Notices by Reginald (raganwald@social.bau-ha.us)

“Daddy, what is class inheritance?”

The perpetuation of class distinctions and oppression through bloodlines over generations. Avoid it.

“I meant in programming?”

Avoid that too.

My favourite business parable (yes, really):

There’s a high-school reunion. Everyone shows up dressed “to the nines,” pulls up to the venue in their trophy vehicle, flaunting their trophy spouses. Success everywhere you look. During the inter-congratulatory small talk, someone asks about Rufus.

Everyone remembers Rufus, the class stoner. He was the school’s “Jeff Spicoli.” Whatever happened to him?

🧵

Shortly after the mention of his name triggers a wave of “Remember the time Rufus…” stories, Rufus shows up at the reunion. And reënacting the way he arrived at school every morning, he tumbles unsteadily out of a stretch Cadillac Esplanade limo, surrounded by a cloud of fragrant smoke.

And while he’s older, he’s still wearing Vans. Only they’re now a pair of collectibles. And the “Time to surf” watch of his youth is gone, replaced by a Rolex Submariner.

The school layabout appears to be doing well for himself. What gives?

"Well," he explains, "after graduation I decided to surf until the money ran out. Worked questionable jobs, sailed on tramp steamers to get to the spots, it was an adventure."

"I met a woman in 'Nam whose family made pencils. They printed things on them, happy graduation, good luck, that kind of thing. Something clicked. When I got back home, I asked a buddy to help me set up a company."

"We started selling pencils to businesses. We'd print their name and phone number on the pencils. Later on we expanded: mouse pads, clothing, all sorts of swag and tchotchkes."

"We're now in all sorts of businesses, and we’re doing great. But the pencils are still our bread and butter.

"We buy pencils for two cents each, and sell them for a nickel. It's amazing how much money you can make with a three per cent markup."

@thomasfuchs How is “Tour de France” 46 years old? Where have the decades gone?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvN5U1-Nd7g

@thomasfuchs You said System 7+ (The era when the software development documentation ballooned to the size of a telephone book), and I replied about that elsewhere.

But if I can go earlier than System 7... Much earlier... To the dawn of Macintosh... I have a copy of “Alice Through the Looking Glass” in my personal collection:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_the_Looking_Glass_(video_game)

It is said of Russia, “Every country has a Mafia, but with Russia, the Mafia has a country.”

And it is said of the United States, “Every country has a parasitic billionaire class, but with the USA, the parasitic billionaire class has a country.”

Lemme see if I have this right:

America taxes its middle class. It gives a ton of money to a country I shall call "Iodine." Iodine spends a portion of that money buying rich politicians on both sides of the aisle, and those politicians use that money to secure their jobs so they can get rich insider trading.

As a Canadian, this sounds like Iodine is running a money laundering scheme so the politicians can steal directly from their constituents who pay taxes.

@thomasfuchs I don’t care for his argument, but I personally agree with his conclusion. Any tool that watermarks its output in a secret way is steganographic, and I do not want that from any of my tools for any reason.

And yes I do feel what way about colour printers that watermark their output.

“[Cognitive Debt] is like tech debt: you can get away with not understanding what's going on in the short term, but it'll bite you eventually.”
—@geoffreylitt

https://www.geoffreylitt.com/2026/07/02/understanding-is-the-new-bottleneck

Comment: If you s/agent/collaborator, the essay is just as meaningful. Understanding was always necessary.

@thomasfuchs @Quasit Isn't a conventional air conditioner also a pump? As is a refrigerator?

Mind you... The efficiency is an issue, as is the fact that they only work in one direction.

The Agile Manifesto:

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

- Working software over comprehensive documentation

- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

- Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

https://agilemanifesto.org

(1 of 2)

“Like Enron, they’re using special purpose vehicles, or off-balance sheet arrangements such as legally distinct subsidiaries, as a way to make their financial reporting look healthier than it actually is — often a glaring sign that something is deeply amiss behind the scenes.”

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-companies-hide-debt-off-balance-sheet

"We took a little time away from the Nazi Bar, but we noticed there's less pushback now for partying with the fash. So, back inside we go. Something-something, aren't-we-virtuous."

#firefox #twitter #mozilla

“I no longer think freedom and democracy are compatible.”

—Peter Thiel, Fascist

Translation to English:

“In order for the .01% to do whatever the fuck we want, we must strip the 99.99% of their rights, their freedoms, and especially, their ability to form governments that place any limitations on our power, whatsoever.”

@thomasfuchs Alternate but parallel...

The dead can't defend themselves, but they're dead! They literally cannot be hurt by criticism, whether true or false. The criticism can only affect those who survive them, like their enablers and boosters and people who voted for them.

Directing criticism at the dead for the purpose of changing the beliefs and behaviour of the living is healthy. Thus, I don't speak ill of the dead: I speak ill of their legacy, which is very much alive and evolving.

@evan One of the things I like about Canada is that you are in it.

✊🏽

“The US is also a one-party state. But with typical American extravagance, they have two of them.”
—Dr. Julius Nyerere, first President of Tanzania

@evan The original quote from Marjane Satrapi: