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esther

@esther@strangeobject.space

:antifa: :Blobhaj_Witch: queer goth lesbian, lots of #tattoos, some custom body parts, #neuroSpicy, #photography, #art, #writing, #witch, former #tech worker, #psychology student, #antiFascism, #antiCapitalism

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esther , to Random stuff German
@esther@strangeobject.space avatar

Heute ist Muttertag: checkt die Radmuttern an eurem Fahrrad. Die lösen sich manchmal mit der Zeit.

esther , to Random stuff
@esther@strangeobject.space avatar

At first I didn’t know why people were so angry at some new apple commercial.

Then I realized I had seen the wrong one, the boring and bland one. Now I’ve seen the “saying the quiet parts out loud” one too.

Holy shit, it’s so bleak. How did this even get signed off? Like, even from the perspective of a profit-driven company trying to sell expensive gadgets, this is clearly a bad idea.

esther OP ,
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Context: https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/9/24152987/apple-crush-ad-piano-ipad

esther , to Random stuff
@esther@strangeobject.space avatar

Large language model chat bots like ChatGPT are not just plagiarism engines, they're also learned-helplessness engines.

I've seen student in my psychology courses who don't just go to ChatGPT and their first source of information, which is already problematic, but their only one. They downright refuse to try anything else and when it inevitably doesn't help them, they panic and give up, even when offered alternatives.

It's really worrying to observe. Especially in an academic setting where it's important to consult actual sources that are verifiable, and to learn the skills needed for that kind of literature research.

But despite our university teaching these skills early and repeatedly, some students got lulled into thinking that these machines will do it all for them.

The fact that it's easy is just too seductive, no matter whether the result is actually correct or even useful at all. Anything that is hard or time consuming just isn't even considered an option.

esther , to Random stuff
@esther@strangeobject.space avatar

What's the simplest way to deploy a Ruby web app these days? Still Heroku? Something else?

I need a basic means of storage (database, even filesystem would be ok) and serving web requests under a domain I control.

Traffic will be low and it'll only be online for a few weeks. Low price would be appreciated but ease of use is more important. I really don't want to set up a whole server for this.

esther OP ,
@esther@strangeobject.space avatar

@jiji I'll check them out, thanks

esther , to Random stuff
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Touchscreens have conditioned me to the point that I handle every device with a screen very carefully so not to accidentally cause random inputs, even devices with no touch interface at all, and I hate it.

Touchscreens even make devices worse that don't have them.

esther OP ,
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Touchscreens are a terrible interface for most things, they excel at almost nothing, but we slapped them into everything because they're so generic that they're overall cheaper than any other and better interface.

I have not yet seen a single instance of a physical control like a button/lever/slider/knob/etc where people said "damn, I wish this was a featureless glass surface with buggy software on it".

On extremely generic devices having a touchscreen makes some sense, like on a smartphone, although I'd argue even there it has caveats.

But the main reason touch interfaces are everywhere now is an economic one. It's just cheaper and easier to slap a touchscreen on something and figure out the software later while users serve as involuntary beta testers, instead of designing and committing to physical controls that need to be manufactured.

esther , to Random stuff
@esther@strangeobject.space avatar

“Open source generative AI” is such a pipe dream and it’s honestly sad to see people fall for it.

This tech has a hard requirement on extraction and massive material investment in order to deliver any usable results. It’s inherently capitalist and an “open source” paint job won’t change that.

In that regard it’s even worse than crypto. A blockchain can still provide its function for a small number of participants, however nonsensical that function is. But an LLM or diffusion model needs the massive amount of data and compute to work AT ALL. And the only real motivation to put in these staggering amounts of resources is a return on a capital investment.

esther OP ,
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And the comparison to capitalst vs community-run social media doesn’t hold up at all.

Running the Fediverse incurs pretty little cost per user in total and single users as well as small and large groups can fund a server that services themselves and connects to the rest of the network.

But even if you somehow get thousands of artists and writers to give their work for a community run generative model (unlikely tbh), that won’t be anywhere near enough to train a model that produces usable output. Bot to mention the hardware, electricity, and water requirements of these models.

esther , to Random stuff
@esther@strangeobject.space avatar

After like 16 years on a Mac I finally learned how to change the default screenshot location so my desktop doesn't get cluttered up https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/change-default-save-location-screenshots-mac/

esther , to Random stuff
@esther@strangeobject.space avatar

(based on https://xkcd.com/2347/)

changed version of XKCD 2347 where it shows a giant pile of blocks labeled "all modern infrastructure" and it 'resting on one tiny block labeled "A PROJECT SOME RANDOM PERSON IN NEBRASKA HAS BEEN THANKLESSLY MAINTAINING SINCE 2003" but instead the second label says "A PROJECT SOME RANDOM PERSON HAS INTENTIONALLY PUT A BACKDOOR IN"
ALT
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    • + mdkcore
    esther , to Random stuff
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    Wow. I don't think I've ever seen an "immediately stop using your computer" warning for a security issue. Usually it's "update your stuff as soon an possible"

    This is very bad.

    https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/urgent-security-alert-fedora-41-and-rawhide-users

    esther OP ,
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    I'm certainly very glad that I run LTS stuff on pretty much everything so it 's less likely that anything is affected because it's not running the latest versions of things but I still gotta go check it all right now.

    Cool way to spend a friday evening I guess.

    esther OP ,
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    @linuxgnome I think this affects a lot more since it's such a low level library. The original report talk about how they discovered the vulnerability in sshd even when running without systemd

    esther OP ,
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    @linuxgnome @numist Debian stable is fine. It uses an older version of liblzma5. (the 5.6.0 and 5.6.1 versions seem to be the bad ones)

    The current unstable "trixie" might be affected, as well as other linux distributions that use very recent package versions.

    esther OP ,
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    On Linux distros that use APT for package management, you can check your versions of liblzma like this:

    apt list liblzma5<br></br>apt list liblzma-dev<br></br>

    If you're on 5.6.0 or 5.6.1, you should take action.

    (I don't know yet if there's other packages to check for)

    esther OP ,
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    @sindarina I mean, they're running testing and unstable. they do want to live dangerously

    esther OP ,
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    @amberage yup, i think so

    esther OP ,
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    @nitrobear good luck

    esther OP ,
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    Just to be clear: the security advice here, if you are affected, is not just to install the fixes as soon as possible. It is to immediately stop using the affected system and re-install the operating system from scratch.

    esther OP ,
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    @celesteh @linuxgnome @numist i don’t know. Check your installed liblzma versions

    esther , to Random stuff
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    Here's a shortcoming of CSS Grid:

    As far as I can see there's no way to have grid cells that are perfectly square without using aspect-ratio: 1 on the grid's child elements.

    This becomes relevant when you have some grid elements that span a different number of cells in each direction.

    This is the hack I'm now using to get around this but it requires knowing how many vertical grid rows you'll need (defined in the --nrows variable) and also all the horizontal spacings in your layout.

    display: grid;<br></br>--cell: calc((100vw - 14rem - 11 * 1rem) / 12);<br></br>grid-template-columns: repeat(12, var(--cell));<br></br>grid-template-rows: repeat(var(--nrows), var(--cell));<br></br>grid-gap: 1rem;<br></br>

    (the 14rem there is the sum of all horizontal spacings outside of this grid)

    esther OP ,
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    Turns out you can do this in a much cleaner way without knowing the total horizontal spacing of your layout using container queries, specifically the cqi unit.

    And it's relatively easy to construct the grid in a way that degrades gracefully if those units aren't supported by a browser yet. You loose the perfect square look but the overall arrangement persists.

    Thanks to @scrwd for the hint. https://mastodon.social/@scrwd/112074457751814447

    You can see a real-world implementation in my portfolio gallery now: https://www.aesthr.com/photography/

    jer , to Random stuff
    @jer@hachyderm.io avatar

    this is genius: A Markdown CSS Framework https://codepen.io/fimion/full/oNVQBRJ

    esther ,
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    @jer i really hope I did not indirectly and unknowingly have a hand in this with my recent rant about Tailwind 😅

    esther , to Random stuff
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    Speaking of CSS and web design, here's thing I can recommend doing:

    Have a theme reference page that shows important design elements all in one place along with your color palette.

    If you change something about your CSS, this is a good place to check if everything still fits together.

    https://www.selfawaresoup.com/static/theme/

    esther , to Random stuff
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    Just saw an ad for a new “AI” feature on some Google phone where someone was taking a family group photo and afterwards changed the faces so they all smile.

    This is just disgusting. It’s a tool to gaslight yourself and others.

    Imagine for example you were on a trip as a kid while going through a noticeable rough time and afterwards all that people see is your “happy” face but you remember it differently.

    Seriously if anyone ever does this to a photo of me, we’re going to have a real fucking problem.

    esther , to Random stuff German
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    Mein E-Fahrrad wurde heute in Berlin Neukölln gestolen (aus dem Hinterhof raus). Wenn es jemand irgendwo sieht, bitte melden, und diesen Post bitte teilen.

    Es ist ein Tenways CGS800S in schwarz, mit braunem Ledersattel holzfarbenen Lenkergriffen und einer roten Klingel rechts am Lenker. Auf dem Rahmen ist ein Trans-Pride-Aufkleber.

    Eine rote Seitentasche war auch dran.

    Das Rad bedeutet mir viel und war eine große Mobilitätshilfe aeit ich körperlich sehr stark abgebaut habe.

    parismarx , to Random stuff
    @parismarx@mastodon.online avatar

    🚨 Good news: Disconnect is now on Ghost!

    Substack already had issues with its content policy, but after the recent controversy around platforming Nazis, it became clear the newsletter had to move. I’m excited for Disconnect’s future!

    https://disconnect.blog/welcome-to-the-new-disconnect/

    esther ,
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    @parismarx ohh, that explains the sudden dump of all past posts into my feedreader

    esther , to Random stuff
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    “AI” is the radium of our time. Useful in specific applications? Sure.

    But then people put it in everything, including food and toothpaste, because of magical thinking and ignorance about the harm it caused.

    futurebird , to Random stuff
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    If people had less access to high voltage electricity, but many sources for low voltage DC (24V and under)

    Would it still be possible to manufacture silicon conductors using more people and different machines?

    Basically, could you do it with machines powered by small batteries?

    eg. off the grid.

    esther ,
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    @futurebird hard to imagine. Making the necessary high-purity silicon requires high temperature furnaces. No idea about the actual process of making that into circuitry though.

    DeliaChristina , to Random stuff
    @DeliaChristina@sfba.social avatar

    I have a feeling the /federation conversation is somewhat important but, sadly, I am absolutely at sea when it comes to understanding the different positions.

    Like, is it that Threads is like the big loud highrise development that's moving into quaint Rockridge and bringing all sorts of shenanigans (like more traffic, sucking up all the parking, more SF tech bros and overpriced ramen) that the current residents will hate?

    Or is it that the big loud highrise development moving into Rockridge is a Trojan Horse hiding something that is meant to replace all the quaint craftsmen bungalows with big ugly mirrored highrises?

    Cuz I don't get it.

    esther ,
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    @DeliaChristina from our perspective as an instance that has blocked them:

    1: it’s rife with right-wingers without any meaningful moderation system in place, and we see it as our responsibility to provide a baseline of protection to our members against that kind of stuff

    2: the history of Facebook, Google and XMPP. The two adopted the open chat protocol, drawing users over to their large platforms and then shut off the connection to the rest of the XMPP network. Some suspect there’s a similar play here.

    3: Facebook/meta uses user generated content to generate ad revenue without giving anything back and they have a track record to push outright fascist political content to create more engagement. Wo don’t want to be part of that exploitation machine.

    esther , to Random stuff
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    It’s so ridiculous that audiences and critics didn’t recognize Starship Troopers as satire back at its theatrical release.

    The Verge has a good retrospective on the film and its legacy:

    And in the heady glow of late-’90s American prosperity, it wasn’t particularly obvious that the people Starship Troopers was critiquing might have been us.

    Like a lot of prescient satire, the times changed until the movie’s point was made for it, and its targets became obvious

    https://www.theverge.com/21319886/starship-troopers-movie-yesterdays-future

    esther , to Random stuff
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    May people who write alt text on their images have a particularly nice day 💜

    esther , to Random stuff
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    Ghost in the Shell (1995) remains a remarkable film.

    Ever time I watch it I forget how short it actually is, just 1h22m. With it's fairly dense plot and a lot of stuff going on it still takes the time to be calm and deliberate, to linger on a single visual and some music, and even an extended audio-visual vibe intermission.

    It does so much with so little.

    Wide shot of an old victorian-style hall. there's a car wreck and a six-legged walker tank on the ground level. the back wall has a large relief of a phylogenetic tree, pale light shines from above. a figure sits hunched on top of the tank

    esther , to Random stuff
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    Once more, the Covid pandemic has hit very close to home and I’m filled again with that anger and sadness over how most people just let this happen and don’t care at all.

    esther , to Random stuff
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    Games that deserve a remake (or at least remaster) but probably won’t ever get one:

    Loom
    Terranigma

    With many game controllers having microphones these days you could even add another hard mode to Loom where you actually have to sing the spell melodies.

    esther , to Random stuff
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    If you actually want people to read long-form stuff you write, don’t put it on Medium. Just don’t.

    There’s a whole bunch of alternatives, like these WriteFreely instances that are part of the Fediverse (the network that Mastodon also in a part of)

    https://writefreely.org/instances

    There’s also WordPress.com which has a pretty good free tier. https://wordpress.com/

    There’s GitHub Pages which works pretty well too, if you don’t mind a little technical involvement. https://docs.github.com/en/pages/quickstart

    There’s tons of affordable paid providers too. You get a lot for the cost of one bubble tea per month.

    And of course there’s the option to run your own site, which is probably easier and cheaper than you think. It’s worth giving it some thought.

    But whatever you do: definitely keep a copy of your writing in a place you control, even if it’s just a bunch of text files. You never known when or for what you’ll need it.

    esther , to Random stuff
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    “What’s your solution then?” Is one of those lazy rhetorical tricks to discredit any criticism of a complex problem.

    Like, no, I will not come up with an easy solution to capitalism over a couple of social media posts. But expecting that any anti-capitalist must have a ready-to-use solution to everything they criticize is just a convenient method to shut down that criticism and cement capitalism and “inevitable” or even “natural”, to make even the idea of a different system seem impossible and not worth thinking about.

    esther , to Photography
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    Digital photography has really strongly segmented the field and it’s a bit sad.

    With film, especially standard 35mm, the quality and character of images depends much less on the camera than it does with digital. You can shoot the same film stock in an SLR and a compact camera and both can achieve the look. The differences between analog cameras are much more about their workflow, the affordances they give the photographer, and how well they fit them personally.

    With digital, the primary reason to pick a specific camera and system is it’s potential image quality. And that is often coupled to price.

    That’s not to say film cameras are all the same. Of course yoh can get more sharpness from better lenses there too for example. But there’s a far bigger range of mid-level gear that gives a photographer access to basically the same quality as high end stuff. In digital, bridging that gap will quickly get you into unaffordable territory.

    esther , to Random stuff
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    Reminder that you should absolutely never use the website called “sci-hub dot st” to get free access to research papers instead of feeding the greed of for-profit publishers.

    That’s basically communism, which is of course illegal. 👩🏻‍🏫

    esther , to Random stuff
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    Every time someone sings praises of how “peaceful” and “nice” the Fediverse is, you should add “for white cis people and mostly men” in your head, because that’s what it is and I’m tired of seeing the same take from the same people over and over again.

    And if you feel the urge to reply sth like “if you don’t like it here, leave”, you’re part of the problem. Also, I do like it here. That doesn’t mean everything is great and above criticism.

    esther , to Random stuff
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    Some things definitely deserve a call out or some form of push-back: racism, transphobia, misogyny, abuse, etc.

    But apart from those, and the local rules of your instance (if you’re on the same one), it’s really none of your business what and how other people post. If you simply don’t like seeing someone’s posts, don’t follow them. That is your choice.

    But instead I see a lot of complaining about other people posting about the wrong topics, or doing it the wrong way, whatever that means.

    You’re not entitled to control other people’s interests and what they talk about.

    (On Mastodon for example you can also temporarily mute someone if you just want a break from their stuff. Very useful feature.)

    esther , to Random stuff
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    I don’t need a PC and I don’t want a PC, but it’s been 17 years since I last built one and I’m curious what that landscape looks like today. So I’ll spend some time with a configuration today, for giggles :)

    esther , to Random stuff German
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    I need help identifying a thing:

    There’s these inserts for bags or storage boxes that hold documents (roughly A4 format), made of thick paper/cardboard and often with metal reinforcements on the edges or corners. They are like the bellows of an accordion so they can expand and contract.

    What are these things called? I’d like to get a few but I have no idea what to search for.

    Edit: solved (see replies)

    esther , to Random stuff
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    Happy Sysadmin Appreciation Day to all who keep the various things running that we rely on and often take for granted 💜

    esther , to Random stuff
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    The idea that there should be a single online space that’s right for “everyone”, is just absurd and every attempt to create one is doomed to fail and probably causes harm in the process. This has many reasons but one of the most obvious ones is age:

    Do you really believe the people who started being online in the 90s and are middle aged or older adults now will need or want the same experience, social conventions, tools and affordances as a teenager in the 2020s? Or that people who have been online most of their lives will stop using the internet as they get older?

    I have different needs today than I had when I was 18 and they will be different again when I’m 80.

    esther , to Random stuff
    @esther@strangeobject.space avatar

    Ok, fuck it. I'll do a full today.

    I opted for Barbie first and Oppenheimer second because I'm pretty sure that the former will be good and put me on an emotional high and then if the latter sucks it'll be fine. The other way around a bad first movie might ruin the second for me.

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