@mvilain@sfba.social
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

mvilain

@mvilain@sfba.social

recovering sysadmin
Certified Advanced Rolfer™

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

sysop408, (edited ) to random
@sysop408@sfba.social avatar

Today is a sucky day to have writer’s block because I have a site to finish.

It’s not even a complex site. It’s the first #Wix site I’ve ever done. I agreed to do this site so I could experience what Wix is like.

Wix is really hard to use, but the thing really holding me up is that I can’t string together enough coherent words to tie things together.

Just for fun I allowed Wix to #AI write my copy and it sounded like some meth-head who’s been freebasing exclamation points wrote it. I’m pretty sure whoever handled this site last used that feature because I’ve had to rewrite everything I came across.

I can push myself and produce code under the worst of circumstances, but can’t write unless I’m feeling it. Ugh.

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@sysop408 I took a class on "Effective Presentations" over 30 years ago, the instructor mentioned the Mind Map technique.

On a blank, UNLINED sheet of paper, think of 1 word about your topic.
Circle it.
Repeat until you have enough to fill the paper.
Now draw lines connecting the circles.
From the circles create an outline.
For writing, fill in with content.
For speech, try giving a short speech to mirror.

I wish they taught it in 10th grade English. It helped me gather my thoughts for many papers and presentations, much more so than any writing class in college.

Writing code is left brain. Same with editing. It's why I like writing with paper and PEN. I want it on the page out of my brain. Then I edit it later. Circling topics makes it right brained and unorganized.

Good luck.

CuriousMagpie, to bookstodon
@CuriousMagpie@wandering.shop avatar

Did you ever read a book or two in a long series and they were enjoyable so you’re hooked into the storyline and care about the characters.
But then, the stories get really irritating - this strange need for authors to torture their main characters over and over again is very troubling.
So I finished this series as a spite read. Fortunately the books were short. Compared to a lot of the books I usually read.
No I’m not naming authors.
@bookstodon

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@DejahEntendu @CuriousMagpie @bookstodon You're more forgiving than I. If I loose interest after the 1st chapter, I don't go on. If I get 30 minutes into a movie and I'm bored or the plot or characters are rediculous (hello? ARGYLE?), I bale.

Watching at home has made me much more critical of what I watch. It has to be outstanding from reviews and the trailer to spend $20 to see a movie in the theater. MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE did not disappoint, except for that TERRIBLE Winston Churchill.

If an author abuses their characters or does unreasonable violence, I stop immediately and blacklist the author from my life. Vickie Schwabb is on that list.

DejahEntendu, to books
@DejahEntendu@dice.camp avatar

#JustFinished Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant

This has been an absolutely fascinating book to read and is perhaps the most important book I'll read all year. Merchant is spot on with his commentary about the parallels between the first Industrial Revolution and now. We have not learned a thing about protecting our populations and economies from mass unemployment during technological upheaval.

🧵

#books #nonfiction #history #bookstodon @bookstodon

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@curmudgeonaf @DejahEntendu @bookstodon I fit my resume on 1 page. Anything past the last 10 years I omit. I use 9pt type for body text and 14pt for headlines.

I don't mention when I graduated college just the degree I got.

Here in California, any role descriptions that don't mention a pay range are reflected back to the recruiter mentioning

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/money-talks-california-expands-pay-disclosure-requirements

I usually don't hear back from those which means the employer is trying to get away on the cheap.

If there's just a brief description of a couple requirements I reflect that back saying "If you have more information on this role, please forward the full requirement. Otherwise, don't bother sending me such listing. They're not worth my time to pursue. This is why I don't work with Robert Half. That's all they would send, sometimes multiple times a day. I had the office manager to take me out of their system.

Anyone sending me a role description gets a "Thanks for reaching out. Here are my skills." reply even if I'm not a fit. Good luck.

danielcornell, to bookstodon
@danielcornell@mastodon.social avatar

Just finished Biology the Whole Story by Lindsay Turnbull https://www.amazon.com/Biology-The-Whole-Story/dp/1788451937/ref=sr_1_1 Wow - what a great read! This was the perfect biology refresher for someone who took biology ... thirty-ish years ago? Steps through all the major topics - DNA, evolution, energy systems, animals, plants, and so on. Was great to dig back into some concepts I hadn't thought about in a long time

@bookstodon #Bookstodon

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@danielcornell @bookstodon I'm in the same boat, only it was 50 years ago. I recently listened to Paul Sen's EINSTEIN'S FRIDGE as a great brush up on Thermodynamics which I studied for my Chemistry degree. It was a great overview of how it became the science of heat transfer, who were the major players (I remembered a lot of the names), and it's implications in modern information theory (that was new).

https://www.amazon.com/Einsteins-Fridge/dp/0008262799

I'm hoping WHOLE STORY does the same for Biology as Richard Rhode's ENERGY did. Thanks for the pointer.

sysop408, (edited ) to random
@sysop408@sfba.social avatar

Every now and then, I like to hand off my camera to someone who looks like they could handle a full sized camera with a large lens and a speedlight.

Usually the results aren't very good, but I picked the right person the other day for this assisted self portrait.

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@sysop408 I'm having flashbacks to my Minolta 101 (which I sold a long time ago when you could still buy film at the local drug store).

Still have film cameras but haven't shot anything in ages, even with my phone.

Pics of receipts for taxes don't count.

arstechnica, to random
@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar

OpenAI on the defensive after multiple PR setbacks in one week

Sexy voices, departing employees, and NDA rumors have challenged the AI company.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/05/openai-on-the-defensive-after-multiple-pr-setbacks-in-one-week/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@arstechnica If someone should post that Altman or some other manager had a small dick, didn't know how to give a proper blow job if their life depended on it, or was a power bottom, that might explain a lot.

infinitesoleil, to bookstodon
@infinitesoleil@federatedfandom.net avatar

Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne

A fellow social worker I knew from grad school shared this book on her Instagram story and recommended it. I was on a hold list for the ebook at my local library for weeks, but now, I have it. I’m also listening to the read by the author.

@bookstodon

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@infinitesoleil @bookstodon I'm 87th in line. Must be a popular eBook.

meshell, to bookstodon
@meshell@mastodon.social avatar

I have a craving for vampire novels that don’t take themselves too seriously - any recommendations? Currently reading Odd Blood and enjoying it so far.

@bookstodon

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@meshell @bookstodon Christopher Moore's vampire books are fun. Amazon has

YOU SUCK
BITE ME
BLOOD SUCKING FIENDS

Drew Hayes has a series of supernatural stories feature Fred, the Vampire Accountant. And dragons. Also on Amazon.

All are light, fun reads.

sysop408, (edited ) to webdev
@sysop408@sfba.social avatar

This is what it's like working with small businesses. I'm trying to help someone with their Wix account. I ask for their login info.

Of course they could assign a sub-account to me, but they don't know how that works so we do it the gangsta way.

A few minutes later, I get a stray 2FA access code texted to my phone. Ummm... wut?

OK, so for some unbeknownst reason, they made MY PHONE the recovery phone number and so now everytime they need to login, they now need to ask me to check my phone.

But wait, so I finally get what I need to login, but for whatever reason, the 2FA for me gets sent to their email (instead of my phone) and I have no idea how we got here.

Got that? We now have this ludicrous situation where anytime they need to login, they have to contact me and it's vice versa when I need to login.

Fortunately, I got in and create a separate account for myself so I can avoid this mess, but my phone is still their recovery number that's going to get 2FA codes.

#webdev #smallbiz

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@sysop408 Back when Hollywood didn't have sound, there was a studio that did short funny slapstick movies featuring THE KEYSTONE COPS. This sounds like a modern version of one of those short films.

All that's missing is a car chase with 12 people in a Model T.

rysiek, to random
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

If #DNS is so great, why is there a .int, but not a .float, .char, or .double? 🤔

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@rysiek This is one of those jokes that the only ones that will get it aren't necessarily the ones you'd be having an iced coffee with after work. Same with this welcome mat.

SusannaShore, to bookstodon
@SusannaShore@wandering.shop avatar

"My fourth time loop was different. I returned as my sister, and now I'm engaged to my best friend."

My Happy Time Loop Fail is out! You can read more and find purchase links on my webpage at

http://www.susannashore.com/timeloop.html

#gayromance #isekai #timeloop @bookstodon

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@SusannaShore @bookstodon LOTS of fun.

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

On which note it's worth reminding Americans that Brits do NOT say:
— elevator
— sidewalk
— railroad
— faucet
— crosswalk
— automobile
— 18-wheeler
— bellhop
— drugstore
— freeway/highway/turnpike/interstate
— parking lot
— attorney

(There are synonyms/equivalents but these are specifically AMERICAN things that flag you up as a foreign devil.)
https://mastodon.social/@tomhannen/112332893629022705

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@Wlm @neia @cstross I see someone followed in the vein of XKCD 'splaining the Metric system and how to convert to it.

carrieberry, to random

6 seconds between the flash and the boom is how far away?

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@carrieberry Sounds like a question on a physics midterm. The rule of thumb I've heard is that each mile is 5 seconds. I supposed someone can do the math to demonstrate how close to accurate that is.

[show your work for full credit]

molly0xfff, to random
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

So excited to hear that the Ghost blogging software is going to support federation via ActivityPub! https://activitypub.ghost.org/

If you sign up for updates, they have a survey where they're asking for feedback. Now's your chance to get your suggestions in!

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@molly0xfff I haven't parsed how to use Ghost like I would patreon or substack. I subscribe to ghost newsletters but there doesn't seem to be a way to login to ghost without being creator and paying a fee. I want to use the ghost login like my Patreon page and my old substack page where I can subscribe and unsubscribe newsletters. I don't see a way to do that. Have I misunderstood their model? I subscribe to your newsletter and platformer as discreet content rather than under a centralized Ghost account.

sysop408, to random
@sysop408@sfba.social avatar

Does anyone else get angry at their box of spare computer cables and power adapters?

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@sysop408 At least you don't have to figure out which side is "up" with USB A cables.

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@sysop408 Yet another corollary to Murphy's Law

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@sysop408 Leave it to XKCD to post something topical.

heydon, to random
@heydon@front-end.social avatar

Stolen because it had no alt text

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@heydon It could be worse. He could be the team-lead for Kubernetes at Google. But that would be his own private hell.

stephenwhq, to bookstodon
@stephenwhq@mastodon.social avatar

Hello Authors of Masto?

Short story collections. Strong theme, or just the best stories? Can a collection include nightmares and light-hearted stuff? (An experienced author says a good collection does not vary wildly in tone. But my stuff does).

what do you think as a reader, and what do you do yourself?

#amwriting #amediting #wordweavers #writinglife #PennedPossibilities @bookstodon #author #shortfiction

PS I have some free on my website

https://stephencox.co.uk/?page_id=184

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@stephenwhq @DoubleArobase @bookstodon

Here are more fans.
And how they're made.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG6NNvIv3f8

sysop408, (edited ) to random
@sysop408@sfba.social avatar

The definition of insanity is...

Eh... if you're living next door to someone who's mowed the lawn nearly every day of the past 2 weeks while screaming in child voices, you well know the definition of insanity.

Also, same guy who washed his mom's car nearly every day for weeks, sometimes coming out at 3 or 4 in the morning to start lathering it up.

Same guy who sweeps not just his walkways in the middle of a windstorm, but yours too.

Same guy who goes fishing in the middle of the busy asphalt river of our street.

Same guy who had one month where he made sure everyone's garbage bins were equidistant all the way down the block.

Same guy who stands on the street directing a flashlight into the darkened bedrooms of people he doesn't like.

Same guy hoarding other people's junk.

Same guy who then gives away the junk lined up on the sidewalk.

Same guy who puts a FREE sign by a used sex toy he placed in front of your yard.

That's insanity and he drives.

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@sysop408 Watch THE PALE HORSE on Amazon Prime. Maybe it will give you ideas. Hint: it's the Christy story that prompted a reader to contact the police when she recognized symptoms of thalium poisoning in someone.

https://www.amazon.com/Agatha-Christies-Pale-Horse-Season/dp/B08BYYWB3B

The downside: thalium-based rat poison isn't sold any more. It's like the FDA doesn't care that thalium rat poison and St. Joseph's Valium for Children were tried and true Momma's little helpers.

clacksee, to books
@clacksee@wandering.shop avatar

Did you want a sneaky little peek at the artwork for #FrozenHeck (#StarshipTeapot book 4)? You did? Oh, well, it looks like you're in luck.

Illustration by the phenomenal Shane Vincent Marcos.

No pre-order yet, but you can catch up on the rest of the series here:
https://whitehartfiction.co.uk/collection/starship-teapot-series

@bookstodon @lgbtqbookstodon #books #scifi #spaceopera

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@clacksee @bookstodon @lgbtqbookstodon Zoom donuts. My favorite.

sysop408, to random
@sysop408@sfba.social avatar

Happy #Caturday from Lu. He gets so satisfied when you pet him that he always has to jump on his favorite blankie and bliss out like this.

A grey and white tabby cat looks straight into the camera while he's biting on a velvet blanket and repeatedly kneading with his front two paws at the blanket while purring.

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@sysop408 When he's shifting positions, I imagine you're yelling "Harder".

That's what I get for giving up traditional rom-com ebooks for gay-themed ones.

https://www.amazon.com/Purrfect-Book-Curiosity-Shoppe-ebook/dp/B08W9RTWH4

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

#WritersCoffeeClub 30 How do you keep track of your work? Do you have a system?

Ha ha nope!

I'm a pantser, only right now I'm elbow-deep in book 11.5 of an ongoing series (with three books after it already in print—it's actually about 1.7 million words long) and making, shall we say, extensive use of regular expression searches and open windows on the as-published text of about half the preceding novels in the series.

Even the fan wiki is no use (it got contaminated with 3rd party RPG crud).

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@cstross I asked another author what they used used to write with as an casual poll. He said Word. I mentioned Scrivner. I felt like I'd just stepped into a "vi or emacs" or "Boxers or Briefs" debate.

I realize now that whatever tool you use, it's highly specific to how you work. A Java developer friend makes a vakrimpta punim (crooked faces) if I mention vi in his presents. Not that he's team-emacs. He's fully inculcated into Intellij and can't imagine using anything else.

StefanEJones, to random
@StefanEJones@dice.camp avatar

@pluralistic While I'm enjoying Lost Cause for the story, biggest best take-away is mention of using a skillet to warm up left-over pizza.

Damn, game-changer. (Assuming one plays games with pizza. I just eat it.)

The cast-iron skillet I found by the side of the road and refurbed fits three slices.

A cast iron skillet on the edge of a sink. A wad of steel wool sits on it.

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@StefanEJones @LucyKemnitzer @alexisdyslexic @pluralistic Someone in the neighborhood tossed a really crudy stainless steel saute pan which I spent hours cleaning up with emerypaper, steel wool, and a Dremel. It's not a pan I'd normally buy but I use it more than I thought and it's a great workhorse, especially for beef stroganoff.

glynmoody, to random
@glynmoody@mastodon.social avatar

Police have demanded records from UK abortion provider 32 times since 2020 - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/23/police-medical-records-abortion-british-pregnancy-advisory-service-bpas "British Pregnancy Advisory Service says there is ‘genuine concern’ over rising number of investigation" troubling

mvilain,
@mvilain@sfba.social avatar

@glynmoody In certain US states, the response would have been "None of your beeswax", a polite version of "fuck off unless you have a warrant"

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • megavids
  • thenastyranch
  • rosin
  • GTA5RPClips
  • osvaldo12
  • love
  • Youngstown
  • slotface
  • khanakhh
  • everett
  • kavyap
  • mdbf
  • DreamBathrooms
  • ngwrru68w68
  • provamag3
  • magazineikmin
  • InstantRegret
  • normalnudes
  • tacticalgear
  • cubers
  • ethstaker
  • modclub
  • cisconetworking
  • Durango
  • anitta
  • Leos
  • tester
  • JUstTest
  • All magazines
    •