A woman brought a limp duck into a veterinary clinic. Gently, she laid her pet on the examination table as the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird’s chest.
After a moment, the vet shook his head and sighed. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but your duck, Cuddles, has passed away.”
The woman gasped. “Are you sure?” “Yes, I’m sure,” the vet replied. “Your duck is dead.” “But you haven’t done any tests!” she protested. “He might just be in a coma or something!”
The vet rolled his eyes but left the room without another word. A few minutes later, he returned with a black Labrador Retriever.
The dog stood on his hind legs, placed his front paws on the table, and sniffed the duck from head to tail. Then he looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog and led him out of the room. Moments later, he returned with a cat.
The cat gracefully leapt onto the table, sniffed the duck carefully, then sat back, shook its head, meowed softly, and strolled out.
The vet turned to the woman. “I’m sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck.”
He walked over to his computer, typed a few keys, and printed out a bill.
Still in shock, the woman took the paper and gasped. “$150?! Just to tell me my duck is dead?”
The vet shrugged. “Well, if you’d just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20. But with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it’s $150.”
I've been seeing hate on NASA lately, being bought into by leftists even, and I just want to point out something very important:
Musk has hated NASA for a *long* time. There is a reason it is being attacked, and a reason public opinion is being swayed against NASA: It *keeps SpaceX in line* more than anything else.
NASA is being seen as "competition" to SpaceX, as the obstacle in his way. It has been like this for quite some time, and now, with DOGE and other things, he can do something about it.
I would like to point out a few things:
1. SPACEX IS NOT CHEAPER They boast they can "do what NASA does for 10% the cost!" Sure, it's easy when you did none of the R&D. SpaceX saved on: Landing tech: DC-X project in 1991-1996 Tank structure: Shuttle SLWT tank, 1998-2011 Merlin Engines: direct descendant of the Fastrac Engine, 1997-2001.
Those three things alone saved SpaceX over 90% of the R&D costs. It's easy to "appear" cheap when you're using off the shelf tech someone else (NASA!) developed.
2. NASA IS GREAT FOR THE ECONOMY! For every $1 spent on NASA, $8 is put into economy. Its stupid to not invest in that kind of ROI! 800%! At times, its ROI Has been 1600%!
Simply put, if you defund NASA, the economy would shrink so much you would actually have to RAISE taxes to make up for the lost revenue, and without its existence we would be 30 years behind in technology and the quality of life for everyone would be much lower. Science and research is GOOD for society, it's the fuel for all progress.
3. WHAT HAS NASA DONE FOR ME?! (Surely you just mean NASA is good for tech & science folk....)
Nope! Good for all! Ever have an MRI or CAT Scan? They wouldn't exist without the Apollo program! The software that made them possible was originally written to analyze lunar photography.
Low power digital x-Rays was planetary body research.
Heart pumps are modeled after space shuttle turbopumps.
The software that designed your car was originally written to design spacecraft!
Who do you think pioneered all the early research into alternative power like solar panels, hydrogen fuel cells, and durable batteries? NASA!
NASA developed tech and satellites is also what improves agricultural yields while reducing the needs for water, fertilizer, and pesticides.
Do you really think Musk gives two shits? No. He wants the money, he wants to let SpaceX run amok without any oversight for safety, without any "competition".
All fights are important, but do realise that this one is a huge thorn in his side, and one that is keeping a huge problem from ballooning and swallowing us all whole.
Do not be fooled or swayed by lies, of tactics meant to divide, of things being done to make you be angry at NASA. If he can make you hate NASA, he won.
Expect far more space junk to fall, the night sky to be ruined by satellites, and the loss of all things good that proper research and design does for humanity and gives back to the world. Not to mention: enjoy seeing the horrible things he can accomplish fully unchecked.
ETA: Now that you know, call / fax / email your senators and reps, and whatever else too! Boosting gets people thinking, but thinking is not action!
Sincere question: I have been in a pop culture coma for decades. I just opened one eye to find out that a rapper is accusing another rapper of pedophilia. This song became a hit, it was recognized in the #goldenglobes and now was featured in the #superbowl halftime? In what world is this OK??
Assuming these allegations are not substantiated, how can someone perform such a graphic character assassination and receive such glee and celebration? This just seems like a horrible blood sport. Why would anyone make light of child sex abuse and/or slander someone like that? And how on earth is this celebrated and encouraged in the most televised event of the year??
this is a huge question tbh, but the short answer is: marginalized communities, especially Black ones, live outside the boundaries of justice. Powerful people get away with exploitation all the time because the energy required to fight it doesn't exist. As a result, a culture develops to cope with these conditions, and this is what you're looking at here. People have been sick of Drake's shit for a long time, and he finally picked on someone more powerful than he is. This is the result.
@paparatti But how is it OK for powerful cultural institutions to endorse this and profit from it? "Hey Kendrick, we would be honoured if you got on the biggest stage in the world and repeat how Drake does it with minors".
I get that Drake can be annoying, and appropriates culture that isn't his. If anyone wants to insert him on a dis track go ahead, but the fact that this is a uniting cultural moment is sooo disturbing.
@paparatti "yeah, our fascist leader is presiding over this event, it's complicated, so let's all pause with our infighting and division to unite about something we all agree about: Drake is a pedo dingdong"
I would say it's a little bit more complex than that, especially as Black culture has a lot of layered nuance to it that most outsiders miss and Lamar is a master of the game. It's not just about the individual crimes of Drake, it's also about finding justice where you can, how you can. Sometimes that means grabbing the nearest platform available and showing what you've got even if Hitler is standing over your shoulder (see: Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics).
Any techie on the fediverse with a non-technical spouse who thought about their technical/digital legacy? My wife has no idea about my VPS, my domains (incl. her own), my blog, my GitHub profile or any other tech-specific stuff. Should I write some kind of “handbook” for her, in case of my death? #AskFedi
"I do not authorize META, Facebook or any entity associated with Facebook to use my penis, scrotum, taint or anus in any way, past, present, or future.
It is strictly prohibited to disclose, copy, distribute or take any other action against me based on my penis, scrotum, taint or anus. Violation of this may be punishable by law.
However, in the spirit of compromise, Mark Zuckerberg may personally gargle my balls."
After careful consideration I came to the conclusion that it makes no sense to keep the session export/import feature, once the key backup export/import feature is in place.
After a long transition period no one came up with a use case which a session export/import covers that is not covered by just logging in on a new device and import the key backup.
If you have know a valid use case, please comment on this.
Otherwise the key backup export/import will superset it in the next version
Posthumous is out now! A variable blackletter script with gloopy round corners and lots of OpenType features, this type family has been such a labor of love. I'm so excited to share it with you all! Learn more about it, download a PDF specimen, or purchase a license → prologuetype.co/posthumous.
My type foundry, Prologue Type, officially launches tomorrow! My first typeface, Posthumous, is a variable blackletter script. I could not be more excited for this release!
I've seen a lot of posts about switching from WhatsApp to Signal. While this is perfectly fine and justified, I'd like to remind everyone that Signal still has quite a bit of accessibility issues which don't seem to get much priority. In the meantime WhatsApp continues to be by far the most user-friendly option to people with accessibility needs. So next time you decide to scorn someone for using Meta products, please remember that you're enjoying the privilege of using an app that has been designed for your kind. I, as a blind person, don't have that privilege.
Sticking to WhatsApp (for my sins) as some people would have you believe. Saw a post earlier today about 'Ditching *all* big tech' They wanted no apple, google, meta, microsoft in their lives. I commend them for being able to do that, but it doesn't work for me or mine. Don't have to like it, but it is what it is.
That wouldn’t work for me at all. The other day I was imagining a scenario whe accessibility was removed from all mainstream products. Made me realise just how much I depend on them.
People tend to go from one end to the other, and they forget the middle ground. That place where we use what we use because we don't have much choice anyway. From one extreme of selling all your data, to the other where you ditch anything and everything that screams big. Humans are weird.
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- decryption based on session keys is now supported, - generation of man pages and shell tab completion has been added, - some subtle semantics fixes for component key validity were implemented.
This document defines a generic stateless command-line interface for dealing with OpenPGP messages, certificates, and secret key material, known as sop.
President Donald Trump said he is serious about wanting Canada to become the 51st state in an interview that aired Sunday during the Super Bowl preshow.
I have been using Meta socials to focus on my favorite thing, quilting, and it’s time to look around at other options because my conscious is pricking me. So, hello Mastodon, take me to your Quilters.
I'm currently seeking a new remote software engineering position available to a US citizen. I spent the last three years working professionally on desktop software in Rust and C++ and would prefer desktop/systems software in Rust. I have a long background in FOSS and would strongly prefer to stay in that world. #GetFediHired #FediHired
curl is an internet transfer engine. A rather modular one too. Parts of curl's functionality is provided by selectable alternative implementations that we call backends.
Hi all, I've noticed recently that the Focus braille displays seem to be heavily discounted, do we know whether this means that a new focus 14, 40 or 80 is coming out soon?
I'm not finding discounted prices on FS's Shop page. I hope you're right about the possibility of a sixth generation Focus. It needs some offline capabilities, although I love it as a Braille display.
- why chatmail servers? - how to setup a server with your child - (avoiding) spam filtering - metadata and guaranteed end to end encryption in #deltachat - #cryptographic #interoperability for email message routing
Thanks to attendees for the great energy even if was the last talk on the day and also for questions and conversations afterwards!
More information on Joplin and OneNote comparisons from my posts yesterday to ensure clarity and to clean up some statements on the public record. OneNote is fully capable, and does offer more features than Joplin. As we told BITS users in chat, OneNote is probably the place to stay in commercial environments. We are simply providing choices for users to look at for their specific needs. We meant no harm.
Hi Jeff. When I’ve tried to use OneNote in the past, accessibility was a bit of a mess. I assume things have gotten better on the PC? There was also two apps on the PC at one point that made things fairly confusing.
@jfayre Yes, it is better, but for many it still feels more complex to them just from an assistive technology perspective. For example, some things are not even reported acccurately in OneNote when creating different types of objects. So, for my personal use, Joplin is a far better solution that meets my specific needs. Everybody has choices.
Absolutely. I definitely intend to try it. Sounds really good. At work though I’m kind of stuck with one note, which is why I was asking. The issues you mentioned are the same things I’m seeing as well.
@jfayre Yeah, and for me accuracy is hugely important. If I don't have that it is useless to me no matter how many features it has. I to must use OneNote in my job.
The OnePlus 13, the latest flagship from OnePlus, continues the brand's tradition of delivering high-performance devices with sleek designs. However, for
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).
Okay, I couldn't let #SuperbOwl pass without indulging in personal show n tell 🦉
Some ancient Athenian Owl coins. 5 silver tetradrachms and one small Athenian bronze. Only the reverses are shown. The other side of each bears the bust of Athena
Dates - Main box and 1st two in top row were struck 454 to 404 BCE. Top Right: 393 to 294 BCE. Centre left column: 170 BCE. Bottom Left: 166 to 157 BCE
Greetings all. A long time ago when VoiceDream caused a big Kerfuffle around subscriptions, there was a lot of talk about alternatives. Someone had mentioned that there is an alternative reading app that could import from VoiceDream. Does anyone remember which app that was? VoiceDream's audio playback issues and TTS issues are getting old at this point, and it's seeming less and less likely that they will be fixed. Thanks in advance.
In this episode of The Pauls Place, Jamie talks about how to get started with audio editing if you are blind. Below are links to products and services mentioned in this episode.
Apart from that, everything else works. I'd like to see a key in the f-row for checking focused process things what architecture a process is running under, but I suppose that might not be possible if BNT is running emulated.
𝕆𝕥𝕥𝕠 𝕧𝕠𝕟 𝕎𝕖𝕟𝕜𝕠𝕗𝕗 🐾🐐🐇🐔
in reply to Archos • • •Archos
in reply to 𝕆𝕥𝕥𝕠 𝕧𝕠𝕟 𝕎𝕖𝕟𝕜𝕠𝕗𝕗 🐾🐐🐇🐔 • • •Ale ono to půjde 👍☺️
𝕆𝕥𝕥𝕠 𝕧𝕠𝕟 𝕎𝕖𝕟𝕜𝕠𝕗𝕗 🐾🐐🐇🐔
in reply to Archos • • •Archos
in reply to 𝕆𝕥𝕥𝕠 𝕧𝕠𝕟 𝕎𝕖𝕟𝕜𝕠𝕗𝕗 🐾🐐🐇🐔 • • •Jan Antoš
in reply to Archos • • •Archos
in reply to Jan Antoš • • •@OttovonWenkoff
Jan Antoš
in reply to Archos • • •Kateřina
in reply to Archos • • •Krásný den Archosi! 😊👋
Archos
in reply to Kateřina • • •Jan Dytrych🇨🇿🇺🇦
in reply to Archos • • •