You know those holiday commercials, where there's a new car sitting in the driveway with a bow on it, and the recipient is over-the-moon thrilled? That's a lie. I bought a new car for hubs two weeks ago, got yelled at for it, even though it's exactly the car he said he wanted while we were car shopping, and it was a great deal, and I paid for it. Finally, yesterday, he admitted the car was great. And reminded me I should have asked him about it, first.
Ingenious librarians
A group of 1970s campus librarians foresaw our world of distributed knowledge and research, and designed search tools for it
by Monica Westin via @aeon+psyche magazine
Mike Pence officially enters 2024 US presidential race, pitting himself against former boss Donald Trump β live https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2023/jun/05/trump-nikki-haley-2024-washington-sonic-boom-biden-politics-live-updates?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Being an elder of the internet is actually kinda fascinating in some ways.
I watched so many of the bigger sites start out and find their footing.
I knew eBay when it was a tiny marketplace. And Amazon when it only sold books.
I knew sites like teeturtle before it was just another art factory.
I knew woot! when it actually had real discounts and wasn't just another Amazon affiliate.
The Space Jam website wasn't some kind of Internet artifact. It was cutting edge!
And I remember using a 33.6k modem (that's right - not even 56k yet!) to try and load a website. I'd walk away for dinner and when I came back, there was a 50/50 chance the site had failed to load. And you didn't just try again because now mom has to use the phone - maybe tomorrow?
I watched AOL rise and fall. Myspace rise and fall and do a dead cat bounce. And Facebook was only for college kids.
Oh, and there were more than just 3 websites and Google didn't exist.
The internet really doesn't look like it once did.
Surveying the realm.
Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) are very protective of their territory. Here is one at op a small pine tree looking over land, probably hunting.
"Look for Northern Mockingbirds sitting high on tall shrubs, poles, or utility lines. Around your yard, you can also look for them running or hopping along your mowed lawn. You may be able to first identify the presence of a Northern Mockingbird by listening for its song which usually mimics numerous other birds at once." - allaboutbirds.org
#photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #birds #birdsofmastodon #birdwatching #NorthernMockingbird
Misread that story....
I thought it said he lost a cracker,
Instead of backer.
@ScottSoCal @theautisticcoach @actuallyautistic @actuallyautistics I recently moved. This has meant not just picking my current zip code vs the prior one, but more importantly, remembering it's not the next zip over, where I lived for 20yrs, but not in the last six.
Up side: The really good bakery is close by again.
Do any of my #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD comrades relate to being in the middle of an action (writing a tweet or SMS, getting off the couch to go to a different room, etc) only to have NO F**** CLUE what you were doing or why you're doing this?
Income tax isnβt just about paying for roads & defence forces etc. Itβs also about wealth redistribution. Not to the point of deterring people from following lucrative careers, or to relieve people capable of at least partially supporting themselves from doing so, but to ensure that no one suffers from unacceptable levels of poverty & all of the disadvantage that entails, while a small percentage of people accrue wealth many times in excess of what anyone could ever spend on even a luxurious lifestyle. #Tax #WealthInequality #Equity
@ferrous @actuallyautistic Hi, I'd love to join, but can't remember how to privately message on Mastodon! π³
Something new I finished today that I hope some of you enjoy.
Prints and other products are here: https://mark-tisdale.pixels.com/featured/pride-2023-mark-tisdale.html
#PrideMonth #Pride #Pride2023 #Cowboys #GayArt #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #LGBTQArtist #MastoArt #PopArt #MarkOnArt
A girl graduating high school next week will come home from the beach later today and find that while she was out, her parents found and bought her a car. I no longer have a spare car taking up space in my driveway. The loan I got for the new EV will soon have a large payment made, to reduce the balance.
A good day for all of us, I think.
Twitter is the fourth most hated brand in the US after Fox News, FTX and the Trump Organization. A truly impressive degree of brand destruction in less than a year.
"Elon Musk wants to criminalize gender-affirming care, and he supports imprisoning any therapists and medical professionals involved.
The Twitter CEO on Friday morning promoted a transphobic documentary produced by the petulant, vicious, and dull extremist commentator Matt Walsh."
~ Prem Thakker
https://newrepublic.com/post/173201/elon-musk-calls-imprison-therapists-helping-trans-kids
@Ulrich_the_Elder I live in Sweden and we have a lot of free or almost free services. We have affordable healthcare, free healthcare for children, social security etc.
A visit to the ER costs $30. Same cost for an ambulance ride. There is a yearly max cost for prescriptions of around $230. There's also a maximum cost of visits to doctors etc of $130.
I've never heard of a Swede who went bankrupt due to health care bills.
So... me. Work in aerospace, more space, not as much aero. Can fix my own car, choose not to. Can fix the random appliance of your choice. Hardcore introvert in person, which is why I love online. Lifelong science fiction fan. Read constantly. Scalzi is my favorite author, because he mixes exactly the right amount of snark into his writing. Together with a guy 30+ years, married since it was legal. Own a home in CA and don't plan to leave unless I immigrate to another country.