mastodon - Link to source

On this day, six years ago, David John Duncan, well-known to some, unknown to most, but wonderful author of science fiction and fantasy novels, passed away. I have read as much of Dave's stuff as I can get my hands on. He is an author that I'm very fond of. I enjoy his books and the stories he tells.

My introduction to Dave was the first book in his Seventh Sword series, which is called The Reluctant Swordsman. It's a portal fantasy novel. It was published in 1988, and it follows the mind of a gentleman called Wally Smith, who ends up in the body of a swordsman of the seventh rank, the mighty Shonsu, who was killed in his fantasy world, and Wally's mind brought across to re-inhabit the body by the world's goddess in an attempt to complete a mission for her. The subsequent two books in the series complete that arc, and it's a very satisfying trilogy of books. 24 years later, Dave published a fourth book in the series, showing the evolution of the characters after the main quest had completed, and it was a very satisfying way to meet Dave as an author.


in reply to Sean Randall

mastodon - Link to source

Sean Randall

When I tell people I've read over 18,000 pages of Dave Duncan's writing, they say to me, where do I start? Where do I begin? How do I get into this author? You know, what's a good opening? And that's so hard to answer, because although Dave's got a lot of tropes that he sticks to, and he's got a very distinctive style, he doesn't do the same thing twice, as counter to what I've just said, as that may sound. He makes a new world, a unique world, and then plays by its rules. And that's something that not a lot of authors can say. I think it's even rarer to be able to identify a piece of work as an author's, yet not know where it's going to end up. You know, that's pretty clever. So I would say that you should probably start with the opening to one of the series, because that way, if you don't like it, you don't have to read more. But if you do like it, you know there is more, and that's really cool. So we've got The Reluctant Swordsman, of course, is the start of the fantasy, portal fantasy, The Seventh Sword. The King's Blades books are also based on swordsmanship, although not portal books. And they're really clever, because the stories stand more alone there, and they sort of intertwine, but in a more subtle, non-serial way. The Great Game is a trilogy of books set both during the First World War, and in an alternate world called Nextdoor, one of my particular favourite series. Nostradamus is a series set in Venice, Italy. Those are just a few of the series that you can start off with. And if you like them, and you know you like Dave's Stile, then you can pick a standalone book and think, oh, you know, I'm in the mood for something this long, and give that a try. Lots of options.

mastodon - Link to source

spent some time today working on this diagram of how the ASCII control characters work in unix

there are a lot of mistakes/missing nuance but I think it's really interesting how little structure there is. Special codes (like `3` for SIGINT) that are handled by the OS are mixed with just regular keypresses (like `13` for "enter”) which are mixed with codes that are handled by the application (like `1` for Ctrl-A in readline)

(not looking for an ASCII history lesson right now)

color coded table of ASCII control codes
This entry was edited (1 year ago)

mastodon - Link to source

#Catima 2.32.1 is out!

This fixes a regression in 2.32.0 which could break text display in the add dialog in non-English languages which I sadly missed in review: github.com/CatimaLoyalty/Andro…

It also contains some translation updates that were submitted between the last release and just now.

Coming soon to an app store near you :)

#Android #IzzyOnDroid #GooglePlay #GitHub


Fix text wrapping on add dialog by TheLastProject · Pull Request #2142 · CatimaLoyalty/Android

Before After
GitHub
#android #github #googleplay #catima #izzyondroid

mastodon - Link to source

#AndroidAppRain at apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid today brings you 10 updated & 1 removed apps:

SwiftNotes had to be removed again due to license/copyright reasons (a fork without giving credits), it's repo is meanwhile unavailable too.

Updated apps include Catima, fixing a regression introduced with yesterday's update (yupp, @SylvieLorxu is fast with fixing and really taking care! 😍).

All 7 #reproducibleBuilds succeeded as well!

Enjoy your #free #Android #apps with the #IzzyOnDroid repo :awesome:


IzzyOnDroid F-Droid Repository

This is a repository of apps to be used with your F-Droid client. Applications in this repository are official binaries built by the original application developers, taken from their resp. repositories (mostly Github, GitLab, Codeberg).
IzzyOnDroid App Repo
#android #free #apps #AndroidAppRain #reproduciblebuilds #izzyondroid @Sylvia

mastodon - Link to source
[Blog Post] Apple Introduces Redesigned Mac Mini, Updates iMac and Mac Accessories applevis.com/blog/apple-introd…

Apple Introduces Redesigned Mac Mini, Updates iMac and Mac Accessories | AppleVis

Apple this week updated several of its Mac product lines, as well as the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad accessories. These Macs have been updated with variants of the M4 chip, the same chip that was introduced with the 2024 iPad Pro.
www.applevis.com

mastodon - Link to source
It's official - Matrix 2.0 implementations are here and ready for mainstream use! 🎉🥳🎊 Come watch the keynote from The Matrix Conference and learn about the joy of instant sync ⚡️, next-gen auth 🔐, native VoIP 🎦 and Invisible Crypto 👻: matrix.org/blog/2024/10/29/mat…

Matrix 2.0 Is Here!

Matrix, the open protocol for secure decentralised communications
Matthew Hodgson (matrix.org)
in reply to The Matrix.org Foundation

mastodon - Link to source

Midgard

If a friend loses her device again without having recovery, she has to abandon her account. Better to be upfront about this than to leave her in confusion as to why she's "banned", so a client should say:

> You've successfully signed in. Before you can send and receive messages with this device, you need to validate it using another device or a recovery passphrase.
> If you lost all devices where you were signed in and do not have a recovery passphrase, you should create a new account.

mastodon - Link to source

Apple unveils a Mac mini with a much smaller design, M4 and M4 Pro options, two front-facing USB-C ports, up to 64GB of RAM, and more, shipping Nov. 8 for $599+ (Chris Welch/The Verge)

theverge.com/2024/10/29/242815…
techmeme.com/241029/p16#a24102…


Apple announces redesigned Mac Mini with M4 chip — and it’s so damn small

Apple’s new Mac Mini is unbelievably small, yet it packs more power than ever thanks to the included M4 processor.
Chris Welch (The Verge)

mastodon - Link to source
The risks of OpenAI's Whisper audio transcription model: baldurbjarnason.com/2024/opena…

The risks of OpenAI's Whisper audio transcription model

This weekend a story from ABC News on issues with audio transcription machine learning models did the rounds. “Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said”
www.baldurbjarnason.com

mastodon - Link to source

The wait is over, videos from The Matrix Conference 2024 are here!

Find recordings, photos, press, and our sponsor prospectus for 2025 in the latest blog post: matrix.org/blog/2024/10/29/mat…

#MatrixConf #Matrix #OpenSource #FOSS


The wait is over, videos from The Matrix Conference 2024 are here!

Matrix, the open protocol for secure decentralised communications
Josh Simmons (matrix.org)
#foss #matrix #opensource #matrixconf

mastodon - Link to source

@panoramax The number of 'panoramax'-tags has suddenly skyrocketed. Maybe cause I've moved about 10K pictures?

For more info, see github.com/pietervdvn/MapCompl…

A graph showing the number of `panoramax`-tags in the OSM-database. It jumped from ~3K to ~12K images overnight, due to us moving many images over.
A graph showing the number of `image`-tags in the OSM database. It grows steadily, but makes a small drop because some imgur links were removed (and replaced by a panoramax-tag)

Move all the pictures from Imgur to Panoramax · Issue #2189 · pietervdvn/MapComplete

Why move? Even though imgur hosts the images for now, they might delete it whenever they feel like. They suddenly cutoff our possibility to upload too. Loading an image from Imgur has a privacy imp...
GitHub
@Panoramax
This entry was edited (1 year ago)

Pietervdvn reshared this.

in reply to MapComplete

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MapComplete

For clarity: we are moving all images which are on imgur and which have a clear license in the description. These are 99% images which were made with MapComplete.

Why? Imgur updated their TOS and we are now in violation of it. This means that they could simply delete the images overnight and/or cut off our API-access overnight - like they did cut off our access to upload new images. (Luckily, @thibaultmol sprang into action to setup a server and @pietervdvn implemented uploading)

@Pietervdvn @Thibaultmol 🌈

Pietervdvn reshared this.

in reply to MapComplete

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MapComplete

We moved about 10K images already, about 2.8% of all 'image'-tags in the #OpenStreetMap-database. All those moved images are made in Flanders.

There are 19K images hosted on Imgur, of which the vast majority (probably 18K) are made with MapComplete and will be moved soon.

If your app supports the image tag, it might be neat to start supporting panoramax too. See the wiki for details. OpenAEDMap just implemented it (see github.com/openstreetmap-polsk…, might not be live ATM)


Add support for panoramax · openstreetmap-polska/openaedmap-backend@c035154

❤️ Backend powering OpenAEDMap.org — an OpenStreetMap's life-saving AED map - Add support for panoramax · openstreetmap-polska/openaedmap-backend@c035154
GitHub
#openstreetmap
This entry was edited (1 year ago)

Pietervdvn reshared this.

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The new Mac Mini looks great, wow. New chip, 16GB base memory, five USB-C ports (three with Thunderbolt), and probably minimal fan noise. That $599 base model will be a better computer than almost every desktop PC under $1,000, as long as you're okay with macOS.

apple.com/newsroom/2024/10/app…


Apple’s all-new Mac mini is more mighty, more mini, and built for Apple Intelligence

Apple today unveiled the all-new Mac mini powered by the M4 and new M4 Pro chips, and redesigned around Apple silicon so it’s even smaller.
Apple

mastodon - Link to source
I've been hearing plans for this my entire life. I suspect I'll be dead before anything like this actually happens. But we'll crank out a few more thick binders of high speed rail studies.
urbanists.social/@straphanger/…

𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚜 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚎 🚇 (@straphanger@urbanists.social)

Attached: 1 image BREAKING: #Canada's government is going ahead with high-speed—not just high-frequency—rail between #Quebec City and #Toronto Bullet trains will reach speeds of up to 300 kilometres (186 mph) per hour.
Urbanists.Social

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Hey all! Our son's boyfriend is working on a project to develop a compendium of Transmasc Comfort Characters from books, movies, TV, and video games.

He'd love it if you'd fill out this survey with your favorite characters! Whether their transmasc status is canon or not - if that character comforts you, please include them.

Please BOOST! :)

Edit: Fixed - you can now submit multiple characters!

s.surveyplanet.com/jovbb2xv

#TransMasc #Trans #TransJoy #TransSurvey #TransFic #TransStories


Transmasc Comfort Characters

Welcome! Your answers here will be added to my ongoing compendium of canon and implied transmasculine characters in media. By completing this survey, you are doing a lot to support the transmasc community!
s.surveyplanet.com
#trans #transjoy #transmasc #transsurvey #transfic #TransStories
This entry was edited (1 year ago)

mastodon - Link to source

What do people think of this response to ‘generate detailed Alt Text’ by Gemini:

Here is some detailed alt text for the image you provided:
Alt Text:
A large, menacing grey cat, reminiscent of a monster, stands on its hind legs with its front paws raised. It has glowing yellow eyes and a wide, toothy grin. The cat is surrounded by a fiery aura as it emits a powerful beam of energy from its mouth. The beam is directed towards the Empire State Building in New York City, which is engulfed in flames. The city skyline is visible in the background, with tall buildings and smoke rising from the destruction. The overall tone of the image is chaotic and destructive, evoking a sense of fear and awe.
Additional Notes:
• You may want to adjust the description of the cat's appearance based on its specific characteristics.
• If the image is part of a larger context (like a movie poster or book cover), you could add a brief reference to that context.
• The alt text should be concise and informative, providing a clear description of the image without being overly detailed.
Let me know if you have any other questions.

#Accessibility #AI #AIsoftheBlind #AltText #Blind #ComputerVision

#Accessibility #blind #AI #AltText #computerVision #aisoftheblind
in reply to Cass Flux

mastodon - Link to source

Sean Randall

I can't see the image myself, but where I was seeing this would matter.

The description is great as a longer form piece. But I can see a time not too far away when that's the standard way of having alt text on book covers or thumbnails in search results.

Then I go from just wanting "a monstrous cat shooting energy at the Empire State Building" to no alt text at all depending on where I am and what I'm doing.
That brief descriptor would suit me on a product page of a shop, for instance, but I'd find having that in my search results or list of products annoying enough, to say nothing of the hundred words you have there.

There is a mechanism in html for longer descriptions that is very rarely used. Perhaps it could be revived for this sort of thing.

mastodon - Link to source

✅ Hoy se ha aprobado, a iniciativa nuestra, una PNL para condenar la ofensiva israelí sobre Palestina 🇵🇸 , exigir el desmantelamiento de las colonias y apoyar al TIJ y CPI en los procesos por violaciones de DDHH a la población y presos políticos.

📌 Puedes ver el vídeo completo de la defensa de la propuesta por Enrique Santiago aquí

youtube.com/watch?v=RZZE5kxUCP…


Enrique Santiago: «Israel sigue asesinando a presos y presas políticas palestinas impunemente»

Enrique Santiago, diputado y portavoz parlamentario de IU en el Congreso de los Diputados, interviene en la Comisión de Exteriores para presentar una Proposi...
YouTube

mastodon - Link to source

✊🏼 Así ganó un pueblo a la expansión eólica: A Groba contra las multinacionales energéticas.

Por Raúl García Amoedo.
elsaltodiario.com/galicia/asi-…

Bruno Centelles, Xilberte Manso e Anxo Reigosa, del Instituto de Estudos Miñoráns. Foto Miguel Núñez

Así ganó un pueblo a la expansión eólica: A Groba contra las multinacionales energéticas

Activistas del Instituto de Estudios Miñoráns y de la asociación SOS Serra de la Groba reflexionan sobre sus recientes victorias judiciales frente las empresas promotoras de parques eólicos en la zona del Val Miñor (Pontevedra)
www.elsaltodiario.com
in reply to El Salto Diario

gotosocial - Link to source

modulux

Y presentáis la obstaculización de la transición energética como algo positivo?

fueron capaces de presentar 80 recursos administrativos, uno por cada parque eólico proyectado en Galicia. Actualmente, y gracias a su trabajo y el de muchas otras asociaciones, han conseguido la paralización cautelar de 59 proyectos.


Esto os parece la victoria de algo?

Pues a mi no.

mastodon - Link to source

bad-faith-times.ghost.io/trump…

> And we as a people, especially millennials and Gen X-ers prone to such intense nostalgia, must also reject the 80s, which I know you hate to hear, but that you must hear. It is essential in the fight against fascism.

I recognize that I've indulged in 80s nostalgia quite a bit in the past year or so, especially retreating into my childhood Apple II memories. No more. Time to live in the present.


Trump, 80s Nostalgia, And The Rejection of Fascism

Yearning for the 1980s lies at the heart of the fascist project, whether millennials and Gen X-ers like it or not
Denny Carter (Bad Faith Times)
⇧