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synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 14h

A Photographer Who Brought a Vanished Central European Jewry to Life

www.nytimes.com

synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 1d

This negates the benefit of the phone's design, which prevented accidental button presses.

By contrary example, Mous gets it right by mimicking the phone's slightly inset placement.

With the dbrand case, I accidentally press the button routinely. But with the Mous case I never do.

synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 1d

Others use an active solution, a layered capacitve overlay. Assuming the capacitive function of the overlay works properly, nonetheless this approach can be either hamfisted or elegant.

For example, dbrand gets in wrong by making the overlay flush with the case edge.

2/3

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synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 1d

Now that I have my first iPhone with the Camera Control, I can say this about phone cases that do a better or worse job of accommodating it:

Some use a passive solution, a cutout. This is a low cost, elegant approach that respects the phone's slightly inset placement of the capacitive button.

1/3

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synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 1d

Not to discount your feeling (I'm sorry you're experiencing it), but: Maybe you have yet to find the right community for you.

Anecdotally, I am in my 60s and never belonged in any community. I mean, in hindsight I realize that even in childhood I never fit in. Not all of us fit in, and that's okay.

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synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 1d

Well described. It's not just you. Liquid Glass is terrible for accessibility, usability and aesthetics (in that order).

Evident to me is that Apple's last good idea in the UI/UX space was Jony Ive.

synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 28d

As I wend through iOS 26, I see three things clearly:

1. Apple's main objective for iOS 26 was that it be visually differentiated from Android just as much as possible.

2. Serving the main objective, Apple fundamentally abandoned accessibility.

3. The iOS 26 GUI, apps and screens alike, is awful.

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synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 1d

I'm not even a sports fan, and I am enthralled by Ohtani. Obviously he is singular.

synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 2d

Seydou Keïta and the Forging of West African Identity

www.nytimes.com

synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 2d

More info: For Google Gemini, the voice is called "Orbit".

synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 3d

In the countryside now, accompanying my friend as he swaps the winter tires onto my car. Even with the house and street lights, I see that the clear black sky is full of stars.

synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 3d

Do it. Music with whatever since about the late 1960s. Bass guitar since 1979. I still haven't played anything or made music any kind of way that's like bass. Very special.

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synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 3d

“The best laid plans…” Today, after a good start with the new pedalboard, one of the pedals freaked out. I tested it, then removed it.

Nothing I had that would fit the spot and was available did the same sort of thing.

Thus I chose something different, but awesome: Wreck'T (PTP 4-knob) by Menatone

A medium-small pedalboard, designed for use with bass guitar. It is arranged to make monaural audio. It comprises eight pedals on its top, ranging in size from medium to somewhat large. The board itself is gray and black in color, while the pedals are in a variety of mostly muted colors. The pedalboard is powered up, so various pedals' indicator lights are lit.

At an oblique angle, with its junction box revealed on one of its short sides, a medium-small pedalboard, designed for use with bass guitar. It is arranged to make monaural audio. It comprises eight pedals on its top, ranging in size from medium to somewhat large. The board itself is gray and black in color, while the pedals are in a variety of mostly muted colors. The pedalboard is powered up, so various pedals' indicator lights are lit.

The underside of a medium-small pedalboard. The board itself is gray and black in color, while the two power distribution units are a bright anodized blue color with white lettering. Each unit has several thin, black power cables connected to it. The power supply for the units is black in color. The pedalboard is powered up, so the power supply and distribution units' tiny indicator lights are lit. There is a small, square, dark gray audio buffer unit near the junction box at one short end of the board.

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synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 4d

I just built a mono pedalboard for bass guitar. Cable routing was hard. But it all worked on the first try!

Short a low profile TRS cable, the expression input will wait until new ones arrive.

At first blush, this board sounds more raw and fun than the stereo board. But we shall see.

Ugly photos:

The top of a small pedalboard designed for bass guitar. It features two rows of pedals, ranging in size from medium to slightly large, in a variety of colors. The board is receiving power, so some of the pedals' indicator lights are lit.

The underside of a small pedalboard designed for bass guitar. It features a power supply, black in color, that powers two power distributor units, bright anodized blue in color. Next to them is a small, dark gray audio buffer unit. The board is receiving power, so the power subsystem units' indicator lights are lit.

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Reposted by synonymist

Kashana @kashana.blacksky.app · 4d

Labor Day was a month ago, weird that NBC is wearing all white

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 4d

NBC News has reportedly eliminated its NBC BLK, NBC Asian America, NBC Latino and NBC OUT teams

NBC News’ 150 Layoffs Gut Black, Latino, Asian American and LGBTQ+ Diversity Teams

The cuts affected teams across the NBC News operation and came as the network no longer needed to support two different news operations. MSNBC has begun growing its own newsroom, hiring swaths of tale...

www.thewrap.com

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Reposted by synonymist

Dr. Allison Wiltz @allyfromnola.bsky.social · 4d

“The segregationist goal is the total reversal of all reforms, with reestablishment of naked oppression and, if need be, a native form of fascism.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.

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synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 4d

This morning, a few yards from my residence, the town replaced a little tree that died recently with a young, living tree. I was sorry to see the first tree decline. I wish good luck to the new tree.

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synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 4d

About 15 years ago, I realized that in the first part of human history, the two pillars of civilization were

1. the value of human life, and

2. the value of human labor.

Even in warfare, 1 was asserted. But if 2 were obviated, then 1 would be negated.

Now we see the race to this threshold.

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synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 4d

For the time being. Yet during the past century, sci-fi has deftly illustrated how the historically essential role of humanity at large in wealth extraction and aggregation is in fact fungible.

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Moose Allain @mooseallain.bsky.social · 4d

The real challenge for tech bros is striking the fine balance between completely destroying humanity and retaining enough of it that their billions are still worth something.

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synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 5d

Although this path is in my family, it isn’t my own path. But that didn’t stop me tearing up by the end of this clip. May you keep such good company now and always, Mr. Mamdani.

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synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 5d

Newly able to try Apple Intelligence on my phone, I see that it suffers from the same overreach as on Mac. The main victim is Mail, where the effects are intrusive and the means to control them don’t exist.

Too bad, since I was going to try it. But the Mail behavior makes it a binary. So no dice.

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synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 5d

It’s solipsism.

(sense: the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist)

synonymist @synonymist.bsky.social · 5d

Revisiting this, I am struck by the meaning of the key moment, when the frog points his arms at the fascists and they immediately walk backwards several steps:

Shame.

They aren't repelled by fear of physical attack, but by the crushing weight of their shame, in reaction to his gesture of rebuke.