People say "Quicksand turns out to not be as big a menace as I thought when I was a child", but it's an obvious case of survivor bias.

@dangillmor
Please let there be a "small" phone, because I'm sick of my "mobile" not feeling like it.

I DON'T NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE METAL VOCALIST IS SAYING. THAT'S THEIR BUSINESS.

RE: https://social.lol/@macmanx/117153346334188037

To my non-Canadian friends, this is a really worthwhile interview to get a broad understanding of the current situation, with enough specific examples that the lies being told by the Trump regime become easily spotted.

Good for Canadians too, of course, as we arm ourselves with facts that MAGA tries to hide.

#MustWatch #Canada #USA #Trump #TradeWar #Tariffs #ElbowsUp

Some of Lenovo's Motorola phones will come with security-minded GrapheneOS pre-installed. This is something of a breakthrough. https://www.androidpolice.com/privacy-focused-grapheneos-to-launch-on-motorola-flagship-phones-in-2027/

@catsalad IA?

“Nostalgia doesn’t make up for decades of extremely sketchy business practices.”

https://tedium.co/2026/08/24/columbia-house-history-retrospective/

@evan I have a granola bar occasionally (one a month maybe?) but that's just oatmeal, nuts and seeds, slightly sugary.

The nutrition bar thing I don't think I've had in a good 15yrs or so, probably with lunch during a hike.

RE: https://indieweb.social/@brentsimmons/117152764013359053

*sigh*…
I’m sighing because the “why are you critical of capitalism if you own an iPhone” is such an extremely cliché argument that, believe you me, I hear every freaking day as a political activist.

I’m sighing because it’s the most superficial, plain, and uninteresting way that most people have for dismissing people who have actual things to say and denounce.

I’m sighing because it’s a cope-out counter-argument that’s used repeatedly to disqualify valid points made by marginalized communities.

@brentsimmons, these aren’t tech choices being criticized, they’re political choices. Political choices made in a time of far reaching fascism should be criticized widely and openly, especially by those most impacted.

Hear those criticisms and argue against them for what they are instead of cheaply disqualifying those who make them on the basis that, yes, they are constrained to live in a capitalist society, and to themselves own/use products of that society as we all do.

I just finished up a complete rewrite of my 2015 Columbia House piece. I more explicitly underline the story underneath the story: Every sketchy SaaS business model has roots in business models like Columbia House.

https://tedium.co/2026/08/24/columbia-house-history-retrospective/

updated @tedium

@brentsimmons I can answer a lot of your questions with “Not anymore.” and I think that’s worth recognizing.

I can’t quit everything, but I’ve quit a lot of services due to the actions of the organizations behind them.

I’ve actively taken my paid business elsewhere, and there are many (free) services I just do not use.

I hope others can say the same.

huygens said they're hard to build!

You don't need a hidden business model if you can keep a simple, clear relationship with your customers.

You pay for a product. We build the product for you.

We don’t need to monetize the personal data of the people visiting your website, and make the economics work.

Plausible is open source, so you don’t have to trust our word either. You can verify it for yourself.

Sometimes paying for software isn’t the compromise. It’s what makes the incentives clear.

A happy Plausible subscriber:

So... If it's a "socialist delusion" and "doomed to failure", why would you need to sue? Don't you have the strength of your convictions? Or is it all scare tactic bullshit? 🤔

Opponents Sue to Stop Mamdani’s City-Owned Grocery Store Plan
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/24/nyregion/mamdani-nyc-grocery-store-lawsuit.html

https://unwall.app/www.nytimes.com/2026/08/24/nyregion/mamdani-nyc-grocery-store-lawsuit.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

@HilliTech @nileane Very well said. It's like you're a writer or somethin’. 😏

I reject the “there's no ethical consumption" framing. Because in some cases, there absolutely is ethical consumption, and we can put more of our energy into those things. And ethics is a spectrum, not a binary. With few exceptions, no one corporation or source of products is 100% good or 100% evil. That's why consumer choice is so important! We can lean into companies & products which, on the whole, are more ethical.

Canada is the largest source of int'l tourists for NYC. Huge source of economic vitality for us.

Since start of Trump's 2nd term visitors from Canada to NYC are down 20%. This will almost certainly now drop further.

He is shooting us in the foot yet again.

Heads up: applications open for the 2027 Tech Policy Press Fellowship Program ($10K)

This is a year-long, part-time, virtual fellowship for mid-career journalists, researchers, and public policy professionals

Focused on original reporting, analysis etc. that explores the intersection of technology and democracy

Apply by 9/24/26

Details: https://www.techpolicy.press/call-for-applications-2027-tech-policy-press-fellowship-program/

#Fellowships #Journalists #News #Journalism #Policy

@mattblaze @tartley

I dunno, I can't speak for anyone, but I don't think people being scared is unreasonable given the circumstances, and...well...Mastodon has a lot of fatalists. Not saying it's healthy.

Not asking you to put up with it, either; I appreciate your work.

I get that it's exhausting, but I do think characterizing them as a foreign-influence operation is, sometimes, being a bit unfair to people who are truly scared, not that that helps the tenth time you've seen it in a day.

Omg everyone: treat the US like a pariah.

You know what we are, right now. We cannot be trusted while this family, these people, Vought and Miller, are in the White House and MAGA has compromised the judiciary and legislative.

I see all these countries pretending like the US is sane right now and having 'talks.'

WTF.

Whyyyy are you talking to an insane country run by a demented poopy diaper wearing nazi and his balding nazi sphincter mouthpiece, Stephen Miller?!?

Why?
Protect yourself and make alliances with other countries.

Sorry, global relationships.
Make us hurt.
Make the US feel the consequences.
Create pressure.
Sanction us FFS.

@evan Ja Ja Ding Dong.