BillySmith

sarahf , 6 months ago to random

"People say they want real justice... so we fob them off with a slightly less unjust system of justice. Workers howl that they're being flayed like donkeys... so we arrange for the flaying to be a little less severe and slash their howling entitlement, but the exploitation goes on. The workforce would rather not have fatal accidents in the factory... so we make it a teeny bit safer and increase compensation payments to widows.

... (1/2)

BillySmith , 6 months ago

@sarahf @bookstodon

weirdwriter , 6 months ago to bookstodon

I cannot believe that this is already a proposal, advertisements in e-books! I was making an offhand prediction from a college essay I did years ago, but then, someone actually replied with this. This is a literal nightmare come true! US20120084150A1 - Ebook advertising and related techniques - Google Patents https://patents.google.com/patent/US20120084150A1/en #Publishing #EBooks #Books @bookstodon

BillySmith , 6 months ago

@weirdwriter @bookstodon

Anyone who implements this is going to get their arse sued into oblivion. :D

This creates a whole new range of attack surfaces where there were none before. :D

Drive-by malware installation has been a thing for decades, but this patent extends the range of potential routes.

I can't see any insurance company providing anti-hacking insurance cover for the resulting mess, so the business model is screwed. :D

BillySmith , 6 months ago

@Yuki @bookstodon @weirdwriter

Don;t give them any more ideas... :D

ChrisMayLA6 , 8 months ago to bookstodon

Meanwhile in #Paris..... having been subjected to a #bedbug infestation & a #sewage problem in the #Seine, now the #Olympics organisers are picking a fight with Paris' riverside #book stalls that they want to absent themselves from the banks while the opening ceremony as their stock boxes are apparently a security risk...

How this will play out for the Paris mayor & Olympics management remains to be seen

@bookstodon

BillySmith , 8 months ago

@negative12dollarbill @riggbeck @ChrisMayLA6 @bookstodon

I live in East London where the Olympics took place in 2012.

The local property taxes had been increased in 2007 to cover the costs, but the local borough still went into debt to cover the costs.

We'll be paying this off for decades.

ExcessivelyDiverting , 8 months ago to bookstodon

50 books to read before you die

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/entertainment/news/50-books-to-read-before-you-die/ss-AA1hbkwi#image=1

#AmReading #AmWriting #Regency @bookstodon #books #Bookstodon #WritingCommunity #ReadingCommunity #Georgian #JaneEyre #CharlotteBronte #Victorian #Persuasion #EmilyBronte #WutheringHeights #JaneAusten

BillySmith , 8 months ago

@ExcessivelyDiverting @ukaunz @bookstodon

That's mostly because you're talking on an English-speaking forum, and most people with English as their first language don't have great literacy in other languages.

It's a shame as there is some great writing out there. :D

BillySmith , 8 months ago

@ExcessivelyDiverting @ukaunz @bookstodon

I wasn't talking about the literacy of the people posting, but more about the second-language skills of the people here reading, including myself.

Trying to read different English translations of the same works, as well as reading translations of English works into other languages, and i know that my language skills are not up to the full range of subtleties that are expressed in those languages.

BillySmith , 8 months ago

@ExcessivelyDiverting @ukaunz @bookstodon

It's also, that a large number of people from the USA and the UK, are in situations where English is their ONLY language... :(