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We are so fucked

jwz
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"Try not to stress out about the big picture", they said. "Focus on your community", they said. Great idea! Here are just two topics that kept me from sleeping last night:

  1. These asinine tariffs mean the price of all of our products are going to go up by 20% to 60%, from napkins to flour to whiskey. How much will we have to raise our prices just to break even? How many customers will that drive away?

    Does Jack Daniels import their glassware? I have no idea, but probably? Will they pass that cost along to us? Absolutely they will.

  2. How long until a uniformed, heavily-armed, not-SFPD goon squad shows up at our door demanding to see proof of citizenship for all of our staff? How can I expect my staff to say "piss off" without getting their skulls caved in?

    "Oh, but you live in Liberal San Francisco!" Fun fact, Cheeto Mussolini hates SF and loves vengeance. We're going to be in the crosshairs.

Previously, previously, previously.

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mkalus
2 hours ago
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Today in Sarcophagus Juice news:

jwz
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I absolutely want to see the movie for which this story is the mid-credits epilogue.

Archaeologists Bewildered by Skeleton Made From Bones of at Least Eight People Who Died Thousands of Years Apart:

During a recent reexamination of the bones, researchers noticed peculiarities. For instance, the skeleton's spine appeared to be made of both adolescent and adult vertebrae. [...] Veselka's team used radiocarbon dating to analyze the individual bones; they also sequenced ancient DNA found in them. They found that the skeleton is made of bones from at least eight unrelated men and women. [...]

Placed in the fetal position, it was the only intact body in a graveyard containing 76 cremation burials. Because of a bone pin found near the head, researchers initially concluded the burial was Roman, dating to the second or third century C.E., when the Roman Empire covered the Gallic lands of present-day France and Belgium.

The skeleton's bones are actually much older, with the earliest "contributor" dying nearly 4,445 years ago, per New Scientist. The skeleton contains bones from multiple generations in the late Neolithic period, who lived thousands of years before the Romans conquered Gaul.

Still, the skeleton isn't completely out of place in the Roman cemetery. According to genetic analysis, its skull belongs to a Roman woman of the third or fourth century C.E., whose DNA matches similarly-aged Roman remains in a nearby cemetery -- probably siblings.

How did this composite Neolithic skeleton end up with a Roman skull more than 2,000 years later? As the researchers write, Gallo-Roman groups may have disturbed the old burial while interring their own dead. If it was headless, the Romans might have "completed" it by adding a skull of their own. If not, maybe they replaced the skull. Or maybe they created the entire amalgamated skeleton themselves. [...]

"Whether the assembly of the bones occurred in the late Neolithic or in the Roman period, the presence of the 'individual' was clearly intentional," write the researchers. "The bones were selected, a fitting location chosen and the elements arranged carefully to mimic the correct anatomical order."

Whoever composed the burial understood enough about the human skeletal structure to create a convincing puzzle. As Veselka tells New Scientist, "They knew what they were doing, for sure."

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

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mkalus
2 hours ago
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"Echo chamber"

jwz
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Some wingnut I've never spoken to before (or again (foreshadowing!)) accused me of living in an "echo chamber" because I block people.

Fuck the "echo chamber" discourse. I reject it entirely.I am not here to wear an ascetic's hair shirt because you think that surrounding myself with dickheads builds character.

Block early and block often. I expanded on this in some detail in my "On Blocking" post from a few years back, but it bears repeating. Especially now.

Previously, previously.

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mkalus
2 hours ago
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"Your personal information is very important to us.", part three

jwz
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Hello! Here is an extremely stupid update about some incredibly low-stakes bullshit that doesn't matter at all! Oh for the glory days when this was the kind of thing I got worked up about.

Barely six weeks after the XScreenSaver for Android Privacy Policy fiasco, which led to a quite nice piece of writing if I do say so myself, Google decided that if I would not give them a copy of my driver's license, they were going to remove XScreenSaver and XDaliClock from their "Play" [sic] store.

They have now done so.

And I'm all broken up about it.

So you'll have to download those APK files from my web site directly.

Since I enjoy wasting the time and money of multinational superpredators, here's how that discourse went. They have not yet closed the ticket, but since it has now been nearly a month since they last replied, I think we know how this is going to go.

From: jwz@jwz.org
Date: 28 Sep 2024 17:18:00 -0700

I have been distributing these free, open source apps on the Google Play store for more than a decade with this account. You know exactly who I am. But now you are saying that these apps -- which, again, you have been distributing for over a decade without complaint or incident -- are being removed because I won't give you a copy of my driver's license.

I refuse to give you a copy of my driver's license. I do not trust you with that personal information. It's never going to happen. It's none of your business.

Please re-instate my apps.

Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2024 01:52:43 -0700
Subject: [0-9208000037108] Your message about Google Play
From: googleplay-developer-support@google.com
To: jwz@jwz.org

Hi Jamie Zawinski,

Thanks for contacting the Google Play team.

I reviewed your issue and escalated it to the appropriate team. I appreciate your patience while we look further into your request. I will provide an update as soon as I have information.

If you are located in the EU, you may have additional redress options. Learn more about those potential options in the EU Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution Help Center

Routing ID: ZLFS
Regards,
Zeke
The Google Play Team

Date: Mon, 07 Oct 2024 21:48:44 -0700
Subject: Re: [0-9208000037108] Your message about Google Play
From: googleplay-developer-support@google.com
To: jwz@jwz.org

Hi Jamie Zawinski,

Thanks for contacting the Google Play team.

Please complete the verification request. You either have not yet submitted your information and/or documentation, or we were unable to verify your information and/or documentation. Please re-submit new information and/or documentation that meets all of our verification requirements.

Thanks for your understanding.
Regards,
Bry
The Google Play Team

Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2024 12:08:20 -0700
Subject: Re: [0-9208000037108] Your message about Google Play
From: Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>
To: googleplay-developer-support@google.com

As I have said repeatedly and plainly -- and your bot just quoted my last response back to me --

No. I will not do that.

I do not trust you with my personal information. You do not need it.

I have been distributing these free, open source apps for more than a decade, and suddenly you have decided to create this problem.

Please restore my account and my apps. If you have any questions about who I am, you can click the link below. Thanks.

--
Jamie Zawinski • https://www.jwz.org/about.html

Again, I'm all broken up over this. A single tear rolls down my cheek.

Also do I need to add -- I probably do -- your advice is not being solicited here.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.



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mkalus
2 hours ago
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Prime

jwz
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Got this yesterday from what seemed like an actual amazon dot com email address:

"I am contacting you today because I see that your organization is qualified for a business account with Amazon; our buying solution that grows with your business."

Strunk & White told us:

"If you have received a letter inviting you to speak at the dedication of a new cat hospital, and you hate cats, your reply, declining the invitation, does not necessarily have to cover the full range of your emotions."

Reader, I did not follow this advice.

Incidentally, if you cancel your Prime membership today, they might not actually cancel it for another year, since they do not do refunds, but they will let you fill out a nice little survey asking why you are cancelling. Just in case you wanted to let them know.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

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mkalus
2 hours ago
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Wenn man mit Ökonomen oder Kapitalisten über Roboter ...

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Wenn man mit Ökonomen oder Kapitalisten über Roboter und Automatisierung spricht, kommt ganz schnell eine Darstellung der Form: Ja gut, da gehen Jobs verloren, aber dafür entstehen ja andere Jobs! Unter dem Strich wird alles besser, weil die Preise sinken!

Das haben jetzt mal ein paar Wissenschaftler geprüft, anhand der Zahlen von den Jahren 2000 bis 2008 und teilweise noch später. Stellt sich raus: Automatisierung zerstört Karrieren, und zwar nachhaltig.

Früher konnte man ohne Ausbildung irgendwo anfangen, am Job lernen, und hatte dann mit der Zeit Chancen, seine Karriere zu besser bezahlten Jobs aufzuwerten.

Mit der Einführung von Automatisierung hat man diese Aufwärtschance nicht mehr, sondern man kann nur auf andere Jobs ausweichen, die höchstens gleich gut bezahlt sind.

Schlimmer noch: Automatisierung in der Produktion von Branche A hat auch die Karrieren in anderen Branchen zerstört, z.B. örtliche Läden oder Dienstleister. Denn die Leute hatten ja weniger Geld in der Tasche und konnten sich damit weniger Dinge leisten und damit geht dann die gesamte örtliche Wirtschaft ein.

Wenn euch also das nächste Mal jemand erzählt, wenn "KI" Jobs ersetzen, dann sollen die Leute halt andere Jobs machen, dann könnt ihr die weiterhin auslachen, und ab jetzt fundiert.

Oh, und:

"Areas most affected by robotization saw stronger support for populist candidates like Donald Trump in 2016," he noted. "The connection between career uncertainty and political realignment is clear: as people lose faith in their ability to advance economically, they seek alternative political solutions."
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mkalus
2 hours ago
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