friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Got an odd email to my old Gmail address that I only keep around for legacy reasons, asking about an Emacs package I wrote. I'm not sure where they even got that address. It can't be found anywhere in the repository, and my current address is clearly in the README and on every single commit.

Anyhow, I don't even understand what they're asking, but I think they think I've used an AI agent to write the code and are asking about its configuration? I want to reply that I have no need of such things because I'm an actual programmer with an actual brain, but that would probably come off kind of asshole-ish, and I could be wrong about what they're asking.

Then again, this whole email could have been written by a hallucinating AI. Who knows?

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Sometimes I wish I were less of a perfectionist. I was baking cookies for a potluck tomorrow. The recipe called for the dough to be rolled out into one inch balls. There may or may not have been a caliper involved.

In my defense though, they turned out amazingly. Now I just have to not eat them before they get to where they're going. I did have to eat some though, but strictly for QA purposes.

a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet filled with freshly baked peanut butter cookies

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Sometimes I like researching obscure mathematical topics just for fun. The frustrating thing I occasionally run into is notation that I don't know how to interpret. This turns out to be rather difficult to search for online.

For example: I'm doing some research into finite fields, and I have encountered something that looks like ℤ/pℤ.

I know that ℤ typically represents the set of integers. I'm also given that p, in this case, represents an arbitrary prime number. From context, I think it's meant to represent the set {0, 1, 2,... p-1}, but I could be wrong, and, if so, I don't follow the logic.

I'm trying to brush up on my set theory, but nothing I've seen thus far explains it.

Edit for additional context: The document I'm reading is at:
people.math.harvard.edu/~lande…

Page 3

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mastodon - Link to source

I feel like the way some folks are expressing annoyance with the goose discourse, that they're not viscerally connecting with the symbolism the way most of us are.

🤔

Like, I *feel* this meme. It's representative of my whole life, of having my lifeforce sucked out of me by parasites until I'm ill at age 50 and have nothing to show for it. It's a rare but accidental honesty from the clueless fucks who rule this world. It's the entire story of each of us and the whole world told in a handful of phrases and images.

"Goose is not valued" feels like a rallying cry for valuable people who are only just now starting to realize...

...that we do have value.

And that the only way they're going to understand our value is if we make them.

#goose #goosetodon #gooseWasNotValued

#goose #goosewasnotvalued #goosetodon

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friendica (DFRN) - Link to source
terrible opinion that harms my faith in humanity

Overheard today: "The best thing we can do for all these drug addicts is to throw them in jail. It's not nice but it'll get 'em clean."

Why is it that the people with the most uninformed opinions always seem to also have the loudest ones?

Edit: deleted and reposted because I realized it should've been CW'd.

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

So, for a while now, after hearing a bunch of #ActuallyAutistic individuals talking about their experiences, I've been asserting that I wouldn't be shocked to learn that I was on the autistic spectrum.

Today, for shits and giggles, I decided to take the AQ and RAADS-R tests, and scored "very strong alignment with autistic traits" on both. While I'm not shocked to learn this, I have to admit, I didn't expect to score that high.

#actuallyautistic

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source
fast food

Katy and I both love Taco Bell, but we seldom get it because:

A) It's expensive
B) It's not exactly healthy

...but it was a special occasion, so we did today.

As I was picking up our order, out of nowhere, the guy behind me in line asks "Have you tried the Diablo sauce?" He then, before I can even answer, proceeds to tell the young woman working the counter—who seemed as taken aback by this exchange as I was—to give me some Diablo sauce. I don't object because... I mean... what the hell is even happening?

I figure this guy either really loves this sauce or is getting a kickback somehow. If the latter, I guess Taco Bell has adopted a weirdly aggressive marketing campaign, because... who does that?

Anyhow, it was okay, I guess...

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mastodon - Link to source

"Humans are to blame for climate change".

Really? Is a Bangladeshi seamstress to blame? Is a street child from a Brazilian favela to blame? Or perhaps a subsistence fisherman from Somalia or an elderly tribeswoman from Papua New Guinea?

Some quite specific humans are to blame.

This entry was edited (Friday, June 26, 2026, 11:57 AM)
in reply to Nicole Parsons

mastodon - Link to source

Nicole Parsons

4/

40. Marc J. Rowan $8,721,299
41. Jeffrey Specher, Kelly Loeffler $7,052,013
42. John L. Nau III $7,030,556
43. John & Shannon V. Addison $6,757,065
44. Robert H. Book $6,986,387
45. Susan Fox $6,687,414
46. Patricia Perkins-Leone $6,606,600
47. Jeffrey Hildebrand $6,508,389
48. Bernard Marcus $9,397,150
49. Steve Brodie $6,481,298
50. Daniel Newlin $6,063,928
51. Trevor D. Rees-Jones $5,765,124
52. Ross & Sarah Perot $5,643,416
53. Harold C. Simmons $5,596,530

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in reply to Nicole Parsons

mastodon - Link to source

Nicole Parsons

5/

54. Kelly Navarro $5,373,100
55. Alice Walton $10,248,000
56. Rob Granieri $5,587,899

opensecrets.org/elections-over…

Entities who bought corrupt Supreme Court Justices, 147 congressional election deniers, and the most corrupt president in American history.

motherjones.com/politics/2026/…

nytimes.com/interactive/2021/0…

motherjones.com/politics/2025/…

forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/…

jacobin.com/2023/04/clarence-t…

nytimes.com/2026/05/06/us/poli…

fixthecourt.com/2024/07/recent…

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/bill…

The US supreme court just basically legalized bribery | Moira Donegan

By sheer coincidence, this ruling concerns the sort of generous ‘gifts’ and ‘gratuities’ that justices have been known to accept
Moira Donegan (the Guardian)
in reply to Nicole Parsons

mastodon - Link to source

Nicole Parsons

6/

1. SpaceX $288,723,409
2. Adelson Clinic/Miriam Adelson $146,881,700
3. Uline Inc $146,027,201
4. Citadel LLC $108,669,316
5. Susquehanna International Group $101,468,362
6. Andreessen Horowitz $89,036,553
7. Empower Parents PAC $82,500,000
8. Coinbase $79,008,020
9. Elliott Management $68,846,510
10. Securing American Greatness $67,558,284
11. Senate Leadership Fund $67,445,300
12. Club for Growth $59,846,594
13. Koch Inc $49,092,685
14. Blackstone Group $48,609,890

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in reply to Nicole Parsons

mastodon - Link to source

Nicole Parsons

7/

15. Stand Together Chamber of Commerce $44,801,948
16. Restoration PAC $41,168,363
17. Crownquest Operating $35,752,512
18. Bigelow Aerospace $34,991,590
19. Building America's Future $33,670,000
20. Stephens Inc $27,343,518
21. British American Tobacco $26,175,838
22. American Prosperity Alliance $22,549,000
23. Manzanita Management Group $22,159,143
24. America First Action/America First Policies $21,724,798
25. Mountaire Corp $21,375,080
26. Reyes Holdings $21,192,607

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in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

mastodon - Link to source

Maddie

What did they do now? You reminded me, a while ago, I tried to use my multimeter, but the 9V was dead, so I swapped it, and that one was dead, too.

I figured the dozens of others in the office cabinet must be dead, too, so I went home to use a crappy multimeter to measure the batteries, and *that* 9V was also dead. I swapped it once more, and it finally let me measure the others.

6.6 volts, 6.6 volts, and 9.5 volts (zinc-chloride). And then the battery dies, that I had just swapped in.

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Trying to install #Debian on another machine, but #Windows is being stubborn. I accidentally let it boot into Windows 10 and now it's insisting on installing updates before it reboots. Holding the power button to force a shutdown appears to have been disabled somehow.

Fine, whatever. It's not like I have anything else to do tonight.

#windows #Debian
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Jonathan Lamothe

Welp, I've hit a snag. The installer doesn't seem to be talking to to the wifi card. The laptop has no ethernet port. I have a USB to ethernet adapter, but the laptop has only one USB-A port (and a USB micro port, weirdly?). The USB port is occupied by the flash drive with the installer. I've tried using a USB hub to make more ports available, but then the system can't see the flash drive.

I'm at a loss.

#Debian

#Debian
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

mastodon - Link to source

HankB

Luckily I've not had to deal with this situation, but I am aware of two work-arounds.

1. Best may be to include the driver you need - if you can determine what it is - on the install media.
2. Next best is to perform a minimal install to get a bootable system and then use the USB/Eth adapter to find, download and install the WiFi driver. (This will rule out the 'netinst' media.)

'lsusb' and 'lspci' should help to ID the WiFi module. Or documentation for the laptop may help.

HTH,

in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

mastodon - Link to source

Matthew Skala

Does the flash drive need to remain inserted after the installer boots? Quite often they don't.

And something else to consider, which I've found useful in similar situations in the past, would be a "live" USB key rather than an "installer" one. Often those are able to get to the point where you can remove the USB key, and then have enough of a system to pursue other install methods.

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mastodon - Link to source
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🎶 A new system of changing information as applied to a musical context. 🎶

June 29th, 8pm, Shakedown Street, Benson, OMAHA

No cover 🆓

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friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

I got an entry-level Wacom tablet as an early birthday present. As I was forewarned, it takes a little bit of getting used to.

One of the tips I was given on how to get used to it is to ditch my mouse (trackball, in my case) and just use the tablet as my day-to-day pointing device. The only problem with this strategy is that, outside of when I'm actually drawing, probably 90% of my computer use is keyboard-driven (including the browser (qutebrowser) that I'm using right now).

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mastodon - Link to source

youtu.be/1blm5zxUvLk

A video of my speech to Tri-Pride festival here in Waterloo Region on June 6. Runs about 16 minutes all told, probably 12 of them are me. The other four are a very kind introduction by the MC and former head of Tri-Pride and my good friend, Kamil Ahmed (he/him).

The reference to Jan Liggett and Adam Cooper near the end is to this story:

youtu.be/-MbfgMNiXk8

My speech has a few naughty words in it, so maybe don't put the sound up high if you're gonna be overheard by a prude.

Sorry about the sound quality - the wind was a bit fierce, and I haven't received the second angle we set up yet, which hopefully will have different windy bits.

Tri-Pride 2026 Speech: Cait Glasson

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.
Fullmetal Feminist (YouTube)

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mastodon - Link to source

Mark Connolly

Thanks for sharing your story here! Waterloo Region is fortunate to have benefited from 30 years of your activism. And from your ongoing activism in this municipal election year!

And yeah, the wind noise is something, but your message got through 😀❤️

This entry was edited (Sunday, June 7, 2026, 11:03 PM)
Jonathan Lamothe reshared this.

mastodon - Link to source

Ok, I toss this out every 6mos or so as fedi grows...

I'm gathering local connections of fedi folk in #Guelph and area. Get some low key meatspace hang outs going on.

Walks, masked movie nights or board games, knitting in a coffee shop, hanging out at the library...

I'm hoping to do more structured events at some point but am pretty low energy these days so keeping it simple.

We have a signal group to connect and organise. Hit me up if you'd like an invite.

🔄✨

#fediLocal #covidCautious

#CovidCautious #guelph #fedilocal
This entry was edited (Sunday, June 21, 2026, 5:10 PM)

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in reply to Valerie Roney

mastodon - Link to source

Valerie Roney

And I am once again looking to hire someone to come in for 2hr/week to help with food prep and house cleaning. Pays $20/hr, DT #Guelph

In particular, we're getting a weekly CSA produce delivery and need help to make sure we use it up. We're two burned out autistics, so aren't great at improvising or meal planning on the fly.

Just need a chill grounded person to help keep the basics under control so we can spend our spoons on building resiliency (and fun, we need fun!) .

🔄✨

#getFediHired

#getfedihired #guelph

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in reply to Valerie Roney

mastodon - Link to source

Cat

I'm not in your country but you are so seen right now

I myself have trouble getting through meal kit boxes due to all the food prep, but I still get them because I don't want to draw a blank at dinnertime and end up eating nothing but cereal every night, not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that, but I really like vegetables

I hope you find your helper!!!

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mastodon - Link to source

Anyone have ridiculous #InternetOfShit examples you're really fond of?

Toasters, coffee machines, or microwaves that don't work without Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Vacuum, TV, or toothbrush botnets. Preferably something you have a picture of, from first hand experience.

I teach an #EmbeddedSystems class, and it's good to show examples of what *not* to do, in case they pursue the industry. (Boost for reach appreciated)

#InternetOfThings #IOT

#internetofshit #IoT #embeddedsystems #internetofthings

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friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Picked up a used #bicycle for @Katy Lamothe because the battery on her e-bike is not holding a charge any more. Our car is very small, but it wasn't terribly far so I had her drop me off for the pick-up and I just rode it home while she took the car back.

I am in much worse shape than I expected. We'll be working on that this summer though.

#bicycle @Katy Lamothe
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hometown - Link to source
I feel like this whole Anthropic export ban thing should be a wakeup call to anyone outside the US that if you've been newly developing a dependency on a proprietary US cloud service the government could decide to restrict export access to at any moment, you've made a strategic error and should probably reconsider that.

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hometown - Link to source
work llms "ai"

Sensitive content

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friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Broke the #bicycle out for the first time this summer. I got this thing second-hand from Facebook marketplace a couple years back and never really had it serviced. I know I probably should.

Anyhow, the brakes were feeling kind of off, so I decided to have a look at them to see if it was a simple enough problem that I could fix myself. I don't know the first thing about bike repair, but after a few moments of following cables and using my eyes and brain, I was able to determine that whoever last did the brakes on this thing knew even less about what they were doing than I did.

Long story short, my rear brakes actually work now—though I should probably have someone who knows what they're doing have a look at it. I just lack the funds to do so at present.

Also, bike repair is less scary than I originally thought.

#bicycle
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

mastodon - Link to source

Matthew Skala

The mere service of creating certificates isn't an issue - you can do that yourself. I did before Let's Encrypt existed.

The problem is that you need to use a service that is authorized by an authority trusted by major browsers - and all of the major browsers have strong US ties. So even if you could replace Let's Encrypt as such with a service that, in itself, isn't US-based, it wouldn't really solve the problem of being dependent on US-based entities.

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source
CW: ph, mention of blood

Had to replace my glucose monitor because it turns out that they expire (who knew?)

Anyhow, I officially hate the new one. It's clunkier, has a worse interface (everything is pictographs instead of text), requires more blood, is slower, and the first reading I got from it was very decidedly wrong (presumably because I hadn't applied enough blood). It said 3.2 mmol/L. I'm pretty sure I'd be, if not dead, at least feeling a little off at that reading. Did a second test (with more blood) and got a more reasonable result.

Jonathan Lamothe reshared this.

glitchsoc - Link to source
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#Monsterdon You know, schools are just buildings.

If there's a lawless zone surrounding the school building, you could just hold school somewhere else.

#monsterdon

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in reply to Andy L.

glitchsoc - Link to source

Andy L.

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#Monsterdon This is such an old-man premise for a movie.

The kids these days. They're out of control! Not respectful like we were back in the olden days.

If this continues we'll need to use institutional violence to keep the kids in line!

Who is this movie for?

#monsterdon
in reply to Andy L.

glitchsoc - Link to source

Andy L.

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#Monsterdon If I was in charge of converting war robots to teachers, I'd probably have removed the ammo from their rocket launchers.

To prevent damage to the facilities if nothing else.

#monsterdon

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in reply to Ben Ramsey

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Jonathan Lamothe

@Ben Ramsey @Andy L. Yeah, that made zero sense to me too. I mean, it's not exactly as though there was a whole lot about this movie thay made sense to begin with.

Jonathan Lamothe

2026-06-08 02:00:48

friendica - Link to source

Now that we've set them at each other's throats, rather than letting the problem resolve itself, let's just kill them all.

So, what was the point of this whole ruse then? I take it all back.

#monsterdon


@Ben Ramsey @Andy L.

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