Some have noticed a brief outage earlier today. That was me, moving OnePo and friends to a new server, running a new long-term-support OS.

We're on Debian 12 Linux now, for those who care about such things. Supported until mid-2028! A genuine, democratically run community project!

In mid-2028 I may even be able to upgrade in place, although it's usually a good practice to redo these things from time to time.

This all went much more quickly than it might have. Like... two hours of knocking around? Tops? I had minimal trouble moving my nginx, certbot, postfix and opendkim configurations over as-is.

[Knocks on virtual wood]

I also got a slight price cut out of the deal.

Still running on Linode. I considered moving to AWS Lightsail, but Lightsail is just a less convenient clone of Linode for people whose bosses insist on AWS, and I'm not one of those bosses. Except when I'm at work. Linode offered shiny-modern Debian 12 as a standard option, and the ability to just swap my existing IP address to the new server as soon as it was ready to go. Bamfl!

I'm keeping the old server around, powered off, for one week juuuuust in case I missed something.

Beautiful, realistic graffiti portrait of a cocoa-skinned woman's face, with red, black-outlined lips, a stitched scar and actual branches incorporated into a three-dimensional hairdo, as seen in Brick Lane, London
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Well done, sir!
Didn't notice a thing! Debian is a great choice.
Thank you. Been quiet myself, but I appreciate it you keeping this around for all of us. :)
All of the above and more. ♥️
Thank you so much forever for this wonderful site and the work you put in to making it go.
 
 

I came away thinking Biden kind of nailed it, as much as he could have. Except of course for the crazy name transposition in the beginning, but that's kind of classic Biden.

Maybe my standards have been lowered. I heard him making sense so I wasn't really thinking about whether he was meandering too much. 

I think they trained him to slow down, they figured out he makes more sense that way. 

I don't know that it will be possible to remove him after this, unless he really trips over himself between now and the  convention.

I wish he would step down but I no longer think it is likely.

Thank you for reading my op ed 

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I wanted President Warren, but she is almost as old as Biden. Now I want President Harris.



I will settle for President Not A Violent, Self-Absorbed Lunatic.
I am waiting with extreme impatience for AOC to turn 35.
“I heard him making sense so I wasn't really thinking about whether he was meandering too much.”

I wonder if, because you’re used to talking to neurodivergent people, maybe more so than ~40% of the population, you instinctively did the same, “yeah yeah” thing we all do when we listen to a friend, like glossing over their verbal mis-steps because you’re patient enough to let a friend make their point, instead of sweating the details?



And, maybe that 40% of the population is 99% political scientists and journalists? No, okay, that’s a broad claim.

But, I think the second time or first time you met Ted, you guys had a conversation about being vegan, where he named foods that were way out on the edges of your culinary no-fly zone and gradually moved species by species to “that means no chicken, beef or pork.” And you followed along, hopping from conceptual rock to conceptual rock until there was a pattern and it all made sense.



My point is, yes, I agree and I wish others were as charitable as you are.
 

Today I did the old-fashioned thing and filled out the good old contact the president form, asking him to please not run for reelection. It was a strange feeling. There is no drop-down choice for "please stop."

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That's because it's not a good impulse and you shouldn't send it.
I didn’t enjoy it. I ended with “I’m sorry.”



Did you see the new poll results today? Replacing him is a gamble, keeping him is admitting we have no chance.
Replacing him ends the election immediately; it's past the deadline to replace candidates in Wisconsin and Nevada. No democrat on the ballot. Good luck with a write-in campaign in those two states.
Not to mention, it would be nearly impossible to redirect and refund a new campaign when all of the funding and the promotional engine has been in place for months.

And keep in mind, electing Biden in the shape he’s in essentially *is* electing Harris.
She’s really been out of the spotlight, hasn’t she?
That depends on which spotlight you mean:



More from Biden-governors meeting, Kamala Harris concluded the meeting with a call for unity behind the president.



“This is about saving our fucking democracy," she told the governors, per three people familiar with her comments.



https://twitter.com/tylerpager/status/1809295913715663118
Can you cite something on this Nevada and Wisconsin claim? I can’t find anything reliable to support it and it seems unlikely to me given that the convention (and thus an official, final candidate) isn’t until August.

The only thing I’ve found on it were a couple of articles wherein the Heritage Foundation was saying they might try to bring legal challenges in those states (and Georgia) but you’ve gotta be looking at something more solid than “highly partisan and mendacious source says they might sue and thinks these are the places where their chances might be best”, right?
It would seem Paul is not correct, though the issue is complicated.

https://ballotpedia.org/State_laws_and_party_rules_on_replacing_a_presidential_nominee,_2024
Polls in July don't mean shit.
 

Roxanne and I were married on Saturday in a tiny ceremony in our backyard, with our immediate families and two formally dressed cats. The third cat slept through it.

The skies parted, the sun came out for a miraculous two-hour window and we were able to tie the knot beneath the now-mature chocolate vines of the arbor Roxanne erected five years ago. You might think we planned it this way.

Then the bride proceeded to her grilling station, as one does.

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Felicitations! Pardon me while I research chocolate vines. "Traditionally, the vines have been used for basket-weaving which may help reduce the spread of this plant in the Eastern United States." Huh?
Congratulations again!

I have many questions about the chocolate vines, but I owe her a phone call anyway.
Congrats to you both! and to think we met you in your carefree single days, all of...a month ago :)
Wonderful news. Congratulations!
Congrats! Couldn't be happier for you both.
Hot damn! Warmest congratulations. Grown up weddings are the best.
Thanks all! We must agree, grown-up weddings are the best.
Mazel Tov!!!
I completely missed this!



When I was young, my mother told me you say "congratulations" to the groom and "best wishes" to the bride. To this day I don't know if she was being cheeky or not. Anyway Congratulations and Best Wishes! Much happiness wished to you both
Thanks! And, LOL
AAAH! Congrats! I've been away from here for quite a while so I'm doing a binge catch-up and I find _this_!
 

So, deepfakes are officially out of control.

Someone connected with us fell for one that could’ve cost him a fortune the other day, and he’s not 80, they had his son’s voice and caller id.

And this morning I fell for an incredible fake SpaceX live stream until fake Elon started trying to get me to send him crypto. But understand I was watching what I was absolutely sure was the real launch feed for 20 minutes before that, complete with live commentary.

And of course, YouTube's algorithm fell for it too. The scam artists took advantage of the originally scheduled launch time to go live with a very accurate copy of the real channel. Damn.

Check the receipts. Check URLs, text people back and let them know it's an emergency that you confirm something you think you just heard them say, call people back, ask their girlfriend if they’re really in jail or just busy in a meeting and not getting back to you.

This is one of those moments when someone who has been paying a lot of attention to what's going on with a technology decides it's time to start telling their friends and relations and anyone who will listen to be really damn careful. Be really damn careful.

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I'm fascinated by the fake launch feed! I wonder how many other people were watching it. Was it then reported to YouTube, or...?
I believe it had thousands of viewers which is how it popped up for me in a search so easily. I reported it and I’m sure many others did too but when I looked 20 minutes later, it was still there.



Apparently this is not the first time, but the production values this time were tremendous. Like now I know to be suspicious if they are that good, not that bad.
My family made a standing agreement a few months ago not to believe any requests for money or personal information from each other without some sort of informational test.

“Leaning toward _____?” (Fill in the blank)

“What was our 3 legged cat’s official name? What did we usually call him instead? Who were his parents?”

“What did I give Jenn a box of for Christmas in 1987?”



This is an excellent idea.
Excellent idea. OPW could have a similar standing agreement.
What was your costume for Ursula’s Halloween party?

What was my fee for lending you my car to drive to Pittsburgh?

Who jumped into a cake at your bachelor party?
 
 

This is actually pretty close. Pad kaprow is a very simple recipe. Normally there would be oil involved.

Ingredients:

  • One jalapeno, minced
  • Three garlic scapes, minced
  • Three green onions, minced
  • Two dates, minced
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Bragg's liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
  • Six white button mushrooms, sliced
  • Small box of shiitake mushrooms, sliced
  • One red bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 cup basil leaves, chopped
  • 2 cups green beans, coarsely chopped
  • 1 1/2 boxes extra firm tofu

Slice the tofu and bake it in an air fryer for 25 minutes at 400 degrees, coated with balsamic vinegar and a good sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Meanwhile, combine jalapeno, garlic and onions and simmer in a tablespoon or two of water in a wok or large pot over medium heat for one minute or until fragrant. Wait until the water is starting to spit before adding tha jalapenos etc.

Meanwhile, combine dates, rice vinegar, aminos and another tablespoon of water.

When the jalapeno mixture is fragrant add add the date, vinegar, animo and water mixture. Stir and simmer another minute.

Add the mushrooms, stir and simmer for three minutes.

Add the green beans, basil leaves, chopped tofu and another three tablespoons of water and simmer until it brings out the color in the green beans, stirring occasionally.

Serve over rice, or rice noodles.

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10/24 '23 4 Comments
this sounds pretty fricking good.
"Phat kaphrao, also spelled pad krapow, pad kaprao, or pad gaprao"

Apparently the "r" is migratory?
I developed a sensitivity to all members of the capsicum family in the last 6 or 7 months and pad kaprow was one of my favorite quick meals to prepare before it became an issue. Experimenting I've also found I wanted/needed green beans in there. I'll have to try dates. I usually also have fish sauce in the mix and black pepper/szechuan pepper corn to cover for the absence of hot pepper now. Interesting aside -- a thai chef I follow on youtube says that the correct leafy green is actually NOT basil at all, but tulsi ("holy basil") if you can get it. I've always wanted to try that variation but haven't found a source for fresh tulsi.
Yes, holy basil is definitely more correct. I think it’s still considered a variety of basil but I’m not a Thai chef.
 

A user has asked if I would consider adding direct messaging to OPW. Hmm.

I can think of one constraint on that feature right away: the bar to establish your right to DM someone needs to be pretty high. Like maybe you have to be mutual followers to start with, and then you can request DM access from that person. Even then I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's certainly not posting once a day. But it has a lot of important applications in situations that call for compassion, rather than being a stickler for the "spirit of things." Hmm.

Private comments to specific responders on a particular post have also been mentioned as an idea. Perhaps you, as the original poster, would be able to reply to a commenter privately.

That  stays closer to the idiom of One Post Wonder, but I think that it could generate confusion, e.g. accidental references to things said in private comments in public comments on the same post.

What do you think?

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9/12 '23 14 Comments
Direct messaging? Ok, everyone I know here I know in real life or I know someone who knows them, so adding DMs to this app is not a thing I need.



That said, not all your users are me. Which is good, because how much drooling over Mandy Patinkin can one site sustain without exploding into a festival of yiddish, dad jokes and puppies?



Here's the argument for no DMs. And yes, I peeked over your shoulder and copied some answers, but I agree with you.



1. DMs <> posting once a day.



To me, OPW is "I care about this thing enough to use my one post on it" and "We comment on this thing you selected", so the comments are ... part of it!*



2. It's a free site. You do this for love. And we appreciate it! Enabling and maintaining DMs = more work for you technically and perhaps emotionally depending on the yeses and nos. Also, I am not sure how storage works with direct messaging and privacy, but that's money too.



3. I think private comments could be a whole lot of drama. You've already mentioned how and I agree.



4. You want to say no and I think you should.



Here's the argument for DMs on OPW, I think:



1. I want to reach out to somebody privately and I don't have their contact info.



2. ?



For #1, the solution is "ask them". At least it is as far as I can see ... they could say no, but with DMs they could say no anyway, so ... ?



* "part of it" like the skeletons in the David S. Pumpkins SNL sketch.



PS to the person who asked for DMs - I probably know you and like you and I am not trying to yuck your yum, I just disagree with you.
“The comments are to an OPW post as the skeletons are to David S. Pumpkins” is such a work of art, you better put a glass wall around it before a protestor throws tomato soup on it.
I'd prefer a slightly different framing. Where you put it in terms of a "right" of a DM sender to DM someone, I'd prefer to look at it as the right of a recipient to exclude DMs, balanced against the permission, given by the recipient, to a sender of DMs.



If you put it in that framework, many of the implementation questions and concerns may answer themselves. I'd especially suggest that the default settings might be "my DMs are closed; no permission given now to anyone to DM me; it's a separate question for each person I follow now; and I have to actively say 'yes' for each new person I follow".
^^ if enabled, default to off, yeah.

Yup... this is pretty much what I was thinking would be the minimum bar, privacy-wise, if I were to build it at all.
So the funny thing is, you can DM someone on OPW already:



* Add a new key

* Put only that one person on it

* Spend your post for the day on a post locked to the key that's just for them

* After that they can comment on that post and go back and forth with you

* Which generates more notifications

* And you can keep replying on that thread

* Somebody is probably doing this

* I'm amused
OOOOOOoooooohhh .

This reminds me of when that general had an affair with some woman in the military, can’t remember her rank, and they communicated through unsent Gmail messages.

Except it’s not anything like it.

(Head slap) CIA director Petraeus and Paula Broadwell. That’s it.
This is a good way to deal with it because it’s like leaving a note in a dead drop spot, as opposed to putting a message in a recipient’s space without their permission.
I was thinking something like that was already possible.



I don't need a DM feature, but that may be because my list of OPW contacts is small and curated enough that I could get in touch with any of you without too much trouble.
Yes, this! Private and non-invasive.

By George, I think you've got it!
Well, yeah, but it’s not actually a good experience. 😀 I think it answers some questions about whether a real DM feature with the right opt-in pattern would change anything privacy wise, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to run out and build one today.
Surely if people want to receive messages, they can post their email address or phone number behind a filter? Why reinvent the wheel?
Yeah it’s surplus to requirements.
 

I fixed a lil' bug that caused comments to contain HTML markup tags if edited again later. Thanks to both users who reported this, and apologies for not figuring out how to reproduce it the first time.

Unfortunately, in writing this post I encountered a second bug I can't fix before work this morning. It affects the second rich text block in the same post. Sigh. Will dig into that. These are ripple effects of recent modernization of the codebase, which I can't regret really. There is no other bug. I ignored my own "Alternative Text" placeholder and confused the alternative text field with a new rich text block because I am not awake yet. As an amateur UX designer I can see how that confusion happens, so I might need to more clearly flag these.

Two pictures from the American Museum of Natural History: one from the new Invisible Worlds exhibit, one compelling traditional exhibit. If you check out Invisible Worlds, be sure to pay attention to how the little kids interact with the pressure-sensitive floor. You can pay attention to the Serious Content For Grownups on the second loop.

Children and adults engaging with projected video no the walls and floor at the Invisible Worlds exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The kids are paying close attention to the floor, which is pressure-sensitive. The adults are more focused on the walls.
The bison exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The buffalo are full size, probably actual stuffed individuals, on a beautiful matte painting backdrop as is common for these traditional exhibits.
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8/7 '23 1 Comment
Woo hoo for bug fixes!!



Your recommendations for how to tour museums with kid-interactive installations is spot on—play first!