Esme Povirk @madewokherd@computerfairi.es
Joined Aug 2018
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she (in a binary way) / any (in an I want people to be absolute goblins about it way)
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Finally starting that "bookmarks" site I talked about a while back. Decided to just edit HTML straight up, rather than come up with some system to build the site for me.
My thinking is that whenever I go to look something up, I'll leave the tab open until I've added it to this system.
Already finding that providing context for these links is encouragement to write in more detail.
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Hey if any friends are on other socials more (been hearing about bluesky a lot), I would like to follow you there. I have feed-merger to conveniently pull everything together, although I need to update it with bsky api (rss feed has some annoying limitations), and it doesn't work with Twitter because Twitter charges unreasonably for API access.
Probably will still only post here though, as much as I do at all.
Esme Povirk
boosted
I keep seeing the "cars replaced horses" thing related to "AI."
People keep comparing "AI" to cars (positively) without thinking about the fact that cars were forced on people (AAA bought up and destroyed tram lines, there were massive protests, etc), and are the primary driver of climate change that is currently on track to make complex human society impossible. Meanwhile, cities that weren't destroyed for cars, or that have reversed most of the damage, are some of the most desirable places to live.
Maybe we could take the car analogy as a warning. Maybe it could be a reminder to think about how forcing technology on people against their will can reshape society in a profoundly negative way.
The answer for cities has been to right-size transit. Eliminate cars wherever possible, maintain emergency vehicles and mobility aids, and find more efficient alternatives (bikes, trams, metros, and trains) where possible. I feel as though we can extrapolate from the metaphor.
We do not have to repeat the mistake of reshaping society around a single, oversimplified, solution in order to benefit a tiny minority. Perhaps we can actually choose the right technologies based on use cases, rather than hype or dogma.
Cars didn't replace horses. Cars replaced walkable cities, tram lines and mass transit, and children playing in the streets.
"Cars replaced horses" to the benefit of a small group of elite men, at tremendous cost to literally everyone else. When people say, "AI is the new 'cars replacing horses'" they are saying something very specific about their privilege and intentions.
Just because we are incomprehensible and strange doesn't mean we should be feared.
Support your local eldritch horror.
I just looked in the produce drawer and I have corn I completely forgot about. Shucks.
Communication is an (n**2-n)way street.
neurodivergence (~)
Slowly realizing that, if I seemed more functional in my 20s, it was probably because I was masking more heavily and wasn't really aware of the stress it caused, and I'm probably in better shape now for having chilled out since then.
video games, ???
We like playing with One Hit KO, but what about No Hit KO? You must get hit, constantly, or you die.
video games, kink
Speedrunning is for emotional masochists because we use negative emotions (feeling bad about taking time or risks) to make decisions more quickly. This doesn't mean we're not enjoying ourselves, but it is a danger if we don't understand what we're doing.
subtweet
If you are following more than 500 people and I get a follow request from you, you've had enough and I'm cutting you off.
adjusted my time management based on the assumption that I can get a maximum of two 90 minute chunks of "brain work good time" per day
Do you ever get a little short of breath trying to process how much the world?
I need to find new samefoods. What are some complex carbs, proteins, and fruits/veggies that are cheap, easy, and relatively healthy to eat a lot of?
Went back to the uBO defaults to have a clean slate to work on this, and even with a working ad blocker the web has gotten worse than I realized. Near-constant distractions and interruptions.
Not much in these yet, but here it is: https://github.com/madewokherd/ublock-filter-lists
If you want to use this, please send me examples of stuff you want rid of, as you encounter it. Let's squash all those unnecessary distractions that get in the way of reading websites.
Fantasy: This won't work because there are all sorts of technical work-arounds and corner cases that it doesn't account for, that us tech people can imagine. Kids will pass around USB boot drives and use them to
Reality: This won't work because NOBODY CARES.
Like, it kinda makes sense if you use computers the way I do, and every device has a password, and if I let anyone else use it they get their own account, but I am NOT NORMAL. People don't do this shit. And for anyone who does, all they need are parental controls.
I feel like a question about OS-level age tracking that would've been obvious to me, were I not a tech person, is: what about shared accounts? I'm not just talking about library computers. Tech people will create a separate account for everyone who uses a device, but I think most people set up one account with no password and never think about it again. If you try to force them to set a password, they will sticky-note it to the screen. How is this going to work in practice?
Commented out almost all of my filters, will more carefully check/document/categorize things as I see them.
Thinking about starting public uBlock filter lists for (individually):
- "Related Content"
- pullquotes
- interrupting popovers
- cookie banners
- autoplaying videos on articles
Since I'm going through the trouble to block those things anyway, might as well share it, right?
How to get things done:
- Break your task into smaller tasks.
- Count the tasks and shuffle them into an Archipelago.
- The next task on my list is in spike cave on the Dark DM bridge. How do I get to the Dark DM bridge???
Esme Povirk
boosted
any engineering problem that isn’t solvable by “hiring a bunch of autistic trans women” isn’t worth solving anyway
Joined Aug 2018
