programmer culture lamenting, "jokes"
So there's that Wat talk by Gary Bernhardt. Pretty funny, I felt at the time it came out - not something to take seriously, of course, just something to blow off some steam.
And then I noticed people starting to take it seriously. It started coming up in discussions, as if it were a legitimate argument about a language being 'bad'. It started being used to attack programmers writing in those languages, and question their competence.
And then Gary Bernhardt himself, the speaker in that talk, turned out to be somewhat of a language-elitist ass.
Since then I've taken a rather more grim view of these kind of overly simplified 'jokes' about programming languages. Because it turns out, they mostly punch down, and quite often they're not really jokes at all, they're just someone looking for an excuse to talk down on others.
🧠💭 Heb jij te veel spellen? 🎲📚🧺
🧙♂️ Spoiler: Dat is precies waarom we Tavern’s Market organiseren. Geef je spellen een nieuw thuis — en scoor zelf misschien ook weer wat moois!
👉 Boek een kleedje of tafel via deze link: https://forms.gle/AjxS2N3cWYyNsnj26
#RINCON #Kronenburgerpark #Nijmegen #Tweedehands #Markt #bordspellen #TTRPG #Gezellig
Who to report ICE raids to
@jscholes Great question. Basically groups of lawyers who make it very hard for ICE to do their jobs, and help people know what to do and what their rights are if they're being detained. Law enforcement might not do anything but federal agencies aren't willing to take that chance.
These networks can also mobilize people to spread the information quietly through an area so that people can get out before ICE shows up without tipping them off.
You can call the national Migra Watch hotline if there's not a specific one in your area 1-844-363-1423
How to help immigrants in ICE raids
Things you can do to help immigrants in the US right now:
Stay vigilant, ICE is raiding parks, hospitals, restaurants, anywhere immigrants work (everywhere)
Print out Red Cards which outline the rights of someone being arrested by ICE. Print them out, leave them on the bus, in the library, in the bathroom https://www.ilrc.org/red-cards-tarjetas-rojas
Do not talk to ICE. If they come to your work you say "I do not know the immigration status of anyone who works here. Am I free to leave?". And then leave.
If you see someone being arrested, document it. Film it if you can, write down details if you can't. Don't post to social media. Instead look up who to report ICE raids to in your state (do that now), and call them.
Hi, fountain pen lovers.
A friend gave me an antique fountain pen that they could not figure out. It had been stuck together. A lot of cleaning and elbow grease unstuck it.
Can anyone identify it?
The oddest part is the brass-covered, magnetic weight on the cap. I guess that it was to hold the pen vertically with nib down?
On the weighted cap is the brand "Parker".
On the back of the nib is the letter M.
Can anyone further identify it? Are there other photos that might help?
If anyone actually cared, there'd be (exclusion) filters for "with ads", "requires subscription", "has microtransactions", etc.
how to handle abuse/rape allegations
Particularly I want to know:
- how to balance accused's right to respond if the accuser doesn't want details shared?
- how to handle vague second-/third-hand accounts, without retraumatising victims who don't want to talk about it again?
- how to handle cases when both sides have plausible-but-contradictory accounts?
- at what point does trust in known individuals become favouritism?
- how to approach it from a perspective of restoragive justice?
how to handle abuse/rape allegations
Does anyone have any zines / guides about how to deal with allegations of abuse and/or sexual misconduct? This is something that keeps coming up for me.
As a friend, a moderator (not here), an event organiser, and someone who cares about the safety of my local queer community, I keep having to deal with difficult scenarios, and I am never confident in whether I've done the right thing.
anyway hi Germany it's over 30° in dry heat! welcome to heat!
- sip water all day even if you don't think you're thirsty
- eat salty snacks or salty food when you're sipping water all day
- wear loose, breathable clothing such as linen or sports synthetics
- cover exposed skin with either sunscreen or loose, breathable clothes
- when you go outside take: sunglasses, head covering, water bottle
- avoid being in the sunlight when the sun is high
- stop trying to not sweat. sweat is natural when it's hot and it's a very efficient cooling system (as long as you're wearing loose, breathable clothing)
- don't work when the heat is cooking you alive in the office. in the absence of a siesta tradition, procrastinate. bullshit. kill time. surviving is enough.
do you feel lethargic and vaguely ill when it's hot like this? do you feel fatigued and unable to do anything? follow these simple measures and I guarantee you will feel better think of it as dressing up on 2+ layers plus overcoat, beanie and gloves during winter but like, the other way around. you will definitely not regret protecting your health from the heat
The second one in particular was asking if this is the train to London. I said "this is the train to Paris actually" and he goes "yeah but I think there's 2 stops", literally does a "waving away" motion with his hand, and walks away.
My man I've taken this train dozens of times, there are indeed multiple stops and none of them are London 😳
There's these competing beliefs, "turn your hobby into a job and you'll never work a day in your life" vs. "turn your hobby into a job and you'll never enjoy it again"...
And I think I've finally worked out where the disconnect is: it's all about the agency you have in your work. Whether one or the other is true depends on whether you can make a living doing the thing you wanted to do anyway, or whether you're dragged along in a maelstrom of industry misery.
By this point I feel pretty safe concluding that for me and tech, it's mostly the latter, especially in more recent years.
Random Friday tip: When doing a one-on-one zoom training someone on how to use a tool, I sometimes ask if it's ok with them if record so they'll have it for their reference. I then make sure they get a copy afterward.
When you're first encountering a completely new tool, it can be a bit overwhelming. It's hard to retain even half of it.
This means they can consult it at their own time and pace and don't feel uncomfortable having to ask for you to demo something a second time.
Technical debt collector and general hype-hater. Early 30s, non-binary, ND, poly, relationship anarchist, generally queer.
- No alt text (request) = no boost.
- Boosts OK for all boostable posts.
- DMs are open.
- Flirting welcome, but be explicit if you want something out of it!
- The devil doesn't need an advocate; no combative arguing in my mentions.
Sometimes horny on main (behind CW), very much into kink (bondage, freeuse, CNC, and other stuff), and believe it or not, very much a submissive bottom :p
My spoons are limited, so I may not always have the energy to respond to messages.
Strong views about abolishing oppression, hierarchy, agency, and self-governance - but I also trust people by default and give them room to grow, unless they give me reason not to. That all also applies to technology and how it's built.