Tootfinder

"What I’m saying is generative AI is a deeply expensive edging machine, but for your life."
Garbage Day nails it.
(Original title: Generative AI is an expensive edging machine)
https://www.garbageday.email/p/generative-ai-is-an-expensive-ed…

Generative AI is an expensive edging machine
Read to the end for insider trading and money laundering

Half the street corners around Minneapolis have people
— from every walk of life, including republicans
— standing guard to watch for suspicious vehicles,
which are reported to a robust and entirely decentralized network that
tracks ICE vehicles
and mobilizes responders.
I have been actively involved in protest movements for 24 years.
I have never seen anything approaching this scale.
Minneapolis is not accepting what’s happening here.

One more thought...
One of the more toxic elements of the whole "manosphere" thing relative to dating is the application of game theory to relationships. They've got people trying to "maximize their dating potential" or whatever, trying to find the "most attractive march" (which is it's own fucked up thing I'm not even going to dig in to). But that whole mindset is basically going to always leave you miserable.
Oh, you're single? You need a partner. Oh you have a partner? Could you get a "better" one?
It turns relationships into the endless pointless grind of capitalism. Fuck that. None of that shit makes sense. No matter how "well" you do in that game, you always feel like a loser. Everyone does. Fuck that game. Quit.
The constant desire makes you miserable and your misery makes you unlikable. When you let go of it, you leave room to experience what is instead of constantly imagining what could be.
You will always be able to imagine a better "could be" than what is now. By comparing your situation now to that "could be" you will always see your situation as bad because it's worse than your yardstick.
Is your situation good for you? Is it serving you? It can be good and it can also be possible to make it better. When was the last time you just experience your life instead of trying to strategize your way into "something better."
Throw away the yardstick. Something something Buddha.
Edit: all this is of course aside from the whole objectification thing, which is it's own whole set of fucked up. But yeah... All that shit is real bad news.

https://twttr.eu/register?invite=8ecd1c336028f823 https://twttr.eu/register?invite=09296209b4eb0143 https://twttr.eu/register?invite=28c7423c44fdf131 https://twttr.eu/register?invite=cf9bdec05f370b1d https://twttr.eu/register?invite=1753ac768da3fc5c https://twttr.eu/register?invite=3938f4db17bdd607 https://twttr.eu/register?invite=f9f7bcb4ffaa06a6 https://twttr.eu/register?invite=fecc3a5b806dadc8

One of the wonders of the Fedi is that we really do have complicated, constructive, nuanced discussion here.
@… critique <https://tante.cc/2026/02/20/acting-eth

Your muscles grow through resistance. Your life does too.
We treat all discomfort like failure. But avoiding everything hard isn't protecting your peace. It's shrinking your life.
Some discomfort strengthens you:
• Being awkward but showing up
• Creating bad work before good
• Staying present to hard truths
• Not knowing who you're becoming
Peace isn't avoiding life. It's choosing where to put the load.
What kind of life are you…

Discomfort Isn’t the Enemy: Why Avoiding All Stress Is Shrinking Our Lives
Wellness culture tells us to avoid discomfort, hustle culture tells us to endure it. Both are wrong. Here’s how to tell growth from injury and live more fully.

15,000 people singing to call on ICE to leave their jobs!
🎵🎵🎵
Oh-h-h, It's okay to change your mind,
Show us your courage,
Leave this behind,
It's okay to change your mind,
And you can join us,
Join us here any time
🎵🎵🎵
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVEuV1hkvjG/

Singers on Instagram: "15,000 people singing to call on ICE to: quit your jobs! Show your courage! Lay down your weapons! Leave this behind! 🧊 Singing with Brandi Carlile was awesome - but what we’re really about is taking it to the streets. Join us for our National Weekend of Action Feb. 28 / March 1 by find your local group at tinyurl.com/groupslistSR (linked in bio) and contact them directly to join an action near you. ⭐️ We sing to protect and care for our communities in the face of rising authoritarianism. Always and forever we say: ABOLISH ICE. Who in your life can you start a conversation with about abolishing ICE? Send them this video and invite them to join you at a Singing Resistance action near you! 💌 Song: Annie Schlaefer It’s okay to change your mind Show us your courage Leave this behind It’s okay to change your mind And you can join us Join us here anytime"
31K likes, 307 comments - singingresistance on February 22, 2026: "15,000 people singing to call on ICE to: quit your jobs! Show your courage! Lay down your weapons! Leave this behind! 🧊 Singing with Brandi Carlile was awesome - but what we’re really about is taking it to the streets. Join us for our National Weekend of Action Feb. 28 / March 1 by find your local group at tinyurl.com/groupslistSR (linked in bio) and contact them directly to join an action near you. ⭐️ We sing to prot…

For caturday here is an elderly kitty who thinks she owns the sofa. Periodically I need to go out and show her the heating pad is on so she stops howling. If I just click it and do not show her the green light she will begin to howl again shortly after I leave the room. Her main goal in life appears to be sleeping on a warm heating pad.
I want to teach her what a squirt gun is for but the wife will not allow it. Says she is to old to train. OK at 20 she is technically older than m…

After the whole Adam Something "dating advice for leftist men" thing, I realized I should probably write something about that. I didn't, but I realized I should. Here I am sort of getting around to it.
I had a friend call me an "elder" at one point. I was like 35 at that time, but like... a lot of old leftists are just dead or in prison, so we take what we can get I guess. Being also an elder in the sense that I'm an elder millennial, who is also a parent and married for almost 10 years and all that, I guess I'm technically qualified.
So here it is, dating advice for (straight cis) leftist men:
1. Don't.
That's it, actually. That's the whole thing. Let me explain a bit.
First of all, this is dating advice for neuroatypical folks. We're way overrepresented in both extremes because this system wasn't built for us. And that's who is *the most* confused by all the relationship stuff, and most likely to try to apply all this masculinity/manosphere bullshit. I'm also talking a bit from experience here, as a neruo-spicy trying to "figure out" how to date within a paradigm entirely built around neurotypicals and their relationships. It's garbage. Throw it out. There's nothing worth saving.
His video had some line comparing not having sex to your house being on fire. I'm not gonna bother to quote it because I'm busy with actual life. But like, that's exactly what I'm talking about. I recognize that and it's horribly destructive. Men who buy in to patriarchy actually believe this, because those men value themselves based on (hetro) sex. Yeah, if you think you're worthless because you aren't "getting laid" then yeah, you're gonna feel like that's an emergency.
"Dating" as a paradigm turns humans into roles. It dehumanizes us all, and thus makes human connection much harder. It is a game that, like thermonuclear war, can only be won by not playing.
When you abandon "dating" and just act like a human, everything starts to be easier. There's no such thing as being "friend zoned" because you're just friends. Sometimes friendships become other things, sometimes they don't. It doesn't actually matter, because if you're actually there for friendship then you don't *need* anything else.
My grandma, at 98 I think, gave me some advice. My grandparents always got along well, and were married for enough decades that I listened really closely. She told me I should just do things I loved to do and everything else would work itself out.
And it kind of did.
I understand the fear, the idea that you'll die alone. I get that. I get the loneliness. It all hits a lot harder when you have ADHD emotions and past trauma. I get that. But that fear is self-manifesting. When you build your confidence, when you don't *need* to be "in a relationship," you have more room to actually build relationships. For me, dating was dehumanizing. When I abandoned that, I was able to actually be a good partner, and I was able to find my partner.
I would advise against marriage as well, but we did get married for legal reasons. It can still be hard to maintain that, to see each other as people rather than roles. That becomes extra hard as parents. But the times that we cut through that are the times we're closest. Those are the times when it becomes easier to remember that we're both humans and all human relationships need tending.
Roles don't need to be tended because they are classifications. Classifications are static. But relationships between humans are not. Humans are messy and chaotic. Humans have all kinds of complex needs and desires.
So yeah, don't date. Just be a human and see what happens. Maybe google "relationship anarchy" and see where it takes you.
If you have ADHD, it can be especially useful to understand that relationships with neurotypical folks can be especially difficult. Assume you're incompatible with 90% of the population as your baseline, and you'll start to understand why the standard "dating" thing has made you feel so alienated and miserable.
Neurotypical folks generally have no idea that atypicality exists, much less how it impacts relationships. Having to conform to a neurotypical relationship just adds additional mental strain unless you find someone (really special) who can do at least some of the work.
The ADHD thing was especially important for me. There were so many things I was told to do in specific ways by neurotypicals that never worked for me. Their advice always made me feel like a failure. When I was finally diagnosed, I realized they were just giving advice for the wrong type of brain. It was advice I could never use. Basically all dating advice I ever got fell into this same category.
That's my braindump. Maybe I'll develop it more in the future, but I'm busy so maybe not. I hope it helps someone who is struggling like I was.

Maybe that’s alarming to you, but you think we can still coast through it, wait it out. OK. Fine.
Maybe your red line is US troops gunning down civilians. Like Tiananmen Square. Like Iran this past week. That has not happened under the Trump regime yet. That is a horrifying red line — but maybe it is •your• red line.
Wherever it is, I am asking you now, from my home in Minneapolis, to think: what is •your• red line, the place where you think, “This is too much. Normal is gone. Life as I knew it has to stop until this ends.”
5/

What everyday life is like for Iranians right now (Caitlin Dewey/Vox)
https://www.vox.com/today-explained-newsletter/483188/everyday-life-iranians-war
http://www.memeorandum.com/260320/p20#a260320p20

“Clawdbot can execute Terminal commands, write scripts on the fly and execute them…”
I don’t even trust myself to do those things before 9am most days!
I just do not think I can be convinced I need a “digital assistant” in my life or on my computers (with elevated permissions, no less). https://mastodon…

Federico Viticci :ticciseal: (@viticci@macstories.net)
Attached: 1 image An open-source AI agent running on my Mac mini server is the most fun and productive experience I've had with AI in a while. Clawdbot by @steipete@mastodon.social is a personal AI assistant that you can infinitely tweak. It runs in any messaging app (!), has access to skills, can use the shell, and – notably – it can improve itself because it's completely open to customization. My story: Clawdbot Showed Me What the Future of Personal AI Assistants Looks Like https://ww…

"Capable LLMs require a logic of dominance and of disregarding consent of the people producing the artifacts that are the raw material for the system. LLMs are based on extraction, exploitation and subjugation. Their politics is violence. How does one “liberate” that? What’s the case for open source violence?"
(Original title: Acting ethically in an imperfect world)

Acting ethically in an imperfect world
Life is complicated. Regardless of what your beliefs or politics or ethics are, the way that we set up our society and economy will often force you to act against them: You might not want to fly somewhere but your employer will not accept another mode of transportation, you want to eat vegan but are […]

What comes next is the next stage of enshittification: monetization
Has anyone seen any hint of a real revenue source for BSky? I know that at one point they had a domain registrar partnership deal, but that can’t pay for a billion-user social network. @…

Jay 🦋 (@jay.bsky.team)
I raised a Series B last year for Bluesky to build the open social web. I want to thank our investors who share our vision, our users who light up the network (2.4B posts and counting), and the developers bringing the Atmosphere to life. Can’t wait to show you all what comes next! [contains quote post or other embedded content]

Dispatch from the occupation.
What life is like in Minneapolis now.
#minneapolis

Dispatch from the occupation
What life is like in Minneapolis now

Now picture what it looks like for you to shut down your normal life when that red line is crossed. Remember, this is not a “now I’ll •really• be angry at my Senator” red line. This is a red line past which normal life cannot continue until the situation ends.
What would it look like for your normal life to stop?
7/

Series A, Episode 13 - Orac
CALLY: [Returning.] Blake, I think I've found enough for everybody.
BLAKE: Oh good, at least the others will be all right.
ENSOR: Well, I'm ready, shall we get started?
BLAKE: Well, wait a minute. There is something else.
https://blake.torpidity.net/m/113/290

The Life Paradox: Why Your DNA Isn’t a Blueprint
https://www.ocrampal.com/what-is-life-2/
If life is just a series of genetic programs, why can’t we predict the behavior of an embryo as easily as the flow of a river?

The Life Paradox: Why Your DNA Isn’t a Blueprint
A debate between two scientists about whether traditional science can truly capture the concept of life.

Yesterday Cory Doctorow argued that refusal to use LLMs was mere "neoliberal purity culture". I think his argument is a strawman, doesn't align with his own actions and delegitimizes important political actions we need to make in order to build a better cyberphysical world.
EDIT: Diskussions under this are fine, but I do not want this to turn into an ad hominem attack to Cory. Be fucking respectful

Acting ethically in an imperfect world
Life is complicated. Regardless of what your beliefs or politics or ethics are, the way that we set up our society and economy will often force you to act against them: You might not want to fly somewhere but your employer will not accept another mode of transportation, you want to eat vegan but are […]

We avoid hard things thinking we're protecting our peace. But we might just be shrinking our lives.
Not all discomfort breaks you down. Some of it builds you up.
The question is learning which is which.
What if the thing you're avoiding is actually where your power is hiding?
New on my Substack: there's more to life than constant stability.

Discomfort Isn’t the Enemy: Why Avoiding All Stress Is Shrinking Our Lives
Wellness culture tells us to avoid discomfort, hustle culture tells us to endure it. Both are wrong. Here’s how to tell growth from injury and live more fully.

A woman calling out the patriarchal system and rape culture... in 1771 London.
This was a great episode of #WhatsHerName podcast, and Catherine Jemmat's memoir is so old that you can read the full scanned version on the Internet Archive from the New York Library.

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE Catherine Jemmat — What'shername
After a lifetime of betrayal and abuse as an 18th century sex worker, Catherine Jemmat broke the ultimate social taboo: she wrote the truth about her life. Her “scandalous memoir” helped change the way readers thought about women’s lives, and her second book introduced a radical new idea into English society – that the true ‘perpetrator’ driving women into lives of so-called sin and degradation was, in fact, society itself. Returning guest Miranda Garno Rossa …

Here is wisdom. I learned this too late in life, and am still not sure I’ve learned it well:
❝Don’t feel like you need to fix everything. A common response to bearing witness to another’s trauma is to try and fix it. We don’t want others to suffer. That said, you may not be offering what the other person or group is clearly stating they need. If they need you to listen, and you choose to act but not listen, then you have both not supported them in their trauma and violated a boundary.❞
https://community.hachyderm.io/blog/2024/08/12/hachyderms-introduction-to-mastodon-moderation-part-1/

It terrifies me to confront how monstrously selfish and stupid people can be.
Giorgio is a hero who reports from the trenches of democracy in Ukraine. He risks his life to bring the receipts of what is really happening in Ukraine.
If you don't like to read, he also makes a lot of videos.
Please support Ukraine and give the world a glimpse of the truth by sharing the friend link that bypasses the paywall:

In our rapid world, being a constant support for loved ones is crucial. Financial security isn't just for future gains – it's for creating memories now. As Churchill said, life is shaped by what we give. 💖 #FamilyFirst #LegacyBuilding

"Personal Knowledge Management is for Life, Not Just for Work"
#PKM

The entire machinery of online discourse around building and creating has been so thoroughly captured by entrepreneurial "logic"
that we've lost the language to describe what it feels like to simply make a thing that helps someone,
give it away, and move on with your life.
I've been feeling this for a while now, and I suspect a lot of folks who have the itch to build feel it too, even if they haven't articulated it.

The Noble Path
It is a truth universally acknowledged that an indie hacker in possession of a widget must be in want of a business model... Every tool is a startup now. Every script is a SaaS product. Every neat little hack you cobbled together on a Sunday afternoon to solve your own

What Mongolian Breakfast Is Like! Village Life in Mongolia - YouTube
#mongolia

What technology takes from us – and how to take it back https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/jan/29/what-technology-takes-from-us-and-how-to-take-it-back?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Is there some actual study on the "life expectancy" of magnetic media such as cassette tapes or floppy disks?
E.g. I have a pre-recorded compact cassette that is 50 years old and works just fine (and sounds great!), and floppy disks from the early 80s that read with no problems.
Yet when I search for this topic everyone always claims "10–20 years" is what to expect from magnetic media.

“The Hospital at the End of the World”, by Justin C. Key.
#AI #SciFi #bookstodon

I'm not sure what YouTube thinks is going on in my life but I'm now getting inundated with ads for baby diapers, real actual 100% not fake women on some rental/dating app, and baby sling carriers.
The babes are cute.
And too professional.
No chaotic screaming at the universe of horrors.
Don't trust their lies.
#pooptoot #idowanttoholdababythough

"This is one aspect of what campaigners call “process as punishment”, an approach that now dominates the treatment of protest groups. Even if you are never convicted of a crime, your life is made hell if you dare, visibly and publicly, to dissent." -- @…
I can verify from the experience o…

The People We Cannot See: What Dark Matter Galaxies Tell Us About Invisible Life
In February 2026, astronomers confirmed the existence of a galaxy called CDG-2 that is, for all practical purposes, invisible. Sitting in the Perseus galaxy cluster some 300 million light-years from where you are reading this sentence, CDG-2 is 99% dark matter. It was not found by its starlight, because it has almost none. It was found by four globular clusters huddled together in the…

The People We Cannot See: What Dark Matter Galaxies Tell Us About Invisible Life | David Boles, Blogs
In February 2026, astronomers confirmed the existence of a galaxy called CDG-2 that is, for all practical purposes, invisible. Sitting in the Perseus galaxy cluster some 300 million light-years fro…

Hannah Spencer's speech.
Good speech.
One criticism: why is it called the Green party? What about the ecosystem and climate emergency? You have to use opportunities like this to level with people.
"Working hard used to get you a house, a nice life, holidays": Green's new Gorton and Denton MP Hannah Spencer rails against life in modern Britain as she vows to do things differently - Manchester Evening News

"Working hard used to get you a house, a nice life, holidays": Green's new Gorton and Denton MP Hannah Spencer rails against life in modern Britain as she vows to do things differently
The Green Party secured a big win in the Gorton and Denton by-election

@dansup@mastodon.social after a long time i managed to upload another video to #loops
this is what i uploaded:
Duration: 00:02:23.93, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 1880 kb/s
Stream #0:0[0x1](und): Video: h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(progressive), 1280x720, 1878 kb/s, 30.20 fps, 30 tbr, 15360 tbn (default)
and this is what i then downloaded from loops
Duration: 00:02:24.00, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 2791 kb/s
Stream #0:0[0x1](und): Video: h264 (…

🐬 Climate engineering would alter the oceans, reshaping marine life. Our new study examines each method's risks
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-climate-oceans-reshaping-marine-life.html

Climate engineering would alter the oceans, reshaping marine life. Our new study examines each method's risks
Climate change is already fueling dangerous heat waves, raising sea levels and transforming the oceans. Even if countries meet their pledges to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change, global warming will exceed what many ecosystems can safely handle.

Apple's iOS 27 update will prioritize cleaning up the operating system's internals, with engineers making changes that could result in better battery life, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
iOS 27 Mock Quick
The effort is said to be similar to what Apple did with its Snow Leopard Mac update years ago, and will involve removing old code, rewriting existing features, and subtly upgrading apps to improve their performance.
The result should hopefully be a "…

iOS 27 'Rave' Update to Clean Up Code, Could Boost Battery Life
Apple's iOS 27 update will prioritize cleaning up the operating system's internals, with engineers making changes that could result in better...

"What a privilege to collaborate with microbes and chicken manure. What a relief to recognize that the call to healing and life is a call to all creation. We do not work alone!"
—Nathan T. Stucky, Director of the Farminary project at Princeton, in his piece for the new issue of the YDS journal Reflections

I’m so tired of YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, and all the rest. Not because I’m exhausted, but because I can finally see what’s behind it all. The smiling faces, the endless content, the fake “authenticity” are just products built to keep us quiet. Everything is soaked in the same capitalist lie that tells us to keep consuming so we don’t have time to wonder what life could be if we actually owned it together.
I’d rather spend my time learning from people who fought back, who still fight ba…

A horse walks into a bar. The bartender asks, why the long face?
Horse says he's depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain.
Bartender says, solution is simple. I have a marvelous Amontillado in my cellar—
#humor

Hey Friends, if you're wondering what's been going on with me. Life has been sucking pretty hard lately.
https://rasterweb.net/raster/2026/01/05/this-is-the-pain/

This is the Pain
It just fucking hurts...

If you are buying a new computer, there's no need to throw the old one away. I was really surprised last year how many items found another owner.
Nothing to get rich of, but avoid unnecessary e-waste
https://www.locked.de/how-i-gave-my-old-computer-parts-a-s…

#Blakes7 Series D, Episode 09 - Sand
SERVALAN: No.
TARRANT: [He holsters his gun.] It's fairly standard equipment. If there's power for the life supports, there will be for these. [Servalan activates the base computer.] Ah!
https://

"Life being what it is, one dreams of revenge."
– Paul Gauguin

Ukraine update: Russian cruelty is amplified by extreme weather.
Dodging FPV drones on a road covered in black ice to make a report from the front lines, Giorgio is a hero who risks his life to share a glimpse of the truth of what is happening in Ukraine.
Share the friend link to bypass the paywall:

Darting Through The Corridors of Death Towards a Flaming Sloviansk
Live from Ukraine 🇺🇦

Everyday Greatness
Cuts through the defining noise that distracts people in today's society, and reassures audiences that just rolling your sleeves up and doing what needs to be done without a fuss is a life to be proud of...
Great Australian Pods Podcast Directory: https://www.greataustralianpods.com…

@… @… my posting is a magnet for people who have no clue at all what's going on and refuse to accept the new world, it's natural. You learned your whole life something, and now everybody is able to do it better, that hur…

»Trump ally and tech billionaire Peter Thiel brings Antichrist warning to Paris
“I heard more about the Antichrist during those 45 minutes than during the rest of my life,”
[…] "I didn't understand much," said a third attendee who did not specify what the talk was about. […]«
This is not the first time he has been to Europe, this thoroughly conspiratorial creditor.
😕

Trump ally and tech billionaire Peter Thiel brings Antichrist warning to Paris
“I heard more about the Antichrist during those 45 minutes than during the rest of my life,” one attendee tells POLITICO.

As salty as I am about it, there's also another way to think about this. For anyone who still has connections to folks on the right (which is perhaps unlikely for anyone on this server, I digress), the cult that has consumed them thrives on isolation and grievance.
The words "you were right" have the potential to cut through the programming and open up an opportunity for reconnection. The modern conspiratorial cult of the Right has been built partially around people who were told they were wrong or were crazy. In the vast majority of cases, they were wrong and even when they were right they completely misunderstood why, but we'll skip that for now. Liberals making fun of them (even the times when they definitely earned it) has pushed them further and further into their ideological hole.
The thing about those words, "you were right," in this context is that the way they offer reconnection also requires them to take one little step of betraying their ideology to accept them. So they must choose between maintaining allegiance to a pedophile or finally getting to feel superior after years of living in an illusion of persecution.
Under the ideology of the Right, admitting one is wrong is a weakness. It is admitting defeat. They have to "own the libs" by saying things, things that they know aren't true, in order to feel dominant. But these things are often so absurd that they end up being made fun of, feeling even more weak and pathetic, reinforcing their fear and alienation.
Offering what they're looking for can offer a way out, but only if they're willing to start to recognize the thing they've supported for what it is.
And they were right about some things. They were right that Bill Gates was a terrible person. I've had plenty of liberals defend him based on his philanthropy washing, but he's awful and always has been. The Epstein links make that blatant. They intuitively recognized him and didn't trust him, even if they were wildly off base about *how and why* he shouldn't be trusted... Even if their correct mistrust was leveraged into one of the most destructive conspiracy theories ever (vaccine denial and COVID vaccine avoidance).
They were right about Bill Clinton. He was always shady as fuck. Sure, the people who attacked him at the time turned out to be even more shady but that's not the point right now. He was connected to Epstein and that was always creepy as fuck.
And the Epstein thing was an open secret that liberals ignored for a long time. It was seen as some weird thing that right wing nutjobs believed about the Clintons. But it was true. Not all of it, and there has always been an antisemitic element to the right wing interpretation or Epstein stuff, but his whole pedophile conspiracy was always kind of real.
The whole "Illuminati"/deep state thing is a vast oversimplification, an attempt to make comprehensible an incredibly complex set of interlocking and emergent behaviors. But Epstein did very much want to remake the world, to create a new world order, and he absolutely played a part in it.
The Right wing nutjobs talked about global authoritarianism, Blackhawks flying over American cities, masked men with guns disarming and executing legal gun owners in the streets. That's all happening right now.
The "FEMA concentration camps" are not actually that far off. ICE and FEMA are sister agencies, both under DHS. I'd be more than happy to call that one "close enough" in order to hear some MAGA admit that ICE is, in fact, building concentration camps.
There was always a huge millennialist element to these things. They tended to be connected to "the antichrist." It was absurd, especially for me as someone who no longer identifies as a Christian. But I'll even acquiess that to a degree. The "the number of the Beast" is 666. That's just the sum of the Hebrew spelling of "Nero." Revelations focuses a lot on Nero coming back to life after his death. His death that involved a head wound, thus the line from Revelation 13:3:
> And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.
The parallels between Trump and Nero are easy to draw, and Trump's ear wound feels pretty on-the-nose for this. I don't believe in "prophecy" in this way. I think that there are patterns, and useful patterns can become encoded in beleif systems. But I will, again, happily call this one "close enough" for anyone on that side willing to also acknowledge it. I'm happy to meet on that common ground, because anyone who accepts it must recognize that their duty is to fight against it.
A lot of these correct nuggets are embedded in a framework of religious extremism and antisemitism. The vast majority of the beliefs holding these together are wildly wrong and incredibly toxic. But by giving some room to feel validated, listened to, understood, can give some room to admit things that were wrong.
Cult de-programming starts with an opening. People have to talk through their own thoughts, hear their own inconsistencies. Guiding questions can help them untangle these things for themselves. And it all starts by having enough room to feel safe, to not feel cornered, to not feel stupid. Admitting mistakes means being vulnerable, and the MAGA cult is built on fear. It's built on exploiting vulnerability and locking it away.
De-programming takes a long time. It's not easy. It takes patience. But every person who comes out does so with a powerful perspective, a deep understanding, that can be turned back against it. The best people at getting people out of cults are former members. Some of the most dedicated antifa are former fascists who understood their mistakes and dedicate their lives to fixing them.

"In 2025 I have spend some time to untangle my digital life from billionaire/fascist run platforms. So at the beginning of 2026 maybe it makes sense to talk a bit about what I did, why I went certain ways and what works and what doesn’t."
(Original title: Exiting the Billionaire Castle)
https://

Exiting the Billionaire Castle
In 2025 I have spend some time to untangle my digital life from billionaire/fascist (that Venn diagram is becoming more of a circle each and every day) run platforms. So at the beginning of 2026 maybe it makes sense to talk a bit about what I did, why I went certain ways and what works […]

What's a game that made you cry?
For me, a certain ending in Life is Strange 😭😭😭

What is “social media”?
What do you actually want to ban?
Does Github count?
Does an anorexia-support forum count?
Does a queer-support forum count?
Does the schools own homework-submission system count?
Does Whatsapp, which the kids use to talk to family and to bully each other?
How about Telegram that the kids use to talk to their drug dealers?
How is it different?
Are we really saying nobody under 18 can watch youtube, and expecting that to make life better for those kids rather than worse?
How are you going to define ‘social media’ such that you’ll ban the harm you think you see without also banning any chance of support for a person looking to learn to program, or cope with their abusive parents, or seek advice about being anorexic or queer?
Is it really a good idea to attach a label to every child account for all the websites they visit? You want the kids to all have a big “Child” tag on them as they wonder the net? Might that not increase rather than decrease their vulnerability?

Now https://rmendes.net/now

Now
Now 1 February 2026 Now slashpage a page that tells you what I'm focused on at this point in my life This page is a now page , you should consider adding one if you have a website as well, inspiration...

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #Continent
Ebo Taylor & Uhuru-Yenzu:
🎵 What Is Life?
#EboTaylor #UhuruYenzu
https://ebotaylor.bandcamp.com/track/what-is-life
https://open.spotify.com/track/69RKJPgebzlHDYVTa1m5Te

The Opt-Out Project
This is a user-friendly guide to retrieving your digital life from the Tech Giants.
In a post per day over three weeks,
I'll walk you through a process for changing your digital habits and services to set you up for success in 2025 and beyond.
https://www.

@dansup@mastodon.social after a long time i managed to upload another video to #loops
this is what i uploaded:
Duration: 00:02:23.93, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 1880 kb/s
Stream #0:0[0x1](und): Video: h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(progressive), 1280x720, 1878 kb/s, 30.20 fps, 30 tbr, 15360 tbn (default)
and this is what i then downloaded from loops
Duration: 00:02:24.00, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 2791 kb/s
Stream #0:0[0x1](und): Video: h264 (…

To portray a mind as a kind of high-powered survival machine orchestrated and controlled by genes is, then, fundamentally a misconceived picture of what minds are.
Ball, Philip. How Life Works: A User’s Guide to the New Biology (p. 427). (Function). Kindle Edition.

@… What I don’t understand about everything Fairphone makes, is that it is inevitable short of the average spec list. Headphones of that size should now have up to 50-60 hours of battery life. And really, a how often has your headphone broken? I have a Bose QC from 8 years ago that still is going strong.

Ukraine Update: Western betrayal in stopping aid shipments leads to Russian victory on the battlefield.
Ukraine is out of ammo, while China and North Korea are uninterrupted in their support of Russia's genocide in Ukraine.
Western media doesn't give a shit, but Giorgio is fighting for his life as he reports from the trenches on the ground in Ukraine.
He shares the friend link so the world can glimpse the terrible truth of what is happening in Ukraine. Evidence of w…

Rori’s Artisanal Creamery is opening in Goleta at 270 Storke Road (next to Rusty’s Pizza and opposite SloCoDo donuts).
It’ll be the company’s fourth location in Santa Barbara County and eighth overall
https://www.rorisartisanalcreamery.com/

Rori's - Enjoy life before it melts... eat ice cream
That's exactly what you'll want to do when you bite, lick or snarf the bold, clean, intense flavors of Rori's ice cream. Taste what's new. Indulge. See what's new. Tasty treat. Our WTFudge bars bring all the boys to the yard!!! See what's new. Share the joy. See what's new. Share the joy. See what's new.

Sonnet 111 - CXI
O! for my sake do you with Fortune chide,
The guilty goddess of my harmful deeds,
That did not better for my life provide
Than public means which public manners breeds.
Thence comes it that my name receives a brand,
And almost thence my nature is subdued
To what it works in, like the dyer's hand:
Pity me, then, and wish I were renewed;
Whilst, like a willing patient, I will drink
Potions of eisell 'gainst my…

Okay, for those who want to switch Email providers and think about Fastmail (as I described in my article https://tante.cc/2026/01/05/exiting-the-billionaire-castle/ ):
This link gives you 10% off your first year. (It will give me 10 USD, too, so you can consider this a…

Exiting the Billionaire Castle
In 2025 I have spend some time to untangle my digital life from billionaire/fascist (that Venn diagram is becoming more of a circle each and every day) run platforms. So at the beginning of 2026 maybe it makes sense to talk a bit about what I did, why I went certain ways and what works […]

C02 - Powerplay
BARR: They'll never willingly give up their way of life. That's why we try to catch them with our drug guns. And when we do they make an invaluable contribution to our society.
VILA: It's a shame, they just don't know what they're missing.
https://blake.torpidity.net/m/302/330

As retirement nears, it's time to redefine freedom. Whether it's the serenity of a village or the ocean's call, retirement is about savoring life. As Churchill said, "We make a life by what we give." Let's ambitiously plan for the retirement we deserve and embrace this new adventure! #RetirementGoals 🌟

Ukraine Update: Russian "Fraternal Aid" is offered to Ukraine.
Russian Fraternal Aid is described as: Destroy, repress, leave to the cold, and starve to the point of breaking even the most resilient will, only to then lead people to beg for help from the same hand that killed, plundered, and annihilated.
Giorgio is on the ground in Ukraine, risking his life to report what is happening there.
Share the friend link to bypass the paywall and give the world a glimpse …

PT Barnum was right!
Was at someones house last night and noticed what looked like twisted copper wire around their meter while I pushed their soffit back into place.
Had to asked what it was figuring it was some scam that would supposedly lower their electric bill.
I was partially right . It's a Smart meter Tensor ring. It "resonates at 144 MHZ for EMF filtering/protection throughout the home. As well as lowing power bills. Made to the Sacred/Royal Egyptian Cu…

Lost Cubit Tensor Rings Archives - Slim Spurling's Light-Life® Technology
Lost Cubit Tensor Rings appear to operate on a metaphysical level. They are effective with supporting mental and emotional issues. There is no limit to how Lost Cubit Tensor Rings can be used to enhance your life. Use them for personal applications, household uses, and workplace assistance. Children and animals even benefit from these Tensor Rings. In 2000, researcher and inventor Hans Becker discovered the Lost Cubit length and gave Slim Spurling permission to incorporate this discovery in the…

In many European countries, including Britain, Germany and France,
far-right parties seem ascendant.
And Donald Trump is doing what he can to undermine democracy in the United States.
Yet a closer analysis shows that autocrats are often running scared of their people.
And surprisingly, democracy these days seems sometimes to be held in higher esteem in the global south than in the democratic heartland of the west.
These trends show there is nothing inevitable ab…

Good Morning #Canada
The oldest winter festival opened its ice gates to the public yesterday and runs to February 15th. The Quebec Winter Carnival was first held in 1894 but became an annual event starting in 1955. It's not the largest in the world but it's in the top 2, and record crowds are expected since most Canadians aren't interested in being interrogated at our southern border.
#Bonhomme is the generic term for a figure ( bonhomme de sucre , "sugar baby"; bonhomme de neige , "snowman"). The beloved character who represents the Quebec Winter Carnival lives a pampered life. He has the keys to the city, from the mayor in 1955, and has a new ice castle built for him every year. He also retires someplace cozy after the event and returns refreshed and ready for next year, unlike European festival snowmen who are burned at the close of activities to bring forth spring. Bonhomme has a better manager obviously.
#CanadaIsAwesome #WinterWonderland
https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/what-to-do-quebec-city/events/quebec-winter-carnival

Series B, Episode 03 - Weapon
FEN: You're a sad man, Travis. Life must have reverence.
TRAVIS: Now. I want the other one.
FEN: No.
TRAVIS: Get the other one.
FEN: You know better than this.
TRAVIS: Do I?
https://blake.torpidity.net/m/203/5 B7B3

Aging gracefully is more than just life's milestones; it's an investment in the adventure itself. I am dedicated to helping seniors thrive in health and wealth. What do you believe is essential for a fulfilling retirement? Share your wisdom! 💡
#SeniorsLivingWell #RetirementGoals #LifeJourney

Apparently last week's improv class, which I missed, did indeed talk about a story spine, a template I first heard from a Pixar story course:
Once upon a time there was... And every day they would.. Until one day... And because of that... (repeat 'because' till end)...
And this week was concentrating mostly on the first bits: Playing out some scenes introducing characters, setting up their normal routine.
The nature of improv can be tricky here. Things spiral out of control quite fast. Things start happening immediately, without time to build that normal routine which you then break.
Take for instance the scene tonight at an airport. Lady rushes in: "Get me on a place as far away from here as possible, right now".
Its a great offer, but hardly a normal routine for a person. Can you really have a person whose daily routine is to fly to the furthest place they can get to immediately?
Perhaps a flashback to their normal routine then? Or perhaps make the staff the protagonist and their daily routine is to deal with crazy customers.
Character is key in the early scenes of a narrative really. Get the audience to identify with a protagonist. Who are these people, how do they know each other and what's their normal life like?
#improv #hooplaImpro #london

Stephen Miller has amassed unprecedented power for a deputy White House chief of staff.
He exerts extraordinary influence over an unusually large swath of the government,
from immigration to criminal justice to even the military’s operations on American soil
❌Much of what defines public life in the Trump era
—masked kidnappings on U.S. streets,
standoffs between ICE goons and protesters,
military patrols in U.S. cities
—has been authored by Miller.

Stephen Miller Is The New Republic’s 2025 Scoundrel of the Year
He was counting on a nation of haters. He was wrong.

Kyle Cheney. @kyledcheney
Jack Smith says Trump's claims that he won the election were not protected free speech because they were intended to target a government function.
"There is no historical analog for what President Trump did in this case."
Smith says Trump "without question" added to the danger to Mike Pence's life with his 2:24pm tweet while the Capitol was under attack.

Oh. Its proprietary!?
#browser #firefox #vivaldi #mozilla