(As told to Erisen of Beth by Minathiel Avicenna.)
In a land there was a river, and in the river there was an island. On the island lived Frog, Mouse, and Scorpion. They avoided each other and made no effort to interact, so they made ideal neighbors.
One rainy season, there was a flood, and the lowest parts of the island were taken by the water. As the water rose, it was obvious that their little island would soon be swept away. Neither Mouse nor Scorpion could swim.
Scorpion said to Frog, “Friend and neighbor Frog, will you please carry me away to high ground? If I stay here, I will perish.”
“I would like to,” Frog replied. “But how can I trust you not to sting me?”
“I want to sting you,” Scorpion said. “Very much. But if I sting you, I will drown. So you can see, you have nothing to fear.”
Still, Frog was careful, because Scorpion had stung many of Frog’s friends.
“I will carry you,” Frog said, “if you agree to let Mouse hold your tail so that you can’t sting me. If Mouse keeps you from stinging me, we can all reach safety together.”
Scorpion did not like this, but agreed to it.
Frog called to Mouse, who was doing nothing a short distance away. “Mouse! Come hold Scorpion’s tail, and we will all escape to safety!”
But Mouse was too busy doing nothing, and refused the request.
“Besides,” said Mouse. “Either Scorpion will sting me or Frog will drown me. No, thank you! Leave me out of it: you are both the same.”
“I feel I must point out,” Scorpion said to Frog, as Mouse left in a huff, “that all our agreement required of me was to allow Mouse to hold my tail, which I have agreed to do. What Mouse actually does or does not do was never part of our agreement. It is not fair to penalize me for something beyond my control.”
Frog considered this.
“We had an agreement, and I will honor it,” Frog said. “I will carry you. No stinging.”
“I promise,” Scorpion vowed.
The flood waters made swimming difficult, but Frog was strong and determined. Frog and Scorpion were halfway to safety when Frog felt the burning stab of Scorpion’s stinger.
“Why?” cried Frog, writhing in pain and trying to stay afloat. “Now we will both perish!”
“I can’t help it,” Scorpion said sadly. “It’s my nature.”
This was no comfort to Frog.
“I am sorry that it has ended this way,” Scorpion said, tumbling into the water from dying Frog’s back. “Thank you for trusting me.”
“I would do it again, I think,” Frog said.
“Why?” Scorpion asked, arms thrashing uselessly in the water. “Look what it brought you.”
“I can’t help it,” Frog said sadly. “It’s my nature.”
As Frog perished from venom and Scorpion drowned, Mouse watched from the shrinking island, but did nothing.
“They were both the same,” Mouse declared in triumph. “And I am much too smart to fall for that.” Because that was their nature.
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I think it’s interesting that terms like “Luddite” and “Uncle Tom” are misused as insults by people who know nothing about the Luddites or “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. My knee-jerk opinion is that most semantic drift is caused by ignorance, but in recent years, I think malice has become a major cause, as well (see also, “woke”).
I use Obsidian as a daily journal for my own mental health, and for writing and organizing my fiction writing. I use Dropbox with Dropsync (on Android) to sync. I write primarily on my tablet (Android, using Dropsync), and occasionally on my desktop (Windows 10). I follow these rules:
1) Set up different configuration folders for my tablet and my desktop in Obsidian under “Files and links”. (e.g., “.obsidian-ulthar” for my desktop, “.obsidian-s9fe” for my tablet).
2) Always exit Obsidian when I am done.
3) Do not use Dropsync to auto-sync on my Obsidian folder (Android only).
4) Set up my Obsidian folder in Dropsync, including hidden files.
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I have created a color scheme for Minimal Theme for Obsidian. I mainly use Obsidian on my Boox Tab Ultra tablet, which is an e-ink device. My intention is to create a very high contrast theme that is easily legible on an e-ink device like the Boox, while also being attractive enough for desktop or color tablet use.
The theme is nowhere near as colorful as most themes. If you like everything to be a different color, this theme is probably not your cup of tea.
This is written as a CSS snippet, but my hope is that the author of Minimal will eventually allow this theme to be added to the core Minimal color schemes. Obsidian really needs a clear, readable color scheme for e-ink devices. That’s what I want, in any case.
I have posted the CSS file to my github page. If pasted into the theme.css file in Minimal (between gruvbox and macos), the code looks like this…
Imagine a world where Amazon and Google and Microsoft and Apple had the combined wealth and power of Mailboxes, Etc. …
Proposal: some services must never be operated for profit. As in, if you want the license to operate, you operate as not-for-profit, with all of the oversight and regulation that entails. What kind of services?
Hospitals
Military
Police
Post Offices
Prisons
Roads
Schools
Trains
Story hook: a team of people from 2080 go back to the 1960s to attempt to prevent the end of Human civilization. How? By lobbying legislators to put civilian use of ARPANET under exclusive control of the US Post Office before Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf develop TCP/IP.
Update: In case this was unclear: if you put “Contracting Company” after any of these services, it should make NO DIFFERENCE. NONE. If you want the license to operate, you operate as not-for-profit, with all of the oversight and regulation that entails. We are at least a generation past the point where the “contractor” loophole should have been legislatively closed. Human beings are not “resources” to be squeezed dry and discarded.
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Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.
— Rita Mae Brown
On the one hand, it’s my opinion that the specific word someone uses means very little compared to what they mean by that word.
On the other hand, yes, vocabulary changes over time. “Decimate” used to mean “kill one person in ten”; nowadays it means “destroy most of”, almost the opposite of its archaic meaning.
But context matters. Intent matters. Chasing the term-of-the-moment is a distraction from what actually helps or hurts people. This semiotic scavenger hunt is one of the ways in which well-meaning people are kept occupied by trivia, while the Republican death cult burns the United States to the ground.
That being said, if someone from Mexico tells me that they consider “Mexican” to be pejorative because someone, somewhere has used that word as an insult, I will make an effort not to use that word around them. (Note: this is a hypothetical example, but it very easily could be a real-life example tomorrow.)
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Personally, I think we have too many punctuation symbols. Do we need commas, colons, and semicolons? Do we need three different kinds of dash? If you used a comma instead of a colon or a semicolon, or vice versa (as millions of people routinely do), would anyone be more or less confused about the meaning of the sentence?
My answer is: no, they would not; most people couldn’t tell you the proper usage of a colon vs. a semicolon — or an n-dash vs. an m-dash — if you paid them.
This is one of a few in-character World Of Warcraft blog posts I wrote in the early 2000s and posted to rp-haven.com. The author of this is Figli Brassboots, a gnomish warrior, like his father Fugli before him.
Click the thumbnails for larger images with more details.
May 17, 2009, “Figli gets a haircut”
“What can I do for ya, bub?” ze goblin said.
“I am needing ze haircut!” I said.
“I am needing ze haircut!“
“I got what you need!” ze goblin said with great confidence. “Hop in da chair.”
Today ist ze day! Today I meet with ze representatives of ze Commonwealth, a guild devoted to ze honest pursuits and ze protection of ze innocent peoples. But first, I need to be making myself presentable, und zo I am going to get a haircut!
“Hokay!” Und I hopped into ze special barber chair.
Ze goblin tugged und combed und re-arranged mein hair, und zen spun me around to see.
“Whatcha think?”
“Zis is much too shaggy.“
“Nein, nein,” I said. “Zis is much too shaggy. I am needing more structure.”
“Structure, huh? You got it, bub.”
Ze goblin tugged und combed und re-arranged mein hair, und zen spun me around to see.
“Whatcha think? Enough structure?”
“I am needing not so much pointiness.“
“Zis is haffink ze structure,” I said, “but it is much too pointy. I am needing not so much pointiness.”
“Less pointy, huh? Okay, pal, I got yer meaning.”
Ze goblin tugged und combed und re-arranged mein hair, und zen spun me around to see.
“Whatcha think? Better?”
“Very aerodynamic!”
I looked in ze mirror, and pondered.
“Zis is better, ja. Very aerodynamic! But I am thinking I am needing more hair on ze facial region. I am haffink ze interview of ze utmost importance, und I must have ze appearance of a gnome of a most sincere und serious nature.”
“Oh, okay. I got ya now. Serious. You got it.” Ze goblin tugged und combed und re-arranged mein hair again, und zen spun me around to see.
“Whatcha think? Serious enough?”
“Mein head ist cold!”
“Ja ja, zis is serious,” I said. “But mein head ist cold! I am needing more hair on top of mein head.”
“Oh, okay,” ze goblin said. “You shoulda said that before. I know whatcha need now.”
Ze goblin tugged und combed und re-arranged mein hair, und zen spun me around again to see.
“Whatcha think? More hair on yer head.”
“Mein head looks like a bird!”
“Zis is no good,” I said. “Mein head looks like a bird!”
“Like a boid, huh? Okay, pal, I get yer meaning. I’ll trim it it up for ya.”
Ze goblin tugged und combed und re-arranged mein hair, und zen spun me around again to see.
“Whatcha think? I took it in on da sides and da beard.”
“Zis is perfect!”
“Zis is perfect!” I said.
Und zo, I paid ze goblin his gold, und alzo gave him a generous tip for his efforts of such an extraordinary nature.
This is one of a few in-character World Of Warcraft blog posts I wrote in the early 2000s and posted to rp-haven.com. The author of this is Figli Brassboots, a gnomish warrior, like his father Fugli before him.
Click the thumbnails for larger images with more details.
August 8, 2008, “Arrival in Ironforge”
To mein dearest sister Migli,
Hello from ze draenei land! After meeting ze friendly draenei women in Ironforge, I was very curious to see more of zese giant people with ze horns und ze horse-feet. Und zo, I went to ze island of their city, which is being called Exodar. Exodar ist ze very unusual city! It is all glowing und sparkly und is mostly made of stone, but is being made from crystal alzo. One of ze most unusual traits I am seeing is ze transparent floor, which is allowing you to see where you are going before you get there! It also allows you to wave at friends, which is nice, but most people do not look up, und zo are not waving back.
Hello! I am up here!
Ze draenei city is being lit very brightly, but you will not see torches! Zis was being a great mystery, but ze draenei I ask about zis are not understanding my question. Und zo, I am haffink to investigate into ze nature of ze draenei lighting system. After much exploration, I make a discovery — ze draenei city is powered by ze magical wind chimes! Apparently, zis power source is so vigorous, it can light ze entire draenei city all by itself! I am thinking we need one of zese wind chimes for Ironforge, und maybe Gnomeregan, alzo!
Ze magical wind chimes!
Ze draenei city is being a wealth of valuable minerals. Mein battle chicken, Kluckenspeil, is helping me to find zese minerals on many occasions, but he is not very good at ze mining. Even zo, I let him peck at ze stone und let him think he is being ze help to me. He is a good chicken.
Kluckenspeil is good at finding ze minerals!
Ze draenei peoples are haffink many enemies in their new home. One enemy of ze draenei is ze bear people, which are being called firbolgs. Some of these are fighting ze draenei, but zis is because ze draenei dropped pieces of crystal all over ze place when they came to ze island, und ze crystals are being poisonous to ze animals und ze plants in ze manner much like what I have heard about Gnomeregan. I am thinking zis makes ze draenei having problems much like ze gnomes, but without haffink ze dwarf friends to be taking them in! Zis makes me want to be a help to them, und zo I am performing ze investigations und solving ze problems for them und things of zis nature.
Zo anyway, ze firbolgs are some fighting ze draenei, but some are wanting to be friends. The bad firbolgs are also fighting ze good firbolgs. I learned zis when I was asked to rescue a pincess from ze bad firbolgs. Ja, a princess! You can be imagining my surprise when I rescue ze princess und discover she is a firbolg, alzo. No princess kisses for Figli!
Zis is ze princess?
Some of ze draenei enemies I haff seen before, like ze pink elfen. I do not know why ze bad pink elfen are attacking ze draenei und summoning up ze monsters und demons und other things of a most calamitous nature. I help ze draenei with ze finding of a leader of ze bad pink elfen, und they gave him a trial und decided to kill him. Zis is puzzling me for several reasons. First, why are they haffink a trial for zis pink elf, Matis, when they are not haffink trials for ze other pink elfen, whom they are just killing? Also, I am thinking I do not understand ze draenei systems of ze legality und ze judiciality, because all they did was to say to ze pink elf, “You haff been found guilty, und we are to be killink you in ze morning!”, but I was not seeing ze evidence or ze formal accusations or ze back und forth und back und forth such as is ze case in ze gnomish courts of judicious decisioneering. But maybe they are haffink zis when I am not looking, maybe. Anyway, ze pink elfen was definitely one of ze bad pink elfen, because he was spitting und saying things about enslaving ze magical wind chime und torturing people und other things of a most vicious und malevolent nature.
Ze bad pink elfen ist being judicially decisioneered
Ze most ferocious enemies of ze draenei are ze snake men being called ze naga, und are definitely ze most ferocious creatures! Many times, I am haffink to fight ze hardest I have ever fought! But do not worry, I am always being careful und am using ze superior gnomish tactics, und zis is why I am always winning in ze battles!
Ze naga is ze most ferocious creature!
Ze gnome victorious!
Ze naga are haffink ze interesting statues. I think it is being ze naga queen, or maybe ze naga goddess, or something of zis nature. I would like to ask them about zis, but they are not ze communicative people. Still, it is ze most artistic looking statue!
What does she feed her hair?
Near to ze draenei is ze most astounding monster of all: ze ghost of ze dragon from times long ago! I was not believing zis when I am first being told it, but then I went und looked for myself und discovered it to be true! Unfortunately, I was not being careful enough with ze sneaking, und ze ghost dragon wanted to eat me, even though he was ze ghost und does not need to eat anymore — certainly not gnomes! So I was haffink to kill him again, although when he is remembering that he is already dead, he will be very annoyed, I am thinking! But I am long gone by then. Papa did not raise any stupid gnomes!
Figli ze dragon re-slayer!
I am saving ze best news for ze last. Ze draenei are riding great beasts of ze most extraordinary und gigantic nature, which are being called elekks. They let me ride one of the elekks on a temporary basis so that I could carry important messages to many draenei in different places on ze island. Zis was an experience of ze most exhilarating nature! Ze draenei in charge of ze elekks is saying that when I have done many favors for ze draenei und proved I am trustworthy and a friend to ze draenei peoples, that I can have an elekk to ride for myself. So I am working very hard now!
Ze mighty elekk!
I must to be wrapping up zis letter, because mein ship has arrived for taking me to Ashenvale, where ze draenei und ze blue elfen are needing ze help of brave gnome warriors. I will be writing again soon!
Sailing away until next time!
Your brother in love und respect, Figli, son of Fugli
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Blackmoor Vituperative
