Reblogged
there’s a friday ass vibe about this wednesday boys keep your wits about you
mae 'na ffwc o deimlad dydd gwener am y dydd mercher hwn bois peidiwch â cholli'ch pennau
Reblogged ilarual
I've recently learned that escaping enshitification is actually really easy. When I was younger I would use FOSS (free and open source software) because I usually couldn't afford anything else. Back then the paid options were usually significantly better than the unpaid options so when I finally got money I started using the paid stuff and completely forgot that Foss existed.
If you don't know why Foss is awesome its not just that its free. Open source software has a huge set of advantages. Most software is proprietary meaning that its code cannot be viewed by other people. Open source softwares code can be viewed by everyone and people can contribute their own code to make it better. Open source is often more secure than proprietary because more people have more eyes on it and more people have contributed to it's security. Its also easy to know how much privacy you have with every software because you can read the code. No more "trust me bro I'm not harvesting and selling your data" you know if they are collecting and selling because the code is publicly available.
In the last two months I have been switching almost completely to Foss. I was worried at first because when I stopped using Foss over 10 years ago the average Foss software was genuinely worse than the paid proprietary alternative. Thankfully things have really come full circle. 90℅ of the software I have tried in the last 2 months works better than the proprietary alternative and is 100℅ less obnoxious.
So here is a list of every Foss software I have tried and recommend. There is way more than this available. This list is just what I have used and like personally. Anyone can feel free to add and we can turn it into a master list. Please just take these as a place to start and do your own research to see if these softwares will work for your use case before you fully ditch your proprietary software.
Operating systems
Graphene os: android alt. Security and privacy focused. The most secure and private smartphone currently available.
Linux mint: easy to use linux, 100℅ better than windows.
Pop!: The Linux distro you should use if you have nividia hardware and want to play games using said hardware. Very intuitive and easy to use.
Kubuntu: Ubuntu Linux with KDE desktop. This is the linux distro one I am currently using and I don't have any plans to jump ship again. Better than windows and better than Mac. The companion app for your phone makes life soooo easy. Its pretty and easy to customize to a ridiculously granular level. No fucking notes.
Kindle jailbreak- ko reader: use jailbreak to free your kindle from the tyranny of the bezos. It will download ko reader which is a Foss OS that has every fucking feature you always wished kindle had and let's you read whatever the fuck you want, and have whatever the screensaver you want (no more ads!). Soooo fuck amazon and use this. I genuinely cannot recommend it enough.
Linux FOSS: (some available on windows and android as well)
Calibre: Foss desktop eBook library. Packed with features. You will want to use this with koreader to make managing your kindle easy.
Manuscript: skrivner alt. Does absolutely everything I need.
Bitwarden: password manager (use a keepass fork if you want self hosted)
Next cloud: private google drive and cloud alternative that you can self host if you want but it's not required. App available
Proton VPN: to the best of my knowledge it is the only Foss no log VPN you can get. You can pay for higher speeds. App available
Quad9dns: free encrypted DNS provider. App available.
News software:
Use any Foss RSS reader and for the love of god stop getting news from social media. Take control of your feed!
Apps (I only know for android)
Fdroid: great app store to find Foss android apps and download them.
Antennapod: you can get all of your podcasts fetched to one feature rich app via RSS feed. No need to rely on spotify or music steaming services.
Openreads: it's good reads but private and 100℅ stored locally. No amazon, no social media aspect, it just tracks your reading, you can import your good reads but if you want to import from storygraph you have to make a good reads burner account, import to good reads, then import to openreads. The menus Navigation on this one is a bit cumbersome but honestly good reads app is worse.
Newpipe: YouTube frontend that let's you have YouTube subscriptions, watch YouTube in the background, and blocks all ads, without logging in to YouTube. You will want to use this one with a VPN set to Canada (or any other country) so YouTube doesn't keep blocking it in order to force you to sign in. But even with that extra step its worth it for the privacy and the lack of ads.
Proton mail: one of 2 more private gmail alts. But you should note that email cannot be 100℅ anonymous or private.
I think that's it. There are still a lot software varieties I am slowly finding.
LibreOffice is a FOSS Office suite that can handle word docs, spreadsheets, presentations and databases.
I know people get mad at the name, and I understand why, but straight-up I've been using GIMP for 15 years and it's a good solid art program made under the GNU program. It's worth a look.
To add:
Blender is an amazing FOSS suite for 3D modeling and animation, as well as digital sculpting and motion tracking. Pros use it. It’s a staple in game development. It’s what the Academy Award winning film “Flow” was made on. It’s not the bland name alternative to an industry standard; it is an industry standard.
Krita is a fantastic FOSS application for digital painting. Everyone I’ve ever talked to who uses it has loved it to death.
OBS is the absolute go-to choice for screen recording and live streaming. You can use it to record your entire desktop or a specific window, capture audio from multiple sources, and even add overlays, webcam feeds, or transitions to your videos.
VLC Media Player is the best media player, hands down. It’s lightweight, it’s reliable, it supports virtually every audio and video format known to man, and it has built in media conversion and even basic editing. I truly can’t imagine why anyone would use a media player that isn’t this one. It’s just the best there is, easily, no contest.
Audacity is a fantastic multi-track audio editor and recorder. It’s free and it’s good, and podcasters love it for a reason.
And believe it or not, Thunderbird is a really good email client now. I’m not even joking. If you used it back in the day and hated it, please give it another chance, because the glow up is unreal.
Reblogged chapeldean
bigandlong
If you see this on your dashboard, reblog this, NO MATTER WHAT and all your dreams and wishes will come true.
Oh hey! Haven’t seen this in forever! Didn’t reblog it when it came across me before, not gonna skip it this time, I need some good vibes.
Reblogged frog-girlfriend
Reblogged strange---beauty
Today’s the day
It’s the day!!
Reblogged teaboot
i saw someone say nobody needs to know what a .txt file is anymore. what the fuck is the world coming to
unironically i think we need to bring back computer labs because APPARENTLY some people WERENT taught basic computer literacy and internet safety in school
things about computers/the internet i think kids should be formally taught in schools because theyre important to know and the amount of soon to be grown adults i know who know NOTHING about any of these is quite frankly almost all of them (and resources to learn if you dont know these things, because its never to late to get better with computers)
- how to troubleshoot by yourself when you have a technical problem
- what common file types are
- some very basics on how to use ""developer tools"" on your computer (because i cant think of a better way to refer to them) like task manager and command prompt (and their mac equivalents, terminal and activity monitor ofc)
- how to read and understand a privacy policy and what your personal data is, as well as what it being collected actually means and steps you can take to keep it private
- how to understand terms of service (hey. if you have trouble with reading legalese and worry about being able to understand these policies anyways, here's a site that gives basic summaries of privacy policies and ToS)
- what a cookie actually is
- internet privacy and your digital footprint!! seriously i dont know why we stopped teaching people that they shouldnt be putting their entire real identity online in a world where your online actions can ruin you irl
- basic safety measures like antivirus software (and why you should use it or if the built in one on windows or mac is enough for you) and backing up your computer (also a mac guide)
- common keyboard shortcuts (and on mac)
as an additional note: things i think everyone should know on computers and the internet but schools may bit hesitant to teach about for whatever moral/legal standards schools pretend to operate on
- vpns and adblockers! (btw for most of these where you can pay for things im purposefully not recommending any specific software but seriously just use ublock origin for an adblocker)
- how to not get a virus while pirating something
- what a temporary email is and when to use one
- red flags that you shouldn't trust a website (and how to quickly check the security of a site)
- what javascript on a website does and how to disable it to get around paywalls
ok one last addition! if you want to take it one level higher, i think learning the very basics of at least one programming language is good for people. it makes computers less scary and it makes you feel very cool, and a lot of people get discouraged about it because it seems overly complicated and hard to learn outside a formal classroom setting, so heres some resources for learning the very basics of python (because i consider it the easiest language to learn and knowing one language will make it easier to learn others)
- an online compiler so you dont need to download anything or worry about running code directly on your computer if that makes you nervous
- a basic video guide to introduce you to python and walk you through beginner steps
- a guide to some syntax and commands you should know (this was literally my lifeline in my first CS class)
- some performance tasks to give you things to code to practice and assess yourself
Reblogged wanderingcas
Sorry I’m late I was obsessing over herb spirals
Oh my god I know what I want to do with the rest of my summer
Doooooo iiiiiiiit I’m having a blast
A half dozen of the bricks keep falling off and I think a chipmunk is nesting in it
But I have at least two jalapeños and the oregano is spreading out like woah and the lavender and snapdragon and and butterfly bush are putting out so many flowers
poisonedgreentea-deactivated202
This is cute as fuck yes I need this
Yes good do it! Remember to take breaks and stretch so you don’t wink your back when you’re building it!
Reblogged strange---beauty
At least there’s one thing I can count on in this crazy mixed up world
oh there he is
Reblogged strange---beauty
bigenderweed
everyone make sure to set out cheese & crackers for neil tonight <3
Reblogged kimmycup
historicaltimes
50 years ago the Welsh mining village of Aberfan was engulfed by a coal tip landslide. The local primary school was directly in its path
via reddit
It seems quite careless, and extremely unprofessional, to place that waste where it was, as if no one could foresee this inevitable outcome.
So, the 50th anniversary of Aberfan is this Friday (21st October), and this comment about how careless and unprofessional it was to place the waste there when it was so obviously foreseeable epitomises exactly the tragic legacy of Aberfan.
Things you should know about this disaster:
- Those coal tips that you can see in the picture above were dotted all over the landscape in the ‘60s. Mining was Wales’ primary industry, and nearly every South Wales town was essentially built around its colliery. It was commonly said that without the pits, there would be no towns. These mines were regulated by the National Coal Board, a government institution. At the time, devolution had not happened in Wales, and all Welsh issues were governed by one department, the Welsh Office, which was an office of the British government based in Cardiff.
- The tips that dominated the landscape near Aberfan were terribly placed. The man who was responsible for choosing their location was not given any training in how to determine where to tip the coal waste, and unfortunately he decided to use an area which was notorious for its underground springs. It flooded all the time, and local children would play in the springs, which were visible on all the Ordinance Survey maps of the time. They weren’t secret.
- In 1963, a spoil heap tipped into a valley, causing massive damage but luckily not killing anyone. After this, it was recommended that all mines conducted a review into their spoil heaps, examining every one and reporting back to the central body with comments about its safety. This was not done at Aberfan because the two men responsible for doing so didn’t get along, and didn’t want to work with each other on the report.
- In the years before 1966, local councillors and villagers consistently raised concerns about the location of the spoil heap behind the school in Aberfan, given the fact that Tip 7 was on the top of a hill behind the school and was on top of an underground spring. These warnings were repeatedly ignored.
- At 9:15am on 21st October 1966, the underground spring underneath Tip 7 caused the coal to become slurry; a thick liquid coal. Unable to bear the weight of the solid coal at the top, the bottom of the spoil heap Tip 7 collapsed, tipping 40,000 cubic metres of slurry and debris onto the village, directly on top of Pantglas Junior School. It also destroyed a water pipe, flooding the town and hindering rescue efforts. 116 children (half of the children at the school) were killed, either drowned or suffocated, as well as 5 teachers. The total death toll of the disaster was 144. Every single street had a bereaved family. Half a generation was lost.
- In the wake of the disaster, which to date is the largest disaster involving children in the UK, a charitable fund was raised by the public which amounted to £1.6mil. In today’s money, the amount raised would be £27.8mil. This money was supposed to be used to rebuild the community at Aberfan and to provide care for the injured and traumatised children who had survived. Some parents were asked to prove the extent to which they had suffered after their children’s death in order to have access to compensation from this fund.
- A tribunal, set up almost immediately, found that the National Coal Board was responsible for the disaster. The NCB’s defence was that the disaster had been ‘unforeseeable’, despite the knowledge of the springs, the previous tips, and the warnings from locals and miners. The tribunal dismissed this and found that the NCB was at fault because it hadn’t trained its staff in how to tip safely, and had repeatedly ignored the warning signs - of which there were many - of the disaster. 9 individuals were named in the report as being at fault. None was disciplined. All kept their jobs.
- Afterwards, the villagers of Aberfan began a campaign to get the remaining spoil heaps removed. The government refused, saying that it would be too expensive. Despite being found liable, the NCB refused to pay for the removal. Eventually, the villagers stormed the Welsh government buildings at Cardiff after they arrived and were refused permission to speak to anyone. Armed with bags of slurry from the remaining tips, they dumped them into the government offices, suggesting that the government might like to live with the slurry instead.
- Eventually, the head of the NCB, fed up with the villagers asking him to pay for the disaster for which he had been found wholly responsible, decided that he needed to take money from the Aberfan Disaster fund. He took £150,000 (10% of the entire total of the money raised) and used it to remove the spoil heaps, with the support of the government.
- In 2007, the Welsh Assembly repaid £2mil in order to compensate the fund for the amount requisitioned by the NCB. The fund is still in use today, and mostly deals with the psychological trauma of the current residents. The fund was also used to build a community centre near one of the residential streets where the slurry also fell, and a memorial garden on the site of the former school.
- This is the graveyard at Aberfan. The arched graves are for the children who died in the disaster.
(Photo from here)
I went back to Aberfan today and I’d like to add a few things:
- Apparently, there was some discussion in the government as to the amount of compensation each bereaved family should receive. Some government officials were worried that, as residents of a low income and working class area, the local people would be unable to deal with receiving large amounts of money and would not spend it on their children, and should therefore receive smaller payments.
- Parents were accused by NCB insurers of trying to ‘capitalise’ on their children’s death when they expressed dismay at the offer of £500 compensation (£9,380 in today’s money), which had been raised from an initial offer of £50 (£938 today.)
- Half of the survivors of the disaster have experienced PTSD. Survivors of Aberfan have been found to be three times as likely to live with PTSD as other adults in a comparison group who had also experienced life threatening traumatic events.
- The Charity Commission refused to use the donated funds to pay grants to children who had survived ‘physically uninjured’, despite the fact that these children, all aged under 11, were severely traumatised. Many couldn’t sleep alone, and were terrified of the dark. This wasn’t entirely the fault of the Commission as regulation of payments made by charity trusts were very inflexible; nevertheless, the surviving children were left to recover within an already fractured community.
Even today, nearly 54 years later and in the midst of a global pandemic, the flowers on all the graves are fresh.
Hi! This is the town next door to me. Somethings to add here.
The compensation wasn’t paid out immediately. It took a long time for the town to receive any compensation for the disaster.
The disaster happened the last day before half term, which started at 12pm that day. Had the accident happened 4 hours later and the school would have been empty.
The accident happened at 9.30am. Had it happened an hour earlier the school would have been empty.
The primary people digging through the rubble of Pantglas were the miners. The poetic way to put it was that those who had dug for coal now dug for their children. However, that is innaccurate, miners from Merthyr, the Rhondda Cynon Taf valleys, Gwent and Caerphilly came to help.
They worked into a night. A whistle was used to quiet the rescuers if they heard a child. It was futile however, the last child discovered alive was at 11am. Two and a half hours after the disaster. An hour before all those children should have been leaving.
The local church was turned into a mortuary.
To give an idea as to how traumatic this incident is for the South Wales Valleys, I saw the photo above and physically flinched. I’m 25, I wasn’t even alive when this happened. Yet my Mam was. She was 10 years old, the same age as some of the kids who died. She is not from Aberfan but a nearby valley and she is still unwilling to talk about the disaster.
People here are still spitting furious about this. This was negligence. This was the cost of people not listening to the would be victims.
And today marks 56 years. Recently I went to the National Museum of Wales at St Fagans to see perhaps the most poignant exhibit that pertains to Aberfan.
This clock was found in the rubble on 21st October 1966 by one of the rescuers, who took it home with him and recently donated it to the museum. It stopped at the very minute of the disaster, 09:13am. The last time the hands of this clock moved, 144 people were still alive.
Reblogged ilarual
Today’s the day
It’s the day!!
Reblogged eevylynn
it used to be 2007 you know
All the adults should put in the tags how old they were in 2007
Reblogged xofemeraldstars
fyi
this post has been up for five hours and has two notes. i think tumblr shitcanned it because it has pictures of women wearing bras on it. very cool. no censorship message, just vanishing it
AHHHHHH someone put all the info from the now-extremely-hard-to-read, 10+ year old bra post into one nice infograph! THAT POST WAS MY BOOB BIBLE. Yay Boob New Testament!
Reblogged gallusrostromegalus
taichi-kungfu-online
Workout For Daily Life
Reblogging for the neck pain ones… whoa Nelly, do I ever get the most killer neck pains.
When I was in rehab for a broken hip, my physiotherapist taught me to do the hand/wrist, feet and neck exercises as well as leg extensions etc.
‘It’s all connected,’ he’d say. And he’s right :) I still do those exercises regularly and they help. They help a lot.
Reblogged
"Men should put the seat down when they're done peeing so that I don't fall into the toilet when I sit down to pee"
"Actually women should be putting the seat back up when they're done peeing as a courtesy so that I don't have to touch it and put the seat up before I pee"
Actually, both the seat AND lid should be down when no one is actively using the toilet, because this prevents things from accidentally falling into / accidentally being dropped into the toilet. Also having the lid down when you're flushing is important because it prevents the toilet from spraying out bacteria.
Reblogged eevylynn
hip stretches