Posts

Markdown GUIs

Sep 29, 2023 · 4 min read · Review FOSS

'Organizers', 'wikis', 'note-taking apps', et c. - these apps are mostly Markdown with an attached GUI. Today, I'm trying each of them out for twenty minutes apiece. AnyType Site: anytype.io Size: 383 MB AnyType comes encrypted, meaning you can't easily grab the raw markdown notes and stick them in a Git, or do much …

Distasteful Preaching

Aug 31, 2023 · 4 min read · Prattle Philosophy

I feel an unstated agreement among disparate civil society that one shouldn't preach. Breaching the preaching rule quickly looks like hypocrisy, because everyone has more work to do on themselves. Easier Said than Done Someone - usually young - preaching about veganism, trans-rights, the effects of aeroplanes on …

Open Source is the Best Term

Aug 25, 2023 · 2 min read · FOSS

I once met a man who, having talked to some FOSS-enthusiast, felt moved, and told me he was sure to use 'free' software, but not that 'open source', software. His attempts, of course, would be futile, because the words refer to the same software. The Free Software Foundation (could they not at least have called …

A List of Missions to Venus

Aug 24, 2023 · 2 min read · Prattle

My favourite wikipedia article is called List of Missions to Venus. Nowadays we're all amazed that astronomers can send a rocket out, and expect it to fly around the planet three times, nip round the moon, change trajectory while passing Jupiter, and land on some asteroid like a cautious butterfly, so it can send …

Review: Soft Serve

Jun 21, 2023 · 2 min read · Review Git Linux

Soft Serve is a git server for the command line. You can see the maintainers' version here, with ssh: 1ssh git.charm.sh It looks like this: Soft Serve • Repositories About ┃ Bubble Tea Updated 31 minutes ago ┃ A powerful little TUI framework mirror] ┃ git clone git@git.charm.sh:bubbletea.git Soft Serve Updated 3 days …

Alternative School Programs

May 12, 2023 · 6 min read · Learning

I find it bizarre how similar all schooling is, and how few alternatives people have tried. Of course some experiments exist, such as Summer Hill, run by Neil, which famously did not demand that pupils attend any classes, and showed why children would attend classes anyway. And of course different schools exist - …

Critical Thinking: An Introduction

May 7, 2023 · 3 min read · Prattle Philosophy

Fallacies and critical thinking are all the rage in some circles, but I hear a lot about (and occasionally experience) people making 'logic-noises' who clearly haven't studied the subject. In fact, they seem unaware one can take a University course in the subject, as they've missed the first lesson every student of …

Auto Eugenics

Apr 28, 2023 · 5 min read · Politics Philosophy

Once in a while I hear of someone who's decided to not have children because of bad ideas. I don't want to argue that anyone should or should not have children, but I do want to remove those bad ideas. The bad ideas usually go something like this: "I have this condition, and I don't think I should inflict that on …

University Degrees are Weird

Apr 26, 2023 · 1 min read · Prattle Learning

I imagine the conversation between a University and potential student going like this: I'd like to get qualified in a subject. Four years. Woah there, I haven't told you what I want to learn yet. Doesn't matter. Everything takes four years to learn. Really? Everything? Art and medicine? Computing and Sociology? A …

Building a Meme in Under a Month

Apr 20, 2023 · 10 min read · Security Politics

People have parroted that old cyber-security phrase - 'depends on the threat model' - so often, so quickly, and so vacuously, that I find my toes curling at the sound of it. But after some dealing with some imbeciles on Reddit's /r/privacy, I have to write this article about the importance of the threat model. It …