Johz's recent activity
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Comment on Taskmaster | Series 19 line-up announcement in ~tv
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Comment on US President Donald Trump to issue executive orders to end birthright citizenship, limit gender identity — incoming official in ~lgbt
Johz Link ParentA useful phrase here is "bimodal distribution", which a distribution with two peaks, looking something like this. When talking about biology, a lot of stuff ends up being distributions, because...A useful phrase here is "bimodal distribution", which a distribution with two peaks, looking something like this.
When talking about biology, a lot of stuff ends up being distributions, because biology is stubbornly resistant to doing everything the same every time. That means that characteristics tend to spread out a lot — we might say, for example, that chimpanzees are smaller than humans, but the largest adult chimpanzee is probably bigger than the smallest adult human, because height spreads a lot. For sex characteristics, those distributions are typically bimodal — there is an average man and an average woman, but most people are not average and therefore spread out around these two overlapping peaks.
For things like gametes, there's obviously less of a distribution, in the sense that most people have either testes or ovaries producing exactly one type of gamete. However we run into a number of issues with this definition as well.
Firstly, some people are born with neither testes or ovaries. They produce no gametes. If we base our definition solely on the gametes produced, these people have no sex. This is a problem for our categorisation system. We might take a handful of other approaches based on chromosomes or other specific biological markers, but as far as I'm aware, there is no biological marker that cleanly divides between male or female without exception.
Secondly, the deeper we go down this rabbit hole, the less useful our definition becomes. When we talk about women-only bathrooms, we're not talking about chromosomes or gametes here, we're talking partly about the genitalia, and partly about other characteristics like how feminine a person looks. The same goes for pretty much all other cases where we make divisions between the sexes.
That's not to say these definitions aren't occasionally useful, but usually only under very specific circumstances, and in those circumstances there'll be a very clear definition with an understanding of the outliers that might exist (e.g. in scientific discussions about genetics or animal behaviour). And again, it's important to remember that in our bimodal distribution, most people do align broadly with a platonic male or female ideal, it's just that we need to accept that there will be exceptions to these cases.
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Comment on Blogs: Show your own writing and good posts you have found recently in ~creative
Johz LinkMy most successful post is New Disposable APIs in Javascript — I had an interview and the guy I was talking to mentioned he'd seen the post in the wild, which was a weird experience for me! But...My most successful post is New Disposable APIs in Javascript — I had an interview and the guy I was talking to mentioned he'd seen the post in the wild, which was a weird experience for me!
But the post that I'm proudest of right now is Why Test?, which is an attempt to describe how I test and why I do it, in a kind of "from first principles" sort of way. I'm trying to write more posts on that topic, but there's so much to talk about in testing that it's difficult keeping my thoughts focused on a single blog post.
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Comment on US$ 30 million to reinvent the wheel (Bluesky vs. Mastodon) in ~tech
Johz Link ParentAbout twenty or thirty years so you could do exactly the same with email. Then everyone got an email address, spam became the nightmare that it is today, and so major email providers started...About twenty or thirty years so you could do exactly the same with email. Then everyone got an email address, spam became the nightmare that it is today, and so major email providers started aggressively blocking (one might say defederating) bad servers, to the point where it became quite difficult to stay in the good books of those providers. That's all stuff that can happen in the Fediverse, and is very likely to happen if it becomes popular.
I think there's a certain extent to which perfect is the enemy of good, and there will surely never be a perfect distributed social media system because the two concepts are fundamentally at odds with each other. But then we end up in the same place we were before: ATProto and ActivityPub are both imperfect protocols, but one of them has lots of activity and buzz, and the other does not - Mohammed must go to the mountain and all that.
Of course this isn't the only consideration, and I also get the impression that ATProto is also a protocol designed with a certain amount of hindsight based on real experiences at Twitter and the strengths and weaknesses of ActivityPub. I'm not entirely sure on the details, but I get the impression that they've tried to make more operations push-based rather than pull-based, which allows more efficient communication between nodes. This comes at the cost of requiring more resources, which means it will be harder to run a node, but like I said before federated systems are always going to be largely centralised around a few main nodes, and I suspect it's better to optimise for federating between those larger nodes (and therefore removing the walled garden effect of something like Twitter or Facebook) rather than optimising for every individual being able to host their own system (which will never happen, see again email).
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Comment on US$ 30 million to reinvent the wheel (Bluesky vs. Mastodon) in ~tech
Johz Link ParentThis feels a bit like a "mountain comes to Mohammed" thing though - there's no point building the perfect decentralised protocol if it being decentralised makes it so difficult to use that people...This feels a bit like a "mountain comes to Mohammed" thing though - there's no point building the perfect decentralised protocol if it being decentralised makes it so difficult to use that people avoid it. If the goal here is to build something decentralised and popular, then starting where the people are and working from there seems like a pretty sensible approach.
I also think claims that ActivityPub is the only true decentralised protocol are kind of absurd, given the top-heavy nature of it. It is decentralised in the same way that email is, which is to say that it isn't - it is dominated by a smaller number of big servers, and if it becomes more mainstream, that effect will only get worse, in exactly the same way that most people use Google or Microsoft for email, and you have an inordinate number of hoops to jump through if you want to do your own thing.
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Comment on Bearblog: A privacy-first, no-nonsense, super-fast blogging platform in ~tech
Johz LinkI used to use bear blog for my blog, and I did quite like it. In the end, it was slightly too much friction to use (always one more click to get anywhere than I felt was necessary), and didn't...I used to use bear blog for my blog, and I did quite like it. In the end, it was slightly too much friction to use (always one more click to get anywhere than I felt was necessary), and didn't give me the fine-grained control I wanted, so I ended up migrating to my own static blog, but it's a nice way to get started.
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Comment on What long book series is worth its page count? in ~books
Johz Link ParentI think they're such fantastic books to read as a child largely because the characters and stories grow as you grow. I particularly remember reading the later ones as they came out, and they...I think they're such fantastic books to read as a child largely because the characters and stories grow as you grow. I particularly remember reading the later ones as they came out, and they always fit my age so well.
Yes, they're probably not the best example of fantasy, but they're very good boarding school stories with a fantastical element, and while they might have certain elements that are politically misguided, the core philosophy of fighting injustice and evil wherever you see it is important, and I know a lot of people who find the books, and quotes from it, very aspirational in that sense.
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Comment on What long book series is worth its page count? in ~books
Johz Link ParentIf you get to sing that from the rooftops, I will sing from the rooftops that the first book is the best one, and it works completely fine as a standalone story. If you get to the end of it, feel...If you get to sing that from the rooftops, I will sing from the rooftops that the first book is the best one, and it works completely fine as a standalone story. If you get to the end of it, feel free to just stop there and treat the ending as being open-ended. I would argue it's the best way to enjoy the books.
I found none of the rest of the books lived up to the first one, and they didn't necessarily add much, either. They explain more of what's going on behind the scenes, and explore more of the AI stuff - if you want that stuff, feel free to read them, but I think other authors have done it better. But the first book is a really tight miniseries about the need for change and the dangers of stagnation.
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Comment on 2024 Spotify Wrapped thread in ~music
Johz Link ParentSpotify just started recommending Nilüfer Yanya at the end of this year, and I've been meaning to listen to her stuff more, I've enjoyed everything Spotify has suggested so far.Spotify just started recommending Nilüfer Yanya at the end of this year, and I've been meaning to listen to her stuff more, I've enjoyed everything Spotify has suggested so far.
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Comment on 2024 Spotify Wrapped thread in ~music
Johz Link ParentI'm okay with Apple Music scum if it means more people are talking about Everything Everything! :P If you like that intersection of indie rock, dance, and pop, have you listened much to Findlay? I...I'm okay with Apple Music scum if it means more people are talking about Everything Everything! :P
If you like that intersection of indie rock, dance, and pop, have you listened much to Findlay? I found her album Last of the 20th Century Girls this year, and it's a glorious mix of bounce and fun - lots of dance-y rhythmic movement and some great lyrics.
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Comment on 2024 Spotify Wrapped thread in ~music
Johz LinkArtists: Everything Everything Yard Act The Last Dinner Party Lime Garden English Teacher I'm surprised Lime Garden ended up so high there, but the first two are no surprise at all - both released...Artists:
- Everything Everything
- Yard Act
- The Last Dinner Party
- Lime Garden
- English Teacher
I'm surprised Lime Garden ended up so high there, but the first two are no surprise at all - both released great albums this year that I've ended up listening to a lot.
Songs:
- Dream Job (Yard Act)
- Cold Reactor (Everything Everything)
- We Make Hits (Yard Act)
- I Want To Be You (Lime Garden)
- Nearly Daffodils (English Teacher)
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Comment on Reusing plastic water bottles, to-go containers? Scientists say that’s a bad idea. in ~health
Johz Link ParentI'm not sure where you're getting 0.2% from, my understanding is that single-use plastics make up between 30-50% of plastic waste. That includes things like packaging for groceries, so is a bit...I'm not sure where you're getting 0.2% from, my understanding is that single-use plastics make up between 30-50% of plastic waste. That includes things like packaging for groceries, so is a bit broader than the topic of cutlery, containers, and straws, but it's still a significant amount of plastic use.
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Comment on Reusing plastic water bottles, to-go containers? Scientists say that’s a bad idea. in ~health
Johz Link ParentI explained several alternatives, most of which are already part of my day-to-day life in a country that has banned single-use plastics. They all have some small inconveniences — you need to...I explained several alternatives, most of which are already part of my day-to-day life in a country that has banned single-use plastics. They all have some small inconveniences — you need to remember to bring stuff with you, you need to pay a deposit, it's not as usable as plastic, etc — but none of these inconveniences are significant, and none of them are borne primarily by people with disabilities.
If your expectation is that we can solve sustainability issues with no inconvenience to ourselves, then I really don't know what to tell you. That is utter fantasy.
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Comment on Reusing plastic water bottles, to-go containers? Scientists say that’s a bad idea. in ~health
Johz Link ParentAnd I explained how they don't. And then your started talking about eugenics. I'm not really sure what your point is any more, but I don't think this is a productive conversation at this point.And I explained how they don't. And then your started talking about eugenics. I'm not really sure what your point is any more, but I don't think this is a productive conversation at this point.
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Comment on Reusing plastic water bottles, to-go containers? Scientists say that’s a bad idea. in ~health
Johz Link ParentI agree that when making these sorts of changes we need to listen to the needs of all people. But at the same time, we need to make changes, and this is an easy, effective change with little cost...I agree that when making these sorts of changes we need to listen to the needs of all people. But at the same time, we need to make changes, and this is an easy, effective change with little cost or downside to anyone. With deposit schemes (with lids), and schemes allowing people to bring their own containers, straws, etc, there's not much need for single-use plastics for fast food and drink.
Fundamentally, reducing plastic consumption is going to be an inconvenience for all of us. It is important that people with disabilities and other marginalised groups don't bear the brunt of that inconvenience, but some inconvenience is going to be there. After all, that's why plastic became so popular in the first place — it's cheap and convenient, and it turns out we, as consumers, really like cheap and convenient.
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Comment on Reusing plastic water bottles, to-go containers? Scientists say that’s a bad idea. in ~health
Johz Link ParentAccessibility doesn't require disposable plastic straws though. Reusable metal or glass straws exist. Restaurants can (and do, at least here in Germany) provide them, or people who want/need...Accessibility doesn't require disposable plastic straws though.
- Reusable metal or glass straws exist. Restaurants can (and do, at least here in Germany) provide them, or people who want/need straws can bring them themselves. This can also work for food and drink containers - need a cup with a lid? Then bring your own.
- Reusable straws, cutlery, and even packaging can also be provided by takeaway restaurants as part of a deposit scheme - pay an extra fifty cents now, and get it back when you return the item. This can even be tied to city-wide or national schemes where you can get a straw from one location and return it at a different location.
- Even if these options aren't possible, you can always ask if the item is necessary, only providing straws or cutlery if the customer asks for it and requires it. A local delivery company near me does this - if you want cutlery, you have to add it explicitly to the order. It's still free, but it means that you don't end up with that litany of plastic forks everywhere.
- In the worst case scenario, you can just avoid plastic. Yes, paper straws aren't great, but they're better than nothing and they are improving. And paper works a lot better for other tools and containers. And there are plenty of other materials that work well but are still easier to dispose of - I see way more waffle cups these days for condiments or sides, and they work really well.
I agree that we need to keep accessibility in mind, but there are lots of ways to do that without constantly giving out plastic straws everywhere.
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Comment on We built our house for LAN parties in ~games
Johz Link ParentI mean, I also work in tech, and, accounting for purchasing power between where I live and the US, 75k is still roughly a year's salary. For me, that would be an obscene amount of money to spend...I mean, I also work in tech, and, accounting for purchasing power between where I live and the US, 75k is still roughly a year's salary. For me, that would be an obscene amount of money to spend on this sort of luxury - that's the sort of money that I would use to buy a house in the first place, let alone kit it out in this way.
You're not wrong that this is a systemic issue, and that these guys in particular are not to blame for it. But these people are able to afford this extreme luxury because they profit off that broken system. And yes, billionaires profit even more off it, I don't disagree, but the idea that if only we tax them hard enough we'll end up with an equal society is absurd. Wealth inequality stretches across vast swathes of modern American (and European) society, and we should be critical of all of it, not just the socially accepted supervillains.
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The UX of LEGO interface panels
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Comment on What are some common terminal aka CLI workflows? in ~comp
Johz LinkI write software developer for a living, and I think it's really important for software developers to be comfortable with the command line as a tool. I even use a TUI based editor as my primary...I write software developer for a living, and I think it's really important for software developers to be comfortable with the command line as a tool. I even use a TUI based editor as my primary IDE (Helix). Getting familiar with this stuff (and finding the right tools that make command line work more enjoyable) is a great tool to have in your toolbelt.
In my experience the main use cases for the command line are:
- You can easily run lots of one-off commands/applications from a single, relatively universal interface. I have a shortcut that brings up a terminal, and it immediately gives me direct access to a lot of tools that I use daily. For example, if I want to play around with some HTTP API, I can use HTTPie to fire off a quick request — I press F12, type
http httpbin.org/get, and I immediately see what's going on. That's a lot quicker than opening up Postman (or whatever the latest equivalent is), waiting for it to load, clicking around to fill in the fields, etc. For a lot of simple tasks like "run the script that automatically checks my code works" or "update my timesheet so I know what I worked on today", doing this in the command line is the easiest approach. - Your commands become easily repeatable and scriptable. Every time I run a command, it's saved in my shell history, which means later I can go back and run that exact same command again. If I want to share a particular command with my colleagues, I can copy the command as a string and send it to them, and they can do the exact same thing that I did. That's not as easy with a GUI app, where you need to tell them "click button X, then button Y, then scroll to section Z".
- You can combine data from different sources very easily. Being able to pull data from a source, then pull out only the interesting bits of that data with a tool like jq makes a lot of data analysis questions surprisingly easy. Combining that with a tool like xargs to run another command that uses that data means that I do some really quite powerful things.
That said, I'm also quite sceptical of the value of the command line outside of these bounds. Like I said, I use a TUI text editor as one of my main tools at work, but this is very much despite it being a TUI, rather than because of it. The terminal isn't great at drawing complex UIs — you don't have a lot of room for detail, and subtle designer tricks like changing font size to guide your eyes properly often just aren't possible. Moreover, you've often got several layers interacting at once to make something work — your OS, your terminal emulator, potentially a multiplexer, and then your TUI application itself — which means that keystrokes and shortcuts are often more complicated to manage. In general, if I'm going to be working with a single tool for longer than about a minute, I'd rather it being a proper GUI than a terminal tool.
- You can easily run lots of one-off commands/applications from a single, relatively universal interface. I have a shortcut that brings up a terminal, and it immediately gives me direct access to a lot of tools that I use daily. For example, if I want to play around with some HTTP API, I can use HTTPie to fire off a quick request — I press F12, type
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Comment on Lilo & Stitch | Official teaser in ~movies
Johz Link ParentTbh, the main thing I'm getting from this is that I should watch Lilo and Stitch again — it is a beautiful, funny, and heartfelt film.Tbh, the main thing I'm getting from this is that I should watch Lilo and Stitch again — it is a beautiful, funny, and heartfelt film.
Most of those other comedians were regulars on the British circuits before doing Taskmaster, though. Jason Mantzoukas is probably the first person who is more well-known for his American/non-UK work than for his work in the UK.
That said, I agree that this has probably come about because of the success of Taskmaster in the US.