Yeah that’s the one, it didn’t recognize my TV 😖

I don’t want Chrome on my Linux system but I almost installed it last night. Why? Because apparently half the internet says that that is what is necessary if you want to screen share or mirror your monitor to a smart TV on the same network because “the linux implementation of Miracast is fucked”. Oh, don’t worry, you can try Brave or Chromium too, except they don’t work because while the TV shows up as an option you can cast to, you can’t actually cast because the option is grayed out due to some “specific media sites” error. Don’t worry, this option can be changed in the //flags and if that doesn’t work then try changing this other flag, except that other flag doesn’t exist on Brave and Chromium and it must be assumed it only exists on Chrome.

But wait, there’s a utility called MKchromecast, it mimics the ability without needing to install chrome, but doesn’t recognize the TV. Oh it has all of these dependencies that need to be downloaded. It still doesn’t work. There’s always Gnome Displays, which has the exact same pattern of missing a bunch dependencies that must be hunted down and then not seeing the TV. While searching for dependencies on my software manager I find Jubii, a nice little media caster with a tidy, intuitive UI that happily connects to my TV immediately and cheerfully shows me all of media libraries but as soon as I ask it to play a mirror of my screen it loads for 2 minutes and times out with an error.

Then I realized it was 4:30am and I had to go to bed.

We have a plugin hybrid, in our life it operates as a purely electric car 90% of the time powered on solar. For the 10% of the time we’re taking it on a longer trip, I’m fine with that 20% less.

I don’t have much time to respond so I’m going to just hit one bullet for now:

Are you going to try to argue that Khan and Gul Dukat weren’t given nuance and development? Some of the things that made them such compelling antagonists is that we were given insight into their motives and backgrounds and perspectives. Khan absolutely was nuanced and the persecution and illegality of genetically enhanced humans was a great stepping off point for him. Just about every antagonist that pops up in Star Trek gets some kind of explanation why they are doing the things they are doing, and the crew takes a moment to acknowledge their inherent worth as living beings and, if they’re sentient, discuss possibilities for negotiations or nonviolence. I haven’t forgotten that Klingons, Ferengi, Borg, Cardassians and many others start off as villains, but we are given many opportunities for them to be “humanized” through characters like Worf, Quark, Hugh/Seven, Garak and others. There are no “good” or “bad” aliens in Star Trek.

So keeping that in mind, how did things go with the Ba’Ul? How did they handle Control? What nuance was Lorca given? In Discovery, your first impression of a bad guy being bad is always correct.

I have an intense distaste for Discovery, and wouldn’t recommend it.

I could rant about it a la Angela Collier for 4 hours but here’s my main issues boiled down to a bulleted list:

Some things I like about Star Trek:

• Optimistic future, humans can create greatness and beauty if they continue to check and overcome their faults
• No black and white villains. All antagonists are given nuance and development and many become favored allies
• Themes of teamwork, a functional ensemble, core crew are all valid and valued, no one star of the show.
• No such thing as magic or gods, everything is in the realm of human understanding if we have sufficient knowledge

Guess what Disovery has?

• Nihilistic, apocalyptic future
• Bad guys that are just bad, they’re evil, don’t ask questions
• One principal star of the show that is the focus of nearly every episode
• No attempt to explain things with any veneer of science

Then add on some blatant examples of total ignorance for the universe it’s set in, attempts at ham handed fan service by shoe horning in clumsy references to characters from other series, you have a show that is farther from Star Trek than a 14 year old’s submission on IO9. When it actually let the supporting cast do things, they were charming and likable, but Stamets, Saru and Tilly weren’t enough to keep me from getting mad at just about every episode.

If you don’t really care about or know anything about Star Trek it can be entertaining I guess, but why watch it when there’s Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks and The Orville?

Try www.goodsuniteus.com

I just canceled last night because of this. I’ll just have to find the time to finish Andor S2 in the next couple of weeks.

Because as much as they want to claim they’re logical and rational, no logical or rational argument would ever be the thing to convince them. Identity politics prevents people from accepting anything from the “other side”, so they ask for sources so they can point to it as biased and unfair etc. There’s really no point in arguing with someone like that using facts. The things most likely to change their mind is their own personal experience or writing an entirely new narrative about the world.

The “laughs” all felt from the outside. There was very little humor aimed at the people who would self identify as nerds and way more “haha look at these nerds and how quirky they are” set ups. Sure there are misogynist asshole nerds but usually they need to grow beyond that to find friends and partners. As far as I could tell none of them did. Sheldon and Howard were still super sexist, Leonard was still passive and whiny, but the story pushed forward foisting “perfect matches” on them.

Throughout the whole thing there was very little actual geek humor, and it felt denigrating to actual nerds.

Thank you. I was a clothing flipper for a while, I was living in a relatively rural but well monied area and I got into it because the thrift stores there would have genuinely great stuff. It would sit on the racks at $7 or less for weeks, even through half price days. I have a good eye for quality, and so I started picking up things for a pittance and selling them online. My prices were less than half of original retail but still well above my original purchase price. I have a lot of fun combing through bins and racks and finding hidden gems, but it’s not for everyone and not everyone knows what to look for. I would make minor repairs, remove scents, stains, and pet hair, and list things with descriptive keywords, clear pictures and measurements.

I stopped when I moved to a place with much worse thrift stores (higher prices for less) but I still go and pick/shop for myself and my family. It was valid work, and I don’t begrudge any clothing flipper their profits. It’s just too competitive a business for the margin to be all that high.

My kid just had a screaming fit with big fat tears rolling down his face because he reached the bottom of the stairs. The other day, he was howling crying because I had a different colored bowl than he did. I have indeed had to carry my kid out of a public space to go calm down. I do my best to be calm and empathetic to him but emotional regulation is something they grow into.

Trader Joe’s is anti-union and often rips off small companies that pitch products to them without compensation 😕

https://traderjoesunited.org/protect-the-nlrb

https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/press-play-with-madeleine-brand/gaza-tj-labor-hbo-nba/trader-joes

That would be quite optimistic, but this is something I’ve noticed at multiple restaurants myself. I saw the tip “suggestions” were not accurate so I checked to see what numbers they might have been using and tried the after tax amount etc, but nope the numbers are just inflated artificially. It’s happened with or without alcohol on the tab, with and without sale items, and I don’t ever really get anything “comped” unless it’s a sauce on the side or something. I wouldn’t say it’s a scam, but I did roll my eyes the first time I noticed it.

At least where I am, there are some important and influential positions that are on a volunteer basis, and literally all you do is email someone in the town, say “I’m interested in this board/committee”, and they’re like “cool we meet every other Wednesday, see you then”.

I definitely encourage anyone who is pissed off at feeling powerless to look at your town or city’s website, see what boards and committees might interest you, and start showing up.

Setting it to private would limit its discoverability for people who are welcome to contribute, which as you say, is about half of all people. Some people like to lurk and read without posting which is perfectly fine and even welcomed. It’s not a private forum, it’s a forum that just asks men not to post.

It literally requires every single person currently on the fediverse to actively block it. And it requires every single new person that arrives in the fediverse to learn about this group, learn about their rule, learn how to block a group, and then go ahead and block it. Everyone who comes here has to do that, for every single new user that joins the fediverse. Forever.

The community only excludes men from participating

Keeping it open means people can find it, and it only excludes men from participating. WomensStuff accepts NBs and transwomen and basically anyone who doesn’t identify as a man. Just because it’s not for men doesn’t mean it’s private.

Sigh. I had a sinking feeling when it kept mentioning them. Another thing to go on the list to avoid buying

Unsweetened chocolate is sometimes called “baking chocolate” and you can usually find it where the spices and chocolate chips are found at the grocery store. You could always try getting some and melting it in the microwave or double boiler, then adding some dairy or non dairy milk products to see how it is without added sugar.

Do you really not have dark chocolate bars where you are? It’s pretty easy where I’m at to get 70% chocolate bars, and even 80% and 90%. You might have to go to a specialty shop for them but they’re just in the grocery store where I’m at.

It’s delicious, complex and depending on the origin or blend it can be fruity, dark, earthy, bitter, slightly spicy or taste like coffee. Proper dark chocolate has a kick of caffeine in it too. Hope you get a chance to try it!