Chris Wiegman @chris@mastodon.chriswiegman.com

Most don't realize how unusual it should be that people the world over know exactly what is going on in US politics yet, if you ask Americans about these other countries, we often can't find them on a map much less do we know the 1st thing of their politics.

Over the next few years the world is going to start to realize how bad of an idea it was to let private US tech rise to the level of public utilities while also privatizing accountability and other basic functions to the same companies who's only goal is stock price.

It is possible to be fascinated by technology, including AI, voice recognition, etc and still horrified by the companies currently manning the gates by which people can access that technology.

Looking at alternatives to YOURLs for a few links I keep. Would love it to not have tracking and have a fallback URL for 404s. Any suggestions?

This might be the single most fucked up commercial I’ve ever seen. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lAOSv8Js6hM

My team is looking for a technical architect as we continue to move forward with eCommerce and WooCommerce at WP Engine. This is a very senior role that I'm sure will be perfect for one of y'all. Please share and message me with any questions: https://wpengine.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/WP_Engine/job/Work-From-Home---USA/Technical-Architect---eCommerce_JR100197-1

Here it is. The dumbest thing you'll read today https://www.mic.com/p/tiktokers-are-trying-to-prove-that-snow-is-a-government-conspiracy-63129733

It's the mondayist of Mondays

A year into COVID and I still can't get a wellness check/annual physical. Today they took my temp and said I had a 100.4 fever and rushed me out of the building... when I got home... 98.3. I have super anxiety issues with Dr's. Ugh. I'll try again this fall per my original plan

On 1 Jan I completely quit soda and went from 2-3 classes of caffeinated tea a day to one. It's amazing how much that has improved my state of mind throughout the day. Everything is so much clearer and focus isn't a lost goal.

Those who know me know how long it took me to quit soda too. It really has been a physical addition for years. Really glad I'm finally making progress with that one.

and after it all governments that once would've stepped in to help or, better, would've maintained the infrastructure in the first place, will simply shift the blame and brag about how you should fend for yourself as society is no longer anyone's problem in the US.

and our will to maintain it to make it more resilient is non-existent. This means the Tropical Storm of years past will be capable of destroying the same amount of infrastructure that once would've required a hurricane. Weaker infrastructure is simply more delicate.

It may be a hurricane, a wildfire, a tornado or something else but it will affect you and it will get worse. Sure, disasters have always knocked out infrastructure. The difference now is our collective will to fix it without profit is done

We can look at Texas and realize they're ideally situated to experience some of these effects first due to the extremes of their government but, make no mistake about it, without major change we will all eventually see events like TX just had.

Damns, roads, power grids, bridges... none of it lasts forever and there is virtually no interest in building or maintaining more that isn't sufficiently profitable for a few wealthy individuals.

What is even more sad is this is only going to continue to worsen. Infrastructure is crumbling throughout the country. This is infrastructure built generations ago by leaders who still viewed their constituents as their primary goal.

We've seen this at the national level with the post office, the EPA and many other orgs over the last few years and we've seen it with tax policy at many levels for the last 40 years. They really aren't there for "you." They're there to enforce a power structure.

There is a growing amount of elected officials that believe it is their job to protect predatory capitalism disguised as "property rights" throughout the company. Their goal isn't to help their constituents but to protect the largest property owners from any and all regulation.

The stories of price gouging and elected officials proclaiming how they're not responsible to help during a disaster have definitely hit a note with many. It's important to remember that these are both related and part of an ideology of what government should be for all too many.

In an effort to throw out fewer pens and be more sustainable with how I write I bought 2 Lamy Al-Star fountain pens (1 blue, 1 black ink) in the last few weeks and I'm hooked. I should've done this years ago!

No, I'm not about to start collecting them either. This setup is perfect for my needs. The idea was better sustainability, not a hobby. I go through one regular pen every few weeks normally. Now I can refill without waste and, bonus, they write so much nicer!