Nostr notes by Martijn Frazer

Watched this video on why German isn't the language spoken in ...

2026-03-21T09:37:23Z

Watched this video on why German isn't the language spoken in The Netherlands.

What was most interesting to me is learning the Franks were a German tribe who thrived after the Roman empire fell and deemed themselves the natural successor of the Romans.

The Franks expanded all over North-West Europe and the ones in (what is now) France took cosplaying Romans to the next level by re-adopting to speak Latin.

And this is what eventually became the French language!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-uDca_x0MM

"it’s not post-processing at the frame level, it's ...

2026-03-18T11:07:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…w382
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"it’s not post-processing at the frame level, it's generative control at the geometry level"

oh yeah, it's not post-processing the image, it's merely reconstructing the geometry using genAI, what a relief 😅

To be completely honest... even if it wasn't for the ...

2026-03-13T10:14:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…z35z
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To be completely honest... even if it wasn't for the environmental impact, or the stolen data, I still don't really know what I'd use it for.

I honestly don't see how a machine that sometimes lies is useful for me. I don't want to have to check its output. And I especially don't want to interact with the computer as if it's a person. None of this appeals to me in the slightest.

Congratulations to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella for parting with ...

2026-03-04T10:10:50Z

Congratulations to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella for parting with the age-old tradition of following up a bad Windows with a good one

I've been playing Horsey Game all evening yesterday and ...

2026-03-02T09:51:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…shf7
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I've been playing Horsey Game all evening yesterday and I'm happy to report that it's very good.

Yes it's a bit of a novelty game. Yes it's very funny. But, crucially, it's also a legit good game that's fun to play!

This is the first thing you see when you launch it. Just straight ...

2026-03-01T16:44:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…a9n2
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This is the first thing you see when you launch it.

Just straight out of the gates you can tell this game will be a banger.

I'm back home from a long trip, so that means it's ...

2026-03-01T16:39:02Z

I'm back home from a long trip, so that means it's finally time to install Horsey Game.

I can't believe we're getting a new game in the year 2026 that's a mere 45 megabytes in size 😍 🤩

Why are these people so happy to post this??

2026-02-23T17:10:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…3laa
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Why are these people so happy to post this??

I just read this blog post, about how the techbros embracing ...

2026-02-15T12:57:52Z

I just read this blog post, about how the techbros embracing fascism and AI makes a programmer lose "their tribe".

https://ratfactor.com/tech-nope2

Tbh I've always felt this way. I've been somewhat of a "professional web dev" for almost 25 years now, but never felt I had to mindlessly adopt whatever hype the industry was on.

I've never been to a conference. I'm not really excited to meet fellow web developers, because a lot of them are quite deranged haha

It's amazing how productive I can be when I'm working on ...

2025-10-26T17:10:26Z

It's amazing how productive I can be when I'm working on something other than what I'm supposed to be doing

damn, this is nuts!

2025-10-01T16:51:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…28vj
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damn, this is nuts!

yeah, it's a shame for some big (and small) franchises for ...

2025-09-29T13:58:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…h6ad
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yeah, it's a shame for some big (and small) franchises for sure.

BioWare is obviously worried. But also The Sims, what are they going to do?

I wasn't a big fan anyway, but this makes it real easy to ...

2025-09-29T13:19:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…dc88
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I wasn't a big fan anyway, but this makes it real easy to ignore any of their output going forward.

Last weekend of the month, and I finally have the time to check ...

2025-09-27T21:12:00Z

Last weekend of the month, and I finally have the time to check out our 💿 WINDOWS GAME CLUB 💿 (npub1kgt…4kud) September game: Ascendancy.

It's a space-themed 4X game from 1995, very much in the same vein as Master of Orion, and it rules.

What's especially great imho is how wild and creative the alien races are.

#dosGaming #retroGaming

Tfw you run a hotel and have zero trust in your guests' ...

2025-09-01T18:22:58Z

Tfw you run a hotel and have zero trust in your guests' language skills

Dabbled a bit with QuickBasic 4.5 today - hoping this will become ...

2025-08-17T20:03:33Z

Dabbled a bit with QuickBasic 4.5 today - hoping this will become something for the Dosember DOS Game Jam 👀

#dosgamejam #dosember

this game rules!

2025-08-09T19:18:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…d0zk
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this game rules!

Thanks! It's all @npub1nka…mqew's work really, who set ...

2025-08-07T22:21:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…7kvk
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Thanks! It's all rnlf 🍉:palestine: (npub1nka…mqew)'s work really, who set it up.

It's a Wordpress website and the forum software we use is a plugin for it (bbPress)

I've not used it myself, but this looks pretty promising ...

2025-07-27T13:13:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…k4gs
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I've not used it myself, but this looks pretty promising imho: https://lsp-plug.in/?page=manuals&section=mb_limiter_stereo

Was playing Wreckfest earlier today (online multiplayer) and had ...

2025-07-20T20:59:19Z

Was playing Wreckfest earlier today (online multiplayer) and had this beautiful moment where I was in hopelessly in P8 (with P9 close behind) and somehow a gap opened up just before the finish line and I was able to convert it into a much better P5 haha

If you're visiting the Netherlands and you want authentic ...

2025-06-26T14:31:05Z

If you're visiting the Netherlands and you want authentic & cheap "fast food" style food, you need to visit a "snackbar".

There are some chains, like Febo, but typically they're locally & independently owned and operated.

They do offer some items you might recognise, such as hamburgers. But most of the menu is unique to snackbars and the most popular & beloved items are among those.

I wrote a little guide about some of these items here: https://martijnfrazer.nl/food/

The internet is specifically designed in such a way parts of it ...

2025-06-12T23:05:40Z

The internet is specifically designed in such a way parts of it can be down without taking the whole network down.

But we use this inherently decentralised infrastructure to route all traffic through a handful of services, making the whole setup futile.

Ik denk ook dat bedrijfsartsen nou niet bepaald... eh... de beste ...

2025-06-02T09:54:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…r8n2
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Ik denk ook dat bedrijfsartsen nou niet bepaald... eh... de beste artsen zijn, zeg maar

I think we're reaching a point where you can be pretty ...

2025-05-21T08:34:44Z

I think we're reaching a point where you can be pretty successful with a basic software product or service if you clearly communicate it doesn't involve any AI and never will.

The advantage of leaving Windows on there is the fact you still ...

2025-05-18T19:04:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…79z2
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The advantage of leaving Windows on there is the fact you still have access to Windows. In case Linux works out, you wouldn't need that really. But if it doesn't, it might be nice that it's still there as a fallback.

You can either remove or keep Windows on there during the Linux install process. It'll give you the option to create a partition for Linux and while setting that up, you can either keep the current one that contains Windows, or wipe it all and start over.

I only have experience with Ubuntu, which is generally fine, but ...

2025-05-18T18:59:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…e7kn
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I only have experience with Ubuntu, which is generally fine, but also I don't have any experience with doing music production on it, so idk really. But I'm sure someone can give you tips!

I do know there's a creator-focused version of Ubuntu called Ubuntu Studio: https://ubuntustudio.org/

That's the one I'd probably give a go.

oh boy, have you posted this question on the right website 😅

2025-05-18T18:57:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…8rsy
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oh boy, have you posted this question on the right website 😅

what's another 15 minutes!

2025-05-17T22:45:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…zd3m
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what's another 15 minutes!

Today we went to Saint Léon-sur-Vézère, a village in France ...

2025-05-13T14:45:31Z

Today we went to Saint Léon-sur-Vézère, a village in France notable for keeping its medieval feel.

It's really baffling to me how huge swathes of people are ...

2025-05-10T12:01:39Z

It's really baffling to me how huge swathes of people are still into corporate media. AAA games, big Hollywood films, you name it.

It made some sense in the pre-internet days when everything was broadcast and sold through centralised channels. But nowadays? Why does anyone still care about what the suits are feeding us?

Just heard an American say regularly working late and on weekends ...

2025-04-27T14:11:09Z

Just heard an American say regularly working late and on weekends is a sign of being good at one's job.

I think the European perspective is exactly the opposite. If you have to regularly put in more hours than normal, you're apparently not able to get your work done in time, which is a sign of being bad at your job!

Overheard an elderly lady at the swimming pool say ...

2025-04-11T14:46:29Z

Overheard an elderly lady at the swimming pool say "they're closing all the prisons and will just set the prisoners free" 🙃

Growing up I thought having a house and a fun job would be the ...

2025-04-06T10:17:20Z

Growing up I thought having a house and a fun job would be the most basic starting point in life and not, like, the end goal.

I'd divide it by 2, then floor it and multiply by 2. In code ...

2025-03-30T11:32:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…fmuh
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I'd divide it by 2, then floor it and multiply by 2.

In code that's something like:

output = Math.floor(input / 2) * 2;

Has anyone ever heard of an album about a game, praising that ...

2025-03-17T14:48:18Z

Has anyone ever heard of an album about a game, praising that game? Is that a thing?

Obviously there are videogame soundtracks, but that's not what I mean here - I'm more thinking concept album, but the subject matter is a particular videogame and the album celebrates how great it is.

Surely someone must have done such a thing??

Brits will act like total tea snobs, but then also just toss in ...

2025-02-13T20:02:17Z

Brits will act like total tea snobs, but then also just toss in loads of milk lol

Someone made a tool that lets you put an image on an animated ...

2025-01-30T00:11:20Z

Someone made a tool that lets you put an image on an animated flag, and I think that's great: https://krikienoid.github.io/flagwaver/

Webkit-based browsers have a ::-webkit-resizer pseudo-element you ...

2025-01-10T13:11:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…fner
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Webkit-based browsers have a ::-webkit-resizer pseudo-element you can style somewhat.

I don't know if Firefox has one and if it does, what its selector is.

The other day I heard a guy on the radio say businesses who ...

2025-01-07T21:10:15Z

The other day I heard a guy on the radio say businesses who haven't adopted AI by now are really going to struggle in 2025.

The interviewer asked "why is that?" and the guy said "because using AI makes companies work more efficiently" and that was that. No further questions from anyone.

In some circles, this is apparently a fact now.

Scary af tbh.

yessss this worked! Thank you again!

2025-01-07T17:33:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…5m87
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yessss this worked! Thank you again!

oh this is good! I'll give this a try, thanks!

2025-01-07T15:16:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…spx9
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oh this is good! I'll give this a try, thanks!

Here's the thing. I bought some VSTs from Waves over the ...

2025-01-07T14:30:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…dkf6
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Here's the thing. I bought some VSTs from Waves over the years, which I have activated on this old Mac using the Waves Central app.

Now I no longer want to use this computer and instead want to run these Waves VSTs on my new computer.

In order for this to work, I first need to deactivate them on my old computer, again using Waves Central.

But I can't run Waves Central on the old computer, because it requires a later version of the OS now.

Grabbed my old Mac because I needed it for something and the same ...

2025-01-07T14:18:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…8puj
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Grabbed my old Mac because I needed it for something and the same exact thing happened again, with a different app.

I guess after a while none of the internet-connected apps on this machine will work anymore.

Amazing.

ABI-DOS is a Zach-like programming game that's absolutely ...

2025-01-05T23:32:11Z

ABI-DOS is a Zach-like programming game that's absolutely free and it's honestly amazing how good it is. I would have easily paid money for this, but here we are.

I just solved this puzzle in which the goal is to fix the gaps in the image in the top right by filling in the last colour whenever there's a blank pixel (bottom right).

Mesmerising to watch 🤩

Available on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2180700/ABIDOS

I just had to explain to some students you can just include some ...

2024-11-11T10:40:35Z

I just had to explain to some students you can just include some javascript with your html page and it runs.

"But don't you have to build it?" no

"But don't we need NPM to serve it?" no

"What about rendering the updated page and retrieving it?" you can update the page directly and don't need to retrieve anything, because you've got it in your browser already and the browser will render it just fine.

Attactics is a strategy game in which you place your armies in ...

2024-10-13T18:31:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…jpt4
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Attactics is a strategy game in which you place your armies in red on the left, while the opponent does the same in blue on the right.

Once placed, the units move and attack by themselves, ultimately trying to get to the other side and destroying the opponent's castle.

There are various different unit types and there are a bunch of different formation combos to give your armies extra powers, which makes you constantly thinking about where best to place your next unit.

Camouflage is a puzzle game in which you play as a chameleon, and ...

2024-10-13T18:25:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…ndgt
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Camouflage is a puzzle game in which you play as a chameleon, and as such you're able to blend into the background, making you invisible for enemies.

The goal of the game is so figure out a path to the exit by staying out of enemy sight, optionally picking up bonuses along the way (one of which is a cute baby chameleon who follows you around).

As with most of the UFO 50 games, the difficulty is pretty challenging, which makes solving a level all the more satisfying.

Rock on! Island is a tower defense game with some clever resource ...

2024-10-13T18:16:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…e452
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Rock on! Island is a tower defense game with some clever resource management built in.

Killing enemies gives you food, which you can use to place or upgrade units, giving you a better chance to survive the next wave of enemies.

But you can also use food to grow chickens, which don't do anything, except to give you more food in the future.

So you have to carefully manage your economy, and decide when to invest in more food for the future, or convert the food at hand into firepower.

Neat!

Rail Heist is a tactics game in which you rob trains. It's a ...

2024-10-13T18:07:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…aqc2
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Rail Heist is a tactics game in which you rob trains. It's a great mix of strategising and frantic action.

This combination is very enticing to me, it's the same reason why something like Hotline Miami is so great.

On the one hand you're trying to plan your heist as strategically and stealthily as possible, but there's always a point where it all kicks off and turns into a hectic fight for survival.

Very fun!

Current top 5 UFO 50 games for me: 1) Rail Heist 2) Rock on! ...

2024-10-13T17:54:22Z

Current top 5 UFO 50 games for me:

1) Rail Heist
2) Rock on! Island
3) Camouflage
4) Attactics
5) Paint Chase

Gonna return to streaming TONIGHT! Come hang out if you like and ...

2024-10-10T18:28:56Z

Gonna return to streaming TONIGHT! Come hang out if you like and we'll check out Heretic for 💿 WINDOWS GAME CLUB 💿 (npub1kgt…4kud) - starting in maybe 20 minutes or so :)

https://twitch.tv/martijnf

#dosGaming #retroGaming #streaming

I played a ton of this one (Mach III) ...

2024-10-01T10:16:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…a7he
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I played a ton of this one (Mach III)

This is the part where Malcolm says the thing, but the book ...

2024-09-18T08:46:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…7pt7
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This is the part where Malcolm says the thing, but the book version was too radical for Hollywood.

The difference between the novel and the film that stands out ...

2024-09-18T06:35:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…3q86
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The difference between the novel and the film that stands out most to me is that Ian Malcolm in the film is critical of the park’s scientists, but in the novel he’s critical of all modern science and engineering.

He feels modern science is longer a sustainable paradigm, because of how during the 20th century research has shifted away from universities into private corporate labs, and is now about creating patentable inventions instead of advancing human knowledge in the public domain.

Also Alan Grant spends a lot more time in a rubber boat than he ...

2024-09-17T22:12:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…nu8c
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Also Alan Grant spends a lot more time in a rubber boat than he does in the film.

Not saying the film is bad btw. But the book goes a lot harder ...

2024-09-17T22:10:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…4wlv
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Not saying the film is bad btw. But the book goes a lot harder haha

I finished Jurassic Park (the book). Wow, what a ride. There’s ...

2024-09-17T22:08:43Z

I finished Jurassic Park (the book). Wow, what a ride. There’s a lot more to it than the film, I enjoyed it a lot! Also because it’s pretty different to the film there are hardly any spoilers from watching it.

In Jurassic Park (the book) they talk about the Cray X-MP ...

2024-09-15T08:54:57Z

In Jurassic Park (the book) they talk about the Cray X-MP supercomputer, so of course I looked it up.

It was released in 1982, featured among other things 128 MB RAM, up to 38 GB of storage and 4 CPUs running at about 100 MHz.

It was the most powerful computer in the world up until 1985 and cost about 15 million dollars.

Of course nowadays your phone is more capable than this beast.

I’m reading Jurassic Park and I knew it was different from the ...

2024-09-14T15:46:33Z

I’m reading Jurassic Park and I knew it was different from the film, but holy crap, by page 28 the casualty count is like 5 or 6 already 😅

What can you do though, except not watching his channel and not ...

2024-09-08T21:03:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…9kqf
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What can you do though, except not watching his channel and not inviting him for things you organise?

Footage is a film term for how much length (in feet) of film was ...

2024-09-04T10:46:58Z

Footage is a film term for how much length (in feet) of film was used for the material 🤯

Legibility is such an underrated aspect of videogame visuals. ...

2024-08-24T10:28:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…85vf
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Legibility is such an underrated aspect of videogame visuals.

People always talk about aesthetics, fidelity, style. And those are important, but I feel that ultimately they fade to the background as you're playing the game for longer.

After playing a game for dozens of hours or more, it's rare to still be dazzled by the visuals. At that point the graphics become more functional. If it's still hard to make out what's what that deep into the game, it's not going to be a great experience.

Streaming cricket games for DOS right now for @npub1kgt…4kud I ...

2024-08-20T17:40:14Z

Streaming cricket games for DOS right now for 💿 WINDOWS GAME CLUB 💿 (npub1kgt…4kud)

I have no idea how cricket even works!

Come hang out if you like :)

https://twitch.tv/martijnf

#dosGaming #retroGaming #streaming

TONIGHT I will play a bunch of Cricket games for @npub1kgt…4kud ...

2024-08-20T16:19:44Z

TONIGHT I will play a bunch of Cricket games for 💿 WINDOWS GAME CLUB 💿 (npub1kgt…4kud)

I have no idea how Cricket is played.

We'll find out?? Maybe!

Come hang out, planning to start in about 75 minutes (7.30pm CEST)

https://twitch.tv/martijnf

#dosGaming #retroGaming #streaming

I'm totally engrossed with this game. I feel I'm getting ...

2024-08-17T23:36:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…5cck
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I'm totally engrossed with this game. I feel I'm getting close to the end, but I'm also almost 10 hours in now! There's a lot of stuff here!

I'm doing pretty well and enjoying this game a lot, but ...

2024-08-17T13:25:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…4kdu
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I'm doing pretty well and enjoying this game a lot, but I'm afraid to post more screenshots, as it can get a bit spoilery this deep in.

So I'd suggest to check it out for yourself! It's very good!

This game has a lot of nice touches. For example, the walls of ...

2024-08-17T11:07:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…amtd
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This game has a lot of nice touches. For example, the walls of buildings go transparent when you enter them, so you can see inside while still on the same screen.

Also very cool: besides the helpful parser shortcuts, there's an actual UHS-style hint guide included with the game. So you can never get truly stuck!

Made to to chapter 2 🥳 ...

2024-08-16T10:44:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…nyar
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Made to to chapter 2 🥳

The game has a fun eavesdrop mechanic. Makes you feel very sneaky ...

2024-08-16T10:42:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…agu7
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The game has a fun eavesdrop mechanic. Makes you feel very sneaky 🕵️

Also interesting: despite being an old-fashioned parser-based game, it has some nice modern touches such as shortcuts.

You can also just type "walk east" if you don't want to manually move your character to the desired exit.

This game is very pretty! ...

2024-08-16T10:35:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…nq4f
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This game is very pretty!

The Crimson Diamond by @npub139r…3mlj is out! And I'm ...

2024-08-15T15:58:06Z

The Crimson Diamond by JuliaMinamata (npub139r…3mlj) is out! And I'm playing it! Very excited for this!

Remember when Silicon Valley was about building cool tech? Good ...

2024-08-15T09:39:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…4adf
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Remember when Silicon Valley was about building cool tech?

Good times.

It's sad and disappointing, but not surprising, it seems ...

2024-08-10T10:47:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…elhh
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It's sad and disappointing, but not surprising, it seems Apple wants to turn MacOS into an operating system that isn't able to run software that isn't signed by Apple.

Wow, the European Citizens' Initiative to stop videogames ...

2024-08-03T14:34:41Z

Wow, the European Citizens' Initiative to stop videogames from getting destroyed now has over 87,000 supporters, which is amazing considering it only opened earlier this week.

It needs to get to 1 million however in order to be put into action, so if you're a citizen of the EU and like videogames, please go and sign it.

https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/initiatives/details/2024/000007

To my surprise I got a reply to this invoice from a person ...

2024-06-27T16:27:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…nsff
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To my surprise I got a reply to this invoice from a person unknown to me, who apparently was the new CEO. He only sent back a single line in an email, saying "invoices will be paid when the work has been completed."

That's all he sent. No introduction, hello I'm new, who are you, nice to meet you, no.

So ok... a bit awkward, being in such a senior position while having such poor social skills, but fine, I'll do the work first then, whatever.

Today I heard the most unhinged thing I've experienced ...

2024-06-27T16:25:06Z

Today I heard the most unhinged thing I've experienced recently, so here's a little thread about it.

Some 15 years ago I worked for a blind institute. I left on friendly terms and still do the occasional work for them, maintaining some software I wrote for them. They gather up a list of wishes over time and commission me to work on it for a set number of hours every now and again.

A little while ago they asked me to put in two days of work, for which I sent an invoice.

So far so good.

It's been a while since I streamed, but I'm back on now ...

2024-06-18T18:15:13Z

It's been a while since I streamed, but I'm back on now playing 💿 WINDOWS GAME CLUB 💿 (npub1kgt…4kud)'s June game: MDK

Come hang out!

https://twitch.tv/martijnf

#dosGaming #retroGaming #streaming

Very much enjoying this playthrough of 1984's ...

2024-05-22T10:32:44Z

Very much enjoying this playthrough of 1984's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Infocom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPbXRHNWvmM

Cat Attack by Ed Fiasco ...

2024-05-20T23:25:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…9gk2
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Cat Attack by Ed Fiasco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvIfrY-WIf4

Discord on my old Mac just updated itself to a version my ...

2024-04-09T13:31:31Z

Discord on my old Mac just updated itself to a version my computer can't run 🙃