progo in NYC

IT programmer named Brendan Kidwell. Information I share may be disputed and/or misleading. See CNN and Fox News for clarification.

No Agenda services I own:
- https://vicky3.glump.net/pintsize - Music stream IRC voting bot for https://ryno.cc

contact:
- Libera.chat IRC: bkidwell
- Zeronode IRC: progo
- Matrix: @brendan:matrix.glump.net

Profile icon: Questionable Content #5124

Public Key

npub18unx08zru2p0wd2k7w68r0sts2704zyjdleyq0cm48nwgh22wgxqwgzcqj

NIP-05 Address

progo@boop-city.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsr7fn8n3p79qhhx4t08dr3hc9c90863zfxlujq8ud6nehyt498yrqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds44km7z

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub18unx08zru2p0wd2k7w68r0sts2704zyjdleyq0cm48nwgh22wgxqwgzcqj

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Last Notes

2026-04-10 20:50:23 UTC

Today I learned: In Ireland,
> A staggering 60% of the cost of a litre of petrol comes from taxes.
So the total tax rate on petrol is 150%? Why was the country not on fire before this week?

2026-03-26 23:03:46 UTC

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@nprofile…npra I remember you said in a presentation somewhere "The Internet Archived hired me and my job description was to be Jason Scott."

2026-03-23 21:45:09 UTC

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@nprofile…ryzy @nprofile…f57k I'd call it "closed development". Technically it's still open source if you can get the source and the license lets you fork it. No way in hell I'm getting on discord to help a software project.

2026-03-23 05:52:33 UTC

Just noticed this on my box of gauze. "Flexible protection so you don't miss a moment." From Band-Aid brand. Either I don't get it or that sounds like random Chinese word decoration of a package.
https://cdn.masto.host/boopcity/media_attachments/files/116/276/930/059/016/748/original/78f9b25a24cf3af9.jpg

2026-03-22 22:37:28 UTC

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@nprofile…udc0 you have to do penance or something now.

2026-03-19 16:46:24 UTC

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@nprofile…d3nc that doesn't read as belittling, to me. It reads as cranky. But we're from the same generation. Next time I guess you need to translate it to LinkedIn or Snowflake using Kagi Translate. You can write anything in the "translate to" field and the AI does its best.

2026-03-19 06:44:24 UTC

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@nprofile…d3nc broke a tuning peg?

2026-03-10 16:36:26 UTC

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@nprofile…5twp Not offering help -- I haven't done bitmaps in the terminal yet myself.
I'm curious: What framework and protocols you're using? How do you ask the terminal how many pixels are in a character cell? Is the ratio of bitmap pixels to cells fixed by the protocol, or depends on the physical display's specs?

2026-03-04 17:13:35 UTC

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@nprofile…udc0
- I have a plumbing problem and will be unavailable for a day or so.
- I think I caused found a massive data breach.
- I may have found a North Korean operative.
- I need help picking an engagement ring.

2026-03-02 20:52:51 UTC

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@nprofile…ryzy
Anthropic nationalized; Anthropic CEO ousted or in prison…
Are you sure that's not going to happen though?

2026-02-28 19:55:20 UTC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qu5-tXVSGw
You know, I might just re-license all the software bits and bobs I've ever released: Remove GPL (because of the next bit), add BSD license plus "and if you live in California you're forbidden from using it."
It's about time for this kind of action.
(Note: this would be symbolic. You can't change the license of previous versions of code you already shared.)

2026-02-26 15:22:53 UTC

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@nprofile…d3nc is "actually, all humans are literally apes" part of this conversation?

2026-02-25 23:46:51 UTC

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@nprofile…rjk0 @nprofile…5z09 I'd love to see in a textbook:
"[slight background highlight color] The following section is required by California. If you don't live there you might want to disregard it."

2026-02-25 23:45:18 UTC

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@nprofile…fdp0 @nprofile…rjk0 does California explain any better than Colorado how the fuck this is going to happen?
Can the computer owner set the policy unilaterally and opt out of any online age verification services? If not, how the fuck is an OS project supposed to find a trustworthy service when their very existence implies it's 100% likely an information leak?

2026-02-25 18:07:33 UTC

Windows for Desktop is approaching an instability singularity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQQRJTAoB_A
Have you switched away from Windows yet?

2026-02-20 17:33:41 UTC

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@nprofile…udc0 a well-informed citizen shouldn't even need the police scanner evidence or the leaked email evidence to know the obvious fact that this is a human surveillance system.

2026-02-20 06:33:01 UTC

> Ring's CEO said lost-dog finder was always meant to be a human surveillance platform, says leaked email
https://boingboing.net/2026/02/18/rings-ceo-said-lost-dog-finder-was-always-meant-to-be-a-human-surveillance-platform-says-leaked-email.html
Obviously.

2026-02-10 00:48:51 UTC

I could never get on-board with Discord because of the Mystery Meat Navigation < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_meat_navigation > to switch among spaces you're logged into.
Now with today's news, will projects stop begging me to use their Discord to talk to them?
https://cdn.masto.host/boopcity/media_attachments/files/116/043/585/322/331/137/original/f1e57bd443f5d315.png

2026-02-08 18:16:59 UTC

BTW, I'm not commenting on the fact that I'm not watching the concussion gladiators show today.

2026-02-03 20:32:48 UTC

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@nprofile…ryzy I think it's hilarious that @nprofile…vv4y blocked me for the act of unfollowing him. Am I supposed to be upset by this?

2026-01-30 23:33:46 UTC

Why are we still at war with Cuba?

2026-01-28 17:36:27 UTC

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@nprofile…d3nc is this a Force thing?

2026-01-20 14:26:24 UTC

Has anyone else avoided really learning Bash scripting for years because its syntax and idioms are so weird? And have you just stopped thinking about learning Bash since the super mega LLM free chatbots arrived?
I've lost count of how many computer languages I know, but I still only know how to order a sandwich and ask where the restroom is in Bash.
I program Bash in English with ChatGPT now.
https://cdn.masto.host/boopcity/media_attachments/files/115/927/880/262/156/582/original/7aef7af90232a050.webp
https://cdn.masto.host/boopcity/media_attachments/files/115/927/880/802/528/221/original/ed008f0e695633ac.webp

2026-01-16 21:11:20 UTC

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@nprofile…248t perfect. Sorry, didn't mean to be a pain.

2026-01-16 21:07:55 UTC

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@nprofile…248t I just meant one-line pitch to get people to watch the video and click the link, if they've never heard of you.

2026-01-16 21:05:12 UTC

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@nprofile…248t Can you rephrase that in the form of an ad post that makes sense to strangers when I boost it?

2026-01-15 20:52:04 UTC

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@nprofile…udc0 the cats may be performing a useful service in exchange for the food. Not sure.

2026-01-15 20:51:14 UTC

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@nprofile…udc0 it's a thing. Feeding stray cats. I'll take pics next to a vacant lot for you in my neighborhood next time I'm there.

2026-01-08 23:40:37 UTC

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@nprofile…rjk0 show me a tool that can crack an encrypted Zip file made this year with current tools using the current spec. As far as I know the current de facto spec for Zip encryption is fine.

2026-01-08 19:24:16 UTC

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@nprofile…rjk0 the worst knowledge worker mistake I've seen and will never forget:
Need to send encrypted data to me. Emailed an encrypted zip file. Then emailed a password in the same channel. "That's how we do it in my department."
Some people can't be saved.

2026-01-08 19:20:45 UTC

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@nprofile…rjk0 to be fair, you do get features for money that are literally not in the free version. I gave the pricing page a second look just now.

2026-01-08 19:08:07 UTC

I wish I had the business sense to do barely-a-scam things like this.
I wanted a zero-install web app to compare CSV files. Found one.
https://www.diffchecker.com/excel-compare/
Neat. Cursory inspection shows that you're safe if you use UBO. It tries to ping Google trackers and site-local trackers. It does not apparently send your data to The Cloud to be compared -- it's local
The light scam?: Buy the "private" desktop version for $15/user/month!
https://www.diffchecker.com/pricing/
LOL! I wonder if it makes any money.

2025-12-30 14:35:07 UTC

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@nprofile…ytej 'member when Trump created two memecoins to raise truckloads of cash off the books just before inauguration? That was awesome.

2025-12-15 16:28:08 UTC

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@nprofile…sxxr so Apple now does the thing that many podcast users have had for 8+ years, and this is going to change usage habits?

2025-12-02 19:58:49 UTC

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@nprofile…8w0f I have so many crazy friends. I was happy having you around as a sane friend. If you lose your sanity I'll still love you.

2025-11-08 18:27:11 UTC

Farmer's Almanac < https://www.farmersalmanac.com/fond-farewell-from-farmers-almanac > admits defeat after 208 years, leaving 234-year-old Old Farmer's Almanac < https://www.almanac.com/ > standing alone with annoying popups on the home page.

2025-10-16 22:15:13 UTC

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@nprofile…0lav I got a pay cut and my coworkers got furloughed and we're not getting back pay. We're contractors.

2025-10-16 16:23:14 UTC

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@nprofile…ytej
"just … why?!"
Why should I care about the genetic makeup of the actor playing a historical character. We suspend disbelief for CGI in historical films. Also, the original screenplay for Amadeus took liberties with the actual characters and events.
I DON'T care if the actor isn't white.

2025-10-13 00:21:01 UTC

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@nprofile…k0su
"hold my beer"
-- Hundreds of electrical engineering hackers.

2025-10-13 00:07:13 UTC

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@nprofile…k0su you're never going to get every last over-the-air TV viewer to upgrade "for 4k", and the broadcasters gain nothing by forcing it.

2025-10-12 23:56:37 UTC

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@nprofile…k0su wtf is wrong with ATSC 1 anyway?

2025-10-12 22:56:39 UTC

FCC decides to let broadcasters, who depend on people actually watching, to decide when to convert from ATSC 1 to ATSC 3, which will brick millions tuners in old TVs. Instead of FCC setting a mandatory deadline.
https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=25/10/12/0052201
Most of those TVs, even if they're in service, don't have antennas connected to them though.

2025-10-07 23:16:36 UTC

Microsoft tells users to go fuck themselves again.
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/10/06/2338211/microsoft-is-plugging-more-holes-that-let-you-use-windows-11-without-an-online-account
> Microsoft Is Plugging More Holes That Let You Use Windows 11 Without an Online Account

2025-10-03 14:09:03 UTC

Algo-controlled social media can be really bad for your mind if you let it. The algos are guided by things like "the user watched a video about Current Thing; show more of that thing!"
I saw a couple of videos from particular talking-heads that I follow and trust on YouTube about the Emma Watson vs J K Rowling thing.
And now YouTube thinks I want to watch all of videos and join in hating one or the other of these two celebrities. I don't. Do you? It's dehumanizing.

2025-09-03 23:22:53 UTC

The New Dolby Vision 2 HDR Standard is Probably Going To Be Controversial
https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/25/09/03/1731213/the-new-dolby-vision-2-hdr-standard-is-probably-going-to-be-controversial
Why even bother? Hollywood film editors refuse to use any colors besides orange, teal, whites and greys.
https://cdn.masto.host/boopcity/media_attachments/files/115/142/934/561/017/618/original/837fc395ea5814fb.jpg

2025-08-24 21:03:24 UTC

NordVPN gave me one notice that they were increasing my automatic payment price from $84 per 2 years to $150 per 1 year, 30 days ago. And they charged my credit card for the $150 today.
Don't pay for a VPN with with a credit card or checking account.

2025-08-18 12:18:23 UTC

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@nprofile…q8vd Red Letter Media's review of The Phantom Menace is exactly when. 2009.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2375659/

2025-08-14 17:53:43 UTC

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@nprofile…lczd however, having a fully developed OPTION to have your car computer read out the directions you're following as you hit waypoints -- definitely useful in context.
You can be an Uber Driver without "The Knowledge". < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxis_of_London#Knowledge_of_London > (At least, outside of London. I have no idea what the Uber situation is, in London.)

2025-08-14 16:03:52 UTC

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@nprofile…lczd this declaration is really insensitive to how people use computers.
Just like all these fucking MSM news story text pages that include a video at the top. And it auto-plays. And the fucking browsers won't let you deny access to auto-play when you haven't clicked on anything.
People live with other people. They use computers in public and in cube farms. SOME people can listen to and talk to their computer all the time. Most CANNOT!

2025-08-14 15:37:30 UTC

Microsoft Says Voice Will Emerge as Primary Input for Next Windows
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/08/14/1441240/microsoft-says-voice-will-emerge-as-primary-input-for-next-windows
… whether you like it or not.

2025-08-13 00:53:16 UTC

Dana White says UFC will host first-ever White House fight on July 4, 2026: "It is definitely going to happen"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ufc-to-host-first-ever-white-house-fight-on-july-4-2026-dana-white/

2025-07-17 03:29:51 UTC

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@nprofile…p3ra
https://cdn.masto.host/boopcity/media_attachments/files/114/866/453/578/173/685/original/b87c463d092679b5.png

2025-07-17 01:32:12 UTC

> Linux Reaches 5% On Desktop
https://linux.slashdot.org/story/25/07/16/2048246/linux-reaches-5-on-desktop
Thanks to the hard work of Clippy 2.0.
Also don't forget that if you only count the Linux kernel itself, Linux is hugely successful in the consumer market, at the bottom of the Android stack.

2025-06-26 18:04:14 UTC

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@nprofile…3m86 @nprofile…f9kf how often is it a false match?

2025-06-08 20:03:39 UTC

Just saw a kid unlock her mom's phone on the train with permission -- IOS, I think. "00000".
Jfc they allow a password like that?!

2025-06-06 16:34:21 UTC

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Any of you all using Wayland? I tried it in KDE Plasma a couple of years ago when they said "it's kinda sorta ready now" and it was full of blockers for me, like whatever they call the global scaling factor just wasn't working at all.

2025-06-06 16:32:55 UTC

Lunduke: Non-DEI Fork of Xorg by Most Active Xorg Developer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwaaSatk0pI
Is X vs Wayland a battleground of the Culture War now?
https://cdn.masto.host/boopcity/media_attachments/files/114/637/376/165/567/728/original/ae93bc822ad83fd4.webp

2025-06-02 18:44:30 UTC

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@nprofile…5hfh how many cars per month does it carry? :^b
Car roads are expensive.

2025-05-21 11:56:35 UTC

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@nprofile…3m86 you know all black men?

2025-04-09 02:33:54 UTC

UK Creating 'Murder Prediction' Tool To Identify People Most Likely To Kill
https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/0028213/uk-creating-murder-prediction-tool-to-identify-people-most-likely-to-kill

2025-04-08 04:13:56 UTC

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@nprofile…klnf @nprofile…4mkg @nprofile…kx50 then that lady has one too many legs. :^)

2025-04-08 04:04:58 UTC

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@nprofile…klnf @nprofile…4mkg @nprofile…kx50 actually no, misread it. It says "violates our content policies".
So the hack to get cancelled from art style copying in ChatGPT is to have "questionable" in your name.

2025-04-08 04:03:23 UTC

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@nprofile…klnf @nprofile…4mkg @nprofile…kx50
how come ChatGPT will draw "in style of Studio Ghibli" and "Sita Sings the Blues and Seder Masochism" but not "Questionable Content"? It says "copyright violation."

2025-04-07 01:23:30 UTC

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@nprofile…3m86 that's still $3500? who wants this?

2025-04-01 17:18:57 UTC

Fake American bank claims your deposits are FDIC insured. Instead they played a years-long shell game with your money, went bankrupt, and every actual bank can't account for missing $100M, most of which is not going back to depositors.
CoffeeZilla, 32 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCBA5ej4UBY

2025-03-29 02:24:04 UTC

> Elon Musk has appointed a team of technologists from DOGE to "rewrite the code that runs the SSA in months." This codebase has over 60 million lines of COBOL and handles record keeping for all American workers and payments for all Social Security recipients.
https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to-rewrite-ssa-codebase-in-months
Typically it takes a few years to write a spec for a rewrite like this.
I'll be over here taking up drinking too much.

2025-03-20 22:55:40 UTC

> Discord heightens ad focus by introducing video ads to mobile apps in June
> Discord looks for more ways to make money ahead of expected IPO.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/discord-heightens-ad-focus-by-introducing-video-ads-to-mobile-apps-in-june/
You still wanna run your open source project in that walled garden?

2025-03-20 22:29:32 UTC

Gnome 48 released
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/03/20/0324212/gnome-48-released
Okay, against my better judgment, I tried downloading the demo OS from https://os.gnome.org/ . And, uhm… Opening the start menu with only a mouse seems to take 2 clicks, on OPPOSITE corners of the display. Am I doing something wrong?
Is this like how Windows used to have a testing team, but they got rid of them?
https://cdn.masto.host/boopcity/media_attachments/files/114/197/119/705/275/304/original/2da7a50e6a12081f.webp
https://cdn.masto.host/boopcity/media_attachments/files/114/197/119/954/778/654/original/69b095829a9564a0.webp
https://cdn.masto.host/boopcity/media_attachments/files/114/197/120/198/548/528/original/5157fdf8422a0e42.webp

2025-03-18 12:48:51 UTC

It is warm today. I am going hiking instead of work.

2025-03-02 01:02:19 UTC

https://m.slashdot.org/story/439355
Mozilla Revises Firefox's Terms of Use, Clarifies That They Don't Own Your Data
Too late. Already put your true colors on display.

2025-02-27 19:26:46 UTC

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@nprofile…3m86 how do we know it's the "original"?

2025-02-22 21:33:07 UTC

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@nprofile…pavz all Mozilla context aside, why is this a bad logo?

2025-02-20 00:27:52 UTC

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@nprofile…q8vd Is this failure on the "event organizer needs more information" page normal? Or it is because I'm using LibreWolf instead of Firefox or Chrome?
https://cdn.masto.host/boopcity/media_attachments/files/114/033/378/376/901/179/original/90463c49b159958a.png

2025-02-20 00:20:12 UTC

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@nprofile…q8vd I'll be there.

2025-02-18 17:23:54 UTC

According to Bruce Schneier, Musk's DOGE is the biggest government information security breach ever.
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/02/doge-as-a-national.html
> But the most alarming aspect isn’t just the access being granted. It’s the systematic dismantling of security measures that would detect and prevent misuse—including standard incident response protocols, auditing, and change-tracking mechanisms—by removing the career officials in charge of those security measures and replacing them with inexperienced operators.

2024-08-07 19:35:57 UTC

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@npub167q…3yg6 wait. This is Excel. Was "Spell Check" not there, before?

2024-08-07 19:35:31 UTC

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@npub167q…3yg6 huh?

2024-04-24 18:51:57 UTC

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@npub1xz4…8uh7 it came back? :^(

2024-02-24 02:40:08 UTC

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@npub1vln…wa4s the corporate training voice makes me feel angry and disagreeable, when I get it at work. Am I the only one?

2024-02-19 20:56:42 UTC

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@npub15fl…y0y3 they really need to make that explicit when they report about these things, instead of just assuming no one thinks about it.

2024-02-19 20:52:22 UTC

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@npub15fl…y0y3 I still don't understand how speaking/reporting about USA while not being a citizen of USA constitutes a crime in any way.

2024-01-31 00:15:50 UTC

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@npub19v7…al4a what did you feed it? No Agenda Show recordings?

2024-01-19 15:07:48 UTC

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@npub167q…3yg6 if there's going to be a relationship drama bar fight that spills into meetings, then I care.

2024-01-10 07:35:56 UTC

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@npub1whf…czvn I assume the tunnels' constructors have been gone for decades.

2024-01-01 02:01:05 UTC

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@npub1a73…7y6q @npub167q…3yg6 maybe I am. How many personalities does DCGirl have?

2024-01-01 01:58:59 UTC

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@npub167q…3yg6 did he ever disappear or go quiet since Africa?

2024-01-01 01:35:20 UTC

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@npub1smh…hvr3 @npub1a73…7y6q he said "we have these NOW, ready to ship NOW and that's why you should bail out my boondoggle" so many years ago I don't remember when. Common Sense Skeptic remembers.

2024-01-01 01:22:49 UTC

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@npub1smh…hvr3 @npub1a73…7y6q because he used a public demonstration of non-existent "solar roof tiles" to scam Tesla shareholders into agreeing to absorb his Solar City boondoggle. Nothing from him matters unless he's literally shipping it now today.

2024-01-01 01:20:14 UTC

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@npub1smh…hvr3 @npub1a73…7y6q how many years late?

2024-01-01 01:16:35 UTC

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@npub1a73…7y6q "in a few years your domestic robot will do your shopping."
No. From Musk especially no no no. This is a Musk aspirational goal, not a plan.

2024-01-01 00:09:51 UTC

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@npub1a73…7y6q if you do what you need to lose weight you WILL lose weight.

2023-12-31 23:18:06 UTC

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@npub14w3…9vjx it's a simulated mission in a controlled environment, and they KILLED A ROBOT.
And the article doesn't follow up and explain how that happens and they aren't treating it like a big deal and thousands of points off the mission score.

2023-12-31 22:58:45 UTC

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@npub1a73…7y6q wtf is this shit? Jesus was from Galilee and would not have looked like his parents migrated from northern Europe.

2023-11-15 17:04:18 UTC

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@npub167q…3yg6 what's their age difference, and why did they do an influencer pose? Is he an influencer now? Strange hobby.

2023-11-13 15:19:36 UTC

The deplorable reviewers need something else to talk about. Maybe they could be like the science bloggers, randomly passing around waves of "let's make a video of this 15 year old topic that's hot now because everyone's talking about it".
https://cdn.masto.host/boopcity/media_attachments/files/111/403/910/416/645/795/original/190d6bbe7d2003f3.webp

2023-11-08 01:44:38 UTC

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@npub1j5d…smxq hm. Didn't they do that to Bernie Sanders in 2016?

2023-11-02 04:36:34 UTC

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@npub12k7…tvsy not currently.

2023-11-02 04:34:48 UTC

I got bored and watched some YouTube algo suggestions.
Now YouTube thinks I'm a Bible literalist who will some day need to evade capture and flee an urban environment.

2023-09-14 15:47:29 UTC

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@npub1wkk…rrmp you'll get pwned by a .webp file or something. No, you can't have security updates without feature bloat and feature rot.

2023-09-01 23:12:30 UTC

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@npub10ag…tdly @npub18ej…7x7w DH Unplugged does it for me.