Posts by a@mastodon.nz
(DIR) Post #ANO48E8G8zv4ZDdbyi by a@mastodon.nz
2022-09-09T12:00:26Z
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I think monarchies are like religions and it is understandable to see rulers on a spiritual level, should people wish. The #Queen did her job mostly according to the times; how we see her legacy today will (and should) be debated. Now that she has passed away, the subsequent rulers will have much shorter (and less impressive) reigns, so the importance of the (or any) #monarchy will be gradually reduced. Still, at issue now is the political and social instability, but the show must go on.
(DIR) Post #ANQ8dYoU5gOzomVLZg by a@mastodon.nz
2022-09-10T12:00:21Z
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I think monarchies are like religions and people are free see rulers on a spiritual level, just like the Pope. How we see the #Queen's legacy today will (and should) be debated, like how we debate the legacy of churches. Anyway, now that she has passed away, the subsequent rulers will have much shorter (and less impressive) reigns, so the importance of the (or any) #monarchy will be gradually reduced. Still, at issue now is the political and social instability, and so life must go on.
(DIR) Post #ANSD8yxbiLyI1PvjPM by a@mastodon.nz
2022-09-11T12:00:11Z
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My university got a pair of stationary bikes in a study area. Weird placement but okay. Asked a guy about their usage: apparently nobody really uses them, but he's willing to ride with me just so that I don't get socially awkward. So we rode on it for 5 minutes while overlooking the skylines of the city. A good change of pace, I suppose.
(DIR) Post #ANWMCGqxLWt3QybeeO by a@mastodon.nz
2022-09-13T12:00:31Z
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Said goodbye to my old #MacbookAir (2017). Although it definitely has quality issues (most notably, its specs were not even the latest on its release), I guess I did treat it too roughly (fell to the ground once, also ran too many resource-intensive apps on it when it only has integrated graphics), so it only lasted 5 years (which I suppose is the lower end of its expected lifespan?). Too costly to repair, so got the newer MacBook Air (M2), trading the old one in (which gets scrapped probably).
(DIR) Post #ANYQfiMUw8IxHWZhqq by a@mastodon.nz
2022-09-14T12:00:04Z
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Yes, we need offline arguments where we wouldn't just punch each other... But when societal discourse has been dictated by online, pseudonymous arguments where there is virtually no consequence for disrespect (and even some in-person arguments in politics have minimal consequences for that), how important is the advice? Not to mention that people still need to be willing to #debate / be debated...https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/11/opinion/polarization-debate.html
(DIR) Post #ANYQhh0mvZ1VfoMbaa by a@mastodon.nz
2022-09-14T12:00:29Z
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@aral Facebook does add watermarks for direct download: https://twitter.com/oasace/status/1149181539000864769 . Also someone claims that Dark Reader can remove the watermark: https://twitter.com/Jeffreychang96/status/1566399281228963843 .
(DIR) Post #ANeeHTtjQYuLCsyofA by a@mastodon.nz
2022-09-17T12:00:50Z
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[en] How do you get to know (and be known by) as many people as reasonable in your university classes, WITHOUT involving social media immediately? #askfedi[zh] 在不立即依靠社交媒体的情况下，怎么能在大学课堂上尽可能多的认识别的同学/让别的同学认识我呢？ #长毛象互助大会
(DIR) Post #ANgijh8IbNacUmQEr2 by a@mastodon.nz
2022-09-18T12:00:09Z
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How we deal with #HateSpeech now is through cat-and-mouse content #moderation, which is quite ineffective - offenders will find ways to go around it, or just manifest hate offline - not to mention relying on commercial interests like Cloudflare is problematic. Regardless of what platforms (promise to) do, governments around the world must come up with workable approaches to make people unlearn hate, instead of always blaming the big tech boogeyman for their own failures...
(DIR) Post #ANinIf5IzuBePXs3LU by a@mastodon.nz
2022-09-19T12:00:44Z
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Had my first samosa recently (despite having seen it many times even before covid). It was quite tasty! I think it'd be interesting to know how samosas become a staple food (which practically replaced the "bake" in bake sales) among students at #McGill and other post-secondary institutions in #Montreal...
(DIR) Post #ANp0rdkePVtglRyjxI by a@mastodon.nz
2022-09-22T12:01:01Z
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[en] It does appear that it is much difficult to acquaint people in a lecture environment as people are preoccupied with the class... So maybe clubs and social-like events are indeed necessary (or luck - got 2 friends when waiting in a line lol).[zh] 似乎确实在讲课环境下很难认识人，毕竟人把注意力放在课业上了嘛。看来还是得靠社团和社交类活动（亦或是碰运气，我排长队都能交两个朋友）。
(DIR) Post #ANxIr01fSh29ztSgwS by a@mastodon.nz
2022-09-26T12:00:16Z
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The #LinkedIn study is, without doubt, ethically inconsiderate. But we should still be concerned with its finding: within "people should use LinkedIn more" is the fact that #capitalism has reduced most #relations to "weak ties" of just faces & values (usefulness for jobhunting). How can we build a large, diverse (perspective-wise) #community, if all we have is just faces that we don't even try to understand? Because such a community isn't profitable for us?
(DIR) Post #AO3WSssIfHT8zvnL3A by a@mastodon.nz
2022-09-29T12:01:02Z
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To the developers of "The OG App":We built #Barinsta for the lolz, a cool story to tell people, and a good learning experience.You did it for "$1 million in pre-seed funding," a ridiculous amount of press coverage, and account credentials of unsuspecting people (judging by your tweets, initial logins are done on your server, not the client).We're not the same.Stop appropriating activism, especially for profit.#Instagram #Meta
(DIR) Post #AOQK397HmIjeTl9nZw by a@mastodon.nz
2022-10-10T12:00:16Z
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It's Canadian #Thanksgiving today (FYI: yes, different date to the American one, but similar traditions with turkey dinner and stuff). Thank the ordinary caring people who helped us get back the sense of normalcy. Thank the people you've interacted with in your daily lives. Thank the people who offer you grounds to grow.
(DIR) Post #AOUT8glZlxPkVfYmVU by a@mastodon.nz
2022-10-12T12:01:02Z
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[en] Look, if a job requires unwavering #attention for long periods of time, then let someone that can give such attention do it, and by that I mean computers and machines. After all, a big part of the Industrial Revolution is to offload such boring work... Henceforth it makes more sense to automate jobs instead of coming up with workplace #monitoring softwares (which are also automated), no?[zh] 一个工作如果需要员工无时无刻的关注，那它就应该给机器做。既然工业革命已经淘汰了繁琐重复的劳动，为什么现在的雇主会倾向于监控各员工的一举一动，而非将这些工作自动化呢？
(DIR) Post #AP3hrjKpEEaAra8Hiq by a@mastodon.nz
2022-10-29T12:00:50Z
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I s'pose this article reminds us of #Twitter's past efforts, which are in danger now, of keeping #FreeSpeech (legal and common non-American definition) alive:https://www.techdirt.com/2022/10/28/elon-musks-first-move-is-to-fire-the-person-most-responsible-for-twitters-strong-free-speech-stance/Maybe the #fediverse has an edge in freedoms of choice, especially in terms of moderation (the quality of which is subjective), but it'll have a hard time, if it even tries, given the federated nature and little power, in defending user freedoms in regulatory aspects (One such example is the demise of switter.at).
(DIR) Post #AP5mKMQQH1XQLBZuXg by a@mastodon.nz
2022-10-30T12:00:18Z
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Some believe that the recent downfall of #tech companies is due to the lack of new, profitable ideas. I think it's because they're not actively finding those ideas: the pursuit of profitability in the current #monetization model of the internet - where data is more worthy than just money - prefers re-packaging existing concepts (ie. nothing is new, just looks different), which doesn't look compatible to #innovation. Still wondering how should we promote new, interesting tech developments...
(DIR) Post #AP7qxAgSeKm5LtlHk0 by a@mastodon.nz
2022-10-31T12:01:04Z
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It bears reminding for those coming from #TwitterMigration that the #fediverse is still subject to many of the ills of #SocialMedia in general, including and not limited to heated drama and inconsistent moderation (as a whole). The difference is that YOU have more control, by the choice of instance(s) and content you dis/associate with. It is essential that Y'ALL use that freedom wisely and make fediverse a better place for all.Don't forget to write an #introduction, and Happy #Halloween!
(DIR) Post #AP9vNl97SFIZdSpz4C by a@mastodon.nz
2022-11-01T12:00:24Z
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When your #university is so broke that it is now for rent...#Montreal
(DIR) Post #APBzuEtjA6TTJBIiqu by a@mastodon.nz
2022-11-02T12:00:46Z
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Yesterday I saw a two-car REM train testing on the new track. Apparently the opening of the REM (new #LightRail system in #Montreal) is once again delayed... Look, for-profit #PublicTransport can work - it does work in Japan - but that requires diverse experience (be it the transportation itself, adjacent fields like real estate, and soft skills like management) and good ethics, something investment funds are not willing to try to build as they are blindes by the short-term cost...
(DIR) Post #APE4RdDiXbE6QqkVYu by a@mastodon.nz
2022-11-03T12:00:38Z
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What is my #library suggesting...?