Jack William Bell @jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com

> Modern software controls dependencies because it helps software authors. https://utcc.utoronto.ca/~cks/space/blog/tech/BundlingHelpsSoftwareAuthors

This is mostly the kind of thing where someone says things we already know, but no one just came out and said them. And it's mostly about Semantic Versioning. https://semver.org/

I"m actually not a huge fan of Semantic Versioning, mostly because people tend to do it wrong for various reasons. I prefer date versioning, because it doesn't lend itself to version inflation.

#programming

> A 'Pineapple Express' is headed for the rain-soaked Northwest. https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/21/weather/atmospheric-river-washington-oregon-weekend-storm/index.html

Basically this means we are going to get a week or more of warmer weather (where 'warmer' means mid-40s) and heavy rain after building up a large snowpack in the mountains.

More practically, this means floods – as snow melts and adds water to the heavy rain many rivers will likely rise past flood stage. It's not a new thing here in the Pacific Northwest, but we still tend to be unprepared for it.

#weather

When you've gone two days without making a 'Politics' CW post and you are absurdly proud of it; despite the fact you haven't is more related to the lack of news provoking your indignation bone than anything else.

Which, in itself, is a good thing.

When you are running low on milk so you make a macchiato instead of a cappuccino.

A comment in a forum about 'Dopamine Fasting' led to a (thankfully) shallow rabbit hole. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_fasting

The basic idea is to avoid doing things that use dopamine (a neurotransmitter created in your brain and required for many neural processes) and break the associated addiction/reward cycle for those activities.

However, the more I look at dopamine fasting the more I think the buzz around it more like a fad diet than an actual thing.

Just get more sleep and you'll be fine.

#brain

> Hiking Is an Ideal Structure for Friendship. “Without this hike… it would have been one of those college friendships where you get together and talk about the old days.” https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/02/hiking-ideal-structure-friendship/618066/

I'm a huge fan of hiking, both as a solo activity and as something done in groups. One of the reasons I live where I do is the, literally, hundreds of trailheads within a half-hour of my house.

Go for a hike. Take some friends.

#HumanCondition #outdoors

Yeesh! TurboTax is such a horrible maze of dark patterns, misleading information, upselling, multiple clicks to avoid things you don't need, and attempts to get you to give up personal information they don't need to file your taxes.

In other news? I did my taxes. (Which were more complex than usual this year due to retirement money moving around.)

> How Octavia Butler's Sci-Fi Dystopia Became A Constant In A Man's Evolution. https://www.npr.org/2021/02/16/968498810/how-octavia-butlers-sci-fi-dystopia-became-a-constant-in-a-mans-evolution

> In Butler's dystopian world, a strongman has risen to power in the United States, and climate change is decimating the environment. The economy is falling apart. Income inequality is out of control. Resources are scarce, and violence has forced people to isolate. The year is 2024.

Note: I was fortunate enough to have known Butler before she died. We share a birthday.

#ScienceFiction

> The software industry is currently going through the “disposable plastic” crisis the physical world went through in the mid-20th century (and is still paying down the debt for). You can run software from 1980 or 2005 on a modern desktop without too much hassle, but anything between there and 2-3 years ago? Black hole of fad frameworks and brittle dependencies. Computer Archaeology is going to become a full-time job. https://lwn.net/Articles/829123/

#programming

One thing I've learned from the Internet which fully applies to Real-Life®? The same techniques you use to shut down a Sea Lion on social media work with people who want to debate stupid shit in person.

"No. You're wrong, but arguing with you about it won't change either of our minds and will only make at least one of us unhappy. So if you continue with this I'm leaving."

Why did it take me six decades to realize you can refuse to engage and make it seem like their fault?

Making the case that Limbaugh's culture war damaged true conservatism, and Trump – who he championed – was the least conservative president since Nixon…

> Don’t Read This Piece About Rush Limbaugh If You Were a Fan. The talk-radio host, who died this week, hurt the conservative movement. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/02/rush-limbaughs-rise-and-conservatisms-fall/618058/

> Mastering Django – The Book. https://djangobook.com/mastering-django-2-book/

#python #programming #web

In related news…

> Apple M1 Malware Has Arrived. https://gizmodo.com/m1-malware-has-arrived-1846286255

> The world’s second-most popular desktop operating system isn’t macOS anymore. Chrome OS's rise in market share has been swift and decisive. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/02/the-worlds-second-most-popular-desktop-operating-system-isnt-macos-anymore/

If I wrote this headline? It would read, "Chrome OS Now a Major Target for Malware and Other Exploits."

#computers

The common factor in most modern #Internet #business plans boils down to, "You are the product, not the customer."

Most people still don't understand this, and that's why they keep getting used and abused.

> It’s All Rigged. What Robinhood and Facebook have in common. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2021/02/gamestop-mess-shows-internet-rigged-too/618040/

#SocialMedia