I'm using Brave recently, and I noticed that whenever those notices come up that ask if I agree to accept cookies, nothing happens if I click Decline. The page still loads in full. Called their bluff.

You made these? Hao piao liang! Every time I try to make anything like baozi or shuijiao, it just ends up looking like a mess.

Those of you in the Bay Area, are there still bike messengers in SF? Just curious.

Regarding #2, it's a good question if only because 'exploitation' is a loaded word and highly subjective. I could argue that I allow myself to be exploited by working for someone; they are using me, after all. But I have a choice. What about those who have no choice?

Well... no. College student, tree planter, bike messenger... then I started the cycle over by going to grad school but figured I'd better move on to something with a bit more staying power. Long live SF bike messengers!

Good points. Perhaps the permanence of blockchain communication will put a dent in that trend? Wishful thinking perhaps.

I will some day! I think the last time I was in Hong Kong was 1991 or something. It was when they had that airport in the middle of the city, not on that island. It was crazy flying into that airport! Kai Tak, was that it?

This is what I miss about living in a big city, these beautiful perspectives. I don't think these buildings where there when I was last in Hong Kong! (1991?)

Therefore, perhaps we're losing the ability to deliberate and think critically (if that is indeed happening) because we have increasingly less exemplary input of how this is done, similar to the need for linguistic input to learn a language.

I agree that formal debate is a skill that generally must be learned, but deliberation and critical thinking, I would argue, are skills that are innate but need to be nourished to be realized, like natural language.

That is correct, both posts, and begs the question of why this is even an issue. The larger issue for me is, why are we losing the ability, as a society (speaking of the US here) to think, debate, and deliberate? With all this ICT, we're growing dumber. Why?

And it's in that short term that the exploitation harms people. But I could argue that exploitation is a human condition. Can we really overcome it? Can we evolve out of it? I'm undecided. Technology is great, but so far it has done little or nothing to decrease exploitation.

Well... the problem is exploitation does win in the short term for those who exploit. If you are using an evolutionary perspective or global economic perspective, perhaps you're right. But in reality, exploitation does pay and crime does pay in the short term. And so it exists.

@Shigako I'v lived in E Asia for many years, and I don't remember a typhoon hitting Japan so far north so directly. My home is Taiwan, so perhaps I didn't always pay attention. But this is unusual, right?

Agreed. I've worked in education all of my adult life (after 30 that is, when I finally gave up trying to be 17.) As such, I've worked for others, under some really shitty conditions and for low pay. But, my interaction with people is what drives me. That and early crypto buys.

We create the world we live in every day.

In other words, is there any hope of all of us, in the world, really living as one people?

What gives a country its right to exist? If the citizens of a country choose to disband and cease to be a country, can it then belong to all of us? Can we start a movement to disband all countries?

As an outgrowth of the planet, we have the right to live anywhere on the planet. Who denies us that right? Who claims to own us?

Interesting. Well, if my attempt to lead the world into a state of complete opensource prevails, this will be a moot point.

My rule of thumb is that anything over 6.5 is serious business. If it's shallow, that just makes it worse.

Me too. Here's a map if it helps. Depth was 10.5K which is really shallow for a quake of that magnitude. People are suffering.

When a 7.0 quake happens in some SE Asian backwater nobody cares. When the same hits the Bay Area, it will be a world event and consume the media for a month. I guess people in some areas just don't matter.

7.0 quake, that's a big one. 2km ESE of Loloan, Indonesia. If you know anyone in the area, get in touch before the network gets overwhelmed. Best wishes to those affected.

And provides opportunity for exploitation.

Or L 7 as I was told by compassionate youngsters.

Thanks. Sorry I'm so square!

But I don't want to log on. Can I just listen?

I see your point, but it reflects a very narrow range of situations. People do shit jobs all the time just to pay rent. Hunger and fear of homelessness supplants dreams.

I mean, they obviously had to acknowledge that, right? A tribute of sorts?

Found it on YouTube. Stairway to Heaven of course. Nice.

Hmm, it's not playing for me. I'm on Brave and I don't have a Spotify account. I'll keep trying.

Please excuse my ignorance, but can't I just save as? Where's the value?

And then there's this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8CivPhu0fw

Thanks for that. Much appreciated.

It strikes me that we have all the knowledge and technology we need to feed, clothe, and house every person on earth, while at the same time protecting the planet, our home. So the question is, given this ability, why don't we do that?

Damn you Peepeth! I'm supposed to be working. I'm so weak...

The opening to that song sounds so much like the first couple of lines of Todd Rundgren's Hello It's Me, 1972: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLeCB7Kn-VE.

Too much sodium isn't a good thing.

This sounds so off the wall that I'm going to have to save it for a lazy Sunday afternoon. I have to mentally prepare. One thing that strikes me is that you would sell more mirrors if they made the buyers look better to themselves, thinner, younger (or older for teens).

Back at you @bkh

And it will only get worse I'm afraid. I hope otherwise.

Hopefully it will cool things off and not cause much damage.

With regards to this story: https://futurism.com/unsafe-vaccines-china-blockchain/ , does anyone know what the limit is on metadata on an ETH transaction?

Happy Friday indeed everyone! @Shigako, are you following the typhoon?

In the meantime, you can always reply to your old post. It's not pretty but it somewhat achieves the same end.

Precisely. And when we do make mistakes, which is inevitable, simply acknowledge that we made a mistake. And if we post something that we later think is stupid or embarrassing, simply state so. Regardless, the permanence of our statements makes us more mindful, and that's good.

Non-deletion is a good thing. It forces us to take responsibility for our acts. Also, how can you delete the past? Trying to do so, in whatever form, is dishonest. Better to acknowledge change than to pretend something else. I like Peep permanence.

No, it looks like it's going to run up the east coast. Lots of happy surfers no doubt.

A trio of storms is taking shape in the western Pacific. The top one Ampil, is heading straight for Shanghai. The bottom one, TD13W, is going to affect Taiwan, while the outlier, 16W is going to, well, who knows.