SecondJon @SecondJon@qoto.org
I'm interested in being just not civil, but excellent in interacting with others of different viewpoints in an online world where we can so viciously defend our echo chambers and be so dismissive of other perspectives.
Because this is less and less possible here, I'm largely offline and am not sure if I'll be returning. It was fun back when civility was a trend on qoto.
Joined Aug 2018
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"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C.S. Lewis ( on government response to #COVID and other crises?)
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Thanks for the welcome, #@freemo Here's my #introduction .
I'm...
• a dad of a handful of kiddos, married, living in Colorado.
• a Christian in the Anglican tradition, and suppose I'm an unaffiliated conservatarian.
• a reader, working through the great novels as well as easier/fun books and nonfiction.
• a card and board game player and am happily teaching more to my kids as they get older.
• short on free time. I enjoy a philosophical pipe as I read and/or reflect, and occasionally get my guitar or bow/arrows out to learn new skills.
• a software developer... and have been for a very long time, now in the world of APIs and cloud development (CRM/SFDC).
https://qoto.org/@Paulos_the_fog/116159558338426206 really great example of a straw man argument. I wonder if he's got a whole collection of logical fallacy examples.
SecondJon
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American culture is notably individualistic. However, the American Christian must not forget our responsibility to care for others.
Got up to see the lunar eclipse early this morning. Nice try, the lunar eclipse is just the latest distraction from the epstein files.
SecondJon
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On the last day of meteorological winter, the garden is starting to stir. here are some current blooms for my #SixOnSaturday this week. More on the blog:
https://balmerino.ddns.net/geekygarden/
https://beige.party/@bkahn/116148688574724699
New conspiracy theory just dropped. The uprising of the Iranian people and subsequent escalation to another bombing was all orchestrated at a distraction away from files that the admin hadn't released yet but they must certainly have.
Substitute any national or global topic. Everything you think is driven by available information, which is heavily filtered and shaped before it reaches you.
Everything I know about President Trump I've learned from paid corporate spokespeople and others in the media, all of whom have an agenda and a clear interest in how my perception of reality drives my choices.
The same is true of you.
Where we may differ is that I'm aware of it.
SecondJon
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"Al is here to stay"
well ok, but me complaining about Al is also here to stay
SecondJon
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Short musings on "cognitive debt" - I'm seeing this in my own work, where excessive unreviewed AI-generated code leads me to lose a firm mental model of what I've built, which then makes it harder to confidently make future decisions https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/15/cognitive-debt/
Sadly I think #qoto is dying. This may be the end for my real engagement on Mastodon/the Fediverse. It's hard to find an insurance with rules attempting to create an instance where people treat others well, even when there's disagreement. Even here, though, they've failed...Just look at the local timeline. I miss the days when @freemo was involved and I hope he doing well.
SecondJon
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@SecondJon Thank you for your kind words. I am finding it harder to use QOTO. A lot of the features do not work for me such as automatic delete of posts; some security features related to the account; no notification for comments left on published toots; unable to see previous toots posted on the homepage (just get a 500 error); unable to use the search facility for toots; this is just a rudimentary list I thought off the top of my head.
#uspol Which party has changed? Is agreeing with the other party's still living former presidents being extremist?
#uspol Which party has changed? Is agreeing with the other party's still living former presidents being extremist?
SecondJon
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Exclusive: Nigeria Massacre of Christians: Eyewitness Accounts as the Left Claims This Is Not Happening
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/exclusive-nigeria-massacre-christians-eyewitness-accounts-as-left/
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/exclusive-nigeria-massacre-christians-eyewitness-accounts-as-left/
SecondJon
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Don't be shy about telling the truth. Don't be afraid to question what you believe to be true.
SecondJon
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I wonder if we could reduce our troubles by renaming ICE the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
SecondJon
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🖥️ **AI is fast. But checking its work is slowing workers down.**
"_A new Workday-backed survey found that nearly 40% of AI's value is lost to rework and misalignment._"
🔗 https://www.businessinsider.com/workday-study-looks-at-time-spent-fixing-ai-errors-2026-1
SecondJon
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One of my old college friends messaged me earlier this morning. I usually only hear from her once a year, can exchange a couple messages, and then she goes back offline.
I completely forgot that she is Iranian, and her family is in #Iran. (I think she still lives in the #USA.) She hasn't been able to hear from her family in a week because of the blackouts.
If you guys are of the praying type, please pray for the following:
a) That the protests end soon with the rebels as the victors
b) That the blackouts end
c) That the people who have been injured in the violence are able to recover from their injuries
If you are not the praying type (or even if you are), please signal boost this story. I've been following it for a few days even before knowing that my friend's family was in danger, it's a huge story and arguably the biggest news of the week, more people should be talking about this.
I completely forgot that she is Iranian, and her family is in #Iran. (I think she still lives in the #USA.) She hasn't been able to hear from her family in a week because of the blackouts.
If you guys are of the praying type, please pray for the following:
a) That the protests end soon with the rebels as the victors
b) That the blackouts end
c) That the people who have been injured in the violence are able to recover from their injuries
If you are not the praying type (or even if you are), please signal boost this story. I've been following it for a few days even before knowing that my friend's family was in danger, it's a huge story and arguably the biggest news of the week, more people should be talking about this.
SecondJon
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White House Announces Over 1,000,000 New Jobs Were Created In December But They Were All Filled By Marco Rubio
https://babylonbee.com/news/white-house-announces-over-1000000-new-jobs-were-created-in-december-but-they-were-all-filled-by-marco-rubio/?utm_source=fediverse
I'm interested in being just not civil, but excellent in interacting with others of different viewpoints in an online world where we can so viciously defend our echo chambers and be so dismissive of other perspectives.
Because this is less and less possible here, I'm largely offline and am not sure if I'll be returning. It was fun back when civility was a trend on qoto.
Joined Aug 2018
