https://github.com/koepnick/dotfiles cloned into ~/.config

I typically start with a restrictive .gitignore and add directories as needed.

A ton of stuff that I always forget like mpv, vifm, and whatnot always slipped through the cracks before. Now I can clone to practically anywhere and have everything just work.

Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most… human.

My own anthropological pet theory.

Dunbar’s number is the concept that a person can only have so many meaningful relationships. Another way of thinking about it is that we, as a species, feel most comfortable in tribes with a certain number of people.

Which makes sense. I hated, hated the little rednecky town that I grew up in. But when I moved to a larger city, the first few weeks were spent overcoming the loneliness of not knowing everybody around me.

What massive online social media does is essentially short circuit the behavior that we developed when we began urbanizing.

Now a person can be a member of twenty tribes without ever needing to leave their homes. If we are, in fact, only capable of a finite number of close friendships then every close relationship that you have online is energy that won’t be spent on a physical one.

True story: I left Facebook in 2016. I had been miserable but didn’t even think to relate the two. About a month after I jumped ship I got adopted by a group of fellow nerds nearing midlife. We hang out at least twice per week. Pub trivia, bowling, hiking. Those interactions are so much more meaningful than anything you can get on social media. By our nature, humans crave physical company.

Social media isn’t going to “break” us. But, if nothing changes, it will further dramatically alter society.

The most livable place outside of the Earth is in the upper atmosphere of Venus. It’s way closer to the Earth. And air pirates would sail through clouds of sulfuric acid on their steampunk zeppelins.

I’m not saying that he has late stage syphilitic dementia. But if he doesn’t then I’m somehow even more confused about his recent actions.

Gotta mention Pop_OS! as a fantastic beginner distro. My 72 year old mother refuses to use anything else. It’s simple, has automated backups and disaster recovery, and installs non-free drivers for graphics cards.

I don’t personally use it since it doesn’t yet support Wayland and my gaming rig has a HiDPI screen and X11 doesn’t support fractional scaling. Or per screen scaling.

I’m legally obligated to inform you that I run Arch.