Notices by Tyler Smith (plantarum@ottawa.place)

#Emacs folks: Is https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/emacs.git/ down for everyone, or do I have a local problem that keeps me from reaching it?

The people that hang out on internet help forums are often the worst people to ask for help.

"You want me to recommend which bread to use for a beginner sandwich maker? I couldn't possibly begin until you've provided us with the crucial details! What kind of toppings will you be using? Condiments? Will you be dining alone? At a table, or in front of the television? You absolutely cannot consider breadin isolation, you need to know what you'll be drinking as well".

Dude, take a breath. We don't need to treat every decision like it's a dissertation. Sometimes a beginner just needs a gentle suggestion.

Sourdough is nice, try that.

I'm still a little irritated by the guys on the "Fine Woodworking" podcast, who resolutely refused to provide actual advice on tools for new woodworkers.

Now, years later, I appreciate that it's just as valid and authentic to use a new Veritas as it is to rehab a beat up old Stanley. But I spent *months* trying to get that stupid crooked plan to take smooth cuttings.

It would have been amazing if one of the experts had dared to say "hey, if you've got $150 to spare, you can get a good new tool in working order to start with and save a lot of hassle".

Rather than trying to figure out what, if anything, is wrong with a random tool from a garage sale. Which is rewarding in its own way, but not for someone with zero background.

Ira Glass on learning to create:

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.

Via @sacha

https://sachachua.com/blog/2025/02/looking-at-landscapes-art-and-iteration/

@mpjgregoire @pjohanneson @davidculley @parismarx

The decline of public services seems to indicate poor policy and motivated attacks as much or more than any inherent shortcomings of the service itself.

Reducing support for agencies like Canada Post, increasing competition from abusive employers like Amazon, we should expect postal service degrades and becomes less sustainable financially. But this is a consequence of choices we make.

I agree with your point that we have more options than the status quo or nothing. But we need to consider the broader context.

The same problem afflicts healthcare and transit.

@daniellatz @blogdiva

Buffet is similarly charitable, and says nice things about taxing the wealthy. But he's also a relentless booster of the abusive monopolies that sustain our oligarchs to the detriment of the rest of us.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/10/folksy-monopolists/#folksy-monopolists

@daniellatz @blogdiva

Gates lobbied for, and got, strict IP protection for COVID vaccines. This effectively blocked access to the vaccines for millions of people.

His charity occurs within the limits of his self-interest.

The #mastodon 'quote tweet' thing, where you include a link to another toot in your toot, is really irritating.

In this particular case, I click the link, which opens the toot up in another tab, where I'm presented with a link to another site which was invisible to readers of the 'quote toot'.

I understand that there are reasons not to implement quote tooting, but this is not a great alternative.

why is #mastodon so slow to show images? Mostly on my phone, it often takes minutes for an image to appear. Is that the server I use, my phone, or just how the fediverse works?

@andrew @feditips

Just listening to #cbc #Ottawa: their economist guest advised listeners that, if they find grocery prices are too high, the solution is to buy shares in grocery chains themselves. Then they'll share in the windfall, and will understand the grocers are just good business people.

Maybe the most patronizing, out of touch take I've heard on inflation.

@cwebber it's odd they would take a firm stance on this kind of messaging, yet don't see any problems with the message they send with such a problematic figurehead.

I say that as a great admirer of RMS, but for all he has accomplished, he's ill-suited to serve as the public face of an organization that wants to encourage outsiders to get on board.