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).

500,000 students home from closed schools here in Denver yesterday.

But they must not be releasing the real reason why. What we know about the high school girl who flew in from Florida doesn't seem like enough to throw a whole metro area into panic.

Kids back to school today as the FBI womanhunt is over.

In 1 Chart, How Your Taxes Are Spent

https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/04/14/in-1-chart-how-your-taxes-are-spent/

#uspol

#democrats in Illinois ban Trump from 2020 ballot. Because democracy.

Another problem with the National Popular Vote. Step 1: NPV. Step 2: legally prevent votes for your opponents in enough states. Step 3: democracy is dead, but you gain power.

https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/illinois-senate-tells-trump-show-your-tax-returns-or-be-barred-from-the-2020-ballot/c8ccf2aa-d5c5-4506-9e3c-67f11e26cc6a

#uspol

That Amazon, Google, and Apple are listening to the always on recording devices should surprise no one. That's how this works.

From the article : "... workers said they use internal chat rooms to share recordings they find amusing.

When workers come across a background conversation about personal information – like bank details – they are supposed to make the audio file..."

https://www.foxnews.com/tech/thousands-of-amazon-workers-listening-to-alexa-recordings-hear-personal-information-even-potential-crimes-report

Candace Owen's : 'White Nationalism' Didn't Cause This, 'Democrat Policies Did'

https://www.cnsnews.com/video/candace-owens-testifies-white-nationalism-didnt-cause-democrat-policies-did

#uspol #abortion #blackgenocide #democrats

Instagram Removed Pro-Life Comic as 'Hate Speech'

https://www.christiandailyreporter.com/news/ig-removed-pro-life-comic.html

Do you notice the bias when you read something that agrees with you?

I'm skeptical when something agrees with me too much. Maybe I'm skeptical of everything.

#news #uspol

House Democrats Block Bill to Stop Infanticide For 28th Time

https://www.lifenews.com/2019/04/03/house-democrats-block-bill-to-stop-infanticide-for-28th-time-refuse-care-for-aborted-babies-born-alive/

#uspol #democrats #infanticide

House Democrat speaks out: 'I am offended by this whole conversation about socialism'

"But it is not the moment to undo the whole system and embrace something that Americans have spent blood and treasure fighting to save other countries from,"

https://www.theblaze.com/news/house-democrat-speaks-against-socialism

#uspol #democrats

How do you best convince us devs to document?

I'm convinced by the amount of time lost as a result of not having documentation, but others are convinced it's unnecessary overhead. Just looking to build a dev centric wiki of sorts for our system. Any thoughts?

I was just talking with my kiddo about red/green color blindness. I was about to say it means someone who can't tell the new green political ideas apart from red communist ideas.

But I'm not sure how many could draw a clear line to differentiate those ideas.

#uspol #parenting

Seems like it's really more about removing parental rights and giving them to the state alone. All your kids are belong to us.

Today "Sixteen-year-olds need a parent OR a judge to sign off on the union... Under Hansen’s proposed bill, marriage would be banned for anyone 15 years or younger. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds would need the approval of a judge.

Hansen says that is because he has heard parents of 16-year-olds are the ones signing off on marriage and it has looked suspicious to some county clerks."

https://kdvr.com/2019/03/29/marriage-is-allowed-at-any-age-in-colorado-new-bill-would-implement-minimum-age/

#uspol #Colorado #

So I know the republican president right now is uncouth on social media, but at the same time: "House Democrats Block Bill to Stop Infanticide For 24th Time"

https://www.lifenews.com/2019/03/28/house-democrats-block-bill-to-stop-infanticide-for-24th-time-refuse-care-for-aborted-babies-born-alive/

#uspol #democrats #infanticide