Ben Taylor @VoxDei@social.cleverlibre.org
Software Engineer, Trade Unionist, Gamer, Geek, Dad. Lives in Devon
Joined Nov 2022
@HighlandLawyer @cstross @Menhit @feorag
Yeah. I knew that, sorry, the ambiguousness of the English language was just briefly funny to me.
@garius Thief was awesome. Never played anything else like it.
@freemo Firstly, this is from last year, it's not new. Secondly, it's based on some bizarre legal theory, creating a legal principle that did not previously exist and does not make sense: specifically, that the state can pass gun control laws only if there is are "historical roots" for the law in question. So it's (again) the court making up the law it wants, rather than the law it's got.
Thirdly though, and most importantly, why is this a good thing? You're a gun nut, I get it, and that's fine - you're a responsible gun owner and all that.* But why does the fact that responsible owners are responsible mean that it's a good thing for everyone to be given a gun for the asking, even if there is no reason to believe they know what they're doing or will be responsible? We don't give cars to people who haven't demonstrated they can drive safely, for the good and sufficient reason that in incompetent hands they're lethal, and cars aren't even designed to be lethal weapons.
*Personally, I don't get why you would have a need to carry a gun in public, and open carry in particular is physically intimidating to others in the same way that walking around with a large and aggressive dog is. So I must say I think it's particularly anti-social. But that's not a safety issue, merely a courtesy one.
Ben Taylor
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A misty and magical start to the day here in Glastonbury.
#glastonbury #glastonburytor #somerset #sunrise #sunrisephotography
Ben Taylor
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What's the best* online community—I include things like work Slacks, project-specific communities, and communities formed on platforms or in the cracks between platforms—that you've ever been a part of? Don't overthink it, what's the thing that comes instantly to mind?
* Most fun, least terrible, most generative, whatever.
Disclosure: I'll never quote you without asking, but I *am* in research mode for a thing that will be public someday.
@kissane TVS (www.violetsector.com). It's a website for a browser-based game that runs for a couple of months at irregular intervals. Small community and devolves into argument and personal insults towards the end of every game (nature of the game always seems to result in sour grapes), but despite that the game and the community have been running for over twenty years while otherwise all remaining friends.
Ben Taylor
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On this fateful date in 2001, I woke up in a 22-story Marriott hotel right between the twin towers in NY. I had planned to linger till around 10 a.m. But a last-minute meeting made me leave at 8:15, just 30 minutes before the first plane struck. The hotel was destroyed. I was saved. But we can never forget those who perished and the heroic first responders who saved other lives.
Ben Taylor
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It’s not just about selling you ads.
Ex: you’re a teenager living in a highly conservative state. You’re visiting sites your ultra religious family don’t want you to. Google tracks you NATIVELY IN THE BROWSER and informs 3rd parties of your interest in LGBTQ sites.
You’re NOT SAFE using Chrome.
Ben Taylor
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Finally got around to writing about briefly successful Italian salvage vessel Artiglio
Ben Taylor
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Streaming Services: Strike as long as you want. We can easily replace you with AI.
AI: Things kept getting stranger for the kids. Bald Eleven focused her bald powers until she upgraded to Twelve. The children exclaimed in an 80s fashion. Cop dad rubs his donut belly. He proudly waves the American and Russian flags to show proud character development.
Ben Taylor
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Evolution doesn’t look how it’s depicted in pop culture. We often picture the famous “March of Progress” illustration where a series of apes stand in line leading to a modern human.
But evolution is not linear. It branches & divides without an intended direction or endpoint through natural selection.
@lurk_morrison @dungeons Yup, I was going to say the same thing. Retire!
Ben Taylor
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Hi Internet! I'm Drew and THIS IS MY FACE.
If this GIF has ever brought you joy in the past, I humbly ask you to consider making a donation to the National MS Society. It would mean a lot to me and to those I know affected by the disease!
Donate at http://BlinkingGuy.com
@garius I have no historian spidey senses, but that's quite a record. I'll bite, who was it?
@futurebird I like this. How do I attribute it if I want to pass it on elsewhere?
Ben Taylor
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I don't know what point the cartoonist was trying to make with this one. But whatever it was.
We Stan the Solidarity Pixie.
(Don't forget to update the shared spreadsheet with everyone's salary and put it under your pillow tonight that you may wake to additional paid sick days.)
Ben Taylor
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The vast majority of battlecruisers will be unaffected by the High Seas Fleet.
For those that are affected, we are working non-stop to mitigate any disruption due to projectile-assisted disassembly.
Ben Taylor
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I hate this modern internet so fucking much. 15 yrs ago that same search would have turned up loads of little micro blogs with first hand accounts of greenhouse building. Now all I get is AI garbage.
Software Engineer, Trade Unionist, Gamer, Geek, Dad. Lives in Devon
Joined Nov 2022
