SecondJon @SecondJon@qoto.org

When reading Ready Player One I realized that my first programming was as a kid editing programs on a TRS-80 (or something similar). First among our friends to have a desktop at home where we'd dial into our local #BBS to play games, chat, and message with people from around the world, back when it didn't seem so creepy when you'd be asked "a/s/l" regularly.

Later with the Internet I wondered why companies were buying up and shutting down services like WBS and Geocities, and was sad that what we had left was corporately driven social media mega sites.

I've been doing software development for decades, professionally since my first year of undergrad where I studied #linguistics; but I think my real work is problem solving to make people's lives easier/better, software is just the tool I'm skilled with to do that.

I chose the QOTO instance because the rules seem open and free and friendly, the way the web should be... and because of the idea of helping bridge the gap and bring people of supposed opposite sides together to connect rather than be polarizing.

Exploring Mastodon, feels a bit like the pre-MySpace/Facebook/Twitter online world before the largest corporations took control and monetized us all, when we had our local #BBS or even online days with WBS chat and the like.

Liking it so far, appreciate the rules of the qoto.org instance

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).

Thomas Sowell says concept of systemic racism 'has no meaning,' warns US could reach 'point of no return'

Economist says left's use of phrase recalls 'propaganda tactics of Joseph Goebbels'

https://www.foxnews.com/media/thomas-sowell-systemic-racism-has-no-meaning

Looking forward to your interview, I enjoy Sowell and his writings.

#nothelpful

Texas A&M student who reported racist notes on vehicle placed them there himself: police

Texas A&M police on Thursday said that a student who reported finding racist notes on the windshield of his car last month, may have placed the papers there himself.

https://disrn.com/news/texas-am-student-who-reported-racist-notes-on-vehicle-admits-he-placed-them-there-himself

#fakenews
CNN's Don Lemon: "Jesus Christ admittedly was not perfect when he was here on this earth"

CNN host Don Lemon claimed Wednesday that Jesus Christ admitted to not being perfect while he was on the earth in human form.

https://disrn.com/news/cnns-don-lemon-jesus-christ-admittedly-was-not-perfect-while-he-was-here-on-this-earth

From the New York Times (see image for their choice of headline)

WASHINGTON, May 29 (UP) --The Washington Redskins added ,a real Indian to their roster today with the signing of a Clemson halfback.

https://www.nytimes.com/1956/05/30/archives/redskin-joins-redskins.html

😕
Statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass toppled in NY on anniversary of famous 1852 anti-slavery speech

A statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass was toppled in Rochester, New York on Sunday, dragged 50 feet, and left on the brink of the Genesee River gorge, according to police.

https://disrn.com/news/statue-of-abolitionist-frederick-douglass-toppled-in-ny

#BLM is costing a lot of black lives. It's almost as if it's cynically using black lives as currency to spend toward its political purposes.

Shootings soar 205 percent after NYPD disbands anti-crime unit

Gunshot injuries skyrocketed to 157 from 47 in 2019, a 238 percent increase.

With a total of 205 shootings during the month, it was the bloodiest June in 24 years — going back to 1996, when the NYPD logged 236 incidents, the department said.

https://nypost.com/2020/07/04/shootings-soar-205-percent-after-nypd-disbands-anti-crime-unit/

Biden Campaign Refuses To Release Cognitive Test Results

Joe #Biden told reporters that he’s been “tested and am constantly tested” for cognitive decline... Biden never actually said what any of the results were.

I'm old enough to remember a press conference a few weeks ago when Trump said he'd been tested for COVID-19, and reporters shouted demands to know the results. Not the same if you're Biden

#uspol

https://thefederalist.com/2020/07/03/biden-campaign-refuses-to-release-cognitive-test-results/

Was just told by mall security that sitting and reading my book (any book) while I wait for my son is not allowed. Sitting and waiting is allowed. But not reading a book. Covid rules make so much sense. So now I'm standing next to the only seating in the mall reading my book standing up. That's fine, apparently.