a "geist" refers to a cognitive bias where person-like mental states are attributed to non-person entities. for example, asking whether a nation "wants" something is turning the nation into a geist. wondering if a chatroom has an "opinion" or a "belief" is another example. usually these questions can be reworded to be more concrete: "does the median person in this nation want X?" or "do the people in the chatroom have a consensus on Y?" but sometimes, once you reword your geisty thoughts into non-geisty terms, you'll realize it's not quite what you'd meant originally. and that's because you were thinking about the geist. and the geist is not real.

last night, while sharing my screen to the people of the queer computer club, I typed "new" into my url bar. instead of autocompleting to "news.ycombinator.com" it completed to "newgrounds.com." felt like my soul had been weighed by anubis and it was found to be lighter than a pound of feathers

wrote a character in the story I'm working on that does a really technical thing in an extremely short amount of time. worried that it was unrealistic but I brought it up to ppl at the hackerspace and the consensus was "oh if you do X Y and Z you can probably get that done in a week"

I just finished setting up my wifi settings in here.

is it possible to install linux on a computer without a computer or linux or installing the nonexistent linux on the computer you don't have? the answer is yes. in my mind palace.

weird question: does anyone have any creative commons or public domain my little pony art that *isn't* the wikipedia ponysona?

I could probably live anywhere in the world but there are two requirements that I have. firstly, I cannot stand loess embankments, which unfortunately rules out up-to 5% of earth's habitable land area. secondly, it's gotta be walkable!!!

you can eat loam for supper

hello my friend my name is "mister myself" and my superpower is being me. I am going to save the town from the hands of the evil corporation with the power of self-actualization. go-go-gadget carbon footprint!!

we've already seen a bunch of weird shit this is great

tetra and I are playing the left right game as pedestrians

you are spoobis

I'm in a special position where I'm 32 but frequently have conversations with queer people ~10 years younger than me who have joined our hackerspace. I think that if you're older you have a duty to teach the next generation, or at least do your best to help them out. if you loathe the idea that simply aging gives you more responsibilities, idk. that's your bag. that's your life and your choice. but don't turn around and complain that nobody older than you ever helped you.

I get that a lot of people my age think that people much younger than them are insufferable. I guess my answer to that is... well, let me put it this way. the only reason I think I have any degree of coolness to me is because I had older friends in my 20s who gave me advice and a vision to strive for. I want to pay that forward

making friends and listening to the experiences of people older or younger than you is super important. age cohorts have unique experiences—not universal across the cohort, but *definitely* not shared outside. if you are 30 you will never have had the experience of going to high school thru covid. if you're 20 you'll never experience coming-of-age during the 2008 financial crash and the associated protests. but the beauty of making friends and sharing experiences is that we get to see these things we'd never otherwise see. and we get to see how our experiences, even if they're separated in time, can rhyme in interesting ways.

Plan 10 from Nortel Labs

I'm doing backflips AND I'm jumping for joy AND I'm having fun and playing AND I'm spinning around really fast AND I'm downloading music AND I'm drinking a treat AND I'm smiling. I'm smiling. I'm smiling. I'm smiling. I'm smiling. I'm smiling. I'm smiling. I'm smiling. I'm smiling. I'm smiling. I'm smiling.

it feels like our old provider is playing games with us, even though I know a huge monopolistic corporation doesn't have the competence to hold onto even a good relationship, let alone a grudge. we cancelled our plan but we keep getting physical letters saying they're going to renew us for another three-year contract—replete with hefty cancellation fees. the last install appointment I witnessed one of those letters being delivered. crammed into our mail slot by an invisible hand. our new provider sent us a temporary data connection—a 4G modem from a different other provider—to use as a temporary solution for our critical infrastructure. today we learned it had died sometime just last night. no longer turning on. perhaps its battery dead, despite it being plugged into usb, for tethering, this entire time. this is cursed. this is so cursed. these feel like an endless barrage of horror setpieces one-after-the-other.

QCC has had no internet since the 30th and I'm trying really really hard to get our new provider to get our old provider to deliver our last-mile fibre connection. there is something really uncanny about a hackerspace without internet. it feels like I'm caring for an animal that's missing a limb. like I'm trying to pull an airplane out of a death spiral. a shop keeper trying to keep the "open" signs turned the right way 'round, when it seems the storefront itself is willing them spinning them back the wrong way. it's like freefall and I'm groping wildly for the parachute ripcord. I can just tell that when this is all over, it's something my brain—something I'll be subjected to on-repeat in my stress dreams. I've showed up to the space three times for three separate install appointments only for the technicians to not show up. waiting patiently all day for a phone call. the most recent one I got a call, I picked it up eagerly—"hello? hello? who's there" I spoke into my phone. silence. silence. "hello? I can't hear you." silence. silence. "hello?" the call ends. I call them back. "we're sorry, but this phone number is not in service." three hours later the install window passes without fanfare. I call our provider. they don't know what's happening. they're going to try their best. they're going to call me as soon as they know what is going on. it's been two days. the hackerspace is floating in a big dark void. the thin thread of plastic fibre optic cable that used to tether it to the flashing lights and pretty colours of the internet is now dark and weak. going inside feels like camping. little excursions with whoever of the membership decides to show up. sitting around telling stories from the outside world. I'm trying. I'm trying.

how much does a hen way?