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[[ the offical zine of circumlunar.space ]]
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- - - ------------------------------------------------------- - - -
Issue One May 2021
===========================[ PREFACE ]=============================
Back in February, Anyone who has had The strategy of this
around the time of the pleasure of first run has been to
the ogre incident, perusing the many just get it out
Jone wondered out phlogs and gemlogs there. Rather than
loud on the here at prematurely
circumlunar.space circumlunar.space exhausting our energy
BBS, telem, about the will be aware of the on determining what
possibility of a CS impressive diversity it should be, or
zine. The idea was of interests, pidgeonholing
well-received by the talents, and ourselves into a
rest of us sundogs, backgrounds of the niche or format
and for some time, sundogs residing without actually
talk of the zine here. It will be having produced any
flooded telem as we interesting to see content, we elected
proceeded to howl at how these influence to first just give it
the moon in the zine over time, a go and see what we
excitement. Amidst but currently what get. So for this
this jubilee, I the zine is and how first issue, we have
somehow ended up it will be produced what has been
wearing the is largely still up endearingly termed a
proverbial editor in the air. It's "topic salad." And I
pants--for this really just a fun believe it has turned
inaugural issue, at experiment, and this out to be quite a
least. first issue is a kind nutritious one at
of pilot episode. that.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Circumlunar printable formats have otherwise. It is
Transmissions will be that readers can with profound
distributed easily print-and-bind gratitude and pride
exclusively over for their own for this habitat and
Gopher and Gemini by enjoyment offline its inhabitants,
whoever would like to or to distribute and the smolnet
host a copy on their locally. ecosystem at
own gopherhole or large, that I
capsule. That is, It has been a present to you
anyone can clone the pleasure to this first issue
git repo of the contribute something of our smolzine,
project and serve its to this wonderful Circumlunar
contents from their community of Transmissions.
own smolnet space. thoughtful and
This kind of creative individuals
"newstand" method of whom I respect and
distribution solves a admire sincerely.
lot of the logistical During my relatively ~mieum
issues of where and brief inhabitation of April 25, 2021
how to bi-host such a the Zaibatsu, I've Incheon, Korea
thing in an learnt a great many
accessible way. In things and have been
addition to Gopher inspired to create
and Gemini editions, and wonder about
we intend to provide things I would not
======================[ TABLE OF CONTENTS ]========================
[title] [line no.]
The Circumlunar Mixtape..........................................97
by sloum
Ask Jone........................................................159
by joneworlds
Manifesto of a Granular Ideologue...............................227
by tfurrows
What's the Deal with Leap Seconds?..............................279
by solderpunk
The Hearth of the Matter........................................596
by durtal
Why I Still Game Proprietary....................................668
by wholesomedonut
===================[ THE CIRCUMLUNAR MIXTAPE ]=====================
- - -[ sloum's covid-year playlist ]- - -
The Circumlunar Mixtape is an ongoing series for Circumlunar
Transmissions where one user per issue shares 10 tracks they have
been listening to. .------------------------. Y'all have all
kinds of ways to | CT001 | stream music, or
otherwise find and | __ ______ __ | listen to music, so
tracks are just | /. \|\.....|/ \ | listed and it is on
the reader to locate | \__/|/_____|\__/ | them. As a court-
esy, when a weblink | sloum | to streaming is
available, playlist | ________________ | curators may choose
to supply it. |___/_._o________o_._\___|
These are songs I have listened to at various points throughout the
last year. Some are old some are new. It has been a weird year and
this is a kind of weird mix. I provided Bandcamp weblinks for each
track except the Charlie Parr, which is a Youtube link because I
like this song live and this is my favorite performance recording
of it and the recording doesn't appear on any of his albums.
Enjoy!
[track name] [artist name] [album name]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Forward Becons Rebound Adrianne Lenker Songs
https://adriannelenker.bandcamp.com/track/forwards-beckon-rebound
Catamaran talons' Songs for Boats
https://talons.bandcamp.com/track/catamaran
Possessed by the Devil Charlie Parr N/A (live)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P46hGYUycoE
Some Voices Pinback Some Voices EP
https://pinback.bandcamp.com/track/some-voices
Get To Know You Tomo Nakayama Melonday
https://tomomusic.bandcamp.com/track/get-to-know-you
Just a Cloud Lusine Sensorimotor
https://lusine.bandcamp.com/track/just-a-cloud-feat-vilja-larjosto
Good Morning Captain Slint Spiderland(Remastered)
https://slint.bandcamp.com/track/good-morning-captain-remastered
Step Into You Hum Inlet
https://humband.bandcamp.com/track/step-into-you
Kingfisher Windhand Grief's Infernal Flower
https://windhand.bandcamp.com/track/kingfisher
Nue Nils Frahm Wintermusik
https://nilsfrahm.bandcamp.com/track/nue
===========================[ ASK JONE ]===========================
Do you have a problem? Send your questions to:
[email protected]
W. asks:
"I have a strained relationship with my sister.
What are some things I can do to help repair it?"
I remember my dad feels like eating Chunk'n'Dunk? Not
and I went through anymore. Although great. And I guess
this patch where that stuff is dad's thinking along
we were both pretty just not very the same lines as me,
pissed off at each nutritious. But because every time I
other, not that I because I'm mad come by he leaves me
remember why at at him, I don't another pair of snow
this point. But bother to bring tires he found. But
sharing is caring, his favorite, the I'm not selling tires
right? So to keep meatball-carrot stew any more by then,
things going, I'm one. Instead, I bring so I don't want
still dropping off him can after can of them. And he knows
cans of Chunk'n'Dunk turkey-a-la-king. You that, but he keeps on
soup for him, because ever try getting tires anyhow.
it's all he ever that one from
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
And so we go on like of cans. And some it I find that
this for weeks: falls on his head co-incidentally the
I come by and put and he falls over, big pile of snow
like 5 more cans of and the rest of the tires out there has
turkey-a-la-king on cans come crashing also fallen over,
his kitchen counter, down on him. Pretty and it's crushed some
and he stacks a few bad scene. So I go unlucky little gnome
more snow tires to help him up, but who must have been
outside his door I slip and trip on a milling around by
for me. And all can on the floor, and there. Those things
this stuff is piling hit the ground hard are so bad at staying
higher and higher and too. And if you've alive, I just can't
higher, and we're ever fallen on a believe it sometimes.
gradually getting pile of Chunk'n'Dunk
madder and madder at turkey-a-la-king Anyways, if you're
each other. Until one cans, you know that looking to patch
day I go over there hurts pretty bad. things up with your
with another box of sister, I would say
cans, and he starts So we're both maybe don't do it
screaming and yelling groaning on the with canned soup,
about how he hates ground, and then or snow tires. It
turkey-a-la-king. And there's this weird sure didn't help us
he gets so mad he sound by the front any. It just wasn't
accidentally knocks door. When I get a good result for
over the stack out there to check anyone, especially
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
for that gnome. Or
if you have to
go with soup, at ________________________
least stick with |\ /|
the meatball-carrot | \ joneworlds / |
one. It's actually | \ @ / |
not bad. | \ mailbox.org / |
| \______________/ |
Thanks for writing | / \ |
in. I hope that | / \ |
helps. |____/_____________\_____|
-JONE
================[ MANIFESTO OF A GRANULAR IDEOLOGUE ]==============
by tfurrows
- - -[ Passing Thoughts of an Impractical Idealist ]- - -
Our ancestors stood on Permanence dammed the This is not the
the banks of the river, a logjam of manifesto to end all
Euphrates and cast ideas tossed in as if manifestos. It is a
their ideas into the each was a consummate message in a bottle
inexhaustible current. standard. Life-giving that few will find. It
First they cast in waters slowed, is a loose model for
words, ephemeral. Then intelligence waned, dealing with the
they learned the elastic mind mountainous dam of
permanence; epochs seized and crumbled. manifestos that stop
brought clay tablets The word manifesto the flow of
and papyrus, script dates to the creativity, passion,
and type, bits and fourteenth century, and progress. At the
clouds. but the notion dates risk of making the
to our earliest problem worse, I
written conclusions. proffer:
From a Message in a Bottle, Sitting Atop the Dam of Manifestos
..............................................................
* Let your mind move freely, become a seeker
* Accept that knowledge is scattered broadly
* Find kernels of truth and germinate thoughts
* Take something from every ideology,
fear nothing
* Subscribe to that which you find value in
* Mistrust labels, they carry unimaginable
baggage
* Acknowledge all that came before, but accept
the utility of your journey
* Never believe that you have the best vision
for the world
* Don't try to fashion the world to your
ideals; your ideals are cursory
* Be a maximal minimalist, distill purity from
immensity
* Find, purify, share, repeat
* To conclude means to cease to grow
<
[email protected]>
<
[email protected]>
==============[ WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH LEAP SECONDS? ]===============
================[ A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF TIMESCALES ]=================
by solderpunk
ASTRONOMICAL SECONDS
Why is a second as didn't, so you're "why is a day as long
long as it is, and not stuck reading this, as it is?" - one day
a little shorter or a instead: a brief, is the time it takes
little longer? This incomplete, possibly the Earth to complete
is a seemingly simple slightly inaccurate a single revolution
question which leads overview based on my about its axis. And
down a deep and own characteristically since there are 60
delightfully twisted obsessive reading on seconds in a minute,
rabbit hole. It's the topic over the 60 minutes in an hour
something that I wish past week or so. and 24 hours in a day,
Neal Stephenson had a second is simply one
written an epically For most of the time 86,400th of the time
long, inexplicably that the concept of it takes the Earth to
compelling 1990s Wired the second has been rotate once. Or, if
article about, in the around, its length has you like, a second is
spirit of his "Mother been defined the time it takes for
Earth, Mother Board" implicitly by that of the Earth to rotate
or "In the Kingdom of the day. Everybody one 240th of a degree,
Mao Bell". But he knows the answer to out of the full 360.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
End of story, right? observatories tracking enough to notice
the movement of this). In fact, the
Well, no. This is a distant radio sources Earth's rotation is
perfectly sensible way across the sky as the slowing down. Very
to define time - for Earth rotates. This slowly, of course.
some applications, is easier than making Every century, a
it's the best way to precision measurements complete rotation
do it. This of the sun, but is takes about 2
astronomically still measuring the milliseconds longer
defined time scale is exact same thing. than it used to. The
still in use today in rate of slowing down
certain contexts. The EARTH IS A NICE PLACE is not steady. Some
official name of its TO LIVE, BUT IT'S NOT years the change is
modern incarnation is THE BEST CLOCK more and other years
Universal Time, or UT it's less. In fact,
(technically, there The problem with an even though the
are a few subtly astronomical overall trend is one
different variants, definition of the of slowing down, some
denoted UT0, UT1 and second is this: the years the rotation
UT2, but we'll gloss Earth doesn't actually actually speeds up.
over that here). The rotate at a perfectly The dynamics of the
official determination constant rate (it process are
of UT nowadays is wasn't until the 19th complicated, and we
based mostly on century that we could can't make accurate
measurements made at build clocks accurate long term forecasts.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Gravitational small, random was going to be late
interaction between fluctuations in their to lunch because of
the Earth and the moon duration over long the Earth's unsteady
is the primary driver, time spans. If you rotation. But by the
but the movement of define the second by 20th century, sci-
tectonic plates and looking into the entific and techno-
friction between skies, no two seconds logical progress
Earth's surface and are exactly the same. meant these tiny
its atmosphere and fluctuations started
oceans have their say, That's a pretty to matter, as we
too. The Indian Ocean inconvenient property began measuring
Earthquake in 2004 was for the official natural phenomena and
powerful enough to definition of a building machines
shorten the length of fundamentally which operated on
a day by 2.68 important unit like very small time
microseconds. There the second to have. scales. A 10 mega-
are even periodic For most of the time hertz radio
variations in the rate this definition was oscillator, for
of rotation that we used, the fluctuations example, has a period
just don't understand were smaller than we of 0.0000001 seconds
the cause of yet. But could reliably --only 100 nano-
the take home message measure. Certainly, seconds! Gigahertz
is that, whatever the they weren't enough to radiation, which is
causes, astronomical have an impact on important in radio
seconds actually have everyday life. Nobody astronomy and was
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
used for communi- Fortunately, in the The new atomic second
cations and radar 1950s, atomic clocks was defined such that
during WWII decades were invented which it had the same
before it came to kept time better than length as the
underpin modern any previous astronomical second
technology like GPS, mechanism. I'll gloss in use before it, as
WiFi, and mobile data right over the far as measurements
networks, has periods details, but suffice at the time could
measured in it to say, we came up tell, but it had the
*picoseconds*. Even with a new way to added bonus that the
very, very small define the second length of the second
variations in the which involved was then fixed and
length of a second are measuring the unchanging. Caesium
enough to make the properties of caesium atoms at a given
measured frequency of atoms instead of temperature "vibrate"
radio waves change, looking at things (very loosely
even if the *actual* moving through the speaking) at a
frequency is fixed. sky. In 1967, the frequency which, as
Modern technological relatively young far as we can tell,
society simply International System is completely and
couldn't be built (or SI, for the French perfectly stable, and
using a wobbly clock "Système which can be measured
like the Earth. International") of very accurately in a
units redefined the sufficiently advanced
ATOMIC SECONDS second on this basis. laboratory.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
With the arrival of until now is a little other hand, is
atomic seconds, a new less than 40 seconds, fundamentally
time scale was also but it will continue divorced from it.
defined: International to grow, without Thousands of years in
Atomic Time (or TAI, limit. And while the the future, there
for the French "Temps perfectly uniform will come a day when,
Atomique Inter- seconds of TAI make it according to TAI, the
national"). At mid- the perfect tool for sun rises in
night on January 1st some tasks, this drift Greenwich at
in 1958, TAI and UT apart from UT makes it midnight.
were perfectly problematic for
synchronised. Ever others. If you go This isn't just an
since then, they have outside at noon UT in abstract concern for
slowly but surely Greenwich, England (or the distant future.
drifted apart. The anywhere else at 0 In the late '50s when
seconds of TAI are of degrees longitude), TAI was defined, it
perfectly unchanging the sun will *always* was still common for
length (as measured by be high in the sky. ships at sea to
averaging hundreds of This is true today and figure out where they
atomic clocks all over it will be true in a were by using a
the world), but the thousand years, sextant to record the
seconds of UT Because UT is position of the sun
fluctuate with the fundamentally linked above the horizon at
Earth's rotation. The to the Earth's a certain time and
accumulated drift up rotation. TAI, on the consulting a printed
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
table of conversions. increasingly less International de
For this purpose, accurate as TAI l'Heure", but today
ships carried the most drifted further out of the torch has been
accurate clocks they synch with the Earth passed to a
could afford, and and the stars. This combination of the
compared them meant that the "new International Bureau
regularly against true and improved" TAI time of Weights and
UT time using time scale wasn't actually Measures, or BIPM,
signals broadcast by an improvement for for the French
radio stations all everybody. "Bureau International
over the world. des Poids et Mesures"
Celestial navigation COORDINATING CHAOS and the International
works very well when Instead of Earth Rotation
using a timescale broadcasting two Service, who have the
which is tightly different time signals gall to abbreviate
linked to Earth's for different the *English* version
rotation, and hence purposes, which could of their name and go
the position of things easily lead to by IERS) defined yet
in the sky. But if the confusion, on January another time scale,
radio time signals 1st in 1960 the powers in an attempt to
switched to that be (back then achieve the best of
broadcasting TAI that was the both worlds and make
instead of UT, International Time everybody happy.
celestial navigation Bureau, or BIH, for Enter Coordinated
would become the French "Bureau Universal Time, or
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
UTC - at last, allowing scientists technical
something normal and engineers around compromises, using
people have heard of! the world to ugly hacks. It cannot
calibrate their be any other way, as
The abbreviation UTC instruments and UTC is a stubborn
is a strange reliably measure time attempt to reconcile
compromise between intervals and two desirable but
the English frequencies very fundamentally
abbreviation CUT and precisely. But incompatible
the French whereas TAI is properties of a
abbreviation TUC (for destined to drift timescale: perfectly
"Temps Universel ever further away regular seconds, and
Coordonné"). This is from UT, to the synchronisation with
somewhat fitting, chagrin of sailors a spinning globe
because UTC itself is and astronomers, UTC whose rate of
a strange compromise is kept synchronised rotation is
time scale between UT closely enough with unpredictably
and TAI. Like TAI, UT that it allows irregular.
UTC is an atomic time seafarers to perform
scale. Every second celestial navigation The precise nature of
of UTC is exactly as with sufficient the ugly hack
long as any other, accuracy for safe underlying UTC has
using the SI standard ocean passage. This changed somewhat
second based on synchronisation is since it was first
caesium atoms, achieved, like all defined, but for
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
almost 50 years now, not absolutely fixed rather than removals.
starting in 1972, the at 86,400 by They don't happen on
ugly hack of choice definition. There a regular,
has been the leap almost always *are* predictable basis,
second. The way it 86,400 seconds in a like leap years
works is this. The UTC day, but 86,401 (which are an
difference between and 86,399 are also adjustment for the
UTC and UT - a allowed when fact that the time it
quantity denoted DUT necessary to keep the takes the Earth to
- is carefully time scale locked to orbit the sun once,
monitored. Any time the movement of the defining a year, is
it looks like that sun across the sky. not perfectly
difference is on divisible by the time
track to exceed 0.9 So far, there have it takes the Earth to
seconds, in either been 27 leap seconds rotate once, defining
direction, UTC is defined, although UTC a day). Because the
kicked back into and ATI are today Earth's rate of
alignment by either exactly 37 seconds rotation fluctuates
inserting or removing apart - the other 10 randomly, sometimes
a single second on seconds come from slowing down and
one particular day. hacks applied before sometimes speeding
This makes UTC the leap seconds were up, astronomers need
*only* time scale established in 1972. to be actively on the
where the number of All of them to date lookout for excessive
seconds in a day is have been insertions values of DUT. When
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
it's decided a leap precise time technology means that
second is needed - synchronisation celestial navigation
it's the IERS who should be caught by at sea is now rarely
makes that call - surprise when a leap a matter of life or
they are announced at second rolls around. death (although some
least six months in In practice, it's not sailors still
advance. They're always so simple. appreciate the
allowed to occur on relative simplicity
either June 30th or INCREASING of the technology it
December 31st, and IMPLEMENTATION BURDEN relies on), removing
are inserted or AND AN UNCERTAIN some of the argument
deleted at midnight FUTURE for making sure UTC
UTC (which is the stays in lock step
middle of the day in Leap seconds have with the Earth's
some time zones, of always had their rotation. At the same
course) on those critics, but at the time, the internet
days. At the time of time they were has come along: a
writing, the last adopted, their massive network of
leap second happened benefits arguably computers talking to
on December 31st, balanced their each other, with the
2016. In principle, associated hassle. 50 frequent need for
six months is enough years later, this hack activity on one to be
advance warning that is starting to show synchronised with
nobody doing anything its age. The advent of activity on another
which depends on cheap and reliable GPS (hence tools like the
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Network Time Protocol, added to software as Some systems, of
NTP). Computer an afterthought - if course, forget to do
programmers *hate* they are added at all. anything at all.
leap seconds, for the Some systems represent Because all the leap
same reason they hate the extra second using seconds to date have
Daylight Saving Time: the timestamp been insertions
they complicate time 23:59:60, but others rather than removals,
calculations (you instead repeat the it's a safe bet that
can't accurately timestamp 23:59:59 there's plenty of
calculate the number twice (since some software out there
of seconds between two software will fail to which has worked
UTC timestamps without parse a timestamp correctly so far but
consulting a table of ending in :60). Other will fail the first
when previous leap systems "smear" the time a second is
seconds were inserted) leap second out over removed. And the
and are a frequent longer time periods, Earth's rotation is
cause of confusion and like 24 hours, to going through a bit
errors, when one avoid problems of a fast phase right
system implements them associated with sudden now, so the first
differently from discontinuities. This negative leap second
another its trying to just leads to a whole might be looming on
interoperate with. day of small, slowly the horizon.
varying errors
Affordances for leap compared to The software
seconds are often non-smearing systems. interoperability
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
situation at the time option. It's one thing cause are only likely
of a leap second is to shut down the New to get worse. The
bad enough that York Stock Exchange atomic definition of
several major stock for an hour, but Air second likely isn't
exchanges simply Traffic Control has to going away any time
agreed to voluntarily stay up 24/7. It's no soon, though, and
shut down for an hour surprise that that means that
around midnight UTC in increasingly many getting rid of leap
2016, rather than risk voices in the tech seconds entirely
problems by continuing industry are calling means abandoning the
to trade during the for leap seconds to be millennia old notion
leap second. Given abolished. Plenty of that the way we
that a number of major people are very represent time is
web services, unhappy with that intimately linked
including Amazon, idea, of course, not with the natural
Instagram, Netflix and to mention there's no cycle of night and
Twitter, experienced consensus on what to day. Assuming we're
outages around this do instead. not willing to do
time, this was that, there are only
probably not a bad It's far from clear two alternatives:
idea. Of course, what the future holds coming up with a new
simply shutting time for the leap second. ugly hack which is
critical services off As software continues somehow less
for every leap second to eat the world, the problematic, or
isn't always an headaches leap seconds giving up on a "one
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size fits all" time recommend the article time scales like
scale. "The leap second: its Ephemeris Time (ET),
history and possible GPS Time (GPST) and
BUT WAIT, future", which you can Terrestrial Time
THERE'S MORE! easily find on the web (TT), and discover
(full citation below), that the SI system of
If you think this along with, as always, units defined the
story has been following Wikipedia second based on
needlessly fiddly and links wherever they something other than
complicated, rest take you. Along the Earth's rotation when
assured I have skipped way you can learn the it was established in
over a tonne of difference between 1960, seven years
details. If you're UT0, UT1 and UT2, meet before the caesium
actually interested to other exciting definition was
learn more, I highly astronomic and atomic adopted.
- - -[ REFERENCES ]- - -
Nelson, R., McCarthy, D., Malys, S., Levine, J.M., Guinot, B.,
Fliegel, H., Beard, R., & Bartholomew, T. (2001). The Leap Second
- Its History and Possible Future. Metrologia, 38, 509-529.
"Time-nuttery 101" by Ole Petter Ronningen
https://efos3.com/TimeNut.html
"UTC might be redefined without Leap Seconds" by Steve Allen
https://ucolick.org/~sla/leapsecs/timescales.html
====================[ THE HEARTH OF THE MATTER ]===================
by durtal
It seems that Kepler Hobbes brought 'focus' life in unfortunate
first used the Latin into broader English ways.
word 'focus' in 1604 parlance nearly fifty
to refer to 'the point years later. I don't Ironically, the
of convergence' in the know if he did this political philosopher
mathematical sphere. with a magnifying who espoused that
It is possible that glass or not. But, humans are "all take
this is an analogical Hobbes is certainly and little give" used
use of the term and not my favourite a word that belied
may reference the philosopher. With its his contentions in
point of light created particular take on the original. Focus
with a lens. You human nature, he is the Latin
probably know what I published Leviathan equivalent of the Old
mean. I remember about the same time he English word
another child showing popularised a word 'hearth'. People
me a trick with a whose use is still used the latter
magnifying glass ubiquitous but whose term in my youth,
outside one sunny day. original meaning is especially in rural
He quickly adjusted too often unknown. regions. Phrases like
the glass's height Sometimes the "hearth and home" and
over my forearm to abstractions of "keep the home fires
effect a sharp pain as science and a specific burning" catch
the converging rays sort of philosophy something of its
burned a hole in my separate us from the ethos. The hearth was
skin. mundane realities of where household
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members gathered to it is to wait in them and drink your
cook or to work by the anticipation for the morning coffee. You
hearthstone's warmth of a fire on a smile and share a
firelight. In its cold winter's morning. joke or two with your
warmth, children sat Others gather close to fellows. One of them
to hear the stories of you, hoping to absorb ruefully remembers
the family and a little of your that it is his day to
community after dusk. body's heat while they do the dishes; they
Kith and kin wait too. You each rub are piling up as
entertained themselves and blow warm breaths the others finish
with music and onto your hands and and go. This time,
drinking and dance comment on the cold, like its later
nearby. In some and you remark on the double, is
cultures, families day ahead. As the a short space of
kept ancestral bones kindling catches, hope intimacy before
beneath the builds and blossoms as separation.
hearthstone. Here was the flames devour the
a point of convergence larger pieces of wood. By analogy, sunrise
in the human habitat. The fire roars madly is like the birth of
as you back away, a child for whom the
The rising or setting waiting for the wooden family cares. Such
sun reminds me of a pyramid to collapse. brief familial
hearth fire as it When there are coals intimacy is still
converges on the left mostly, you cook most often the case
horizon. I know what your breakfast over for the young. But,
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not so for the members, nurse the that the world offers
elderly. We fill the frail and wash their in this day when
noon meridians of our bodies late in life hearth fires and home
lives so completely and at its very end. are all but
with striving and Frequently, there is forgotten. We now
drift so far from one only the intimacy of only focus camera
another that, too strangers who alone lenses
often, family members know where the bare (automatically).
no longer live near bones of our final
to one another at the days lie before we Did old Thomas Hobbes
sunset of a loved slip into the deep have a point?
one's life. Now dark of death's
others, not family night. This is all
==================[ WHY I STILL GAME PROPRIETARY ]=================
by wholesomedonut
PROPRIETARY GAMING in the market. thou angereth me!" I
ISN'T ALL BAD hear in the imaginary
I agree with all of comments section
Since getting into the those observations. because this is
FOSS community, I see They tire me. They Gemini and you can't
a lot of pushback concern me. They do that. I am certain
towards the gaming frustrate me daily. you will find
industry as a whole. I peace through
can see why: DRM runs However! There are measured
rampant, terrible still reasons -not- to contemplation and
business practices go the route of some I a cup of whatever
regularly conflagrate see in the FOSS world warm or cold
internet forums, and eschew gaming liquid you enjoy.
anti-cheat programs altogether on anything
are basically but a FOSS platform, WHY DO I USE STEAM?
consensual (and with FOSS games,
mandatory for official because.... FOSS. That Well.... everyone
online play in some argument is just as else that isn't a
cases) trojans, and to dumb in practice, computer nerd
make it all worse it because it's an usually does too.
costs a mint to get artificial limitation And the overhead
into the hobby that stands on for getting
nowadays due to somewhat subjective, people of minimum
scalpers and crypto opinionated reasoning. technical under-
miners running rampant "But wholesomedonut, standing (that like
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playing video games) PS/Xbox or some-other download, to playing
into FOSS gaming thing, there is a the game with their
generally is much more solid 90% chance I'm friends needs to be
costly in terms of going to lose that understandable,
mental and social argument unless they unobtrusive and
capacity than the are very specifically transparent. That is,
clout I usually have interested in that if the overall
with my friends or particular kind of userbase is to
family on such game, its' content, grow and sustain
matters. or have a better itself on a
socially-driven higher magnitude
King's English: If I reason. This comes than current.
have to instruct them from years of trying
to download the latest and f'nagling with GIVE PEOPLE THE
version of the game people from many BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT
directly from Github walks of life; the UI
in the Releases tab, and UX of FOSS gaming People are
or from some random needs to be on-par intelligent,
website they've never with modern generally. They're
heard of (even if it commercial offerings; very skilled in a
looks nice and is this means all the multitude of things
HTTPS secure) instead way from landing on a that aren't
of just adding it on page, to funneling computers. But asking
Steam or Epic or through a sales someone who -isn't-
Microsoft Store or conversion or free tech savvy to figure
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out how to pull down mentality commercial combined-arms
the right version of systems have strategy on a hex
a FOSS game from a fostered. board that involves
code repo (or heaven groups of multi-ton
forbid build it ENTER THE MECH MAN robots, tanks,
themselves with cmake airplanes and
or whatever) is like A good example of a infantry taking and
asking ME to diagnose FOSS game that has giving damage to
a car's problems plenty of good and individual
using nothing but a bad would be MegaMek. components, weapons
flashlight and a It's basically a and armor locations
screwdriver. I have fully computerized in a somewhat
no idea what the hell version of the realistic and highly
I'm doing anyway in Classic Battletech detailed simulation
that department. rules, which is a of 31st-century
Without the proper board game that's warfare.
tools and education existed since the
too? I'm screwed. 1980s and is going on To alleviate the
Therefore I urge 40 years of issue of significant
empathy and patience conniving, calculational
in introducing others number-crunching overhead for
to FOSS gaming. It's tomfoolery that only every-single-action-
a bit more finicky a particular subset attack-or-damage-
than the of people even enjoy. roll-ever, this
plug-and-play All in the name of program does all
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of the math, the game in their in that regard. A
calculations, and head: they're game of Classic
rules proofing for obviously not the Battletech that could
you. So you can enjoy target of this easily take 5 or 6
the game with others, article. hours in person
wherever they may be, without any sort of
instead of reaching I shiver at the calculator apps or an
for your G.A.T.O.R. thought of doing all otherwise breakneck
card for the that stuff manually pace of gameplay and
tenth time to if I don't have to. rules-lawyering will
show the newbie That kind of only take an hour or
of the group what tedium takes away two maximum with
happens when an from the Megamek. It's a
SRM-6 missile moment-by-moment godsend for a hobby
spread hits a gameplay, forcing that would otherwise
light vehicle everybody to get be relegated to local
whose armor is ox-in-the-mired play over
already exposed over details that predetermined days,
on its' left don't matter not a "Hey want to
flank. There are overall instead play a match? Sure!"
plenty of of letting their kind of casual pickup
grognards out big stompy robots on a boring
there who know blow each other up. afternoon.
these rules well
and can do half Megamek works wonders
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BUT IT ISN'T ALL progresses smoothly. that the much easier
SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS But it's still just and more recent Alpha
as much a spaghetti Strike ruleset isn't
Nope! Megamek is, in plate in terms of included at all by
my humble and user experience: default, to my
donut-shaped opinion, configuration options knowledge. You might
a terrible example of laid out in long be able to configure
UI and UX. I played a lists of check boxes something like that
round recently, and organized by multiple using plugins, but
another aficionado of top-window tabs; a we're already putting
the series played decidedly the cart before the
against me. Quoth my 15-years-old design horse at that point.
opponent: "This language that clashes
program looks like with modern TO BE FAIR
something out of perceptions of UI and
Windows 95." Neither UX (which is bad The project started
of us had played the considering that in 2000. It's 21
most recent version taking in new blood years old in some
of the game. I hadn't is crucial for both places, if only in
touched it in a year userbase and logic and not literal
at least. developer syntax. It's written
contribution in Java. And it's
Some changes were reasons); and the been a community
welcome, and the final nail in the effort by dozens of
development coffin is the fact talented people over
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the decades. The fact that does a better a relic of an earlier
that it's alive at job, in proportion to time of online
all is impressive, the complexity of the gaming, where dial-up
but so's the fact physical source connections were
that the franchise material and gameplay still common. That's
whose boardgame it flow. a given. And it is
emulates even has a what it is. I won't
fanbase still. BT So considering it was waste time bemoaning
fans aren't quitters, made in the waning those facts that are
certainly. And this days of Win98 immutable in this
is all considering (because Windows ME context. I'm only
the fact that trying doesn't exist and you stating them to set
to automate, can't convince me the stage.
obfuscate and otherwise) it's
de-FUBAR the mountain expected that it's I'M LEFT AT AN
of minutiae that ugly as most things INTERESTING IMPASSE
Battletech's rulesets were back then. It
and technical data was written in Java There is no other way
(on a per unit and (yea verily, begone I could ever play
per variant basis no foul JVM!), which for Battletech with
less) is a monumental all its' foibles friends from all over
task. I can hardly makes a very easy the world in such a
think of a video-game cross-platform great degree of
adaptation of a more distributable fidelity. Megamek
complex board game program. It's solidly serves its' purpose
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very well for what it So, I leave it to you make my hobby free
is: a highly detailed to put the pieces and open if there
computerization of a together here. I can isn't a platform for
niche franchise that choose to play with those newcomers to
has a fanbase average people that even stand on and
spanning generations. A) aren't technically explore once (or if
However, it also inclined, B) don't ever) they choose to
stands out to me as have a heart that get involved in FOSS
one of the prime beats for gaming of their own
examples of a FOSS free-as-in-freedom, volition.
project being and C) want something
understandably opaque that "just works," or AT THE END OF THE DAY
to newcomers. It's confine myself to a
hard to use at first, much smaller content I encourage people
hard to look at base with an even who play video games
always, and sometimes smaller playerbase to which are also
hard to find other share it with. interested in free
people to play it and open source
with. Those three Call me the gaming software to consider
things will nail the nerd Whore of the prospect of
coffin of any Babylon, but I don't inviting others into
fledgling game shut. see the point in this world of
That concept is true beating my head free-as-in-freedom/
regardless of genre, against the wall beer/whatever
art style, or UI/UX. overtly trying to with a grain of salt.
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Until we make it not be seen. And growth in production
easier to onboard new therefore we will not quality, variety, and
people from all walks see the requisite competitiveness in
of life, significant uptick in talent, the market space of
adoption of FOSS contribution and people's free time.
systems or the games playerbase that will
that run on them will consequently drive a
- - -[ CONTACT ME ]- - -
external email: wholesomedonut at tuta dot io
mastodon: at wholesomedonut at fosstodon dot org
matrix: at wholesomedonut colon matrix dot org
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- ~durtal -
~wholesomedonut
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