Nostr notes by Virginicus

Philosophical question: does it count as #retrocomputing if ...

2026-10-25T19:10:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…tk2t
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Philosophical question: does it count as #retrocomputing if it’s a machine you’ve been using all along?

Speaking several Germanic languages, but not Swedish, I infer ...

2026-10-23T16:30:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…ata7
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Speaking several Germanic languages, but not Swedish, I infer that “Romfartuna” means a space-traveling fish.

Lots of humans have been working on these problems. One thing an ...

2026-10-11T22:25:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…dfx7
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Lots of humans have been working on these problems. One thing an LLM can do better than people is read absolutely everything in the field and connect up different research efforts that collectively have found the answer.
But the LLM doesn’t understand, so it can’t write a clear paper about the combined result.

I’m always curious about how the criminal justice system works ...

2026-10-09T16:59:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…nwgh
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I’m always curious about how the criminal justice system works in civilized countries. What’s a day-fine?

Traditionally, those jobs would be in the army.

2026-10-07T16:15:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…uz9t
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Traditionally, those jobs would be in the army.

Nine powerful Men were given special status by someone desiring ...

2026-09-24T23:45:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…hsmn
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Nine powerful Men were given special status by someone desiring power over all the world. I’ve read this book; We should make them wear black robes.

The opposite of “We will bury you.” I like it!

2026-09-24T09:59:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…3e9z
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The opposite of “We will bury you.” I like it!

Impressive. I was expecting power tools.

2026-09-21T23:05:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…w9t6
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Impressive. I was expecting power tools.

Here’s where I lose the plot: what does cleaning up the garden ...

2026-09-21T22:37:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…2h6d
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Here’s where I lose the plot: what does cleaning up the garden entail? From the photos I’ve seen, your garden in September is more pristine than mine when I’m planting.

Ahoy, @npub17x4…u7yh ! As a translator of RL Stevenson, you ...

2026-09-19T16:42:15Z

Ahoy, Martin Rundkvist (npub17x4…u7yh) ! As a translator of RL Stevenson, you must know: how do pirates talk in Swedish?#TalkLikeAPirateDay

If you’ve ever wondered why to prune a cherry tomato plant, ...

2026-09-18T18:12:47Z

If you’ve ever wondered why to prune a cherry tomato plant, here’s what happened when I didn’t. There are three wire cages holding up various parts of this beast. The rod in front is 1 meter high. I have to reach in to pick fruits from three different directions. I harvested 610g of fruits just now. #gardening

Congratulations! Don’t forget (as leftists often do) that ...

2026-09-14T13:47:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…887m
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Congratulations! Don’t forget (as leftists often do) that Sweden is now an important node in the European defense network, so they’re going to have to disappoint you pretty hard in the next few weeks.

That first sentence makes me believe the scholars who say ...

2026-09-13T12:01:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…8dpz
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That first sentence makes me believe the scholars who say alliteration is inherent in Germanic languages.

the name is correctly spelled, for someone who is trying to ...

2026-09-13T11:15:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…6rfr
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the name is correctly spelled, for someone who is trying to remove nice things from the world.

Problem with this is, MAGAts don’t look things up in the ...

2026-09-11T15:29:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…y0ad
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Problem with this is, MAGAts don’t look things up in the dictionary. The “liberals” they oppose are people who think all races and genders deserve civil rights.

I’m a veteran of that. Half of my colleagues lost their jobs ...

2026-09-08T17:00:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…c8yd
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I’m a veteran of that. Half of my colleagues lost their jobs — at a defense contractor!

I don’t often encounter a problem that can be solved by ...

2026-09-08T09:12:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…5u6l
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I don’t often encounter a problem that can be solved by sleeping late, but this might be one.

Which quark? It’s important to be specific. I’ve had cats who ...

2026-09-05T14:43:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…5mw3
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Which quark? It’s important to be specific. I’ve had cats who were up, strange, and charm.

Lately, there’s a strong current of 20th-century romance novels ...

2026-08-31T17:05:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…mc00
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Lately, there’s a strong current of 20th-century romance novels with elves and dragons added.

This is the future we were promised.

2026-08-27T21:34:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…0630
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This is the future we were promised.

It would be more accurate to say, “Pain is youth leaving the ...

2026-08-15T07:43:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…5uam
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It would be more accurate to say, “Pain is youth leaving the body.”

Not a quick nor a merciful death.

2026-08-14T10:02:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…7uej
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Not a quick nor a merciful death.

Is that poison hemlock?

2026-08-07T18:47:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…h6dh
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Is that poison hemlock?

There could be entire lost civilizations in that squash patch. ...

2026-08-02T01:19:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…sj25
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There could be entire lost civilizations in that squash patch. Did BeetBear meet any?

I like this angle. Can an LLM tell which theorems are ...

2026-07-24T23:04:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…02mv
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I like this angle. Can an LLM tell which theorems are interesting?

I’m going to show this to my vegetables, to try to get them to ...

2026-07-21T23:21:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…zsph
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I’m going to show this to my vegetables, to try to get them to raise their game.

Internationalism is doing quite well among the fascists. We’ve ...

2026-07-19T13:51:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…j7wz
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Internationalism is doing quite well among the fascists. We’ve dropped the ball.

I would like to meet those people, too.

2026-07-19T10:12:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…sv8y
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I would like to meet those people, too.

Are the familiar ones earth carrots or water carrots?

2026-07-15T19:02:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…jcv8
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Are the familiar ones earth carrots or water carrots?

Good thing you numbered your bookcases. Finding a die that ...

2026-07-06T01:32:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…pj8d
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Good thing you numbered your bookcases. Finding a die that randomly generated Roman emperors could be expensive.

Xenophobia is a more powerful force in voters’ minds than peace ...

2026-07-03T13:51:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…a34z
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Xenophobia is a more powerful force in voters’ minds than peace and prosperity.

He has been banned from running nonprofit corporations because of ...

2026-07-03T12:40:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…p3e6
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He has been banned from running nonprofit corporations because of past fraud.

But sports are the only things people care about. Would you have ...

2026-06-22T21:45:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…u8fa
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But sports are the only things people care about. Would you have us be absolutely heartless?

I remember “The Incomplete Enchanter” best.

2026-06-18T19:42:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…7yl7
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I remember “The Incomplete Enchanter” best.

Smoking on a spaceship.

2026-06-15T15:29:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…jscp
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Smoking on a spaceship.

I don’t have any inside information, but I doubt they’re ...

2026-06-14T21:56:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…d46x
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I don’t have any inside information, but I doubt they’re being spared from the general de-funding of science here.

My tomatoes are in a similar funk. I’ve decided not to pinch ...

2026-06-01T02:38:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…jj6g
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My tomatoes are in a similar funk. I’ve decided not to pinch off any more suckers, in case those weren’t affected by the cold.

I’ve never had any luck starting cucurbits indoors. Do you do ...

2026-05-29T23:03:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…kwyv
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I’ve never had any luck starting cucurbits indoors. Do you do something special?

China just makes you fill out a form with multiple-choice ...

2026-05-24T18:21:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…766t
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China just makes you fill out a form with multiple-choice questions where none of the choices make any sense.

Filtering on #AI works for me. It doesn’t catch everything, but ...

2026-05-16T13:48:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…lvm0
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Filtering on #AI works for me. It doesn’t catch everything, but that’s always the problem with filters.

Some of the tomato seedlings were way too tall for their 4-inch ...

2026-05-15T14:41:10Z

Some of the tomato seedlings were way too tall for their 4-inch pots. I had to plant them in the ground, despite the 49 °F overnight temperature. Then I figured, if normal gardens can have row covers, why can’t mine have column covers? It worked, though it looked kind of ominous. #gardening

My barn is old, so the solar company told me I’d have to ...

2026-05-13T01:46:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…k6ux
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My barn is old, so the solar company told me I’d have to replace the roof and sister the rafters before they’d install panels. Nothing wrecks a benefit/cost analysis faster than that.

My tomato seedlings are big enough to need cages already, but the ...

2026-05-10T15:46:20Z

My tomato seedlings are big enough to need cages already, but the forecast temperatures are low enough to need row covers. Is this idea too stupid-looking to work? #gardening

OK, this was weird. I went to the curb and looked in the bin to ...

2026-05-07T14:06:36Z

OK, this was weird. I went to the curb and looked in the bin to see if the truck had picked up the #recycling yet, and discovered that overnight someone put two gallon jugs of badly spoiled milk in there. The jugs were bloated almost to exploding. If they'd gotten into the truck, they'd have burst and the whole load would have been unusable. I gingerly fished out the jugs and got them to the compost heap without incident. I poked them with a tomato stake and they released a Lovecraftian version of cottage cheese and a smell I don't want to experience again. A thick layer of shredded dry leaves on top. Bon appetit, little micro-buddies! #composting

Single-author papers in the sciences are prestigious. Scientists ...

2026-05-06T12:09:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…ktqn
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Single-author papers in the sciences are prestigious. Scientists don’t submit them because they won’t pass review from jealous peers.

The low-temperature forecast for Thursday night is 39° F. I am a ...

2026-05-06T00:27:37Z

The low-temperature forecast for Thursday night is 39° F. I am a patient man, but my tomato seedlings don’t like being stuck indoors and request an end to this nonsense. #gardening

My garden soil has been reading 59° for the last two weeks. ...

2026-04-30T21:56:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…kek8
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My garden soil has been reading 59° for the last two weeks. I’m not falling for that one again!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie where the zombie was the ...

2026-04-28T00:10:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…xzfh
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie where the zombie was the good guy. 👏🏻

I don’t think I’ve heard of “Gulf”. Did it get published ...

2026-04-21T19:26:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…ffn4
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I don’t think I’ve heard of “Gulf”. Did it get published under another title? Or just buried and forgotten?

What else ya got?

2026-04-21T00:32:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…e8h6
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What else ya got?

When I found out that lambsquarters taste good, I let them grow ...

2026-04-17T16:48:10Z

When I found out that lambsquarters taste good, I let them grow to full size in one row of my vegetable garden. Five years later, I am still being reminded of why people don’t do that. #gardening

I would love to know what they thought the gods wanted them for.

2026-04-16T16:14:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…z65f
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I would love to know what they thought the gods wanted them for.

Mastodon designate you our Official Extrovert. We can make up a ...

2026-04-07T11:17:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…l6nk
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Mastodon designate you our Official Extrovert. We can make up a plaque or something.

I had the impression that runes were angular because straight ...

2026-03-31T20:16:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…afjr
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I had the impression that runes were angular because straight lines were easier to carve. But this guy seems to do curves just fine.

🤢

2026-03-31T17:05:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…srqy
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🤢

Kind of a niche interest, but I’m sure the Internet will ...

2026-03-31T16:04:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…6k02
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Kind of a niche interest, but I’m sure the Internet will eventually provide.

German has a more attractive name for it than English. “Purple ...

2026-03-25T11:32:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…qhq8
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German has a more attractive name for it than English. “Purple deadnettle” just doesn’t sound pleasant.

When I was a boy, my grandmother took me to hear lectures by ...

2026-03-23T22:55:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…0a2u
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When I was a boy, my grandmother took me to hear lectures by archaeologists and zoologists and so forth at the National Geographic Society. It’s good to hear that sort of thing still exists.

But without that adventurous spirit, our ancestors would never ...

2026-03-16T08:54:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…vrc2
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But without that adventurous spirit, our ancestors would never have climbed down from the trees.

What’s the total length of all the axes in your sample? Do you ...

2026-03-12T10:21:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…g6a4
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What’s the total length of all the axes in your sample? Do you have a literal milestone?

One good thing about generative AI is that they don’t have to ...

2026-03-10T16:48:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…ym24
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One good thing about generative AI is that they don’t have to ruin people’s lives with profile pics anymore.

Our kitchen has three cast-iron stew pots, which makes my life ...

2026-02-28T18:24:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…ld0n
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Our kitchen has three cast-iron stew pots, which makes my life sound more interesting than it actually is.

For years, I have been laughing at the tax assessors’ delusion ...

2026-02-26T23:40:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…lvwe
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For years, I have been laughing at the tax assessors’ delusion that my 1957 bungalow is worth more than the land it’s sitting on.

I am intrigued by the implication that some of the readers of a ...

2026-02-17T12:16:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…xe54
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I am intrigued by the implication that some of the readers of a paper about stone axes may not be nerds.

Mexico is also the “United States”. We just can’t win.

2026-02-10T00:59:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…tddf
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Mexico is also the “United States”. We just can’t win.

I am told that the invention of the buttonhole was hundreds of ...

2026-02-03T20:56:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…6w7a
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I am told that the invention of the buttonhole was hundreds of years after the widespread use of buttons.

Makes sense. Humans aren’t good at inventing things. What ...

2026-02-03T11:20:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…sdyj
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Makes sense. Humans aren’t good at inventing things. What we’re really good at is looking over the shoulder of someone who’s doing something and saying, “it would work better if you did it this other way.”

Excel has a similar default.

2026-01-26T22:03:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…jks7
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Excel has a similar default.

The clustering looks less imaginary in this version.

2026-01-24T01:20:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…7lq6
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The clustering looks less imaginary in this version.

The news yesterday was that Denmark asked Greenland what they ...

2026-01-15T11:06:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…rqrr
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The news yesterday was that Denmark asked Greenland what they wanted to do, and Greenland chose to stick with Denmark.

I tried that with my health insurance company, but they were way ...

2026-01-14T10:58:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…z42x
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I tried that with my health insurance company, but they were way ahead of me. The bot just stripped out anything outside its lane.

Do I even want to ask how big a baby huntsman spider is?

2026-01-05T22:50:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…sdt3
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Do I even want to ask how big a baby huntsman spider is?

💡 I have a cabinet full of Rubbermaid, if you have any muffins ...

2026-01-05T02:47:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…xa0m
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💡 I have a cabinet full of Rubbermaid, if you have any muffins left over.

Universities are really saying they have a program for each job? ...

2025-12-31T16:54:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…4c0n
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Universities are really saying they have a program for each job? Liars. At best, they can set up the beginning of your career. They have no idea what the jobs will be at the far end of it.

Two absolutely magnetic stars, but a script that is kinda missing ...

2025-12-26T23:08:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…rzyx
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Two absolutely magnetic stars, but a script that is kinda missing a chunk. I still like it, though.

This is weird: ...

2025-12-24T03:30:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…8xyx
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This is weird:

I use the one built into Thunderbird.

2025-12-19T02:16:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…k5eq
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I use the one built into Thunderbird.

WTF did I just listen to?

2025-12-19T02:07:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…zk45
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WTF did I just listen to?

Spoiled kitties! How do you open it for cleaning?

2025-12-17T15:35:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…vwt3
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Spoiled kitties! How do you open it for cleaning?

Today is the 10th anniversary of my blog, Idiosophy. 323 posts ...

2025-12-07T21:02:47Z

Today is the 10th anniversary of my blog, Idiosophy. 323 posts and 46,000 visits so far. Many of those visitors were humans!
Here’s my favorite post, to celebrate. #Tolkien #comfrey #dogs

https://www.idiosophy.com/2019/06/the-botanists-and-the-critics/

The US government is also in the middle of an anti-Somali frenzy. ...

2025-12-03T16:54:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…t6wl
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The US government is also in the middle of an anti-Somali frenzy. The global network of nationalists is the weirdest part of current events.

Excel has it built in, under data-> analysis, but it’s just ...

2025-11-25T16:14:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…7ttj
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Excel has it built in, under data-> analysis, but it’s just as bad as the Google example above.
In both, I use “countifs” so I can control the bin definitions.

1 Tim 5:23 “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for ...

2025-11-24T12:20:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…n4k4
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1 Tim 5:23 “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.”

One last chance to use an ancient joke. Q: What would you get if ...

2025-11-15T22:15:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…8x4y
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One last chance to use an ancient joke.
Q: What would you get if Lee Iacocca was bitten by a vampire?
A: autoexec.bat

Your first point is fairly new. Hugh Hefner used to talk about 20 ...

2025-11-15T17:08:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…4ugk
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Your first point is fairly new. Hugh Hefner used to talk about 20 as the best age for a woman.

When I hear the word “waldkultur”, I reach for my chainsaw.

2025-11-15T13:03:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…ffkq
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When I hear the word “waldkultur”, I reach for my chainsaw.

Nostr event nevent1qqsd3egnecd9fg23xwcf9t8dr63q0ne8yvlwcxnxys99z0cwe0cd99qzyzqef7jqnqnkuk4sfhzt7yhl4g5m96k77afspajcyhdt5xh3lp7mgqeexl9

2025-11-11T17:30:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…vwr6
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https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:mvsj7wwyvl4fegc3cozmlfut/post/3m5eiraz6lk2m

This sounds like the premise for a not-bad comedy, itself.

2025-11-08T21:29:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…44gt
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This sounds like the premise for a not-bad comedy, itself.

We all did, back then.

2025-11-04T22:49:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…xp5d
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We all did, back then.

This has always seemed like a fundamental flaw in socialism.

2025-10-29T13:38:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…5czd
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This has always seemed like a fundamental flaw in socialism.

Donkeys come over the border to take jobs from our native-born ...

2025-10-25T15:57:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…z7xj
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Donkeys come over the border to take jobs from our native-born jackasses.

Someday, there’s a Ph.D. Thesis to be written about how games ...

2025-10-11T13:50:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…gkjv
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Someday, there’s a Ph.D. Thesis to be written about how games transformed written fiction.

Herculean task, finding attractive landmarks in Newark.

2025-10-08T15:18:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…29zj
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Herculean task, finding attractive landmarks in Newark.

The state police arrested a couple of septuagenarians here for ...

2025-09-30T10:10:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…fxqe
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The state police arrested a couple of septuagenarians here for protesting like that. If it wasn’t working, they wouldn’t try to shut it down. https://www.nvdaily.com/nvdaily/after-quicksburg-arrests-questions-emerge-over-free-speech-and-safety/article_af5bc501-0a8a-58aa-a744-56eef02ea226.html

Can’t speak for anyone else, but I dread macOS upgrades. They ...

2025-09-18T19:15:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…any3
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Can’t speak for anyone else, but I dread macOS upgrades. They always break something, which I discover at the least convenient time.

To quote Moxie Marlinspike, “People really hate running ...

2025-09-18T17:38:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…vcyr
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To quote Moxie Marlinspike, “People *really* hate running servers.”

Did you make any changes to account for the places where it will ...

2025-09-01T21:06:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…kk2a
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Did you make any changes to account for the places where it will be processed by AI instead of a human?

Should I infer that it’s been printed on actual paper? That’s ...

2025-08-29T15:17:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…lm5l
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Should I infer that it’s been printed on actual paper? That’s an achievement these days.

Call for papers: what should we say about #AI that doesn't ...

2025-08-26T23:30:03Z

Call for papers: what should we say about #AI that doesn't beg the question of "intelligence"? https://newmetaphorsforai.wordpress.com/

Scale is a good point. Even the most ardent free-will advocates ...

2025-08-05T11:17:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…u7qr
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Scale is a good point. Even the most ardent free-will advocates concede that we can predict the number of births in 2026. But we can’t say which women will do the work.
That’s why prediction is the important part, to me. I can keep a feeling of free will as long as a prediction machine can’t prove me wrong.