Radiant_sir_radiant @ Radiant_sir_radiant @beehaw.org

Posts

7

Comments

327

Joined

2 yr. ago

That river analogy is somewhat flawed, in that there are several levels to federation on Lemmy/Mastodon/etc:

I agree, but my point wasn't a perfect analogy. I merely intended to point out the considerable difference in the workload of the two 'extreme' approaches.

User-defined filtering is also very nice to have, but I feel like instance-level filtering is what gives an instance its unique look-and-feel. And from what I've read, Beehaw has also defederated from certain instances 'only' because moderating all the undesirable stuff coming from there put too much of a strain on the mod team. Hence my river analogy.

My personal opinion is that federation is a wonderful concept, but it sometimes comes at a cost that may outweigh its benefits.

My personal opinion on this is that we should probably take an allowlist approach to federation

Considering the mind-boggling amount of user-generated content on the internet and its average signal-to-noise ratio, this looks to me like the only even remotely feasible approach to federation. If restrictive federation is like building a dam with small controlled openings, an open federation policy is like letting the river flow freely through the valley and having five people with buckets try to keep dry as much of the land in its wake as possible.

A lack of federation won't stop people from being on Beehaw and on other non-federated sites with a different account, if they so choose.

I concur. I'd be sad to lose Jerboa (I'm slowly getting too old to get used to new stuff and the current web interface looks a bit cluttered on my phone), but if that's the only thing keeping you from switching to Even More Awesome New Beehaw, then so be it.

Same here. I turned the phone 90 degrees (to landscape mode) to answer this question. It looked fine there (no wrapping). Probably a Baserow bug as already mentioned.

Edit - For reference, these are the answers (same order as in the form):

• I dislike federation, and do not consider it necessary
• I dislike federation, but consider it necessary
• I like federation, but do not consider it necessary
• I like federation, and consider it necessary
• I have no strong opinions on federation either way

Thanks though, it'll be "fun" having my niece and nephew tell me how I'm old

They've only started doing that now? Lucky you!

Seriously though, the 40's aren't a bad age. I hope you've had a great party and enjoyed it. And remember, getting older means you've survived this far!

Happy birthday, whenever it is! You know what they say - once you've turned 40, when you wake up and nothing hurts, you know you're dead. So far can mostly confirm. But on the other hand, you're officially entitled to ask kids to get off your lawn now. It all sort of evens out.

Ack. Bedbugs are the worst. Fingers crossed you've gotten rid of the little fuckers.
\ In case you didn't know yet, there are dogs that can sniff out bedbugs. A friend of a friend trains such dogs and she says demand is high. If you haven't tried that already, maybe it's worth a shot?

Around here I can't say there are many dull moments.

Barring a surprise blizzard in April, spring appears to have arrived in full force. We all enjoy the days getting longer and warmer and stuff getting greener. Our cherry(?) tree is already in full bloom.
\ Last week the gardener was here to discuss some work around the house - we're looking to get a new fence, turn an uneven gravel/weed field into additional parking spots and replace some hedges. The cost estimates should arrive tomorrow so we can start picking the things we can afford.

Once the garden gets a do-over, I can also design the new mood lighting and install new underground cabling. The current garden lanterns' brightness levels are very individual and heavily depend on how wet or dry the soil around the cables is. It's also impossible to get at the cables without ripping all of them apart.

Somebody who had to leave the company under less-than-ideal circumstances a few years ago, died a couple of weeks ago, presumably of natural causes greatly helped along by excessive smoking and a suspected drinking habit. SO who was the one to let her go back then feels bad about it, though objectively there's nothing she or anybody else could have done.
\ To help her get this (and other things) off her mind, I took her to a four-day road trip to Como, Monaco and Nice, which sounds much fancier than it was. But it was a good idea and helped us both to get some lovely mediterranean sun and untangle some stuff in our lives.

This also was the first long trip with my electric car. Travelling in it was an absolute pleasure both for me as the driver and for SO as the passenger. Charging it was rather easy and straightforward all through Switzerland and Italy, though prices are a labyrinth. It definitely pays to check whether a particular charge point is cheaper with Plugsurfing, SwissCharge, Chargepoint or direct payment.
\ France was a bit of a disappointment in that aspect, at least the Alpes-Maritimes. There were precious few fast chargers in the first place, Nice was full of chargers that only residents can use, and on many rest areas we either couldn't charge at all because of a thoroughly unhelpful error massage, or we needed to download an app just for this one charge point. There's definitely some room for improvement.

Speaking of work, the accountant and I have devised a solution for a long-standing problem / conflict concerning people working for us with different types of salaries. It's not as elegant as I had been hoping for, but the rules are simple and the process can be automated to a high degree. Now I need to develop the new workflow and extend our payroll software accordingly, which is going to cause a headache or two. Especially until the other person doing salaries has been convinced to use all of the tools as intended.

At home I've finally found some time to de-junk the room that's supposed to be(come) my workshop. It looks so much better now and I'm so happy that I walk through there several times a day just to enjoy the free floor space.
\ Sadly the previously very tidy shelter (a separate room) is now full of boxes from the workshop. Plus I also still need to install a missing air exhaust valve in the shelter. I've finally obtained the valve, but the existing bolts have apparently been installed by a kindergartener - not a single one is in the correct position, so I need to saw them all off and install new ones. The fun part is that they're very difficult to obtain, as only a handful are certified for use in shelters in the first place, and they're normally only sold to businesses. Argh. There are just way too many regulations for such a simple thing!
\ But...! The fiber network I've installed in the shelter works like a dream and I'm very happy. No more copper cables blocking the place where the valve should be.

Maybe I should also install a TV and a small fridge in the shelter. It's the only place in the house where I'd be guaranteed to not even hear it if anyone's looking for me. And as far as I can tell, the kids aren't even consciously aware of its existence. Hmmm...

I've also used the workshop to finally finish a small pet project of mine - a doggy stick library to set up at the place where we normally go for walks and to meet other dogs. It's not much to brag about in terms of woodworking skills or looks, but I'm very happy that it's survived the first couple of rainstorms and looks like it's already been used by other dog persons. Sadly the image upload facility currently appears to be broken, not sure if the issue is with Beehaw or Jerboa. So no picture today.

I've also tried to subscribe the entire family to a fire safety course, so next time somebody sets the kitchen on fire (twice so far within a year) they know what to do. Sadly it's difficult for everybody to be available at any of the current course dates. Maybe I can teach a mini-course myself with one of the fire blankets and extinguisher sprays we have around the house, but the fun part of the real course is that huge steel contraction where you can simulate all kinds of fire and small explosions to fight.

SO will also fly to Argentina in April to visit some family members and enjoy the distance from people who cause her stress or work at home (i.e. kids and workmates).
\ We're aware of the country's political and economic situation, and we know how not to draw attention to the fact that we're rich gringos who probably don't understand the language and local tricks to fleece tourists very well (we do know most tricks and how to protect against them). But still I worry about her - a lot has changed since our last family trip in 2019, and people's desperation is ever increasing. I hope her sister the police officer will join her in Buenos Aires.

Ugh. Probably all of them.
\ As long as they don't conclude that obnoxious behaviour is acceptable in your place, that is.

Maybe loud military-style exercise music at 0600 sharp would help?

I can't offer much good advice or help, only some friendly words. Ziggy sounds like she's had a good life with a loving family. The way you describe her situation there's probably not much more that could be done for her even if money were no issue, but I would argue that you're already doing the most important thing: being there for her and showing her that she's loved and not alone.
\ Spending a pet's last days or hours together is the hardest part of having a pet. Some pets are family members, which is something pet-less people for the most part can't understand. You caring (and being strong) for Ziggy despite feeling helpless yourself is probably the most precious gift you can give her. Never forget that. Whatever happens in life that you have no control over - and cancer is a super-extra shitty example - the most important thing is to have somebody who cares about you. And for Ziggy that's you.

So far I've found most of what I've been looking for on www.exlibris.ch, though www.orellfuessli.ch seems quite nice as well. Normally it says in the details whether or not a particular book comes with DRM.

The DRM-free books are still digitally marked - Ex Libris will include your e-mail address in one of the first pages, and there are probably subtle differences in the text itself. I don't mind that, though I blame the technology for the occasional annoying 'typo' in the book.

In case anybody stumbles across this thread and has a similar problem: I've successfully installed two fiber connections this week and they're working very well so far. I'm very happy!

My hardware shopping list:

• Lightwin single-mode (OS2) simplex fiber with preattached LC plugs (link)
• Lightwin LC/APC female/female adapter
• Ubiquiti 10Gbit SFP+ modules (sold as a pair, product code UACC-OM-SM-10G-S-2)
• Two Zyxel XMG-105HP switches with five 2.5Gbit, PoE++ RJ45 ports and one 10Gbit SFP+ port

The Lightwin cables have relatively short plugs with small and narrow protector caps, which is very important in my case.

The 2.5Gbit switch is fine for me because everything else in the house is 1Gbit and I didn't want to spend three times the amount for two 10Gbit switches just yet. Though the OS2 fiber should be able to handle anything we might throw at it in the foreseeable future.

Pulling the cables with the attached connectors through the narrow pipe was a bit tricky. I used a standard pull-in string and strong, inflexible adhesive tape to attach the fiber cables to it so that there would be a distance of 2-3cm between the string and the first plug, with a thick wad of tape inbetween, and the second plug following at a similar distance. Then I applied a generous amount of lube to the pipe and slowly pulled the cables through. They just so went around the corners, but once the plugs came out at the other end it was smooth sailing.

The internet fiber plugs directly into the OTO socket on one side, and connects to the modem via an LC f/f adapter on the other side. The LAN fiber has a switch at each end.

The chart below shows the ARS/USD exchange rate over the last five years.
\ The peso has been in steady decline for years, with the last big drop in December, about a week before the presidential election.

The exchange rate doesn't tell the whole story of course, but neither does attacking Milei for dismantling Argentina's social programs. The reason for Argentina's ongoing problems is that the state has literally dozens (if not hundreds) of social programs that it simply cannot afford, along with regulations strangling otherwise healthy businesses. The Peronists have always 'solved' this problem by a) borrowing whatever they can (and then defaulting on the debt) and b) printing more money. This has unsurprisingly led to ever-increasing inflation and rampant poverty.\

The Peronist/Kirchnerist presidential candidate (Massa) planned to counter the threatening hyperinflation by printing more money for more subsidies to counter the effects of the inflation. Let that sink in for a moment.

The point is, Argentina's current system of subsidies and handouts is not sustainable, and hasn't been for decades. That's not a political opinion but simple math: you cannot spend more than you earn forever.

How that problem can and should be solved is of course debatable. Milei is certainly far from an ideal president, but when you bash him, keep in mind what the alternative to him would have looked like... and maybe give him a chance to prove his critics wrong if he gets Argentina's economy back on track, which would be something the faux-left Peronistas/Kirchnerites have failed to do for the better part of eight decades now.

I ue Epubor Ultimate because I never got Calibre's de-DRM working on my machine. It's drag&drop for Adobe Digital Editions and also works very well in the very rare cases that I want a book that's only available on Amazon (though buying one of those still leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth).
\ A DRM-free copy of the original is still preferred though. There's one online shop in Switzerland that has started selling more of these lately. Maybe that's a good sign.

I should probably care about this way more than I do, but this is a fight I've largely given up. The 'right' thing to do would be to boycott all DRM-encumbered content, but that's a fight that very few people outside of a comparatively small circle of tech idealists would even about, much less care... and boycotts have never worked for CDs, DVDs or even VHS tapes. The sad truth is that DRM does work as designed for the overwhelming majority of less tech-savvy consumers who either aren't aware of or can't be bothered to try alternatives.

The good news is that it's relatively easy to remove the DRM from ebooks, especially compared to other types of media. As long as this remains possible with just a few additional mouse clicks, the status quo "works for me". I'm all for paying the artist/author, I just don't want the thing I've bought taken away from me as soon as the publisher decides to pull the plug on their DRM server.

And what I've noticed here in Switzerland, even though it's non-representative and anecdotal evidence, is that more and more ebooks are sold DRM-free.

It's as if iPhones were only able to make calls to other iPhones

Don't give them ideas!

Yeah. I'm hardly a fan of everything he says or does, but it's a bit like appointing a new captain an hour after the Titanic hit the iceberg, then blaming him for not stopping the ship from sinking. Argentina was well on its way to hyperinflation long before the presidential elections.

As I'm not too familiar with the US financial system, allow me a potentially ignorant question: in the case of Beehaw specifically, would it make a big difference if the recipient did not qualify for whatever 501(c)(3) represents (presumably a tax-exempt charity of some sort)?
\ I.e. would it make things much more complicated or impose disproportionately high taxes if one of the admins received the money directly?
\ I appreciate that OCF adds a public audit layer that makes sense in many cases, but you seem like a trustworthy bunch and direct donations would work for me (though I obviously can't speak for anyone else).

Either way, thank you so much for everything you do.

This sounds like a good idea, but it forces you to create an account after the first two steps. Plus from the text it looks like this is for US homes only, which may still be a good thing but potentially of limited use for us Europeans.

Don't worry - at the speed they keep popping up, nobody has been able to keep track of all the charges.

Wi-Fi 7 looks promising, but I doubt I'll get two independent reliable Gigabit+ connections through 35cm of reinforced concrete.