Roknrol

Middle aged Progressive; I enjoy science and music - not in that order. I complain a lot. Hopium vendors need not apply, I'll only frustrate you.

Alt-text for profile pic: me, a middle aged white hippy sporting a beard and top hat. I don't *look* irritating.

Reply guy, drive-by poster. Don't worry, I'll agonize over my replies more than you will.

Note: "Shut up" is less polite than "You can stop talking now", but both work.

I do not consent to having my data scraped or bridged.

Public Key

npub128xxflk0g35n2ydr35ryprrhq9767mmevkvecs5q0zc8trultwss85mcnv

NIP-05 Address

roknrol@beige-party.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs9rnrylm85g6f4zx3c6pjq33mszld0dauktxvug2q83vr43704hggpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerfw36x7tnsw43qdwrtju

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relay.ditto.pub

Author Public Key

npub128xxflk0g35n2ydr35ryprrhq9767mmevkvecs5q0zc8trultwss85mcnv

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Last Notes

2026-07-03 08:20:51 UTC

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@nprofile…d0yj Solar flares? Supervolcanos?
I agree with you. The list of threats unaffected by capitalism are very small.

2026-05-16 07:41:51 UTC

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@nprofile…dyyh OMG, they make WiFi out of babies?!?!?

2026-04-25 12:00:38 UTC

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@nprofile…pfuj I would love to make money by taking pills.

2026-04-25 10:24:56 UTC

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@nprofile…pfuj Without real context, History was difficult for me to grasp. Now that I'm learning context, I'm seeking out, unherstanding, and remembering more.

2026-04-15 11:33:53 UTC

So like, I don't want to be one of those "a lot of people say" kind of people because...well, nobody believes it. So I'm not going to do that (much).
A number of years ago I was (still am) friends with a guy that I went to college with. He had a really interesting background; had been to Europe a few times, was working on his Masters (ultimately). Had been a radio DJ and written a play, professionally performed. Joined the Peace Corps. I mean, he really did just about everything that an ambitious person might have thought, "That would be fun to do!"
And he traveled. He traveled a lot.
And one day when we were talking on the phone, I mentioned to him how much I envied his willingness to just pack up his shit and move to a country where he doesn't know the language. I was really in awe of his ability to do that, what with me being barely able to feel comfortable outside of the house.
And he laughed, and he said, "Dude, don't envy me." He goes, "every single time I'm in the airport I'm a coin toss away from not going. Every time." Then he told me, "I'm scared every time, but you know, I've been scared of everything that I've found was worth doing. Be scared. Just don't let it stop you."
And ultimately, HE is why I've been able to pack up every last little stitch of a possession and move to the other side of the world.
A lot of people DO tell me that they think that I'm brave or whatever, but to those people I just have to repeat my friends sentiments: Of course I'm scared. I would be a fool to not be scared. So what?

2026-04-15 00:28:22 UTC

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@nprofile…d0yj That is my understanding as well, and it's why my brain won't let this go.
It's the "same time, everywhere" bit that gets me. Is the Universe expanding at the same rate everywhere? If no, that would explain what my brain is hung up on.

2026-04-15 00:14:10 UTC

I am not a physicist.
And, it's likely that I'm not even smart enough to think properly through the question.
But here goes:
If the Universe started as a singularity and then exploded, with all of the bits leaving at the speed of light AND with space expanding equally...
...shouldn't everything in the Universe be roughly the same distance from everything else in the Universe?
#AskPhysicists #AskFedi

2026-04-14 23:07:58 UTC

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@nprofile…m7l3 I'm no biologist, but based on the anatomy pictures that I've seen, the two objects are nowhere near the same size.
I agree. Someone should have noticed.

2026-04-13 21:39:40 UTC

Rich people arguing with each other makes prices go up.
Dead people can't argue.
Just sayin'

2026-04-11 01:13:50 UTC

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@nprofile…d0yj Keep asking...I asked for years about a book that I vaguely remembered from my youth and for years never got a nibble...until last year, when the Fediverse came to the rescue and I sourced it.

2026-04-10 21:16:36 UTC

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@nprofile…63pg There's some troubleshooting that you can do on those to find out where it's hanging, but it starts getting a bit complicated.
If you run them from the command line (instead of double clicking), there will usually be a bunch of messages scrolling across the console. Some will be just notices, but when it crashes out you should have more information in your terminal. That will often indicate what the problem is (and if you do a search on the error message, you'll probably find the solution)
I'm going to have to take off for a little bit here, but I'll try to keep tabs and answer what I can, when I can. There are a LOT of Linux people around though, so I'd frankly be surprised if nobody else pops in.

2026-04-10 21:13:48 UTC

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@nprofile…63pg It's a little complicate to explain, but I'll give you the bones of it here. There are a LOT of much better primers that explain Linux permissions though, so I encourage you to seek them out.
Linux permissions are Group based. If you're at the command line in any directory and you type "ls -l" (ell ess space dash ell) it will give you a "detailed" list of what's in the directory. You'll see something like this:
-rw-r--r-- 1 roknrol roknrol 11290 Oct 19 2023 subscriptions.csv
The very first dash signifies whether the file is a directory (D) or a symbolic link (L).
The other permissions are broken into three groups of three (in the example above, "rw-", "r--", "r--".
If my file were executable, some of those hyphens would show an "x" to indicate its executable. As it stands, my file is:
Read/Write for the owner (the first name listed is the owner, here "roknrol").
The second set of three is the group (my group also happens to be "roknrol", which is the second iteration that you see there. The Group permissions here are "read only" (note, there's no "w" in the second group of letters there).
The third set of characters show the permissions for "everyone else", here again, it's read-only.
For almost all basic commands that you can run in linux, there are software manual pages that you can read to give you some help. For the commands that I've had you run, you can see what all they can do:
"man ls"
"man chmod"
and you'll probably want to take a look at "man chown" as well.
It *sounds* more complicated than it is...take a look at a few files and I think you'll start understanding it a bit better.
Sorry if that wasn't as clear as I'd hoped lol

2026-04-10 20:57:11 UTC

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@nprofile…63pg Chmod doesn't give you feedback unless there's an error; try running your script now
Either " <path>/<script.sh>" or if that fails, try "sh <path>/<script.sh>"

2026-04-10 20:48:08 UTC

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@nprofile…63pg Not sure what you know - if you've already checked this, disregard: Make sure the executable bit is set (chmod +x ./<script.sh>)

2026-04-10 08:44:03 UTC

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@nprofile…vdqp Excellent! You'll get there; every win will give you confidence, and that helps immensely.

2026-04-10 08:01:56 UTC

Good.
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/09/nx-s1-5779627/birthrate-united-states-babies-immigration

2026-04-08 22:31:24 UTC

A bunch of you motherfuckers are my age and survived the Cold War.
If you're younger than us, then that's your excuse. You've never lived with the threat of nuclear annihilation over your head.
But most of us did, and a lot of us are here on Fedi, and I'm here to tell you: ignore it.
Literally ignore it.
There's nothing that YOU can do. If you're close enough to help, you're probably dead or in need of help yourself. If you're not close enough, there's not a damned thing you can do except wait for fallout.
Yes, we need to pay attention to politics, as much as is tolerable and useful. A bunch of soldiers *should* be paying attention to when the bombs start falling.
And if they start falling in the US...the government will *probably* not tell us. So we won't have time to evacuate anyway.
So ignore it. Unless you have to pay attention, ignore that detail. It's a war. Like other wars. Even if it's NOT like other wars, it's like other wars *until* it's not. And right now? It's like other wars.

2026-04-07 19:01:08 UTC

Oh, dear Ted...'next' administration? I thought you were a smart one.
https://universeodon.com/@georgetakei/116364136580620846

2026-04-07 07:39:31 UTC

US predictions about the conflict in Iran sound a lot like Putin's predictions about the conflict in Ukraine.

2026-04-06 20:16:58 UTC

I wonder how shitty Microsoft software has to get before people abandon them?
#RecurringQuestionsFrom30YearsAgo

2026-04-06 11:37:53 UTC

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@nprofile…n5pu A: Artemis to mission control.
MC: This is Mission Control. Who did you say that you are?
A: Artemis II
MC: Wait one.
(30 seconds)
MC: Artemis II...from 2026?!?

2026-03-30 02:08:38 UTC

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@nprofile…2pl2 <wistfully> The abyss. The abyss is always there for me.

2026-03-28 21:01:10 UTC

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@nprofile…0je7 For those that need a source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXPD6bjrlXg
(me, I'm talking about me)

2026-03-28 10:23:46 UTC

I'm always surprised, with my complete lack of exposure, that I can't understand German.

2026-03-25 10:15:04 UTC

This morning: "Do not update your device! Age verification is here!!!"
Later in the day: "You *must* update your phone because of a critical vulnerability"
Think for yourself folks...that's all I can suggest. Do not submit to the demands of those who overreach their authority.
I grew up in an era without cell phones and email addresses. Such things are possible again (and honestly? That's the direction I kind of feel like it's heading)

2026-03-20 22:20:12 UTC

I kind of feel like the elephant in the room is that being under oath is no more compelling for the truth than not being under oath.

2026-03-19 20:30:46 UTC

I cannot believe how many times Afroman isn't mentioned in the Epstein Files.

2026-03-03 00:15:18 UTC

That ballroom should be big enough to host an international court and a handful of guillotines.

2026-02-27 01:03:52 UTC

Age Verification laws would not have protected the Epstein girls.
They're rearranging deck chairs.

2026-01-26 00:02:04 UTC

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@nprofile…d0yj I won't say a word.

2026-01-25 03:49:34 UTC

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@nprofile…waav Who runs that feed? Is it actually someone official, or just some rando?

2026-01-07 15:37:24 UTC

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@nprofile…l70y You mention twelve year old boys, which explains why they were consulting Twitter.

2025-12-29 21:26:59 UTC

Again, I feel that I must point out that making plans for after the fascists have been defeated skips over a whole bunch of nasty business for which there are NO plans.

2025-12-25 21:45:44 UTC

Has anyone checked the emails and lists for folks like Scott Baio, James Woods, Clint Eastwood, Gene Simmons, John Voigt, Rob Schneider, Hulk Hogan, or Chuck Norris?

2025-12-25 11:56:11 UTC

I just saw someone jogging. On purpose.

2025-12-25 10:55:04 UTC

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@nprofile…9ake It snowed here last night.

2025-12-23 20:43:07 UTC

You'd think people would know this by now, but it doesn't matter how illegally a person is acting if there's nobody around willing to deal with it (prosecution, arrest, etc)

2025-12-22 09:32:36 UTC

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@nprofile…crvw That seems a whole lot easier than an email cancelling it.

2025-12-08 17:16:57 UTC

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@nprofile…t03n That kind of depends on who writes the history.

2025-11-29 10:09:21 UTC

Having unconditional love for fascists won't protect you from fascism.

2025-11-10 00:19:28 UTC

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@nprofile…e4ry Ah, but if she's a Queen, she's rich so already doesn't pay taxes.

2025-11-01 15:46:42 UTC

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@nprofile…crvw I'll try to remember to keep everyone posted 🤩

2025-11-01 15:39:07 UTC

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@nprofile…crvw Right - and I never would have thought about the heater but it makes perfect sense. There's a reason that those old VW bugs were so toasty in the winter 🙂
Like I told the assholes last night, I can't control what *they* do, but I can control what *I* do, and since I actually believe in man made climate change I need to try to do my part, for ME, regardless if it actually has any real impact.

2025-11-01 15:31:06 UTC

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@nprofile…crvw Thank you very much.
I spent most of my evening arguing the *point* of an EV and it's nice to finally get some real information lol
Anything at home is likely going to be slow; the only time I would charge fast is in an emergency I suppose.
My expected "regular" distance is about 100 km. I don't think I would need to recharge while in class, but I have to assume that the bigger cities will have charging stations somewhere near the campuses.

2025-11-01 15:22:56 UTC

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@nprofile…crvw Thank you! This is *exactly* the kind of information that I need!

2025-11-01 15:10:18 UTC

As I mentioned in another thread, I'm in a position where I'll need to buy a used car.
Despite living in the country, my town has a charging station and my house has an outlet. I would like to go EV (and skip Hybrid). Also, I'm in France, and a lot of the articles that I've read on things like reliability were skewed to an American audience...we have different cars in Europe.
So before I go into storytelling mode - if you have any information on EV's, the good, the bad, the whatever that might be useful before I set off on this endeavor, it would be certainly helpful. Preference goes to experience as always, but I'll take any tips or suggestions or whatever into account.
Now, that said, I'm going to tell a story about getting frustrated last night. The stuff up there ^ is the important stuff; feel free to skip the rest in case you like reading about conservative dickheads.
One of my acquaintances in town was an auto mechanic in a former life and knows a lot about a whole bunch of things. I do know that he has a hate-on for EVs (he's an earlier generation and while that isn't an excuse, it's an explanation).
So I said something like, "I'm going to be in the market for buying an EV, and even though I know you don't care for them, any tips that you can offer would be helpful."
Him: "Don't buy one."
Me: "I'm buying one. That decision is already made. If you can't or don't want to help that's fine."
3rd person: "Ya gonna buy an EV?"
Me: "Yeah."
3rd: "I'll NEVER buy one of those fucking things. My wife wants to buy one and I told her that after I'm dead she can do what she wants."
Me: "Ok. I'm not asking you to buy one. *I'm* buying one."
2nd: "Get a hybrid."
Me: "But that's more expensive for half the car. You're carrying twice the weight. I just need something that will get me about an hour and a half away and back."
3rd: "The infrastructure ain't there. I like traveling around Europe and the infrastructure ain't there."
Me: "I don't need to drive around Europe. I need to be able to get to and from University. I'd ride my bike but I don't feel like spending six hours a day riding to school and the weather sometimes sucks."
3rd: "You won't catch me drivin' one of them things."
Me: "Cool. Don't."
And it just kind of kept going like that. The one person that I wanted an opinion from wouldn't give a real one, and I didn't fucking even ask the other dude.
For some reason they really don't like other people to have the freedom to choose differently than they would choose. They really REALLY oppose that.

2025-10-15 14:40:52 UTC

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@nprofile…u0qu I wonder if he'd see any lines being crossed if it was HIS family being abused and kidnapped.

2025-10-13 13:56:59 UTC

If I look at your feed and you're not properly interacting with other people I have very little incentive to follow or be followed by you. This is social media, not your personal advertising platform.
I mean, you can use your feed however you like, but I'm not here to be advertised to.

2025-10-13 13:48:25 UTC

What I like about Mastodon is that someone else will find this interesting too.
Why aren't there any six legged mammals?
https://iere.org/why-are-there-no-six-legged-mammals/

2025-10-10 11:43:37 UTC

People are ridiculous.

2025-05-03 11:23:32 UTC

The world is speaking.
And what it's saying is, "At least we're not those stupid fucking Americans."

2025-04-14 17:19:41 UTC

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@nprofile…l25h Hope you're safe

2025-03-24 03:24:41 UTC

People think we're going to just snap and suddenly guillotines will appear to solve our problems.
The French Revolution took 12 years. The American took 25. Even the Russian Revolution (lol) took 5.
This will not be over swiftly.
And the clock doesn't start until we do.
You think you're tired now? Come see me in a decade.

2025-03-05 07:00:37 UTC

If there's something strange...
...in the neighborhood...
Who you gonna call?
#FediverseChick