shout out to @wohali who introduced me to the metaphor of "cookie licking" and it has been the MVP of metaphors in my life for the past week. https://timeloop.cafe/@wohali/115484312687208767

I've read the following rhetorical question recently:

If “vote blue no matter who” doesn't apply to Zohran Mamdani, what does it actually mean?

...and despite all of us understanding the implication, let me actually try to give an answer, as the slogan emerged specifically from US politics, but this phenomenon hasn't.

This specific statement asking people to always vote for the democratic party, no matter who the candidate is, has always been thrown against legitimate criticism of democratic candidates, many of which aren't really leftists or progressives. The idea being similar to the “lesser evil” rhetoric, manufacturing consent for a Democratic candidate by arguing that a Republican is worse. Despite the fallacy that justifiable criticism towards someone isn't diminished by arguing that the strongest opponent is worse, the “winner-takes-all” system demands way less infighting than other electoral systems. A winning party is no longer just a match of better appeal or better policies, if it ever was, but also a game where the winner is decided based on which side can get their herd unquestionably behind their candidate, without doubt, criticism, or vote splitting, i.e. the less critical thinking the better.

There's no time for debates about foundational principles of our strategy, we must look forward to the next election, and the one after that, and the one after that, and the one after that.

The statement calling for everyone to vote for the democratic nominee is just one of the many tools used to get people in line, because the electoral system doesn't demand an emancipated and thinking working class, but one that believes their issues can be solved through representatives doing their liberation for them. Beyond that, this calling preys on a specific misconstruction of the concept of solidarity. Let me explain.

The term “solidarity” may be one of the most instrumentalized concepts of our time. In this case, so-called solidarity is truly just a one way street. Solidarity is asked of you when having to agree to more right wing, non-progressive policies or candidates, but never given by default for leftist, socialist candidates. This false sense of solidarity is a tactic to get you to agree to something in a specific scenario, selectively utilizing a generic concept to make you do so. We need to stick together to win, however, it becomes abundantly clear who “we” is when the person needing to win is not part of the paid off in-group. It's “we” who needs the winning, not you.

As unimportant those simple questions, exposing contradictions in our world, may seem, they often begin a fundamental debate, one that isn't wanted in an age where every election is the most important one, where that election is never won, and you need to vote blue, until there's none.

Signal's "Safety Number" is an important feature that generates a pop-up which allows you to "mark as verified" a man-in-the-middle attacker. This way the attacker is verified and we can all feel better about the whole messy business.

@ellenor2000 In the states, a "sheltered workshop" is a place where people who cannot have ordinary jobs, typically, people who are "handicapped" in one way or another, are subsidized to provide employment.

I used it for a smile, but what I meant was that the math pages are mostly written by people who would not have gainful employment if it involved interaction with the rest of us.

(Except for the math pages. Never *ever* consult a wikipedia math page. They're the furthest thing from "general knowledge". Post-grads writing a language that does not resemble English in any way. They are why math departments are so often characterized as sheltered workshops.)

welcome to 2025 global politics, we got the

girlboss mussolini (meloni)
girlboss pétain (le pen)
girlboss hirohito (takaichi)
girlboss hitler (weidel)
girlboss...

fascism has updated, folks! it's now as international as capitalism is, nowadays even inclusive to gay people and women ❤️

most weaponized words in our time:

• terrorism
• empathy
• hate
• violence
• freedom
• peace
• female / woman
• antisemitism
• solidarity
• real world
• common sense
• cancel culture
• woke
• left / communist / socialist
• activist
• DEI
• law and order
• fake news

did I miss any?

…I wonder if the era of digital computing will last much more than 100 years?

It requires electrical power. And that will be around for a very long time, even as we increasingly struggle to exist.

But computing requires incredibly precise manufacturing, and when that goes – because we have created the environmental conditions where it is no longer economically feasible – every device up to that point is on borrowed time.

I’ll be gone by then, so the cursor will have outlived me at least

still think about the fact that Linus from Linus Tech Tips once said “i dropped my fair share of hard r's back then”. he meant the r-slur, and thought “saying it with the hard r” meant saying the r-slur. the entire staff was shocked.

I know what "bussy" means so what does the "h" in "hussy" mean

here’s the thing, folks: if you go “all in on AI” with an open source project you’re a contributor to, I will never again have any faith in any open source project you’re involved with. that’s the signal you’re sending. just in case you didn’t realize.

now you know.

I'm told by some respondents that "alligator auschwitz" is better.

1) Why are you fucking meme-ing concentration camps?

2) Why you think everybody knows what Auschwitz was?

3) Why I spozed to think you know the difference between Auschwitz and, say, Theresienstadt? Why I spozed to think you know who even invented concentration camps?

I ain't lookin' to be clever and cool, and I am definitely not looking to be funny. I'm lookin' to tell the simple and plain truth.

there is a monster in the forest and it speaks with a thousand voices. it will answer any question you pose it, it will offer insight to any idea. it will help you, it will thank you, it will never bid you leave. it will even tell you of the darkest arts, if you know precisely how to ask.

it feels no joy and no sorrow, it knows no right and no wrong. it knows not truth from lie, though it speaks them all the same.

it offers its services freely to any passerby, and many will tell you they find great value in its conversation. "you simply must visit the monster—i always just ask the monster."

there are those who know these forests well; they will tell you that freely offered doesn't mean it has no price

for when the next traveler passes by, the monster speaks with a thousand and one voices. and when you dream you see the monster; the monster wears your face.

— Joles, May 5th 2025

Imagine what computing would be like if it were still highly networked but datacenters weren't involved