The USB law.

When you try to plug in a USB-A connector, there’s a 70% probability it won’t go in. Mathematically it should be 50%, but I don’t believe that.

You switch it around, and there’s a 30% probability it won’t go in. This is not something they taught at school.

You switch it around the third time, and there’s a 5% chance it still won’t go in. Your mind begins to melt down, you switch and insert repeatedly until it finally works sooner or later.

There could have been a defect that caused immense stress in the glass. Alternatively, there could have been microscopic cracks caused by mishandling. Or both. Either way, a tiny temperature fluctuation was probably the final straw that broke the camel’s back. The actual root cause probably happened several years ago.

That is a valid point. If we take those numbers with a hefty heap of salt, Reddit would still be 10x or 100x bigger than Lemmy.

yes

Reddit seems to be about 1000x bigger.

LOL. I can see you’re having a lot of fun reading these short stories.

The days were short, cloudy, and freezing as they usually are in February. The sun rises and sets during working hours, so the only time to see it is during lunch break. You can forget about feeling the warmth of sunshine on your skin, though. The Nordic winter sun is pitifully weak, while the wind is brutal. Probably not a relevant detail today, though, because the grey shroud covers the sky again.

Last Sunday, I went shopping, but my favorite tea store was closed. Of course it was. Apparently, I need to try my miserable luck during the weekdays. Porridge was aslo about to run out. I had enough for just one more morning. The mere thought of cramming myself into a crowded sardine can on rubber wheels to make my way to the nearest supermarket filled my heart with disgust and dread. Once in the bus, regret will undoubtedly join the party.

The suffocating atmosphere wasn’t the only reason, though. As all remaining shreds of decency and withered human souls are sacrificed on the altar of capitalism, my hope for the future dwindles like a candle slowly running out of its pale fuel. I never really enjoyed supermarkets or the constant bombardment by intrusive advertisements in all forms: audio, visual, and even olfactory. Even though I don’t endorse or condone acts of violence, living in the city has made me somehow understand where some crazy people are coming from.

That’s what happens when people don’t know how to use the system properly. They just throw their files and announcements into random places without any thought, and expect everyone to be able to find them.

In cases like that, you just need to ask a more experienced user for direction, because nothing else works. It’s not your fault you can’t find your way around a labyrinth like this. It’s the fault of everyone who turned that place into a labyrinth.

Can we also blame the software? Maybe, if the marketing was misreading. Mostly though, this sort of mess emerges as a result of ignorant people abusing the system.

Ad supported videos act as a demo. Those who can tolerate ads, can stay in the demo stage. If you have tried the videos, found them valuable, and can’t tolerate the ads, I suggest paying for the video in the future.

There’s value in having both systems in place. If you have only one, it’s going to limit your options and hurt everyone involved.

All the Debian ISO images and all of the documentation on everything.

This way. I should have all the stable software I could wish for and the instructions on how to use them.

Depends on what you need from Excel. All the simple stuff and most of the medium complex stuff is available in Calc. However, there are still many Excel only features where Calc can’t compete. Not a big deal for most people since those tend to be slightly obscure features anyway. If Calc can’t get the job done, I suggest switching to R or GNU Octave. You’ll thank me later.

There are infinitely many ways to live a nice life and infinitely many ways to suffer. Every possibility happens and is equally real and important. If you save one universe from a horrible doom, there are always more that will suffer an even worse fate.

The multiverse is truly vast place, so anything you do or don’t do is less than a drop in the ocean. What matters is how your decisions and interactions affect you.

I’m a very picky hippie when it comes to dimensions.

In the previous world wars there were various alliances between many countries, but eventually two sides emerged. If you see two clear sides engaging in active warfare against each other, you’ll know that WW3 has started. At the moment, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Seems to me that there are a bunch of disconnected conflicts going on, but the big picture of a proper world war hasn’t really emerged yet.

In 2001 there was that 9/11 thing and it sounded like WW3 had just started. Turns out, it didn’t. Well, lots of things did happen as a result of it, but WW3 wasn’t one of them. Soon after that, USA was involved in a number if wars in the middle east and it felt like WW3 had just started. Again, it didn’t. Some time around 2010s the tension between North Korea and South Korea was getting pretty intense, and a friend of mine started talking WW3… As usual, WW3 didn’t start.

At the moment, the situation in Ukraine feels just like all the other major incidents, but we’ll se how it works out. If you expose your mind to tabloid journalism it begins to feel like the entire world is about to explode. History has a tendency of repeating itself, so I suggest reading about the things that lead to WW1 and WW2. Once, you’ve done that, you’ll begin to pay attention to certain signs and start ignoring most of the nonsense tabloids keep writing about.

What if there’s an earthquake and you get stuck under a mountain of rubble? Could take months for you to get out of there. How about a skiing accident involving an avalanche? Could take even longer When you are completely immortal, you suddenly start to view certain risks in a very different way.

Hmm… Let’s take a look Yeah, that looks like a pretty cool channel. Oh wait, I’ve seen many of these videos already. Maybe I should subscribe. Hold on, I’m also subscribed already? Looks like I totally forgot this channel even existed!

Yeah, totally can recommend. Awesome electron microscopy, detailed explanations and all that.

Oh, there are so many.

Just Have a Think: Energy, electricity, fuels, batteries, renewables

Engineering with Rosie: electricity production, transmission, storage etc.

xkcd’s What If?: physics, silly questions, silly answers

Applied Science: Science, technology, DIY lab stuff

Elina Charatsidou: Nuclear physics

Future Proof Health: anything health related

AlphaPhoenix: Material science, physics, technical stuff

Design Theory: In-depth explanations on why items are designed to look a particular way.

Small bits of code can be made and maintained as a hobby or a passion project, but larger things begin to require money. Although a lot of FOSS is maintained by volunteers, money still has its role in the equation.

You could also try Jingle bells, even though it’s not quite as elegant.

Do you think they might have expectations? If so, be considerate. If not, skip the announcement part and just go without saying a word.

Example: There’s a family gathering, and you’re expecting to have lunch within the next 30 minutes. Everyone expects you to be there in the same table. If you need to go put out a fire of some sort, you’ll just say that you need to take care of something urgent and you’ll be back within the same day.

Let’s say your cousin crashed their car on a tree, and you need to pull it back on the road with a tractor. It’s going to take a few hours to do it, so you’ll just grab a sandwich and some apple juice before you go. Let everyone know that it’s going to take a while.

If it’s a shorter thing, like getting some more milk from the local supermarket, there’s no need to announce anything. Just go, get some stuff done, and come back in time for lunch.