@wikicliff@fosstodon.org cover
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

wikicliff

@wikicliff@fosstodon.org

A long time ago I wrote free software for USENET and the early days of wikis. I generally do not post or boost messages at this time (July 2023).

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. For a complete list of posts, browse on the original instance.

CatsOfYore , to random
@CatsOfYore@varmint.town avatar

Back before they could trample the remote to turn the tv on. Photo from my collection, no date/info.

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@CatsOfYore
Looks like early 1970s brown to me, before they started adding orange to liven things up. 😜

hrefna , to random
@hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

Well my model was faster but it was also not working, so I'm not sure that's an improvement -.-

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@hrefna Not when you say it like that! Try "Model performance improved with some loss of accuracy." If it works for LLMs... 😜

hrefna , to random
@hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

I regret to inform everyone that I am back on my BS.

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@hrefna
Oh, good. For a moment I was afraid you were back to ActivityPub. (Please tell me that isn't ActivityPub! 🤪)

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@hrefna Eeek. I think the last modeling I did was with Play-Doh, and advanced modeling was not eating it. 😜

Is it something like a simulation with lots of things interacting? I used to think about these things back in the day when I wanted to write a better Dwarf Fortress simulator. Otherwise I have no idea what you are doing.

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@hrefna That does sound like an interesting model to play with. Unfortunately this 500 character margin is too small... 😜

From a technical/simulation side one also has lots of interesting choices. I might start with prototype object-oriented code, but I also like Entity Component Systems. (I wonder if a lot of ECS-style coding could be adapted for modern GPUs turning nasty/slow control flow into data.) Of course I'm sure you've gone lots of steps past that already. Hope you have fun (or Fun)!

hrefna , to random
@hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

Apply Blu-Kote to a rooster without getting it on yourself challenge (Difficulty: Impossible)

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@hrefna
At least you haven't sprayed yourself in the face with Blu-Kote! Yet. The day is still young. 🤪😜

CatsOfYore , to random
@CatsOfYore@varmint.town avatar

“Go outside” they said. “You’ll enjoy the fresh air” they said. Photo from my collection, no date/info.

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@CatsOfYore
Outside has a distinct lack of comfy soft things to sleep on!

hrefna , to random
@hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

Mustards: "I can take 2 years to eliminate from a pasture!"
Kochia: "I take 3!"
Thistles: "We can take 5+ years!"

Bindweed and Russian Knapweed, speaking together: "Amateurs! AMATEURS!"

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@hrefna
"I say we nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

CatsOfYore , to random
@CatsOfYore@varmint.town avatar

Katherine Gertrude Dobbie, born 1894. https://digitalnz.org/records/38444750/katherine-gertrude-dobbie

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@CatsOfYore
That's quite a name for a cat! 😜

hrefna , to random
@hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

Hmmm, maybe it is time to get back to learning

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@hrefna
How about an ActivityPub library in Rust? Shouldn't be too hard... 🤪🤪🤪

jenniferplusplus , to random
@jenniferplusplus@hachyderm.io avatar

I don't know who needs to hear this, but I'm getting tired just thinking about the testing path you would need to follow in order to fork mastodon and keep it as an in-place upgrade from baseline.

  1. stand up a baseline mastodon instance
  2. federate with some peers
  3. fill it with realistic data
  4. migrate to the fork
  5. test the fork
  6. test federation
  7. repeat across several combinations of mastodon base versions and other fedi servers
  8. rapidly, during development
wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@hrefna @jenniferplusplus
I think that working with other projects could be useful even if one's goal is eventual Mastodon migration/replacement. One could try implementing some of the ideas about safety/etc. in other projects (which have less inertia than Mastodon), then work to bring those implementations to Mastodon (or a fork if still necessary).

IMO a call for a fork should have some concrete implementation, not just a general call for other people to do work.

hrefna , to random
@hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

Horse. That is the wrong side of the fence.

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@hrefna
Well, the grass IS much greener over there!

hrefna , to random
@hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

My major conclusion looking at the market and tech companies behavior is that, if you accept the spoken values of economics classes, that execs are either really bad at their jobs, that there is some other consideration that economics isn’t accounting for, or both.

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@hrefna
insert "Both? Both. Both is good." meme here 🤪

CatsOfYore , to random
@CatsOfYore@varmint.town avatar

Photobomb! From my collection, no date or other info known.

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@CatsOfYore
Rude of those people to photobomb a good cat picture! 🐈📷

CatsOfYore , to random
@CatsOfYore@varmint.town avatar

Illustration from Joey Goes to Sea by Alan Villiers and illustrated by Victor J. Dowling, 1939.

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@CatsOfYore
Maybe kitty just wants to BOOP the goat? :blobcatboop: 🐐

CatsOfYore , to random
@CatsOfYore@varmint.town avatar

Evelyn Nesbit with beautiful friend, 1901. https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:47171988$22i

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@CatsOfYore
"Evelyn Nesbit" is an odd name for a cat, but I'll allow it. 😜

hrefna , to random
@hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

"I think it's great that people are realizing if their social media app isn't talking to the fedi they needn't bother making it."

This is a bad take and you should feel bad for making it.

Snark aside: there's nothing magical about the "fediverse" and there's a lot to improve. Some of the ways that the fediverse has traditionally improved involved people going off and doing their own thing and finding ways to make it fit later.

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@hrefna
"But wait, there's more." Does it come with a free set of Ginsu knives? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wzULnlHr8w (for the whippersnappers who wonder what this old man is yammering about)

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Found a queen ant on Park Ave. Looks like Prenolepis imparis, or the american winter ant. You can spot queens by their distinctive waddle. She was hustling along the side walk as if on her way to the Chanel store. Now she’s in one of my luxury ant condos— but don’t tell her I’ve moved her out to the Bronx.

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@futurebird
Go Ethel! Eggs, eggs, EGGS!!!

CatsOfYore , to random
@CatsOfYore@varmint.town avatar

Cutest couple. 🏆 https://rockinghamlibrary.org/history/items/show/12487#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-1608%2C-1%2C5480%2C2959

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@CatsOfYore
I want to BOOP both of their noses! I suspect they might bite though--both of them! :blobcatboop: 👩🐈

hrefna , to random
@hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

bangs head into table repeatedly

From "Cardiovascular Risk Associated With Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy in Transgender Population (Aranda et al, 2021)

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@hrefna
<notices headbanging>:
"Concussion Risk Associated With Study Analysis in Transgender Population" 😜

hrefna , to random
@hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

<describing advantages and disadvantages of the patch and mention its size>

<send a picture using a .243 winchester cartridge for scale>

Them: "…………this is like a transfemme meme for a very particular type of transfemme."

Me: "…okay now look here"

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@hrefna
I was very confused for a few moments...until I remembered that there are physical things called "patches", not just software patches. 🤪

futurebird , (edited ) to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Tulip, the eastern black carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) is a median worker. She likes to hang out at the highest point of the driftwood branch. Like most elderly ants (she is nearly 2 years old) she no longer enters the main nest. (I think older ants avoid the nest chambers to prevent disease) she spends a lot of time looking up… she has escaped twice. On her first escape I gave her the pink dots.
#antVideo #withNarration #namedAnts

https://youtube.com/shorts/DL5YlYt7ivI?feature=share

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@futurebird
Tulip dreams of visiting the Outer Outworld once again. 🐜🚀🌎

CatsOfYore , to random
@CatsOfYore@varmint.town avatar

So glossy! Photo from my collection, ca. 1920s. The cat is identified as “Bamie” - maybe named after Bamie Roosevelt?

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@CatsOfYore
Long cat is looooooong! :blobcatgoogly2: 🐈

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

It's always bothered me that when people adapt Kafka's Metamorphosis they depict Gregor Samsa as a roach. Cockroaches do not undergo metamorphosis. They are born as nymphs which are just smaller wingless versions of the adult form.

Kafka writes that Gregor can only enjoy rotten food. Which also makes him not at all roach-like. Roaches strongly prefer fresh vegetables to rotten ones.

I always imagined him as a beetle. Which implies that the man Gregor was a larvae for all his pre-bug life.

wikicliff ,
@wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

@roadriverrail @futurebird
<wakes up as an insect> "Is this covered under my employer's health insurance?"

CatsOfYore , to random
@CatsOfYore@varmint.town avatar

Kitty, no! 1920. https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:157529

Illustration of a cat pawing at the outside of a bowl of goldfish while a young girl seems to be objecting with one hand raised in a alarm from a short distance away. The cat and girl are in black silhouette and the cat and fishbowl sit on a light teal bar of color representing a shoulder-heigh shelf or mantle. The teal of the bar and the dark orange of the fish are the only colors, the black figures of the cat and girl drawing attention to their unmistakable body language.
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    • wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @CatsOfYore
    "No" to a cat just means "don't get caught". 😜 Also, did anyone else think the girl was wearing cat ears? (I may have been on Mastodon too long.)

    hrefna , to random
    @hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

    I swear to the gods I'm going to lose it if more people decide to chime in on this sort of thing with variations of "but no protocol can guarantee…"
    https://hachyderm.io/@hrefna/112135996918942331

    hall of fame game missed the point GIF

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @hrefna
    "But no protocol can guarantee people will get the point!" 🤪

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    My husband is mad that I put a teaspoon of icecream in my oatmeal.

    But OMG I'm RIGHT! This is it! This is the ultimate soothing food.

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @futurebird
    Sounds like a great mixture!
    goes and puts a teaspoon of oatmeal in my ice cream 😜

    CatsOfYore , to random
    @CatsOfYore@varmint.town avatar

    Wanderlust kitty longs for adventure on the high sea. 1956. https://digitaltmuseum.org/0210111522420/boroya-i-oslofjorden-august-1956

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @CatsOfYore
    Would definitely be a mighty pirate if only water wasn't so wet. 😜

    CatsOfYore , to random
    @CatsOfYore@varmint.town avatar

    A royal cloud. 👑 https://digitaltmuseum.org/011013533125/portrett-katt-pa-pute

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @CatsOfYore
    I believe the proper form of address is "His Majesty Cloud Fluffybottom the Third".

    hrefna , to random
    @hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

    When I run into people and groups it's always a bit of a culture shock coming from… the rest of the European and North American scenes.

    They are their own thing, doing their own thing, and there's very little crossover with the rest of the LARP world.

    Which is fine, but it does create some weird culture shock moments (both directions), and I'm struck by it every time I see it in action.

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @hrefna
    I just wanted to say that I've enjoyed your comments about LARP stuff--it sounds like a lot of fun with the right people. My only similar experience is that I visited a couple SCA events with my brother (who has been deeply involved for decades).

    Out of curiosity, are there any good websites that have some kind of general "LARP 101" intro information? (It's hard to trust search which may point towards fanatics or bad commercial stuff.)

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @hrefna Thank you--the Crash Course video was a very good overview. After that I read the Wikipedia page on LARP which presented a lot of the same info with a bit more depth.

    I see now how my request was a bit over-broad, kind of like asking "What's the deal with computers?" 😜 My main interest is in "Theatre-Style" LARP, especially in the tension between a more scripted story and a less scripted game experience. (Or tension between rules-based gaming and free character experiences.)
    1/2

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    Reminder:

    • Pica does NOT run a fun "password guessing game" where "you can win prizes."

    • There is no "good reason" to give Pica your SS number or a copy of your tax return.

    • Pica is NOT friends with a "secret bitcoin whale-cat" and has no "secret inside information"

    • Pica can't help you improve your signature.

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @futurebird
    Why does Pica want my password again? I already set it to "Pica" like she told me.

    hrefna , to random
    @hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

    Me on help line: “the airline counter is closed, when will it be open?”

    Help line: you can check in online!

    Me: I have bags, I can’t exactly teleport them.

    Them: can you talk to an agent?

    Me: the. Counter. Is. Closed.

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @hrefna
    "Have you tried opening the counter?" 🤪

    hrefna , to random
    @hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

    Imagine for a moment that I'm on hachyderm, but I prefer how tooters (to pick a random server) does moderation.

    With atproto-style labels and a little bit of elbow grease I could make it so that their classifications would propagate to my account and I could decide what to do

    Without me having to move servers

    Like… just sit with that for a moment

    Yes, there are complications in doing that well, yes, I would prefer private feeds for it, and also… just consider what it would look like here.

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @hrefna @jenniferplusplus
    I am very much in favor of communal moderation, but I have come to believe (despair?) that only a small minority will ever change their server/app default configurations.

    It seems to me that as social media grows the common defaults will become more important and filter only the very worst content (that will get you kicked off Cloudflare for example). A few (maybe 5%?) will enjoy much better customized experiences, and be used to defeat efforts to change defaults.

    hrefna , to random
    @hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

    This idea that in the "future" that "no one will have to code" is such nonsense.

    Code might look different. It might be more in 4GLs or 5GLs and not 3GLs, it might have more assistive tools, it might change shape in a thousand different ways.

    But you will always need people who can engage in the structured thinking required and you will still need something that we would recognize, in the CS sense, to be code.

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @hrefna
    Exec: "Make me an everything app!"
    Me: <brings up web browser> "Done. Just some minor configuration required."

    hrefna , to random
    @hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

    Jaci (my pionus parrot) is in horny jail. Yeesh.

    Yes, I know you are horny, can you STOP SCREAMING IN MY EAR kthxbye.

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @hrefna
    No. No They Are Not Okay.

    hrefna , to random
    @hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

    No, googlers in general are not "worried that [we] are slowly being replaced by AI."

    I haven't done a formal poll, but it would shock me if the number turned out to be significant.

    That's not how this works, that's not how any of this works. What kind of clickbait nonsense is this.

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @hrefna
    The people who should be most worried about AI replacement right now would be customer service employees. I don't think Google does that. 😜

    hrefna , (edited ) to random
    @hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

    Reading @zoeschiffer's "Extremely Hardcore" and one thing that is striking, though not surprising if you've paid attention to Musk at all, is his emphasis on the idea mattering.

    It's this fantasy we've seen from the VC-crowd of "I tell the generative AI my Brilliant Idea™ and it executes it without any of these messy middle bits" (aka, people).

    But ideas are cheap and they exist at so so many levels beyond just that one sentence summary.

    But that's what people who like Musk idolize.

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @hrefna
    Obviously not the best use of the money--velociraptors are SO much cooler!

    hrefna , to random
    @hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

    Venting:

    There's just… so much ossification in such random ways in the fediverse.

    I'm not sure it's even a tractable problem. The solution may require another generation of technology entirely.

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @risottobias @hrefna
    We already have 15 standards...and they are all called ActivityPub. 🤪

    hrefna , to random
    @hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

    rubs temples

    nope nope nope nope you can't make me I'm not touching that fedi meta with a 10' pole. I'm not touching it with 10x 10' polls strapped end-to-end.

    No way.

    octopus scariest shit ever GIF

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @hrefna
    Not even touching with a whole ... bridge ... of poles? 😜

    [Deleting rant about deleting rant about Fedi politics. 🤪]

    badastro , to random
    @badastro@mastodon.social avatar

    One day, the Sun will expand into a red giant and vaporize Mercury, Venus, and Earth.

    But astronomers have found what may be planets orbiting dead stars, showing that some planets can survive that fate. Words by me:

    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/planets-orbiting-dead-stars-foretell-the-solar-systems-far-future-fate/

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @WolfgangFeist @badastro
    Yeah, anything past 2.7 billion years is just too far out. 😜

    hrefna , to random
    @hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

    Me: "If you are worried about Trump, think about what actions you can you do right now? What action can you take?"

    Men replying: "VOTE VOTE VOTE"

    rubs temples

    I'm not sure about you, but I'm fairly certain they won't accept my vote before they send me a ballot.

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @hrefna
    "VOTE VOTE VOTE" -- I thought voting more than once was frowned upon (except for Chicago 😜).

    hrefna , to random
    @hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

    The SCOTUS is very likely to reject Trump's immunity bid, and I'm getting really tired of doomposting irrespective of if they do

    If you are in despair sit with it for a moment. Your feelings are valid. But then the question is:

    What next?

    "I'm going to yell about it on mastodon" isn't going to solve anything. It might bring momentary catharsis, but only momentary

    What next?

    Eventually we all need to take meaningful action

    Freezing is rarely a healthy response

    So let's talk about it.

    1/

    wikicliff ,
    @wikicliff@fosstodon.org avatar

    @hrefna
    I'm fairly hopeful that SCOTUS will not even accept the immunity bid for an appeal.

    One great person to read on these issues is @Teri_Kanefield. She is an author and former appeals defense attorney. Teri has a similar view of doomposting (even by more liberal media like MSNBC). She also has a cute dog JJ who deserves more treats (JJ did not pay me for THIS mention ).

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