Bear Blog Trending Posts

I'm So Tired of Ads

hidden (absurdpirate) — Sat, 30 May 2026 20:05:00 +0000

You wake up, snag your phone and walk into the bathroom to watch a video while you wake up. Oops, 2 minutes of ads you must watch before your 10 minute video.

Get into your car, on your commute, turn on the radio. "Come on down to Big Bill Hell's Cars! Bad Deals! Cars that break down!" you hear over the radio before you hear the music you actually wanna listen to.

You drive to work, billboard after billboard.

Failed Marriage? Call Richard Eater, Attorney at Law! Are you a dipshit riding someones ass going 10mph over? Call us when your dumbass inevitable runs into someone! Please for the love of god remember my dead wife, it's been 2 years since she died and I'm not letting any of you fucks on the road forget it, behold my crypt keeper for a wife!¹ Check out our neat company that our vague ass billboard doesn't tell you what we do or what we sell!

This is getting ridiculous...

You get to work, you throw on a podcast. "This podcast is sponsored by AirUp! AirUp, if you're dumb enough to buy flavored air in order to drink water, you deserve to be left behind in the rapture!" As if one sponsor wasn't enough, another you hear at least 4 for different stupid fucking products that don't work, or are overhyped junk. Oh and there's an ad from the platform you're listening to.

Your wife sends you a recipe she wants to try to make. You click the link and immediately get hate-fucked by Google Ad Sense. You turn on an adblocker, but "oh pwetty pwease let us advertise to you!"

You throw on a video, thankfully your ad blocker blocks the ads from YouTube. Then halfway through the video "this video is sponsored by some stupid fucking supplement that works only slightly better than placebo!"

It's end of day, you get home you throw on a streaming service that is already being payed for, but what's that? 4 minutes of unskippable ads! Oh and the show you're watching has a metric fuckton of product placement...

I am Pirate's chapped ass.

Seriously, I'm so god damn sick of seeing ads fucking everywhere. It's driven me to great lengths to avoid just half of them. But there's no hiding from this cancer, and it appears to be terminal. It's cutting off heads from a hydra.

All this nauseating amount of ads makes me just hate every company that invades my senses without my consent. If I get into a wreck, your stupid billboard will be the reason you and your nepo babies will be called dead-fuck last.

All of the actual good shit often doesn't even have the marketing budget to compete with these tycoons. And that's just what these rich fucks wants, smothered competition.

Every now and then I will see a sponsor that I actually like, from a creator that actually seems to give a damn. I know for a fact half these fucks aren't drinking AirUp, using ZocDoc, or whatever the capitalist flavor of the month is. Hell, half the time they look like they wish they weren't peddling this shit just to keep the show running.

I'm particularly pissed with these money-hungry dogs that run services that charge you monthly and STILL show you ads... do you rich fucking perverts not make enough money? That was a rhetorical question. Of course you don't, gotta buy that 5th yacht to travel to that island after all.

I hate all of it, and I know I'm not the only one who sometimes feels like they're viewed by the capitalist swine as nothing more than a vessel to have our eyes peeled open and glued to witnessing/paying for their product. Like some sick scene out of A Clockwork Orange.

If I want something, I will go out and find it not let the algorithm take you to me. Your ad budget is wasted on people like me, I will not click your stupid ad.

I remember when ads used to be memorable at least. Zoo Pals, Jack in the Box, Halo 3's BELIEVE, Gears of War 3's Mad World. There used to be more effort put into them than there seems to be now. One of my favorite ads I ever saw was a Jack in the Box ad where they made a joke about the lazy name for their new burger because Jack left work early because his wife was getting him all hot and bothered. Seriously, go watch compilations of old Jack in the Box commercials, shit was unhinged.

I'm getting a little lost in the weeds here, but you get my point. Ads suck, they're more prevalent than ever, and they're fucking annoying. I wish there was more we could do about it. But outside of vandalism, your options are basically piracy and ad blockers. You can go pretty decent stretches of time to not get Ad fatigue, but I feel bad for the people who don't know how to push back.

Previous |

Reply via email: me@absurdpirate.com

as of writing this...

Watching some kids Spider-Man show with my daughter at her request. My wife is out studying for her organic chemistry class. Will be going out to the park soon and I'm thinking of taking my little girl and I to Olive Garden to get some "yummy soup" as she calls it.

I am seriously so fucking sick of seeing Julia Reagan Ads on my fucking commute. Old girl was kicking 90, she was gonna get outlived by an epileptic Chihuahua.↩

Why I eventually quit my successful (and profitable) YouTube channel

hidden (itsmike) — Fri, 29 May 2026 22:26:00 +0000

There are a bunch of reasons I deleted a profitable and successful YouTube channel. Before I go deeper into those reasons I think it makes better sense to start at the beginning.

I started my channel in January of 2023. We were in the final throes of the Covid pandemic. I like to say that I could never duplicate the success I had a second time, because there were a couple of things happening due to the pandemic.

More people than ever were turning to YouTube for both entertainment and learning. And affiliate blogging was blowing up because AI writing tools and SEO optimization tools had made it easier than ever to spin up new blogs at scale.

People were looking for ways to make side hustle income and YouTube was filled with content creators showing people how to leverage AI tools and services to do it. Since I used to write end-user documentation for software applications, it wasn't a big stretch to move from the written word to creating videos on YouTube explaining how to use various types of software.

I settled on teaching people how to use the blogging, SEO optimization and keyword AI tools that were being rolled out right and left. They all had affiliate programs, so it seemed a good way to see if I could make a little online side-hustle income. I was pleasantly surprised that I started making affiliate money almost immediately. The blogging tool niche was a good fit for me.

I taught people how to use a variety of different AI writers like KoalaWriter, SEOWriting and Agility Writer. And I sold a bunch of subscriptions, particularly SEOWriting. At one point I had over 300 active subscribers. Another tool I talked about at length was NeuronWriter. I did a ton of in depth tutorials on NeuronWriter that were quite popular. And I sold the heck out of that tool.

In my first year on YouTube I grossed about $400 a month. That was with just a little under 2000 YouTube subscribers. While I didn't have massive subscriber numbers, it was evident that you didn't need them to make a little side hustle money.

The next two years my channel grew to a shade under 6000 subscribers. The side income wasn't just a little side hustle money either. While it wasn't quit your job money, and taxes and expenses did take a chunk, it wasn't anything to sneeze at. I'm firmly convinced had I started my channel three years earlier I might have grossed pretty darn close to my take home pay each month.

Here is where things start to take a turn. The Google March 2024 core update happened. It was known as the anti-spam update. And affiliate bloggers using AI tools were the prime target. Many blogs had their traffic reduced from thousands of unique visits per day to maybe a couple of dozen unique visits per day. Suddenly, the bloom was off the affiliate blog rose.

I was brave enough to do a couple of lengthy videos on the topic "is blogging now dead?" And I noted a loss in subscribers to various pieces of software, which meant my income declined. Truthfully, I was having a hard time pushing blogging and SEO optimization software when I knew the landscape had changed so dramatically.

In 2025 I tried to pivot my channel to other somewhat related topics like AI tools for social media, Pinterest etc. but the "gold rush" was over. I slowly bled existing subscribers who had given up on affiliate blogging.

I tried forays into some other niches, but without a lot of success. In the beginning of January 2026 I just stopped making new videos altogether. Creator burnout is real. And I was just done with YouTube.

The whole YouTube thing was an interesting experience, but I was just ready for it to end. Will I ever return to YouTube? Highly unlikely. It's become so commercial that I think the cool things about YouTube have been killed off. So now I do this blog. No monetization. No ads. No affiliate links. AND NO AI. Just the way content creation was meant to be.

monoculture

hidden (mattsonepoint) — Fri, 29 May 2026 20:18:00 +0000

Many social critics, notably Chuck Klosterman, have written a lot about the disappearance of the 20th century monoculture.

The basic thesis is simple: in the 20th century, limited mass media and television created a more focused, common national pop culture. TV shows had fixed times and huge audiences, which in turn created common watercooler conversations. News came from limited elite outlets which, for better or worse, created a shared mass understanding of politics. Ditto for youth culture via music and MTV. Superstars were larger than life; the hardest thing to do in 1984 was finding a way to avoid Michael Jackson and Madonna.

Modern proliferation and decentralization of digital media have shattered that. Algorithms drive individually-curated tastes; news comes from a million different sources. To a first approximation, no one (and no thing) is famous anymore. Klosterman loves to note that most episodes of Major Dad—the completely forgettable modestly-popular sticom from the 90s—had a much higher weekly viewership than Game of Thrones. And even Taylor Swift, the only superstar in my mind who has approximated 80s-level fame, is easily avoidable if you don't want to listen, see, or read about her.

It's easier than ever to find your niche and the people in it; but it's approaching impossible to feel like you are having a true, shared national experience. The NFL and the Super Bowl still duplicate it. Live sports is somewhat resistant to decentralization. But even the Super Bowl doesn't feel like the same overwhelming cultural event it once did. There's just a lot more going on that weekend, now. Or at least it feels that way.

I say all this because right now I'm particularly missing the monoculture. The following things all feel underwhelming to me right now, or felt underwhelming to me recently, I think because of the lack of the limited monoculture:

America 250
The upcoming World Cup
The U.S. hockey gold medal
Artemis going to the moon

None of this is because you can't participate or enjoy these things now. It's actually the opposite—you can read and consume information about any of these things on a scale barely imaginable in 1994.

What you can't do is have a casual conversation with just any random person about them. To not be exposed to the moon landings in the late 60s or the hockey game in 1980 or the world cup in 1994 took a level of effort that was almost impossible. Now it's as easy as going about your day. Which reinforces the principle that, if you want to talk about the stuff you find cool, you should go on the internet. Rinse and repeat.

There's a somewhat different set of things, mostly political, that now suffer from a lack of neutral information. The Iran war fits in this category for me. The monoculture had its dangers for politics, with its elite gate-keeping and reporting. But the partisan media environment combined with the algorithmic online news reality made gathering information on the Iran war dizzying to the point of exhaustion for me.

American 250, I think, suffers from all of this. There's a huge variety of really cool events planned, but it just doesn't seem to be even close to the front of anyone's mind. Trump and the perceived partisanship of Freedom 250, of course, hasn't helped, and has made it easy for partisan media to reduce a lot of the celebration, especially the ones in DC, to litmus-tests about your views of politics.

I love those disc loading tray sounds

hidden (swtlo) — Fri, 29 May 2026 17:36:43 +0000

Yesterday, I rewatched Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) via DVD. It made me happy.

Not just because it’s my favorite of the trilogy, but because I watched it with physical media. The picture and the sound beats watching it via a streaming service. Granted, I do not pay for higher tiers of streaming platforms (for no ads and higher quality videos).

In addition to the better overall quality, I enjoyed the sound of the disc tray moving in and out while loading/unloading the disc. I enjoyed a freeze frame on screen, in the rare moments that I had to pause, instead of seeing a screen with an advertisement on it. I enjoyed looking at the box art. I enjoyed not hunting through different streaming platforms to figure out which one offered it in their library for no extra cost. And I enjoyed looking through my other discs, and considering which ones to watch next.

Previous |

"I Haven't Had Meth in Five Days."

hidden (justinthestacks) — Thu, 28 May 2026 22:16:00 +0000

Conversations at the circulation desk are rarely just about books

One of the most interesting, and challenging, aspects of being a librarian is that you never know what problem a person is going to walk through the door with at any given moment.

It could be something simple like needing to print from their phone or help with downloading an ebook. Some people may just need computer access. Others want entertainment for themselves or their children. Some need a place to get out of the elements. Other issues are more complex and don't have a simple answer, or maybe they can't be solved with a visit to the library. We had one such instance not so long ago.

I can't remember the exact details of the situation, as it happened some months back, but an individual had stopped by the library to use the computer. I typically don't help too much in this area anymore, but my coworkers had come to me because this person had been making some off-color comments that were making them uncomfortable.

I went out to the computer terminals and was helping the person locate the information they needed. During our very brief conversation this individual unloaded on me with stories of their time in jail, and how the feds, and other groups, were out to get them, tracking them, listening to their conversations, etc..

Other than the fairly obvious mental health issues this individual was undergoing, they ended our conversation with, "I'm clean now, I haven't had meth in five days..." I was a bit flabbergasted at their openness. I stuttered through an awkward congratulations on their sobriety, helped wrap up their computer session and told them to have a good day as they walked out the door.

That statement, "I haven't had meth in five days" has been popping into my head off and on since that brief interaction. You just never know what a person is going through. I'm not sure if they were actively trying to stay clean, or if it was a matter of circumstance, but I do hope they got the help they needed.

The greatest thing about libraries is that they are an equalizer. We are available for anyone to use. No subscription required. When you step foot inside a library, your socioeconomic level, housing status, religious views, sexual orientation, physical or intellectual ability, or any other descriptor you may have no longer matters. Librarians are there to help.

The majority of libraries use The American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights as a guiding principle for how users should be treated. The first statement of the Library Bill of Rights is, "Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves." That final line "people of the community the library serves" is the kicker for me.

We, that is, libraries, serve everyone.

The unhoused woman, the genealogist, the drug addict, the chatty Kathy, the noisy teen, the overwhelmed mother with the screaming toddler, the student, the teacher, all are welcome and able to come into the library and should be treated with dignity and respect. Yes, sometimes things get a little out of control and the authorities have to be called, but that's typically a last resort.

They don't teach this in library school, but if I have learned anything throughout my time as a public librarian it's that libraries are about the people. In library school they focus on how to catalog books or teach theory on SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) or FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) Tasks. An understanding of those things is great, but without the people that come in the door, libraries are nothing. The books, their information, the programs, exist to serve the people that use them. A librarian may curate those events, and the collection, but our primary responsibility is meeting the needs of our users.

People come to the library because they need something. Sometimes this involves answering a reference question or getting computer or Internet access. Oftentimes though, it means being an active listener or a smiling face. I can't tell you how many times I've been caught at the desk for 30 minutes or more listening to an elderly patron tell me about their week. I may be the only person they have talked to in that same span of days. That to me is customer service.

I can't actively help someone with their meth addiction. I'm not trained for that. However, I am trained to connect people with information. I could help find a rehab center, a homeless shelter, a hot meal, or offer them a box of free Narcan we keep behind the circulation desk. I may even be able to find them someone that is willing to sponsor a free night in a local hotel. I have done all of these things and will happily do so again.

That's my job. That's my passion.

It's not always fun helping someone who is being rude or saying crass things, but they still have a need for information that I can help meet. Sure, I'd much rather teach the high school student how to access the library's databases for their research paper, but the other person needs just as much, if not more, assistance.

Now, despite all I have just said, I wouldn't describe myself as a bleeding heart. I'm sure most of my coworkers would describe me as completely opposite of that, but I do believe very strongly in equal access to information. The ability to access information enables intellectual growth that in turn empowers people to make informed decisions, and creates a more equitable world.

I'm writing this in a library. Not the one I work at, but one down the road. Today is my day off and I wanted to get out of the house for a bit. I got here early. I had to wait for the building to open. Homeless individuals, moms with kids, business types, the elderly, and myself all stood on the sidewalk together waiting for the building to open. Equals in our right to access the information and resources inside. Some headed to the bathroom, others to computers. Children hit the storytime rug while mom browsed the shelves. One went to an ongoing jigsaw puzzle. I headed to the quiet reading room for a comfortable chair and Internet access.

This motley amalgamation of humanity converging on public space to have our needs met.

The public library.

It's a beautiful thing.

I’m Justin. I write about librarianship, leadership, public service, and books. If you found this piece relatable, leave me a like or send me an email. Subscribe if you want more of what’s bouncing around in my head. If you found this article helpful, consider buying me a coffee.

about my representative trying to be Netanyahu's mom

hidden (nostalgia) — Sat, 30 May 2026 10:41:00 +0000

Democracy and secularism are two values I hold dear. That’s why right after Hamas attacked Israel during a music festival, I didn’t object to my tax dollars being sent to Israel to help them fight back. I supported Ukraine for the same reason. And if Taiwan were attacked, I’d support them too.

Yet, two and a half years later, it’s quite clear that Netanyahu’s ambitions go far beyond self-defense. He has always wanted expansion, and now he’s using my tax dollars to do it. Meanwhile, college kids in the U.S. are being jailed for perfectly reasonable speech. The New York Times has reported widespread rape of Palestinians by IDF soldiers, including reports of them using dogs. Enough is enough. I wrote to my democratic representatives, urging them to stop sending my tax money to Israel.

One of them replied with a lengthy copy-pasta, which basically said two things:

He’ll keep sending my tax dollars to Israel.
He wrote some strongly worded letters to Israel asking them to stop doing bad things, and to the UN asking them to keep an eye on Israel.

Now, I feel like a family breadwinner watching in horror as my enabling spouse tries to “parent” an adult child who has turned into a complete and total monster. I scream at my spouse: “Just stop sending that asshat money already!” And my spouse screams back: “NOOOOO! He needs that money! He’s our child (ally) after all! And he’s in a big brawl! We must send him money! I did ask him very politely not to rape people, though.”

Anybody familiar with the asshat-enabler dynamic knows the enabler’s efforts are futile until they stop providing for the asshat. The talking never works. It’s all deeply dysfunctional.

Fortunately, the primaries are coming up. We have options.

Replace that enabling spouse, they crazy.

the cage is open. why are you still in there?

hidden (tala) — Fri, 29 May 2026 14:29:00 +0000

Through regular journaling, I became an avid believer we cause a lot of our own suffering. Sometimes, I'll catch myself in miserable situation I know I could leave. I'm not even trapped, though I'll still perform the motions of someone pressing hands against a cage that is neither iron-barred nor locked.¹ Perhaps I stay because it's comfortable; because I've spent enough of myself there that leaving feels like losing an intricately-woven part of my identity.

Do you think staying in something that doesn't serve you anymore is being noble? You might feel sacrificial, loyal for not abandoning an expired identity, or a "a good person" doing "the right thing." Deep down, though, you're feeling empty, even miserable for betraying yourself in the name of comfort and not hurting others. Are you being virtuous, or are you afraid of what leaving would cost you?

Free will is a strange thing to have and not use. I think about this: I have it! I am not stuck! There is no lock in my cage! That's barely even a cage! Often, the question isn't can I leave? (because the answer is almost always yes!) but why don't I? Ponder the question repeatedly, and you realize the answer roots in comfort and cowardice, the human talent of choosing a familiar suffering over uncertain relief.

A lot of us are choosing to persist in familiar rooms we've outgrown, delusively negotiating peace with its leaky ceilings and tattered furniture. After all, a comfortable pain is easier than venturing into unknown territories. I think that may be the most human thing there is, yet, also, the saddest. Free will becomes only yours when you use it.

I actually wrote this based on this meme that was circulating for a while. Funny enough, these days I measure a challenging situation based on how much I'm making myself miserable. Also, blogpost title taken from here!↩

Hire Me

hidden (lauram) — Sat, 30 May 2026 19:04:00 +0000

I'm a highly experienced narrative contractor working in videogames. I'm currently available for contracts beginning in July 2026. I am available for both part time and full time short-term contracts in 2026 and parts of 2027.

Here's some games I've contracted on before, chosen to demonstrate the breadth of skills I can bring to a freelance contract.

Skin Deep - contract narrative designer/writer for the whole game.
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine - staff writer and editor for the whole game.
Tango: The Adventure Game - rewrote English localization for comedy punch-up. Game won an IGF narrative honorable mention with my rewrite pass.
Pathologic 2 - localization editor.
Pathologic 3 - localization editor.
Industries of Titan - wrote all early access launch narrative content.
A Monster's Expedition - editorial with an eye to comedy.
Young Suns - early access writing.
Saturnalia - early prototype editing.

While working for Riot Forge, I also shipped six different single-player games in the League of Legends IP. While working for Heart Machine, I shipped Possessors and Hyper Light Breaker.

I have experience working with common narrative scripting systems like Ink and Yarn, and have actually used both of them within the last year. I have worked on projects using both Unity and Unreal, as well as custom engines with homemade tooling.

I will not work on projects which integrate LLMs or generative AI, or projects where I am expected to use LLMs or generative AI to produce any player facing game content. My job as a writer and an editor is to make sure that your game is concise, using text with as much precision and restraint as possible. When you use an LLM to produce or edit game content, you are guaranteed to ship more text than you need. I won't work with team which expects me to use expensive, unreliable, dangerous tech to deliver a worse product.

To hire me, shoot me an email at laura at lauramichet dot com.

Please stop the bullying

hidden (whatwasithinking) — Thu, 28 May 2026 20:32:25 +0000

This morning my sister texted me to let me know that my nephew is being bullied at school. I had heard about a boy bothering him a few times in the past but when she said he came home crying, it truly broke my heart. I haven’t stopped thinking about it all day.

My nephew is the cutest boy ever. He is silly, smart, thoughtful, compassionate, funny, and yes, he’s flamboyant. He is a social butterfly, friends with everyone, a great speaker, and just a precious boy overall. His bad habits are his obsession with screen time and sometimes his sassiness after spending too much time with his trio group. I’ve seen this kid since he was a baby. To imagine another kid viciously using homophobic and sexually explicit language as a form of harassment ~~at eight years old~~ was devastating.

It reminds me that there are some really mean people in this world and they’re not only adults…they manifest themselves in kids too.

While we can’t avoid bullying anywhere in the world, we can take measures to bring it to light, advocate, and hopefully prevent it from happening again. My sister has already reached out the school and was directed to submit a formal HIB report. Good. A formal investigation is necessary.

I’m thankful my nephew found courage to trust in his mom to tell her what’s going on. The saddest part was when he told her he thinks he’s bullied because of his unique habits and mannerisms.

So sad…

He knows we don’t care if he’s indeed gay. He is loved unconditionally. But the way they used it as a weapon was completely unacceptable. No one should have to endure this type of harassment.

There’s not much I can do right now but assure my sister and brother in law that they’re doing a good job advocating and protecting their son. And, when I’m back from my trip, I can’t wait to hug my nephew and remind him how loved he is. I pray this incident doesn’t diminish his light and lively personality. May he always be safe and comfortable being himself.

💌 Reply via email

Wikipedia doesn't need my cash

hidden (forkingmad) — Thu, 28 May 2026 20:20:00 +0000

I have blogged before about why I like to support as many of the small, independent developers that I can. Specifically those who develop software that I actually use. Nothing is really free, and people have taken a lot of time and effort to produce some of the amazing tools I use every day.

Of course, as part of that I review my support regularly. I want to ensure my hard-earned cash is being fairly distributed.

Wikipedia

This is not a small affair by any means. I think it is one of the most visited web sites in the world. That requires quite a chunk of cash to keep the wheels turning.

I enjoy reading Wikipedia, and browsing through articles. I can spend a relaxing thirty minutes on a random topic, and all the other articles that it spawns.

I made the decision to support Wikipedia. I appreciate that I am paying for their infrastructure, as most of the articles are by volunteers like you and I.

Recently I have read that the Mediawiki foundation (the corporate behind Wikipedia) fired their Chief Technical Officer -- he's been there for 20+ years doing is an amazing job, from what I read. On top of that they disbanded an entire team responsible for Community engagement and development.

I hate to read of people losing their job, but sometimes you have to assume that these massive organisations have a plan for better/different things. I can't react to every boardroom decision I disapprove of.

However, as part of my own research into understanding this "restructure" I discovered more about the financial position of Mediawiki.

A healthy bank balance

It turns out, on reading their financial statements, that Mediawiki have a reserve fund of $290 million. By my calculation, and further verification, that's around 17 months of running costs.

To me that sounds very healthy, and I am not sure many tech companies could claim to run without any further funding for the next year and a half!

Cancelled

I've decided to cancel my monthly donation to the Mediawiki foundation for now. (come back to me when you are down to your last two months of operational costs). There are far more worthy causes I can throw some of my cash towards.

Three things I have learned about Bear

hidden (mickbrun) — Thu, 28 May 2026 06:03:00 +0000

Coming to Bear is my first encounter with the small web, or indieweb, as a creator, and I have learned so much these past couple of months.

First of all, I have learned that Bear is much more than a blogging platform, it's a town square and also a community (or many). It's been an honest, heartfelt, and warm encounter with the bloggers of Bear. I have seen and read some of your stuff, been inspired, and reached out, and you responded.

Secondly, I have learned that Bear is personal. It's people writing as people, with a great diversity in topics because life has many colors. I have been so surprised to see how personal a blog can be, not only in terms of words but also style. I thought that I just wanted my own blog to be simple, a vehicle for my writing, but that's not enough for me anymore. My blog, which is currently a mosaic of beautiful pieces I picked up from other blogs (thanks to Robert for his "Bearful" theme), should be customized to better reflect me.

Thirdly, I have learned that imperfect is perfect. What you find on Bear is content made by humans for humans. It's maybe not as polished and free from errors, or following conventional grammar rules, as you're used to, but that's all right (in the age of AI, even a relief). I'm trying myself to let go of my many iterations of writing and proofreading. It feels liberating and, after getting used to it, even comfortable.

Thanks to Herman for building and caring for Bear and thanks to all the bloggers of Bear for being there.

Hello there, Bear! ʕ｡•ﻌ•｡ʔ

hidden (justiz) — Sat, 30 May 2026 09:46:00 +0000

I have been lurking within this site on-and-off since late 2024, and I never imagined I'd have the motivation to start my own blog, but after going through a tough time earlier this year, I wholly dedicated my time to reading more blogposts, forum pages and general literature. Through this, I gained a newfound desire to return the favor by writing my own blog.

From these few months of being relatively away from social media and only going on forum posts and reading blogs, I've learnt a lot about life, the world around me, and pursued new interests I could only dream of enjoying before.

Because of sites like Bearblog, I took up new ways of living, I started journaling regularly, reading books, re-purposing my old electronics, etc. And for that, my life and mental health has improved drastically in ways I could have never expected.

The first step to any of this was finding Bearblog, and for that, I feel sort of.. indebted, in a way? Which is why I want to make this blog. I really want to make a change in my life. I found the art of blogging so genuinely inspiring, that I want to take a hand in doing it myself.

If you're reading this, hello! My name is Justiz, and this is my first ever blogpost on Bearblog. I am an artist from the Philippines, I am like to draw pictures, read fiction books and I'm a (very) novice programmer. I study at an art school, and I have a knack for public speaking, technology and the arts!

My goal in blogging is to do it regularly, so I want to write at least once or twice a week. Obviously, I plan to write down my miscellaneous experiences, but I also plan on making more professional-esque posts and retrospectives about certain topics I enjoy. So if that's your cup of tea, please stick around!

In truth, I want to meet more people. I want to also find a suitable outlet for my feelings, my thoughts and whatever else comes up in my enigma of a mind. I have no idea if this post will gain any readers, but that really isn't my end goal here. My end goal is to make something that I am proud of, and so far, I am really proud of my attempts to write and expand my abilities.

I hope to write again soon!

Is there ever justification for 'red flagging' emails?

hidden (euanlawson) — Fri, 29 May 2026 19:15:00 +0000

I have to admit, when I get an email with a red flag stating it is 'important', it raises antibodies with me. I strongly suspect the person at the other end has a dysfunctional relationship with email and doesn't fully understand how communication works. Of course, some of this is just workplace norms, and people get subjected to this in their organisation or institution, and the only way to get by is to roll with it.

That said, I'm not letting people off the hook. It might be important to you, but did you even pause for a nano-second to think about whether it is important to the other person? And it's easy to imagine how it's used as a micro-bullying mechanism by asshole bosses. I got an email a few weeks ago related to a conference which had a deadline several weeks in the future and it had an important flag on it. Bizarre. Like I said, antibodies.

It also brings me to another point about email: has anyone ever received an email where someone flagged it as 'low' importance? It's possible to do. One might wonder whether the email needs sending at all but, arguably, it is commendably honest. I might start sending a few and see if anyone notices.

Six Months without Social Media

hidden (rickw) — Thu, 28 May 2026 15:33:00 +0000

Rain, Hudson River · 2026

It's been good.

To be specific: I mean Facebook and Instagram. I still have a YouTube account, though I never comment there. I also love Foto, but that's a niche app for getting feedback on my photography from other photographers. It barely counts. I'm not looking for engagement, I'm looking for guidance, and I pay for it.

The main thing — and the funny thing — is that I don't think anyone on Facebook or Instagram has noticed I'm gone. And that's perfectly fine with me. It confirms what I suspected: it was never really social. It was performative.

Here on BearBlog, I briefly turned this into a social experiment with the GitHub comments plug-in. On seven posts across two weeks, one person commented, so I've turned it off, and I doubt anyone will notice. That feels right, too — it suits the vibe of this place. BearBlog isn't a social media platform designed to sell us to advertisers. It's a self-expression platform — no ads, no algorithm — that some of us pay to use for extra features.

Even the little anonymous thumbs-up at the bottom of each post isn't really social. It's more like a quiet nod across a room from a stranger — acknowledgment without obligation.

I'll take that.

Technology still feels magical

hidden (robert) — Thu, 28 May 2026 14:50:00 +0000

I sometimes hear people my age (I'm 55) talk about tech and the younger generation.

Not just the usual conversations about social media and doomscrolling bringing civilization to its knees. Yes, they talk about that too, but so do kids half their age.

I mean the everyday use of modern technology. Digital communication, sharing, payments, bookings, starting a blog.

They say things like, "It all comes naturally to them. They grew up with the internet and all this stuff."

And it's true, of course. I'm sure someone half my age could put together some of my little lab projects in half the time. Just like I could probably parallel park in half the time.

But when it comes to technology, I wouldn't trade my boomer perspective for anything. I love having been born in a time when paying the tab with your watch belonged in science fiction.

To me, it all still feels like sci-fi.

Taking a photo with my phone. Amazing! Having that photo instantly appear on my laptop the second I open the lid. Unreal! Having a blog and publishing my thoughts to the rest of the world in seconds. Insane!

I honestly get amazed every day by things other people barely notice anymore. And if it takes me twice as long to create a blog theme, even better. That just means double the joy.

the pantsing of my posts

hidden (skryblans) — Thu, 28 May 2026 09:12:00 +0000

It surprised me to see that my last post, a little tongue-in-cheek thing explaining vibe blogging, https://skryblans.com/vibe-blogging/ appeared on the 'Trending' Bear blog feed. I was even amazed to see it at number one once.

Obviously, using the word 'vibe' in the title probably gave it a more interesting vibe, as anything with vibes in it is really vibing at the moment anyway.

Also, it was very short.

But I put very little time into writing it. Five minutes maybe?

What I jokingly called vibe blogging in that post was just a new name for a blogging style I've always used myself.

In the old days (longer ago than last week – mainly when I was using WordPress and part of a 'community' of fellow WP bloggers about five to ten years ago), they called it being a 'pantser' – someone happy to just write and make it up as you go along, effectively 'by the seat of your pants' – as opposed to a 'planner' – someone needing rather more forethought, research, and deliberation to write their blog posts.

A large part of my pantsing ways has perhaps always unconsciously been coping with my recently-realised ADHD, avoiding the presumed, in my mind, 'boring' part of doing actual planning. Because, if it has things that are meant to be facts in it, I have to make the facts accurate. That is also thing with me.

I do not want to get bogged down in writing posts that require any sort of in-depth expertise, that would require me to do researching and note taking and lots of other quickly very tedious stuff, when I can be putting together new, exciting turns of phrase, and creating unexpected sentences that even I don't know how they're going to go by the time I get to the end of it if I ever get to the end of it perhaps there won't be an end oh yes there is at last phew.

Besides, I would never get the research actually done. My mind won't generally stay on the subject long enough to take a note. Although when it does stay on a subject long enough, it will be hours before I get out again, and I probably still won't have written anything down.

And I will then forget it all when J asks me what's for dinner.

I don't learn anything much, because I don't remember anything. Or at least, I don't think I have when I am deliberately trying to remember things, only to have them pop up randomly at entirely unconnected moments years later.

Yes, so vibe blogging is in fact the only way for me to write.

Crucially though, it is me vibe blogging it, and I haven't seen a need to let a word sausage machine construct some vaguely true-sounding but don't look too closely blog posts for me, when I am perfectly capable of that sort of nonsense already.

post link for sharing: https://skryblans.com/the-pantsing-of-my-posts

If you got this far, you may as well click the star below on your way out.

re: adults have lost the ability to smile, why?

hidden (donthave2sting) — Thu, 28 May 2026 21:41:00 +0000

Recently, I've been blowing bubbles at work while on break. I sit in this sweet little park outside my office building, and blow bubbles to de-stress.

Of course, children react positively -- they smile at me and try to pop the bubbles, or light up when they see my bubble wand.

Most adults ignore me, but some are intrigued and they'll say something nice. Sometimes they'll smile or have a 'I didn't know you could do that!' look.

I was talking to two coworkers of mine, and they were saying things along the lines of "oh, it would be weird for middle aged ladies to blow bubbles in the park", but fine for me to do it because I'm young. It makes me sad, the way playing as an adult is stigmatized.

It would do you a world of good to blow some bubbles.

reply via email

How does one "go viral" on BearBlog?

hidden (notebookery) — Wed, 27 May 2026 20:19:00 +0000

I am relatively new to BearBlog, and so far I thouroughly enjoy the experience of using this platform. Besides having the helpful urge to actually write here, I also like to have a look at the Discovery feed from time to time.

Doing that, I noticed that I have no real idea how anyone would ever "go viral" within this little community.¹ Some posts emass more that fifty upvotes in a short time. How is that possible when a new post appears in the "most recent" category every few minutes? Are these all regular readers who follow an RSS feed of their favorite Bear bloggers?

In any case, and maybe more importantly: The fact that it is quite unlikely to find a huge audience here in a very short time is, to my mind, a feature and not bug. Publishing some of my writing (instead of just writing to myself) without having to fear massive scrutiny is the perfect sweet spot for developing the craft, getting reps in and "thinking honestly in public" without performing for an audience or refreshing the Analytics page all the time.

And that's exactly what I came here for.

Footnotes

How many are we, by the way?↩

the only friend without social media

hidden (bx) — Wed, 27 May 2026 19:40:00 +0000

i was with my friends a few weeks ago and realised i was the only friend without social media. it came when i was asked “if i had seen this tiktok”. no, i hadn’t. i made a decision to deactivate all my social media in the new year and i’ve not had the urge to reactivate it so far.

my friends and family often try to send me links to videos on facebook, instagram and tiktok but i can’t view them on the account of having no active accounts with these platforms.

for a moment i wondered if i was missing something. have i restricted myself by purposefully shutting them down?

i believe i have not. i have the luxury of going to see my friends in person, i could catch up with them over a phone call if i couldn’t. i’m quite happy seeing the unedited version of their lives.

whether you think social media is good for bad, i’m comfortable that i’m not missing out on anything.

AI wants to be me!

hidden (forkingmad) — Wed, 27 May 2026 17:57:00 +0000

It's that time again where I ~~rant~~ reflect on the impact of AI on my life. Those who follow along will know I have no time for such Automated Ignorance. The uninformed may see it as the next big thing; something new and sparkly; the enhancement to their dominance.

Recently I was incandescent (i like a bit of playfully dramatic prose) when someone asked me for help and then assumed I'd used AI.

Today's latest mayhem unfolded as I was being educated!

Act 1 : The introduction

I volunteer as an ambassador to talk about real-world career experiences to kids (I think the current politically correct term is young learners!). The idea is "to bring real-life examples of careers into schools, colleges, and universities". Basically, talking to young people about career ideas.

A few days ago I attended an online session with teachers, and they gave examples of how they are using AI in education. The presenters covered teaching techniques for developing useful prompts, and utilising a variety of AI tools to help in their coursework. The students can get additional marks in their practical grades for using insightful prompts.

This was all new to me. I remember not being allowed to use a calculator at school. And here we are teaching the kids to get AI to do the work.

Act 2 : The Paradox

Today I was reading an article, written by a teacher, discussing the challenges in grading students' work. (Hey, you can at least say I am open-minded and interested enough to read about AI's life cycle).

Said educator was eloquently expressing how he has to run much of the written responses from his students through a website -- to gauge if the text was generated by AI or was original work from the student.

You can imagine how confused I was. On one hand we're teaching the kids how to, and on the other we're checking they don't.

Act 3 : The conclusion

This afternoon I thought it would be fun (clearly I need a life!) to try some of these AI checking websites against my own written material.

I copied and pasted a few random articles from this very website into the AI sausage machine and eagerly anticipated the responses.

And true to AI form, the results varied wildly. Some sites were happy that it was completely human content. Others had the audacity to suggest up to 56% of the text was possibly AI.

The Critique

I could, of course, describe myself as apoplectic at the mere suggestion that AI was involved. However, let's for a moment, pretend I don't like a bit of a dramatic commentary.

I can, hand on heart, say that every word, syllable, and the entire wittering of the site, is 100% my own attempt at stringing together words which make a coherent sentence.

In fact, I have reversed the entire thought of this, and concluded that AI likes my chatty writing style and wants to be me!