@mason@partychickens.net cover

Unix geek. Thought leader for a small flock of back-yard hens and assorted wildlife. Technically correct.

Fan of #FreeBSD,, #Slackware, #C, #Lisp, #Scheme, #Perl. Sometimes-lapsed #Quaker. I try to be socially and environmentally responsible. I keep #chickens! (Chickens are friends.) #COVID cautious and I #mask. Born on #Wampanoag land; living on #Abenaki land.

Please interact before following!

#freepalestine #ceasefire #woke #antifa #sustainability #startrek #doctorwho #buffy #bsg

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

@nixCraft@mastodon.social avatar nixCraft , to random

the birth of the internet?

ALT
mason ,
@mason@partychickens.net avatar

@nixCraft Conception of the Internet.

@RememberUsAlways@newsie.social avatar RememberUsAlways , to random

"Trump is going much further than most Republicans are."
This is a corporate oathless chucklehead enabling Trump to murder US Citizens in the street from .
!

mason ,
@mason@partychickens.net avatar

@RememberUsAlways Prostitutes are quite often victims. It'd be better and more accurate to describe corporate media as fascist collaborators and thus avoid revictimizing victims.

mason ,
@mason@partychickens.net avatar

@RememberUsAlways I'm just sharing the perspective. Something I'm pondering of late is how to live while making no choices at all that involve victimization. Directly avoiding it is easy, but indirectly takes some more work. We have to understand supply chains and food chains and such, economic inequality, power dynamics.

The plus side is that there are activists and organizations that are diligent about digging up useful information.

But back to your original point, the real issue is the wealthy controlling media and benefiting from the regime, hence defending it by promoting antidemocratic policy while demonizing democratic policy. (Small 'd' as the blue team is as corporatist and corrupt as the red team at the top. I very much want to escape what Nader accurately calls the Corporate Duopoly. Ranked choice / instant runoff can get us there, where we have a shot at a truly representative democracy.)

@Geri@mastodon.online avatar Geri , to random

The British Museum has removed the word from displays about the ancient Middle East following complaints.

Maps and information boards about ancient Egypt and the seafaring Phoenicians labelled the eastern coast of the Mediterranean as Palestine, and some peoples were described as being “of Palestinian descent”

And so the British Museum has decided to remove that word.

Who do you think made those complaints?

mason ,
@mason@partychickens.net avatar

@RememberUsAlways It's implicating Zionists, not Jews. That's a critically important distinction. I have no more tolerance for anti-Jewish racism than anti-Palestinian racism, or any other sort of bigotry.

@Alice@beige.party avatar Alice , to random

Our wonky timeline began when our REAL timeline with the white and gold dress split off into the messed up one with the blue and black dress.

mason ,
@mason@partychickens.net avatar

@Alice This is the only thing that makes it sane. And even with this, some folks still see black and blue in both frames.

@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random
@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

I just read the stories up on NPR's front page. Nothing about Gaza. Nothing about Minnesota. Nothing about Cuba.

NPR has become less and less useful with time.

@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

I want to break a local community free from Signal, and I've been thinking about XMPP. In reading some analyses I found this gem:

https://lukesmith.xyz/articles/matrix-vs-xmpp/

I stopped using Signal because I just don't trust it. Why so many updates with no explanations? Is it so unstable and insecure that it needs them? Also, check out search results for running your own Signal server. Technically it's free software, but practically, good luck.

So I guess I need to figure out persistence and E2EE for XMPP, and land on a server and clients. I'm inclined towards ejabberd, because Erlang!

I'd welcome thoughts.

@mrencyclopedia@retro.pizza avatar mrencyclopedia , to random

Thinking about the game on everyone's mind right now: Fallout 3, Bethesda Studios' ambitious 2008 followup to the beloved CRPG series.

mason ,
@mason@partychickens.net avatar

@mrencyclopedia No, I think after reading some posts here that there was a handegg game today, with some music. Wasn't there one on Thanksgiving too? They seem to do a lot of these things.

@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

I am struggling to read this without coming back to the question, "How is any warrantless arrest acceptable?" Then I think, "What about someone shooting at people?" We obviously arrest them right away, or try to. But the people making the arrests need to be smart enough to distinguish between "is shooting at people" and "has brown skin" and clearly they're not making that distinction. Further, we don't arrest them when they shoot at people or even kill them. This is all deeply problematic.

https://www.npr.org/2026/02/05/g-s1-108778/ice-agents-warrantless-arrests-oregon

mason ,
@mason@partychickens.net avatar

zedgeist How about rent of things, as opposed to rent of living space? I'm specifically thinking of the hardware I'm renting for this Fediverse server. A network connection, power, and cooling come with it. In my view this is more acceptable than having to rent a house or car. (Related topic: is having a car moral? Related to that: Is there a moral argument to be made for our against living away from a population center? And related to that: why the Hell do people refuse to wear masks during a pandemic?)

Is my renting that hardware more paying for a service than straight rent? There's certainly the aspect of my not being able to afford the hardware cost up-front and just renting space, network, and power.

Ideally I'd just run the server in my cellar, but I live in the woods and trees fall on the power lines all too often. (Loop to the question of the morality of living away from population centers.)

@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

Comic books as a bridge to literacy! A new foundation based in Southern New Hampshire.

Article about the Foundation:

https://ledgertranscript.com/2026/01/06/escape-hatch-foundation-literacy-comics/

And the Foundation web page:

https://www.escapehatchfoundation.org/

@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

There are folks who'll tell you not to isolate, that masks are a good idea but optional and you should balance the social stigma against the protection.

There are other folks who will cite reputable sources showing that we're losing over 100,000 per year to COVID, and that it's hitting those over 65 really hard.

I'm one of those other folks, and here's the promised reputable source:

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/covid-continues-exact-heavy-toll-older-us-adults-study-suggests

@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

Now, this is cool! Goblins actors and ActivityPub. Found this via Planet Scheme.

https://spritely.institute/news/mandy-activitypub-on-goblins.html

https://planet.scheme.org/

@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

This is a pretty good article:

"Little Christmas (Irish: Nollaig na mBan, lit. 'Women's Christmas'), also known as Old Christmas, is one of the traditional names among Irish Christians and the Amish for 6 January, which is also known more widely as the Feast of the Epiphany, celebrated after the conclusion of the twelve days of Christmastide."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Christmas

@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

Yesterday's primary project was installing a whole-house sediment filter (5m cartridge) under my kitchen sink, for the cold water line anyway. Today's primary project will be making it watertight, as even with Teflon tape one side wouldn't stop weeping. Today's attempt will involve both Teflon tape and pipe dope.

I'm also going to get the right-sized wrench (ideally plumbers; if not then crescent) as using joint pliers for this is tedious, edging on ridiculous.

mason OP ,
@mason@partychickens.net avatar

A future project will be installing a series of three filters with a 20 micron element, then 10, then 5 for the whole house, and I'll use PEX pipe to hook it in. Never used the stuff before. We really need a new well, but that'll be both expensive and uncertain.

@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

I don't know this family, but what an absolutely lovely tribute!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uavh6z4jNnY

@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

Are all the radio watches in North America a little screwed now?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWVB

@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

"Capitalism’s grow-or-die imperative stands radically at odds with ecology’s imperative of interdependence and limit. The two imperatives can no longer coexist with each other; nor can any society founded on the myth that they can be reconciled hope to survive. Either we will establish an ecological society or society will go under for everyone, irrespective of his or her status." - Ursula K. Le Guin

@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

FreeBSD question... With the release of 15 imminent, how many of the unresolved pkgbase issues listed on the wiki remain?

https://wiki.freebsd.org/action/show/pkgbase?action=show&redirect=PkgBase#Goals.2C_and_additional_unresolved_issues

@theleftistlawyer@mastodon.social avatar theleftistlawyer , to random

Had to go out today to buy toilet paper. I know, I should have planned better, but Crohn's does what Crohn's wants. Anyway, I'm standing in line with my toilet paper and the woman in front of me is telling her very young child that the Christmas miracle is when Jesus found America.

mason ,
@mason@partychickens.net avatar

@theleftistlawyer When the pandemic first took hold and bathroom tissue was impossible to find, I was deeply annoyed. We stopped using it. We installed these little plug-in bidets and quartered and hemmed some facecloths to use as washable single-use towelettes. We all feel cleaner than ever before, and we haven't flushed any woodpulp into our septic system for a good five years now.

As for Jesus discovering America, he is supposed to be magic, so maybe they were talking about the future a thousand years from now when he arrives on his spaceship and discovers Las Vegas, revealing that he swapped in a body double at the last minute back in the day, before heading off with the greys to study astrobiology for a few thousand years. Who can say? Magic, you know?

@nixCraft@mastodon.social avatar nixCraft , to random

There are already enough data leaks, and now they want your government issued ID just to use ChatGPT app. The old web was free, right? You could visit any website. Now just four apps control everything and what you see, and they won't work unless you provide identification. What a mess.

ChatGPT has start issuing mandatory Age Verification https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/1p4vsan/chatgpt_has_start_issuing_mandatory_age/

Whatever you do, do not provide your ID to the worst company out there. Added screenshot in case post gets deleted.

ALT
mason ,
@mason@partychickens.net avatar

@nixCraft Better still, don't drive the climate crisis by using large language models at all.

@briankrebs@infosec.exchange avatar briankrebs , to random

Was destroying everyone in Halo with abandon as per usual when I really felt like the haptics had kicked up quite a bit. Then I realized it was my watch vibrating from getting about 1000 Signal requests. Yes, distributed denial-of-Signal is a thing.

ALT
mason ,
@mason@partychickens.net avatar

@briankrebs

There are mitigations for that.

@internetarchive@mastodon.archive.org avatar internetarchive , to random

Before Hollywood turned her green, L. Frank Baum’s Wicked Witch of the West looked very different… & she appears only briefly in the 1900 book. 📚

🧙🏼The Wicked Witch's only specific physical trait in the book is her single, telescopic eye. It was W. W. Denslow’s iconic illustrations that first visualized her in the public imagination.

Check out her earliest depictions in these images, & explore more Oz history on our blog ⤵️
https://blog.archive.org/2025/11/17/the-wonderful-public-domain-of-oz/

W.W. Denslow illustration from the original The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book, depicting the Wicked Witch, wearing the magical golden cap that allows its wearer to thrice command the Winged Monkeys, giving the leader of the Monkeys the final of her three commands.

ALT
mason ,
@mason@partychickens.net avatar
@mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

I was reminded of this classic this morning. My numbers have been good for a few years now. It's possible to get diabeetus under control.

Wilford Brimley talking about his experience with diabetes in an ad for Liberty Mutual, remixed into a rap song. (PS: It's "horseshoe rasp.")

@JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange avatar JessTheUnstill , to random

[Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

  • Loading...
  • mason ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar

    @JessTheUnstill We really want to move off of propane and go electric, but we're going to need 220v circuits run, and suddenly it gets expensive. We managed to get an electric clothes washer that runs on 120v but it was expensive.

    Our top priority is figuring out how to replace bad siding and rotted sills on windows, but that's REALLY expensive. But effectively keeping water out is huge.

    @mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

    "Amazon strategised about keeping the public in the dark over the true extent of its datacentres’ water use, a leaked internal document reveals."

    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/25/amazon-datacentres-water-use-disclosure

    @JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange avatar JessTheUnstill , to random

    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

  • Loading...
  • mason ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar

    @JessTheUnstill Where do they talk about them being 88 feet? I'm seeing lots of different reports of different heights, and I'd tend to think this detail would come up more if it were symbolic. Sadly, the only fact checker I could find is itself LLM slop. (Who in their right mind would make an LLM fact checker? Seriously.)

    mason ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar

    @JessTheUnstill Well, Hell.

    @cmccullough@polymaths.social avatar cmccullough , to random

    Please, make this all stop.

    Fedora Will Allow AI-Assisted Contributions With Proper Disclosure & Transparency

    https://www.phoronix.com/news/Fedora-Allows-AI-Contributions

    mason ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar
    mason ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar

    @cmccullough I run a bunch of it for different purposes. It's been less amazing as a desktop, but I'm looking at getting back into using it for that, too. (...along with deploying more Slackware for desktops.)

    @mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random
    @Codeberg@social.anoxinon.de avatar Codeberg , to random

    We apologize for the long performance degradation today.
    Finally, we identified all of the 'tricks' that AI crawlers found today. They no longer bypass the anubis proof of work challenges.

    A novelty for us was that AI crawlers seem to not only crawl URLs that are actually presented to them by our frontend, but they converted the URLs into a format that bypassed our filter rules.

    By the way, you can track the changes we have been doing via

    https://codeberg.org/Codeberg-Infrastructure/scripted-configuration/compare/51618~1..e4aac

    mason ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar

    @Codeberg They're malicious.

    @mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

    'One day after the broadcast of the Al Jazeera Arabic documentary “Tip of the Iceberg” — in which the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) revealed the identity of the Israeli battalion, company, and commanders responsible for the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab — the Foundation has submitted a 120 pages Article 15 filing to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.'

    https://www.hindrajabfoundation.org/posts/her-name-was-hind-her-foundation-takes-24-israeli-soldiers-and-commanders-to-the-icc-for-her-murder

    @mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

    Random note... I tend to like Niz keyboards a lot, especially with 35g domes. Their boards are like Topre but smoother and nicer. They've kind of spoiled me for MX keyboards... until today. Some sample TTC Frozen Silent V2 switches arrived, and they remind me of nothing less than Niz domes in an MX form factor.

    I'm going to get some more of them and fill out this Vortex Multix board I used to test them.

    @mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random
    @calyxinstitute@mastodon.social avatar calyxinstitute , to random

    ICE is quietly building up its ability to spy on Americans' phones. Earlier this month, the agency activated a $2 million contract with Paragon, a service that offers the ability to remotely hack into someone's phone. Last week, ICE entered into an $11 million contract for Cellebrite devices, which allow agents to break into a locked phone in their physical possession. https://reason.com/2025/09/29/ice-doesnt-want-you-to-know-why-they-bought-a-phone-cracking-system/

    mason ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar

    @calyxinstitute The CalyxOS folks don't want you to know why they're recommending that you uninstall from your phone.

    @indivisibleteam@mastodon.social avatar indivisibleteam , to random

    The Senate is expected to vote today on the GOP’s cruel government funding proposal and Democrats’ alternative, which would protect our healthcare.

    Our Democratic senators need to hear from us. Urge them to keep holding the line to safeguard healthcare for millions: https://indivisible.org/campaign/stop-trump-shutdown?source=mastodon

    ALT
    mason ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar

    @indivisibleteam Funding ICE (the American SchutzStaffel) is immoral, regardless of the healthcare question. The time for business as usual is done.

    @mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

    I've had a number of accounts follow me recently that seem to exist to request financial support for folks in Gaza.

    Please note that I am not in a position to support individuals. When I am able to donate money, it goes to the UNRWA, the World Food Programme, and to Doctors Without Borders, as that is the way to have what I can give support the largest number of people with the greatest efficiency.

    My family actively works to try to end the genocide, but we're all but tapped out now in several ways and I don't want folks following me with hopes I won't be able to fulfill.

    @mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

    Judge rules federal firings were illegal, but doesn't order the government to reinstate the fired workers. We are officially lawless.

    https://www.npr.org/2025/09/25/nx-s1-5544317/federal-probationary-employees-firing-supreme-court

    @NanoRaptor@bitbang.social avatar NanoRaptor , to random

    What's the oldest piece of machinery that you own that still works, for its original purpose, in (mostly!) its original state?

    mason ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar

    @NanoRaptor I'm going to go with "my brain".

    @santi@gone.lema.org avatar santi , to random

    One thing I hate particularly about our times is the efficiency of LLM-based scams. I cannot see a link or profile that is Gaza-related without doubting and it truly makes me angry.

    For fuck’s sake go mug an old lady in the street. It will be more dignified that stealing from victims of a literal on going genocide.

    ps: @aral has a trustable link

    mason ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar

    @santi @aral Just support the UNRWA and humanitarian charities generally and you'll be helping the most people.

    @randahl@mastodon.social avatar randahl , to random

    Trump announces he has solved the very bad war between Cambodia and Armenia…

    Which is quite impressive, since Armenia is a country in West Asia, just short of 7000 km from Cambodia, which is a country in South East Asia.

    video/mp4

    mason ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar

    @randahl He grabbed them by the geography.

    @mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

    Discussion of Arabian paganism. Unfortunately, this only talks about the gods and not the mythical beings that are so fascinating - djinn, efreets, maskim, rabisu, the various cryptozoological animals, etc.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz_1ATArmh4

    @firesidefedi@social.firesidefedi.live avatar firesidefedi , to random

    Good day all you lovely Fedizens ! Big week coming up on Fireside Fedi! We have THREE! YES! COUNT THEM! THREE! How many? Leave the answer in a reply and you could win one of our amazing TOTALLY real prizes! (Please note these prizes are not real at all.) All times are Eastern US, UTC-4.

    Mon 2025-09-15 1030 - @sturmsucht - Photographer ( @sturmsucht ), Fedizen, Techie, Awesome dude.

    Wed 2025-09-17 1200 - @sundogplanets - Astronomer, goat farmer (I wonder what season you plant goat seeds btw), Canadian, AWESOME woman! I know saying Canadian followed by Awesome is redundant, but I'm on a roll here!

    Fri 2025-09-19 1300 - @timnitGebru - Fired from Google for being an amazing human and not some corporate drone, founder of DAIR Institute, snappy dresser! Obviously totally AWESOME!

    Set your calendars or follow ours!

    Watch the show live:
    - https://stream.firesidefedi.live

    After the show:
    - https://video.firesidefedi.live
    - https://audio.firesidefedi.live

    - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaJ15PXgRihoPku7JMdDnsw

    All - https://firesidefedi.live

    If you're enjoying the show, please consider supporting our new nonprofit btfree.org at https://givebutter.com/btfree. We're currently running https://tubefree.org which is a moderated peertube open for signups right now!

    mason ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar

    @firesidefedi

    Four! There are four!

    @gumnos@bsd.cafe avatar gumnos , to random

    Was pondering making an "AC⚡DC" style tshirt except using Unix commands. So what two-letter commands are commonly available?

    $ ls {,/usr}/{s,}bin/?? 2> /dev/null | awk -F/ '{print $NF}' | sort | column

    Particularly enticing candidates include

    • ed⚡vi
    • cc⚡ld
    • cp⚡rm

    but there are some other possibilities in there 🤔

    mason ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar

    @gumnos I think I'd go with BC/DC.

    @mason@partychickens.net avatar mason , to random

    Post from Linda O'Connell on LinkedIn.

    The Day a Man Was Arrested for a T-Shirt About Clay

    While what's happening in Ga7a is no joke, sometimes the absurdity of how authorities respond to protest demands a little satire. Case in point: the arrest of Miles Pickering, an engineer from Brighton, who was hauled in by London police not for violence, not for vandalism, but for wearing a T-shirt that said “Plasticine Action.” I have to say the tears were rolling down my face laughing at this.

    Yes, Plasticine. As in the modelling clay. As in Morph, the grinning, orange clay figure from British kids' TV. Pickering’s shirt featured Morph giving two thumbs up, alongside the tagline: “We oppose AI-generated animation.” It was a cheeky dig at soulless digital creativity, not a call to storm the gates of Parliament.

    But alas, nuance died long ago.

    Miles recounted: “He looked down and… said: ‘Right, you’re nicked.’ And I thought: ‘Oh, here we go.’” The officer apparently mistook “Plasticine Action” for “Pal3st1ne Action,” a banned protest group. In a modern-day comedy of errors, a pun about clay got interpreted as a national security threat.

    Pickering was carted off to a pop-up police station, which, hilariously, was two gazebos outside Scotland Yard. Yes, a literal gazebo arrest. There, officers reviewed his shirt in forensic detail, like it was a suspicious package.

    Eventually, a more senior officer admitted: “I can’t charge you under section 12… because that says ‘Palestine Action’. You’ve got ‘Plasticine Action.’”
    Honestly, this is either Monty Python or Black Mirror, we haven’t decided.

    Upon release, Miles walked out to cheers from fellow protesters. Pointing to his shirt, he proudly declared: “Plasticine Action!”, and the crowd roared with laughter.

    But the story doesn’t end there. Miles decided to lean in. He started selling the shirts globally, with proceeds going to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). As of now, they’re selling in 28 countries. Morph has officially gone global, not as a cartoon, but as a symbol of protest, parody, and the power of a well-timed pun.

    Miles is now urging others to join the next protest on 6 September wearing their Plasticine Action shirts. He asks, quite reasonably: “If 1,000 people wander around the Pal3st1n1an march wearing a T-shirt that says Plasticine Action with a picture of Morph, what are they going to do?”

    Good question, Miles. Arrest the lot of them? Start interrogating Wallace and Gromit? Ban modelling clay?

    In an age when satire can be mistaken for t3rrorism, this incident says more about the state of protest rights than any op-ed could. It’s ludicrous. It’s hilarious. And it’s deeply worrying.

    But at least it gave us one perfect image: a man in a Morph T-shirt getting arrested under anti-terror laws, and turning it into an international fundraiser for humanitarian aid.

    Truly, the revolution will be stop-motion.

    Photograph: David McHugh/Brighton Pictures

    Original link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lindaoconnell_the-day-a-man-was-arrested-for-a-t-shirt-activity-7363492272245522432-I1I3

    ALT
    mason OP ,
    @mason@partychickens.net avatar

    @faab64 @palestine I suspect we can go beyond calling it semi-fascist at this point, if they're arresting their citizens in bulk.

    It still amazes me that anyone can show their face in public after vigorously defending a genocide.

    The world is turning on this issue, though. We will need to see prosecutions under the Genocide Conventions' Article III, section e. Complicity is criminal, and they need to learn not to do it again.