Nostr notes by abadidea

the two littlest creatures in the city ...

2026-05-28T18:51:18Z

the two littlest creatures in the city

genuine question: do you have concerns about the post after the ...

2026-05-16T13:52:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…khae
_________________________

genuine question: do you have concerns about the post after the initial fumble, because if it's just the initial fumbling of the framing, I wouldn't worry too much

after reading That rust PR, I can see what they were trying to ...

2026-05-16T10:47:38Z

after reading That rust PR, I can see what they were *trying* to say, but if you lead your big controversial post with “comments raising ethical or legal concerns will be moderated, technical concerns only” then absolutely the only thing anyone is going to talk about is the alarming ethical and legal concern they now have

to be sure, the reasons people believe untrue things are often ...

2026-04-19T07:30:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…nc4z
_________________________

to be sure, the reasons people believe untrue things are often very clearly downstream from lies told by politicians, billionaires etc who have both the means and motivation to intentionally shift the window.

but you can't take your mental state "I'm 100% confident it's a lie" and apply it to infer the motivations of others who have been persuaded, for reasons that make sense in their own frame of reference, to believe it.

as some of you know, I was raised in a fundamentalist proto-maga ...

2026-04-19T05:38:44Z

as some of you know, I was raised in a fundamentalist proto-maga environment, and so I have extensive first hand experience with cognitive dissonance and cult tactics

I wanted to point out that if someone wildly disagrees with you: they’re not lying. No matter how stupid or obviously wrong you think their take is, they’re not lying to you about what they believe; almost no-one does that.

To be clear, I’m not talking about national politicians or billionaires or obvious influence campaign bots. I’m talking about real, normal people that you know perfectly well are real, normal people but their take is so ridiculous or extreme to you that you feel tempted to conclude they’re lying.

There are real, actual reasons they believe those things and real, actual reasons they feel the need to tell you about it. If you can’t engage with that, you’ve not only already lost any chance of convincing them, but you’re setting yourself up to believe patently untrue things yourself, because you have taught yourself to shut down contrary thoughts with “they’re lying.”

accepting that the people I was told were agents of Satan *weren’t lying about their beliefs just to hurt me* is a big part of how I got out of fundamentalism.

I had a dream that there was this notorious crazy old rich lady ...

2026-04-17T04:58:56Z

I had a dream that there was this notorious crazy old rich lady with no heir she could respect, and on a whim she designated Matthew Garrett (npub1jpf…vqhj) specifically to receive her inheritance. Congratulations and please spend your newfound dream billions ethically

Odin was lying flat on the floor, disinterested in me petting ...

2026-04-14T12:23:12Z

Odin was lying flat on the floor, disinterested in me petting him. But then I gave my husband a hug and Odin sprang to his feet, dancing circles around us, wagging his tail.

And then he realized I’d want to sit back down and stole my spot again.

English-usage difference that will never stop tripping me up in ...

2026-04-14T11:51:05Z

English-usage difference that will never stop tripping me up in Europe:

"so, will this come by mail?"

"mail? no we can't mail it, it will come by post"

(they think I mean e-mail)

I’m glad you can laugh it off, I’d be having a breakdown

2026-04-10T08:27:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…8xck
_________________________

I’m glad you can laugh it off, I’d be having a breakdown

the current prime minister of NL is almost exactly one year older ...

2026-04-09T10:48:21Z

the current prime minister of NL is almost exactly one year older than me. I can barely keep up with taking care of myself and my dog. I will not be ready to run the country next year

good morning to boy with enormous cowlick ...

2026-04-09T08:16:08Z

good morning to boy with enormous cowlick

good morning to a boy who's thrilled that you're here. ...

2026-04-08T14:02:14Z

good morning to a boy who's thrilled that you're here.

a specter is haunting European bathrooms ...

2026-04-07T16:55:42Z

a specter is haunting European bathrooms

Company wide email last week: there is an emergency patch for ...

2026-04-07T11:57:44Z

Company wide email last week: there is an emergency patch for some software you’ve never heard of. Please update manually NOW; if it’s not patched by Tuesday, your machine will forcibly reboot.

Me: o software management portal of my work machine, is this software even installed, that I might update it?

portal: it’s not installed, no.

[Tuesday comes]

Your machine is going down NOW in the middle of the workday because you FAILED TO INSTALL THE PATCH, SINNER.

I do not have a sub or a free access link with which to read the ...

2026-04-07T06:51:08Z

I do not have a sub or a free access link with which to read the New Yorker article on whether Sam Altman is a habitual liar. But I can say this.

I was raised by a man who’d lie constantly. He’d promise me anything and everything, and there was always some last-second off-screen emergency that prevented it from being fulfilled. When I questioned why we were always broke if he made so much money, he assured me I just didn’t understand yet how expensive life really is; as an adult with less income and more mortgage who’s nonetheless in the black, I know it literally doesn’t add up.

Sam Altman triggers my instinctive disgust reflex. Every photo, every video, every voice clip fills me with an urge to either scream at him or get the fuck away. I don’t know this man. But I know his damage.

do you know off the top of your head which letter of the alphabet ...

2026-04-06T14:34:53Z

do you know off the top of your head which letter of the alphabet is meant by "The Scarlet Letter"?

[this isn't a "gotcha" or making any kind of point, I just idly wondered how many people do know]

⚠️IMPORTANT⚠️ I am going to mostly stop hashtagging ...

2026-04-06T13:53:20Z

⚠️IMPORTANT⚠️

I am going to mostly stop hashtagging Odin's photos, due to reasons. If you have been enjoying him through a tag, feel free to follow me; unfortunately sometimes I post about things other than Odin, but only sometimes...

#dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

I enjoy how this ancient Chinese poetry site presents its ...

2026-04-06T10:17:50Z

I enjoy how this ancient Chinese poetry site presents its recommended poems of the day like a social media site where all users are very, very wistful about plum blossoms

#classicalchinese

I think I need to stop hashtagging Odin’s photos because like ...

2026-04-05T20:20:10Z

I think I need to stop hashtagging Odin’s photos because like three times in a week I’ve gotten nonfollower reply guys who go over the post with a magnifying glass to find something they imagine is going on that isn’t going on and let me know that my dog is poorly behaved and/or I’m an abusive owner

Hello to Dutch intercity status board that is stuck saying the ...

2026-04-05T18:45:52Z

Hello to Dutch intercity status board that is stuck saying the next station is Nijmegen, which isn’t even a stop on this route. All is become Nijmegen, destroyer of destinations

Odin whined, whimpered and BEGGED this horse to play with him. ...

2026-04-05T12:46:57Z

Odin whined, whimpered and BEGGED this horse to play with him. The feeling was not entirely mutual

#dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon #horses

It’s so funny how absolutely overwhelmed with joy Odin is when ...

2026-04-05T08:54:21Z

It’s so funny how absolutely overwhelmed with joy Odin is when we get off at the station where my in-laws live. He tried to charge through the glass barriers around the ticket gate to get to the exit faster

good morning to PUBLIC TRANSPORT ODIN #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon ...

2026-04-05T06:48:28Z

good morning to PUBLIC TRANSPORT ODIN #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon #trains #publictransport

you: mastodon is dying me: the rate of keyword searching reply ...

2026-04-04T11:42:56Z

you: mastodon is dying

me: the rate of keyword searching reply guys who want to share their specific delusions with me certainly is on a healthy upwards trajectory

(in all seriousness, I get pretty much the same amount of engagarinos here as I ever did on twitter with a t)

it’s funny to me how much more often I hear “PGP (Pretty Good ...

2026-04-04T06:32:51Z

it’s funny to me how much more often I hear “PGP (Pretty Good Privacy)” on my husband’s Dutch-language news and legal podcasts than in the stuff I read about infosec and data privacy

there was a criminal gang here that used PGP on their phones (didn’t save them in the end) and the Dutch media REALLY latched onto it as a term for “encryption that’s good enough that you can’t simply Law your way through it”

extremely mad because my relative in American prison has let me ...

2026-04-03T14:15:12Z

extremely mad because my relative in American prison has let me know that from now on, instead of being charged once per book or per song and having the files added permanently to his account, he's going to ALSO be charged by the minute to read or listen to music on the tablets that are the only things they're allowed to use.

reminder that paying prisoners (vastly) less than minimum wage is legal in the US because they're defined as an exception to anti-slavery laws.

I collected several of my "New Internet Translations" of ...

2026-04-03T13:31:34Z

I collected several of my "New Internet Translations" of Classical Chinese passages in the style of social media posts onto one page. https://xn--hmr.net/classicalchinese/livinginternet/

#classicalchinese #translation #philosophy #localization

“Do not underestimate small problems: one crack can sink a ...

2026-04-03T11:24:27Z

“Do not underestimate small problems: one crack can sink a ship. Do not underestimate small creatures: one fly can poison you. Do not underestimate the small-minded: one petty fool can plunder a nation.”

attributed to Guan Yinzi, the gate guard who allegedly stopped Laozi as he was abandoning civilization and got him to write down the Dao; translation mine. https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=280050#sid20

#classicalchinese #philosophy #subtweet

today I have made for you a New Living Internet translation of ...

2026-04-03T10:39:36Z

today I have made for you a New Living Internet translation of Confucius:

The Master said: Do not make haste, do not chase small profits. Moving fast is how you break things, and optimizing for engagement is how you never ship a real product.

original: https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=1422#sid10022584

#classicalchinese #translation #philosophy

if you have avoided updating an iOS device because of some ...

2026-04-03T10:18:10Z

if you have avoided updating an iOS device because of some combination of hating the new UI or age verification nonsense, please be aware that a critical security patch has been back-ported to iOS 18 so you can install just the patch without a full upgrade. SCROLL DOWN on the Updates tab to find it, if it’s available to you.

just got a fascinating email trying to hire me as a consultant ...

2026-04-02T18:49:18Z

just got a fascinating email trying to hire me as a consultant for my expertise in treating, uh, aortic stenosis

IT'S HAPPENING GITHUB, THE FIRST ENTERPRISE CLOUD SOLUTION TO ...

2026-04-02T09:07:56Z

IT'S HAPPENING

GITHUB, THE FIRST ENTERPRISE CLOUD SOLUTION TO REACH ZERO NINES RELIABILITY

https://mrshu.github.io/github-statuses/

#github

ingeburgerd status: snipped in proper Dutch at some kids throwing ...

2026-04-02T08:18:48Z

ingeburgerd status: snipped in proper Dutch at some kids throwing their trash in the canal: “boys, next time, there is a public trash can over there”

Always remember: Odin absolutely could fuck you up, he just ...

2026-04-01T19:48:37Z

Always remember: Odin absolutely could fuck you up, he just doesn’t want to #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

[THIS IS A SELF-DISCLOSING, GOOD FAITH APRIL FOOL'S SENSIBLE ...

2026-04-01T07:41:38Z

[THIS IS A SELF-DISCLOSING, GOOD FAITH APRIL FOOL'S SENSIBLE CHUCKLE]

please enjoy the paper I wrote last year that is going to redefine history and linguistics as we know them as soon as anyone can stop laughing long enough to finish reading it: The Utterly Unhinged Elamo-Minoan Hypothesis

on academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/128559713/The_Utterly_Unhinged_Elamo_Minoan_Hypothesis_April_Fools_

direct raw pdf: https://0xabad1dea.github.io/bin/Utterly-Unhinged-Elamo-Minoan-Hypothesis.pdf

[YOU CAUGHT THAT I SAID THIS IS A HAHA FUNNY FOR APRIL FOOL'S, RIGHT?]

#linguistics #history

[repost from 2022] them: so we’re an Italian restaurant me: yes ...

2026-03-31T13:46:22Z

[repost from 2022]

them: so we’re an Italian restaurant

me: yes

them: in a Dutch city

me uh-huh

them: though a lot of people around here speak English

me: with you so far

them: that’s why it says “orange juice” in French

#dutch #netherlands

One thing that I like about Amsterdam is that our neighborhood ...

2026-03-31T08:37:46Z

One thing that I like about Amsterdam is that our neighborhood has its own gardener — the same, specific guy, paid by the city to putter around and take care of all the trees, bushes and flowers on public land.

And most land is public land! A lot of green space that would legally be the private property of the nearest building in the US is public in Amsterdam.
#amsterdam

Happy Trans Day of Visibility to everyone who deserves a ...

2026-03-31T07:49:28Z

Happy Trans Day of Visibility to everyone who deserves a glamorous spotlight for embracing a better future for themselves 🕯️

and separately, happy abadidea day of visibility to me (it’s my birthday)(and to everyone’s perpetual confusion, I’m not trans) 🎂

We’ve had a houseguest for a few days who slept in my usual ...

2026-03-31T06:43:42Z

We’ve had a houseguest for a few days who slept in my usual bed, which meant Odin was kept away from it because not all of us are so accustomed to dog hair

The guest just left for the train station; Odin sadly watched him close the front door, pondered for a few seconds, and then leapt up on my bed. #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

I’m so white that I ordered spicy broth and the waiter said no ...

2026-03-30T15:57:07Z

I’m so white that I ordered spicy broth and the waiter said no 😭

In the end we compromised on him giving me plain broth and the spice on a side dish so I could “mix in a spoonful”

Aldi clearance shelf: instant drink powder!! 🩷Pink Latte🩷 ...

2026-03-30T11:30:28Z

Aldi clearance shelf: instant drink powder!! 🩷Pink Latte🩷

me: okay, notoriously hit-or-miss Aldi clearance shelf, I'll try it

(I pour the powder into the mug. it is clearly white) not looking good for the Aldi clearance shelf

(I add hot water. it somehow turns bright pink) okay, I retract my thoughts about the Aldi clearance shelf

(I taste it) I reinstate some of my thoughts about the Aldi clearance shelf.

My European husband made a wisecrack about American history all ...

2026-03-29T17:22:14Z

My European husband made a wisecrack about American history all being very recent while there’s an Australian at the table, oh come on cut me some slack just this once 🥲

🎵 ohhh, time to lick aaaapple 🎵 #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon ...

2026-03-29T07:51:51Z

🎵 ohhh, time to lick aaaapple 🎵

#dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

NINETY DAYS NINETY INCIDENTS NINETY PERCENT YOU PAID FOR ALL FIVE ...

2026-03-28T21:20:46Z

NINETY DAYS

NINETY INCIDENTS

NINETY PERCENT

YOU PAID FOR ALL FIVE NINES BUT YOU’LL ONLY NEED THE EDGE

#github

It has been 0️⃣ days since a lady yelled at me because my dog ...

2026-03-28T11:09:32Z

It has been 0️⃣ days since a lady yelled at me because my dog was off-lead in the off-lead dog park for letting dogs off-lead

She said it was because her (on-lead) dog was injured and like. If another dog approaching yours for a friendly sniff is an acute medical risk, why did you bring them HERE

(Odin *does* have a problem where when he’s off-lead, he ignores you when you tell him it’s time to stop and come back; I’ve been trying to improve this. But he didn’t *do* anything harmful or dangerous.)

Pictured: the friendly sniff criminal, at the dog cafe in the dog park for dogs #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

We have a houseguest, and Odin’s in heaven about it. More human ...

2026-03-28T08:55:49Z

We have a houseguest, and Odin’s in heaven about it. More human per house to give him attention!

Just got jump scared by a jump scare that I programmed myself in ...

2026-03-27T20:05:25Z

Just got jump scared by a jump scare that I programmed myself in a story I wrote myself

fifteen thousand followers 🎉🎉🎉 fourteen thousand of ...

2026-03-26T08:51:41Z

fifteen thousand followers 🎉🎉🎉

fourteen thousand of which are only here for Odin

#dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

enjoyed this telnetd analysis. (if you can’t believe anyone has ...

2026-03-25T05:56:26Z

enjoyed this telnetd analysis. (if you can’t believe anyone has a legitimate operational reason to run telnet, you live in a cozy world indeed) https://labs.watchtowr.com/a-32-year-old-bug-walks-into-a-telnet-server-gnu-inetutils-telnetd-cve-2026-32746/

Odin has no idea why mommy's acting so traumatized tonight ...

2026-03-24T18:49:30Z

Odin has no idea why mommy's acting so traumatized tonight (it's because I already had a phobia of crossing streets and I can't stop thinking about how a crime getaway car screeched around the corner right as I was leading Odin into the street) but he's being very sweet and lying across my feet

View from a normal full size adult dinner table, upon which there ...

2026-03-24T14:39:08Z

View from a normal full size adult dinner table, upon which there are steaks

#dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

in 1873, a relatively minor professional artist named Viktor ...

2026-03-24T09:53:29Z

in 1873, a relatively minor professional artist named Viktor Hartmann died suddenly in his 30s. As part of his memorial, an exhibition of his paintings was held, including his winning design proposal for a new "Great Gate of Kiev" which was never actually built.

Most of those paintings have since been lost, and no-one knows what they looked like. And yet you do know: you've heard them.

The memorial exhibition was attended by Viktor's grieving friend, Modest Mussorgsky. Modest walked slowly through the exhibition, which included drawings that Viktor had given to him personally, and went home and sat down at his piano. He composed one of the world's most famous pieces of music.

"Pictures at an Exhibition" is paintings we can't see and a gate that was never built, made known to us by a grieving musician.

complete recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwJMpQiqCm4

full context for the grieving orchid: https://xkcd.com/1259/

#classicalmusic

I’m so glad my baby boy found a babygirl who thinks it’s fun ...

2026-03-23T09:54:40Z

I’m so glad my baby boy found a babygirl who thinks it’s fun when he crashes into her #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

the rate at which internet people I know from all over the world ...

2026-03-22T15:36:04Z

the rate at which internet people I know from all over the world just kind of Show Up in Amsterdam is incredible

Nostr event nevent1qqst66gv37a4qn4u93esjmemaxy3ltfxww7hyd2gv47shqjfns8j86gzyz06edfhyqjy6ckxvtpscs3admp6xtwasj2l8puxzz58jvxqsvu75ql378f

2026-03-22T09:53:11Z

Odin got more royal pets from the royal anti-terrorism task force

chiptune-style "Persian March" by Johann Strauss (you ...

2026-03-22T08:13:24Z

chiptune-style "Persian March" by Johann Strauss (you might guess that it's not particularly authentic, but it is a bop) #music #classicalmusic
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/116/271/815/683/007/652/original/a9b2292088ba67ea.mp3

the chairs are lower than average but normal human size, my dog ...

2026-03-21T12:20:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…vchu
_________________________

the chairs are lower than average but normal human size, my dog is just bigger than the average human adult

Boy who already got his share but is patiently waiting for mommy ...

2026-03-21T11:09:12Z

Boy who already got his share but is patiently waiting for mommy to decide she doesn’t want hers #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

there’s a church in Leiden where they ran out of stonework ...

2026-03-21T07:06:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…h3yd
_________________________

there’s a church in Leiden where they ran out of stonework budget and finished it with a wooden tower, to be replaced at earliest convenience.

it’s been hundreds of years and it’s still wood.

what every artist wants: layer 1 layer 2 layer 3 what every ...

2026-03-20T15:22:49Z

what every artist wants:

layer 1
layer 2
layer 3

what every software gives:
layer 1
layer 1 copy
layer 1 copy copy

this educational series is engaging but has a poorly calibrated ...

2026-03-20T13:00:53Z

this educational series is engaging but has a poorly calibrated difficulty curve towards the end

Ali Express scores: I got this massive tome of major Classical ...

2026-03-19T17:09:39Z

Ali Express scores: I got this massive tome of major Classical Chinese texts for $6. No footnotes, no commentary, no hints in modern language, just 700 pages of public domain text #classicalchinese #aliexpressfinds

Odin down at the pond Unfortunately, he’s looking so alert ...

2026-03-19T10:31:42Z

Odin down at the pond

Unfortunately, he’s looking so alert because a dog who’s picked a fight with him before just trotted around the corner and stopped dead in its tracks. Odin clearly remembered, because he actually growled, which he’s done like twice in his life.

We were able to break them up safely

#dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

Mila x Odin 4ever #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon ...

2026-03-18T16:16:52Z

Mila x Odin 4ever #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

I opened a technical blog post and left the tab to read later, ...

2026-03-18T12:29:26Z

I opened a technical blog post and left the tab to read later, only to discover it was choking the browser to death with a sudoku-solving neural network embedded as a proof of concept ballooning to 5GB

the Retropals somehow dug up the absolute worst, least fun, most ...

2026-03-18T10:36:00Z

the Retropals somehow dug up the absolute worst, least fun, most passive-aggressive edutainment software I have ever seen. It kept throwing absolutely absurdly torturous sentences that no human would ever say at the player to grammatically correct, and after several mistakes it starts telling you off, in recorded audio, about how bad you are at grammar and how deserving you are of punishment. That sounds like a parody but afaict it was serious

https://www.twitch.tv/retropals/clip/AlertFlirtyEagleNerfBlueBlaster-beLeXQjhEOKaYm57

good morning to the entity #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon ...

2026-03-18T08:54:59Z

good morning to the entity #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

#gloryinthethunder #lego #dlss #dlss5 ...

2026-03-17T13:52:50Z

#gloryinthethunder #lego #dlss #dlss5

To compensate for the mood of my other posts, please enjoy Odin ...

2026-03-16T17:20:32Z

To compensate for the mood of my other posts, please enjoy Odin getting a carrot and immediately making an ungodly mess #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

Dog. dog. I love my dog #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon ...

2026-03-16T14:28:17Z

Dog. dog. I love my dog #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

we’ve had two low-grade terrorist incidents in our neighborhood ...

2026-03-16T10:05:00Z

we’ve had two low-grade terrorist incidents in our neighborhood in ~24 hours. A small explosion at a Jewish school, and a small explosion at an American bank (explicitly claimed immediately by some group as an anti-American statement). I live in a very Jewish neighborhood, which to be clear is not the one marked “Jewish quarter” on maps, due to Reasons within the last century you can reason about

Amsterdam is still one of the safest cities in the world, and certainly it’s not about to become a war zone or anything. But I’m a little disturbed and worried.

Good morning to a brave little dog Odin also got belly rubs from ...

2026-03-16T08:58:21Z

Good morning to a brave little dog

Odin also got belly rubs from a tourist family.

#dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

it seems that every time I call out sick from work, the process ...

2026-03-16T07:47:24Z

it seems that every time I call out sick from work, the process to do so Correctly has changed and they’re baffled that I did it the way they told me to do it last time

And I get sick more often than most people, so the timeline here really is not reasonable.

would you believe that tonight is the first time Odin has ever ...

2026-03-15T21:08:47Z

would you believe that tonight is the first time Odin has ever knocked over the trash can and started digging around? I guess the chicken my husband made was just sinfully good

my husband just came in here and said "distims your doshes, ...

2026-03-14T21:10:33Z

my husband just came in here and said "distims your doshes, refuses to elaborate, leaves" and left

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

#linguistics

yes. the original Classical Chinese is pretty simple and ...

2026-03-14T14:46:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…veu2
_________________________

yes. the original Classical Chinese is pretty simple and straightforward (if it is your native idiom; it's very thou-sayest-thus to modern Chinese readers) and largely common sense, including "have you considered NOT going to war? it's usually the dumbest thing you could do"

the cover design isn't at all inappropriate; the original ...

2026-03-14T14:39:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…ywjw
_________________________

the cover design isn't at all inappropriate; the original intended audience was not (as many modern people suppose) experienced, battle-hardened lords who wanted to refine their technique to perfection, but twelve-year-olds who were gonna inherit daddy's army one day and needed it hammered into their heads "look Junior, I know that food has always just magically appeared on your plate without you thinking about where it came from, but if you don't take care of the logistics of feeding your army they will literally kill you and bring the enemy your head as a peace offering"

The difference between my English and Chinese copies of The Art ...

2026-03-14T14:21:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…2huq
_________________________

The difference between my English and Chinese copies of The Art of War never stops being funny.

#classicalchinese

Three years of scrounging on Ali Express #classicalchinese ...

2026-03-14T13:31:36Z

Three years of scrounging on Ali Express #classicalchinese #aliexpressfinds #shelfie

Odin got thoroughly Mila’d. he’s currently sitting in my room ...

2026-03-13T16:38:05Z

Odin got thoroughly Mila’d. he’s currently sitting in my room panting with a stupid grin of contentment #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

Good morning to dog #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon ...

2026-03-13T10:07:50Z

Good morning to dog #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

Good news, gospel and glad tidings, for Odin is real #dog #dogs ...

2026-03-12T11:09:30Z

Good news, gospel and glad tidings, for Odin is real

#dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

Odin likes to go out on the balcony and watch the world go by, ...

2026-03-11T16:48:06Z

Odin likes to go out on the balcony and watch the world go by, but it's still too cold to leave the door open.

He knows he can bark at any time to be let back in, but Odin is so disinclined to bark that he'll first try looking sadly through the window for five or ten minutes hoping someone will notice him

my boys #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon #husbandsofmastodon ...

2026-03-11T12:59:44Z

my boys

#dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon #husbandsofmastodon

how it started / how it’s going March 6th 2024 / March 10th ...

2026-03-10T19:23:47Z

how it started / how it’s going

March 6th 2024 / March 10th 2026

#dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

terribly amused because a man on the street remarked that Odin ...

2026-03-09T16:32:29Z

terribly amused because a man on the street remarked that Odin looks just like the dog of <Dutch TV celebrity>. That’d be Odin’s full-blooded litter brother. <Dutch TV celebrity> was at the adoption party and held Odin as a puppy

Huh. So in NL, they mail everyone who’s eligible to vote a ...

2026-03-09T10:18:31Z

Huh. So in NL, they mail everyone who’s eligible to vote a ticket to show at the door. My husband got one and I assumed I obviously wouldn’t get one because I’m not yet a citizen.

But I did get one! For the “neighborhood commission.” Just how low-stakes is it, that they invited the American? 😅

Cool History Fact of the night Before woodblock printing (which ...

2026-03-08T21:52:36Z

Cool History Fact of the night

Before woodblock printing (which was extensively used in China well before the west), there was a very clever, effective way to mass-reproduce the most important texts.

A few different times in imperial China, stone tablets of the most important books were commissioned. Anyone could walk up and look at them, but more importantly: anyone could lay a wet piece of paper over them and then gently rub ink over the paper, which would create a copy of white text on a black background.(And unlike printing, nothing needs to be done backwards.)

And if you were a famous enough calligrapher, you'd be asked to write onto a stone so someone else could chisel out your handwriting exactly, and then copies could be mass-reproduced as teaching examples.

(and I'm fascinated by how the stone fragment here is 1800 years old but the writing style is already extremely legible to me. It still uses the X-style 五 but is otherwise very Normal)

#classicalchinese #typography #printing #handwriting

the Chinese word for orchid 兰 is pronounced lán and is used to ...

2026-03-08T14:59:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…l70l
_________________________

the Chinese word for orchid 兰 is pronounced lán and is used to transcribe the “-land” morpheme in names such as “Finland”, for those countries which China doesn’t interact with much directly and so imported the English name. (They don’t use it for England itself — they use 国 guó which is historically more like“kingdom”)

Boy who heard mommy having a painful coughing fit and knocked her ...

2026-03-07T19:22:25Z

Boy who heard mommy having a painful coughing fit and knocked her over to lick her throat a few hundred times #dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

I'm poking through an old blog where something has gone wrong ...

2026-03-07T16:47:55Z

I'm poking through an old blog where something has gone wrong with the CSS and emoji images are being loaded not at text size but as unstyled SVGs which expand to the size of the container, and it REALLY adds something to the good ol' passive-aggressive friendly smile

sure, like most webpages, this one defaulted to sending me to ...

2026-03-07T12:11:01Z

sure, like most webpages, this one defaulted to sending me to Hell, but it's refreshingly honest about it

I am very sick and Odin is a very good, sweet, attentive boy who ...

2026-03-06T16:28:20Z

I am very sick and Odin is a very good, sweet, attentive boy who isn’t sure yet whether the thermometer is candy or a toy but mommy puts it in her mouth either way so it must be good

He climbed on top of me and started licking my overheated ear while I was writing this.

#dog #dogs #dogsofmastodon

Linguists: writing like this (superfluously mixing three ...

2026-03-06T14:14:00Z

Linguists: writing like this (superfluously mixing three languages in one fucking sentence!) does not make you seem like some sort of linguini houdini. It makes you seem utterly unable to communicate

#linguistics

RE: https://mastodon.nl/@at5RSSbot/116175863915781051 There’s ...

2026-03-05T09:38:55Z

RE: https://mastodon.nl/@at5RSSbot/116175863915781051

There’s no school in Amsterdam today because Extinction Rebellion glued all the doors shut 😅

quoting
note1l2u…na0x

XR blokkeert deuren middelbare scholen: lesuitval bij IVKO, Halsema noemt actie 'belachelijk' | https://www.at5.nl/artikelen/237174/xr-blokkeert-deuren-middelbare-scholen-lesuitval-bij-ivko-halsema-noemt-actie-belachelijk | 🕗08:10 | #at5 #amsterdam

yes and they're the most annoying member of it.

2026-03-04T19:37:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…dzdl
_________________________

yes and they're the most annoying member of it.

The ISP says if they can't get access to every hookup in the ...

2026-03-04T19:23:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…65mh
_________________________

The ISP says if they can't get access to every hookup in the building then nobody is getting fiber.

several months ago, a personal container of cocaine was found in ...

2026-03-04T19:13:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…4r5z
_________________________

several months ago, a personal container of cocaine was found in the lobby. I didn't worry/care about whose stupid cocaine it was. But I am now envisioning that the bad neighbor is so defensive because they have an apartment absolutely crammed to the gills with cocaine. so much cocaine that they can't possibly hide it from a 20yo technician who has fifty-seven more apartments to connect today. they'll open the utility closet and be crushed by cocaine

multiple replies suggesting it's a sex dungeon and if ...

2026-03-04T18:58:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…hlc7
_________________________

multiple replies suggesting it's a sex dungeon and if that's ACTUALLY what they're hung up about that's incredibly funny because we literally live IN AMSTERDAM, THE PUBLIC SEX DUNGEON CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

the fiber optic technicians specifically said they must do ...

2026-03-04T18:52:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…29jc
_________________________

the fiber optic technicians specifically said they must do something in every apartment or there's no point in doing anything in any of them. (I don't know what/why.)