Give us a fag or we'll go spare in this bloody tin, mate.

Shut the fuck up, Threepio.

Then the word alphabet comes from alpha and beta, the first two letters of the Greek writing system.
If we had gotten the word directly from the Phoenicians, we might probably call it alephbeth instead.

Just a couple of nights ago it hit me that the word geometry comes from Geo: Earth and metron: measure.

Etymologies can suddenly snap into focus things that have been right there in front of our eyes all our lives, but never thought to notice.

And why isn't a train station called a rail port?
Missed opportunity to keep it all tidily labeled similarly, if you ask me.

Hey kids, this looks like the perfect spot for your weekly installment of

FUN FACT TACO TRIVIA CORNER!

In 19th century Mexico, during the long tenure of President Porfirio Diaz, when the country's middle and upper class looked across the pond towards Europe for fashion and culture, proper etiquette dictated that tacos should be held and raised towards the mouth with three fingers on one side, the thumb on the opposite, and an outstretched pinky finger.

Even a lot of Mexicans nowadays don't know about this, you tell them and they will laugh in a getdafukouttahere! sort of way, fuhgedadoubit!

muh puriteh

"Do you, still thirst, for Dwarf blood?"
ARRRRGH!
"Mix with three sticks of butter, three cups of sugar and one cup of salt, heat and stir... voilá... Dwarf Sauce!"

These are just two tasty morsels of what General George Patton might have posted if Twitter had been around since WW2.

Second layer of enshittification: content creators actively enshittifying their own content, to throttle a perceived weakness in the enshittification system itself - the almighty algorithm.

Then watch them lean on it after the fact for days on end, such as the post you are replying to. It's almost... almost... like they're reposting this shit with malicious intent, isn't it?

Also as if the skills needed to keep me entertained in a high school debate format of "reality television" are the same skills needed to govern.

Also as if we are only away from one charismatic godking messiah figure with a magic political wand to fix everything overnight.

Also as if it is only one person who is elected and appointed to run everything, and not an entire executive system with thousands of appointed employees.

Also as if republicans don't break everything in sight when they are in power, then sabotage every Democrat effort to fix things.

"Divide and conquer by leaning into people's medieval peasant sensibilities" is their goddamned motto. Assume people are stupid, then keep them that way by jamming every goddamned corner of the internet with toxic negative propaganda.

Pumping out proprietary garbage - hardware, software, content - since living memory.

"I didn't care until it happened to me... TO ME!!"
(sobs, uses kleenex to dab dry eyes)
(Jerry Springer lowers his head and the microphone, waits in respectful silence for republican wife to regain her composure)