david wolfpaw

Newsletter category: Archive

Rochester, Hurricane, Work, Links

david wolfpaw • 9 Oct 2024 • Reading time: 5 mins

One thing: I wanna thank those of you who reached out to me after my ask last week! I scheduled a few calls, and traded a few emails for potential work. I’m really thankful for everyone here. If you know anyone needing WordPress website work, please reach out!

I thought that I’d spend some time after WordCamp Rochester (which went well I think!) talking about Matt Mullenweg and the Automattic/WP Engine legal drama and just petty drama. It’s certainly been on my mind a lot.

A big portion is what should I do with regards to my involvement in the WordPress community, or using it as a platform at all. The pain that I’ve had with my WP Engine sites hasn’t helped in that regard.

I have also been focused on Hurricane Milton, which will probably start to reach us with wind and rain later on today, with the heaviest on Thursday. I think that we’ll be alright, but I also know that I can’t predict the future. All being said, we’ve done some prep, we’re inland, and we are elevated compared to the land around us, making it less likely to flood.

If you are in Florida, stay safe this week. If you are not in Florida, still stay safe! Everyone be safe!

📚

Matt Mullenweg: ‘WordPress.org just belongs to me’ – Emma Roth, The Verge

Again, I have a lot of thoughts about this situation, but I’m not educated enough in the background beyond both sides making claims about the other side. But I still don’t like the reminder that I serve the whims of one man with the software that I use and contribute to.

Remind me later – The Secret Knots – Juan

what a punchline to this comic

New Ellijay TV: Making Local TV Awesome Again – Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet.

Thanks to my friend Kye for highlighting this story. I love the idea of building for a local community, and showcasing things by that community.

Montana breeder of illegal, giant sheep hybrid clones gets 6 months in prison – Andrew Paul, Popular Science

This is very close to, “guy makes dinos to sell to weirdos”.

Cloudflare beats patent troll so badly it basically gives up – Thomas Claburn, The Register

I wish that more patent trolls could get slapped down like this, especially those in control of healthcare patents.

🎥

The Forgotten Web Empire of a Popstar – Dean Docs

Bowie was ahead of his time in so many ways.

Wolf in sheep’s clothing｜Animated Short Film – Yea An

Creepy reminder that you don’t always know what people online are looking for.

Media Literacy Can’t Save Us – Dummy

Knowing whether something is true or false doesn’t stop us from having feelings about it, and letting those feelings drive our behaviors.

Your World, The Simulation – Horses

The internet is not the real world, even if it can be representative of parts of it.

Fighting for the Right to Vote: Voting Rights Act of 1965 | US History | Extra History – Extra History

As we prepare to vote in the US, a reminder that it’s a right that is always being denied to some and fought for.

🎧

🔥 The Perfect Fusion: 90s Hip-Hop, Jazz & Funk with Vinyl Touches 🔥 – Lofi Grizzly

This bear knows how to vibe 🐻

Tom Cardy//Transcendental Cha Cha Cha – Official Music Video – tom cardy

Very Ninja Sex Party vibes here and I love it

Eminem – Lose Yourself But It’s Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra – William Maranci Mashups

I heard it, now you ~~have~~ get to

In the Zone 🐾 [lofi focus beats / work mix] – Chillhop Music

I dunno if I am fully comfortable with Chillhop designing specifically for productivity music, yet I’m still gonna listen to it while working on the computer soooo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!

9 October 2024
I have an ask of you this week

david wolfpaw • 3 Oct 2024 • Reading time: 5 mins

Please read this week’s update, as I’m finally doing an ask that I’ve been thinking about for a good while!

Hey yall! I’m prepping still for WordCamp Rochester on Saturday, where I’ll be giving a workshop on building a custom block for your site. I’ve made an example of a testimonial maker, and the code is up on my GitHub profile. I’m working on a written version of the workshop to post to my blog for anyone who wants to give it a try.

Something that I have been struggling with lately has been finding new work. I have found most of my clients via word of mouth, either at events like the WordCamp above, Meetups, or from existing clients.

It’s no secret that events have slowed down since 2020, and that has been very noticeable when it comes to acquiring new clients. I did not successfully make the transition to selling via cold contact and online.

Here’s my ask: Do you know of any companies that need someone to help with their website? Preferably WordPress, but I am flexible. My main skills are in building custom themes and plugins, building out full sites, and of course offering long-term maintenance plans via FixUpFox. I have a WordPress resume that I can share.

If you know of anyone who might need some help, send me their way! I will be eternally grateful 🥰

📚

Why are furry conventions offering HIV testing to attendees? – Dhole Moments

A lot of great points, and these apply well past furry cons. Do you want to be an ethical slut? Go for it, and just make sure you get regularly tested for your sake and for theirs.

Nintendo shows off Mario, Zelda, and 135 years of history in a new Kyoto museum – NPR

Dangit, now I want to go to this. I love the idea that it’s actually meant to be more a museum of the history and objects and less a shiny spectacle, which I can find at the Nintendo World Store

Green Text Bubbles Are Cool, Actually – Shirin Ghaffary

I never understood the green bubble hate, as folks have done that to me too when I used Android. It’s a dumb cultural artifact, made worse by Apple choosing not to fully implement the good things that RCS offers.

🎥

What’s the Conway Effect and What Does It Say About Tech? – PBS Origins

It says, unsurprisingly, that the work by marginalized people has always been, and still is not recognized, or even just erased.

A rare disease paralyzed her hands… then she drew a bestselling comic – matttt

I’ve seen this comic, but now I want to buy and read it. I had no idea the interesting story behind it, and the art is beautiful and unique.

The Rise, Death and Rebirth of Animation on Youtube – M3ow

I subscribe to several Youtube animators, and I think that the growth of the medium is great.

Basic Guide To The Personal Web – Psychcool

I wish that part two of this would come out! I’m a proponent of the IndieWeb, but I think that I’ll start referring to things as The Personal Web too. It feels comfycozy.

🎧

Billie Eilish – BIRDS OF A FEATHER (Official Music Video)

Catchy and interesting

Justice – Neverender (Starring Tame Impala) (Official Video)

a bop

tomorrow needs you – Reef’s Positivity Podcast

Thank you for sharing with us Reef, I’m glad that you’re back

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!

3 October 2024
hurrican’t believe it

david wolfpaw • 27 Sep 2024 • Reading time: 5 mins

This week has been a bit of a doozy, so I’ve just made it a links post week.

I had to get an emergency tooth fix, fast for a colonoscopy, and prep the house for the hurricane that passed by.

It’s past us now and we just had a small power blip and some branches down, so I’d say that we’re fairly good here.

I’m prepping for WordCamp Rochester next weekend, which I still intend on going to, albeit in less of a fun trip than originally planned. Also now I’ll feel even weirder than before about going to official WordPress Foundation events, what with the continual meltdowns of the Automattic CEO.

Anyway, let’s have a good weekend!

📚

Bit Players — Greg Egan

This story goes a different, more interesting direction than I thought at the start.

Automattic sends WP Engine its own cease-and-desist over WordPress trademark infringement – Ivan Mehta, TechCrunch

I realize that this won’t help improve my standing in the WordPress community, but why has Matt Mullenweg become even more of a pissbaby this year?

Labelling Trump’s lies as ‘disputed’ on X makes supporters believe them more, study finds – Nick Robins Early, the Guardian

While this is a very limited study, it also is one of those feels obvious ones

It’s Lists All the Way Down – Jay, The History of the Web

The Web could be beautiful. A list of lists of lists, organized and neat.

X will let people you’ve blocked see your posts – Emma Roth, The Verge

Yeah, why not, what is a block even good for when you want to do away with the concept entirely? smh

Elon Musk Owes You $100 • Cards Against Humanity Saves America

Hell yeah

🎥

Lavender Town Syndrome: The Song That Makes You LOSE YOUR MIND – Pastra

A new to me channel that has some nice spoopy videos

The Work of Art in the Age of Surveillance Capitalism – Brendan Morris

What do you do when you cannot create in private?

How a Forest Digests You – Curious Archive

I’m a sucker for stories that involve mystery and the woods

My Thoughts on Tattoos – TheOdd1sOut

I like mine and I want some more

Baby Platypus Caught on Camera – Nature on PBS

ahhhh it’s so cute and clumsy!

【Wolf Island Master】(Twenty-three) Little Pepper【Original Animation】 – 狼岛主

A cute little animation that I may or may not have understood

The (Idiotic) Rise of Billionaire Doomsday Bunkers – How Money Works

Maybe they’ll all rot in their bunkers while the outside world flourishes

The Alt-Right Playbook: Why Don’t You Respond to Criticism? – Innuendo Studios

This is something that more people should take to heart. You really don’t need to respond to every rando, and not doing so doesn’t prove you wrong.

🎧

Why You’re Not Safe from Hackers with Rachel Tobac – Factually! with Adam Conover

Because security is hard and companies make mistakes.

Part One: Curtis Yarvin: The Philosopher Behind J.D. Vance – Behind the Bastards

I hate that I already knew who this was, and the gross reach that he has with technolibertarians

Running up that hill Cover in Early Middle English BARDCORE/MEDIEVAL version. Original by Kate Bush. – the_miracle_aligner

Silly but fun

Starbomb – Nintendo Online’s Greatest Announcement (Official Video)

Even sillier

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!

27 September 2024
making mindful mastodon moderation matter

david wolfpaw • 18 Sep 2024 • Reading time: 5 mins

Now that I’m done with my convoluted deep cleans, proper project planning has returned!

I have spent the past few days reading dozens of academic articles, blog posts, Codes of Conduct, watching videos, and more to put together a draft of a Mastodon Moderation Handbook that I wish I’d had years ago. The intent is to use it internally with onboarding of new moderators for tech.lgbt, as well as share it to the wider fediverse for others to use. It both feels large currently, and yet not nearly detailed enough in many places.

What I haven’t done enough yet is YouTube focus. I have several essay outlines that I think are worth expanding into more, but I still have plenty of unanswered questions on how I want to present them. I realize that this should be one of those, “just do it and adjust later” things, but I’m nothing if not an overthinker.

Finally, I’m going to get back to the dev log. I have an upcoming plugin dev workshop to document, some changes to this website, and resuming a few coding projects from before the past month of distractions to get to.

I realize that yall subscribed for me presumably, but I’d also like to write newsletter posts that aren’t just, “here’s my life”, but more substantial thoughts on whatever’s been crowding my brain that week. That’ll be back eventually too. In the meantime, have some links! 🐶

📚

Is anyone out there? – James Ball, Prospect Magazine

I think that the idea of the Dead Internet Theory started as a joke, is slightly true now, but is overall boring as an idea to me. It smacks of solipsism, as if you are enlightened as the only person who could possibly tell garbage content from genuinely good creations.

We’re losing our digital history. Can the Internet Archive save it? – Chris Stokel-Walker, BBC

With the recent lawsuits and appeal losses, it does seem like the road is uphill for the Internet Archive.

Paul Graham and the Cult of the Founder – Dave Karpf, The Future, Now and Then

Founder seems to be the entirety of the identity for these people, ignoring the actual benefits or values of the things that they “create”.

🎥

Why we should go back to writing in runes – RobWords

I’m sold, outside of the tragic fascist associations.

How 9/11 Changed the Internet Forever – NationSquid

He didn’t even mention how the founder of Akamai was on one of the planes and died that day in a darkly ironic turn.

GameStop Deleted 30+ Years of Gaming History – All Things Lost

Tell me again why Internet Archive are the evil ones?

The Men Who Goon to Planes And Cars | The Freaky Files – skumbagovich

Yet again, a video about weird furry art that covers something that I’m already aware of. What that says about me…

Prop weapons at cons – Ash Coyote

I wish that suggesting that realistic looking weapons don’t need to be at a con to have fun wasn’t such a controversial statement for some folks online. Especially when it’s clear that it’s meant specifically to trigger folks who aren’t happy!

THE EPILOGUE OF ENDINGS [PILOT] – Rainbott

Finally, the little clips have become a full pilot! I’m very interested to see where this show goes.

🎧

Warm Blue [Album] – BorderCollie_

What a chill vibe from an artist who does cool animations.

Darknet Diaries 𝙲𝚈𝙱𝙴𝚁𝚆𝙰𝚅𝙴 Remix – Jack Rhysider

I like the spreading out from podcasting to music on this channel.

Brazil Bans Elon Musk’s X – Moderated Content

I didn’t realize how different the legal system in Brazil is compared to the US when it comes to the internet. That in mind, I’m surprised that more online services don’t get banned there.

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!

18 September 2024
I’m back to the grind

david wolfpaw • 12 Sep 2024 • Reading time: 5 mins

Vacations are great, but coming back is pretty good too.

Not that I went anywhere! But with four houseguests, a variety of theme parks and outings, lots and lots of walking, and a four day furry con, real life paused for a good while.

I’ve spent the past few days doing a lot of deeper house cleaning (I even made a long checklist in Notion!), and some mental planning of future projects.

I took a break from a lot of things that I was working on prior to the con so that I could put focus there. Making merch for my artist alley table, repairing things before others arrived, handling everything that came up like vet visits and auto repairs, etc. Now that mental space is clear again, what will I do?

One task that I’m taking on is more focus on shoring up our moderation team at tech.lgbt. We’ve had another round of people who I’ve never heard of deciding to have opinions about us and making it our problem. Never fun! But I’ve not stuck around there for seven and a half years now to let some drive-by-night harassers cause any real harm.

I’m also putting some effort into YouTube again. I stopped doing vlogs and knew that I would be too busy for them. I may do more of those, but I really want to get into the essay things that I’ve been dreaming of doing for a decade at this point. I’ve got a bunch of ideas, and some of them more well defined to the point of writing scripts now.

Finally, I’ve done a little self-care things. Lots of rest and YouTube over the past few days, I trimmed and dyed my own hair, shaved off unwanted body hair, and I’m painting my nails now. Make time to make yourself feel good!

📚

The Impact of Content Moderation on Marginalized Communities, TrustLab Blog

Moderation is a hard job yall. Trust me, I’ve got enough detractors telling me that I’m doing it wrong, and that I am bad on a regular basis because I do the job as a volunteer.

Dungeons & Dragons taught me how to write alt text, Eric Bailey

What a good way to think about writing alt text. I’m going to try to keep this in mind more.

cohost to shut down at end of 2024 – cohost dot org on cohost

It’s good that there are folks trying to make alternative social media, but it doesn’t shock me much about the ending of cohost.

The truth about furries: Everything you wanted to know, from LGBTQ+ furries – Maggie Baska, PinkNews

Well, not quite everything that you need to know, but positive coverage in general is great.

🎥

Improve your reset with these modern CSS additions – Kevin Powell

The kind of simple setup that I want to include in every website that I build to make it cleaner.

The McDonald’s Monopoly Scam – fern

What a shocker, someone put in charge of the security of a multi-million dollar game being able to scam the game.

promises… – brian david gilbert

When BDG makes a promise, he keeps it.

Sci-Fi Short Film “To Err” | DUST

It’s been a while since one of the DUST films got me like this one did. An interesting story with a good ending.

🎧

CHARLI XCX – 360 (♥ GOJII ♥ EDIIT) – GOJIIMUSIC

Congrats on your recent festival headlining GOJII!

Your Love – NemoDingo

I’ll never not hear Ed singing this now

“Loved” by Leslie J. Hartmann – Short Horror Narration – Connor McGrath

ominous and creepy, I love it

Part One: That Time eBay’s Private Spies Went To War With Some Bloggers, Behind the Bastards

even if you know the story, it’s still bizarre thinking what the C-Suite of eBay was comfortable doing to folks who barely mattered to their bottom line.

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!

12 September 2024
Back from Megaplex and Artist Alley

david wolfpaw • 6 Sep 2024 • Reading time: 5 mins

Megaplex is done! I had a wonderful time last weekend, with so many new folks, new conversations, and new experiences!

I’ll write up more of a post, but I just finished editing photos from the event, finding some of my favorites and cropping them a bit more aesthetically. For now, here’s some of my favorite pics from the event!

One of the things that was a wonderful surprise for me was how I did at Artist Alley! I had been preparing so many things for my shop, Barks’ Cafe, and much of that was because I talked myself into booking slots there to sell my merch. I think that I needed that push to get as much done as I did.

I sold a fair amount of stickers and buttons, and I was so thankful that people stopped by my table at all that most everyone was getting several freebies to go along with their purchases. This is the first time that I’ve ever done this, and I’ve already got notes for how I’ll make it better in the future.

See you next year, Megaplex!

📚

A Popular iOS Illustration App Is Saying No to Generative AI – Benj Edwards, WIRED

I use Procreate and it works great. I’m glad to know that they have some values

‘Right to Repair for Your Body’: The Rise of DIY, Pirated Medicine – Jason Koebler, 404 Media

We should really do more to stop private corporations from heavily overcharging for life saving medication.

“That’s the Way Life Is” – Alan Siegel, The Ringer

Ten years since Bojack Horseman started. A show that had a huge affect on my life

Bayesian Yacht Sinking: Climate Change Created Perfect Storm for Waterspouts – Alec Luhn, WIRED

It’s pretty funny that the “black swan event” of a superyacht getting sunk did it to a yacht named for the mathematician whose work is basically, “when things happen, they’re likely to happen again”

Peloton announces $95 “used equipment activation fee” – Scharon Harding, Ars Technica

Oh good, I almost had a chance to forget about this terrible company.

🎥

I Spent 24 Hours with Just Stop Oil – Tom Nicholas

non-violent acts of protest are not worse than a few corporations killing the planet for all of us.

What Isn’t a Woman? (Sports & Sex) – Caelan Conrad

anti-trans people would be stupid and exhausting if they weren’t so dangerous

what’s the point of internet fame? – PatRatrick

I both want to have more notoriety online, but also know that it just leads people to make up lots of stories about you. I already get enough of that as a tiny creator.

Helping a 4th grader explain her loser dad’s stupid hedge fund job lol – Good Work

this is good work

🎧

Accessibility and Ableism in VR Event Venues – SilverEagleDev

I love that SilverEagle is doing videos and blog posts now! This is an essay by someone who very clearly has thought hard about this topic and actually put in the work to solve some problems.

Tantek Çelik – The once and future IndieWeb – webdirections

This is a presentation from a decade ago, and it still feels important and relevant now

Mystery Skulls – Higher「MV」 – MysteryBen27

new Mystery Skulls video!

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!

6 September 2024
WordCamp Minneapolis, leading into Megaplex

david wolfpaw • 21 Aug 2024 • Reading time: 5 mins

This past week I went to Minneapolis for WordCamp Minneapolis, where I gave a talk on Crafting Custom Blocks. I put my slides and resources online, but I realize that it’s not the easiest way to get the info. I will try to write up a blog post soon. I need to just get back to blogging in general.

Anyway, it was a packed room! The whole event was packed, and the talks that I attended were interesting and useful. I am glad to have been able to make it!

This week I’ve been printing and cutting a lot of stickers for my shop and for Megaplex. It’s next weekend, and this weekend we have some folks coming from out of town to stay with us and visit. So I’m just rushing to get more done in advance.

I may skip a week or two of the newsletter while we’re busy, but I’ll definitely take some pictures and video while at the con. Honestly part of me is just looking forward to the projects that I want to work on after the con has passed.

Everyone enjoy the rest of your week! 🐶

📚

How I won $2,750 using JavaScript, AI, and a can of WD-40 – No author, How I won $2,750 using JavaScript, AI, and a can of WD-40

This is the kind of math and coding write up that I enjoy

Nintendo completely sat out the video game graphics wars. It’s winning anyway. – Manny Fidel, Sherwood News

An argument that I’m always sure to make when it comes to people complaining about framerates on their hi-def consoles not matching the exact expectations that they have. Make the games fun!

Can You Spot These Mini Canvases Hidden Around Brooklyn? – Rhea Nayyar, Hyperallergic

And this is the type of fun art project that I enjoy!

On Polyamory: Don’t join a poly-cule until you have a poly-clue – Kye Fox, Kye Fox

I’m in a polycule, and it takes a lot of work to keep it going safely and kindly for everyone involved. Communication is hard, but it is imperative in any relationship.

🎥

We Went To Florida: The Housing Insurance Crisis Will Shock You – More Perfect Union

We have people constantly trying to sell us things for our home, and I at least have a built in excuse that I’m not buying anything until I know how it’ll impact my homeowners insurance. Which is abysmal now.

literally EVERYTHING about color – Juxtopposed

More than I ever thought I’d learn about color as viewed on screens.

The Magic of Federation | An interview with Matthias Pfefferle – WordPress.com

Part of a great series on federation and WordPress

undercover at a hacker convention (DefCon) – Swell Entertainment

Swell learning about furry hackers

“What comes first, becoming a hacker or becoming a furry?”
Swell Entertainment

🎧

You Work With Furries and Don’t Even Know It! – Men At Work Podcast

We’re everywhere, not just in tech!

Starbomb – Pokemon Smash or Pass (Official Music Video) – Egoraptor

New Starbomb, I’m hyped

♥ GOJII ♥ – GIVE ME STRENGTH [SINGLE] – GOJIIMUSIC

New GOJII is always hype. I’m so proud of their growth lately!

Is It OK for my kids to keep watching MrBeast? | Influence with Matt Silverman

I’m thankful that Matt is looking more deeply into things like KOSA which come off sounding like reasonable legislation, in order to hide the great harm that they can cause by design.

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!

21 August 2024
Off to WordCamp Minneapolis!

david wolfpaw • 15 Aug 2024 • Reading time: 5 mins

I’m getting closer and closer to events! Once WordCamp Minneapolis is done this week, and Megaplex is done at the end of the month, I feel like my brain will have a lot of empty space that I can use for other things.

I’ve been doing a few website things, including a new devlog noting the github repo block that I made last week, the custom block template that I published for the presentation, and some minor site updates. There are some leaves now! 🍃

While I was sick I got selected to give a presentation at Megaplex as well, and I need to create more of that from my initial outline. Adding that to all of the other pre-con tasks, and I’m still feeling a bit overwhelmed, but certainly on the way to just plain whelmed.

I admittedly started this work week allowing discourse on the internet to get me fired up again, but I’m thankful that from my end it seems to have blown over rather quickly. It is still a bit baffling how willing people are to fully misinterpret or completely make things up to fit a narrative that suits them by vilifying you. I mean, I know that I’ve been on the internet forever, but the inanity of infighting is still unbelievable at times.

I’m printing lots of stickers and buttons, and working on a few wooden pins. I’ll be going hardcore at that when I return home at the end of the week as well. When the con comes, I’ll update the online shop with the new goods!

📚

The Benefits of Ozempic Are Multiplying – Emily Mullin, WIRED

If Ozempic and related drugs can do a better job of treating inflammation, there are countless illnesses that could be addressed with it.

Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Dies at 56 – Steven Levy, WIRED

Susan Wojcicki was there from the start (quite literally, when it comes to Google), and her tenure at YouTube shaped the platform, and online platform moderation, discussion, and the creator economy.

🎥

Social Anxiety Horror – Super Eyepatch Wolf, YouTube

New Super Eyepatch Wolf is already good, but this topic and video is very good

You Should Check Out the Indie Web – You’ve Got Kat, YouTube

An old one, but I was reminded of it by a friend who started a new website this week. You should own your own space online!

How Philosophers Confront Death (ft. Caitlin Doughty) – Philosophy Tube

Managing grief and death is a challenge that I don’t think that we’ll ever overcome fully.

The smartphone freakout is harming children – Taylor Lorenz

Shocker, blaming things on external factors that can’t be controlled, as opposed to things that we can affect, like talking with our children.

🎧

News Update 8/13: DDoS Attacks Everywhere – Moderated Content

I enjoy that the hosts of this podcast can be a bit sarcastic, which lets them talk about serious topics with a bit of levity, since platforms do their best to make things boring and obscured.

Sophia Duleep Singh: The Activist Princess Too BASED For A Disney Movie – Respect The Dead

Heck yeah, another positive episode about a rad historical figure

To BRB Or Not To BRB – Never Post

I think that I’d be ok with people making a chatbot version of me after I die. Maybe even while I’m alive, except I know that some folks would straight up take whatever it says as me being the one who said it.

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!

15 August 2024
a normal week, with normal food poisoning

david wolfpaw • 8 Aug 2024 • Reading time: 3 mins

Another week working on healing up from Listeria, ugh. I’m not blaming my lack of progress just on being sick, but on my brain treating deadlines as a competition

Otherwise a normal week here, prepping for WordCamp Minneapolis next week, and drawing new stickers very very slowly based on silly ideas that I joke about online.

Have a lovely weekend yall 🥰🐶

📚

‘Why are people always pointing the finger at furries?’: inside the wild world of the furry fandom – Nicky Woolf, the Guardian

I like something that Nicky Woolf points out in his reporting a few times after having attended a furry con and talked to so many of us: there is a sincerity and openness and friendliness that does not compute with calculated irony and sarcasm that detractors feel needs to exist in social interaction.

MatPat, the first big YouTuber to successfully exit his company, is lobbying for creators on Capitol Hill – Amanda Silberling, TechCrunch

Based on everything that I’ve seen over the years, I’m really hoping that his legacy is more championing creators than the “That’s Just a Theory!” soundbite.

KOSA is dead. Now it’s time to unite to take on Big Tech for real. – Fight for the Future

Comprehensive, federal digital privacy laws are required. That’s it. We need to stop with the patchwork regulation that sounds good on the surface but gets twisted to harm marginalized folks.

At the Great Florida Bigfoot Conference – Jason Katz, The Paris Review

How did I not know that this was happening! I would have gone

‘The ick’ and ‘boop’ latest words added to Cambridge Dictionary – Lucy Clarke-Billings, BBC News

We have known what booping someone’s snoot is for years, but now the dictionary does too

🎧

SIAMÉS “Alone In The Darkness” – SIAMES

This new video is rad, music and visuals

Transitioning in Tech – Underrepresented In Tech

Another great conversation with UIT

Autism + THIS = Dangerous Combination ⚠️ – Chris and Debby

Misophonia has been a struggle of mine for most of my life, long before I learned the term. I realize why neurotypicals can’t understand us, as I cannot understand how people can’t find certain sounds infuriating and thought-derailing.

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!

8 August 2024
a list that is not about listeria

david wolfpaw • 2 Aug 2024 • Reading time: 3 mins

This week is late, and I’m gonna keep it short, because I’ve been sick all week and still am a bit. Getting better at least, but I’m still not 100%, and it’s thrown off a lot of my plans. I’m basically cutting back on the things that I want done in August before Megaplex, because I realized how much I was stressing myself with self-imposed deadlines.

Anyway, maybe my partner and I had listeria from a Boar’s Head sandwich that we shared on Saturday? I hope not but also that’s pretty much the symptoms that I had minus the convulsions, miscarriage, and death. But also I’m not pregnant, a baby, or elderly so who knows.

I’m gonna take the newsletter easy this week too and just share links that I like. I promise they’re good, but I don’t have writeups on each. Just trust me!

📚

This Was Never About Anything Other Than Hate – Alyssa Mercante, Kotaku

Elon Musk’s transgender daughter, in first interview, says he berated her for being queer as a child – David Ingram, NBC News

Deadpool Confirms He’s a Furry Ahead of DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Release – Casey Connor, ScreenRant

🎥

Everything Wrong with AI – gabi belle

Nothing Ever Stops Existing – @JacobGeller

The Ǫ̷̝̝̦̜͂̾̾̃̈́̔͐͐̚T̴̛̛͇̳̣̝̖͙̂̿̌́̊̏͜H̸̨̨̙̼̮̝̩̘̞͕̥͎̻͈̥̑̃̆̓̀͑͛̔̔̂͝E̴͔͛̈́R̶̨͚͉̜̭̼̟̜̭̬̱̻̖͓̩̭̂͌͜ America – Tale Foundry, YouTube

CONTRABANDZ – Animated Thesis Film – sluggei, YouTube

🎧

Why Professional Content Moderators Can’t Afford to Lose Faith in Humanity | 11 Alice Hunsberger – Influence with Matt Silverman, YouTube

SIAMÉS “Alone In The Darkness” [Official Animated Music Video] – SIAMES, YouTube

Janelle Monáe – Rather Be Wild [Official Lyric Video] – Janelle Monáe, YouTube

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!

2 August 2024
faux fur can be frustrating

david wolfpaw • 24 Jul 2024 • Reading time: 6 mins

Last week in my vlog I talked about some of the fursuit crafting that I was doing. It was going alright, but I really wasn’t happy with the quality of the fur that I was using. I showed my partner, and they likewise were not super happy with the quality of the fur. I was really thankful that I was able to return it, and I sourced fur from other shops that didn’t have them in stock when I first shopped, but did now.

There are so many different quality and styles of faux fur fabric! I know that this should be obvious, but it still surprises me to figure this out. And it really makes a difference in look and feel!

So now that I have new fur, I have been getting back into the swing of it. It’s one of those tasks that, since it requires so much new planning and thinking on my end, feels more daunting when trying to work than when thinking of it. Sure, you make a pattern, cut it out, sew it up, stuff it. But how is that pattern laid out? What if you want to make it a bit different than it came out? How can you do the thing that is just a bit off since you don’t have the same materials?

All this to say that for my personal crafting time, this has been taking up a bit more of my focus. I did do some 3d printing, some wood burning, and some sticker making. I have a lot more of that in the coming weeks to take care of.

But for now, I’ve gotta cut and brush more fur, and prepare for stitching!

📚

Cool URLs Mean Something – Jay, The History of the Web

I admit, I’ve changed URLs on my sites before. Because I want cooler URLs. But at the very least put a 301 redirect or something!

At 25, Metafilter Feels Like a Time Capsule From Another Internet – Steven Levy, WIRED

I was never a community member, but I’ve always admired how a community like Metafilter can grown intentionally, building a legendary space online, not known for infamy.

Tabletop game forumite achieves posting godhood, emerging from the void after 100,000 hour 11 year ban – Joshua Wolens, PC Gamer

I actually like the same thing about Something Awful that I do about Metafilter: a fee to create a poster account. This doesn’t seem to stop people from being terrible, but it does appear to make things more sustainable and stop very obvious spam and scams.

A furry hacktivist group has breached Disney, leaked 1.1TiB of data, and says it’s because Club Penguin shut down – Rich Stanton, PC Gamer

I’m posting this because basically just the headline has been going around the internet so much in the past week, but not the content of the article. The article itself has a lot of issues. And this author, along with so many other folks, does not know much anything about the makeup of hacker groups, nor furries.

🎥

Eric Schwartz – Plight of the Artist (Amiga animation) – AmigaStuffVids

This is an impressive level of skill for an Amiga! I’ve never seen these animations, but it’s pretty cool.

The History of FurryMap.net – Melly dawg

I remember this site! I haven’t thought of it in years. Please uncover more sites like this to talk about, furries on the internet.

TOP 5 UNDERRATED FURRY YOUTUBERS PART 2 – Benji The Beagle Productions

I was not expecting to be included in this video, and I’m a bit embarrassed at the exposure, but also fairly honored to be appreciated by someone who I see as a friend. Love you Benji!

So it’s been 10 years huh… – JaidenAnimations, YouTube

I love JaidenAnimations! Congratulations on the Mr. Beast win! And congrats much more on ten years of YouTube!

🎧

ADHD and Sex: How a Life-Changing Diagnosis Launched Her Viral TikTok Career | 10 Catie Osborn – Influence with Matt Silverman

What a wonderful conversation. This got me to subscribe to Catie Osborn, a creator that I’d never heard of before. Neurodivergence is such a misunderstood set of topics that really need more exposure.

Rain – Artifyber

What a vibe

The Average Person Swallows Eight Spiders a Year in Their Sleep – American Hysteria

This, and the follow up interview with an entomologist, are great to address some of the very common misconceptions that we have about arachnids, and why. No, that wasn’t a spider bite, and no, it wasn’t a brown recluse.

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!

24 July 2024
I’m just crafting and coding

david wolfpaw • 17 Jul 2024 • Reading time: 3 mins

This week has been more crafting than coding! I don’t have a devlog, but I will hopefully have some new website things to share next week.

For now, I’ve been working on new sticker designs for the shop, and some fursuit parts. I also am close to announcing an app project that I’ve been planning, since I feel more comfortable in my ability to get something going now.

This is a short one this week because honestly I didn’t give myself a ton of time to write a newsletter, and I want to get back to the crafting!

I truly hope that you have a good week, and I look forward to an exciting week going forward

BowieBarks

Still Crafting and Coding before Megaplex | Bowie Barking Vlog | 17 July 2024

📚

“Gay furry hackers” leak revealing data from major anti-LGBTQ+ Republican think tank – LGBTQ Nation – Mira Lazine, LGBTQ Nation

The worst part of this whole thing is how the president of the think tank responded privately to the hackers. He’s the problem, not them.

‘they didnt want us posting’: Furry hacker collective suspended after teasing breach of right-wing think tank – Mikael Thalen , The Daily Dot

oh no, what shock. Surely they can’t do anything about this…

🎥

Tiny Tails, Big Adventure | Bloomburrow Official Trailer | Magic: The Gathering

Please don’t convince me to get into playing MTG now

How A.I. Killed the Internet. – Kyle Hill

Not in the scary way, but in the boring way: it’s all dreck now.

My Puzzle Robot is 200x Faster Than a Human – @MarkRober

The problems to be solved and the limitations of the robot and the algorithms behind it are fascinating.

Tracing English as far back as possible – RobWords

Linguists: talk nerdy to me

🎧

Snoop Frogg (Kermit sings “Gin & Juice”) – There I Ruined It

why does this work so well.

The Average Person Swallows Eight Spiders a Year in Their Sleep – American Hysteria

More trolling from our favorite fact checking website

Barbie’s Schemehouse – Scamfluencers

I didn’t know any of this background on Mattel and Ruth Handler. Definitely feels different than the Barbie movie portrayal.

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!

17 July 2024

🌙 ☀️