Mike Fennelly
@swizzlebeef.com
Carbon-based biped.Not easily surprised by new technology (NPR, 2010). Renaissance Nerd. Guitarist. Former mailman.
I can't imagine adding gender dysphoria on top of that. Can we go back to the "why in hell would you use your real name or a goddamn identifiable picture on the Internet???" days, plz?
December 16, 2025 at 2:28 AM
I can't imagine adding gender dysphoria on top of that. Can we go back to the "why in hell would you use your real name or a goddamn identifiable picture on the Internet???" days, plz?
I am the most generic cis white guy out there. I can get up on stage and play music with no butterflies. I can speak in front of crowds no problem. If you put me on camera, my face freezes in a rictus grin my brain thinks is smiling, and all my useful brain cells worry what I look like.
December 16, 2025 at 2:28 AM
I am the most generic cis white guy out there. I can get up on stage and play music with no butterflies. I can speak in front of crowds no problem. If you put me on camera, my face freezes in a rictus grin my brain thinks is smiling, and all my useful brain cells worry what I look like.
Whereas I, the true arbiter of slang usage, have only heard it used a la "futzing with" "goofing around with" "messing with"
Q.E.D.
Q.E.D.
December 16, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Whereas I, the true arbiter of slang usage, have only heard it used a la "futzing with" "goofing around with" "messing with"
Q.E.D.
Q.E.D.
One of the most useful classes I ever took was seriously a media literacy class in middle school that drilled "what is this trying to sell me?" into my brain for literally everything I consume. I dearly wish it was a mandatory part of the curriculum.
December 16, 2025 at 12:21 AM
One of the most useful classes I ever took was seriously a media literacy class in middle school that drilled "what is this trying to sell me?" into my brain for literally everything I consume. I dearly wish it was a mandatory part of the curriculum.
Very very true - I'm thinking as a person who wants -information- and context, and it's very easy to put together a convincing video pushing an opinion that completely lacks both.
December 16, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Very very true - I'm thinking as a person who wants -information- and context, and it's very easy to put together a convincing video pushing an opinion that completely lacks both.
In all seriousness, the Discworld QsOTD are doing wonders to keep me sane. Pratchett was hilarious, but also a righteously angry man in the best of ways, and I wish more people were capable of seeing life as he did.
December 15, 2025 at 10:20 PM
In all seriousness, the Discworld QsOTD are doing wonders to keep me sane. Pratchett was hilarious, but also a righteously angry man in the best of ways, and I wish more people were capable of seeing life as he did.
Condolences, Wil. Be with your loved ones and tell the outside world to take a flying fuck at a rolling donut for a while.
December 15, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Condolences, Wil. Be with your loved ones and tell the outside world to take a flying fuck at a rolling donut for a while.
(which, again, me = weirdo - in this age of the internet I understand getting the easily digestible information synopsis to the shortest attention spans is vital, so I love "sources in first response/links in first response" in videos)
December 15, 2025 at 10:13 PM
(which, again, me = weirdo - in this age of the internet I understand getting the easily digestible information synopsis to the shortest attention spans is vital, so I love "sources in first response/links in first response" in videos)
There are definitely well made, interesting videos out there, but their primary effect on me is to make go look for an article or book that's a deep dive on the subject.
December 15, 2025 at 10:13 PM
There are definitely well made, interesting videos out there, but their primary effect on me is to make go look for an article or book that's a deep dive on the subject.
I am apparently a weirdo who prefers reading to watching - in most cases, watching internet videos is a passive action to me, regardless of the information value, and reading forces me to be present and absorb the content.
December 15, 2025 at 10:13 PM
I am apparently a weirdo who prefers reading to watching - in most cases, watching internet videos is a passive action to me, regardless of the information value, and reading forces me to be present and absorb the content.
But...like, I'd rather be honest with my kids and prepare them to not do the dumb thing, like saying "coke and heroin can ruin you, don't get in the car if the driver's been drinking, and when you think it's time to leave the party, you should have left 20 minutes ago"
December 15, 2025 at 2:34 AM
But...like, I'd rather be honest with my kids and prepare them to not do the dumb thing, like saying "coke and heroin can ruin you, don't get in the car if the driver's been drinking, and when you think it's time to leave the party, you should have left 20 minutes ago"
I'm well aware that the easiest way to get a teenager to do something is to forbid it/make it taboo, but like - until she's out on her own it's kinda my job to keep her alive. I have another reply saying if she did the dumb thing, she can call and I'll come get her, no questions asked
December 15, 2025 at 2:34 AM
I'm well aware that the easiest way to get a teenager to do something is to forbid it/make it taboo, but like - until she's out on her own it's kinda my job to keep her alive. I have another reply saying if she did the dumb thing, she can call and I'll come get her, no questions asked
Oh, I get that - she's not mine to control, but I very clearly remember being a teenager, and I'd rather say "Hey I did almost this exact thing, and these were the consequences" and not "because I said so!"
December 15, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Oh, I get that - she's not mine to control, but I very clearly remember being a teenager, and I'd rather say "Hey I did almost this exact thing, and these were the consequences" and not "because I said so!"
I had The Talk with my daughter and told her that if she ever ends up in a situation she does not want to be in, if she calls me I will come get her, no questions asked. No promises that I will not be angry, but I'm relieved she's making a smart choice.
December 15, 2025 at 1:29 AM
I had The Talk with my daughter and told her that if she ever ends up in a situation she does not want to be in, if she calls me I will come get her, no questions asked. No promises that I will not be angry, but I'm relieved she's making a smart choice.
I have a teenage daughter. My job is to help her make good decisions. We're not always going to agree, and I try to only enter full Dad Authority Mode for life-altering bad decisions, but so so few adults seem to remember that they were once teenagers, too. It's a tricky dance to pull off.
December 15, 2025 at 1:09 AM
I have a teenage daughter. My job is to help her make good decisions. We're not always going to agree, and I try to only enter full Dad Authority Mode for life-altering bad decisions, but so so few adults seem to remember that they were once teenagers, too. It's a tricky dance to pull off.
So regardless of gender presentation, I'm 100% sure that they have A Story to them and I am not about to question anyone who can full on run in six inch spike heels. Alas there's no polite way to say "Are you Johnny Thunders living in hiding in the suburbs?"
December 14, 2025 at 9:34 PM
So regardless of gender presentation, I'm 100% sure that they have A Story to them and I am not about to question anyone who can full on run in six inch spike heels. Alas there's no polite way to say "Are you Johnny Thunders living in hiding in the suburbs?"
So - my store has a regular customer that I seriously do not know if they're starting to transition or not - they sound like Dr. Girlfriend from Venture Bros but from The Bronx, and I have the sneaking suspicion that they were in an 80s glam metal band. 1/
December 14, 2025 at 9:34 PM
So - my store has a regular customer that I seriously do not know if they're starting to transition or not - they sound like Dr. Girlfriend from Venture Bros but from The Bronx, and I have the sneaking suspicion that they were in an 80s glam metal band. 1/
My first sysadmin job my boss tossed me a laptop and a pile of slackware install disks and just said "let me know when you're done", assumably as hazing. I learned a LOT from that, and also have no desire to ever repeat the experience.
December 13, 2025 at 11:37 PM
My first sysadmin job my boss tossed me a laptop and a pile of slackware install disks and just said "let me know when you're done", assumably as hazing. I learned a LOT from that, and also have no desire to ever repeat the experience.
Like, I absolutely love Linux for a whole slew of stuff, but I also enjoy pushing a button and just playing a game, or not having to install 1 package with 68432 dependencies to open the file my boss wants me to deal with five minutes ago.
December 13, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Like, I absolutely love Linux for a whole slew of stuff, but I also enjoy pushing a button and just playing a game, or not having to install 1 package with 68432 dependencies to open the file my boss wants me to deal with five minutes ago.
Then again, AI is never going to have an A-Ha! moment, so I don't know if using it to endlessly iterate and filter out the "oops, that one's deadly" is useful or not.
December 13, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Then again, AI is never going to have an A-Ha! moment, so I don't know if using it to endlessly iterate and filter out the "oops, that one's deadly" is useful or not.
I would think that this is one of the things (I Am Not A Scientist) "AI" would be good at - like "simulate this situation over and over again using different molecules and give me an ordered list of the most promising outcomes" and then unleash the human brains on them.
December 13, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I would think that this is one of the things (I Am Not A Scientist) "AI" would be good at - like "simulate this situation over and over again using different molecules and give me an ordered list of the most promising outcomes" and then unleash the human brains on them.
"You can go in if you want, but you're not going to be able to leave until we open tomorrow. Also, the motion sensor alarms turn on in about fifteen seconds."
December 13, 2025 at 8:09 PM
"You can go in if you want, but you're not going to be able to leave until we open tomorrow. Also, the motion sensor alarms turn on in about fifteen seconds."