0x29A's recent activity
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Comment on What is Mastodon for? in ~tech
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Comment on What is Mastodon for? in ~tech
0x29A (edited )Link ParentBecause there are tons and tons of other servers that either have similar boundaries, and even if slightly looser boundaries internally, have cultivated a user base and moderation culture that...Because there are tons and tons of other servers that either have similar boundaries, and even if slightly looser boundaries internally, have cultivated a user base and moderation culture that leave no reason to defederate from them. Selective federation is miles away from no federation. I don't think federation with all instances is some noble goal worth pursuing nor do I think it harms mastodon that selective federation exists- it's one of its biggest strengths actually
Some people still want a place somewhere in the mastodon universe, and that functions the way mastodon does, in terms of being short-form posts and reposts and such is similar but not quite equal to something like bluesky/twitter/etc, but one that is more selective and that's okay- that's the beauty of mastodon in the first place.
If you sign up to the instance I am on, the rules are very clear and very upfront about what isn't federated with, so if someone is confused it's on them. If someone outside the instance is confused why they can't reach us- too bad?
Though i should mention- our instance isn't always accepting new members either. Registration availability is controlled for various reasons and so we don't ever have a huge influx all at once of clueless users ever
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Comment on What is Mastodon for? in ~tech
0x29A (edited )LinkI am on a mastodon server that defederates with a number of other instances because of those instances' mod or user behavior and moderates itself well, and some would say, strictly. In that, yeah,...I am on a mastodon server that defederates with a number of other instances because of those instances' mod or user behavior and moderates itself well, and some would say, strictly. In that, yeah, if you're pro certain things the community doesn't approve of, you're gone and good riddance, tbh. Sometimes the type of community we're building means your worldview isn't welcome in it, and if that's the case, deal with it and go somewhere else
And some level of de-escalation does attempt to happen but most of the time the other party refuses to participate anyway so I am okay with "socially aggressive boundaries" as necessary
Some might call this setting of boundaries too strict or whatever or limiting the range of views and discussion that happens there- and yes, that's the damn point- and I like it that way. In fact, it's the only social media I actually enjoy using.
A mastodon instance has absolutely zero need to be some "global public square" BS that other social media has at some point aspired to be and I love that. It's less of a replacement for those, to me, and more an alternative and the truly decentralized nature helps it do things differently and I like that. I am actually also okay with that causing it to have some barriers to entry that take a bit of effort to cross. I am also okay with that meaning that yeah if you're on some instances- you won't be able to connect with me on mine
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Comment on Brave Origin (Nightly), a paid, bloat-free version of Brave in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentMy thoughts exactly. I avoid the free browser already for this reason. I sure as hell would never financially support them and that's aside from the fact that I would be getting nothing for my...My thoughts exactly. I avoid the free browser already for this reason. I sure as hell would never financially support them and that's aside from the fact that I would be getting nothing for my dollar except a version of the browser that the browser should have always been
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Comment on I made a website with free and low-cost resources for web development, game development, privacy, graphics, small web, etc in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentSure thing! Yeah the Winamp museum is so fun to just look through. Some of them are very much "of a particular era" whether it's design language or pop culture references haha. I have a few...Sure thing! Yeah the Winamp museum is so fun to just look through. Some of them are very much "of a particular era" whether it's design language or pop culture references haha. I have a few downloaded that I still use from time to time.
I always love to find more of these kinds of tools/links, so I've been going through the ones on your site. Always some neat new little corner of the web to discover where people are still making cool and useful things
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Comment on I made a website with free and low-cost resources for web development, game development, privacy, graphics, small web, etc in ~tech
0x29A LinkI have all sorts of tools/etc I've bookmarked. This is not the absolute full list but one I cut down slightly for this post. Hopefully someone here finds these useful- and of course OP (or anyone)...I have all sorts of tools/etc I've bookmarked. This is not the absolute full list but one I cut down slightly for this post. Hopefully someone here finds these useful- and of course OP (or anyone) feel free to add these to your own sites/lists/etc. I've been meaning to make my links/tools page on my site way more robust by adding a lot of these but hadn't yet.
Some of these are lists or big grids/"many in one" tools too, so some of these sites can probably be looked through for more things to link to individually
Earthbound Text Box Gif Generator
blinkie maker | generate blinkie gifs with custom text!
html.earth: Markdown to HTML Converter & Site Generator
Video Game Screens with Custom Text - "The Death Generator"
DOODAD.dev - Tools for making websites fast, expressive, accessible, and green.
Dither it!: a web application for dithering images
Gradients ⋅ Gradient re-sampler for web for smoother gradients
Winamp Skin Museum - old winamp skins for preview/download (works with music software like Audacious)
Zero Data Apps - A repository of privacy respecting tools/apps that run locally in-browser such as Idiomatic
PixelCraft: A Pixel Art Editor
themer - free and open-source development environment theme creator
BeyondLoom's dithering tool
Excalidraw - Locally stored browser whiteboard
Easy/fast timezone reference (click to highlight columns/etc)
IT Tools - Handy online tools for developers
nifty.tools - List of small/terminal/etc tools
REXPaint (Win/Linux via WINE) - A powerful ASCII art editor
Tooooools.app - Image effects tools
CSS Layout Generator
delphitools - tons of private online tools/converters/etc
Alembic - procedural/algorithmic image generation and text aesthetics tools
BumpMesh - free meshing tool to add textures to 3D prints/files -
Comment on What is watts, volts and amps? in ~science
0x29A Link ParentWould it be appropriate then to consider "watts" a measurement of the combined "amount of work being accomplished" by the amp and volt beings (in this image) per second? I was going to say effort,...Would it be appropriate then to consider "watts" a measurement of the combined "amount of work being accomplished" by the amp and volt beings (in this image) per second?
I was going to say effort, but that sounds more like volts, and then I was going to say "the calories the amp and volt beings are expending per second in the image" but then I remembered the whole calories and joules relationship and then the analogies maybe get messy lmao... still fun to try and analogize/visualize these
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
0x29A Link ParentYeah for sure! They're probably one of the most consistent death metal bands of all time. I'm frustrated with the direction of their latest music videos (especially one in particular that is full...Yeah for sure! They're probably one of the most consistent death metal bands of all time. I'm frustrated with the direction of their latest music videos (especially one in particular that is full of slop, which feels so out of place among the quality of everything else they do, and surprises me given they went with real art for their album cover- a sick piece by Eliran Kantor) but if I set that aside, everything else is great
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Comment on Matt Mullenweg says “the wheels have fallen off” in wide-ranging WordPress critique in ~tech
0x29A Link Parenthis own wheels fell off long before Wordpress' didhis own wheels fell off long before Wordpress' did
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
0x29A (edited )LinkMany things: Metal Pissrot - Absolute Form - Second fave release of the week maybe? Furnace Floor - Ceremonial Passage Through Fire coming may 1st, listening to single Ordh - Blind in Abyssal...Many things:
Metal
- Pissrot - Absolute Form - Second fave release of the week maybe?
- Furnace Floor - Ceremonial Passage Through Fire coming may 1st, listening to single
- Ordh - Blind in Abyssal Realms
- Reeking Aura - On the Promise of the Moon
- Ignobleth - Manor of Primitive Anticreation - Probably my favorite release of this week!
- Mylingar - Ut
- Vile Light - Deceiver's Blight
- Immolation - Descent
- Apolaustic - No Plenitude Without Suffering
- Funebrarum - From Rotting Burial Shrouds
- Trap Them - Darker Handcraft
Non-metal
- Nine Inch Noize (NIN+Boys Noize collab album and live performances)
- Jaeho Hwang - Non-self 비자아
- Isa Gordon - 8Men
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Comment on Today I shipped twenty apps and a screensaver in ~tech
0x29A LinkAlthough I am out of the macOS ecosystem now I definitely would have enjoyed some of these! Maybe I will give Mojibaker a shot since I am on iOS. Sorry to hear you were laid off and I hope these...Although I am out of the macOS ecosystem now I definitely would have enjoyed some of these! Maybe I will give Mojibaker a shot since I am on iOS. Sorry to hear you were laid off and I hope these pursuits find you some success and sustaining.
Really appreciate the bloat-free "fits on a floppy" approach too. I love highly optimized and efficient things and specialized "does one thing exceedingly well" kinds of tools.
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Comment on What are the current channels to find remote work? in ~tech
0x29A (edited )Link ParentYeah it's going to majorly depend on the position and type of work of course too, I'm sure a lot of what you're envisioning in particular is circling around these higher level jobs where a lot of...Yeah it's going to majorly depend on the position and type of work of course too, I'm sure a lot of what you're envisioning in particular is circling around these higher level jobs where a lot of that is necessary a lot of the time. I've had customer service / help desk types of positions where checking in with management on any kind of progress was minimal and minimally needed - just not the type of job that necessitates it. I've had sysadmin jobs where a weekly team meeting was enough for progress reports and so on, and as far as what needs done I'd just hash that out with a team lead or something a bit periodically. Etc. And I have excelled in those positions.
But regardless, I've lost most of my motivation or aspiration for a majority of fields and the job positions that would be remote these days, but maybe I can still find something. No need, or necessarily even desire, for it to be anything super exciting. Of course I'll feign whatever demeanor is necessary to succeed. More transactional than aspirational or whatever. If it's doing spreadsheets all day or something, perfect. I just want to input work and output enough money to get by and leave it at that and honestly I wish more employers just could face that reality and let their workers be upfront about that, but nah, in society everyone's gotta put a huge layer of BS on top of everything. Maybe it will be packing boxes for minimal pay at some local business, who knows anymore. My excitement for most fields of work has been sapped out of me, I leave the excitement to my hard-to-monetize hobbies
Edit: I am also fully aware that sometimes I am in a negative headspace and let that leak through here. So, after some much needed sleep let me say that maybe I will still find a niche that brings me joy and excitement! As negative as I can be sometimes I still have hope. Every day is a new day and I am sorry for probably being a downer sometimes with my posts. Been struggling a bit.
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Comment on Making the most pickproof lock yet in ~engineering
0x29A Link ParentI can't find any "official" info on this, just a lot of comments (that aren't WBD) speculating and making assumptions. Might not even be a "grudge", just more of a "hey if LPL wasn't interested in...I can't find any "official" info on this, just a lot of comments (that aren't WBD) speculating and making assumptions. Might not even be a "grudge", just more of a "hey if LPL wasn't interested in my last one, why would I waste my time sending him this new one I spent so much time and money on". I think comments tend to overdramatize every interaction between youtubers
and yeah, I'm curious to see what aspects of it he may have missed, maybe shimming is one of those! hopefully those that get a chance to spend time picking it have some cool findings
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Comment on Making the most pickproof lock yet in ~engineering
0x29A LinkI have enjoyed a number of videos from Works By Design, and his video editing and animation skills rival the rest of his skills. What a joy!I have enjoyed a number of videos from Works By Design, and his video editing and animation skills rival the rest of his skills. What a joy!
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Making the most pickproof lock yet
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Comment on José González – A Perfect Storm (2026) in ~music
0x29A (edited )LinkI'm a José González fan generally. Loved Junip and some of his earlier solo work. I will say I like the song but I don't like the video- but I've tried to set a personal rule on this site not to...I'm a José González fan generally. Loved Junip and some of his earlier solo work.
I will say I like the song but I don't like the video- but I've tried to set a personal rule on this site not to get into any further discussions on generative AI (since my position is 100% unmovable), but I'll say that's the reason, and it pains me to see yet another musician using it.
Slightly more detailed feelings I'd rather not discuss
No amount of ethics-washing and prostrations and disclaimers these studios and production teams do will ever be enough for me. 'Synthetic actors' made to look like and function in the place of real people (and not be obvious like a video game character or some other fictional characters) will always feel fraudulent to me, and any emotions said 'actors' make me feel will feel (and DID feel) manipulative in a way that makes me feel an amount of disgust so big I cannot articulate it. For a moment I thought some of the people were real and breathed a sigh of relief- and let my guard down and let their expressions affect me. Finding out they were all fake hurt a lot and I resent the video for that, especially in those fake 'outtakes'. I hate it with the burning rage of a thousand suns
While I am wholesale-opposed to generative AI regardless, I found it interesting that this particular use which attempted (and failed IMO) to present some kind of "ethical way" of doing it actually achieved the opposite and enraged me. I think the more real it was, the easier I was "tricked", the worse it felt. At least most slop is obvious
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Comment on What are the current channels to find remote work? in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentYeah, probably same here. While not actually diagnosed, I've matched enough detailed descriptions of ADHD, and heard from others similarly, that I'm quite certain I have some level of it and...Yeah, probably same here. While not actually diagnosed, I've matched enough detailed descriptions of ADHD, and heard from others similarly, that I'm quite certain I have some level of it and always have (it would explain a lot)
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Comment on What are the current channels to find remote work? in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentI'm the same way, at least in that aspect. Even as an introvert I can easily socialize with coworkers as appropriate, but the boundaries that remote forces that aren't respected in the office...I'm the same way, at least in that aspect.
Even as an introvert I can easily socialize with coworkers as appropriate, but the boundaries that remote forces that aren't respected in the office in-person (in my experience) help me do better work.
As an introvert some of that long list of items makes me want to curl up into a ball. Regardless of that, I've done well in a remote environment already, so I don't know that the full list always needs to be so stringent- I think introverts can operate well in remote positions even if one thinks they don't match every item in the list.
Then again, I'm not really going to be looking for positions where I need to be "volunteering" a bunch of stuff I want to "fill my plate with" because that's just not how I operate. I can work independently, sure, but I just need a big list of crap to do
And that said, I can "pretend" / "switch modes" and being super outgoing, sociable, and so on when my paycheck demands it. I've done customer service long enough that I'm good at faking it :)
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Comment on What's a battle that nobody knows you're fighting? in ~talk
0x29A Link ParentI feel this very deeply and think I find a slight relief in the same way (the optimistic nihilism way you mentioned) I also want to note to any readers that I'm also not in danger and not going to...I feel this very deeply and think I find a slight relief in the same way (the optimistic nihilism way you mentioned)
I also want to note to any readers that I'm also not in danger and not going to do anything.
But I'd be lying if I didn't say, for a number of reasons, that sometimes I hear it calling too
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Comment on What are the current channels to find remote work? in ~tech
0x29A Link ParentYeah i am curious about this too because there is no shortage of horror stories about recruiters in generalYeah i am curious about this too because there is no shortage of horror stories about recruiters in general
Yeah we just prefer our experiences in vastly different ways. If someone I am acquainted with is no longer reachable because of defederation I have become okay with that. We get a long "heads up" period of time prior to full defederation where I could connect with that person and let them know and connect privately in other ways or make whatever decisions are necessary (including making an alt account elsewhere as an option)
We do sometimes delist instead of fully suspending and breaking connections but I am still in full support of the latter. While I am more tolerant in a broad sense on the web (I understand the web in general is not going to be nor needs to be limited to my preferred moderation experience everywhere, etc), I personally am not "tolerant" (specifically defined in terms of wanting to share a mastodon instance or extensive conversation with) of certain differences myself (whether minor or major is in the eye of the beholder) and so that environment works for me. I am okay with powerful, destructive tools. Heck, I wish Tildes had a block feature itself. I would like more tools to tailor my experience here.
I see plenty of user behavior I don't like from the big instances when publicly browsing other instances outside of mine that federate more broadly and it just makes me even more glad we are as strict as we are. I see "what it's like" to be on a less strict server and would never want that experience. We err on the side of strictness and in doing so avoid a lot of annoying behavior (whether that be "bad faith techbro contrarian reply guy" or AI evangelist or something else)
It's rare that I form close enough relationships with anyone off-instance that it would matter anyway. It does add some friction and I get not everyone wants that experience- but again the strength of mastodon in this case is we both can have the experience we want. You find the instance with the policy and moderation/admin style you want and I will do the same- and those will clearly be very different. I am glad both can exist and I don't think your admins need to act like mine