A Funkaoshi Production

This is what makes the internet great.

Sounds like it was a little bit of both. Feels like some variation of this exercise would be useful for myself.

What’s happening in the US now feels like it is spiralling faster and faster. All this death feels the the natural place all of this would end up, but now that it’s here it’s shocking all the same. I thought this summary from the NYT was also apt:

French: We’re living in a version of the dual state. Not to the same extent as the Nazis, of course, but Fraenkel’s framing is still relevant. The Nazis didn’t create their totalitarian state immediately. Instead, they were able to lull much of the population to sleep just by keeping their lives relatively normal. As you say, they went to work, paid their taxes, entered into contracts and did all the things you normally do in a functioning nation. But if you crossed the government, then you passed into a different state entirely, where you would feel the full weight of fascist power — regardless of the rule of law.

One of the saddest things about the killings of Good and Pretti is that you could tell that neither of them seemed to know the danger until it was too late. They believed they were operating in some version of the normal state (what Fraenkel called the “normative state”) where the police usually respond with discipline and restraint.

An alternative to asdf, or pyenv, rbenv, etc. It’s fast and slick.

The title is a bit of bait, this is hardly in praise of dhh. Or is better phrased as “in praise of dhh of yore.” This is a deeply personal reflection on Filipa’s journey with the Rails community, well worth reading. (And not just because I’ve basically always disliked the guy. There is something so aggravating about the 37signals posse, churning out cool software and books, while being so annoying while doing so. None of this current drama feels new. The way dhh talks about immigrants recently is no different than the way 37signals was talking about them 20 years ago now, and I doubt his opinions were any different from his colleagues.)

Anil Dash talks about the lessons to learn from Zohran Mamdani’s historic mayoral election win in NYC.

This is a good read, and makes me want to do more with BlueSky. (Especially since the developers of BlueSky seem to be spiralling when it comes to how to moderate that site in a way that doesn’t just mirror what people dislike about Twitter.)

What makes the Market for Lemons concept so appealing (and what differentiates it in my mind from enshittification is that everyone can be acting reasonably, pursuing their own interests, and things still get worse for everyone. No one has to be evil or stupid: the platform does what’s profitable, sellers do what works, buyers try to make smart decisions, and yet the whole system degrades into something nobody actually wants.

When Shima needed an ultrasound a little while ago, the ultrasound tech turned out to be a cardiac surgeon from Iran. The person training him to be an ultrasound tech was a Radiologist from Iran. I feel like these stories are so common. I’m curious how many nurses in Toronto used to be doctors elsewhere.

There is a lot of drama and excitement in the Ruby community at the moment.

I’ve been enjoying seeing Kottke invest a lot of time turning his blog into something that feels likes its own little social network web app something or another. He’s added lots of interesting features to the site, this rolodex aside.

There is no requirement to take part in this whitewashing campaign, and refusing to join in doesn’t make anyone a bad person. It’s a choice to write an obituary that begins “Joseph Goebbels was a gifted marketer and loving father to six children.”

“More than 80% of street space in Toronto is inequitably dedicated to motor vehicles. How can this be fairly re-designed?”

A great article about the rise and fall of Toronto’s condo market. Some of the quotes and stats in the article are bananas.

On the advice of a realtor he’d met through a friend, Tajdin made a 10 per cent deposit on an $855,000 pre-construction condo. It was a 468-square-foot, one-bedroom unit in Toronto’s Forest Hill neighbourhood, a wealthy enclave not far from downtown. … But Tajdin didn’t intend to move into the condo, or even to close on the deal. … If he couldn’t sell in time, he’d have to close on the property himself, and he knew he’d never be approved for such a steep mortgage. … By the first quarter of 2024, average condo values in the city had dropped by nearly $100,000 to $696,000. As his closing date neared, Tajdin panicked; his only hope was that the market would unexpectedly rebound. But in February of 2024, the worst-case scenario became a reality. Tajdin’s closing date arrived, and he couldn’t seal the deal. He didn’t even bother trying to secure a mortgage; after multiple discussions with banks, it had become obvious that it was futile. The developer, CentreCourt, kept his deposit. Then it went a step further, suing Tajdin for $860,000 in damages, interest and legal fees for breach of contract. It sold the unit to another buyer for $420,000, less than half of Tajdin’s agreed-upon purchase price only two years earlier. Tajdin, in turn, filed his own lawsuit against Hirji, seeking indemnity from liability with CentreCourt and damages equal to his deposit.

Not all Toronto Life articles are hate reads. What a weird story.

I don’t know much about baseball cards, but this story is fascinating.

Absolutely shameful that this can happen with zero consequences for Israel. Canada will no doubt make some mealy mouthed statement that does nothing.

Interesting investigative reporting on white nationalists operating in Canada.

I’m not sure you can read this much into the goofy choices of the ultra-wealthy, but it’s a funny read all the same.

This is full of spoilers, so don’t want it till you’ve seen the show. Adolescence was one of the best things I’ve ever seen on television. Just incredible acting and technical mastery.