I always picture them in a meeting:

Person a: So… …looks like in order to get into the Chinese market, we’ll have to work with the Chinese government to help them censor certain topics…

Person b: but… …our motto… The optics aren’t good on that…

<uncomfortable silence>

Person c: maybe we don’t need a motto.

shrug I’m not the guy you’re responding to, but it was clear to me what you meant, and that you were taking a fairly balanced tack.

This is going to be fun.

Prudence generates value. Technology speeds a task, but without prudence and principle, you will simply fill the space freed by technology with other things that are meaningless.

Regarding programming, specifically, if you’re looking at creating real value for society, you need to create frameworks that give leverage to effective and ethical thinking.

Right now, the world is fucked because social networking has simply brought to light how incapable people are at managing their own lives and perspectives, particularly while being seen. Social networking has given people power, but all that does is let people make bigger mistakes. Plus, with the monetary incentives on the back-end squeezing every bit of emotion for cash, people are getting burnt out.

Structured power is better. Connections need to have consequences, and those consequences need to have real effect. To be effective, individual power (not over others, but over one’s own life) must be central to the collective structure - and the collective should be granted that same right, over it’s own existence.

The ideal social network would ensnare fools, catch the greedy, and reward the prudent, the wise, and the loving, through empowering them to be whoever it is they truly are.

You probably don’t remember, but once, long ago, in the age of legends, Google emerged as a force within humanity. They wielded the power of “don’t be evil,” and they meant it. They empowered people to find what they wanted, and to communicate. The ads were tasteful, clearly marked, and unobtrusive - useful, even.

But all things that are born must die, and death does not come because things are going well for the dying thing. The Google was no exception. Did the leadership fail, or did time simply run it’s course? We may never know for certain, but when The Originators left, all that remained was a vile and empty core. Where once there was abundance, there came indolence. And as the remaing scraps of mind fought over the space where they thought the power was, they thought the power of “don’t be evil” was outdated. Bothersome. In the way. But in truth, it was simply arcane - their minds, profane as they were, could not comprehend the true nature that brought them power. So they ejected the power of their own foundation, and struck the rule from their books.

And so to this day, they ride the shockwave the true power made as it left. They think the shockwave is the power, but it is just a side effect. They see their hands closing to grasp it, but they do not see how weak they make themselves. They have ridden the shockwave up, and they will ride it down, and just as they are not prepared for the heights of it, they are not prepared for the depths they enter, either.

And that, my boy, is the story of how The Google came to be, and how it began to fall. It is the end of some things, to be sure, but also the beginning of another. Sovereign individual collectives are juust around the corner, waiting for their builders to come.

taps cane on the floor regularly to keep the rocking chair going, tamps pipe

Someday, I’ll tell the tale of how a little bird was born, became known by all, and died, partly of it’s own foolishness, and partly because of one who wanted to keep it for himself. …Or how Unity tried to seize those who contributed to it, but lost everything in the process. It’s all the same tale, though. Everything that lives, must die. But forgetting to stand on a principle can hurry any entity along that path.

blows smoke ring

Enjoy your travels.

I wouldn’t want to be associated with vegans, either, tbh. But if someone shows interest or disdain regarding my eating habits, I tell 'em my take. If they like it, cool. If they scorn me, they can fuck right off.

I’m not vegan, and don’t really intend to be. But I strongly prefer to eat humanely raised and killed meat. That’s pretty uncommon and expensive, so I often just skip meat.

…if someone’s interested, I’ll tell them about how I kill and eat animals, and why, as well as more about why I avoid most commercial meats.

But yeah, social stigma. If you want to make change, first you’ve got to sort out your own feelings on that. Really, that’s true for any change, not just socially stigmatized ones.

Edit: consider this fun tidbit. Since Veganism is primarily about consent and how an animal can’t give it, the only truly vegan meats are vat meats… …or other humans (if they consent and aren’t under duress).

Sad.

Just do it opportunistically. You don’t have to explain it to anyone, and you can make the choice whenever it’s available and comfortable. You don’t have to be an absolutist about your diet. Any change you make for the better, even if it’s just at home or when you’re alone, is enough to make some difference.

In the end, I suppose, just do what you feel good about.

Yeah. Many of the complaints surrounding Linux and hardware are BS. But complaints about Linux running well on cutting edge hardware are often founded.

Linux devs can only stary supporting new hardware once they have access to it or to accurate specs. Often, this is only once the hardware has been released.

But 6-month old, and moreso 1-year old hardware? Generally works like a (good) dream.

This is why hardware vendors that design for Linux are so important (thanks, System 76!).

Meh

XD

Wrong picture, that’s definitely Chad doing this.

Even if we treat then like people, they easily deserve that (and some criminal charges) for circumventing tax law.

If organizations are treated like people, they must be accountable to the law in a proportional way.

But no.

Neither do I, but it’s obviously going to be a downside for some people.

GamePass.