Sven Slootweg @joepie91@pixie.town

Reading the XMPP RFC and being very quickly reminded why I don't like implementing this thing (the fucking streaming XML parsing required)

I'm sure nobody cloned it in the several weeks it was up

Oh hey, the rotting NFT-ized corpse of Winamp finally figured out how to delete their company-internal shit off Github?

The section that describes "IQ stanzas" in the RFC immediately explains it in terms of "request/response" so it's not like those terms weren't already in use

... why are query stanzas in XMPP called "IQ" again?

(I know what it stands for, that is not the question)

Suggesting Gemini or Gopher to someone looking for a Chrome alternative, or suggesting Markdown and Git to someone looking for a Wordpress alternative, is like suggesting a bicycle to someone looking for a car alternative.

Yes, it's technically possible that it will solve their problem - but more likely than not, it is completely the wrong thing to recommend because it isn't even the same *kind* of thing.

Please, when recommending 'alternatives' to people, don't just assume that because you personally like something, it's a good recommendation - actually make the effort to understand what someone is asking for, which may not even be something you've ever needed!

(And I say this as someone without a car, with a bicycle, and who uses Git and Markdown for their blog, so don't bother with the "you just don't understand how much better it is" please.)

For some reason this hadn't occurred to me before, but I guess that basically every messaging and chat platform nowadays is just a HTTP or WebSocket API? Instead of a custom protocol?

I'm currently really enjoying these mixes: https://www.youtube.com/@Shell_PL/videos - high variety and only uplifting, it seems!

https://cyberpunk.lol/@rachaelspooky/113283502009676011

stroop is pancake glitter

Hoewel ik content warnings graag meer gebruikt zie worden, zal ik iets of iemand niet snel direct erop aanspreken.

Maar FTM maakt het wel heel erg bont; dan denk je een artikel te gaan lezen over retentie van gegevens door politie, dan krijg je ineens een gedetailleerde omschrijving van een gruwelijke moord in je gezicht gegooid in de inleiding, zonder enige waarschuwing vooraf.

What the fuck, FTM, had daar nou echt even geen waarschuwing vooraf vanaf gekund? Dit gaat echt wel heel erg ver.

There are three main things that helped me get my teeth into a healthy state:

1. I changed toothpaste to Elmex. I don't generally care about brands, but crucially their formulation is different and it doesn't cause slimy-throat for me like most other toothpastes do. The exact reason is unclear to me. It made it much less unpleasant.

2. I got an electric toothbrush (one of those 'sonic' things, but from Lidl) that is waterproof and so can be used under the shower. This made it easy to integrate into my evening shower routine, so I could brush my teeth in relaxing comfort (important because my Tourettes is triggered by repetitive movements... like brushing teeth, and I need to be very relaxed to suppress this).

3. I got a water flosser, one of those that pumps water into high-speed bursts. Instead of just flossing, I also aim it carefully between my teeth and gums, to flush out the crap that's causing inflammation and infection. This is important because my executive dysfunction prevents me from reliably brushing twice a day, and so it builds up. An alternative but less pleasant solution is to use chlorhexidine mouthwash (note that it can have side effects).

These things, combined with a long-running deliberate effort to get things in order, and quarterly teeth cleaning at a very helpful dentist as a temporary measure, are what helped me ultimately get my teeth in very good shape again - after a literal decade of barely brushing due to a litany of brain and disability issues, and never visiting a dentist.

Long story short: yes, it's possible to recover from even very bad dental hygiene. But you need to think very deliberately about *what* it is that is preventing good dental hygiene for you, and try to find concrete solutions to it. Just "trying to remember harder" is not going to fix it, regardless of what your parents/friends/etc. say.

There are most likely many other solutions to these issues too, if the above are not accessible to you for any reason.

And most of all, there's more than one way to get there. The nominally 'correct' way isn't necessarily the right way, when things like disability get in the way. Sometimes you just need something different that does the same job better for you. There is no shame in that.