I’m not clear what about my profile someone in Germany could find offensive, but here we are. I appreciate this notice, and the German law that required it. We should have more of this kind of thing, to reduce the abuse of reporting systems that get accounts taken down over wrong-think.
I have great respect for Jason, but it feels like there’s an important point being elided here. Since her uncle owns it, Musk is accusing the Internet Archive of removing evidence of Taylor Lorenz’s online footprint, for the purpose of shielding her from her own embarrassing and/or incriminating writing. At first blush, this seems to be an attack on the mission of the Archive.
However, something like 15 years ago, I needed a fresh start with my online presence, and contacted Jason directly, and had him remove my site (this site) from the Archive. I had to send a copy of my driver’s license, which I thought was eminently reasonable.
What I didn’t know is that this would exclude this site from the archive forever. I suppose I could ask it to be re-added, but I think it’s fine. I don’t need to waste any more bits on any more hard drives.
Anyway, my point is that this sort of thing happens. Whether it happened because Lorenz asked, or her uncle directed it, and for whatever reason, people have a right to not be tracked. Further, the Archive may be the only site in the world that I trust to actually delete data when asked. Seems like a good time to expound the integrity of the institution. Instead, he indulged in some Musk Derangement Syndrome, as evidenced by the “emerald mine” reference, which isn’t actually a thing.
Can you suggest songs that are similar to Rock Lobster?
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Certainly! “Rock Lobster” by The B-52’s is a unique and energetic song with a distinct sound. While it’s challenging to find songs that perfectly replicate its style, here are a few suggestions that capture a similar blend of upbeat, quirky, and danceable qualities:
“Love Shack” by The B-52’s: This is another popular song by The B-52’s that features catchy hooks, playful lyrics, and a lively, dance-inducing vibe.
“Whip It” by Devo: Known for their eccentricity and new wave sound, Devo’s “Whip It” carries a similar energy to “Rock Lobster” with its offbeat lyrics and catchy synth-driven rhythm.
“Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and The Waves: This song shares the same upbeat and infectious spirit as “Rock Lobster.” It’s a feel-good, pop-rock anthem that’s hard to resist singing and dancing along to.
“Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads: While stylistically different from “Rock Lobster,” Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime” is a quirky and captivating song that merges elements of new wave, funk, and art rock. It possesses an infectious rhythm and thought-provoking lyrics.
“Weird Science” by Oingo Boingo: As a new wave and alternative rock band, Oingo Boingo offers a similar sense of fun and eccentricity. “Weird Science” embodies their unique sound, blending catchy melodies, synths, and a touch of quirkiness.
“Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel: This song is a vibrant fusion of rock, funk, and pop with an infectious groove. It shares a dynamic and lively atmosphere that aligns with the spirit of “Rock Lobster.”
While these songs may not be exact replicas, they capture elements of the energy, quirkiness, and danceable nature found in “Rock Lobster.” Enjoy exploring these suggestions!
Maybe not a great answer, but all of those songs are on my 80’s playlist.
In announcing his long-shot candidacy for president Wednesday, Kennedy vowed to “end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism on our country.”
Source: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a Democrat challenging Biden. But what is his platform? | Fox News
“Threatening?” Threatening!? Threatening to impose…
We’re way past “threatening.”
But other than that, I like everything I’m hearing from of this guy.
One of the straightest paths to purpose in life is to take responsibility for something (or someone). Becoming a person whose presence and competence benefits others. For both your sake and theirs.
Jordan Peterson calls this the “meaningful burden” in 12 Rules for Life, and downright posits it as an antidote to depression. Echoing Victor Frankl’s famous quote “he who has a why to live for can bear almost any how” from Man’s Search for Meaning.
There’s something inherently counterintuitive about this notion that people who feel overwhelmed by life, or lost in its endless possibilities, might not need a lighter load, but a more meaningful burden instead. It reminds me of the version of burnout that stems not from overwork, but from under-purpose. Sometimes, the answer to “it’s just all too much” is, weirdly, “can I have some more, please”.
Source: The responsibility is the reward
This may or may not be exactly what I needed to hear at this juncture of life. With my ongoing struggle with nerve pain, I will admit that I have fully lost any sense of “why” in my life. I’m going to have to look inside and find one again. The universe is reminding me to get back to the work of reading certain things, like Frankl, which I started, then stopped.
I talk with the doc who led me to surgery again next week, for more options, but I’ve become burdened with the forced acceptance of the notion that I may never be completely pain free in my life again. I should probably start talking to other people similarly affected, to get more perspective on what it’s like to live with this sort of thing long term, but I haven’t wanted to give into the idea that I can’t get free of this somehow.
Since surgery helped quite a bit, I can’t help thinking that more surgery would help more, but there’s a process to follow here, before undertaking something potentially more risky than the procedure I had done before.
After a controversial blog post in which CEO Jason Fried outlined Basecamp’s new philosophy that prohibited, among other things, “societal and political discussions” on internal forums, company co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson said the company would offer generous severance packages to anyone who disagreed with the new stance. On Friday, it appears a large number of Basecamp employees are taking Hansson up on his offer: according to The Verge contributing editor Casey Newton’s sources, roughly a third of the company’s 57 employees accepted buyouts today. As of Friday afternoon, 18 people had tweeted they were planning to leave.
Source: Basecamp implodes as employees flee company, including senior staff
This came back up in an HN discussion about their new web app deployment tool, MRSK. (And, being a big fan of Capistrano, I really want to try.) I remember this happening, and I remember the outsized reaction to it. Here’s a tiny company of only 57 employees, and yet this story reverberated around the IT news world. The audacity!
On top of that outsized reaction, what hadn’t really registered was that 18 people jumped ship. A third! An entire third of the company was so upset that they couldn’t espouse their politics on internal forums that they had to leave. It’s been about 2 years now, and they’ve launched an entirely new product, so I guess the predictions of their demise were… probably just wishful thinking.
Reminds me of another controversial company changing gears, and being predicted to fail miserably…
Source: Tucker Carlson departs Fox News, pushed out by Rupert Murdoch
“Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News is, in part, an admission of the systemic lying, bullying and conspiracy-mongering claimed by our client, former top producer Abby Grossberg,” said Tanvir Rahman, one of Grossberg’s attorneys. “Mr. Carlson and his subordinates remain individual defendants in the [Southern District of New York] case, and we look forward to taking their depositions under oath in the very near term.”
Indeed!
Comedian Jon Stewart ridiculed Carlson to his face on CNN, telling him that “Crossfire,” was “hurting America.” Carlson was told by one network boss that he was too fat.
I remember this, and it was one of the most hypocritical things ever said. Stewart was doing the same thing, but hid behind the fact that his show was “comedy,” as though he wasn’t purposely trying to achieve the same effect as Crossfire, but with a different schtick. The exchange infuriated me at the time, and it still infuriates me today when the LA Times uses it to promote the idea that Stewart caught Carlson out on TV, and made a fool of him, but it’s just another perfect example of the blatant and shameless hypocrisy of our politics and media in the US.
History is already showing itself to be unkind due to these heavily-biased polemical platforms. This is why — love him or hate him — I am very excited about Musk’s promise that they will only censor Twitter according to the law, as I said they should, months ago, but cannot find to reference now.
My name is Lars Wirzenius, and I was there when Linux started. Linux is now a global success, but its beginnings were rather more humble. These are my memories of the earliest days of Linux, its creation, and the start of its path to where it is today.
Source: The early days of Linux
Great little reminisce. I just thought a couple of quotes were particularly funny.
While this was happening, I was taking a nap, and I recommend this method of installing Linux: napping, while Linus does the hard work.
And..
In the spring of 1994 we felt that Linux was done. Finished. Nothing more to add. One could use Linux to compile itself, to read Usenet, and run many copies of the xeyes program at once.
The first version of Linux I installed was Slackware 3. If memory serves, this was early 1995. I downloaded 54 1.5MB floppy images over a 28.8K modem, using a free PPP service called SlipNet. (I think it was located in California. They were around for a long time after this, but I can’t find any reference to them now.) What I didn’t know was that Slackware was a direct descendant of the first “distribution,” SLS.
Some mid account, posting a summary, of a news article, which says specifically the opposite of what he’s saying in the tweet…. 21.2K likes. The truth? Doesn’t even register. But it’s red meat for his audience, so…
Where’s Elon’s vaunted community fact-checking service on this one?
There really isn’t a way to fix this on this platform. Maybe not on social media at all. But I’m going to start muting a lot more accounts in a last-ditch effort to make this platform useful to me.
I’ve been having mysterious problems with both of my corporate computers. Things that used to run only sort of run now. Today, I finally figured out that this is happening because #CorporateIT, in its ineffable wisdom, has decided to suddenly start automatically deleting any customizations to either the system or the account PATH variable by way of login (or logoff, or startup, or shutdown) scripts.
Years ago, Arvin was a lovely company with lovely people. Then it was sold out from under us, and eaten alive by Meritor (which has now been eaten by Cummins). They made a big show of bringing in some bonehead whose job was to setup “proper” IT policies. I watched in horror as he obviously just slapped together a bunch of white papers he rummaged through the internet to find, copy-and-pasted them into “controlled” Word docs with company logos in the header, and presented them as a legitimate security posture, despite obvious problems and glaring inconsistencies. Unintimidated, I took him to task about it. We went a couple of rounds, which ended with him literally screaming at me over the phone. I finally got the attention of one of the senior IT directors, and got a chance to vent about the situation.
One of the things I complained about was the removal of cron from all Unix machines, which I (as a Unix admin, at the time) was making liberal use of. First, cron doesn’t allow you to do anything you couldn’t normally, otherwise, do, so why remove the convenience? Second, if running things out of hours or on a schedule is a Bad Thing (TM), then why weren’t we also removing Task Scheduler from all Windows machines? Third, if this is about a security vulnerability in the binary, then just make sure you’re keeping up to date with patches from the vendor, just like everything else.
The director then told me that that particular policy provision was actually written by her, as though this was supposed to make me suddenly backtrack, and withdraw my objection. I asked her why, and all she could do was say that this was considered an “industry best practice.” Yeah, but why!? The bottom line is that this was an unintended consequence of SOX. It’s just a thing that’s easy to suggest by consultants, easy to do by IT staff, and easy to verify, and makes a nice bullet point on a validation study about IT policies. Job done! Give IBM $100K to rubber stamp our SOX compliance report! But it does literally nothing to “secure” anything. All it can do is inconvenience users.
If there’s an actual security flaw in the cron deamon itself, then get it patched! There’s no reason to eliminate it entirely. At least, it’s not worth the inconvenience of uninstalling it on the slight chance that a new vulnerability might be found in it, and get exploited by a bad actor, before it can be patched.
This is a hill I will die on.
I got my cron back.
Today’s issue with #CorporateIT is the same. Now I can’t run rails or rake or git at the command line unless I fully “path” them. This is what has been breaking my scripts. And I know they’re nuking both system and user PATH variables, because I tried the second after noticing that the first was being blown away. Why in the world are we deleting customizations to the PATH variable? On what planet does this make anything more secure? What malware wouldn’t try all known paths, regardless of the PATH setting, or fully path its own executables? How can this do anything but make people’s lives less convenient? It’s still possible to set, of course, so I guess I’ll write a .BAT script to run when I want to start working, which will update my user PATH variable so I can just get on with it.
Wow. We’ve really locked down the configuration, huh, guys? The bad guys have no chance now!
To me, the implementation of any security measure depends on the answers to some fundamental questions: What’s the vulnerability? How large is the risk? What’s at stake? What is the mitigation? Is the preventative fix worth the cost in terms of money, access, and productivity? What’s the data we are protecting worth, such that it makes sense to implement the policy? I understand there’s a lot of subjectivity here, but these questions will separate the wheat from the chaff really quickly.
For instance, the staggering mountain of PowerPoint presentations that no one having a meeting can seem to do without, sitting on the corporate file server, mean nothing to anyone outside of the people who are having meetings about it, and even then, only for the week they’re having the meeting. Does it make sense to install every security product on the market to protect this “information?” Not in a million years. Even Office documents you think are profoundly important are hard to dig up out of your collection after a little while, and hard to make sense of once you do. How would any of this “data” be strung together in any useful way by bad actors? For all of the hand wringing about it, the shared drives could be open to the public, for all the risk to the company it actually exposes.
I have another story about this, but I’ll save it for another time.
Every time we turn around, IT has implemented a new policy, a new layer, a new product that’s supposed make our “data” “more” “secure,” and each time it happens, we lose the ability to do something useful. #CorporateIT dictates that our Teams chat histories vanish after just 24 hours. In a company which requires a month for anything to get done, and often requires multiple tries, it would be nice to be able to refer to that log for a month, no? Does no one in the company see this? What sort of crack-addled meeting was held between legal and IT to come up with this? Deleted email disappears after 30 days. If you want to save it to refer to later, you need to remember to hit the “archive” button. Again, when things take months to happen… But sure, blame it on litigation
The really stupid part of this? These moves won’t save you legally. People involved what whatever is being discovered will be called to testify, under oath, what they said, regardless of records that attest to it. So this does nothing to prevent legal culpability. It’s just another hassle for end users in the name of a tick box on an auditor’s checklist.
Every week, there’s a new thing to justify a budget. Every week, it’s a new, unannounced loss of capability. I’m really getting tired of it.
About a week after I wrote this, a coworker sent out an email to our entire group, saying that hundreds of thousands of documents we still rely on had been automatically deleted from our Sharepoint files and Teams channels. He said that they have restored these things, and he was working with IT to make the auto-delete policy kick in at 10 years, instead of the current 3. This is exactly what I’m talking about when I say that, if a company moves at a pace where even the simplest things take a month or three to do, then we need chat history to last at least this long. Our projects are sometimes decades long. We need our stuff for at least that long.
This is a perfect example of IT setting “security” policy without asking the basic questions above, and living in a fantasy world where they are free to believe that their consultant-and-whitepaper-suggested rules don’t have costs. At least my coworker didn’t throw up his hands, and say (basically), “You can’t fight city hall!” He took them to task, and now they’ve had to realize, in at least this one case — for, again, no actual legal benefit — the utter hassle they incur when their incentives are misaligned with the people who do the work that keeps them employed.
Now people are educating each other about how to save important documents from being automatically trashed from OneDrive.