MrsDoyle

Vibe coded lion:

I’m poised… might try a dual boot first.

They can’t convince me to switch to Win 11 because apparently my computer isn’t good enough.

My old dog went through the same thing - turned out his teeth were bad. Prior to that discovery one thing that worked for keeping his weight up was to cook his food myself. He liked chicken (necks are cheap and the bones aren’t dangerous) stewed up with pasta, rice or potatoes, and veg like peas and carrots; mincemeat ditto, with a bit of liver; ox heart and/or tongue also good but a bit gross. Offal is offally cheap, usually.

Important: Don’t use onion or garlic! They’re toxic for dogs.

Of course we remember Dolly! She was stuffed and is on display in the National Museum of Scotland.

A murmuration could do it

I’ve got Zorin on an old laptop and it is definitely easy. I’m going to try that .exe thing!

I like the Rebecca West quote: “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.”

Here’s an example of “mansplaining”: I’ve been beekeeping for close to ten years. A gentleman joined our group recently who has had maybe a few months’ experience. Wearing a brand new bee suit and gloves, he proceeded to tell me how to carry out a basic hive inspection. He was not assuming I shared his exact knowledge, he was assuming I knew even less than him.

The term mansplaining came about because it encapsulates a very common scenario. I know a few chaps who constantly explain stuff to me that I know a lot more about than they do, and in a very condescending way. One old codger even patted me on the head and said, “A young thing like you wouldn’t know about MS-DOS.” I bought my first computer in 1984.

I haven’t found mansplaining as prevalent among young men, I must say. They seem more open and egalitarian in their approach, more respectful. Though a friend told me, “It’s because you remind them of their granny.”

That’s so nice! I gave away a microwave, and the couple who took it brought along a little pot plant as a thank you.

I had a big heavy electric bike I used for my work commute, and once I retired it gradually morphed into a coat rack. I put it on Gumtree, a UK Craigslist equivalent, priced at £50 more than I actually wanted for it, which was well under half the price I’d paid. A full 27 SECONDS after I listed it, I had a buyer, and less than half an hour after that he was at my door. As expected, he offered £50 less than the listed price, and was delighted when I accepted. Bargain!

I noticed he’d come in a car, and wondered out loud if it had room for a big heavy bike. “No problem, it can fit loads!” As he wheeled the bike out the door, he realised just how heavy this big heavy bike was. But he forged on, managed to heave it into the car, and drove off a happy man.

Questions he didn’t ask: How old is this bike? (Seven years or so.) What’s the projected lifespan of the battery? (About another year.) How well is it holding a charge? (Not well at all.) How much is a replacement battery? (£200.)

I fully expected to hear back from him complaining about the big heavy lemon he’d just bought, but no. I guess he’s enjoying his new coat rack.

Vanuatu 🇻🇺

It’s got a boar’s tusk on it.

https://youtu.be/0Wf5nFbA_YM

My friends know not to ask me about bees. Ten-minute illustrated lecture guaranteed.

Famn, PugJesus beat me to it. I love you Pug!

I know this one!! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strigil

Neil Stephenson’s “In the Beginning… Was the Command Line” (1999) touches on this. He compares Microsoft to a station wagon vs Linux as a free tank. People keep buying the station wagon because no-one wants to learn how to drive a tank, even if it’s free. (Apple is a luxury car in his analogy.)

My first computer ran on MS-DOS, and I’ve seen Windows hiding DOS deeper and deeper behind the GUI. And now AI… ugh. I’ve been tinkering with Linux on old laptops so I’m ready for the move, it’s just finding the time.

It’s true. A friend asked for help on his new laptop and after a confusing conversation I realised he was upset because the web browser had “lost” his “bookmarks”. No, those aren’t bookmarks, those are shortcuts to your most recent web pages. Looks like you don’t have any bookmarks. Let me show you how to make a bookmark…

He’s not dumb or even inexperienced with tech, he just has a different mindset.

Yeah yeah, I will get round to it, stop bloody nagging me.