John Conway

I am an artist, and I post a lot of my own art. I am also the Admin here at Sauropods.win, and a lot of my boosts will be great dinosaur (and other prehistoric animal) stuff from the other winners here.

Some hashtags: #Art #Paintings #Palaeontology #Paleontology #Palaeoart #Paleoart #Dinosaurs #SciArt #DigitalArt

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npub1lkzu8u489vsfwhkcxz2w6734f8kd2wj5ul8egsllemlzwq2u3ehq80e4vr

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john@sauropods-win.mostr.pub

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nprofile1qqs0mpwr72njkgyhtmvrp98d0g65nmx48f2w0nu5g0lual38q9wgumspz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerfw36x7tnsw43qz9thwden5te0wfjkccte9ekk7um5wgh8qatz6k4rkd

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npub1lkzu8u489vsfwhkcxz2w6734f8kd2wj5ul8egsllemlzwq2u3ehq80e4vr

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Last Notes

2026-04-12 16:59:18 UTC

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@nprofile…5q4u Well, I agree it isn't great, but it is better than the genocidal threats. There is some method here.
He's betting America can weather the storm of high oil prices than Iran can deal with the lack of exports, as a negotiating tactic. If he can get a nuclear deal, he can spin it as a win.
There are problems, of course! One, Iran can export through other routes, and the high oil price might offset the reduced volume, and two, its incredibly risky with regards to China.

2026-04-12 15:23:43 UTC

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@nprofile…4jpq yes, he’s publicly mused about charging tolls himself. Well, “me and the Ayatollah”.

2026-04-12 14:53:31 UTC

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@nprofile…grru I'm not sure of the full list of countries that paid the toll, but four nuclear powers (China, India, Pakistan, and France) are among the ones thought to have done so.
He's got to #TACO this, it's completely unworkable.

2026-04-12 14:37:13 UTC

Trumps has ordered the US navy to interdict any ship that has paid the Iranian Hormuz toll, which implies they will board/seize Chinese ships in international waters
Threatening genocide didn't work, but I guess he thinks threatening WW3 by dragging China into the conflict will be better.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116391828823240211
#WW3 #IranWar
https://cdn.masto.host/sauropodswin/media_attachments/files/116/392/239/407/450/410/original/e7bf1fdb358b36b6.png

2026-04-12 14:14:35 UTC

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@nprofile…007t Yes, he is threatening to board Chinese ships and steal their oil. This is how you start WW3.

2026-04-11 16:41:42 UTC

https://cdn.masto.host/sauropodswin/media_attachments/files/116/387/066/469/001/417/original/8f78de7aa77ea90c.jpeg

2026-04-09 10:55:57 UTC

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@nprofile…6p0k Am I reading this right: it involves casting metal in paper moulds? Isn’t the melting point of lead significantly higher than the ignition point of paper?

2026-04-09 10:43:25 UTC

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@nprofile…k3yl Cory Doctorow is a bright guy, and often has good insights, but this is at best a really misleading representation of binning.
Reading it in context, it’s part of a much larger post about all sorts of stuff. I just don’t think anyone can write competently about so much so quickly. It’s a curse of the internet that people feel pressure to produce so much stuff.

2026-04-08 18:36:58 UTC

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@nprofile…ur67 let see if the US gets involved again. It’s still possible this was Trump calling it (I don’t believe for a second Iran change their demands at the last hour). Trump could just leave the whole mess as it is. Israel was always likely to carry on.

2026-04-08 18:22:21 UTC

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@nprofile…d7qp yeah-e-yeah?
Please god let me resist the temptation to check…

2026-04-08 11:55:56 UTC

Dilemma: is it better to let Trump take this (obvious strategic loss) as a win, so that he’s not tempted to go back in, or emphasise the obvious strategic loss so that he’s discouraged from ever doing something so stupid again?

2026-04-07 15:32:01 UTC

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@nprofile…xrwy yes, I worry about the coincidence of these events too.

2026-04-07 15:21:32 UTC

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@nprofile…v2va @nprofile…5ac4 Yeah, I’ve been wondering if there are enough alternative sources to compensate. I think the answer is probably no, because the fertiliser is needed right now, and scaling up the alternatives would probably take at least a couple years, right?

2026-04-07 15:18:57 UTC

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@nprofile…tvgr I’d reframe that as “just as much” right as any other country. Not sure any country has any business holding the destruction of the world in it hands…

2026-04-07 14:12:59 UTC

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@nprofile…5ac4 I don’t understand why the fertiliser is always an afterthought, if it gets mentioned at all. We use oil and natural gas to excess, they can be rationed. The fertiliser situation seems… totally catastrophic.

2026-04-07 13:29:05 UTC

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@nprofile…tvgr ironically, the notion that Iran is pretty close to having a nuclear weapon is probably true (they were pursuing a strategy of staying just sub-nuclear). They may have the uranium and equipment in those tunnels to make one in a few weeks. Iran’s retaliation may be even more dangerous than he thinks.
https://youtu.be/JtUobr7xGz4?si=BrpSaIVrVA4uOxwu

2026-03-26 22:13:18 UTC

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@nprofile…pfuj Sometimes I get these uncomfortable feelings of embarrassment for Trump, like oh my god dude this is some sad stuff. This whole ‘actually I’m not chickening out we’re actually winning and they want to talk to me and its going really well and really great and they gave me a present' thing is just so humiliating.
So yes, I think it's completely made up.

2026-03-26 09:47:51 UTC

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@nprofile…y4e4 The war is a strategic masterstroke... for Putin.
It means he will find ways to prop-up Iran if they seem to be running out of steam. Strategically, he could justify close to that entire amount to supporting Iran and it would still be a win (Even half that amount makes something like ten thousand of Shaheds a day!).

2026-03-25 22:54:11 UTC

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@nprofile…galm Yes, I'm sure you're right, I'm sure they can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by meanness and stupidity.

2026-03-25 22:23:29 UTC

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@nprofile…galm Yeah, although I think they have a greater chance of their brutal tactics working there, and it's pretty low-cost cost politically and financially.

2026-03-25 20:12:46 UTC

MAGA seems really good at pivoting to things that blow up in their face after the last thing they pivoted to blew up in their face. Epstein files -> mass deportations -> Iran war…
Such is the burden of being really fucking stupid I guess, but what are the going to pivot to from this?

2026-03-25 19:07:47 UTC

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@nprofile…fr89 I don’t think the end game here is people making their own apps. It’s people asking for something to be done, and the AI figuring out how to do it. If it has to write code to interact with API, automate an interface, or write “original” code, it will. Code will be single-use a lot of the time.

2026-03-25 18:55:02 UTC

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@nprofile…7493 well actually…. I’ve got nothing.

2026-03-25 15:54:49 UTC

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@nprofile…vnwf Not sure what you're arguing here, people become professional when enough people give them enough money... right?

2026-03-22 00:51:42 UTC

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@nprofile…gl7q non spyware phones usually are. It’s still cheaper than the cheapest iPhone.

2026-03-20 16:49:07 UTC

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@nprofile…49jh not sure they will be able to do so anyway. Iran can strike all sorts of crucial targets from a wide variety of positions, surely?

2026-03-01 23:13:16 UTC

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@nprofile…q72j triangulating… triangulating…
https://cdn.masto.host/sauropodswin/media_attachments/files/116/156/451/252/462/812/original/8dad9ce6a4387486.mp4

2025-12-04 05:28:48 UTC

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@nprofile…26ln @nprofile…lmq8 it’s not uploadsto the home server, that’s a relatively small amount of storage, it’s the caching of the tens of thousands of media posts from the other servers that take up space.

2025-12-03 07:55:57 UTC

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@nprofile…26ln @nprofile…lmq8 sounds like they are missing the home server cache, and it having to re-fetch from the originating server. There might be a setting I could tweak, but storage costs are getting pretty high as it is.

2025-05-10 03:35:08 UTC

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@nprofile…args Your toot is one of the twenty or so I see as I load and reload my vibe-coded Mastodon client. Poetic. Especially when it hangs.
https://cdn.masto.host/sauropodswin/media_attachments/files/114/481/424/465/921/346/original/51b2922cb5c4618d.png

2025-04-26 00:45:46 UTC

My pet peeve today:
The #AdobeIllustrator “Magic Wand” tool, which selects similarly styled objects, has terrible defaults (kinda similar colour), and doesn't remember the settings you choose between sessions.
This bug has been in Illustrator for at least _20 YEARS_.

2025-04-18 06:44:35 UTC

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@nprofile…4tnp I hate to say it but this is what cryptocurrencies were/are meant to be good for. Don’t hate me.

2025-04-18 06:35:28 UTC

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@nprofile…hujc seems to me that the ultimate solution to this is to run your own server with one of the syncing applications installed. Just about everything else will enshitify eventually.

2025-04-17 18:50:48 UTC

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@nprofile…se6t X and SpaceX are indeed more of a problem.

2025-04-17 03:12:48 UTC

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@nprofile…hrhx @nprofile…dyz0 my understanding is that it was because she stepped into the Biden campaign machine, and that way the deal. It was a mistake I think.
On the broader principle, though, I think the American president has way too much power, and constraining them with party policy is at least somewhat tempering.

2025-04-17 00:14:36 UTC

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@nprofile…4ut3 Hmm, I’m using Tuba, and I haven’t seen it.

2025-04-16 23:11:47 UTC

Anyone got recomendations for a #Linux Mastodon client that supports "quote" boosting? (I know this is essentially a shortcut to linking, but I really like it).

2025-04-16 23:01:11 UTC

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@nprofile…dyz0 its hard to know what Harris would have done in the situation, because she was not allowed to break with Biden during the campaign.
But I'm pretty sure the current Trump aim is that there will be no Palestinians in Gaza. There is no resistance at all coming from the White House on maximalist genocidal/ethnic cleansing aims. This will get worse.

2025-04-16 22:59:54 UTC

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2025-04-16 07:02:38 UTC

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@nprofile…ktjk I am the math guy! Except for the acheivements, the mathematical ability, and being a different person.

2025-04-16 05:48:37 UTC

When I was a kid I thought this ballet thing I read about was ballay for kids.
https://mastodon.online/@batkaren/114341817906042626

2025-04-15 11:28:47 UTC

I think thet hing I will miss most about switching away form Apple platforms is @nprofile…79ya It's in a real software sweet-spot for me: it's made to be really _nice_, but works with standardised protocols. I'm happy to pay for the extra work that it takes to make things just so!

2025-04-15 11:04:50 UTC

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@nprofile…99ut I don't know actually, but I see this as a failure of the projects either way.

2025-04-15 11:03:19 UTC

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@nprofile…99ut There is OpenRaster: https://www.openraster.org/baseline/baseline.html
... and I think they could possibly use SVG, which would be pretty sweet actually, because it would bring the kind of interoperability that Adobe keep spromising without delivering.

2025-04-15 10:55:26 UTC

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@nprofile…99ut Anyone with an advanced degree in hyperbolic topolgy anyway.
No, but seriously, it's a bit better, but not by much. Standard file formats are really important, because your project can fail, but if you're using a standard format, no one should have to write special software to read the documents it creates.

2025-04-15 10:36:59 UTC

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Open source graphic programs often aren't great in this respect either, by the way. Krita and Gimp use their own formats!
(Inkscape thankfully uses SVG.)
#opensource

2025-04-15 10:34:15 UTC

In my transition to #Linux , the main problem isnt finding decent software to start new things in, but file-format lock-in.
I've got years of work locked away in .ai files that are pretty much unreadable by anything other than Adobe Illustrator. They are a complete mess in Inkscape, and I'm not sure there's much to be done about it.
I should probably just declare them all done and live with the uneditable PDF versions.

2025-04-15 06:09:58 UTC

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Also, in the #Linux transition, a lot of things that I would expect to work are actually not smooth (Linux gonna Linux), but some things, like #KDE_Connect, which you'd think... err this is going to be rough, just work. Very nice.

2025-04-15 05:59:15 UTC

In my ongoing transition from Mac to #Linux I have been trying to avoid just setting up something like a Mac, but worse. So I have been trying some more radical things, like the tiling window manager i3, but it was a bit much for me.
Then I came accross scrolling tiled window mangers and, oh my! This is how things should be done. There are a few out there, but I'm using #PaperWM https://github.com/paperwm/PaperWM
Going back to my Mac with higgledy-piggledy windows feels outright barborous now.

2025-04-10 05:50:23 UTC

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@nprofile…ktjk good question. I don’t know of one that does it right, but nearly all of the ones I’ve used (including old Word) do it better.

2025-04-10 02:35:28 UTC

Am I crazy or is Word for Windows have the most insanely bad interface ever invented? Thousands of buttons and tabs and drop downs scattered all over the place.
It feels like you need to be a rocket surgeon just to lay out a bit of text and a few pictures.

2025-04-08 01:45:16 UTC

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@nprofile…s6ke Personally, I've really only used two apps seriously. I liked @nprofile…v38v, but I'm not sure how actively developed it is. Of course, the Rolls-Royce of iOS is @nprofile…79ya which is my main app, and is pretty damn nice.

2025-04-07 05:51:40 UTC

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@nprofile…s6ke For app suggestions, what platform are you on?

2025-04-01 11:42:50 UTC

Linux desktop people, what disto and desktop do you use, and why?
#Linux #OpenSource

2025-03-27 08:40:40 UTC

I don’t know if Signal can survive in America. I’d move it to a privacy-respecting country without a fascist oligarchy, personally.
https://mastodon.social/@fj/114233442446693026

2025-03-24 08:24:07 UTC

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@nprofile…3l7q no, it’s more that I intend to use it in my hypothetical future setup. Which won’t be on a Raspberry Pi 4. 😉

2025-03-23 22:58:18 UTC

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@nprofile…em33 they are telling you what they are about to do.

2025-03-23 22:55:33 UTC

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@nprofile…rqac good article. I often wonder how deliberate this stuff is, or whether it is just intuitive once you’ve decided to be an authoritarian.

2025-03-23 18:51:44 UTC

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@nprofile…kym4 @nprofile…y6pm yes that is what I installed. Doesn’t run. I suspect it hasn’t installed the arm version.

2025-03-23 18:50:54 UTC

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@nprofile…80wh because it is the only free computer I have. I was not expecting any of this to run well.

2025-03-23 16:55:08 UTC

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@nprofile…y6pm Yeah, I realise it would not run well (I'm not actually planning to use this Pi as my computer) but it doesn't even launch, and its icon is the generic gear in the app launcher.
Perhaps the Linux ARM ecosystem isn't as advanced as I thought it might be?

2025-03-23 16:42:25 UTC

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@nprofile…3dpf Because I have a Pi spare,and all my other computers are ARM Macs.

2025-03-23 16:41:39 UTC

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It's not all bad of course! I quite like Ubuntu and could get used to it just fine. I'm using Vivaldi more seriously and I'm liking the features.

2025-03-23 16:39:43 UTC

I am writing this from a Raspberry Pi running Ubuntu, as part of my exploration of getting away from big tech.
The experience so far is... a bit rough. Obviously, the Pi 4 is under powered as a modern desktop, but also lots of software doesn't work at all. I can't get Krita to run for example. Is that an ARM thing?

2025-03-21 18:05:06 UTC

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@nprofile…xvqx mostly starvation and disease. But also all the other shit nazis got up to, executions, torture, and so on. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_atrocities_committed_against_Soviet_prisoners_of_war

2025-03-21 17:33:03 UTC

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@nprofile…64wd It certainly would be something, but there’s no official travel warnings for the US from the UK. They changed some wording about how strict the enforcement of visa rules can be, but no warning.

2025-03-21 17:16:28 UTC

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@nprofile…l32q wat

2025-03-19 17:06:18 UTC

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@nprofile…3lvc @nprofile…args It's probably just maintenance stuff, so not serious construction. The heavy-duty roof wide roof on the first level is so pedestrians don't get a paint-pot on the head.

2025-03-19 17:00:01 UTC

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@nprofile…3lvc @nprofile…args It's probably the base of scaffolding on the floors above, right?

2025-03-17 08:21:56 UTC

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@nprofile…7x4l … and we might need those tunnel habitable again.😬

2025-03-16 12:38:51 UTC

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@nprofile…srrn Ah, now that sounds interesting.

2025-03-16 12:22:56 UTC

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@nprofile…srrn So how do you get photos from your phone to your computer?

2025-03-16 12:09:46 UTC

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@nprofile…srrn Proper hacker shit! Do you sync photos?

2025-03-16 12:06:42 UTC

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@nprofile…mhdd Ah, I’m getting a lot of people saying Nextcloud, but I have big files, and i’ve heard bad things.

2025-03-16 12:00:27 UTC

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@nprofile…eksu You run your own email server? What do you use, and do you have any problems with delivery?

2025-03-16 11:44:17 UTC

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@nprofile…5h5a Have you had good experiences with Nextcloud, Yunohost and Tuta?

2025-03-16 11:43:08 UTC

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@nprofile…9qhz Offsite shed, I like it.

2025-03-16 11:34:20 UTC

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@nprofile…80wh When you get the energy... I feel you!

2025-03-16 11:24:50 UTC

Hey open source nerds, what’s your personal device setup, and how do you handle the “cloudy” bits, like sync, email, calendars, document sharing, photos, that sort of stuff?
#OpenSource

2025-03-15 18:53:30 UTC

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@nprofile…dwgn @nprofile…gfyr he did have another idea actually, which was to engineer the ousting of Zelensky, which has fallen flat because Zelensky is too popular, and the plausible opposition figures in Ukraine wouldn’t change situation anyway.

2025-03-15 18:04:52 UTC

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@nprofile…gfyr his plan was to hand over Ukraine with no security guarantees. When it became obvious that without those guarantee, Ukraine would fight on without American help, he got really cross, and now he’s out of ideas.

2025-03-14 13:50:06 UTC

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@nprofile…57qw Well, if you can't trust Putin for the facts, who can you trust??

2025-03-14 13:08:21 UTC

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@nprofile…ufuu @nprofile…hujc I’ve always likes the idea of going Open Source, an now with America becoming a fascist state I've been thinking about moving off American software more... but my god do professional graphic designers make a difference. And really good ones (Apple), even more so.
Quite the moral quandary!

2025-03-13 23:08:09 UTC

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@nprofile…fdcz he could quit Canada any time he likes! It just helps him relax.

2025-03-13 23:03:32 UTC

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Thinking about this this makes me wondering if Trump even realises what he’s doing. Maybe with some European leaders blowing smoke up his arse, he really doesn’t realise they are re-assessing the US under his leadership as an adversary. They will not help you invade other countries you moron, they will more likely declare war on you.

2025-03-10 23:35:03 UTC

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@nprofile…98le yes, although they can do it without cookies too, if they can run Javascript (which is why you need to block trackers too).

2025-03-10 22:55:02 UTC

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@nprofile…gaq2 they started that when it was Windows+Intel/x86. A lot of it was about processors.

2025-03-09 20:17:35 UTC

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@nprofile…j2qc https://johnconway.art/so_doge

2025-03-09 19:35:47 UTC

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@nprofile…8hye they must have switch to a convoy system for safety.

2025-03-09 19:17:42 UTC

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@nprofile…93qq Clarkson is a loudmouth jerk, who likes to rant about “woke” and all the other hobby-horses of the right.

2025-03-09 19:09:50 UTC

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@nprofile…80wh Rubio doesn’t look like he’s enjoying it, he looks like he want to shrivel up and die.

2025-03-09 18:53:29 UTC

What the hell is wrong with these people?
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:gvda6fem6r7selm4gzjjww4a/post/3ljxmszegw226

2025-03-09 13:06:28 UTC

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@nprofile…psrp Yeah, America can no longer be trusted to be a stable country, even if this current Trump madness ends. Tech, payment systems, and all sort of other entanglements will need to be unwound, it too big a risk to have subject to the whims of a President.

2025-03-08 13:34:41 UTC

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@nprofile…dfnr I’m reading the Wikipedia page now… it’s really complicated, and I don’t really understand business ownership very well, but the holding company does now seem to be based in Canada.

2025-03-08 13:24:14 UTC

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@nprofile…dfnr Tim Hortons isn’t Canadian?! My worldview has been shattered… do I really know anything at all?

2025-03-07 13:52:41 UTC

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@nprofile…hujc seems possible, not sure how to find out.

2025-03-07 12:39:05 UTC

Why does the degoogled Fairphone cost £100 more than the googled version?
https://shop.fairphone.com/fairphone-5-e-operating-system

2025-03-07 09:51:51 UTC

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It’s worth noting that Trump has backed down more on Mexican tariffs than he has on the Canadian ones. That’s a signal.

2025-03-07 09:50:03 UTC

I’m glad to see that the situation with Canada is starting to hit the headlines here. Not only do the Canadians need more obvious signs of solidarity, Canada is where shit gets real in conflict over American expansionism.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/america-canada-trump-tarriffs-b2710351.html

2025-03-06 16:44:15 UTC

I just can’t even
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/06/al-green-censure-house-trump-speech-democrats