Verizon bought Yahoo (a media/content site)
This is old news, of course, but i used to get the ocassional e-mail from Yahoo when i still had an acct with them (for Tumblr), and it seemed that Yahoo was very media-centric. I mean it has been that way since the 90's when the home screen was cluttered with all kinds of links to bullshit.
But anyway, what i am getting at is that just like how Vox (a “news” publication) got into brands and advertising, Verizon is going to get into media. As in like, buying publications and whatnot.
So, when shit like this happens, i usually start to figure out how to avoid this company completely, and i only had Verizon for a brief period in 2007-2009 (i think), but even then, i hate the fact that everyone basically has to be reliant on a Telecom these days. This is why it is important to use Tor at every chance you get.
Anyway, my mind is cloudy and i cannot think tonight. Be back in bit.
A New Path
https://medium.com/@olearyxyz/a-new-path-5c6e20376707
There is the link to my latest Medium entry. Read that first before reading this post, if you will.
Now to answer a small Q: “why is this a 'new' path?”
Well, for one, obvious reason is because it is not the path that I was on before. It is a new path because before I was concerned primarily with getting into STLCC (St Louis Community College) and earning an AA or AAS degree and going into the job market (media, books, whatever) w/ that degree under my belt. But as the days tick down, it is looking more and more like I will not be able to make the deadline for the Fall 2018 semester (because of inability to secure FAFSA funding by Aug. 20). Now my old loan (singular, one of them) is about to be paid off, but I am also currently enrolled in CS50x through EdX and I am having an absolute blast with it.
Also, this is a cure for boredom. I will have nothing to do but make article pitches, write (unread) longform, and kill time if I do not go down this path. That is why I must.
So, I am going to have a blast w/ all this. Hope you all stay tuned! :)
On Face Tattoos
I decided I want one. it has been a while since I got any tattoo (about 2.5 years) but that just means I am long overdue for some fresh ink. Nothing excites me a hell of a lot in the tattoo world anymore as I already have a massive koi fish on my forearm that is basically perfect, and several other large tats on that arm (the left arm) and I know that sleeving that arm would cost a fortune so I am not even going to bother acting like I could ever afford to get the whole thing done.
What does excite me in the tattoo world, is getting a face tattoo. Not like a big, weird thing on my cheek or anything, but something along the side of my scalp and stretching down to the sideburn-area. Something that (if I wanted) could be covered by my hairline or a hat.
The thing is – in September there is this massive family reunion where everyone is getting together one last time before the older folks pass away (it's sad, but the absolute truth), and I do not want to have a massive piece of scabbed ink on my melon when I see them (possibly for the last time). So I may be making this a birthday gift to myself in November. And I am thinking I will get it on the right side of my head (as that is my “good” side).
What will I get? Hell, there are many things to choose from. I will be thinking about it a lot before I get it.
More later...
minimalismo
I am down to the bare essentials, I would say. this is a v good thing.i kid you not when I say I can fit everything in my life into a 15L backpack (excluding several pieces of furniture). And I love living this way. I suppose when people grow up, become adults, move out onto their own (which I did when I was 18), that whatever you are exposed to first when you set out into the world, will reflect how you view independence from that point forward. Moving to #STL Job Corps in 2003 (at 18) and having all my possessions put into a (small) wall locker and then having the freedom to ngaf about anything else was incredibly liberating. Been living that way ever since (essentially).
love it
#minimalism #minimalistliving
Needing Inspiration
I am standing here at my standing desk and I am having the second cup of coffee of the night and I am thinking about things I should be doing but I am not doing. Just dragging, sort of. No reason to, just am. That's life, I guess.
Anyway, if anyone has any good #longform (or #shortform) articles to share regarding starting your own #startup, or one-person-run-companies, or any good resources on the subject or something to that effect – by all means, reach out. I am all ears.
Looking At Old Bloggies
I wish I new proper CSS so I could make oleary.xyz LOOK nice, but I am not in that world right now (the #design world). Instead, I am learning legit #code and always #writing shit constantly so I have no time to figure out basic HTML commands (I mean they can be looked up in three seconds, but, it props isn't worth it).
They Figured Out The Copy/Paste Feature...
it seems my Mastodon TL has been blowing up with links to news article just....like....Twitter has for the past five years. So now I am dealing with two news feeds.
Ever see that (old) HBO documentary “The Dark End Of The Street”? Where the guy is a heroin addict and is depressed and tries to kill himself by injecting twice the amount of heroin he usually took, but he doesn't die, so he just winds up hooked on twice the dosage of smack that he started with and has to work twice as hard to come up with the money to support his habit?
That is the DISposition I am in when it comes to social media. I tried to fix what was wrong with (faux)socializing on the Internet by adopting a new social network (as well as Twitter) and now I am burdened by having to babysit both. (and as far as the heroin reference earlier; no, I am not a smacked, nor do I want to kill myself, nor....whatever)
So there is the pickle I am in.
What Is Mastodon Success???
What is success in-general, anyway?
Why do people want Mastodon to succeed? Has anyone really claimed it wouldn't (besides Silicon Valley VC's who cannot invest in it)?
Do people want to import/invite their Facebook contacts? Twitter contacts? Instagram contacts? Are people close-knit with all of those people?
What is the end goal, anyway?
Anyone have an answer to any of these???
Now oleary.xyz is an Instance on Mastodon!
it's @tom@oleary.xyz, so....awesome
I think that is pretty cool
I like Masto a lot :)
been on there all day
also, I am wired
#goodtimes
Domain Reservations
I added the two domains I am buying next month to my GoDaddy cart and both are p damn cheap. One for the #app I m building, the other for a Mastodon instance. Good times.
I just hopped out of the shower and feel p damn frreshhhh and enjoying this sunny, awesome day as well as pounding back my third(!) Monster Assault. Everything is good.
I have also been on Mastodon.social a lot today and it is so incredibly friendly and nice over there that it makes me want to never look at Twitter again. But twitter is necessary (sorta). At least for me it is. Because Internet addiction is a v real thing :/
Anyway, I got a #CS50x lecture tonight and then....idk.
Be back in a bit!