Posts by dmandl@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #AoRW5m4U3j1Szn2SZs by dmandl@mastodon.social
2024-11-26T11:36:56Z
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I think the recent raging success of Bluesky points to a failure in Mastodon/Fediverse. IMO people touting Bsky as a permanent democratic replacement for Twitter are living in a fool's paradise: Bsky is owned by the same sorts of people Twitter was and will likely end up, five years from now, in the same place that Twitter did. If the vast majority of online civilians feel that Mastodon is "hard to use" that means it *is* hard to use (not purely a perception problem). I wish that could be fixed.
(DIR) Post #AoYUTPvVEJCTzXxlpI by dmandl@mastodon.social
2024-11-30T01:12:17Z
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Watched The Godfather for the first time in ages yesterday, and I'd forgotten how often the word "guinea" was used. It's a terrible anti-Italian slur, roughly equivalent to the n-word. Naturally my daughter had never heard it. I heard it a lot growing up.
(DIR) Post #ArKShA7RYCSBwz8Wh6 by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-02-20T17:53:00Z
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I have nothing against dogs (though I'm definitely a cat person) but I've never understood the appeal of owning an animal that you, the owner, have to constantly fight with to prevent it from biting or killing random people on the street. Yes, I know, #NotAllDogs.
(DIR) Post #ArNVinCgbSkmnMwC5g by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-02-22T13:37:52Z
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@tomjennings I had a dog bite or scratch my leg (I wasn't sure) the other day while I was innocently walking down the street. I hadn't even looked at it. But all my life I've seen dog-owners desperately tugging at leashes to prevent their dogs from going after people. Nothing against the dogs, I just think it's an odd way to live.
(DIR) Post #ArOjRN5S2o6NOC6Icq by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-02-23T03:46:19Z
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@tomjennings No harm done, but then I was wearing long pants and thermal underwear.
(DIR) Post #ArQXkrqh5NrrAEeEF6 by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-02-23T15:24:39Z
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Finally got a response to a post of mine from one of those "disagree bots," which post very reasonable-sounding, AI-driven counterpoint arguments. My immediate reaction was how much they sound like certain real humans I've encountered, who repeatedly "Yes, but" you to sap all your energy.
(DIR) Post #Au9m4OqwI8A1zHpxOi by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-05-15T16:24:05Z
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I'm going to buy the internet and then destroy it.
(DIR) Post #AuC7W84EeaDa2NqEFM by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-05-17T13:20:27Z
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Edward Luce's column is one of the best things in the FT, but I just saw a video of him interviewing Steve Bannon at a conference, and boy was that a mistake. The format does not work with these people. A fascist politely sipping bottled water pretending to be a Republican.
(DIR) Post #AuC7W9GgBnlZlGfgHY by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-05-17T13:22:20Z
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...The things you should be saying to him, the questions you should be asking him, are the kinds of things that would be considered out of bounds or rude at these conferences.
(DIR) Post #AuC7WASlkL1zT3KqlU by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-05-17T13:25:24Z
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...The inevitable question: What would you ask Hitler, smiling and charming in a suit, sipping bottled water, and splitting hairs over the finer points of German law, at one of these conferences?
(DIR) Post #AuTQXO2hD65emyPdzc by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-05-25T12:26:15Z
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Every generation does this. "If Beethoven were alive today, he'd be totally into heavy metal," or hip-hop, or whatever. It's weirdly narcissistic.
(DIR) Post #AumDiLpRdgddhBXLsG by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-06-03T21:37:33Z
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What is this guy smoking?
(DIR) Post #AvP7JyBCHuDIerrbJg by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-06-22T19:27:27Z
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This poor guy is so afraid his Cybertruck is going to be vandalized that he's tried to disguise it as a Toyota. Leave his car alone, OK?
(DIR) Post #Awe5CzmDIxefvGk2gS by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-07-29T18:11:08Z
4 likes, 4 repeats
What is "fish & amp chips"? It looks like someone screwed up somewhere in the signmaking process and included the HTML code for ampersand: "fish & chips"
(DIR) Post #AxX238cbwznsI6ecQy by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-08-25T10:06:48Z
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"New lease of life" is primarily UK, "new lease on life" primarily US. "New lease of life" will never sound right to me.
(DIR) Post #AxgMKJaIBxRmigg1mC by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-08-29T16:35:13Z
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I don't know what I'd do with it, but I want a freezer truck.
(DIR) Post #Ay2ObNzxVZtQib4Iro by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-09-09T13:24:21Z
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Stereo vs. mono: Would there ever have been any mono recordings if stereo existed at the dawn of recording? I know people who consider mono "purer," but all those old mono records would certainly have been recorded in stereo if the tech had been available and easy to use.
(DIR) Post #Ay2ObTurVRNh4WjJku by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-09-09T13:27:05Z
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...I might make the same argument for B&W vs color films and photography, but that's a whole other conversation and probably a lot more fraught.
(DIR) Post #AyNKmRnbXZysQUJvpw by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-09-19T11:17:14Z
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"Democratic leaders will support resolution honoring Charlie Kirk": These may be the dumbest people who ever lived. An absolute laughingstock. JFC. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5510491-democratic-leaders-charlie-kirk-resolution/
(DIR) Post #AzB8nC0X3thbbga1ku by dmandl@mastodon.social
2025-10-13T14:02:02Z
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First time I've seen "at pace," meaning "at a quick pace," obviously modeled after the now-common tech term "at scale," meaning "at a large scale." Crazy shit. #copyediting