WTF-Beta

I just re-read my post and can't believe that I wrote it was generally accepted that sans serif was easier to read in print! No, I meant serif was generally accepted as easier to read. I must have got my thoughts crossed! Sheesh.

@wtg That's a good concert.

I love this recording for the sheer energy on stage and the tremendous fun they're having. The keyboardist! Must have been fun to attend one of their concerts.

@AdagioM No, I did not know about the tribute concerts. Thanks for the nugs.net link!

Raul was supposed to be there, but ended up in the hospital a day or two before.

So sad.

I think, had he wanted to go the classical route, he could have been an operatic tenor. He had that quality.

@RealPlayer Yes, I imagine if you follow several substacks, it will add up. I pay (monthly) $5 for Reich, $7 for Krugman, $7 for Rubin & Eisen (The Contrarians).

I am not a fan of sans serif fonts except for display purposes. When I was a typesetter in the '80s, it was generally accepted that sans serif were easier to read in printed material. Then computer screens became ubiquitous. For screen reading, sans serif became more popular because the screen resolutions were not up to providing clear serif rendering.

@Steve-Miller Oooh I love the wainscoting. Very nice! I also love the pumpkin color paint. Looking good!

@wtg said in Positively Kafkaesque:

a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized actually

How predictable.

How is what he is doing not illegal?

I guess they're saying "reinvent" because of the 3D printing? Carbon composite cellos have been around for a while.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ng-interactive/2025/dec/10/parents-react-to-australias-under-16s-social-media-ban-interactive

It's only been two days, so polling so soon seems a bit ridiculous. But anyway, there are some interesting responses.

The one comment that stood out to me:

They (and I) would rather see regulation of the social media companies than the children.

Yeah, this. I think it's a shame that they had to include Youtube in the mix. There is so much really, really good stuff on YT. IMO, YT should be responsible for ensuring a safe platform so that everyone can enjoy its real benefits. I can't comment on snapchat or instagram because I've never used them. It seems to be 'profits at all costs' for these companies. If they'd taken their responsibility seriously to begin with, perhaps a ban would never have been necessary.

Good news.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/dec/09/raul-malo-the-mavericks-dies-aged-60

A beautiful voice.

Seems fair enough on the face of it. If a corporation can afford to pay it's CEO 2000 times what it's average workers make, they should be able to afford higher taxes. I wonder if it really would do anything to help the average worker, though. I'm sure big corporations would find another way to rig things. Capitalism is systemically flawed and I think it's going to take more than this bill to fix things. I suppose it's a start.

https://www.help.senate.gov/dem/newsroom/press/news-sanders-tlaib-introduce-bill-to-end-outrageous-ceo-pay-and-combat-corporate-greed

I pay for TPM, The Guardian, and three substacks: The Contrarians, Robert Reich, and Paul Krugman. WaPo is not trustworthy, and the NYTimes has really questionable judgement, so I bid them farewell last year.

Other sites I visit regularly, but not necessarily often: Politico and ProPublica. I also visit JMG every day but it's free.

Australia bans social media for children under 16.

Although I think it's a very good thing that children (and dare I say, adults) get off social media, I worry about the heavy handedness of bans. But maybe that's what it will take? Personally, I wish the world would just dump all their cell phones, to tell the truth. (I had to enter 10 zeros in a cell phone field when making a covid vaccine appointment a few weeks ago because the number was mandatory!) It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Who knows, maybe in a year from now young Australians will be grateful. Or not.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/09/australia-under-16-social-media-ban-begins-apps-listed

@Daniel It's so beautiful. Elegant design.

Congratulations!

I'll have one of those, please.

Congrats on taking lessons! It's great that you've found a teacher that you like, so important.

What an interesting piece you played. Who is the composer? I think you did a great job!

My piano is being tuned Tuesday and I'm thinking of recording the piece I worked on this semester as well.