@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

jackwilliambell

@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com

Whenever you are past the edge, out in the wind, look for me.

NOTICE: All posts by this account are copyright to the author (Jack William Bell) and may be shared and remixed by human beings. Any use in Large Language Models or other AI training is specifically disallowed and considered an egregious violation of copyright.

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shoq, to random
@shoq@mastodon.social avatar

For all that it did right, Mastodon made a massive unforced error not realizing that the key to social media propagation was keeping journalists happy. Instead, it alienated 90% of them with grievances and brow beatings about how they were pesky interlopers. BlueSky and Threads merely had to toss them a handful of candy, and promise them others, and it was like flipping a switch that sucked them out of here like runaway ShopVac. But I am convinced that many can be brought back.

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@shoq

What if I told you I don't care if Mastodon (or, really, the ) does anything to keep anyone happy. What if I told you most people get wrong because they want to do it at scale and replicate the failed power law experience of Twitter?

> https://www.cs.cornell.edu/home/kleinber/networks-book/networks-book-ch18.pdf

What if I told you the best way to do social media is the same way you do other social things: in the small scale where you can have a conversation instead of treating it like a broadcast medium?

jackwilliambell, to japanese
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

Today I learned the equivalent of the phrase 'Food Porn' is '飯テロ' or 'Meshi Tero', where the 'tero' part is a borrow word for 'terrorism'.

The literal translation is 'Food Terrorism'. Consider that in relation to the Japanese penchant for filling their streams with pictures of every single thing they eat.

Longplay_Games, to random
@Longplay_Games@mstdn.games avatar

I used to really suggest Tidal frequently because they were better for artists than Spotify, if you were into the streaming thing.

Unfortunately, as of today they've retired their Roku app, adding that to their graveyard of supported platforms (along with my digital audio player, my living room hifi streamer, and my tablet)

So I'm left with just my phone (since if I could use the web client, I'd already have access to my media).

Guess I'm done with them.

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@Longplay_Games @pluralistic

I've been saying this for years. (And doing it.) But then I'm an old fart and no one listens to what I say.

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@Longplay_Games

FWIW? I don't do file sharing. I still buy on physical media, unless downloads are the only option. I rip music and DVDs myself and hand-curate my digital library, but I keep the physical media.

Same goes for books, except I never got into ebooks much. Tried, but I prefer the feel and smell of a real paper book. Like I said, I'm an old fart.

rayckeith, to random
@rayckeith@techhub.social avatar

if someone can publish (this dreck I just read), then I should be able publish my book.

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@rayckeith

I'm guessing this is a grouse and not a serious complaint. I'm sure you know publishing a book, like every other opportunity, isn't solely determined by quality or fitness.

What we need is luck. And that's something I've seen rarely in my own life.

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@rayckeith

[nods] Yeah…

Same is true for actors becoming movie stars and every other black swan event. For every success there are thousands of nearly-a-success and millions of not-a-success.

I've thought a bit about Jay's methods and, although they won't work for me, there might be different ways to change the odds a little that would.

That said? I haven't found any so far. Did I mention Jay went so far as to make pins with his name on them and get everyone he could to wear them at cons?

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@rayckeith

No, he was talented enough. Ever read any of his stuff? Basically literary SF and fantasy with odd settings.

The point is, the pins meant editors and publishers at the cons knew his name. And he figured that meant they'd remember if one of his stories came over the transom. And then he got lucky and that meant the next book was repped by an agent.

He was a great guy and a blast at parties. I liked him, even if I'm basically the opposite personality type.

rayckeith, to classicalmusic
@rayckeith@techhub.social avatar

https://youtu.be/gDm4IphrlYg?si=wJLHPjPBWdzhAhvr

J. S. Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D minor on the glass harp
#classical #music #bach

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@rayckeith

FWIW, I used to work with the guy profiled in this article:

> Keeping the Ethereal Sounds of the Glass Armonica Alive. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ben-franklin-singing-bowl-glass-armonica

Here's a Youtube search of his pieces.

> https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=William+Zeitler+

Bill is an interesting guy.

jackwilliambell, to art
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

Turns out? The and of and construction is a LOT older than previously thought. Like, older than homo sapiens older!

> 476,000-year-old ancient woodworking discovery rewrites early human history. https://www.earth.com/news/476000-year-old-ancient-woodworking-discovery-rewrites-early-human-history/

jackwilliambell, to Economics
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

Just read @pluralistic's latest and now I'm angry all over again about how I can no longer call myself a Realist or a Rationalist because assholes have appropriated those terms to justify their bigotry and greed.

> Ostromizing democracy. https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/04/analytical-democratic-theory/#epistocratic-delusions

FWIW? A true Realist believes in full equality and rights for all without favor – because, realistically, any alternative system might get applied to YOU. It's irrational to think you are special.

#economics #democracy #philosophy

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@hankg @pluralistic

I'm not smart enough about people to tell you a way to stop them. I mean, just look at how hard it is to get people to use 'begs the question' correctly.

jackwilliambell, to python
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

> " 3.13 just hit feature freeze with the first beta release today. Just before the feature freeze, a shiny new feature was added: a brand new Python REPL."

> My favorite Python 3.13 feature. https://treyhunner.com/2024/05/my-favorite-python-3-dot-13-feature/

They finally fixed the 'exit' thing! Yay! 🎉 🥳 🎈

pluralistic, to random
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

Cyberpunk trifecta

Me with Bruce Sterling on the streets of Turin
Me with Neal Stephenson at a bookstore in Seattle

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@pluralistic

And all in their native habitats too!

(Admittedly Sterling is migratory.)

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

TBH, putting "GIANT MURDER ____" in front of virtually any animal species' name makes it worse, except for Tyrannosaurs (where it's kind of redundant)

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@angusm @cstross

Three words: GIANT MURDER CAT

I rest my case.

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

This is not a software glitch, it's the Y1C problem: old mainframes were so storage-constrained that they only allocated two decimal digits for passenger age, and adding another digit would mean rewriting software that in some cases has been in use and constantly patched since the late 1950s.
https://press.coop/@BBCNews/112345996328670433

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@ovid @DanielEriksson @cstross

I wrote COBOL for the State of Washington back in the 1980s; much of the codebase dated back to the 1960s.

What I found particularly interesting was the way the oldest code was structured: a ton of single-purpose routines that processed input and produced output, strung together in different ways with JCL (Job Control Language).

It was basically UNIX pipes and filters, but for an IBM 390 and using tape drives for streams.

jackwilliambell, to random
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

I think all gambling involves a kind of magical thinking where somewhere deep down inside you believe wanting something to be strongly enough will make it be.

This is nonsense of course. But I believe we apply this same thinking in even the most prosaic of gambles; like speeding or eating things likely to disagree with us.

And I believe this mode of thinking exists because there is an evolutionary advantage in taking stupid chances.

#HumanCondition

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@danlyke

> … generally suck at analyzing payoff.

I'm not sure that is fixable; when the odds are set – like a dice game – you can calculate the cost of playing against any possible payoff and percentage of risk. But people still play those even though, in the long term, the house ALWAYS wins. Math!

But not only is the payoff difficult to determine for a startup company or a long-term business deal, so are the risks. Context changes, like new laws or competitors, can pop up out of the blue.

danlyke, to random
@danlyke@researchbuzz.masto.host avatar

Not sure if "8 Cheese Pizza" means like 7 bladed razor, or "we had leftovers and a grater" or ... But that many seems excessive for a blend. https://www.flutterby.net/Image%3a2024-04-24EightCheeseFrozenPizza.jpg

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@danlyke

Some of the cheeses may exist in homeopathic quantities.

jackwilliambell, to science
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

Earlier this week I discovered the entire season of James Burke's 'Connections' is available on the Internet Archive, along with much of his other work.

> https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22James+Burke%22

I just finished watching the last episode of that groundbreaking series and … wow.

Dated? Yes, a bit. Sometimes wrong? Oh yeah. Still thought provoking anyway? Fuck yes!

But that last episode, where he asks all the existential questions raised by the earlier episodes?

I'm still processing…

jackwilliambell, to Futurology
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

RIP Z80. May your opcodes live forever in our hearts.

> Z80 Product Line: Z85C00 End of Life. https://www.mouser.com/PCN/Littelfuse_PCN_Z84C00.pdf

(The Z80 was the second microprocessor I ever wrote Assembly to target – the 6502 being the first.)

#computers #retro

rayckeith, to random
@rayckeith@techhub.social avatar

"PHOENIX — A top leader of the national conservative group Turning Point Action, which has amplified false claims of election fraud by former president Donald Trump and others, resigned Thursday after being accused of forging voter signatures on official paperwork so that he could run for reelection in the Arizona House.

State Rep. Austin Smith (R) — who was senior director at Turning Point Action, the campaign arm of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA — was accused by a Democratic activist of submitting petition sheets with rows of voter names, addresses and signatures that “bear a striking resemblance” to Smith’s handwriting, according to a complaint. Smith “personally circulated multiple petition sheets bearing what appear to be forged voter signatures,” the complaint said."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/18/austin-smith-turning-point-action-election-fraud/

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@rayckeith

They always accuse others of doing the things they themselves are doing. It's a tell.

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

Oh how I wish that "Turn to Stone" by the Electric Light Orchestra was actually a love song about Medusa

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@cstross

Is that a cover of the Joe Walsh song? Because that's a surprisingly deep song considering it came from Walsh.

> The Meaning Behind The Song: “Turn to Stone” by Joe Walsh. https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-turn-to-stone-by-joe-walsh/

> https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/joe-walsh-my-life-in-15-songs-66390/rocky-mountain-way-1973-149025/

> "Turn to Stone" was written about the Nixon administration and the Vietnam War and the protesting that was going on and all of that. It's a song about frustration.

rayckeith, to random
@rayckeith@techhub.social avatar

"in january 2023, i had a simple ultrasound done at SimonMed. they sent me 4 bills totaling $5137 for it.

after a year of emails and phone calls, they finally admitted today that i only owed $140.53 and are mailing me a refund check!

here's how i did it 🧵"
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1778230902604378353.html

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@rayckeith

I'd like to point out this is a example of how society disadvantages people with , , , and any other syndrome which makes it difficult to perform 'follow up' like this.

I can't begin to tell you how much money having ADHD has cost me because I forgot to do some paperwork or couldn't bring myself to make a series of phone calls.

And all I hear when it happens is, "Why didn't you just do it?"

IF I COULD JUST DO IT I WOULD JUST DO IT!

Sorry rant came out…

jackwilliambell, to Seattle
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

Attn: folk and Octavia Butler fans.

> New King Street Station exhibition honors prophetic sci-fi author who called the Seattle area home. Dream Temple (for Octavia) is an exhibition that asks you to rest and even fall asleep before you connect to the words of Sci Fi author Octavia Butler. https://www.king5.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/evening-downtown-seattle/octavia-butler-dream-temple-art/281-7979df6d-fee1-4964-8816-5f0117dfd259

> Dream Temple (For Octavia) runs through May 23 at King Street Station.

annaleen, to random
@annaleen@wandering.shop avatar

A science fiction obsession led me to psychological war. I spent the past three years researching and writing a book about the history of psychological warfare in the United States, and it's coming out in early June. Not all the gems I discovered could be crammed into the final manuscript, and I've been dying to share what I found in the archives ... check out my latest newsletter to see some amazing treasures from a history that's rarely told.
https://buttondown.email/thehypothesis/archive/how-a-science-fiction-obsession-led-me-to/

jackwilliambell,
@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com avatar

@annaleen

I saw this and immediately assumed it had something to do with Cordwainer Smith. So I follow the link and, no, it has everything to do with Cordwainer Smith.

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