jgb's recent activity
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Comment on Bill Gates and Melinda Gates are splitting up after twenty-seven years in ~news
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Comment on Fifty very bad book covers for literary classics in ~books
jgb LinkHorrendous but unsurprising. I think it's a pretty common (and dubiously moral) practice to copy classic books from Project Gutenberg into Word and upload them to Amazon's print on demand service....Horrendous but unsurprising. I think it's a pretty common (and dubiously moral) practice to copy classic books from Project Gutenberg into Word and upload them to Amazon's print on demand service. Frustratingly because this tends to make them eligible for Prime they show quite highly on search results. I imagine this catches out a fair few naive buyers.
Why however the serious publisher Wordsworth Classics tends to put such bad images on their covers is a real mystery. In fairness to them they price their editions extremely competitively but it wouldn't cost anything to exercise a bit of taste!
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Comment on Valtteri Bottas 'absolutely believes' he can win 2021 Formula 1 title having worked on mindset over winter in ~sports.motorsports
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Comment on The worst song you ever had to experience in ~music
jgb Link ParentI liked that album. It's pretty good noise/proto-noise. Yeah it's a bit hard work at times but there's some really great sounds there too.I liked that album. It's pretty good noise/proto-noise. Yeah it's a bit hard work at times but there's some really great sounds there too.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~books
jgb LinkI'm 20 so not well qualified for this. Important literature I have read as a young man include Orwell's Essays (Inside The Whale is a collection with most of the really great ones, though sadly...I'm 20 so not well qualified for this. Important literature I have read as a young man include Orwell's Essays (Inside The Whale is a collection with most of the really great ones, though sadly missing A Hanging), which inform my politics more than any other writing and which have helped me forge my identity as an anti-fascist and anti-reactionary patriot. Homage to Catalonia is also a good read - actually, almost all Orwell is well worth reading. But start with the essays.
I also strongly recommend Woolf's The Waves, which I think gave me a quarter life crisis but in a good way. It is somewhat hard work at first but not inaccessible by any means. It has made me think a lot about the choices I have on earth and using my allotted time well. Joyce's Dubliners is good in a similar vein.
I also recently liked Their Eyes Were Watching God. It has all the right feminist and anti-racist themes but much more importantly it's a great story masterfully told.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~comp
jgb LinkDurden/Arcan is really clever software and I can see it carving out a devoted, if relatively small, userbase. With the momentum so heavily behind Wayland I don't anticipate it becoming a major...Durden/Arcan is really clever software and I can see it carving out a devoted, if relatively small, userbase. With the momentum so heavily behind Wayland I don't anticipate it becoming a major player in the *nix desktop space but diversity is nearly always a positive. By implementing those X11 features that are out-of-scope for Wayland it should also help us transition towards a post-X world which can only be a good thing.
Congratulations to Bjorn and his collaborators on the release and the impressive progress they have made.
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Comment on Katzenjammer, Ben Caplan & The Trondheim Soloists - Fairytale Of New York (2012) in ~music
jgb Link ParentWait, what? Americans don't listen to Fairytale of New York? But it's pretty much the only Christmas song that's actually good!Wait, what? Americans don't listen to Fairytale of New York? But it's pretty much the only Christmas song that's actually good!
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Comment on I attempted to cross Norway in a completely straight line (Part 1) in ~hobbies
jgb Link ParentHe's a smart guy. He probably knows what integration is. But in this context it's more sensible to talk about area since his line in no way corresponds to any sort of reasonable function.He's a smart guy. He probably knows what integration is. But in this context it's more sensible to talk about area since his line in no way corresponds to any sort of reasonable function.
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Comment on I attempted to cross Norway in a completely straight line (Part 1) in ~hobbies
jgb Link ParentI'm enjoying this series but must admit I preferred his previous ones. Norway is stunning but much of the intrigue and entertainment of his challenges tends to come from his interactions with...I'm enjoying this series but must admit I preferred his previous ones. Norway is stunning but much of the intrigue and entertainment of his challenges tends to come from his interactions with people which are more or less absent from this one so far.
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Comment on How do you think software services should be monetized? in ~tech
jgb (edited )LinkI would like to see important, infrastructural services get passed into the protection of some sort of international non-profit or conservancy in the long run, with funding coming from nation...I would like to see important, infrastructural services get passed into the protection of some sort of international non-profit or conservancy in the long run, with funding coming from nation states alongside ethical advertising and paid account schemes.
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Comment on Question for the European contingent regarding teenage/minor nudity in ~tv
jgb LinkBrit here. So long as the actresses are adults, I have no problem with it. It's story-telling. Some stories are supposed to leave us feeling uncomfortable.Brit here.
So long as the actresses are adults, I have no problem with it. It's story-telling. Some stories are supposed to leave us feeling uncomfortable. -
Comment on Gopher, Gemini and the smol internet in ~tech
jgb Link ParentIt's at gemini://tokeniser.uk, I've mentioned it here before. Not as much there as I'd like but in time I hope to bolster it with more writing and projects.It's at gemini://tokeniser.uk, I've mentioned it here before. Not as much there as I'd like but in time I hope to bolster it with more writing and projects.
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Comment on Gopher, Gemini and the smol internet in ~tech
jgb LinkI was a little disappointed that this didn't link to *my* Gemini capsule that runs on an original Raspberry Pi :-) Guess I'm not as innovative as I thought!You can also host your own Gemini capsule on something as low powered as an original Raspberry Pi.
I was a little disappointed that this didn't link to *my* Gemini capsule that runs on an original Raspberry Pi :-)
Guess I'm not as innovative as I thought!
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Comment on The last children of Down Syndrome in ~life
jgb LinkThis seems a little absurd to me. Inclusiveness is a wonderful thing but one should not chase it off a cliff. Down Syndrome is a defect that even in the best case scenario imposes severe...The National Down Syndrome Association has also worked with doctors to alter the language they use with patients—“probability” instead of “risk,” “chromosome aberration” instead of “chromosome error.”
This seems a little absurd to me. Inclusiveness is a wonderful thing but one should not chase it off a cliff. Down Syndrome is a defect that even in the best case scenario imposes severe limitations on the lives of those who are born with it. We must be compassionate - but not to the point of irrationality.
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Comment on Why is the obscure B-side “Harness Your Hopes” Pavement’s top song on Spotify? It’s complicated. in ~music
jgb Link ParentThanks for your insight. I'm actually currently studying a module in Recommender Systems at University and it's always interesting to see ideas fall out of the PowerPoints and collide with the...Thanks for your insight. I'm actually currently studying a module in Recommender Systems at University and it's always interesting to see ideas fall out of the PowerPoints and collide with the real world.
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Comment on Why is the obscure B-side “Harness Your Hopes” Pavement’s top song on Spotify? It’s complicated. in ~music
jgb LinkI can personally attest to how much Spotify loves this song. I'm not the biggest Pavement fan, though Gold Soundz is on a few of my playlists - but I do listen to a lot of music that may be...I can personally attest to how much Spotify loves this song. I'm not the biggest Pavement fan, though Gold Soundz is on a few of my playlists - but I do listen to a lot of music that may be considered Pavement-adjacent - and sure enough, Harness Your Hopes seems to get into nearly every one of my daily mixes. It's not a bad track but I do tend to use a skip up on it now because otherwise I'd hear it every day.
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Comment on Denmark's Minister of Agriculture has resigned over an illegal government order to cull the country's farmed mink – Mette Frederiksen also faced opposition calls to resign in ~health
jgb LinkMinisters resigning for attempting to pass illegal legislation? How quaint. t. United KingdomMinisters resigning for attempting to pass illegal legislation? How quaint.
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Comment on Boris Johnson announces ten-point green plan, including investments in nuclear and wind, and new combustion vehicle ban from 2030 in ~enviro
jgb LinkObligatory 'not a fan of the Tories'. That said, this is quite good, isn't it? I'd like to see a bit more spending but that which is present seems to be targeting the right areas to me.Obligatory 'not a fan of the Tories'.
That said, this is quite good, isn't it? I'd like to see a bit more spending but that which is present seems to be targeting the right areas to me.
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Comment on „Hating Men is a freeing form of hostility” in ~life
jgb Link ParentI'm well aware of the context from which she writes. I think most Tildes readers have had a great deal of exposure to - if not total immersion in - critical theory. I don't think in a developed...I'm well aware of the context from which she writes. I think most Tildes readers have had a great deal of exposure to - if not total immersion in - critical theory.
I don't think in a developed Western European nation like France - by any objective metric one of the most equal and tolerant nations on Earth - there is anywhere near enough oppression of women by men to justify blanket hatred of all men.
I could see her point if she lived in Saudi Arabia. But she does not live in Saudi Arabia.
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Comment on „Hating Men is a freeing form of hostility” in ~life
jgb LinkIt must be exhausting to live your life with such a worldview. I can't imagine she is very happy. Genderswap this and it would fit in seamlessly on an MGTOW forum.It must be exhausting to live your life with such a worldview. I can't imagine she is very happy.
I’ve realised that my well-being is not depended on the acknowledgement from men. I’ve shifted my focus radically on the women in my surroundings, whose support I need and whom I can offer help and support myself. I think that allowing yourself to hate men can help a lot of women in deepening the relationships to their female friends. Through this I have discovered a new quality of sisterhood.
Genderswap this and it would fit in seamlessly on an MGTOW forum.
It's simply not true that it was commonplace to die in your 40s in the past.