Chebucto Regional Softball Club

@Rob_T_Firefly @SistaWendy

goated

It has an echo. I think I should only use one of these microphones? Why are there two in this little kit?

Is there a button to make my voice less annoying? Sadly no.

(I did not intend to go fishing for any compliments. I just forget what my voice sounds like. )

Experiments with the new microphone. #considerHerWays

@karchie

Too bad. You are now a trendsetter.

@jwcph @david_chisnall

what browsers do you use?

People have ripped jeans why not a ripped phone.

Get that cracked distressed screen look that says “apple ain’t done nothing to impress me in years”

Acid washed inverted pixels. Very chic.

@david_chisnall

$300 a month sounds like a lot — but if more people accounted for all of their streaming subscriptions I think it’s pretty normal.

If we could get 1% of streaming subscribers to switch to paying creators directly like this? It would have a transformational impact on the media landscape.

@Phosphenes @carrideen

Most of the people I know work in the admin offices or on the railroads doing maintenance.

@david_chisnall

youTube “premium” is the only corporate streaming service I pay for and it’s to avoid the ads. (I also do nebula but I never watch it-) It sounds like it’s gotten worse.

I think maybe I should cancel youTube too since I feel angst paying google, and they treat creators so terribly. I make a ton of direct donations. If a creator has fewer than 50k subscribers I send $20. I spend about $300 a month this way.

If you live in NYC or want to move here the MTA (subway, train, bus network) has a variety of job openings including in IT. (but also jobs that do not require a degree) If you have questions about what it’s like, I can ask people who work there. I think it is a pretty good place to work. Not perfect, of course, but you can be proud of your job; pay and benefits are “fine” as such things go.

@stepheneb

What is the best noncorporate streaming site you enjoy?

@david_chisnall

Do you watch video/TV via some other means? Or do you just never really watch videos/TV/movies?

@steffo

That is shocking! How terrible.

@dr2chase @craiglambie42

What services are US banks lacking that one finds abroad?

I often interact with people who don't have bank accounts. A bank can make a lot of sense if you have a salaried job with direct deposit and a mortgage. Generally with one or the other the bank will provide a lot of services for free.

If you don't have such a tie to the bank they can be as predatory as payday lenders which is why people avoid them and go to the payday lenders who are, at least predictable.

RE: https://sauropods.win/@futurebird/115915908299552986

I think the results of this poll are important. I suspected that #YouTube was the primary way that people on the fediverse watch video and that seems to be true.

Can someone conduct a similar poll over on #bluesky I would guess YouTube and "other corporate" will both grow and the last two options will shrink.

(I might make the poll with my alt account over there, but I don't think many people see it.)

@craiglambie42

Anyway that is why I'm mailing $20 bills which I iron first so they are very smooth and flat to some lady who makes ant sculptures out of bottle caps.

@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay

I think working with credit unions is a good idea. There has been growth in that area and there is room for more growth.

@craiglambie42

There is a kind of person who seeks to be the intermediary in all transactions: they fantasize that they should get a little tax on everything.

They seek transaction fees as others seek rents.

Those innocents who want "free and open exchanges" never see them coming. We need to learn to be more suspicious, avaricious or evil IDK.

"you just want to make money without even doing anything!" I cry with horror

They think: "yes, you clueless idiot that's the whole POINT"

@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay

To get philosophical: making currency is a primary function of a state. States have chosen to allow private entities to take this role in digital spaces, an abdication of state power. (The political reasons how and why this has happened are interesting.)

I once thought a "stateless currency" was possible. I now think that was very naive.

The currency *is* the state.

When the currency fails? so to the government.

@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay

I think this is such an important problem to think about. Payment networks are networks of trust. Since IRL we don't experience "transaction fees" it easy to not understand why such fees are so hard to avoid when moving online.

I don't want to discourage you because it's upsetting how hard it is to extricate oneself from all of the big players in payments.