CK

These Centurions (grew up at the turn of the century) boy they complain a lot

Bring back Unix ‘wall’

Or the opposite problem — what if it’s S-VHS LP and or that weird late-stage S-VHS ET bizzo

So get an NTSC VHS player and plug it into any TV. Unlike olden days, our TVs know how to display everything.

You might even have a fancy VHS player that’s multi system already, not just “play NTSC tapes on PAL TVs!”(

I bet $2 (the minimum customs value declaration, ask me how I know) that it’s an NTSC-M thing with a modern TV, refusing to play fast and loose with a Frankenstein video signal invented purely to watch tapes of one standard on TVs of another standard

Wait, it was FULL SIZED tapes as well? VHS was so huge to make home movies on.

This week I have begun receiving exhibits for the world’s first VHS-C cassette museum — to prove it, why else would I know this: “HS Code 85232915” — thus have the little cute guys in mind when it comes to home movies

oops did I forget to mention that one 😅

The menu

Closer view of menu

The menu promised much. And it did not disappoint.

Write?? These are meant to be read, not written. I’m having panic attacks that someone is about to use this with the write tab enabled, and there’s no easy way to create a replacement now. The installer basically self-destructs after a few installs, because “copy protection”.

… to enable write protection?

FFS please enable write protection! The installer will prevent reinstallation after a few attempts! What the heck are people doing leaving an original copy writable??

but FFS please enable write protection! It’ll prevent reinstallation after a few attempts! What the heck are people doing leaving an original copy writable??

@allusionistshow.bsky.social Australian here. So you asked about Tony Abbott?

I think Oniongate was too memorable to need to be his worst offence. It was:
- vulgar to all people equally across politics
- easy to explain, e.g. to children
- easily memeable,
including into monochrome posters

We (the world) are still trying to find out how to use HDR. It's a bit of once-in-forever magic that turns our pixels up to 11 — one day they'll be boring or standard. But for now they're unpredictably available — some displays have them, some don't. Yay, another transition period!

There was a definite monochrome aesthetic — the era was 1984 to ~1993 when low-end machines like the LC520 made colour machines the entry-level option, and let people spend money on getting a reasonable upgrade off the bottom option without sacrificing colour

The Mac's 1-bit dithering was a "look"

Wait, we need to add that to our geological lexicon of Aqua, Liquid Glass, and whatever we call 1984 (monochrome Mac?)

My first MacOS version I got to take home as part of a gift for finishing high school.

This was the final hurrah of feature agglomeration before Steve returned and 7.6 started ripping out features and support base.

Also this was the happy façade behind which the disaster of 7.5.3r2 was unfolding.

Apparently we’re reaching 50 years since the last spider bite death. Don’t make me reset the counter.

(How long did the pain last?)

Wait until you discover peripheral colour blindness in one eye. The sort of thing you need Philips Hue and boredom to discover.

A photo of a colourful affirmative wall hanging in cyan green and pink with macrame styling and photographed in light. The three boards read LIVE HIGH VOLTAGE.

Is that what it’s called?

Fair. I’m conflating the setting of standards, for oneself, with any kind of judgment you can give for others using it.

hmmm 🤔 those are events you MOSTLY can see coming, which isn’t the same as “more avoidable” and depends more on who you are and where you live … or what era

Yeah I’m realising my reply is turning into “the other kind is way worse you know”, like silent exfiltration

Physical locks v cloud security?

Some of the nicest people I know are ex-Mormons

But this helps explain some of the nicest Mormons too: “TIL”

(The world is a bloody broad church. I should challenge myself, as well as others, to briefly state the difference between Trotskyite and Marxist, and Marxist and Leninist)

(Recently visiting my old boys-only high school for a careers talk — it’s humbling, and it reminds you of how hard it is to connect to kids / people / animals who care about different things than you do — an essential element of winning people’s votes, or the respect of your pet … similar mountains)

If I do any deep-diving, I’d equally revisit whatever the (hard to remember, so that’s worth noting) alternative was, that was being suggested

Just because it’s subtle doesn’t make it wrong of course

My frame of reference is “bullies being bullies” is perfectly illustrated by “toxic masculinity”

This time was on broadcast media, so the faceless editor should always be suspected when the on-screen talent has a reputation (an earned one) for being left — another case of “the media doesn’t tell you what to think; the media tells you what to think about”

Last week I noticed for the second time in two months, a very seemingly-well-intentioned (i.e. possibly legit) plea to stop using the term “toxic masculinity”

One possibility is the host was legit and the guest was crypto-fash

I have to dive into any think-tank links

If talking point, then wow

I could (and should) make a long rant on YouTube about the disappointing rollout of HDR technology in TV and streaming in the last 10 years … challenge = 🤯

— it has all the usual cases of “let’s fix this standards mess … with another standard”

… but also, SDR is “looking better” than ever before

Even on-device with only local backups? But yeah I love people’s reactions when I help them scroll through their privacy permissions settings and they pick a few to turn off. The split in the choices people make has never been wider … I want there to be more of a “baseline” minimum maybe.

If I change my language (e.g. “blackspot” means “blindspot”) it’s to aid the unfamiliar listener first, someone who’s weaker in the language. Second comes the ill intent of the originator (e.g. “master vs slave” means “primary vs secondary”, tech jargon).

Did you know the origin of “hysteria”?