Matt Gordon
@gordon.earth
Musician, programmer, tree enthusiast, one of those dangerous radical leftists you've been warned about. Fredericton, Canada.
Oh, thanks. I'll have to come check it out.
September 17, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Oh, thanks. I'll have to come check it out.
Or maybe there already is such a group that I don't know about?
September 17, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Or maybe there already is such a group that I don't know about?
Reposted by Matt Gordon
OMG emdashes! Am I AI?!
July 29, 2025 at 7:16 PM
OMG emdashes! Am I AI?!
I was wondering if there was something going on or if it was just random chance. The last three times I've been on Prospect street, my phone says reception is good but I can't reliably send texts or access the internet.
July 27, 2025 at 10:38 PM
I was wondering if there was something going on or if it was just random chance. The last three times I've been on Prospect street, my phone says reception is good but I can't reliably send texts or access the internet.
I think MacOS, Windows and Linux all have reputations that reflect what they were like 20 years ago more so than what they're like now.
May 19, 2025 at 10:41 PM
I think MacOS, Windows and Linux all have reputations that reflect what they were like 20 years ago more so than what they're like now.
100%. My brother-in-law asked me recently why more people don't use Linux and I couldn't quickly think of a good answer. I think there are lots of reasons why people *don't* use it but no good reason why a "normal" person *shouldn't*.
May 19, 2025 at 10:37 PM
100%. My brother-in-law asked me recently why more people don't use Linux and I couldn't quickly think of a good answer. I think there are lots of reasons why people *don't* use it but no good reason why a "normal" person *shouldn't*.
So in the last century increasing computing power meant better (or at least slicker-looking) user interfaces for everything, but in this century the graphics improvements really only show up in games and some other specialized software.
April 30, 2025 at 1:29 PM
So in the last century increasing computing power meant better (or at least slicker-looking) user interfaces for everything, but in this century the graphics improvements really only show up in games and some other specialized software.
And I realized that computers in the 80's didn't have GUIs and in the 90's they barely had the power to run a GUI. But by the early-mid aughts home computers had enough power to run a very slick hi-res GUI.
April 30, 2025 at 1:29 PM
And I realized that computers in the 80's didn't have GUIs and in the 90's they barely had the power to run a GUI. But by the early-mid aughts home computers had enough power to run a very slick hi-res GUI.
I was thinking the other day about how progress in computing power hasn't slowed much in the last 20 years, compared to previous decades, but it *feels* so much slower. When I was a teenager in the 90s, each new generation of computer felt like such a big improvement.
April 30, 2025 at 1:29 PM
I was thinking the other day about how progress in computing power hasn't slowed much in the last 20 years, compared to previous decades, but it *feels* so much slower. When I was a teenager in the 90s, each new generation of computer felt like such a big improvement.
I mean sometimes the problem is that I, the listener, am too stupid. But often people just haven't thought very hard. The challenge is telling which.
April 17, 2025 at 2:15 AM
I mean sometimes the problem is that I, the listener, am too stupid. But often people just haven't thought very hard. The challenge is telling which.
I also remember the time before the web, never mind social media, and I was already then surprised by how often people made arguments that didn't stand up to the slightest scrutiny.
April 17, 2025 at 2:15 AM
I also remember the time before the web, never mind social media, and I was already then surprised by how often people made arguments that didn't stand up to the slightest scrutiny.
I think social media is naturally biased towards people who say more, exacerbated by the way engagement algorithms and "virality" work. Unfortunately that means the conversation is often dominated by people who are willing to spout off about anything.
April 17, 2025 at 2:11 AM
I think social media is naturally biased towards people who say more, exacerbated by the way engagement algorithms and "virality" work. Unfortunately that means the conversation is often dominated by people who are willing to spout off about anything.
I also wish politicians, city planners and the media would talk about how, even if *you* don't want to take transit, convincing/allowing *other people* to take transit is the best thing you can do to reduce traffic.
April 1, 2025 at 6:37 PM
I also wish politicians, city planners and the media would talk about how, even if *you* don't want to take transit, convincing/allowing *other people* to take transit is the best thing you can do to reduce traffic.
There are lots of places in Toronto that are a pain to get to on transit but it's genuinely baffling to me why anyone drives to downtown.
April 1, 2025 at 6:32 PM
There are lots of places in Toronto that are a pain to get to on transit but it's genuinely baffling to me why anyone drives to downtown.
As long as we're still using FPTP, I think for any new party to have a chance it needs to be either: 1) more right-wing and/or socially conservative than the CPC 2) more left-wing and/or socially liberal than the NDP, or 3) built around a core issue the way the Greens and Bloc are.
March 31, 2025 at 2:02 PM
As long as we're still using FPTP, I think for any new party to have a chance it needs to be either: 1) more right-wing and/or socially conservative than the CPC 2) more left-wing and/or socially liberal than the NDP, or 3) built around a core issue the way the Greens and Bloc are.
I think a centrist party built around consensus building with a platform of reducing partisanship and being "nicer" in parliament would at least have a vision people could understand. But positioning yourself as a centrist party with an abrasive leader like Cardy just doesn't work IMO.
March 31, 2025 at 2:02 PM
I think a centrist party built around consensus building with a platform of reducing partisanship and being "nicer" in parliament would at least have a vision people could understand. But positioning yourself as a centrist party with an abrasive leader like Cardy just doesn't work IMO.
He seems to be positioning himself in the space between the Liberals and Conservatives which just isn't a big enough space to support a new party under FPTP. Maybe that could work if he ran on a "big tent" platform of building bridges and negotiating compromises; but that's just not Cardy, is it?
March 31, 2025 at 2:02 PM
He seems to be positioning himself in the space between the Liberals and Conservatives which just isn't a big enough space to support a new party under FPTP. Maybe that could work if he ran on a "big tent" platform of building bridges and negotiating compromises; but that's just not Cardy, is it?
The fact that I *enjoy* being a crotchety old man does not help.
March 15, 2025 at 12:29 PM
The fact that I *enjoy* being a crotchety old man does not help.
One thing I've been wrestling with lately is, while I'm pretty sure the software industry has gone downhill in the last decade or so, I'm in my mid-40's so I'm always wondering if things are really worse or if I'm just getting old.
March 15, 2025 at 12:29 PM
One thing I've been wrestling with lately is, while I'm pretty sure the software industry has gone downhill in the last decade or so, I'm in my mid-40's so I'm always wondering if things are really worse or if I'm just getting old.
And I say this as someone who moved to Toronto and then back to Fredericton. I don't want Fredericton to "become Toronto" either, and that's why I support these sorts of zoning changes.
February 26, 2025 at 1:41 PM
And I say this as someone who moved to Toronto and then back to Fredericton. I don't want Fredericton to "become Toronto" either, and that's why I support these sorts of zoning changes.