Sven Slootweg @joepie91@pixie.town

Wanted to look up where the word "critter" comes from so I just absent-mindedly typed in etymology.com into my address bar and apparently that website is just an emoji of an orange and nothing else.

Two years ago, I experienced Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL), and am now almost completely deaf in one ear. This year, one of my colleagues had the same thing. Now I see there's a study out showing a strong correlation between COVID and SSNHL.
I guess that explains a lot. But, shit.
BTW If you find you suddenly lose hearing in one ear, get yourself to a specialist *immediately*. You have a 24-36 hour window to save your hearing before it becomes permanent.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00338-9/fulltext

hey dont tell people "holy shit your phone is old you should get a new one, the security issues!!!!"

do you really think i am happy that my phone that ive only had for six years doesnt get security updates despite working fine?

do you think i can afford to replace it?

"well then you should get a dumb phone and use your laptop for other things"

are you fucking kidding me? really? 1) my laptop is even older, it's 17", and takes like 5 minutes to start up, im not carrying that everywhere and 2) MOST THINGS DONT HAVE FUNCTIONAL WEBSITES ANYMORE

and really, do you think i should have to afford to replace it?

there is no reason my Pixel 3, which runs apps PERFECTLY FINE, should be abandoned to the ages. it's also one of the few Pixel models that cant even be given a new OS, since no one has worked out all the model-specific issues with it.

there is no reason i shouldnt still be getting updates, and no reason i shouldnt be able to easily switch to GrapheneOS or something else.

stop calling me a bad user for being 1) poor and 2) unwilling to give in to manipulative capitalist planned obsolesence. yell at the people making these decisions. my phone is intact after six years. im proud of that and i will use this until it goes spicy pillow.

PS give us back battery replacing, SD cards, and headphone jacks

Wie bij alleen al het idee van duurdere brandstof naar zijn gele hesje grijpt, doet er goed aan zich te verdiepen in de Canada Carbon Rebate. Het geld dat de Canadezen hieraan kwijt zijn wordt op de eenvoudigst mogelijke manier teruggegeven aan de bevolking. https://www.groene.nl/artikel/klimaatbonus?utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=owned_social&utm_source=mastodon

The task of a healthy publicly owned rail company is this:

To run as many trains as possible, within the financial constraints under which it operates

Note trains. It’s not “transport as many passengers as possible on the fewest number of trains”

That 5am train with a dozen building workers on it, or the last train home in the evening *matter for the trust and reliability of the system*, even if those individual trains make heavy losses and are largely empty

I’m sorry but you shouldn’t be expected to go back to work after vacation, it’s cruel

“Racists around Britain have been emboldened by the racism of Reform and Farage in Parliament and Robinson’s 15,000 strong demo in London.
“Both must be held accountable as they whip up Islamophobia and throw fuel on the fire.
“Anti-racists are now committed to breaking racists’ confidence again and confronting them where they attempt to spread hatred and attack Muslims.”

Anti-fascists to mobilise across Britain as racists expected to cause mayhem this weekend.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/anti-fascists-to-mobilise-across-britain-as-racists-expected-to-cause-mayhem-this-weekend

Damn TIL that not only Half-Life 2's eyes are still considered pretty much the gold standard for character eyes in video games 2 decades later, but also unlike almost every other game instead of using 3D eyeballs they're just almost-flat planes with a shader applied to them that makes them look better than the really 3D stuff

https://cohost.org/joewintergreen/post/3081256-dev-scoops-simulati

And I know this sounds bizarre, but a healthy railway system inevitably will have a bunch of empty or close to empty trains running

You can’t ever precisely match your operations to the demand. You can’t only run peak hours service (if you do people whose plans change can’t rely on the train)

So aiming for an ever higher % of your seats full might help a railway company’s bottom line, but won’t help rail’s modal share - and its modal share that matters, ultimately

The publisher that I was on the verge of signing with told me that they have an immovable policy of "no swearing". Why would I work around arbitrary constraints?

They think I've just declined.

What they have actually done is begin an arc that begins with self-publishing and ends with me creating a publishing house that runs them out of business, just because I can sense the weakness in their organization.

🧛‍♂️

The officially best news of the $interval:

World of Goo 2 is now out (and you can buy it directly from the publisher, DRM free):

https://worldofgoo2.com/

New e-Ink displays on trial by ​:london_bus:​ - they’ve been mounted at two stops, Borough Station (Stop D) and Waterloo Station/Waterloo Road (Stop F).