@smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 2mo ago

Oooh, never done one of these hashtag thingies before:

#WritersCoffeeClub July 29: Is there something you want to write, but don't think you yet have the skill?

Horror & Thriller. Last time a #SROP author tried writing a gritty, pulse-pounding horror novel for Halloween, what came out at the end was a colorful pageant full of fairy dust and teenage hijinx... #SanguinityHematode

#bookstodon #ebooks

mastodon.sdf.org

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 4w ago

Replying to

@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social Thanks for the map. Now I'm pretty clear on where Mt Doom is so I can avoid it when traveling toward the Great Green Havens of Canada.

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 2mo ago

Nothing to see here, just pointing at this article in The Atlantic: "Generative AI Is an Engineering Disaster" I couldn't figure out how to "gift" it for Fedizens, but this quote was interesting. (See image, with alt text.) Link here, in case anyone can get to it: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/07/generative-ai-engineering-disaster/687901/ #AIdisaster #noAI

theatlantic.com

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@susankayequinn@wandering.shop This point is super important, and youngsters should have it drilled into them before they reach the workforce. Also, people I know have found out the hard way how horrible the system is to people (usually women) who, for whatever reason, work long-term in the full-time non-wage jobs of "homemaking" and "child-rearing". In a saner world child-rearing would pay a decent real wage and be included in SS earnings without question.

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 2mo ago

Nothing to see here, just keeping track of this article on MIT research into flying/diving robots.

https://news.mit.edu/2026/new-flapping-robot-swims-and-flies-like-diving-bird-0709
#robots #flight

news.mit.edu

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 3mo ago

Just FWIW from the Grim Historian, as I followed a rabbit hole from another posting.

"The Rich Never Know When They Are on the Menu":
https://thegrimhistorian.substack.com/p/the-rich-never-know-when-they-are

(P.S: Please don't complain that it's on Substack. Instead, you can pester the author and send a donation to help them get off Substack.)

Also FWIW, a book mentioned in the article can be found on PG here:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63001
Frederick Townsend Martin, "The Passing of the Idle Rich"

#wealth #society #TheGrimHistorian

thegrimhistorian.substack.com

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 2mo ago

Nothing to see here, just keeping track of this article on lower-coast PFAS [forever chemicals] removal in agriculture.

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-chemicals-farmlands-fraction.html

#farming #PFAS

phys.org

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 2mo ago

All four books in P.J. O'Brien's monumental "Sanctuary" series are on sale for FREE during the big July sale over at Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/bkansas

The Rodent highly recommends this set. Four volumes, nearly 2 million words. This is the fabulous set of books that I'd take to that proverbial desert island.

#ebooks #books #bookstodon #PJOBrien #free #Smashwords

smashwords.com

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 3mo ago

@LaNaehForaday@universeodon.com Mmm, yeah... It'll probably be barftastic. 🤮

But their pomp and circumstance will also be a zillion times outweighed by the cacophony of a billion people dancing happily on the grave. The blow-out event will probably register on seismographs around the world.

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 3mo ago

@Remittancegirl@mstdn.social Thanks for this. I've never been able to get fitted sheets to fold nicely. This definitely helps. (My usual procedure has been to half-assedly wad it up and put it on a shelf, then plop the flat sheet & pillow cases on top of it.)

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@susankayequinn @MisWiredKE Might be tempting to go print-only, but now, a quarter of the way into the 21st century, that would limit sales very drastically. The only time I buy print books now, for example, is whem they're ancient collectibles on my long-term want-list that I can't get as ebooks. (Or occasionally when the ebook versions of newer books are super-expensive and DRM-encumbered.)

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 9mo ago

Replying to on tech.lgbt

@ShadowJonathan@tech.lgbt Thanks for posting this image from @dragongirlteeth. Reflects with uncanny accuracy my own attitude about advertising. (Especially ads that move or make noise.) I haven't yet gone so far as moving to Tristan da Cunha to avoid ads, but with multiple ad-blockers, blinders, and a bit /etc/hosts denial file I'm doing pretty well these days. I can't even imagine how people function on the internet without blockers. #noads

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@cstross Re that "Optional but recommended"... Hereabouts we call it "The French Solution".

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

And in case you haven't seen this Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Amazon "Criticism of Amazon". Check it out!

en.wikipedia.org

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

Sad to hear all of this about D2D! Even though #SROP doesn't use the service, I had occasionally considered whether D2D might "help". Now glad I never did that, thus avoiding the aggravation of this latest enshittifying move. Hope all you indie authors find a good place to land when D2D goes belly-up. Happily ultra-independent here since 1976. 🎉📚 @susankayequinn

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 7mo ago

Replying to

@sundogplanets@mastodon.social Thanks for providing templates and detailed instructions. Worked great, thanks. I filed comments on both of this insane proposals. 😎

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 41mo ago

Replying to

@listeninggarden@mastodon.art "Honk if you used Netscape." beep-beep

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@dancingtreefrog Totally agree about proprietary formats! #EPUB is great... and so very portable these days.

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 2mo ago

Nothing to see here just keeping track of Rebecca Watson's fabulous new video on those sex dolls--oh, sorry, I mean robot teachers--in the New York classroom...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbceY_medYk

Hmm, yeah, why isn't it just a laptop?

(Edit: transcript available here: https://www.patreon.com/rebecca/posts/i-hate-ai-robo-165114851 )

#skepchick #RebeccaWatson #robots #sexdolls #education #grift #ai #chatbot #privacy

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 2mo ago

Nothing to see here, just keeping track of this cool Skepchick video on the current parasitic 💩 crisis in the USA... where one would hope that everyone in congress and the 🍊🤡 "administration" contracts this disease, which they deserve as a minimum reward for their continuing stupid antics, and consequently has a miserable week or two.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMnS72WWlWg
Please be safe: wash & cook veggies, even if you live in California.
#poo #diarrhea #cyclosporiasis

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 2mo ago

Nothing to see here, just keeping track of this video on "nitroplast"...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9B3gBhcwqM
#biology #microorganisms

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 16mo ago

Replying to

@gabe_sky@infosec.exchange Thanks! Nice page. (And I, the Rodent, personally verified that it works fine locally when downloaded, btw.)

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 8mo ago

Replying to

@FinalGirl@blackqueer.life Thanks for this! Yes, I can relate... Seems like this stalker-inspired "marketing" happens with just about every product I buy online. Like, I just bought a thing that should last a lifetime, won't ever need more than one of them, and will likely never ever buy one again, so I don't really need endless messages & pop-ups chasing me around for the next 100 years, even if I unsubscribe...

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 17mo ago

Replying to

@overholt@glammr.us You wrote: "... along with a book woven out of silk on a Jacquard loom..." Nice. I sure wish there was a picture of this thing included in this article. (Or maybe it just looks like a book?)

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 17mo ago

Replying to

@overholt@glammr.us Thank you for pointing to this Public Domain Review piece!

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 4d ago

Replying to

@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social This is the plain I will die on.

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SmashedRatOnPress @smashedratonpress@mastodon.sdf.org

· 20mo ago

Replying to

@verge@mastodon.social Hopefully this terrible escalation of Kindle #enshittification will tip the scales to other platforms. (For the record #SROP has never published on #Kindle, so we don't have a stake here.) This finally kills off all thoughts of 'Zon ebook purchases by the rodent. The saddest part: some of my favorite authors don't publish elsewhere because of Kindle Unlimited. Hey #authors, consider publishing widely on other platforms, please, or I'll never read your book. #bookstodon #ebooks

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