Notices by Noam writes (noam@libranet.de)

“No computers.” the guard said harshly, holding out a metal box.

I put my phone in the box. He didn’t budge. I took off my smart watch and added it in.

“Are you sure you have no more computers? The detector sends out a brief EMP. It would be a shame to destroy any gadgets. Or injure you." He was staring at the side of my face.

Ah. I removed the Connex from my temple. I’d forgotten it was there.

He ushered me into what looked like an old electronic doorway, then pressed a button. A light flashed.

"You're free to enter. Enjoy." No smile.

I passed through a corridor to desk where a receptionist smiled. "First time?"

"Yes, is it obvious?"

"Don't worry. It's simple. Through the double doors there you'll find the main selection of books, by era and topic. It's colour-coded and easy to follow. You'll need these if you want to touch anything." She put a paper mask and thin laboratory gloves on the desk.

"Behind you is the iffy section, as we call it. Books printed after 2015."

"2015?! I thought AI printed books only appeared in the mid 2020s."

"That's probably true, but we can't be sure. Preserving authentic pre-AI knowledge is our raison d'être. We can't be too safe."

Her look turned serious and I saw the devotion to the cause in her eyes. Since the Big Corruption of '32, no digital files could be trusted to replicate original human knowledge. This library was a time capsule.

"Can books be taken out?"

"No, I'm afraid not. We couldn't let them back in, as they could be fakes."

"So, can I copy things? My phone and Connex were taken away. Do you have a camera to message me chapters?"

"No, we're strictly machine-free. but we have several scribes. They're very good." She was enjoying my puzzled look.

"They can copy down whole pages for you. With pen and paper," she answered my unspoken question.

"Pen and paper?" these were words of tales and myths.

"Come, I'll show."

#devotion #MastoPrompt #microfiction #AI #ArtificialIntelligence

Hello @support @helpers !

I've just realised something, which I assume is down to imperfect federation between Friendica and Mastodon: When I reply to someone on Mastodon, it automatically includes a mention of them @name.whatever - but I don't see that mention. If it's a nested comment, multiple mentions might be included. I only realised this when someone asked to stop mentioning them in a thread, and didn't realise I had.

Is this intentional? Is there a way to not mention someone in a comment on their post (or a reply to a comment)? Thanks.

I've lived in #Britain for 25 years. Sometimes I wonder about my adopted homeland, and if I belong here. And then something like this comes along, and everything is right with the world. 🇬🇧

#tea #biscuit #needs #British #UK

@liztai The US isn't the only country bordering the Gulf of Mexico, so it's a bit strange to change it. What if he wants to change the Atlantic to Fart's Ocean?

I actually wasn't aware of the dispute over McKinley until now.

@steffen @support Do you have any updates? We're now at 4 to 5 days delay with Mastodon, so can't really have conversations.

I've noticed Diaspora posts seem to show up straight away, but my Friendica posts have several days' delay reaching Diaspora.

@liztai Any recommendations for Kdramas or Cdramas on Netflix for a complete beginner?

I'm fine with drama, romance, adventure, fantasy. But not too much violence, it just reminds me of the real world.

@liztai I lived in a haunted house for a couple of years. But the ghost, or whatever it was, wasn't evil. It actually helped me out once.

I remember a month or two after moving in, asking my housemates if they thought there was a presence in the house. I was afraid if sounding silly. But they said definitely yes. They'd even considered investigating if anyone had died there.

@liztai @jfslicer es Same here. Liberal didn't used to mean left at all in Europe, although now it's used to mean that sometimes. It's imported from the US.

To me left is tied to people power, socialism, democracy - something like the origin of the phrase from France. Much of the current progressive politics isn't 'left' by these standards.