Loops is... interesting
I, like many, have taken an interest in Daniel Supernault's new Loops video service.
Unlike many, I'm not so much interested in a FOSS, Federated clone of TikTok, YT Shorts, or Vine. I honestly don't care for that kind of media. I don't object to the format (other than vertical video being fundamentally kind of silly), but rather the content: vapid and often hard-boiled brainrot videos.
What I'm really hoping for (and hoping against hope) is for some kind of reimagining of Casey Neistat's Beme.
Beme, ultimately, will be yet another entry in the list of famous-youtuber-tried-to-do-something-cool-and-basically-failed endeavors, and while I usually couldn't care less about the efforts of "famous" people, I really loved the idea behind Beme:
- 30 second videos
- You recorded by holding the phone to your chest, face, or against a wall (it used the proximity sensor as the record button — later you could just press a button onscreen)
- The screen was OFF while recording
- No ability to edit, no ability to upload a clip you already made elsewhere
- Just very real and free expression
Now, the app (Beme) was buggy as heck, and not very well written (I lost a bunch of great videos I took vacationing in San Diego because I didn't have a good quality cell signal. I mean... WHAT?!?), but the idea behind it was priceless.
I don't see a LOT of that kind of content on Loops. Or rather, I see far more re-posted TikTok/YT Shorts content than I'd like (none, for the record). But I do see enough heart-felt just-for-Loops videos that it makes me happy, and hopeful.
I see the beginnings of a community of just-for-Loops artists (I hate the term "content creator") that reminds me a bit of the community on Beme, and that is a wonderful thing.
So, umm... watch me on Loops, as soon as I get my Groucho Marx glasses-and-mustache, I guess? 😄
100 Days to Offload 2025 - Day 8
The Last Stage of Loss?
Last night I had one of those "your loved one isn't actually dead!" dreams, but about my cat.
I used to have them a lot about my stepdad that passed away many years ago, and I had a handful about my boss that sadly ended his own life a decade …
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"Online" documentation should be offline
I'm noticing a troubling trend among FOSS projects, even terminal-only utilities: no manpages (or a 1-paragraph useless one), barely any help screens, and a link to a wiki site like a github page or "readthedocs."
The thing is, the whole ethos behind so many terminal utilities is a hearkening back …
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Blog Questions Challenge 2025
I came across this set of questions from hyde (a.k.a. Lazy Bear)'s blog, and immediately loved it. It reminds me a bit of the kind of overly personal* questions that got passed between friends on facebook circa 2008, and email circa 2000.
* They didn't feel overly personal …
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You don't need to share that clip
I recall once having a discussion with some friends online about which chat client/network to use for communication, and someone strongly endorsed one over another because it had a better selection of animated reactions/videos. I was pretty incredulous that that was the most important thing to them.
Imagine …
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"Ableism" and the Linux Aristocracy
Being an armchair FOSS advocate, there are a lot of anti-FOSS arguments I've become quite used to seeing and answering. Some of them are honestly just pretty dumb:
eloquent_FOSS_apologia();
Well, I just don't CARE about that!
Well …
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Joy Will Not Be Contained
I was perusing Annie's Love letters 1-5 (from 82MHz' blog post) today, and I was struck with the subject of happiness:
Most of all, do not bear the burden of your own happiness.
It made me think of an odd thing that happened when I was playing cards with near …
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100 Days to Offload — Kicking 2025 Off Right
After the enjoyable success of Writing Month last November, I feel like I want to start a new challenge for 2025: "100 Days To Offload."
I'm going to aim for 10 blog posts per month (which is an average of one blog post every 3.04 days), finishing on October …
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A 2025 Resolution
1920x1080. That's it. Goodnight, folks!
[phonograph-needle-rip.wav]
Wait, WAIT.
My actual resolution is to use RSS feeds as my primary source of diversion on the go, vs. Pavlovically checking the Fediverse every five minutes, or even worse, getting stuck in an hours-long YT Shorts brainrot watching spree.
If you're looking …
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Do I Know You?
I was reading Deadly Headshot's toot on Christmas day, and it got me thinking about Object Permanence and social media.
The funny thing is, I can remember conversations I had on IRC in the late 1990s, but there are many people I greatly enjoyed conversing with on the Fediverse …
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