spenney @spenney@qoto.org
Joined Nov 2022
spenney
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Final session of @CodeClub at Fakenham Library, the children completed their Intro to Scratch projects. Special Christmas project in 3 weeks! Well done Oliver Barney, Eileen & Elowen.
spenney
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My mom goes to dialysis 3-4 times a week, so she's stuck for 4 hours at a time with nothing to do but listen to audiobooks. I usually fill her phone w/ Obama books or Woodward, which she enjoys, but this time around I gave her Steven Levy's "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution."
I just got off a 45 min phone call w/ her discussing the 8-bit era, the origins of MS (boo, hiss!), how #JackTramiel was the only guy to out-negotiate/swindle Bill Gates, and more. Fun times.
spenney
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I found this picture of my old, and only, #horse BC. He taught me to ride and moved to Kentucky with me when I started grad school. We were a pair for over 20 years until he passed away in Bluegrass country. I really miss him.
spenney
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Curious to hear how many of the folks seeing this toot (still getting accustomed to the #Mastodon nomenclature) are in the #NYC area, and/or are planning to come to the NYC area in the new year, and would like me to post updates/info about my upcoming show #WithoutYou here. I’m mindful of the fact that some folks would prefer Mastodon not to become a venue for #self-promotion. Happy for feedback about such things!
spenney
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the fact that "websites are hosted by other computers called servers on the internet and are not a magical thing that exists" is not common knowledge anymore and is something that you have /convince/ people about just shows how bad it has gotten
spenney
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I think one thing that bothers me a lot with anything tech related is that while, yes, a lot of things can definitely have improved UX that is more user friendly, a lot of other things already have great UX that has been polished for years but gets a lot of undeserved criticism simply for being different from the status quo and/or requiring even the smallest amount of learning or effort
and I honestly entirely blame corporations that over the last 20 years have done everything to create walled gardens with the promise of "we do everything for you, if you have to think while using a computer that means it's bad"
and it's terrifying how well that worked on so so so many people
sometimes things just require you to sit down for half an hour, read something, learn something, try something you're not used to. that's normal. that is simply how anything even remotely advanced has worked for the thousands of years. you don't pick up an electric drill and throw a tantrum because it doesn't work exactly like a screwdriver. computers are a tool that let you do things, and just like any other tool, may require putting at least the smallest amount of effort into learning something
it's honestly frustrating how normalized "nuh uh i got adopted by [corporation's walled garden] and this is where i live for the rest of my life. anything even slightly different is just bad. why would I ever consider anything else, that's effort and effort is bad" has become
I understand that habits can be very strong, and I get it, adjusting to new things takes time, but it's not the end of the world. "more complex" doesn't necessarily mean "worse", it just means you would need to learn and adjust. teaching math at school doesn't stop at pre-algebra, it goes all the way to trigonometry and calculus because there's a good reason for it to be more complicated than the basics. learn something new, it's good for you.
@dosnostalgic err… I miss.
@dosnostalgic this reminds me of why my brother and I used to just build the things from parts. He miss the Computer Shopper!
spenney
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“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.” — Kahlil Gibran
#nature #BlueSky #trees #kahlilgibran #lookup #autumn #AfterTheStorm #poem #poetry #NaturePhotography
spenney
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I don't know who needs to read this, but during my first confusing days on this site, @jentaub has been invaluable in helping me find people to connect with!
spenney
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I have stumbled on this link:
https://axbom.com/mastodon-tips/
This actually contains very good tips about #Mastodon and the #Fediverse. It might answer a fair amount of questions as well.
#FediTips
@RL_Dane
Super helpful! Thank you for the tip!
spenney
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Usually.
I find asking interesting questions and using #hashtags liberally usually gathers a lot of super helpful and interesting people, particularly if there's a passionate community behind that topic.
Also (TOP SECRET!), NO ONE can resist an interesting poll with lots of hashtag.
Also, if you say "boost please!" (and hashtag the 'boost'), if the "cause" is just and the toot helpful, you'll usually get plenty of boosts.
@hankg Thanks!
@trinsec Gotcha, thanks.
@trinsec Thank you, will try to figure this thing out!
Got it. Thanks!
spenney
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The world is buckling bc of a few megalomaniac men who were either denied love or have a warped view of what love is.
Love is the only way out of this. Kindness is the antidote to hate. Don’t let hate change you. Vote. Breathe. Drink water. Honor each other. Hate is untenable.
#LoveWinsAlways #BeKind #kindness #TwitterRefugee #TwitterMigration
#introduction #reintroduction
Well, this place is a little different, eh? I'm Scott, a #technology lover with a varied tech past including #unix / #linux administration, technical sales, sales leadership, #tutoring people in #python, #cpp, #java, #networking, and other topics.
Other: #michigan #programming #rust #cycling #wyzant #ubuntu
Joined Nov 2022
