Posts by baslow@neenster.org
(DIR) Post #9ptzztnsX5gMwuY8kC by baslow@neenster.org
2019-12-12T22:13:17Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, announces that the company is funding development of "an open, decentralized standard"..."we’d like this team to either find an existing decentralized standard they can help move forward, or failing that, create one from scratch."He tweets as if he doesn't know the Fediverse exists. He more or less ignores the efforts of everyone who has been making an open, decentralized standard a reality for -- what? -- a decade?As far as I'm concerned this does not bode well.https://twitter.com/jack/status/1204766078468911106?s=20
(DIR) Post #9puA2qvQgnpiQu82EK by baslow@neenster.org
2019-12-13T00:05:56Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@alex I'll believe it when I see it.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguish
(DIR) Post #9pyABWzm5YTGbS4gSG by baslow@neenster.org
2019-12-14T22:26:12Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Photos from this morning's walk in Inwood Hill Parkhttps://photos.app.goo.gl/UqKTmvQVYcZ4GzyY9
(DIR) Post #9pyAEnBoKs7jhHG9GC by baslow@neenster.org
2019-12-14T22:27:00Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
I see I'm not alone.https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/12/21012553/twitter-bluesky-decentralized-social-network-developers-reaction-mastodon-activitypub
(DIR) Post #9pzWiol5SWGfOsRSJk by baslow@neenster.org
2019-12-15T14:13:39Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Bev and I watched this film (on Netflix) last night. It unfolds almost entirely in real time, which has the effect of making the viewer feel like a third participant in an unfolding, urgent story. The performances were invisible -- we felt like we were watching a film of the encounter of real people. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8230872/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
(DIR) Post #9pzeLg60IdeDVShcdk by baslow@neenster.org
2019-12-15T15:39:05Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Just a reminder of the price we pay for near-absolute free speech. I'm guessing that this violates GDPR (or German law, or both) but I'm not sure if there is any formal mechanism allowing me to flag that fact. If I've done this correctly, attached media marked as sensitive.
(DIR) Post #9rjm2nygS6qfzur6A4 by baslow@neenster.org
2020-02-05T19:34:03Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@alex https://twitter.com/michaelharriot/status/1224557384426717184?s=20
(DIR) Post #9rk3cYoY0PgIcAkXEe by baslow@neenster.org
2020-02-05T21:20:46Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
I said, in a previous post, that I had "further withdrawn" from social media. I hope, ultimately, to delete my Twitter account in favor of a self-hosted, federated instance of some sort. Until that time. however, I still post to Twitter. Nothing I post attracts much attention. Of all the things I've posted so far this month, this reply has attracted the most: https://twitter.com/BarrySolow/status/1223708798986129409
(DIR) Post #9rlRjvoJUrGO1NeDNg by baslow@neenster.org
2020-02-06T14:55:54Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@nina Thanks!
(DIR) Post #9rrfFHlcNSeFRpQZFI by baslow@neenster.org
2020-02-09T14:55:35Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@alex I am invoking my old person's license for cautionary advisories:Picked up a package of Impossible "Ground Beef" at Fairway and made vegan burgers when the kids came to visit for the holidays. They were great! They seemed so meaty that I, vegetarian since 1979, found that I had to eat my "burger" in small increments because I'd grown so unaccustomed to that particular experience of richness. BUT -- PSA -- while arguably better for the planet and for your ethics they are probably no better for your health so must be consumed in moderation.
(DIR) Post #9sQxIrAxEiE4vwmPEu by baslow@neenster.org
2020-02-26T15:31:58Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@nina A note from Captain Obvious (which, given the fact that only 5% of Americans are estimated to consistently wash their hands properly would seem to be called for):The average person would benefit greatly by moving slightly forward on the OCD-like behavior scale with respect to handwashing. I have tried to make sure I wash my hands every time I return home, before eating (and often after), after performing various acts of hygiene (including, e.g., combing what's left of my hair) upon waking (just to be careful) after handling mail, etc.I also review, every month or so, the proper method(s) of handwashing just to guard against the slide into laxity and carelessness that seems to be my natural tendency.I'm 67 years old and I still have to do battle with my inner, eye-rolling, "Oh, Mom!" self.
(DIR) Post #9sRjI9eDrrINjZCVRA by baslow@neenster.org
2020-02-27T00:30:38Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@nina https://virologydownunder.com/so-you-think-youve-about-to-be-in-a-pandemic/
(DIR) Post #9sRkEPZ8qJPztmbRzM by baslow@neenster.org
2020-02-27T00:40:55Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@nina Most of my health problems would have followed me wherever I went -- primarily the prostate cancer and attendant difficulties. I have never found another place that I'd rather reside. We can live (finally) carless. My son shares an apartment a subway ride away, in Harlem. We can rent a car (or take a bus) and see my daughter in Portland (ME) whenever we want. The park, three blocks down, is my health center and I walk an hour almost every day. I can be an introvert and still see a dozen people every day. I'm happy to die here, hopefully before Bev. I am (by far) the more dispensable of the two of us.
(DIR) Post #9tH78mlTB4gt5B8f7Q by baslow@neenster.org
2020-03-22T19:28:08Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@nina I knew her exclusively through her online interactions with you but that is enough to know that this is a great loss.My condolences.
(DIR) Post #9tKz1DVfr4FZ4HtL6W by baslow@neenster.org
2020-03-24T15:30:16Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
I've been violating several of these guidelines and am finding myself paying the price. I'll have to try to do better.https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/620784/coronavirus-social-distancing-anxiety-tips
(DIR) Post #9tLOtXlVGB3aNeIUOe by baslow@neenster.org
2020-03-24T21:05:56Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@nina Well, maybe what I should have said is that the people around me are paying the price.
(DIR) Post #9tNQmnAaAzsuM0r8cK by baslow@neenster.org
2020-03-25T15:32:39Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Bev and I, both well over 60, have been advised by her godson, now an ER doctor (who grew up here in Upper Manhattan) not to leave our apartment without gloves and surgical masks. Even brief travel through common areas (stairways, lobby, laundry room) can be dangerous. So we are halting our daily walks through the park. Even outside, depending on wind conditions, we might be walking through an area in which someone has so recently coughed that we cannot be sure of adequate dispersal.We are also halting our short grocery-shopping forays and making inquiries into delivery options. Luckily we have a LOT of dried beans (and an Instant Pot) on hand.We will probably be making much more use of our old Wii (and Wii Fit). I just bought extra remotes, in anticipation. My Resistance Chair will be getting more use (and Bev might start using it). She's dusting off old exercise videos.I'm going to go read Poe's "Masque of the Red Death" now.
(DIR) Post #9tRjs5qW1vImospUSu by baslow@neenster.org
2020-03-27T22:21:03Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Bev and I live in 301. So, not as bad as it could be.
(DIR) Post #9tVfgzY6qmj3QkFjvM by baslow@neenster.org
2020-03-29T20:01:13Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@nina This is a parable about the current state of the U.S., right?
(DIR) Post #9tXfoKGibQp02AXFvU by baslow@neenster.org
2020-03-30T15:35:37Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
The Power of Passover During a PlagueMost Jews in history have not been free, whether from murderous regimes, famines or pandemics like this one. What we have been is devoted to the idea that we deserve to be."Last week, a group of major Orthodox rabbis in Israel announced that they would permit people to use Zoom videoconferencing for their Seders"https://nyti.ms/2wOXbfz[And if you're looking for a multimedia haggadah for your virtual seder -- have I got a movie for you!https://vimeo.com/263398514 ]