Stringbender @Stringbender@mastodon.xyz

Please boost if it’s okay to befriend you, ask questions, ask for advice, rant, vent, let something off your chest, or just have a nice chat.

Quit my job today. Boost to celebrate. 🎺

okay so my proposal is that we make companies data mine research papers and we put our personal data behind paywalls instead

Google shutters the Google+ social network after Wall Street Journal reports a huge security lapse

https://www.businessinsider.com/google-shutters-google-social-network-after-wsj-reports-a-huge-security-lapse-2018-10

Computers could last forever if we wanted them to. There's hardly any technological hurdles to jump there. There's only capitalism, insisting that we have More Better devices all the time, and carefully engineering an in-or-out software ecosystem that constantly gets less efficient just to make sure that old devices stop being useful.
I hate it so much.

Bodily autonomy should override intellectual property in all cases. If it can be shown beyond reasonable doubt that a piece of tech is essential to your continued survival (e.g. pacemakers, artificial hearts, insulin pumps), then you should be the only one who gets to say who can and can't audit its software and read the full technical documentation. The ability to access it yourself shouldn't be something you can waive by signing any contract, it should be fundamental and non-negotiable.

I made a mason jar lamp with a magnetic switch!

RT @vgkits@twitter.com: Have roughly 100pcs of these 800 point breadboards with power rails to give away to community and schools projects for the price of postage from UK, or pick up for free from our @MorecambeWest@twitter.com HQ. Usual Freecycle rules... https://wiki.freecycle.org/How_To_Use_Freecycle#How_should_I_choose_who_to_give_to.3F

Mysterious phenomenon (and also embarrassing thing wot I did during a recent maritime aviation exercise):

Reported an aircraft inbound to the ship, facing us head-on (deduced from being able to see both its red and green sidelights).

It was inbound for a *really* long time.

It was, in fact, Capella.

I didn't even know it was possible for stars to twinkle red-and-green!

(Since then, I have been looking out for ones that do; the best examples I've seen so far being Sirius and Betelgeuse)

RIP Chas Hodges (from Chas and Dave), 1943-2018..

Central heating wasn't that common in British houses until the 1980s, 1970s era fridges weren't always that big either (so the matriarch of the house would often object to them being filled up with booze), so the sideboard was cold enough to keep English ale in at a reasonable temperature 😆 🍻

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axm8c2ble0U

Read this. This article pretty summarizes what I see every day. And when I criticize it, half of the audience doesn't understand my point. They are simply to young and grew up with smart phones and fast lines.

"Software disenchantment": http://tonsky.me/blog/disenchantment/ via kurtm@bsd.network

I got this banana phone as a joke but it turns out it's the best Bluetooth headset I've ever used.

Help, I'm managing an international consulting firm via banana.

if you happen to know tech folx im.. probably just gonna grit my teeth and find a tech-job

if you know anyone looking for a remote or seattle worker with 3 years of navy experience/honorable discharge and a knack for troubleshooting/problem solving/10 years of self taught programming in a good few languages, send 'em my way, please.

ideally they'll be willing to accept that im trans, queer, disabled, have PTSD, etc.

if not i am used to hiding huge aspects of myself to survive in this capitalist hellscape. 🤷 gotta make rent.

boosts wanted. shifted to my public facing account because reasons