John BS @johnabs@qoto.org

Well, it's good to know that fantasies can become a reality, that is, if your fantasy is to wonder what it's like to have a cartoon villain run your healthcare system 😂 ....😭

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2sDx0Y_I-k

I am henceforth proposing the word "ambiative" (plural "ambiatives") to refer to either a positive or negative attribute of a given system, or a set of positive and negative attributes in the plural case.

There are no words I have been able to find that succinctly encapsulate the idea of "pros and cons" or "positives and negatives" in a single word, so I'm making one up. "Tradeoffs" comes close, but I don't think it's precise, and carries some undesirable baggage.

Even the roots make sense: -ative means "related to or connected with" and ambi- meaning "both". Similar to the definition of ambivalent: having both positive and negative feelings, but in this case it is the set of both positive and negative attributes.

Intended usage: "I'm weighing the ambiatives of the situation." Or similar, just replace pros and cons/positive and negative/etc.

Got started on my self improvement plan 1.25 months early this time. And it doesn’t rely on extreme willpower, massive routine shifts, or anything crazy. Just an under-desk elliptical, an exercise bike in front of my TV, and a weight bench in my office.

It’s not nice when you feel like the quintessential depiction of a “before” photo (even though I’m apparently not that bad looking). I’ve just taken my first progress shots: time to get that “after” physique. And then…I can buy my new sexy clothes.

I’ve already got my savings account buckets tracking money for my new shoes, my new tweed suits, chinos, and some other nice pieces for my wardrobe. I am so hype, and I wanna be walking into fall semester looking ✨c l a s s y✨

(One downside is that I basically have to buy everything new. Thrift stores don’t typically carry clothes for people my height, and they definitely don’t have my shoe size. One more reason to look forward to checking out the Netherlands: all the tall-people thrift stores and maybe some size 47 shoes 😁)

Oh goodness, I'm stuck in a difficult situation with a manuscript. I'm trying to write (and be engaging) for a journal audience who likely aren't particularly big on our topic, whereas my colleague prefers a much drier and more passive style. I'm concerned that without a good hook, our work will go mostly unnoticed, even in this relatively high-profile journal.

Of course, this is primarily for the introduction, we get on to the "boring" stuff in the preliminaries and model formulations as needed. But at the very least, I'm hoping to implicitly signal to readers "yeah, this isn't your usual programming, but stick around, grab some eggnog and enjoy a well written, engaging piece of academic literature".

I'm basing my assessment on Helen Sword's "Stylish Academic Writing" book, which is an excellent guide, even for the hard sciences (she did a huge survey across fields before writing the book). Unfortunately, convincing others to deviate even slightly from the poorly written style they're accustomed to reading is....difficult, to say the least.

Anyone willing to offer some advice?

"Life is a masquerade: many masks are opaque, some are translucent, yet only mine is glass.

Transparency itself does not vex me, yet many seem loathe to gaze upon what 'should remain unseen'.

Humbug! 'Tis better to doff garb, when its purpose does not befit its form, than suffer the psychic chafing it inflicts.

My marred form bare to behold, so unlike the impeccable, pallid porcelain worn passim. Shall I curse those who demand perfection yet only accessorize with it? Or do I accept freedom as blessing enough? Never have I been truly adorned; at least now, comfort is a welcome consolation."

Written by me, based on a quote from Kafka.

My dog worryingly looking at my wife for no reason. I think we're "doin her a heckin concern"... or she has gas from all the eggs 😂

@freemo Edit: I take it back, there is no good emacs compatibility. What curse have I brought upon this blessed instance, please ignore.

@freemo I know we have an instance of Gitlab hosted on Qoto, but I was curious if you've considered something for hosting mercurial/etc projects as well. I really appreciate the access to Gitlab, but I'm thinking of switching to either Hg or Sapling (even though the latter is made by...Meta🤢) as potential git alternatives due to many suggestions on hacker news, along with extensibility, and apparent simplicity of both tools.

I'm not sure if there would be widespread interest in such a thing since git more or less won the DVCS war, but I figured I'd chuck the idea your way and see if you have interest in making it happen like the STEM-genie I often imagine you to be 😂

P.S. I hope you're doing well and have fun plans for Thanksgiving...assuming you take time to celebrate it in Utrecht, that is 😉