I agree and disagree.

The premise is solid: unify config so it’s standardized and machine parse-able for better integrations like an easier-to-build UI/UX. It could even have ramifications for cloud-init and older IaC tech like Puppet.

The problem is Linux itself. Or rather, the subsystems that are cobbled together to make Linux a viable OS. You’re not going to get all the different projects to pivot to a common config scheme, so this YAML standard would need a backend to convert to/from whatever each little deamon and driver requires. This creates a few secondary problems like community backlash (see systemd), and having multiple places where config data must be actively synchronized.

I think the current crop of GUI config systems are aleady well down the most pragmatic path: each config panel touches one or more standard config files, wherever they are, and however they are structured. It’s not pretty under the hood, and it’s complicated, but it works. These tools just need a lot more polish on the frontend.

The part that bothers me the most about this is how the re-institution of child labor points to the damnable confusion of moral, ethical, and legal, activity. Clearly this isn’t moral or ethical, but it is legal. So, undoubtedly some will point at the law and reassure themselves and others that this alone makes it okay to do. While there’s no stopping people that lack moral fiber to do the right thing, it’s everyone else that decides on the wrong side of moral and ethical conflict that make this so much worse.

On another note: how does one effectively boycott this behavior? No doubt, a lot of this labor will happen sight-unseen.

Do a campaign about prescription opiates or meth or something useful.

Poking at the opioid crisis would be worthwhile subversion of things.

This is exactly what had me scared straight for the longest time. It’s not the drug, it’s the system that punishes use of the drug that’s the real threat.

The fact that ex-convicts (people that have paid their debt to society) aren’t a protected class in the hiring process is beyond me. At least insofar as non-violent offenses go, there’s no cause to throw someone away like this. This goes especially considering the current state of political affairs around here.

Event Horizon.

Best critique I ever heard about Avatar: “Eh, Fern Gully did it better.”

As far as I can tell, the contingency plan is to continue pushing places like Dubai as a tourist destination and business hub. And, honestly, as long as that place continues to function as a major regional air-traffic hub, that might actually work.

Following the path of other regimes around the world, the USA builds their own “great firewall”, segmenting most people here away from the global internet. At around the same time, personal VPNs become explicitly illegal. We might also see the government seize control of at least one certificate registrar, if they don’t fire up their own, thereby “owning” TLS online.

On the upside, there’s a chance we will see more grass-roots efforts to reboot a lot of institutions that were co-opted by the rich. You’re just never going to hear about that through conventional channels. For instance: local newspapers with real journalism behind them. Or more small businesses with the intent to last, rather than sell. It’s possible that more of those things will be co-ops, union shops, or even Mondragon inspired. Either way, there’s a path forward for more community, real communication, and eventual prosperity, provided folks keep their heads and take things offline where necessary.

Membrane keyboards are really the worst. I completely understand wanting to cost-cut to get units into schools and into the hands of kids, but that’s too much. It’s like someone saw a speak-and-spell and said “that’s the ticket.”

The 2600 depicted in the article thumbnail, was absolutely a beauty in its native environment of the late 1970’s:

Here’s my resignation.

Either it’s your fault, it’s going to be your fault, or you’re cleaning this up. Bottom line: there’s a damn-near lethal amount of incompetence in the building and it’s time to part ways.

So… “let’s be neither of those things by using both of their names at the same time”?

Well, he did come from the future after all. It wouldn’t be hard for Skynet to dig through criminal records, court cases, sales records, bank info, etc… and pinpoint where to get an optimal shopping experience for this mission.

sue the government?

About that. One frequently looks to the Executive branch to enforce laws, rulings, and other things of legal import. Exactly how does this work if that arm of the government is found guilty of a crime?

How? Asynchronous communication is better for a lot of people. And now that we have really good choices for that, it’s hard to ignore.

A phone call demands that you drop everything in that moment and pay close attention to the person on the other end. If they ramble, deviate, breathe heavily, have a lot of background noise, etc, you’re stuck with that experience for the duration. Also, recording without consent is illegal in a lot of places, so you have to be able to write things down in order to refer back to the conversation if it contains any important information.

In contrast, everything else is self-documenting, can be read through multiple times, and can be handled when there is time to focus on that task. As a bonus: most people can read and understand text faster than they can listen. So it’s just more efficient.

What troubles me the most is that sounds like a very deeply abused person. It’s a kind of person that has problems introspecting and managing their emotions. Is that what we’re really up against? Is it all just mental illness?

I like me some freebies, but I could use some friendly recommendations not in the FPS or MOBA category. Outside those two genres, it seems to be just idle clickers and unbalanced pay-to-win RPGs. The reviews on these two remaining categories are typically not very good.

Damn Leftists! They ruined the Left!

When I mentioned that all this went down for a mere fraction of what everyone else paid, her immediate reaction was: “Well, isn’t that what China does with just about everything?”

It’s an interesting assertion, which caused me to ask a question here: How are we defining “independent”, exactly?

Because if it’s merely “not a member of a major political party”, it pretty much explains everything.