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Cake day: June 16th, 2023

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  • Once there was a man named Dylan.

    Dylan wanted to become a writer. Oh, the tales he wished to weave! The worlds he could build! But there was a problem. He didn’t quite know how to write. Now, though he was no dummy. He could use a pen and paper or type on a keyboard just like you and me, if not better! But the problem was stories don’t write themselves. That takes practice and effort.

    “How dreadful!” He thought. “But I have an idea! I’ll ask friend Chad to write for me. He’s a clever lad! He’s read everything ever put to into writing so he’ll know just what I’d like to do.”

    So the next time they met, he asked him. “Chad, I’m trying to write a story…” And he went on to describe the tale he sought. The world that seemed so vibrant in his head. Chad set to work and finally handed him a page. “Like this?”

    It wasn’t quite what he wanted. Not at all. It was rather bland, to be honest. Chad was smart all right, but he was no mind reader and maybe he was more inclined for cubicle work after all.

    Chad apologized “I’m sorry Dylan, but if you ever find the type of story you’re looking for I’d love to read it!”

    So Dylan set off for home, dismayed. “How…” he thought. “How can I get these stories out? I still have never written a story in my days!” he wished for an easier way. Some way to unleash his thoughts…but there was only one.

    He set to it. He sat down with a pad of paper and a keyboard and his favorite drink and he dared himself. “20 minutes. That’s a start. I’ll sit here and write for 20 minutes and we’ll see.”

    The minutes goaned by and his brain seemed to creak and sputter. Like the dust of ages wearing off and tiny sprouts of beauty taking their place, but not blooming. Soon there it was.

    And it was horrendous. It was like a stick figure. No, not even. A rough sketch of a stick figure. But it was his. And from then on, he wrote when he could or when inspiration struck. Sometimes when he thought inspiration would never be seen again but he sat down anyway out of spite.

    He took notes when ideas did eventually sprang up, like that brilliant one on lunch break! He made characters and gave them life. One page turned to a few. Revisions were made, how foolish he was at first! He formed and shaped his world. Add a little, take some away. Again, again!

    In time, his good time, he had it at last. A complete tale in full bloom! And it was beautiful, not because it was new or revolutionary or witty. But because it was his.


  • Look at how many arrests take place in the US. Basic googling gives me 10mil in 2019.

    People love to talk shit on how bad police departments are. So how many people got arrested and accused of something they truly didn’t do? Who’s gonna help them?

    That’s why. Their job is to provide pushback, to play devils advocate to make sure a case is more than just blind accusations. A defense attorney is there to keep a prosecution from turning into a witch hunt.



    1. Cheap. Why spend the high prices of the latest stuff when you can salvage old things for little to nothing. People will give you tons of outdated things if you ask nicely.

    2. Less wasteful. If you can keep old stuff going, you keep it out of a landfill. It also means less new production is needed. In other words…

    3. Says fuck you to corporations. Right to repair is a thorn in the side of many greedy business models that push cheaply made products made to be tossed and replaced over and over without a lot of improvement between iterations.

    4. It’s something to tinker with. Some people just want plug and play, but others want to rig up some crazy setups and keep them going just to challenge themselves and get bragging rights

    5. Vibes. Some people are into old school film cameras, or arcade cabinets, or classic cars, or retro fashion. Playing with relatively ancient technology is just another way of keeping the good parts of the past alive.


  • SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.workstomemes@lemmy.worldDent or Dust
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    29 days ago

    Bottom pic was my experience when I brought an old family laptop back from the dead. It had a broken hinge that made the built in keyboard and main body peel apart. It would take forever to do anything, especially after it “upgraded” to Windows 11.

    Wiped the os to put Linux Mint on it, plugged in a usb keyboard and it’s been doing great since!










  • You get orders to do a thing (“Blow up that orphanage soldier!”)

    You ask for clarification (“That looks like a civilian target, do you mean the outpost next to it?”)

    Get claification that confirms unlawful order (“No the orphanage full of kids, level it before the enemy uses it for cover.”)

    You are OBLIGATED BY YOUR DUTY TO INTERNATIONAL LAWS OF WAR to reject the order (“Negative, I cannot do that”) and to report others who obey unlawful orders, outside of your chain of command if neccesary (“Fine, I’ll get someone else to destroy it. You’re finished.”)

    Then you’ll likely be pulled from your unit, and face court matial where the situation will be investigated like most other court cases. (“There was an outpost nearby but the orphanage was not a legal target”)

    That’s how it’s supposed to work, but like most things we don’t live in a perfect world and things get messy when careers, commands, politics and reputations are on the line. (“The officer made a big mistake in the heat of combat, but we can’t have this make world news. Maybe we can just move him to a different unit and classify this whole ordeal…”)