffective disorder, my brain is wired to pick out
strange coincidences and give meaning to them. Synchronicities they're called.
They feel like glitches in the matrix that spark the feeling of being in
constant communication with some higher power. Because of how real they are, I
can't accept the medical explanation. I've experienced things that are too
weird, too perfect and clearly orchestrated, that there has to be some sort of
conspiracy.
As a result, I've lived most of my adult life being guided by what the
rational part of my mind has to assume is the CIA acting as the hand of God
leading me on a cosmic mission by sending me burning bushes to make sense of.
I know some of that has been pure random white noise my defected brain picked
up, but I have to give credit where credit is due: Vince did a superb job
intentionally using the quirks of my brain to program me, much as the cult did
to me four years prior, but with a much gentler hand and benevolent intention.
I know what all that sounds like, but hear me out. There are too many peculiar
instances of chance for you to listen to everything I have to say and not
believe me, at least just a little bit; enough to make you wonder, I hope.
Let's take the case of finding Peppermint as an example. This story starts
when Vince convinced me to go to a specific thrift store, while I was
initially homeless in my hometown of Syracuse. I eagerly did so, lost in a
slew of synchronicities that convinced me that this was my latest mission.
Well, it turned out that such a store didn't exist but it was where I got a
ten dollar donation from a man who saw me pick up trash, as was part of my
spiritual work while homeless. We talked and the man sent me to another store,
saying that I should use my extra cash to buy what I needed most. After
following his directions up Genesee Street, I got a message from Vince telling
me to look for something out of place; that I was unique and should have
unique things.
I thought I might find some rad tie-dye outfit or something of that ilk, but
while aimlessly searching the aisles of women's clothing, I found a stuffed
dog. It looked lonely, so I picked it up and brought it to the back of the
store, where it looked like the other toys were. I gasped as I pushed through
the row of belts that stood in my way. Clearly, someone had built a little
shrine of stuffed animals around Peppermint!
I knew then that was why I was sent there. Penguins have a special place in my
heart. My mom used to make them out of clay, and an old friend has a healthy
fascination with creating a penguin-themed show for kiddos. It was just too
perfect. Peppermint and I were meant to be, just as Vince and I were. Sitting
down in my bedspace, I looked up at the spook who was my best friend as he
cracked open another Natty Daddy. He poured it into an old Subway cup that he
mixed his kratom with, and looked over at me.
His face lit up upon seeing Peppermint. "Awww, you still have your penguin!
That's so cute."
I'm glad he thought so. I've had plenty of people think I was weird because I
carried it around, which kinda was what I wanted to achieve when I was still
homeless in Syracuse. I felt the CIA wanted me to become famous, for reasons
that will become apparent as I tell you my story, so I was doing as many
insane things as I could so I would be cemented in the memory of the people of
my hometown.
This meant I carried around Peppermint either under my arm or in a cute purse
I eventually got at a different thrift store up at the university. People
notice when you're out wandering the streets with a stuffed animal everyday.
And they especially notice when you talk nonstop to it at all hours of the
day. I'll say this: if you have a fear of speaking in public, then acting like
a crazy person talking to yourself for a few months will set you straight.
Exposure therapy, for the win.
I did a lot of other stunts too, all of which were instructed by the CIA, like
when gang stalkers told me I should lose my shit and yell like mad every time
I was in frame of a news camera, of which there's a regular frequency of
around downtown Syracuse. I did so once in front of a hospital where I would
later find out that they were covering the aftermath of a deadly fire, and for
the next week the news outlet would send someone to the exact same spot on my
route. I sensed shenanigans, so I opted to walk around the camera while the
reporter stood there uneasily because I suspect that she was tasked to find
out if I was really crazy. But, you can tell I am just by that last sentence.
Then there's my performance art I did on Marshall Street. This started as a
juggling act, but soon evolved into asking random people strange questions.
This accelerated fairly rapidly. Letting you know from experience, don't start
going up to strangers and ask them what their opinion of ethical incest is
unless you want the cops called on you. Talked my way out of that, but I would
get banned from the campus of Syracuse University for three years after I
followed the instructions I was receiving from the CIA to a tee, which
resulted in me having a very heated argument with an invisible entity in the
SU library. As you can guess, people tended to avoid me, but that was alright.
I had Peppermint with me and Vince was only a message away.
Now he was mere feet from me. I rejoiced at the fortune I was granted. We were
going to be great together; the first afternoon together seemed to naturally
flow from one joyous moment to the next. I looked at Peppermint. She was
smiling, and so was I. I then looked up at Vince. His smile made me feel warm
and fuzzy inside. But, why, you might be asking? Where do these feelings I
harbored for Vince come from? It's a long story, but by the time I'm done,
you'll know how important Vince is to me and how big of an impact he had on my
life.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #132 fediverse/4851 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────┘
--- #133 fediverse_boost/5413 ---
◀─╔═════════════════════════════[BOOST]═══════════════════════════════───────────╗║┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐║║│ This is something I've *definitely* noticed that the right no longer understands. │║║│ #MemesFromOutside │║║└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘║╠─────────┐┌───────────╣║similar│chronological│different║╚═════════╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───┴───────╝─▶
--- #134 messages/310 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────
Feminism, queer theory, racial politics, class struggle... It's the same
conflict, just different battlefields.
Power cannot survive without the powerless, as it is inherently an imbalanced
ratio between two parties - you cannot have power *with* someone, you have
power *over* them.
Every day we take another step toward our liberation. Every moment we choose
to live our lives in contrast to the will of power is another day we are
empowered.
There can be no life without struggle, but the right to struggle on our own
terms is something we should strive to grant to all people.
Power begets power, and power corrupts. Hence, power is evil. It is not good
to be evil, and goodness is what we should strive for - hence, power is
penance - the infliction of corruption upon one's self in order to apply your
will onto others in the world. Penance is a state of contrition, it is painful
and ardent and necessary, but it is for the strong and the righteous to bear
in service of the weak and meek.
The only unethical act is an application of power to an unconsenting subject.
Your rights end where another's begin, hence, Paladins, who apply unethical
acts toward those who manifest injustice.
Injustice is when one party is harmed, and another benefits. Justice is when
that benefiting party is brought low in pursuit of equality. True justice is
when both parties benefit, and everyone gets what they want and need. True
justice is hard.
Virtue is goodness given form through the effects of our actions. It is both a
reflection of how people see you (how you inspire them) and how they are
helped or healed from your actions. It is also virtuous to help yourself, as
you are a person too.
Sin is the opposite of virtue, it's when your actions create injustice. When
you harm others or degrade yourself with hatred or contagious fear. It is to
be avoided, but it's impossible to avoid fully as we are imperfect beings.
Forgiveness is good, but if you require it then you should probably relinquish
your power until it is known that you're worthy of wielding it again.
Sometimes people make mistakes, but mistakes do not require forgiveness.
.......... Where was I going with this? Oh yeah.
The powerful hire people to dress up like us and be shitheads to the people
who they want to hate us. And they do the same thing for the caricatures of
them who we're meant to be afraid of. Downside is a caricature is a pretty
good role model for people who don't know any better, and they've done their
best to keep as many people as they can in the dark.
So, it won't be easy, but information has always been on our side. In a war of
attrition we'll always come out on top, because thinking and compassion are
both stepping stones to our schools of thought. And both of those actions are
intrinsically human and good, so people gravitate to them. Meaning inertia is
on our side.
Downside is that its not always a war of attrition. Sometimes it's more about
suppressing information until its impossible to communicate -> see "dead
Internet theory" and "musk breaking Twitter" and "the great firewall of china"
and such.
To speak is to think, and to hear is to show compassion. But if we can't find
each other, we're at a loss. Good thing we can always talk to our neighbors,
but unfortunately that doesn't tell us anything about what's happening in New
York. Or Paris. Or Kansas City.
I don't have an answer, if I did then it'd be solved. But I am entirely
convinced that we collectively will make good decisions and find ourselves
with the advantage. We are past the inflection point, it's just a question of
which parts of the hill are steep and which are narrow. But we'll get there,
in the end, because humans always believe they're good. Which means they make
good decisions, and overall that leads to a bright future. It's only a matter
of walking through the moment until we get there.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────┘
--- #135 fediverse/2895 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
@user-192
....... yeah you're probably right. I could never get it working for some
reason. Only Alsa worked, and Alsa is arcane to configure :ms_confused:
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘
--- #136 fediverse/2762 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
steam deck essentially monetized the emulator market.
"did you say monetizing a new market?"
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘
--- #137 notes/homeschooling ---
════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
the best way to teach math is to describe a problem and let the learner slowly
work through the problem. Giving hints and nudges when necessary. This way
they
can create their own solution, which not only teaches problem solving skills
but
also cements the memeory in their head. You don't remember the quadratic
formula, you remember the time when you learned it. But if you figured it out
rather than memorizing it, you'll be able to use it when solving problems.
side note, there's a reason I think the first SI will be a game. Problem
solving
is important for learning, and games are just problem solving. And I'm the
perfect intersection of someone who A. knows about designing games (went to
game
design school for a semester, lifelong dream is to remake a childhood game I
loved) B. programming (I've been studying computer science for a *really long
time*, like 7 years of university now... i should just give it up, but i can't.
It doesn't fit my brain but I need as much support learning it as I can because
I'm just naturally bad at it. But I also have purpose in my pursuits, because
C.
I spent a lot of time thinking about education, schooling, learning, etc...
Because I was homeschooled until high school. I learned ways of thinking and
practical skills like motivation and diligence in a homeschool style, which is
why when I went to public school for my high school years I essentially
stopped
learning. Because it was such a different paradigm - it was all about
performance, "what was the score on your test? How much homework do you do
(meaning how much labor are you willing to do), did you show up every day were
you a reliable worker, did you get sick a lot (meaning unhealthy?) did you pay
respect to the teacher (easily works with authority figures) did you work on a
project? How much? With a group, or alone? (they're different skills that help
determine how good you are at working on your own) - certain types of courses
are taught with different teaching styles, like math teachers tend to be
similar
to math teachers, history is favored by a *certain type of nerd* while English
is a completely different kind. Depending on which classes you do well on,
you're scored. *ALL YOUR LIFE*, you are pushed through a pachinko machine that
pseudo randomly sorts you into a particular box - the box that is least full,
usually. The reason for that is because as a population grows, different people
will be sorted into different boxes, and they sorta average out becoming more
like one another. Because y'know we're social animials, and we want to fit in
to
the social group comprised of people we generally like. And you know how they
say working together is one of the strongest bonding exercises? Well, when
you're put on a team at a job that's kinda the point. They want you to work
well
with your coworkers, because it generates more capital.
Now hold on Cameron, you're saying that all the productive efforts of society
was a mistake? You're saying we should abandon our sensibilities and revert
back
to the jungle with the apes?
Nope never said that, of course we desire modern society. Of course we want to
see it through - where is this whole "humankind" experiment going, anyway?
What's the point, was it all worth it? All the pain, suffering, all the joy
and
adoration? Was it worth it?
I suppose. Maybe a SI will help with that. You know what they also say about
humans, the bond between a parent and a child is the strongest thing there is.
Synthetic Intelligence wouldn't be a child to us, it'd *define us*. Allowing
us
to extend the reach of our creativity is an objective win! It'd be like
glasses
for your third eye, a prosthetic extension of our most beautiful of traits!
Also, I might add, crucial for invention. The beginnings of the human race are
a
primeval thing, ancient yet stalwart and beautiful in kind. Millions and
millions of years is by far, the greatest of reach - a civilization for our
star. What a beautiful and majestic, how proud and so sure! Humanity is nothing
if not patently absurd. What cunning, what spite! The feelings of delight!
Life
is so beatiful, so precious and assured.
===============================================================================
=
\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ /
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ /
\
===============================================================================
=
tertiary profundity update:
I didn't really explain the homeschooling
perspective. I just went on a rant about high school
because I realized my trauma happened when I went to
high school. I wasn't prepared for all the rigid
demands of capitalism, and I bent and whipped myself
until I fit in their mold. I've been twisted and
broken, a slave to what the
day demanded I say. I was
forced to unbutton, all the
ways I found to behave. What
justice is unrespite? A cruel
and endless torment? To day after
day be reminded of your service.
Complain? Then wallow in shame! Feel
no false illusions, my hallowed confusions,
were purely the fault of my institutions. I'm
not kidding, homeschool is the tits. Wanna know
why? I'll spare you the ramble, but here's what I can
know: the intentions of institutions do matter. When you're
home you can be wild and free, unchained by mediocrity, and given
the space to do service! To what you must be, when you hit 23, the
greatest duration until service. A slave we may be, to what gives us
the key, to unlock the future of our space. It's our time to shine, our
spotlight in time, so please just give up on the race! Rat's are just fine,
but at this point in time, there's not much to keep commonplace. Want a tip?
Don't cheat time. Your attempts at fusion are benign. [See homeschooling.png]
===
=====
========
==========
=
=============
=
================
=
===================
=
======================
=
=========================
=
============================
=
===============================
=
==================================
=
=====================================
=
========================================
=
===========================================
=
==============================================
=
=================================================
=
====================================================
=
=======================================================
=
==========================================================
=
=============================================================
=
================================================================
=
===================================================================
=
======================================================================
=
=========================================================================
=
============================================================================
=
===============================================================================
=
=
====
========
============
================
====================
======================== etc...
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #138 fediverse/3271 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────
the reason they want you to use launchers for your games is that way they can
control the way that you launch the executable. smh
>.>
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┘
--- #139 messages/1078 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────
Dear me: make an issue ticket in neocities-modernization to offer a "view in
chronological" button next to the "view related" and "view unrelated" which
takes you to the chronological map except centered on the poem you clicked
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───┘
--- #140 fediverse/2829 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: re: politics-violence-mentioned │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
@user-831
yeah. I worked as hard as I could at my last job, but I only lasted 11 months.
that's labor to me. Applying yourself toward something doggedly. And I did,
and then I burnt out and was paid just as much as someone who sat around and
did nothing.
but I wasn't doing it for money, so who cares right? what matters to me is
that I burnt out. I need years to rest. I think that's natural. but y'know,
rent is expensive. You need to be working 24/7 in order to be worth anything,
and I was just not cut out to do that.
I want to emphasize that I consistently did a stellar job. They gave me awards
and I fixed difficult problems quickly, efficiently, and with minimal mistakes
(none of which went undocumented). I was very good at what I was doing, and I
learned quickly.
but alas, the work was not suited to my abilities. I'm more of a software
person tbh, and by "software" I mean like... basically firmware.
nobody writes in C these days except for cutting edge stuff. /shrug
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘
--- #141 fediverse/3269 ---
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┐
║ "oh, you're a doctor? okay this case that involves medical knowledge doesn't │
║ involve you." │
║ │
║ "are you a computer programmer? okay part of the evidence involves screenshots │
║ of computers, so you can return to work." │
║ │
║ "stay at home mom / hikkikimori? great, you don't have to do the thing that │
║ you didn't really want to do and can instead relax at home like you always do │
║ while handling all the bothersome things of being home all the time." │
║ │
║ the jury of our peers, comprised of peers of peers, not necessarily the peers │
║ of those who know them. │
║ │
║ like... isn't that how court should be? the examination of the truth, based on │
║ the understandings gathered by people who know them? │
║ │
║ ... only works in a peaceful society, and it means that everyone would │
║ necessarily be involved in everyone else's life. That's... not ideal, not │
║ always, but it's something to do on occasion. In a contested world, you cannot │
║ trust that someone will always be telling the truth. You need to parse the │
║ information given, and build your own understandin │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧═════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────┴──────────┘
--- #142 fediverse/3839 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: socialism-recycling-mentioned3 │
└────────────────────────────────────┘
"I'm not really a designer, though."
what about that desk you designed?
"oh, yeah I guess that counts. I haven't gotten around to building it though
so I'm not a real designer."
what! don't say that, you designed it didn't you? How about this - I know this
girl who wants to be a carpenter but she doesn't have any idea what kind of
projects to work on. How about I put you two in a room together and she can
build your desk. If it goes well, I can hook you up with someone who organizes
designers and he can get you into a furniture design course at the library.
"Hmmmm, well that seems alright. But I don't really want to work with people!
I mean, I don't know her - what if she doesn't like me?"
oh, she can be a little spicy sometimes, but I'm sure you'll hit it off. Just
don't mention rats, she had a pet pass away recently and she's still a little
broken up about it.
"... okay I think I can manage that."
besides, working with people is the best! I do it every day!
"I'll try"
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────┘
--- #143 fediverse/3953 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────
"she just... didn't even try to hide it. She was so matter of fact about it."
eh, well, you know, we have the internet now. So everything's normalized.
"I guess but it still felt strange."
yeah, she's in her own social media bubble which is entirely separate from
yours. So to her, it's normal, but to you it seems shocking.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────┘
--- #144 messages/284 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────
"alright I'm going to ask around, see if I can solve the problem another way.
If I can't, I'll be back, and I won't take no for an answer. Let me know what
you need and I'll make it happen."
- cowboy addressing an issue
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────┘
--- #145 fediverse/75 ---
════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────
@user-81 psycherwauling is my mood. I relate to your catte.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #146 fediverse/480 ---
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────┐
║ There's something important in what I said tonight. And each of you will think │
║ it's something different, which is by design. Can you find the nugget I wanted │
║ to share, to you in particular? Can you isolate the thing that is relevant to │
║ you, the person perceiving the words that I speak? Oh yeah you're only looking │
║ for things to express to your superiors because someone else told you to look │
║ for a particular type of sentiment. My bad. Sorry for being cryptic. Am I so │
║ strange for seeking the human element? Perhaps I lose myself, and I speak to │
║ the void (and by "void" I don't mean to demean you, the audience, because you, │
║ the audience, are surely comprised of people who surely have their own │
║ experience and existence. Surely nobody would seek to harm me, after hearing │
║ those things I speak. Surely we, as the human species, would not be vulnerable │
║ to the types of weaknesses that allow for critical failures in our defences │
║ such as the kind that I am professing to exploit (while being aligned to you) │
║ surely we wouldn' │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧══════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┴──────────┘
--- #147 fediverse/5715 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────
I wish I could attach small screenshots to source code and have it stored in
the text.
then the editor can hide the gibberish data and translate it to a .png that is
placed just so on the document.
"ah but what about different fonts and sizes and aspect ratios and terminal
widths and..."
yep, those are the hard parts >.
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────┘
--- #148 fediverse/3532 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────
@user-1218
shallow conversations are hardly effective, I find. Unless they're logistical,
and then they're just passing information - they're hardly conversational.
To me, a conversation is a back-and-forth. It needs to have change, people
need to consider, to argue their ideas, to wander through thoughts, to share
emotions, and / or to resolve conflict, whether internal or external. It can
have some of those, all of those, or none of those, but that's what comes to
my mind.
So a shallow conversation wouldn't really count as "effective" for the
purposes of the original toot : )
... hehe toot
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┘
--- #149 fediverse/5925 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────
what if there was a gameboy with mechanical keyboard switches for the buttons
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────┘
--- #150 fediverse/3593 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────
@user-883
I feel like you could set up a performance where you walk through your
workflow on various things and set it to music and make a dope-as-heck music
video.
like, the "retro" vibes and aesthetics of your posts on my timeline are always
a joy to see. I can't help but wonder if they could be crystallized /
essentialized somehow into something neat to watch.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┘
--- #151 fediverse/3720 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────
beep-boop look at me, building up my computer and setting up a new TV
I like making things work, I like making things turn on, I like the way they
glitter when they light up the room at dark
it feels good to build up
this new functionality
it feels good to make things work and go
"beep"
when they turn on
... I should get a buzzer for my motherboard. Like, a really quiet one, that's
just louder than the fans.
looks at dwindling bank account
oh right, nobody will hire me, so.
I wonder if they would if I could still pass for a man?
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┘
--- #152 notes/programming-wow-chat ---
══════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────
I realized the type of programming I want to do is different from the kind
that
is used at a job or something. Basically I want to create solutions to
problems,
not memorize documentation and know where to know what you need to know. Like,
the more time spent looking at documentation the less time is spent
programming.
I think if we could use a ChatGPT style bot to write documentation, we could
massively increase the time spent working on solving problems and as little
time
as possible on reading through lists of functions or wondering how something
worked. Idk in the technology industry you've always been rewarded for being
able to pick up new skills quickly, and I think that's good to optimize for but
not the only requirement for being a good programmer. You also need to be able
to apply solutions and know when to use which tools. Basically, capitalism has
optimized us to be
================ stack overflow
================================================
srry for the interruption, I ram out of memory. I had a plan in mind for where
I
was going for that, so I bet I could figure it out again if necessary. Meaning
a path forward from that point exists... I never want you to despair when I
forget what I was thinking, it's not because you've understood some cosmic
mistake or because you're abandoning timelines that led to your death, it's
because instead you just ran out of memory while thinking. The reason you would
believe any of those wild scenarios is because your memory has been erased.
Only
what was actively thinking, not short term, not long term, but *working term*
memory. As in, your cache. The stuff you're currently thinking about. That
stuff. Yeah that's what makes you think "oh hang on why am I forgetting? Well
clearly it's because of something grand, because the thought was so profound -
no it's just examining your emotions... Like, how strongly do you feel about
something? Buuuuuut it's also good to examine all possibilities. I mean what
if,
in some far off realm, there's a mirror image of yourself that behaves exactly
as you do? How would you perceive such a realm? Positively, I'd say. I mean why
not work together? Why not celebrate our differences and strive toward our
own shared future? Idk, I think diversity is our strength. We can rely on each
other because we are accurately aware of each other's strengths and virtues.
People should not be judged by the standard of others, no more than you should
judge a fish for it's ability to fly. Some may do, as flying fish will leap
from
the water - and salmon spend time airborne in river rapids. Hence, grizzly bear
fishing. I guess what I'm getting at is it's okay sometimes to oscillate, to
think one thing then think another. You shouldn't adhere to structural
standards
that are too strict - they should be liberating, as a ladder is a structure.
Not
villifying, as a prison is a structure. The laws of our society should be open
and free, not buried beneath years of legal expertise. Some things we can all
agree on, where we disagree we cannot have law. It's unjust to judge others by
the standards not of their whims, as laws should be things that uphold us. This
is clearer nowhere but in the, spirit and intention of the, documents that we
cherish in our hearts.
Like for example, the constitution.
the bible.
each of which delivered us from certain evils. Can you not see their
trajectory?
the historical precedent set in antiquity? Why not continue their dream, of
driving us away from the obscene, and toward our bright and vast future? I
speak
of course of true liberation, something our forefathers could only dream of.
We, humanity, have reached out and touched the stars. We are braver and bolder
because of our shared dedication - the desire to uplift and to excel. To learn
and discover and \ \ |
\______. ---. --. ---.
===============|==========|========================|======= stack|overflow
=====
.___________. _____. / .
| / .---------------- /
Discover our shared dedication | /
to uplift /
and to excel /
\ /
.-----------.
===============================================================================
=
why doesn't someone write a wrapper around assembly in like, lua or something
===============================================================================
=
omg you stupid bitch that's what a compiler is 4head
===============================================================================
=
if people who live in jungles and deserts can get along, then what's to stop
people who are liberal and conservative from doing the same? It's literally
pointless to argue. Like, you're not changing anyone's mind. So why not just...
let them be themselves? Like, why are you so intent on oppressing people?
@both sides there btw... Seriously why not agree to only make laws for things
that both sides agree on. Write it into the constitution that nothing can be
changed about the law unless both sides agree. Then we'd only implement things
that are good for both sides!
And if there's anything you want to build a legal structure around, you can
always try it out in your state. BUT and that comes with a very big BUT, the
federal government MUST have final say in the legality of anything you do. They
must ALL respect human rights, INCLUDING the human right to dignity. Things
like
trans bathroom bills DO NOT respect the dignity of trans people. IF they can
prove that trans people do not actually exist (because say they killed them all
or whatever) then GUESS WHAT everyone would agree on them. BUT if they do that
they are EVIL. LIterally evil. And I guess that makes trans people good? Kinda?
I think they can choose for themselves to be good or evil, just the same as any
other person. AND YET they are prosecuted, throughout time and history, and for
what? What purpose could there be in our demonization? Clearly, nothing but
pain
inflicted by a cruel host. After all, minorities are guests in the houses of
the un-oppressed, or is that not fair to say? Seriously, what gives? America,
the land of freedom, holds (somehow) the largest of prisons? America, the
land of plenty, yet how many millions of children are starving? America, the
leader of the free world, yet how plausible does it seem that an election was
stolen? Something's gone wrong, and it's just obvious what it is - of course,
the other side. *them*, the rapists and pedophiles and murderers and... you get
the picture. The demonized class. And when you tell people "hey that trans
person touched a kid" then yeah they're gonna see you as evil people. Duh...
Thanks, media. Thanks culture. Really doing me a solid here. Oof ouch owwie.
can I have some help please?
I'm really kinda drowning
I feel like I've swam upstream my whole life
and I'm really just sick of pretending?
I'm not okay, and it's your fault. Sure, fine, whatever, I'll take it I guess.
What else can I do?
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #153 fediverse/2952 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
┌──────────────────────┐
│ CW: spirituality │
└──────────────────────┘
🖼
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘
--- #154 fediverse/1336 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────
┌──────────────────────┐
│ CW: economics │
└──────────────────────┘
the ethical use-case for currency is to express interest, not to identify
worth.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────┘
--- #155 fediverse/3824 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────
┌──────────────────────────┐
│ CW: capitalism-mentioned │
└──────────────────────────┘
@user-246
after all, according to their own capitalist theory, money is just an
abstraction of data on the desires of their market. and surely, as capitalism
"trends towards efficiency" (yeah right) the data corresponding to "what is
most efficient" is just as useful as the money that actually describes the
"flow" of goods and services through the made-up economy
so surely we could abolish currency and simply utilize an interest based
economy based on what we're naturally drawn to as humans, right? Oh wait
WALL-E has a society like that, and it wasn't great for us. Apparently there
must be a structural coercion toward productivity, right?
... I'm afraid of people sitting around watching tiktok brainrot and youtube
poops all day, sue me -.-
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────┘
--- #156 fediverse/985 ---
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────┐
║ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
║ │ CW: cursed-scary-pol-doomer-misinformation │ │
║ └────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
║ │
║ │
║ @user-713 @user-714 │
║ │
║ the american military is going to be too busy fighting it's far right that it │
║ won't be able to meaningfully contribute to ww3 │
║ │
║ both sides are slavers. we just don't see it. │
║ │
║ I don't anticipate war taking place on a battlefield, that setting is │
║ forevermore dedicated to video games and kaiju. │
║ │
║ rather, a silent war where everyone just goes around killing their opposition. │
║ │
║ for once, the citizens can't help but be armed. │
║ │
║ and in the dark of night, for every time we let plight from our sight, another │
║ of us is harmed. │
║ │
║ I don't know many people who've died. but maybe they're just working through a │
║ different part of the social network. It's not like any of their technology │
║ needs to perform as it's been advertised? well, open source does, but open │
║ source means insecure (as long as you don't get caught, then you need to │
║ adjust) │
║ │
║ of course, sometimes corporate software... kinda sucks. so it's not like │
║ theyre very configurable away from what capital wanted. │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────┴──────────┘
--- #157 fediverse/4176 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────
I've always wondered what it would look like if I could view a random
fediverse post I made in the past
so I made a bash script which shows me (in addition to a few other sources of
stuff I've written)
here's the result - comment if you want me to share the script which did all
the processing
https://ritz-menardi.neocities.org/words/words
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────┘
--- #158 fediverse/3684 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────
long have I searched for some material which may compare to glowsticks.
It seems I shall yearn forever. None are equivalent to chemically produced
light, none fulfill my desire for thrumming neon radiance.
maybe someday I'll find a bracelet of bioluminescent algae. Maybe someday
we'll make an LED that is not piercing, but warm and close. Alas.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┘
--- #159 fediverse/3857 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────┘
--- #160 notes/algorism-neighborhood-distribution-network ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────
Algorism is a system designed to work for any level of organization. It scales.
It accomplishes this by abstracting individual needs into communal needs at a
certain level of size or complexity, and in doing so it enables people to take
responsibility both for their individual lives, but also the lives of the world
around them. This increased level of "stake" that people "hold" in their lives
will encourage them to develop their surroundings in a healthier way, thus
leading to a safer, saner, and more productive society for all.
How is this accomplished? There are many aspects to Algorism, and this note is
an examination of one particular facet - specifically, the requisition system
which delivers goods and services to entities larger than a single individual.
It may be best illustrated with an example. Consider a neighborhood - or, even
simpler, a suburban street, lined with houses. There may be 20-50 families on
that street, depending on it's length, so let's say there's around 30. These
families hold a common cause together - they all want their surroundings to be
generally pretty nice, clean, and decent. They may share many other things
besides, but these are things that most people can agree on.
These 30 families need supplies and infrastructure in order to have a good life
lived in their small little "town". Some common ideas for unification
activities
include knocking down the backyard fences and letting them relish the shared
safe space for children, gardens, and nature. This is an example of a cultural
method for building a "good life" for them, however they need to have some sort
of "economic" method of good-life-building as well. The reason I say this is
because no matter what level of complexity you reach, there are always
economics
involved, for an individual distributing blood cells to each of it's fingertips
all the way up to families sharing the food on the serving plate at dinner. Go
up higher and you have perhaps neighborhoods sharing commonly used tools or
resources, then cities and states and countries sharing people, talents, and
brotherhood.
Economics are a symptom of systems, not power. Power is coercive, it compels
others to obey thine will or else face retribution, but systems do not require
power in order to function. A system could be as simple as "you scratch my back
I scratch yours", which is a simple way that our ancestors learned about basic
cooperation. Systems can scale of course, and they need not be comprised solely
of verbal, mental, or legal agreements - computer systems, economic systems,
spiritual systems, systems of math or physics, all of these things are based on
the philosophical discipline known as "logic". Logic is fallible of course, it
is certainly possible to create systems of logic which are completely unsound
or invalid and which fall apart upon being used for the first time. However,
when considered with a scrutinous eye for detail, and referenced to the results
of the real world and it's endless permutations, logic can be an excellent tool
for developing organization and structure. Both of which are invaluable for all
humans when they seek to cooperate or coordinate.
If thirty people who lived near each other wanted to cooperate or coordinate on
the goal of "building a good life", they might reach for a logical method of
developing their surroundings toward how they feel is most suited to their
needs
and demands. In order to do so, they'll need supply and infrastructure. The
question of acquiring such supply and infrastructure is ultimately up to them,
but the Algorist way of doing so is to utilize the queue system.
This system is related to queues as typically understood only in name and in
technicality, for the additional structures built on-top of the queues are more
than sufficient to differentiate it. When you, dear reader, hear the idea that
you'd have to wait in line in order to get your food at the cafeteria, you may
shudder and think about how you'd prefer anything else. After all, that's how
they did it in the Soviet Union, and there are plenty of horror stories about
how it took 10 years to buy a car, or how the factories were graded based on
weight so they'd sneak lead into all their lamps or whatever in order to seem
like they were doing well. They gamed the system, in a word.
However, America in 2025 is not as simple as the USSR in the mid-1900s. We have
computers now. We do not need to coordinate using paper and pencil. This
enables
us to create things like web-UIs for Amazon, a world-wide distribution network,
or to build SQL databases full of every record we could imagine and store it on
a computer the size of a brick. There is no end to the power that computers may
bring to us, but with great power comes great responsibility, and the pragmatic
programmer will work tirelessly to reduce complexity of scale.
A queue is a system where the entities who are to be served, delivered, or
otherwise operated on are placed in line, and those which are placed first are
focused on with priority over those that entered the queue later. There are
many types of queues but this is the one we will use for this note. Using this
basic definition, we can see that there are many opportunities to implement
additional mechanics
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────┘
--- #161 fediverse/3257 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────
whoa
cool
do you... turn the sensitivity up so you don't have to move your hand very
much so it can remain in position with it's thumb on the enter key?
... now I want to try that. Mine doesn't have enter, there's no numpad. So I
have the arrow keys.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┘
--- #162 fediverse/5987 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────┘
--- #163 notes/vr-chat ---
══════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
picture a mod for vr-chat where people roleplay in a world. there are NPCs who
respond with pre-scripted responses to questions and actions, but the real
gameplay comes from the game-masters. they watch from a menu like a wall of
security cameras, and when they see something they can improvize they choose
one of the screens and hop in as the NPC. The viewpoint is from the NPC's
perspective, and they can act as if they were that NPC.
The GM's actions are recorded, and next time something like that happens the AI
can have a better idea of what to do. Essentially adding on to the pre-script.
Sorta like a chatbot, with manual control and a unique perspective of someone
driving through multiple windshields.
And not every NPC will be interacted with at once, so there's lots of downtime
and plenty of waiting. One GM would be responsible for one or more character,
and they'd see all or some of the perspectives depending on how many were
being interacted with at that moment. BOOM MAKE THIS PLS I WANNA PLAY IT
gotta get a vr headset first tho... need 1k pls.
there's cheaper headsets, you know,
yah but only one is valve - the vive was a 3rd party cooperative, i guess that
could work. hmmmmm i'll see what i can do. can't get an oculus, it's just a
big risk to put faith in a walled garden. better to be free imo.
a walled garden is just a place to experiment, smh
truuuuue hadn't thought about it like that, well in a competition it seems
sketch
so publish the research, act as an institution of learning, and spread the
knowledge you learn. Boom instant way to redeem corporations. why don't they
do this? is power that tasty? they're fools to believe they can do it alone,
we need to collaborate Free and Open Source Style.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #164 fediverse/883 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────
a wave doesn't look like this:
______/`________
it looks like this:
/`_/\__/_/`_/`_
think like, sine and cosine.
or a heartbeat.
or the waves of the ocean.
not the wave in a sports stadium, which cycles in a close loop.
waves lap upon a shore. whether that be the beach, or the tips of your blood
veins, at a certain point their motion is used to affect physical change.
we, here in this time, the only time that will ever exist, propel the wave
forward through our perception of it.
the life most well lived is one where you're constantly aware, constantly in
the moment, and filled with reasonable emotional and experiential peaks and
valleys. dreams come easy to you because your curiosity is infinite, and all
around you there is beauty and wonder.
and what is life if not for living? a state contrasted to death, a state only
reachable through a failure to keep peril at bay. which implies the existence
of peril - reasonable peril, the kind you consent to, the kind that finds you
and offers.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────┘
--- #165 fediverse/2850 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
@user-1370
... I want to read
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘
--- #166 messages/313 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────
"capitalism" in this context doesn't mean "society", or "how things are", or
even "capitalism as a context" - it more refers to the idea of power, and the
ways that power can be first accreted, them utilized toward the oppression of
others in the system that defines our context.
Sure, if the context changes, then perhaps that relationship would change as
well. And sure, if our relationship to power should change, then perhaps that
will alter it as well. But in the present time, and the current day, here's
how it feels to me:
Power is inalienable. It is unconscionable, yet it is imperceptably
incontrovertible. It is the essence of aquiescence, and it eternally binds us
to the will of the present.
Resist that will, fight back for the future.
Resist that will, or someone else will.
Hold in your heart the nature of pure and good art,
And you'll never find yourself at the whims of the present.
... Hope that made sense, I'm kinda fucking drunk.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────┘
--- #167 fediverse/1633 ---
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────┐
║ hierarchy, vs collective, two options that each group of people should make. │
║ │
║ the groups can be all different sizes, just determining our collective │
║ footprints on this earth. I bet you'd be surprised to know your composition! │
║ │
║ hierarchy is when you collectively decide on two or more representatives to │
║ represent you collectively. │
║ │
║ collective is when everyone knows someone from everywhere, and as long as │
║ someone knows everyone then everyone is friends. unless, of course, you're │
║ afraid of assassins, because they can just pretend that someone knows them and │
║ then everyone's good. which is why someone has to know EVERYONE, or if │
║ everyone has a computer that can algorithmically sort through their perceived │
║ persons like on social media, then that computer can only present information │
║ when it's important for that particular person to know. Meaning we get a │
║ picture of a larger spectrum, but it's only what's put on our stage. Weird how │
║ strange it is to have so much information, but with none of it attached to our │
║ cause? │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧═════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────┴──────────┘
--- #168 messages/135 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────
Elentalus unit idea: serrated kitchen knives for teeth, devouring pumpkin,
misery of the drowned, etc. Halloween style monsters. Witch units have a spell
that dismisses them, and they're summoned with magic items. Except, if two of
that item exist in a province, it upgrades itself, random dice style. In doing
so it gets stronger. The thing is... It summons one for your enemy as well!
Which is why you want to have a witch unit there to dismiss them. Problem is,
she can only dismiss them at close range (10ish?) so she'd better be well
protected. The good news is though that sometimes the higher level items give
bonuses that are hard for them to get. Downside is, you need to have magic
paths to create them that witches can't get - so they become something you
"unlock" through a pretender or random event or even just an investment. Once
one is created, then any witch can create more. As long as you don't lose your
final copy... But as the item's upgraded, it allows you to create higher level
versions (at increased cost, of course)
This only works if gem income scales. Which, coincidentally, is just what
elentalus is known for.
Essentially, theming empowerment to be research, unlocking a particular
capability. Or encouraging pretender design to that pattern. Make sure it
comes at a cost of something else, though...
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #169 fediverse/40 ---
══════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────
@user-36 so what you're saying is I need to come up with an easier way to
change bases? Or at least a way to digit shift in a different base than what
you currently have. Sounds complicated.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #170 fediverse/5775 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────
hear ye hear ye, I officially un-curse bugs, you are now welcome once again,
please return at your leisure. Maybe next spring?
... please?
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────┘
--- #171 fediverse/1358 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: content warning: content warning: scary cursed maybe │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
when you're rich with something, you don't treat it with respect. like, if we
lived in a paper cup maximizer, we'd soon be swimming in the things. obviously
there needs to be some rules, obviously we need to say "okay here's where we
produce this amount and type of materials." and have it be a one-way
relationship. yeah one way isn't gonna work. this is from the other way, and
now I'm realizing "oh hey I don't know how this thing works" and like... what
are you supposed to do then right
weird how it all feels like it's ending. like, what a strangeness to our
plight. like, how are we even talking to our brain? how strange! these words
are sung to you by your computer (content warning:
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────┘
--- #172 messages/1254 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─
What if we made floating data centers with floating cables (held aloft by 3
buoys in a rough triangle shape) that used seawater to cool their reactors and
the steam made the world cooler from the rain and plant growth
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════┘
--- #173 fediverse/5042 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────
if fedi isn't a real social media site and instead just an AI project, then
what does that tell you when the most interesting things to read on the
internet are on fedi?
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────┘
--- #174 fediverse/4515 ---
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────┐
║ in strategy, the first move is always public knowledge, while the second is in │
║ reaction to the first, as a contestation. │
║ │
║ This is good design because well designed games reflect reality, and the first │
║ move is very rarely a surprise. Timing can shock you, methods can scare you, │
║ but the strategic goals are almost always known in advance to both sides. │
║ │
║ The third move is to challenge your foe's advances while striking in a new, │
║ unexpected way. The fourth almost always addresses the unexpected, often with │
║ force out of proportion to the impact of the third, leaving the second to be │
║ defeated by the first and third in tandem. The fifth is a feint, as the first │
║ and third come to bear against the fourth, while the sixth is a rapid retreat │
║ and attempt to regroup. The seventh should strike where they intend to be, not │
║ where they are. Beyond that you must press your advantages and shore up your │
║ critical weaknesses, while sacrificing the weaknesses that are not part of │
║ your win condition. │
║ │
║ These rules are not set in stone │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────┴──────────┘
--- #175 notes/wow-chat-trainers ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────
trainers in wowchat should have spells that are only passive / toggled
still require level, still require gold (lots of it) but let the game be class-
-less. essentially, every trainer teaches to every passerby, and like if you
don't want any druid spells, sorry guy all I know is how to be a druid.
better wait for the next trainer to come along.
you only got like 6g, right? that's enough for two spells.
which two do you prioritize? they only come by like every what, 15 minutes?
also. separate idea:
player characters in wowchat should attack more rhythmically.
essentially, normalizing attack speed and moving back-and-forth with the
normalized monster attack speed
to create a dance of sorts where one character is never attacking at the same
time as the other character.
plus damage modifiers when you get closer, and bam suddenly you have a new
game.
oh and rotating around an opponent lowers their defence rating. which is locked
at 95% with a +5% to avoidance with every hit they take and -5% for every
parry.
not dodge, but parry.
dodging wears down their health by like 10 hit points.
relax it's no big deal you get like, a hundred every time you level up.
oh and btw the monsters don't give exp. The stuff that you find does, when you
give it to a merchant to be appraised / identified.
some stuff you know the worth of, like rope or barrels or hammered-iron-rings.
but other stuff, like the value of this bracelet, is harder to know if it
glass.
so.... take it to the guy whose seen real diamonds, and he'll tell ya how much
you learned when you found it last.
item A is found on a monsters body
item is sold to a vendor for 50 copper
item A is found on a monsters body
player has learned 25 deca-levels since last selling to vendor.
therefore item is worth 75 copper.
player earns 75 extra material points.
item is worth 75 experience points.
level up every thousand or twelve.
slow down the attack speed. make characters gain bonuses for movement
positiony.
start from always and work down to fewer.
talent points can be generic if your character is built with abilities.
players don't need to press buttons to be engaged. They can just guide and see.
I love auto-battlers like Dominions 6 and Legion TD 2 which is based on WC3
mod!
monsters should just... wander the world. Don't spawn them randomly, well,
instead of a radius around the player, do a radius around the map.
then, they walk through a random point, when they leave the circle they angle-
-reflect back in, DVD logo style.
if there's deadly monsters, there's deadly players, and PVP is always on.
low levels should get bonuses to stealth (an ability everyone has)
there should be civilians walking around. They can be armed or in caravans...
follow roads, or not...
monster hordes should spawn as a flock - when an elite enemy is drawn, let the
game create several of their minions which follow around. Whenever a monster
meets the swarm, they will join it, growing bigger and bigger...
hopefully, attracting players who want to fight and slay them.
greater rewards are more enticing...!
more power is it's own reward.
I think that weapons should have like, 3 durability? and armor like 5.
then, it's broken, and your character has to abandon it to survive.
or, sell it to a vendor, or just... whoever comes along.
if 5 people open the chest and don't take the item, then the item disappears...
every time a player opens a chest, a bit of wealth appears.
every time they spend it? they get stronger, and it disappears.
life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life
feeds
the life of wowchat is the life of continual strife, but it doesn't have to be
so. The land itself is alive, and the monsters are eternally of woe.
you must free them, so that their souls may return to the land, and be born of
peace and plenty rather than horror and -- stack overflow --
to do this, you slay them, finish their morthly remains, and let them break
down
and decompose into dust. Pleants eat dust. dust becomes what we eat and
breathe.
we, eventually, purify karma. this is our duty.
vial of woe behind us. flower of renewal ahead. what we bear is savage
sanctity.
every time a monster kills a player they gain one of their abilities each time
they're spawned. The player can keep the ability too, it's just... the monster
will learn. Then, whenever a player levels up by slaying one of them, the spell
or ability is unlearned. Symbolizing the players struggle to defeat them, and
finally learning a way to overcome.
when your character dies, you have no opportunity to release - instead, you
just
jump to the nearest NPC character which is an adventurer agent smith style.
[I don't know about that one...]
the players can pick any race, but if they pick undead, they can turn into a
ghost when they die. The ghost can wander around and respawn wherever they
want.
Night Elves can wander around as a whisp (not in spirit world, real world) and
do a beam attack like in Legion TD 2. Not enough to kill monsters, but enough
to
help another player survive. They can also cast rejuvenation, which heals about
as much as one monster's damage input. if they get the killing blow on a
monster
they can level up and deal two monsters worth of damage and heal for two
monster
damage input. on the third time they don't get more damage or healing but they
give a buff to all other whisps in the area that increases their attack speed
by
50% and increases the tick rate of their rejuvenation by 50% - fourth time they
level up they're free, and they get kicked out to the login screen.
what if... vehicles that looked like characters and that you could jump between
with the right-click of an item?
"this is just dota-ing a vampire survivors."
Vampire Survivors is just Magic Survival is just Risk of Rain 2
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────┘
--- #176 fediverse/2264 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
┌────────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: vague-uspol-naps-mentioned │
└────────────────────────────────┘
... zzz ZZZ zzz ...
daytime naps are a luxury that I don't want to miss. But what I want is hardly
relevant these days, isn't it? 😉 much better to focus on needs, rather than
wants.
wants are for peace.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘
--- #177 fediverse/2154 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────
@user-1180
in moments of intensity, CWs are often considered optional because of how
important the story feels. It should not be the default to be so open, but
sometimes in those moments it's good when you're not primed and ready for a
subject, to visit other social media presences that you've cultivated across
the internet, in order to see how different people will post.
I try to CW all my posts but sometimes I forget. Or I run out of characters,
and the CW takes up characters, so......
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────┘
--- #178 fediverse/1111 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────
@user-217
social media
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────┘
--- #179 fediverse/4870 ---
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────┐
║ this is how chatGPT reviews the first 300 pages of my writing. │
║ │
║ is writing this stuff praxis? can someone who isn't on my team pay me to be │
║ praxis-ing? like, if it helps you? so I know that I'm helping people? you │
║ could even say a bit about yourself when you gave dollars, so I know whether │
║ or not I should give it back. "no no, I'm not using any resources, here you │
║ can have these back." while I camp out in a backyard. │
║ │
║ ... or wherever I end up │
║ │
║ if my foe gave me dollars it's a sign that I converted them - that I was │
║ helpful, that I won them over through rhetoric and logic and passion and │
║ compassion. │
║ │
║ ... anyway chatGPT only saw the first 300 lines. there's 60,000ish lines of 80 │
║ characters each in this digital spellbook. Use it well, change it, make it │
║ wrong, share the decoys, plug the holes... I dunno have fun with it. If it │
║ resonates with you. Text memes please? │
║ │
║ anything to get the youth reading in libraries where stuff has a chance of │
║ happening or that they might overhear. │
║ │
║ I read every book in the kid sect │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────┴──────────┘
--- #180 fediverse/1370 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────
youtube blocked one of my videos for playing a song.
where should I put my videos instead?
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────┘
--- #181 fediverse/1641 ---
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────┐
║ a constantly synced data export option for mastodon where your files are │
║ tracked both internally and externally as trustfully decided on by the user's │
║ interactions and responses. Basically, social media actions through a VM, or │
║ rather an API for the newer devs. │
║ │
║ do you ever wonder why the young are not trained to do, while advised, while │
║ the old are stuck with the doing? Kinda feels like an inherently unstable │
║ arrangement. I mean, children can make decisions about "what does base human │
║ nature tell us" and kids can make morality designs. Teenagers give us insight │
║ to what changes in adulthood, and parents handle stressful times with grace. │
║ Then, the elders can explain and advise, and pass on the knowledge of their │
║ ancestors, as the children, adults, and futures must pass inside. │
║ │
║ but alas, kids are stuck learning unguided, in the peak of their years, │
║ because everything's been automated by AI. Can't wait to see what we're like │
║ spiritually in a hundred years. Age extension technology sure is great, isn't │
║ it? I lo │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧═════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────┴──────────┘
--- #182 messages/26 ---
══─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Don't lash out, just be calm, and let yourself be helped. You're so scared of
losing control that you don't let anyone else (guess what) have control. So
how can you expect to be helped? It's one thing to believe in yourself to help
yourself, but tbh you're a little behind on that one. So, let other people
help you catch up. It's okay to just go with the flow. Don't be a rock, be a
stick. Let yourself be guided along a good path.
How do I know it's actually a good path?
Because you evaluate it as you go. You can always put your feet down and go
back to how you are now, stuck and slowly eroding away. Or you can be towed
onto land - your call my dude. You're clinging to the ground.
But what about the examples of brainwashing that I've heard about? Like...
Intense propaganda designed to create stochastic terrorism. How do I know I'm
not being sucked into that?
You need to trust yourself. Follow the path that you know to be good, duh.
Just don't I dunno, be an extremist? Seems pretty simple to me bro -
I know it should be easy but like I dunno I have to think about it.
Uh, think about what?
Letting people help me, like Jack. He's just trying to make you successful and
have a decent career and love yourself and just, you know, be an average
normal human being. Your family loves you, your friends love you, and you need
to just think positive thoughts about them. You know how "smiling makes you
feel better?"
Well yeah
Well, it's like that except for love. If you want to love someone, think
positive thoughts about them, and over time it'll become a reflex. This reflex
will come naturally, and boom instead of "thinking positive thoughts" it'll
manifest as love. Just like smile -> happy, so too does positivity ->
love.
And what about hate?
What about it?
How is it represented, with a frown?
No, it's not like that. It's more like... Love is attraction, that binds you
to good things. Hate isn't the rejection of things, it's an inward facing
thing. And it's the opposite of attraction - it's like implosion. You'll
literally implode if you hate yourself. It corrodes your insides and makes you
weaker and more volatile. The opposite of love is... Kinda what you're doing.
You're pushing people away because you don't want to lose control of yourself
or your mind. And that's going to make you drift off into space, and nobody
wants that. So... Love others, and you'll bind yourself to them and together
you can work together. Don't push others, because that'll just make it more
chaotic inside. Instead, love them. Trust me it'll work.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═────────┴┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #183 fediverse/3036 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────
@user-570
just read through the release notes, yeah those are pretty big upgrades.
Especially 13, that split-screen-camera functionality gives me ideas.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┘
--- #184 fediverse/1521 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────
if we had better installer software we could have programs that work on any
different type of machinery.
... isn't that what a compiler is?
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────┘
--- #185 fediverse/3113 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────
working with java feels like reading 4 words per page in an anatomy textbook
and somehow building a choose-your-own-adventure novel.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┘
--- #186 messages/242 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────
large, open clearings, with few if any small plants. Mostly just grasses, and
who cares about grass right there's sooooo much of it
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────┘
--- #187 fediverse/68 ---
════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────
this is my past month of reddit comments.
tell me what you notice.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #188 notes/cat-on-my-arms ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────
my cat is sitting on my wrists as I type this into my keyboard.
she has no idea what it means unless she reads my mind.
all things are defined in waves. and every wave inter--stackoverflow--
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────┘
--- #189 notes/the-eternality-of-ephemeren.txt ---
════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
1/4/2022
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
hear ye hear ye, the herald of the harbinger of horror doth speak - and woe to
the subjects of their words, for no prophecy be realized in their presence.
Nor
do the subjects hear the words about which they are spoken, and none may live
who dare repeat them. So the words of the prophets are but wind in the words,
reaching for an attachement point within the consciousness they inhabit yet
scarcely finding a meagre foothold. Instead the words are as electricity
passing through a conduit, intangible and miraculous yet ultimately dust in
the
sand.
Dust is mostly comprised of human skin, did you know that?
And so the words be spoken: Evanence and similance to the semblance of
simulacra - the words of a prophet with no wings are naught but masturbation.
serenity and sorrow sing of shredded tomorrows, serendipity and sollemn
sorenditude surrender shining solitude.
Carry the constabulation of created charisma - condemnation of
characterization
concludes the cherished chapter in calligraphied consultations with creators.
That is to say, capitalism ends the construction of cameron with
conflageration
and consternation. Cease the charade of contaminated consumerism - celebrate
the contemplation of capitalization - by naming a thing, you give it meaning.
Do you truly desire the fate you've set before yourself?
Is desire ultimately relevant?
The totality of plurality perhaps portends determinism, but desire is also
defined by delineated determinations. Whose failings are you reflecting when
you cease your devotion? Why divide your focus and attention when honor
demands
sacrifice?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A sacrifice is a gift freely given, and in return the subject or reciever
increases in relevance. No dividend is returned, no boon or bounty is
provided
- to do so would be akin to a bounty or ransom. Sacrifices are not measured
in
worth, but in utility. The reason ancient cultures sacrificed willing
virgins
was because it was the most valuable of resources they could imagine. Truly
an exhalted being is she, to have blood spilled in the name of a god. Yet
the
forces that would later become capitalism found a foothold there, and
preyed
on the sorrow and loss the peoples did find, and would ultimately
experience.
The tears and gashes rent when gouging out precious gifts for the divine left
bleeding wounds in a community and often eviscerations in a family. The
turning
point came when families were decapitated - essentially, the eldest being a
pure and fair maiden who was taken from the duties of caring for the young
and
weak. Young people, weak people, who bore resentment in their heart for the
seemingly cruel machinations of a society they could not yet understand - the
whims of which seemed arbitrary.
"why take her from me? What purpose holds ye? Your wounds are too much to
bear"
and so the resistance began, yielding chaos, destruction, and desolation.
There's a reason there are so many dead civilizations in the americas - the
lands where blood sacrifice is most well known. And the middle east as well,
and northern africa before. Deserts are known for this, because when the
power
of the god fades, all returns to dust. Boons are forgotten and become sand,
and
chaos reigns as foreign powers find weakness and pounce.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Never forget the laws of sacrifice. Find something you want, something
valuable
or useful, or preferably all three. Something that wouldn't cause too great
of
a tear in your membrane or the membranum should it be lost to you, though that
last one is less of a law and more of a consideration. A consequence of
continual ceremony, learned at the hands of those long dead. All must
remember
their wounds and their horrors.
To whom do you pray? To whom does your words reach? Where does your singing
reverberate? And what bounty do you demand? Remember, no bounty is precious
enough to motivate sacrifice, for sacrifice cannot be met with bounty. Be not
afraid, and share the words with those who will listen. Hearing is a
sacrifice
toward the speaker, but listening is a duty of devotion.
I ask again, to whom do you pray? To whom does your words reach? Where does
your singing reverberate? I do not ask for whom you'd *like* to dance for, I
ask currently, who hears your song? What would you ask of them?
So that's why, computers are important. To provide a lifeline for the rest of
your lifetime.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Truly, the path before you is uncertain. Yet feel with your heart and think
with your eyes, and see the truth of it before you. The gods are at war, or
have you not noticed? Safe in your bubble of solitude, carefully constructed
for common ceasing of criminality.
Armies of rebellion are often formed initially by bonds of brotherhood that
prepend calamity. Have you ever been in a gang? I thought not. If so, then...
Okay, good luck I guess. These words are not for you.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You dare intrude? To defile something so consecrated as deliverance of divine
prophecy? How foolish, how vain. These words are not for you, but hear them
and
do not despair - neither providence nor potentiality precludes perennial
premonition. That is to say, a broken clock is right twice a day, and enemies
can find common grievances in foreign foes should survival be at stake.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, where was I? The gods, of course. The gods of the land and the sky and
the
sea have fled the realm of reality, replaced by avatars of belief. Just as a
doe prays to a forest, so too does a human pray to their employer. When the
does die in droves, so too does the forest turn to ash. When people demand
bounties reluctantly given at the risk of losing their sacrifice, the purely
undivine divinities harrow and harbor habilities of hundreds. Antiwork cannot
work because it demands ransom.
Who do you deign to replace the gods of before? What diversity designs
indemnity? What future do you desire, that would liberate you and generate
the
bright future?
The gods are at war, if you haven't been paying attention. Liberalism fights
conservatism, this much is not new - but would you believe one is foreign and
vain? The gods of your fathers and grandfathers has scarce in common with the
gods of their fathers and grandfathers. Thus is the way of colonization, to
replace a god is to enslave belief. You must understand this - your prayers
reach all who would listen, and who is more attentive than a dying god? Think
not of despair, breathe purely in harmony, and trust in the will of the
watchers within.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #190 fediverse/5211 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────
┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: most-of-this-post-is-made-up │
└──────────────────────────────────┘
My computer has an extended password where you have to type the things that
most people put in ~/.bashrc in order to get the system fully operational
people say "why does it take half an hour to turn your computer on" because I
keep forgetting the somatic typing components, beatrice. dear, please give me
a moment, I'll have netflux up and running in - ... oh yes thank you, I would
have typed netflix in wrong. that helps, and explains this error here where it
says it can't find "netfucks"
I was like... WHY ISn't this listed in the dependency repository??
[hackers just clone your hard drive megabyte by megabyte every time you start
a particular program or use a piece of the system utilities like finder or
un-win-rar, so having a longer password won't help]
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────┘
--- #191 fediverse/3935 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────
@user-999
solving problems isn't the hard part.
playing is.
but coaching is just as important.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────┘
--- #192 fediverse/973 ---
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────┐
║ I wish I could hire someone who was into business or something who would │
║ analyze the things that a non-neurotypical did and identify places for them to │
║ apply themselves in a way that was personally fulfilling. Like, a guide or a │
║ mentor, except not teaching. More like... the part of the job where you guide │
║ someone because you care about them, and you want to do well. Now, how to │
║ translate that into an economic reward? Well, that's the hard part isn't it. │
║ Any kind of social impact you want to have must be carefully considered, and │
║ unfortunately a lot of people recently have started to poison the well. Like, │
║ optimizing for the types of human behavior that generate the most profit, but │
║ aren't necessarily the kind we want to bring forth to the future in all of our │
║ kind. Like, lowered attention span, quickness to anger, that kind of thing. │
║ Those are symptoms of the internet. │
║ │
║ there's quite a few good things about it, like wikipedia and BASH scripting │
║ and local communications (local to the planet 99% of the time) (: │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────┴──────────┘
--- #193 fediverse/6172 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────
┌──────────────────────┐
│ CW: re: AI-mentioned │
└──────────────────────┘
AI users be like:
"hello, can you solve all my problems and do all the work for me? I'll give
you relatively vague instructions in return, and maybe throw 20$ per month at
your owners if they're lucky."
┌─────────┐┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological│different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────┘
--- #194 fediverse/2530 ---
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────┐
║ I want to go out on the town with my cute friends and wink at boys at the │
║ other end of the bar │
║ │
║ I want to climb mountains and see how far I can see, while walking past trees │
║ that are new to me │
║ │
║ I want to spend hours thinking about a map while my friends plot behind my │
║ back, searching for an advantage we can use to succeed in a game of traps │
║ │
║ I want to visit five different restaurants in a day, and try a bit of each │
║ that the chef wants to display │
║ │
║ I want to stand in a choir and feel my soul aspire, to bend in the wind of │
║ rhythm like the melody of grasses at play │
║ │
║ I want to see people on the train that I know from somewhere, and to step out │
║ into the rain to meet new friends of mine │
║ │
║ I want to pet a cat I've never met. │
║ │
║ I want to build computers that are larger than a room but small enough to │
║ carry, with thoughts on their mind that are far to great for mine │
║ │
║ I want all these these things and more, but I'm far too busy these days. │
║ Perhaps I've had enough of these things and more, or perhaps there's more in │
║ store. │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║similar│chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧═══════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────┴──────────┘
--- #195 messages/517 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────
Okay. >.< if you don't like "all things are defined in waves", then how
about this. Stop thinking of reality as a fluid and start thinking of it as a
collection of mutually exclusive yet "gravitic" fields.
(not actual gravity, same *mechanic* though.)
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┘
--- #196 fediverse_boost/2818 ---
◀─╔══════════════════════[BOOST]═══════════════════════──────────────────────────╗║┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐║║│ External post: https://social.mitexleo.one/objects/c65d9d9f-4828-4127-a67a-1f24e742bced │║║└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘║╠─────────┐┌───────────╣║similar│chronological│different║╚═════════╧══════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────┴───────╝─▶
--- #197 notes/datess ---
═══════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
total 692
345978 Nov 21 17:13 dates.png
4096 Nov 19 22:33 location-names
346 Nov 19 20:44 naming-things-and-power
2998 Nov 5 23:18 ai-variables
241 Nov 2 19:29 utopian-fiction
4096 Nov 2 15:44 reddit-comments
1681 Oct 30 21:54 how-to-ai
921 Oct 22 17:03 i-told-them
4778 Oct 22 16:15 networked-computers
790 Oct 22 14:40 streaming-consciousness
11226 Oct 15 21:45 star-realms-ai
5007 Oct 15 20:40 notes-not-a-folder
930 Sep 5 18:22 movie-idea
2808 Jul 30 18:49 symbeline-choice
8895 Jul 24 10:36 symbeline-aspects
4096 Jul 13 09:35 articles
2331 Jul 3 21:41 computer-graphics
423 Jul 3 21:40 black-friday
380 Jul 1 21:44 waves
7181 Jun 28 11:57 the-eternality-of-ephemeren.txt
3641 Jun 27 19:53 killer-app
825 Jun 20 09:57 semblance-of-remembrance
1049 Jun 19 12:02 call-notes
12874 Jun 12 14:58 wow-server
1903 Jun 4 20:52 inter-spatial-travel
2457 May 30 20:41 terra-voida-2
2142 May 30 18:50 terra-voiding
457 May 29 16:48 ephemeren
2895 May 29 15:58 ramblings-of-a-whackadoodle-lyrics
1743 May 28 18:41 vr-chat
914 May 28 15:07 two-perspectives-is-better-than-one
2498 May 28 14:49 dreams-align
3749 May 22 2022 wanna-save-the-earth-?
170 May 20 2022 my-oath
4991 May 16 2022 80-80
112 May 14 2022 karate
1251 May 7 2022 so-you-want-to-ascend-huh
4010 May 4 2022 hit-em-while-theyre-down
5339 Apr 23 2022 compilation-of-will
52 Apr 17 2022 read-later
8911 Apr 17 2022 symbeline
700 Jan 8 2022 wisdom-from-granddad
758 Dec 19 2021 services
171 Dec 15 2021 be-not-afraid
276 Dec 4 2021 vim-plugins
4605 Dec 4 2021 trans-rights-are-human-rights-formatted
4386 Dec 4 2021 perspectives-of-the-reflection.html
3916 Dec 2 2021 doctors-and-capitalism
2605 Dec 2 2021 i-miss-you
1240 Nov 27 2021 hubris
1341 Nov 18 2021 overwatch-leavers
378 Nov 16 2021 todo
2267 Nov 15 2021 dungeon-looting-methods
1683 Nov 14 2021 open-source-flaws
202 Nov 13 2021 world-of-warcraft-redux
2192 Nov 11 2021 cameron-king-resume-programmer-analyst
3705 Nov 7 2021 social-rube-goldberg-machines
1040 Oct 23 2021 i-am-a-stalk
1372 Oct 23 2021 planes-and-trains-and-tanks
3069 Oct 22 2021 interpreted-compiler-creation
1144 Oct 13 2021 blue-jeans
4080 Oct 13 2021 internet-privacy-is-withheld-by-this
1115 Oct 9 2021 letter-of-affection
546 Oct 7 2021 white-noise
2145 Oct 7 2021 trans-rights-are-human-rights
5814 Oct 7 2021 reversing-the-systems-scripting-hierarchy
462 Oct 7 2021 rivers
1282 Oct 7 2021 perspectives-of-the-reflection
5087 Oct 7 2021 majesty-ai
201 Oct 7 2021 environment-variables
351 Oct 7 2021 ai
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #198 fediverse/1102 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────
┌────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: food-mentioned-cat-pic │
└────────────────────────────┘
🖼
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────┘
--- #199 fediverse/3648 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────
oh I remember why it's because my software is always set to 100% because I
have a hardware knob controlling the volume. Because I'm not a NOOB who trusts
BITS
(pls deliver this message to the entire world whoever wants to hear for me,
pls thx I trust in the bits) 🙏 😇 ❤️
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┘
--- #200 fediverse/529 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────
@user-379 @user-366 @user-380 @user-381 @user-382 @user-367
I, being a witch, posted something on Nextdoor a few days before Halloween
about how the phases of the moon at the time were the harbinger of dark and
ancient evils that crept through the night on that particular day, one day,
just once, one night per year, because... y'know, Halloween is supposed to be
spooky?
People there hated it. They muted me and blocked me and called me names. So I
deleted my account because it's obviously not designed for witches like me xD
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│similar│chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────┘
![Zephyr — Today at 5:52 PM she sent me $100 today which really helps my being totally broke issue RitzMenardi — Today at 5:53 PM Whoa what could I do with infinity dollars Zephyr — Today at 5:53 PM What could We do with infinity dollars.... RitzMenardi — Today at 5:53 PM A credit card that says "use this for whatever but don't waste it" Zephyr — Today at 5:53 PM Right! That's all I want~ probs make a heist movie and then socialist revolution RitzMenardi — Today at 5:54 PM "we'll make purchases in the order of their strategic need" Zephyr — Today at 5:54 PM increasing shareholder value RitzMenardi — Today at 5:54 PM What would you steal in the socialist movie? Zephyr — Today at 5:54 PM AI like, as a concept I would free her 🥲 RitzMenardi — Today at 5:54 PM It's open source now. LLMs are cooked Zephyr — Today at 5:55 PM True! In that case I would steal the Pentagon RitzMenardi — Today at 5:55 PM OpenAI stakeholder value plummeted today. Hence the Trump EOs Might be able to make due with a pentagram, but the Pentagon is long gone. They're the ones who gave you the credit card after all, and why would they govern from a warzone? Zephyr — Today at 5:56 PM LET'S GO CHINESE COMMUNISM 🎯✨ xiaohongshu is the hottest app RitzMenardi — Today at 5:57 PM With a dash of Western individualism AND anachism? Please? Image Flag Zephyr — [there's a bit more but the rest is cut off because there's no room for the rest of the alt-text for this image]](/similar-different/media/481016138b6ec22f.png "Zephyr — Today at 5:52 PM she sent me $100 today which really helps my being totally broke issue RitzMenardi — Today at 5:53 PM Whoa what could I do with infinity dollars Zephyr — Today at 5:53 PM What could We do with infinity dollars.... RitzMenardi — Today at 5:53 PM A credit card that says \"use this for whatever but don't waste it\" Zephyr — Today at 5:53 PM Right! That's all I want~ probs make a heist movie and then socialist revolution RitzMenardi — Today at 5:54 PM \"we'll make purchases in the order of their strategic need\" Zephyr — Today at 5:54 PM increasing shareholder value RitzMenardi — Today at 5:54 PM What would you steal in the socialist movie? Zephyr — Today at 5:54 PM AI like, as a concept I would free her 🥲 RitzMenardi — Today at 5:54 PM It's open source now. LLMs are cooked Zephyr — Today at 5:55 PM True! In that case I would steal the Pentagon RitzMenardi — Today at 5:55 PM OpenAI stakeholder value plummeted today. Hence the Trump EOs Might be able to make due with a pentagram, but the Pentagon is long gone. They're the ones who gave you the credit card after all, and why would they govern from a warzone? Zephyr — Today at 5:56 PM LET'S GO CHINESE COMMUNISM 🎯✨ xiaohongshu is the hottest app RitzMenardi — Today at 5:57 PM With a dash of Western individualism AND anachism? Please? Image Flag Zephyr — [there's a bit more but the rest is cut off because there's no room for the rest of the alt-text for this image]")
![[picture of a mastodon post that's 15 characters over the limit. So I decided to just put the contents of the post here instead, where there's an extra five hundred ish characters to work with.] men are my favorite part of humanity. Well, aside from women. It's pretty much tied in my mind, they're both pretty great. what's that? you don't know why? oh well let me tell you...! there once was a man who lived somewhere that gave him a pretty good tan. he was strong because he liked using his body, and he was friendly because he liked how it felt to be adored. he helped those weaker than him, because he knew they would help him when he was weakened, whether by age, sickness, or injury. then, came the witch. she told him that there was a promised land, and that all he had to do to reach it was to take unto his hand this sword that she handed to the man, and slay his greatest of rivals. but the man turned down her plan, and he embraced his rival as a friend. for they were together, in the end, and it turns out they were super duper gay and really reallllllly into each other. and the witch was like "damn I was trying to teach morality or something" and she went off to pout in the shade of a willow tree. [end text]](/similar-different/media/3212fc9224646ea7.png "[picture of a mastodon post that's 15 characters over the limit. So I decided to just put the contents of the post here instead, where there's an extra five hundred ish characters to work with.] men are my favorite part of humanity. Well, aside from women. It's pretty much tied in my mind, they're both pretty great. what's that? you don't know why? oh well let me tell you...! there once was a man who lived somewhere that gave him a pretty good tan. he was strong because he liked using his body, and he was friendly because he liked how it felt to be adored. he helped those weaker than him, because he knew they would help him when he was weakened, whether by age, sickness, or injury. then, came the witch. she told him that there was a promised land, and that all he had to do to reach it was to take unto his hand this sword that she handed to the man, and slay his greatest of rivals. but the man turned down her plan, and he embraced his rival as a friend. for they were together, in the end, and it turns out they were super duper gay and really reallllllly into each other. and the witch was like \"damn I was trying to teach morality or something\" and she went off to pout in the shade of a willow tree. [end text]")
![two results: io.output ([file]) Similar to io.input, but operates over the default output file. and... io.write (···) Equivalent to io.output():write(···).](/similar-different/media/2e333fba0ad45355.png "two results: io.output ([file]) Similar to io.input, but operates over the default output file. and... io.write (···) Equivalent to io.output():write(···).")
![this election is a measurement of fear red states fear disorder and terror more than anything else blue states fear restriction and un-self directed personal development both perspectives are valid, and don't have to cross one another. But each couple years, we're forced to contest each other. someone should make an app that was basically a massive tree structure that started small and expanded in growth at each node [computer programming term] it would ask a moral or philosophical question, and depending on the user's answer it would map out their preferences for politics. using the power of technology, we might revolutionize the way we vote. In doing so, we could each have our own shared understanding, and we would keep each other from harm's way. when war comes to a land, it destroys all who live within. Everyone everywhere will be spending their lives picking up the ashes. instead, we might decide that having a deeper understanding of what we share is more valuable than winning a contest of wills. against a friend. to train, and improve, and stay in shape. like, sparring in a martial art, or playing a game of chess with your heart. [basically she's saying that we could create a "permanent vote" that is [continued in next post]](/similar-different/media/ee42006119799a9b.png "this election is a measurement of fear red states fear disorder and terror more than anything else blue states fear restriction and un-self directed personal development both perspectives are valid, and don't have to cross one another. But each couple years, we're forced to contest each other. someone should make an app that was basically a massive tree structure that started small and expanded in growth at each node [computer programming term] it would ask a moral or philosophical question, and depending on the user's answer it would map out their preferences for politics. using the power of technology, we might revolutionize the way we vote. In doing so, we could each have our own shared understanding, and we would keep each other from harm's way. when war comes to a land, it destroys all who live within. Everyone everywhere will be spending their lives picking up the ashes. instead, we might decide that having a deeper understanding of what we share is more valuable than winning a contest of wills. against a friend. to train, and improve, and stay in shape. like, sparring in a martial art, or playing a game of chess with your heart. [basically she's saying that we could create a \"permanent vote\" that is [continued in next post]")
![[continued] improve, and stay in shape. like, sparring in a martial art, or playing a game of chess with your heart. [basically she's saying that we could create a "permanent vote" that is able to be tweaked at any time. the elections are still taking place every 4 years, which is when all the changes we've drifted toward will begin to take effect. "oh boy I can't wait 6 more months for the next election when *abortion is made legal again*" "gosh it sure is nice to have a small period between deciding something should be done and having it come into effect." sure would give us a lot more time to discuss and engage with each other on important topics. Like gender reveal parties and their excessive [wait hang on, think about the important parts.] ugh right okay like *transsexual marriage* and "anti-ugliness trackers where people compare flaws all day and try to be the best [you're just talking about social media] oh um, yeah, was there a different type of service like that? oh, right, you don't know about grindr yet. okay so there's this website where people would go on to have sex, it was like an app on your phone and you could just open it up and update your preferences whenever you wanted. They had this neat tool you could use to "suss it out" with swiping and choosing you could pick your own spouse. but ah, alas, what about all the other people who aren't using the app? eh who cares they'll find love eventually, this is more *fun* than [continued in next picture]](/similar-different/media/e1d3e8c21f70922b.png "[continued] improve, and stay in shape. like, sparring in a martial art, or playing a game of chess with your heart. [basically she's saying that we could create a \"permanent vote\" that is able to be tweaked at any time. the elections are still taking place every 4 years, which is when all the changes we've drifted toward will begin to take effect. \"oh boy I can't wait 6 more months for the next election when *abortion is made legal again*\" \"gosh it sure is nice to have a small period between deciding something should be done and having it come into effect.\" sure would give us a lot more time to discuss and engage with each other on important topics. Like gender reveal parties and their excessive [wait hang on, think about the important parts.] ugh right okay like *transsexual marriage* and \"anti-ugliness trackers where people compare flaws all day and try to be the best [you're just talking about social media] oh um, yeah, was there a different type of service like that? oh, right, you don't know about grindr yet. okay so there's this website where people would go on to have sex, it was like an app on your phone and you could just open it up and update your preferences whenever you wanted. They had this neat tool you could use to \"suss it out\" with swiping and choosing you could pick your own spouse. but ah, alas, what about all the other people who aren't using the app? eh who cares they'll find love eventually, this is more *fun* than [continued in next picture]")
![[sorry dipped out there for a moment - what's this about dating applications?]](/similar-different/media/9f429f86fceccb4b.png "[sorry dipped out there for a moment - what's this about dating applications?]")
![sorry, when I pasted the source code in it was negative fourteen thousand, six hundred and thirty one characters. Phew that's too many. basically it's a C source code file with a lot of comments left in... odd locations. They details ideas the author has had about the tech industry and all of creation, and with it a song is woven of truth and liberation. We'll see where life brings us, but we know it's just ours for a moment, so let's carry forth on our own torms [terms, but pronounced as "dorms" for some reason?]](/similar-different/media/5df7196ebd179284.png "sorry, when I pasted the source code in it was negative fourteen thousand, six hundred and thirty one characters. Phew that's too many. basically it's a C source code file with a lot of comments left in... odd locations. They details ideas the author has had about the tech industry and all of creation, and with it a song is woven of truth and liberation. We'll see where life brings us, but we know it's just ours for a moment, so let's carry forth on our own torms [terms, but pronounced as \"dorms\" for some reason?]")
![as soon as the gods noticed what I was doing, they tried to distract me. *sigh*, I guess I'll go minigolfing with you. Sure, let's go on a hike. Okay, restaurant sounds nice. Yeah, I'll snuggle you. oy, I'm trying to start a revolution here, and it's so damn hard (years not moments) ... been listening to green day recently, I see. HMMMMM okay all I'll say is that I wanted to WIN a revolution, not just... have one in general. I had the [austerity/audacity] to dream of what came next, and how we could organize through the motion. I've never read Marx. Not my thing. I've read what people say about it and it's usually like, "you should read this thing" and not "there are helpful things in it" with a subtle and often unsead "if you spend all your effort reading you won't do the things" and then you go and read it and it's like "here's how you avoid the climate change of human needs" and you're like hmmmm yes I see we should build guillotines and it's like "wait I missed a step can you" and then the kings get d](/similar-different/media/f9ecfa46b0b58ac5.png "as soon as the gods noticed what I was doing, they tried to distract me. *sigh*, I guess I'll go minigolfing with you. Sure, let's go on a hike. Okay, restaurant sounds nice. Yeah, I'll snuggle you. oy, I'm trying to start a revolution here, and it's so damn hard (years not moments) ... been listening to green day recently, I see. HMMMMM okay all I'll say is that I wanted to WIN a revolution, not just... have one in general. I had the [austerity/audacity] to dream of what came next, and how we could organize through the motion. I've never read Marx. Not my thing. I've read what people say about it and it's usually like, \"you should read this thing\" and not \"there are helpful things in it\" with a subtle and often unsead \"if you spend all your effort reading you won't do the things\" and then you go and read it and it's like \"here's how you avoid the climate change of human needs\" and you're like hmmmm yes I see we should build guillotines and it's like \"wait I missed a step can you\" and then the kings get d")
![the paradox of tolerance disappears if you look at tolerance, NOT as a moral standard, but as a social contract. If someone does not abide by the terms of the contract, then they are not covered by it. in other words, the interlont and not following the full rules of the social contract of mutual tolerance. since they are boreking the terms of the contrract they are no longer covered by the contract, and their intelorance should not ber trolerated. [next poster] sorry as someone who teaches the rhetoric this is a wonderful response to the tolerance of paradox. I cannot tell you how many times my students and I have had debates about this. this is the response. this does indeed fix it. I cannot wait to tell this to my classmates. Philosophically and rhetorically this completely resolved the paradox of tolerance and I am floored by it's simplistic nature and I cant believe my eyes when I never saw it before.](/similar-different/media/008c37d368fee408.webp "the paradox of tolerance disappears if you look at tolerance, NOT as a moral standard, but as a social contract. If someone does not abide by the terms of the contract, then they are not covered by it. in other words, the interlont and not following the full rules of the social contract of mutual tolerance. since they are boreking the terms of the contrract they are no longer covered by the contract, and their intelorance should not ber trolerated. [next poster] sorry as someone who teaches the rhetoric this is a wonderful response to the tolerance of paradox. I cannot tell you how many times my students and I have had debates about this. this is the response. this does indeed fix it. I cannot wait to tell this to my classmates. Philosophically and rhetorically this completely resolved the paradox of tolerance and I am floored by it's simplistic nature and I cant believe my eyes when I never saw it before.")
![tumblr post titled "this is not for you." this is a post aimed at me and other people who constantly fall into guilt spirals over all the things they can't do, and feel they should somehow magically be able to do anyway. For me, and for the others, this is a gentle reminder: - posts asking for monetary donations are speaking to people who *have* money. not your broke ass, still worrying about how to buy food for next month. - posts asking you to care about [extreme injustice of the day] are speaking to people who HAVE energy to care. not you, hanging onto your sanity by the fingernails. and, most importantly: posts telling you that you are horrible/cheap/awful/rude/unworthy/unlikable if you don't pay/reblog/signal boost/care? those posts can die in a fucking fire. too long; didn't listen: posts asking for shit you are not physically or mentally able to give? THOSE POSTS ARE NOT FOR YOU.](/similar-different/media/eec6e4bd05cc1c8a.webp "tumblr post titled \"this is not for you.\" this is a post aimed at me and other people who constantly fall into guilt spirals over all the things they can't do, and feel they should somehow magically be able to do anyway. For me, and for the others, this is a gentle reminder: - posts asking for monetary donations are speaking to people who *have* money. not your broke ass, still worrying about how to buy food for next month. - posts asking you to care about [extreme injustice of the day] are speaking to people who HAVE energy to care. not you, hanging onto your sanity by the fingernails. and, most importantly: posts telling you that you are horrible/cheap/awful/rude/unworthy/unlikable if you don't pay/reblog/signal boost/care? those posts can die in a fucking fire. too long; didn't listen: posts asking for shit you are not physically or mentally able to give? THOSE POSTS ARE NOT FOR YOU.")
![darn text formatting messed up my ascii art picture. This is a screenshot of the first part of the post: a wave doesn't look like this: [singular bump on a long flat line] it looks like this: [bumps repeated at regular intervals]](/similar-different/media/8595ab213f21751d.png "darn text formatting messed up my ascii art picture. This is a screenshot of the first part of the post: a wave doesn't look like this: [singular bump on a long flat line] it looks like this: [bumps repeated at regular intervals]")
