Let's talk about mediocre hobbies. When we're very young it's easy to try anything and have fun doing so. Making funny sounds on a xylophone or drawing pictures with charcoal don't rely on the output for enjoyment.
Then we get older and the people who really excel at those skills make us feel like we're not good at things. Why draw as an adult if you're not able to get a face proportions correct?
Because it's still fun! I have a million hobbies. And my skill level is middling at most of them. Still fun! Still feels good to draw a dinosaur.
Today in needy companies: South Western Railway would like me to spend *10 minutes* answering a survey about a recent train journey. That would mean I’d spent longer answering a survey than I did on the journey itself, so I think I’ll decline.
Salesperson: This car will seat six people without any issues.
Me: I don’t think I know six people without any issues.
“We and our 937 partners”. Polyamory is really starting to get out of hand, even websites are at it.
In a recent episode of Star Trek: “Computer, discontinue radiation warnings until further notice”.
If they weren’t cowards the script writers would have unceremoniously ended the crew of the Enterprise three seasons later with everyone dying of surprise radiation poisoning because no one remembered to turn them back on.
New from 404 Media: landlords are demanding potential tenants hand over employer login credentials so a tool can verify their income. I was sent screenshot of the tool, Argyle, downloading much more data than necessary to approve the renter. Opt-out means no housing
https://www.404media.co/landlords-demand-tenants-workplace-logins-to-scrape-their-paystubs/
Found my grandad’s tape measure while at my parent’s place today. It’s a lot more work but an embossed bit of metal certainly looks more elegant than a printed label.
Back on my Flight Simulator bullshit. Turns out if you fail to remove one of the things labelled REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT your airspeed indicator doesn’t work. Also turns out if I don’t have the airspeed indicator to fixate on during landing and just have to look out the window and hope for the best I can pull off a silky smooth landing better than anything I’d usually do.
I discovered today my increasingly senile Mum has an ongoing grudge against one specific tree. While walking by the end of a road she pointed down it at a big oak and just said “I don’t like that tree”. No further information was forthcoming.
Talking to my brother he tells me she always points out how she doesn’t like that tree when passing. He has no idea either. I guess just fuck that one tree in particular.
Google: “Check the output of anything Gemini does carefully as it can make mistakes”
Also Google:
My 9 year old and his classmates have started using “that’s AI” to mean “I don’t believe you.”
Me: we’re having dinosaur meat for dinner
Kiddo: that’s AI
“Watch my pod on YouTube”: Sad endorsement of a company that wants to sell adverts.
“Get my cast in your feed”: Cool, cyberpunk as hell.
Thus ends my argument that if we’re going to shorten podcast it should be the “cast” bit we keep.
Today in companies being needy: Vision Express called me, than later sent me a text message, then sent me a message asking for my feedback on the experience. This was all to inform me that my order isn’t ready yet, they’ve got half the glasses I bought and I was told not to expect them before Friday.
I’ve got a day to myself tomorrow and haven’t done nearly enough exercise this weekend so a 16 mile walk up the Itchen Way to Winchester it is.
I think we should have an armistice on meaningless legal statements. Things like “subject to availability” on promotions for special offers on physical items (of course it’s subject to having any in stock) and “serving suggestion” or “contents may be hot” on things where that’s obvious. Just do away with them. Everyone knows already so it’s just noise placed there by lawyers to look busy.
All new housing developments should be built with a shop and a pub, and a playground that is actually useable, not just a miniature slide plonked on it's own to a fulfil planning regulation.
Just climbed the hardest thing I’ve ever got to the top of, then dismounted by dangling with a single hand from a hold a good 12’ above the ground before dropping myself down, like a god damn action hero. (Thankfully there is no video to disabuse me of the notion that this looked elegant, rather than being a desperate last ditch effort not to fall on my arse from 12’ up)
Finding a business model for an open source projects is really hard, but "pay us to remove the catgirl pictures if you want to look professional" is one of the coolest attempts I've seen so far:
https://anubis.techaro.lol/docs/admin/botstopper
20 episodes into my rewatch of TNG and Riker has remembered they can pop the saucer off for dodgy situations like Romulans showing up. They didn’t do it of course. Not sure they ever do between the pilot episode and Generations.
Googled “I’m always angry” because I couldn’t remember how the Bruce Banner line goes. From the results I think I may be on some sort of watch list for people with anger management issues.
This is oddly gripping. I had plans for this morning and they’ve all been usurped by Tram Curling.
https://gruene.social/users/jon/statuses/115196483411136708
Today’s cursed sentence: “This bundle includes the Super Mario Bros. Wonder game and Talking Flower Figure. Please note: Talking Flower does not talk.”