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● 07.04.23

Gemini version available ♊︎

● Gemini Links 04/07/2023: Happy Independence Day and GemText Tweaks

Posted in News Roundup at 8:37 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Gemini* and Gopher

Personal/Opinions

=> ↺ Watching movies… Everything Must Go (2010)

• While I sometimes watch some short films on and off, its been awhile since I sat down and watched an entire film. That changed today.

• Everything Must Go 2010 – Starring Will Ferrell is one of his more dramatic outings. Similar to Stranger Than Fiction (which I also enjoyed). Also, legally free on Youtube as of this post.

=> ↺ On Being Short

• My mother told me as a child, “You will grow up to be as tall as your father”, who was over six feet tall. I am still waiting.

• I was a teen when I realized that most kids around me started getting taller, then, substantially taller. When I stopped growing I was not horribly short, but pretty damn short, compared to those around me. When I realized what it meant I was pretty devastated.

• I was also transported, some time earlier, to a place where height mattered much more than where I grew up. All of a sudden, I became the subject of bullying – both physical and psychological. I was misgendered, mocked, and shoved. I was called vile names. I cursed gods of all kinds for making me the way I was, and the circumstances that placed me situations in which I was not able to defend myself — both physically and otherwise, as I could not speak the language without making a complete mockery of myself.

• [...]

• As I got older, women literally looked over my head at the tall men behind me. I was largely invisible as a potential sex partner. Recent data from dating sites confirms it: for every inch of height (in men — bra size in women) the potential match pool doubles. There is literally a factor of 1000 between someone 5’4″ and 6’2″. ONE THOUSAND!

=> ↺ 2023-07-04

• Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans out there. As the 1st son of immigrants to this country, it’s always interesting for me to reflect on America.

• For many immigrants, America truly was the promised land. My parents left Asia with literally nothing but the clothes on their backs. I have a picture of my dad taken when he came to America with all of his belongings. He literally had one suit and a small hard-sided 70s luggage the size of a large briefcase.

• He started working in Chinese restaurants as a waiter for years while he was in college. He eventually got an accounting degree, married, and moved to Texas where he had me and my sister.

=> ↺ The Reader

• The last of the lucky few, those who could afford sinking a year’s salary for a ticket, push their way into the vast hall as the lights slowly dim. Hushed conversations end, and an opressive silence pours over the darkness. A barely-lit stage commands full attention now — except for the occasional tigadink-dadading-dadaa-wink of a stray phone followed by aggressive hissing from all directions.

• The silence continues. And then there is motion on the stage. Everyone stands — The Reader is on stage!

• I can’t believe it. Hearts are flying across my screen as my friends cheer me… Volume goes up and everyone is taking selfies, even though The Reader not really visible.

=> ↺ Flowers, Birds, and Trees 2023-07-04 (Fairbanks, AK, USA)

Technology and Free Software

=> ↺ Analog challenge

• Now I have to use a smartphone more often (as a remote control for some home equipment) so I have decided for a small challenge.

• The plan is to be as non-digital as possible.

=> ↺ It’s 16 Messidor, year 231.

• I recently learned that tilde.pink’s mail setup works perfect, with mutt pre-installed, and I can accept and send email at my username at tilde.pink. If anyone wants to reply to my posts directly, this is an option!

Internet/Gemini

=> ↺ Gemtext Tweaks

• I agree with Acidus’s points about tables: they are far, far too heavyweight for Gemtext.

• The “burned in” tables look good to me.

=> ↺ Somehow I like this one more than that. Whatever shall I do?

• I believe passionately reading – especially paired with some public effort to indicate that reading took place – is at least as important as passionately writing, else I suspect most will eventually lose heart over what slowly, increasingly feels pointless effort – as we can simply “post” writing to local files if we truly don’t give a shit whether we’re read.

=> ↺ Re: CircaDian: Gemtext Tweaks

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