Hand tools are spiritual in a way that machine tools will never be. I love the texture and heft of planes. The simplicity and quiet operation. Working with timber and steel is one of the greatest pleasures in life.

LED technology has progressed massively and is now at the state where you can carry a device with the lighting power of a car headlamp but it only consumes 10W, weighs 200g and fits in the palm of your hand. I can ride my bike through the woods at night, as if it were daytime. All we need now is some technology that makes the woods less creepy after sundown and we’ll be all set.

Another big one for me is Wikipedia and the information sphere in general. I forgot what it’s like to have to physically go to a library to look something up or learn a new skill, amazing power at our fingertips. Showing my age a bit here.

What else? Computer aided engineering tools, cordless power tools, phones and computers in general, lithium ion batteries, my automated coffee maker kills it, drug technology, I like it all.

I got no pussy

Car-mullah

Driving a car badly is much more risky than driving fast.

Most science jobs pay garbage. We do it for the love of learning, knowledge and helping others.

The silk road wasn’t taken down by an acronym. It was a bunch of hypocritical bigots called the American bureaucracy. They talk a lot about freedom but when they see something that promotes freedom like Wikileaks, south American socialism or the silk road, they seek to shut it down, often violently.

The people who believe that war criminals such as George Bush and Dick Cheney should be walking free and people like Julian Assange and Ross Ulbricht should be locked up, these people are our enemy.

Why didn’t the ACLU defend Ross Ulbricht? What about all the whistleblowers that have been imprisoned lately? Seems like there are better candidates than this guy.

I went down the psychology rabbit hole and emerged with autism.

Windows has become the Facebook of operating systems. Now watch this drive.

I’ve noticed the same thing from Indian colleagues. They rarely outwardly disagree and it’s very confusing to work that way. I don’t want a tiered workplace where some people are more equal than others. Let’s just speak plainly and politely, treat each other with respect, no matter where we’re from and what we look like.

I feel like the British colonial influence has been horrible for India and Africa in general.

I bought a subscription to the Waking Up app.

I suspected Debian users were soyboys and now I have the documents to prove it.

Protip

In UK people come from all over the world to see our royal family of great apes.

Let’s start with some facts.

Race is a political concept. It has no scientific basis so it’s not possible to declare any given person as white, black or whatever.

On the other hand, it is abundantly obvious from outward appearances that some individuals genetic heritage is geographically rooted. Those differences were used to create the political narrative of racism that justified the exploitation of Africa, America, etc. Among the many colonial-era atrocities were genocide and slavery.

There’s a lot of guilt and shame around this topic for white people, particularly white Americans. I’m not convinced that black people care more about blackface than white people do. I personally don’t have a problem with blackface or whiteface but I wouldn’t do it. There’s not much to gain and I don’t want to upset people. I felt uncomfortable enough dressing up as woman (I’m a European white guy) because I looked ridiculous, dressing as a black woman might be a bridge too far for me.

Please elaborate.

Self care is the thing that brings the most joy to my life so it’s surprising how easy it is to let it slip. Daily meditation is huge. Being out in the wilderness and sunshine in general. Regular light exercise. Fruit and vegetables. Healthy relationships. Learning and teaching. None of these things are news to anyone. The challenge is to maintain a healthy routine.

Is it true that Linux users recant their heretical beliefs on their deathbed, switch back to windoze and Bill Gates rapes them?

I don’t have any suggestions, just want to say thanks for making this stuff. It’s very cool.