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7/20/2024
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I still have very little time for writing -- though I may
try to change that pretty soon. Today, I woke up early and
thought I would finally have a quiet, dreamy time to
compose something before my daughter was up. But right
after I sat down with my coffee, the little one was up and
yelling out, so I am scratched the ideas I had for a piece,
and instead you get:

Collapse OS
http://collapseos.org/

I think it is worth a look if you vibe with the things I
write about. (All of the sites linked in this post are non-
bloated.)

I don't know if electronic computation is even worth
preserving very far down a long descent, but the project
looks like it could be fun to play around with (for those
with time...), also now that it has moved to DuskOS, I
think it could be useful as a tool to hack together
different pieces of salvaged tech even more freely (failing
that, easily) than Linux.

At the bottom of the page is "Related efforts" and that
link list is pure gold for us junk punks.

https://simplifier.neocities.org/

My favorite of the bunch. If you are an amateurish maker, I
most recommend this piece as an introduction -- some
important food for thought if you are anything below pro:

https://simplifier.neocities.org/edges

Also, I'm just going to copy out the About page:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Why do I simplify? How did I get started? What is the
goal of this website?

    Before developing any other skill, I enjoyed
programming. To some extent, I still do; each program is
its own universe, built from scratch, and the ability to
create these on a whim is fascinating. However, the more
time I spent programming, the more I became aware of the
fact that software depends on hardware, and hardware is
constantly changing. A program is not like a book or a
painting; it requires constant upkeep and adaptation to
remain in existence.

    Initially, this drove me to learn about hardware, so
that I could develop a stable platform to build upon; but
this too was futile. Components inevitably fail, and there
is no guarantee that replacements will be available in the
coming years or decades. Essentially, permanent work cannot
be achieved on a computer, as the hardware is fundamentally
out of the control of the user. No matter what world is
created inside of a program, its foundation will always
rest on sand.

    At this point I left programming entirely, and began
searching for other meaningful work to do; but the problem
had followed me! No matter what skill I intended to learn,
I found that its permanence had been eroded by the chaos of
technology. Materials were replaced by brands, techniques
replaced by accessories, and craftsmanship replaced by
consumerism. Clearly, this was something that needed to be
fixed. Clearly, this is what I had to do.

    Fundamentally, my work here is about creating a stable
foundation of technology that is reliable, understandable,
and practical for an individual to build for themselves. As
of writing this, I believe I have done this on a conceptual
level, but I intend to continue this work to the highest
level of technology that I can achieve on my own. I
encourage readers to utilize anything here which they find
practical for whatever purpose they see fit, and to
consider adopting a mindset of simplification in projects
of their own.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Permission to reprint the About page in its entirety has 
been granted by Simplifier.  

The parts I wrote are hereby in the public domain.
Do what you wnat with them.