E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 22/05/2026OK, I'm done for the moment! There will be some more work this weekend. 010
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 22/05/2026OK, the server is mostly back online, but it will need some more work between now and this weekend. So there will likely be a bit more downtime. Thank you everyone for your patience! 120
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 22/05/2026I am working on repairing the forum! More information once it's up. 110
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 22/05/2026OK, it wasn't the bots this time! It looks like the server itself failed pretty hard, and it couldn't be rebooted. Happily all the information is backed up elsewhere. I am doing some major upgrades and updates to get it back online. More information later. 100
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 21/05/2026Thank you to the folks who posted here! That's actually that _old_ message from the last time this happened. 🤦 I'm just finding out about this now and I will investigate as soon as I finish work today. 100
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 03/04/2025This is the deep secret of Bernie Sanders' long-time success with Vermont voters. He sounds like a fiery radical, but he actually spends his time doing boring but important committee work well. 020
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 01/03/2025Apparently, language learning is very popular with bots in Brazil this week! 220
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 01/03/2025I am working on it this weekend and hopefully next. There will be some scheduled downtime which I'll announce in this thread. More details as I figure them out. Once again, my apologies for the problems—this site has some creaky parts and far too much traffic. 🏗️ 101
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 01/03/2025We appear to have two major underlying issues here: 1. We are handling a surprinsing amount of traffic—enough to stress older forum software with poor caching. This costs real $$$. 2. Some parts of the infrastructure can be upgraded easily. Others need multiple days of hard work. 101
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 01/03/2025language-learners.org is failing under a ridiculous level of traffic (and possibly some other complicating issues). All data is backed up daily, and I am planning a major overhaul this weekend and next. More news in this thread as it develops. My apologies for the inconvenience. 🙍 221
Reposted by E KiddDon Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 26/02/2025Basic authoritarian stuff: the government revolves around protecting the President and punishing his enemies. Completely inconsistent with democratic norms, but will barely be a blip in the news in our new regime. 192193692
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 26/02/2025The Washington Post editorial page is going to start pushing Bezos' personal version of "personal liberaties and free markets". This is on top of his censorship of anti-Trump editorial cartoons, and his blocking of the editorial board's Harris endorsement. Bezos is 100% in on MAGA Republicanism. 010
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 17/02/2025The NYT has been trash for a very long time. Check out this puff piece they wrote about Hitler, about 10 days before the start of World War II: www.nytimes.com/1939/08/20/a...reddit.comFrom the ENLIGHTENEDCENTRISM community on Reddit: The NY Times, 1934Explore this post and more from the ENLIGHTENEDCENTRISM community 000
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 16/02/2025Artistically? Writing programs sometimes feels like cabinet-making. A "craft", perhaps? But people rightfully take pride in their work! I want to build people up. Thoughtful feedback is important, yes. But not like that! (Sorry, this is a pet subject of mine, lol.) 040
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 16/02/2025One big challenge with coding is the "leaky pipeline": www.yalescientific.org/2020/11/by-t... Women were 35% of CS grads in the 80. It's now below 20%. That kind of off-hand trashing of people's work likely discourages students who already feel like the odd ones out.yalescientific.orgBy the Numbers: Women in STEM: What do the statistics reveal about ongoing gender disparities? – Yale Scientific Magazine 141
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 16/02/2025That sort of behavior isn't any nicer or more effective for teaching people to code, tbh. 130
Reposted by E KiddJosh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 02/02/2025Several conversations today w people in the key executive departments. And while the particulars are hard to pin down my impression is that the Musk take over stuff is considerably worse than is being presented in the press. By this I don’t necessarily things they *done* yet but the level of … 561181916300
Reposted by E KiddJosh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 01/02/2025“A decision to take summer water from local farmers and dump it out of these reservoirs shows a complete lack of understanding of how the system works and sets a very dangerous precedent." sjvwater.org/trumps-emerg...sjvwater.orgTrump’s emergency water order responsible for water dump from Tulare County lakes – SJV WaterThe sudden announcement Thursday by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that Kaweah and Success lakes would immediately begin dumping water was in response Trump’s emergency water order responsible for w... 1112572807
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 27/01/2025I've heard of a few Christians who take it terrifyingly seriously. Marist nuns who hike alone into the poorest and remotest places, with no resources or backing, just to help people. Or just people who move through the word with deep kindness, something they strive daily to achieve. I respect it. 000
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 27/01/2025Mathew 25 goes hard. Or as I read it, "Walk outside and night and look at the glory of the stars, and imagine their Creator." "Now think about some prisoner in the nearest jail. A guilty one. However you treat him is how you treat the Creator." It's an unpopular text in too many churches. 110
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 22/01/2025Aside from the third-story upstairs neighbors who played techno through their subwoofer from 1am to 3am, yeah, those dodgy 90s apartments were fun. And we knew it, even then. Our landlord once replaced our 30yo broken fridge in under 24 hours. With a 30yo working fridge. Gotta respect it. 050
Reposted by E Kidd"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 22/01/2025Alright, whoever had "24 hours" for how fast one of the J6ers would end up arrested for another crime, please head to the desk to collect your winnings. Uh, please form a line. Wait, did everyone pick the 24 hour or less pool? Uh, we, uh, we may not have enough prizes, please hold. 826641
Reposted by E KiddKingfisher & Wombat @tkingfisher.com · 07/01/2025It’s D&D Night and the party has wandered into a narrow canyon full of undead. SKULL LORD: Halt! You have trespassed on sacred ground! PALADIN: Oh no! Sacred to who? How do we make amends? GM: …I did not actually see that question coming. PARTY: Um, paladin?!? 271314112
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 05/01/2025But for anyone who watched Rocky Horror too many times, Joan Jett also did at least one cover of "Science Fiction, Double Feature." This one's rock, it's a lot faster than the original, and I am totally here for it. Seriously, she did some great covers. 3/3 m.youtube.com/watch?v=r7tn...m.youtube.comJoan Jett And The Blackhearts - "Science Fiction/Double Feature"YouTube video by Demented Punk 010
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 05/01/2025Joan Jett also had an appropriately sinister cover of AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Cheap." Totally different vocal inflections this time. She's an extremely versatile performer. 2/3 m.youtube.com/watch?v=2sky...m.youtube.comJoan Jett - Dirty Deeds (Official Video)YouTube video by JoanJettVEVO 100
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 05/01/2025One of my favorite obscure musical facts: Joan Jett is a fantastic cover artist. She fronted for Nirvana when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, singing "Smells Like Teen Spirit." They inducted her a year later. 1/3 m.youtube.com/watch?v=y5uH...m.youtube.comNirvana w/ Joan Jett – "Smells Like Teen Spirit" | 2014 Rock Hall InductionYouTube video by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 110
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 03/01/2025There are a lot of weird statistical trends which become much clearer if you break responses down by political party. (Or sometimes by education or economic class.) Yes, there are real problems with affordability and sexism. But politics is a huge driver of attitudes about _everything._ 030
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 03/01/2025Reading Discworld is rarely the wrong choice. (The first few books are quite skippable, though.) 070
Reposted by E KiddChad Loder @chadloder.dev · 01/01/2025Elon Musk is a good example of how terrible people become increasingly radicalized into the far right simply because the far right is a community that accepts cruel, terrible people. It's tempting to say Elon is going "mask off", but I'd wager Elon didn't know who Tommy Robinson was 5 years ago. 1/ 6886832257
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 31/12/2024I enjoy reading Julia Serano's work about gender, because she's nuanced and precise in her arguments, without being impenetrably academic. The two links in the quoted post are a good "sampler" of her style. If you like them, you'll probably enjoy her longer work. 0376
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 31/12/2024Well, the US put citizens in detention camps during World War 2. It just needed war hysteria and the Supreme Court that ruled 6-3 in favor. 030
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 31/12/2024Reminds me of a classic 90s DOOM hack, which linked enemies to Unix processes, and allowed you to 'kill -9' them using DOOM weapons: www.cs.unm.edu/~dlchao/flak... 030
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 27/12/2024Person of Interest was such a fantastic show. I should go watch it again. 020
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 25/12/2024John M Ford was a treasure. I still have a T-shirt with his "Verona Total Breakdown (Liebestod)" parody. Since it's Christmas Day, though, and I can't find a copy anywhere in print, let me link to his "Winter Solstice, Camelot Station": thegreenbelt.blogspot.com/2006/12/wint...thegreenbelt.blogspot.comWinter Solstice, Camelot StationThis is one of my favorite poems of all time. Enjoy it and the day... Winter Solstice, Camelot Station John M. Ford Camelot is served B... 010
Reposted by E KiddHunter @hunterub.bsky.social · 24/12/2024I genuinely don't understand how the US press can be so bad at their jobs. I don't understand how each month they manage to get worse. I don't understand how nobody gets fired for putting up headlines that are such brazen distortions of events that they sound intentionally satirical. 63915
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 24/12/2024Susan is honestly above the One Ring's pay grade. She's a part-time personification of one of the fundamental forces of the universe. (Which is arguably the case with Bombadil, who is linked somehow to Nature.) Annoy her enough that she takes up her power? My guess is she _ends_ the Ring. 010
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 24/12/2024Granny's entire life is based around ironclad self control and not abusing what is clearly vast magical power. She would recognize the danger and take precautions. (Sort of like Vimes, who resists the Summoning Dark.) 120
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 06/12/2024Yes! As a forum mod, my rule was that every frustrating community member who repeatedly skated up to the edge of the rules was driving away 4 lovely, positive people. It wasn't "Do you lose people?", it was "Which people do you lose?" 0151
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 06/12/2024If I remember correctly, they're books he has been sent by various publishers. I think he ends up donating them afterwards? Scalzi also does The Big Idea for other authors to promote their books. 000
Reposted by E KiddJordan Uhl @jordanuhl.com · 06/12/2024This is the agency Elon Musk and his billionaire buddies want to kill. 343499984
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 05/12/2024TPM is an excellent small independent news outlet, with solid reporting. They cover corruption, and do some analysis. And they have always avoided the kind lazy "bothersiderism" that the New York Times just can't kick. 151
Reposted by E KiddHunter @hunterub.bsky.social · 05/12/2024Yeah, i _really_ do not think we're fully grasping how destructive the rich techbro fascination with drug-shopping has been. Sometimes the "transformation" is that you lose your ability to process conflicting info, which can manifest as supreme self-confidence but then can degrade into... 2199
Reposted by E KiddRich Campbell @therichcampbell.bsky.social · 05/12/2024We pay for our current health care system with our lives. 1028896
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 05/12/2024At least 4 different stories here: 1. The split between tech workers (still very liberal) and execs/VCs. 2. The rise of scammy cryptocurrency. 3. Extremely online geeks interacting with extremely online activism in 2015-2018. Nobody looked good. 4. Gamergate and targeted propaganda. 2371
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 04/12/2024Yes, I suspect that special prosecutors under Garland's DOJ were engaged in politically motivated prosecutions, based on the analysis of former US Attorney General Eric Holder and similar statements. The original plea deal was OK. Political pressure was applied to block the plea deal. 000
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 04/12/2024"Professional service firms" include lawyers, architects, veterinarians, etc. There's a whole management theory around them, including recruitment, retention, career paths, firm "shapes" (boutique vs mass market), and juniors vs seniors. Surprisingly interesting for software folks. 010
E Kidd @ekidd.bsky.social · 04/12/2024Some professions already know this: www.amazon.com/dp/0684834316 > ..they provide highly customized services and thus cannot apply many of the management principles developed for product-based industries... Such firms must therefore compete not only for clients but also for talented professionals.amazon.comManaging The Professional Service FirmAmazon.com: Managing The Professional Service Firm: 9780684834313: Maister, David H., Maister, David: Books 100
