Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

@rsf92 @pluralistic I spent 15 years, from 2005 to 2020, working with my neighbors to build a fiber network in our rural town (Plainfield, Mass. pop. 600) in western Massachusetts. Most of that time was dealing with funding and regulatory issues, but by the time everyone stayed home to avoid the pandemic in 2020, working with the local municipal gas/electric/fiber department in the city of Westfield we had the network in place and most of the homes installed. 1 Gbps for $85, symmetrical, uncapped. It meant that while families in other towns were driving to library parking lots so their kids could use the WiFi to do their schoolwork, in our town they had faster broadband in their homes.

4 years later and we have not had to change prices. We are now interconnected with 5 neighboring towns in a mesh to share diverse backhaul paths and get increased economies of scale. We are building a stabilization fund to cover insurance deductibles, equipment replacement, and upgrades, and we are keeping more dollars in the regional economy instead of having it siphoned off to Verizon shareholders.

#MuniBroadband #FFTW

Now, an hour later, I still can't log in and they finally just stopped talking to me and said the best they can do is have me try again later. I guess I won't be using paypal after all (unless it really does magically start working at some nebulous and undefined "later"). Other recommendations for small business payment processors that aren't too expensive still desired.

New today from @pmpress, it's A People’s Guide to Abolition and Disability Justice by Katie Tastrom: https://weightlessbooks.com/a-peoples-guide-to-abolition-and-disability-justice/

As we reached price break quantities, we're passing the savings onto you. The Librem 5 is now available at a reduced price of $699, down from $999. Grab yours now! #Purism #Librem5 #Savings
https://puri.sm/posts/get-your-hands-on-the-librem-5-for-just-699/?mtm_campaign=status_update&mtm_source=organic&mtm_medium=librem_social&mtm_content=ls-get-your-hands-on-the-librem-5-for-just-699

Majority of people in #Scotland do not believe in any #religion, #census shows | Scotland | The Guardian

I bet a fair proportion of those who still call themselves religious do so because of tradition and peer pressure.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/may/21/majority-of-people-in-scotland-do-not-believe-in-any-religion-census-shows

#UK

Last time the Dems lost, they blamed it on Russia instead of their own incompetence and inability to read the room. Odds are good they'll do the same thing again this year.

"The Democrats relied on their own flattering and superficial metrics to convince themselves that ordinary Americans were doing better under Biden. In fact most became worse off, as many correctly perceive. And they kept flogging the “voters are stoopid” message, adding insult to injury."

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/05/trump-versus-biden-the-substantial-fall-in-real-wages-for-most-workers-under-biden.html

If .social keep up suspending users for making pro-Palestinian statements, we're going to have to learn fast why TOO BIG TO FAIL instances are defacto a fediproblem.

Whenever I have to deal with #LinuxMobile on devices that formerly ran android I realize how super simple things like flashing and debugging are on the #Librem5 compared to that.

No odd partition schemes, no super sensitive boot loader that gives up on the first glitch. Just #uboot and if all else fails #jumpdrive.

https://loops.video is a very promising ActivityPub platform for short form video, and could use your financial support to help fund and sustain this initiative!

Donations can be made via @pixelfed

https://pixelfed.org/support-our-project

Let’s build a new TikTok that’s federated and better for humanity! Boosts appreciated!

#loops #activityPub #tikTok

We need to no longer have privatised prisons run by overseas vendors. Talk about messed up incentives: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/517374/us-company-with-nz-prison-contract-advocates-for-ai-use-behind-bars

There's also a balance between being cautious of men and being paranoid about men. I think that a lot of common rhetoric about how dangerous men are encourages women to live in constant fear, and I don't think that teaching women to be afraid all the time is particularly feminist.

This is brilliant: CFPB is using pooled hiring authority to enable technologists to “submit a single application & be considered for employment at multiple federal agencies”

Why it’s smart: “This approach will speed up hiring & reduce burden on job applicants. It’s our hope these combined efforts will help us scale how we monitor & address advanced technologies across government.”

Why it matters: “Your work will improve the lives of millions of Americans

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/careers/cfpb-technologist/

...and, still aboard the Big Tech sleazeball express: "Open"AI used Scarlett Johansson's voice even after being told not to do that. https://www.npr.org/2024/05/20/1252495087/openai-pulls-ai-voice-that-was-compared-to-scarlett-johansson-in-the-movie-her

Seriously pissed about this. Offering $10,000 in seed funding for a Deviant Art alternative built on ActivityPub. Q&A below or email your pitch to info@moth.social. https://slate.com/technology/2024/05/deviantart-what-happened-ai-decline-lawsuit-stability.html

Today is a nonstop torrent of abusive acts by Big Tech.

In this one, it looks like Google effectively paid off the feds to avoid a jury trial in the antitrust case. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/google-cuts-mystery-check-us-bid-sidestep-jury-trial-2024-05-20/

WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange's battle to avoid extradition to the US receives a huge boost with London's High Court ruling that Americans assurances over his case are unsatisfactory and he’ll get a full appeal hearing. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/wikileaks-julian-assange-given-permission-appeal-against-us-extradition-2024-05-20/

So you deleted those iPhone photos years ago, because you wanted them gone forever?

Apple obviously kept them around anyway.

And you trust Apple? Give that some thought...

https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/20/24161152/apple-ios-17-photo-bug

Microsoft Windows is turning into the ultimate spy-on-the-user system. And you're supposed to be thrilled at the capabilities?

https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/20/24159258/microsoft-recall-ai-explorer-windows-11-surface-event

Intro to Commitment Pools
#SolidarityEconomy

"Imagine:
A system where service providers can create digital vouchers (aka gift cards) and anyone holding them can exchange them for each other and other pooled assets.
Each service provider makes their own digital vouchers (also called gift cards, points, IoUs or formal commitments) on Sarafu Network (an open source Celo interface). Anyone can purchase these vouchers – and even give them to others..."

https://willruddick.substack.com/p/intro-to-commitment-pools

I run my own mail server. It's not an experience I enjoy, and it's often frustrating, but whenever I've had to use any of big providers (Gmail, Outlook), it has been even worse of an experience. I just backed the crowd funding campaign for a new book on this, by @mwl, and I hope it will teach me how to be a punk rocker mail admin: angry, but in a good way.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mwlucas/run-your-own-mail-server
https://liw.fi/rethinking-email/