Damn inflation is everywhere now, even the transcendentals :'(

Do you want the total war?

Do you want it, if necessary, more total and radical than anything that we can yet today even conceive?

-Bibi Goebels, basically

Two I can think of, luckily neither was that bad.

Firstly I got impatient and bought a new DSLR camera kit off eBay, thinking I would save money and get a good deal. It came with two decent lenses, supposedly, and a bunch of other accessories. Very highly rated seller.

After I made the purchase, I get a message to expect a phone call from such-and-such number. Strange, I thought. They call and immediately I can tell it’s a bait-and-switch. They tell me what they’re going to send, but it’s not what was in the listing. Only one lens, instead of two, and some other shenanigans like substituting inferior brands and cheap shit. I called them out and said either you deliver what was promised in the listing, or I’m opening a dispute, and it won’t be a good look that you tried to change the deal over the phone.

Anyway I got what was listed, but overall it was a disappointment. Grey market items from overseas, not official US licensed gear, so I had no warranty. But I ended up paying as much or more than if I had walked into a local shop. It wasn’t counterfeit, but just left a bad taste in my mouth. The seller disappeared from eBay not long after that…

Second time: I received one of those emails with a password in the subject. It looked familiar, and was in fact an (old) password I had used. Someone took a hacked DB and just fired off countless emails with the passwords to the matching email addresses. But the tone of the email was what spooked me. It said, I have had full access to all your emails, I have figured out how to reset accounts and hacked into your webcam and have some very interesting photos. Either you pay this amount to this bitcoin address or I send the photos to all your contacts and your life will be ruined.

In the moment, I panicked like oh shit this is legit. Even though I couldn’t imagine what photos they referred to, it was still scary being blackmailed. I thought about it, discussed with some people, and they helped calm me down. After a few days, I realized it must be a scam. It was so generic. Surely if it was real, they would mentioned specifics… my name, or what I looked like, or some other unmistakable details.

Over the years, I received a number of other variations with the same jist, and different passwords (my email address was in several major leaks in mid-2000s). I’m glad I didn’t fall for that shit, regardless of how serious it seemed in the moment.

Why stop there? Shut it all down. Pull the plug.

Too many smash burgers not enough veggies?

And will they be Russian, or more human trafficking victims?

Also remember the nearest comparison to building a website, was a book, magazine, or newspaper. So just plop those text and images down as if it was a book, only ever intended to be viewed at one fixed resolution (say, 800x600). No smartphones yet. No apps to inspire us. No web 2.0. No emphasis on minimalism or dynamic content.

Unexpected and unpleasant things should happen with different browsers, window sizes, etc.

That site would have been considered remarkably beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. As such it’s not quite realistic.

Much too legible. I recommend less contrast for the text.

I don’t see you playing with alignment? I would like more centered text personally. And long lines of text without breaks.

Why not throw in some “lorem ipsum” placeholders.

Are you using a WYSIWYG editor?

Where are your dancing hampsters?

Also is this before or after it became trendy to copy/paste all sorts of scripts into the html? Remember scrolling text on the status bar, how about those ascii things that follow your mouse around?

I’d keep an eye on your page’s size, remember we would be loading this on 56k dialup modems… if we were lucky!

I’m taking note of all the prominent individuals and organizations which chose to remain on the fascist platform and thus implicitly support it.

I feel ya.

I’m lying here alone right now, in my noisy hovel of an apartment, scared shitless, trying to block out the sound and light, to sleep as wave after wave of sorrow washes over me. The pills really aren’t working so well lately. Hooray for “the weekend.”

For the first time in my life I’m considering substance abuse. The world mostly just disgusts me right now.

Saaaame, happy for you <3

It’s a scary world right now but we got this.

Blegh every war is a crime. I don’t know if there has ever been a war that didn’t involve rape. Even the allies in WWII (“a just war”) were infamous for that, both in the European and Pacific theaters. So it’s not surprising now.

But yes, any Hamas who commit atrocities, may they burn in hell if there is such a place. Same as IDF and settlers who do so.

Definitely more than 3. Nice try tho.

Uh money is an issue and I’m still getting out of this trash belt state. Even if I have to crawl on my hands and knees.

It’s OK to be “disconnected.”

Especially if “connected” implies dependency on one corporation which has shown general disregard for its customers’ privacy and mental health.

I don’t use Whatsapp, FB, Instagram, snapchat, google, and somehow manage to make my way through the world.

Believe it or not plenty of people still interact in meatspace, limited as it is.

…what exactly is the world record?

Dunno. But I’ve come pretty close to the lord on several occasions involving fingering and praying.

Wholesome

My friend’s not stupid per se… just struggles with things most people find trivial. Like answering the phone or going outside.

More importantly,

Are any of you single and willing to settle for someone unattractive, not too smart, and otherwise limited?

Asking for a friend.