Paul Sutton @zleap@qoto.org

So many computer games about capturing or taming wild creatures, how about one where you set them free instead?

Hi, all.

I'm very conscious that most of the people I follow are no longer minors, but there's a blind girl I know of who is desperate for human contact.

I've come here to ask if anyone knows of online communities for blind teenagers, or discussion groups, etc. Social media was so important in my social life when I was a teenager, and I want to be able to give her a little hope.

We don't have as many sports, events or organizations, especially for younger people. Please help or advise if you can.

#Blind #Teenager #socializing #socialLife #Teens

Today I learned that the Alien franchise is owned by Disney, which means that every xenomorph egg that hatches, being a daughter of the xenomorph queen, is technically a Disney princess

The night heron pond had no night herons this morning, but was lively with three otters. This one made a close pass by the shore and checked me out!

When the company calls their home appliances "smart", what I hear is:

- they spent money on features I care about
- those features will be worse than standalone devices but will drive them out of market (looking at you TVs)
- the appliance is more likely to break
- my data is likely being sold to advertisers
- when the company loses interest in it and cut support, I will need to buy a new device

So no, I don't want "smart" home appliances.

#Ventoy Security Concerns (please boost for visibility)

Ventoy is a popular utility for making USB drives containing multiple operating systems in the form of bootable image files. While very useful in theory, the source tree contains numerous binary blobs without source code. This issue has been brought up to the authors multiple times, have not been corrected, and have even gotten worse (more blobs have been added to the code over time). This is a potential malware vector, similar to the "test files" in the xz-utils backdoor catastrophe.

Recently the author has ignored a very lengthy thread raising security concerns because of these binary blobs. Given the amount of attention the thread has gotten, this seems strange, especially given that the authors have been active since then. https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy/issues/2795

Stranger yet still, a video by Veronica Explains (@vkc) on how to create bootable USB flash drives got flooded by comments heavily suggesting the use of Ventoy and even being somewhat accusing because Veronica didn't advertise Ventoy. This is... not anything I've seen users of ANY open-source project do, and it feels similar to the social engineering done against Lasse Collin that convinced him to add Jia Tan as a maintainer, thus compromising xz-utils. See the comments of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiSXClZauXA&t=3s

If you're using Ventoy, you may want to consider ceasing its use for the time being out of an abundance of caution. If you truly need its functionality, you might look into something like the IODD SSD Enclosure (https://www.iodd.shop/HDD/SSD-Enclosure) which can emulate an optical drive and allows you to select an ISO saved to the drive to boot from.

#linux #boot #security #malicious #backdoor

One of the many infortunate consequences of the success of GitHub is that lots of developers are now convinced that development has to be a public, social activity.

You do not have to release everything you build. You do not have to accept patches. You do not have to answer to emails or to issues. You do not have to fix bugs or implement features. You do not even have to continue working on your projects.

If any aspect of your public work stresses you, remember that.

I would like to follow more people who shitpost about critical theory and continental philosophy generally. I need more jokes and sly allusions to Foucault, Lacan, Derrida, Butler, etc. But not just those. I know it’s niche, but it’s a big fediverse. Please help me find them/you!

#CriticalTheory #poststructuralism #bigOtter

Majority in UK want new tax on makers of ultra-processed and junk food
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/aug/11/uk-new-tax-ultra-processed-junk-food-companies-obesity
Poll findings prompt calls for ministers to impose sugar tax-style levy on companies to combat obesity

Masks keep you safe.

Vaccines work.

Never Again means Never Again, no matter who does it.

Global Warming is real.

Billionaires are an existential threat to society.

More advertisers to flee X after recent Elon Musk lawsuit and riot comments.

#elonmusk

https://www.cityam.com/more-advertisers-to-flee-x-after-recent-elon-musk-lawsuit-and-riot-comments/

#NFL #Preseason Week 2 Scores:

Ended Games:
#CAR 3 @ 17 #NE
#DET 3 @ 14 #NYG
#ATL 13 @ 20 #MIA
#HOU 20 @ 12 #PIT
#PHI 16 @ 13 #BAL
#WSH 17 @ 20 #NYJ
#CHI 33 @ 6 #BUF
#LV 23 @ 24 #MIN
#GB 23 @ 10 #CLE
#TB 17 @ 14 #CIN
#SF 13 @ 17 #TEN
#KC 13 @ 26 #JAX
#SEA 16 @ 3 #LAC
#NO 16 @ 14 #ARI
Upcoming Games:
8/11 - 1:00 PM EDT #DEN @ #IND
8/11 - 4:30 PM EDT #DAL @ #LAR

#nfl #nflfootball #football

Maybe I'm showing my age, but 'freedom of speech' did not used to be a euphemism for freely telling lies.
#SpaceKaren

Climate change: why is there still a gap between public opinion and scientific consensus, and how can we close it?
https://theconversation.com/climate-change-why-is-there-still-a-gap-between-public-opinion-and-scientific-consensus-and-how-can-we-close-it-235733

If your employer were under a legal duty “to foster good relations”, “advance equality of opportunity” and “eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation” (etc.) between people of different racial/ethnic/national and religious backgrounds, between people of different genders and sexual orientations, between disabled and non-disabled people, and across generations, their organisational presence on a neo-Nazi website should prompt serious doubts as to their commitment to said duty.