Notices by Joshua A.C. Newman (joshuaacnewman@xeno.glyphpress.com)

@cstross @Robert_Brandt @mattmcirvin @nyrath
Stewart Brand’s big fear was Communism making everyone conformist. So he talked himself into being a Newt Gingrich supporter because, by the 80s, he was rich and felt like he deserved it. After all, everyone told him what a wise visionary he was.

@Robert_Brandt @mattmcirvin @cstross @nyrath
Of the first variety, yeah.

They’re “Libertarians” because they inherited the empty land from the guys who shot all the people living there and figure that means they deserve it.

@Robert_Brandt @mattmcirvin @cstross @nyrath
Again, look at the giant shit Stewart Brand took in the collectivist pool.

@cstross @nyrath
The ridiculous thing is that all it takes to undo that learning is one generation of austerity that damages education and then we have to start pulling lords off horses again.

@Robert_Brandt @cstross @nyrath
Yeah, and in ... Arizona, I believe, where they literally ran out of water because they'd been buying it from a municipality that then needed it and stopped selling it to them, and they couldn't make themselves admit that they were so wrong that they were all about to die in the desert.

@Robert_Brandt @cstross @nyrath
Unions and squats seem like a pretty fuckin good model of governance.

@Robert_Brandt @cstross @nyrath
Such things work, I think, when there’s enough resources (labor, bandwidth, wood…) to satisfy all needs, which is most of the time.

The dangers are two, I think:
1: Psychopaths run away with power because the redistribution system is linear, not exponential like power gain is.
2: In order to keep anyone from running away with power, a community isolates extraordinary individuals from the resources they need to do the unexpected, lest they run away with the power.

@Robert_Brandt @cstross @nyrath
There’s also a valid point to be had that no everyone can be productive. People who are just weird, who are disabled, who are old or young, also need to be a part of the society.

@cstross @nyrath
Somewhere about 20 years ago, my Left/Libertarian self recognized that Libertarians, when they grow up, become Fascists — or, when they have thoughts, Socialists.

Because if you want to prove that you deserve everything and the cheaters stole it from you, you’re a Fascist.

And if you want to make sure that everyone has the institutional-scale equality that Libertarianism espouses, it means redistributing all power proportionately toward those with the fewest resources.

@nyrath @cstross
I’ve found that, in practice, Libertarians seem to really like the idea of authoritarianism as long as they’re on the right end of the stick.

@blogdiva @cstross @clintruin @sidereal @wonka
Definitely seems like it.

One of their objectives is the destruction of Israel and the Jews, btw.

@blogdiva @cstross @clintruin @sidereal @wonka
Netanyahu benefits from worldwide antisemitism. It keeps him out of prison, makes him look like he's saving Jews. He's building on the foundation of European Blood Libel and dhimmification under Muslim law to make a place where Jews finally get to be the petty bullies in alliance with antisemitic forces from Russia and the US to India and Saudi Arabia.

@BlackAzizAnansi HyperCard.

@SmudgeTheInsultCat Just leave the bag on top. The thing is recording you, so look like you’re trying to get the dumpster to open.

@icedquinn @futurebird @WearsHats @drj Yep! I mean, technically it's never gone away, but it was languishing without the work that Tim Schoen started putting in to make it work in DAWs, to give it a legible interface, and to dramatically enhance its UX.

@futurebird @WearsHats @drj We're working hard on that in the plugdata project! https://plugdata.org !

The idea is that it's a programming language for experimental artists first and foremost. Integrating other people's work into your own is easy, including bringing along their documentation and crediting.

It's not cobbled together from something to sell to bosses to make their secretaries use. It's made to be a mind-spaceship.

@Doomed_Daniel @thomasfuchs @me_
Yeah, I gotta say, that looks like an ergo nightmare.

@Doomed_Daniel @thomasfuchs @me_ yep. The floating monitor stands of today are much better. They go where your eyes point while your hands go where your hands rest.

@thomasfuchs oh! Look at the size of it!

This is EASILY a RasPi, cheap small screen, and 3D printed case stuff!

@thomasfuchs http://thecomputerarchive.com/archivemain/Computer%20Components%20and%20Accessories/Networking/Emerald%20Computers%20-%20LANstation%20I%20Diskless%20LAN%20Workstation.PDF