Friday Ephemera

“Adding RAM is only effective if you’re running multiple applications…”
You can see how much is being used with the Windows Task Manager.

…which means if I want to stay safe online I’ll have to buy a new box.
What Tovarich Cranium said, Linux is your friend, whether you buy a new box with some version of it pre-installed, or set it up on your current machine.
Either way, you are free forever of the BS subscription software nonsense* as well as from Apple and Microsoft, though most of their stuff can be made to run on most Linux versions with minimal hassle if you don’t like the open source clones which are nigh identical in function and feel (e.g., Libre Office Writer and MS Word pre ribbon fiasco) and often come built in.
Contrary to popular belief you don’t have to be a super geek to set up or use Linux.
*(Almost all versions and software for it are free, BTW)

BTW … this is one of my favorite local eateries. If you find yourself in SoCal, I happily recommend it. The dirty fries are especially good.

I think Mr. Elizabeth Claret has much bigger problems than Harry Potter. 😄

Hi Uma,
Your computer died too?

Nebal Maysaud is a queer Lebanese composer based in the Washington D.C. Metro Area. Since buying their first notation software in 2009, Nebal (pronounced [niˈbæ:l]) has grown to become an impactful, socially minded composer.

If it weren’t for the stuff the Smithstonian has stored there, I’d nuke DC in a heartbeat.
Oh, wait. Non-persistent nerve gas would kill all the people and leave the stuff behind. I’ll start dreaming for that instead.
That was similar to the BS stated about neutron bombs in the 80s; the difference being that nerve gas kills unprotected people (like civilians in basements) versus people surrounded by large amounts of metal (like tank crewmen with their gas mask and perhaps overpressure system).

Not the best place to preen.
Via Julia.

‘Our betters’.
As noted in the Twitter thread, the sign disdaining national borders is attached to a security fence – one of many miles of fencing erected to keep unauthorised people out, at an event that charges £250 for admittance and employs hundreds of security guards, and which liaises with national security services to deter terrorist attacks, and which warns attendees to watch out for strangers who may try to steal their belongings, which should always be hidden, and to “only bring what you can afford to lose.”
So, the level of self-awareness isn’t high.

So, the level of self-awareness isn’t high.
This week attendees at the Democrat “debate” shrieked in orgasmic delight when the first ten malcontents on stage declared unanimous support for – get this – free programs for illegal immigrants. This is the same faction of half-wits who opposed illegal immigration tooth and nail when the clown show known as the Bush Administration supported it because it built, it was asserted, Republican voter rolls. “Those jobs ain’t coming back” was the interchangeable slogan for at least sixteen years.
The level of self-awareness hasn’t been high.

“We need more third-world immigrants to take care of us when we get old…”

Ha! We laugh at your 82! Yesterday we hit 91, should be about the same today.

What flavor ice cream did you get? Do they sell Breyer’s in the UK? They make the best strawberry & Philadelphia-vanilla I’ve ever found.

Hell, the water is 89F in our lakes right now.
The UK would be better off if the under thirties, and anyone who has ever attended Glastonbury, had the franchise removed. Change my mind.
Don’t know about the UK, but a more reasonable solution on this side of the pond would be to cut out all guarantees for student loans and make the little buggers get jobs and pay taxes. But of course suggesting such a thing is regarded as similarly unreasonable. And they wonder why “extremists” get so much support.

Once again, San Francisco, of course.

The San Francisco Board of Education unanimously voted to have a high school to paint over a mural of George Washington after they determined the mural contained “violent imagery” and was “degrading.”

It will only cost $600,000 to remove it which is pretty steep for two gallons of paint, a roller and two hours of work, but a bargain for “reparations”.

“It’s never been an attention thing…”

“It’s never been an attention thing…”
Heh. More power to him. Anything to get us out of this cargo shorts and t-shirt culture is FBM. And I say this as I sit here in gym shorts and a t-shirt.

(If this shows up three times, blame the internet…)
“Glories of the 1980s.”
Nice to see a Techmoan link. It is the most ’80s thing ever, isn’t it?
“Many of the buildings featured are still standing, and look a lot better now they’ve been cleaned of a century of accumulated muck and grime.”
Stonecleaning was one of the late 20th Century’s finest inventions. As Billy Conolly said of Glasgow, it’s as if someone figured out how to open the sunroof.
“Yes, but that’s only for people who are fairly IT savvy.”
Not really. My brother’s been using Linux Mint for years, and he wouldn’t know one end of a shell command from the other. But I take the same attitude as Richard these days regarding OS evangelism: use what works for you.
“Western classical music is not about culture. It’s about whiteness.”
Nobody tell the Asians.
“Oh my lord, but this sets my heart racing.”
It’s rather awesome. See also this series. I won’t lie: the moment they got it to run a self-test for the first time (episode 13, a few days ago), I had a tear in my eye.
I always say that although everyone was aware that it was a momentous event, I’m not sure anyone at the time appreciated how momentous. Like Caesar and King Tut, Apollo 11 will be general knowledge long after WWII, the Berlin Wall, even the American revolution, have become footnotes for ancient-history nerds.
And I missed it by two years, dammit. Get a move on, Musk, or I’ll end up missing Mars too.
“Ha! We laugh at your 82! Yesterday we hit 91, should be about the same today.”
Barely breaking 70 here. That’s pretty good for us. Raining, of course, but it always does that.

My dad and I watched the original moon landing on TV. I can still remember how excited we were.🌙

Anything to get us out of this cargo shorts and t-shirt culture is FBM.
This slob culture cannot go away too soon for me.

Did you notice that he’s wearing makeup to make his cheeks pink?
Give the poor lad time and he’ll discover Joe Biden aviators, muscle tees, and a couple square feet of tats as reliable bellwethers of proper civilization.

Even in the middle of the city (thanks to far less nighttime lights) you could look up and see Echo satellite pass overhead.
Summer of 1969…I just turned 15 and the family was gathered around the tv watching the moon landing. Afterwards, I walked out into the front yard with my grandpa (b. 1901) and we looked up at a full moon in the evening sky. After a moment he said “You know, if I had told my friends when we were kids that we’d live to see men on the moon, they would have called me crazy.”

I didn’t cover the pros and cons of different operating systems because I thought the Linux Youth had all grown up and got real jobs.
Linux on anything but a server or embedded firmware is a non-starter, by design.
If the only things you want to do with it are write novels, web browsing and email, a MacBook isn’t a bad choice if it’s in your budget. You’re going to pay a premium for the Apple brand name, but the hardware quality is good to excellent, post-sales technical support is better than average and things tend to Just Work. There’s less software available for it generally, but since a lot of writers/creatives use Macs that’s not likely to affect you as that market is well served. Get one that’s less than three years old for maximum compatibility.
If a MacBook isn’t in your budget, I’d recommend a 2-3 year old professional-class Windows laptop over a new one aimed at the consumer market. If you can get an extended warranty the pro laptop will last you a lot longer and you’ll be able to get repairs and parts for it more easily. You’ll want to do some reviews of any particular model, though, as brand is no longer a guarantee of quality (all major laptop manufacturers outsource their design and manufacture to a constantly shifting set of lowest bidding subcontractors, so it’s a crap shoot who made your particular laptop).

82 is absolutely the weather I love in SoCal
This is my horrified face. I’m happy around 18°C (64°F). Two degrees higher and the complaining ensues.

Reads like parody but the little fascist is serious.

Crazy baseball game going on in London right now. Yankees vs Rd Sox 6-6 in the bottom of the first. Both starting pitchers are already out of the game.
The Brits are going to think baseball really is like cricket if they keep scoring this many runs. Although it helps that the centerfield fence is only 385 feet.