The thing that flipped it for me was realizing the Spotify algorithm isn’t actually about discovering new music, it’s about driving profit. Idealism aside, what that tactically means for music discovery is the recommendations are based primarily around what they want to play, and then secondarily around what you might like.

It means that you’re only discovering a subset of music you might like that is profitable to Spotify and their big record label partners.

After realizing that, the Spotify algorithm lost a lot of interest for me. Now I use SomaFM to discover new music. They do curated music channels in a bunch of different genres, and I find that the DJs have a similar taste to mine, so I hear a good amount of new music I’m into.

This definitely reads like it’s written by the pelican, addressing someone with a baby

The best time to unionize was yesterday. Second best is right now!

https://techworkerscoalition.org/circuit-breakers/

This is the correct order. 5-to-2 sets the width of the star, which is important when writing multiple identical stars next to each other.

I totally agree that more diversity in art makes things more interesting, and I’m a big fan of bucking trends to make things unique. Art should be able to exist on its own merit, as the artist intended, divorced from what would make a better t-shirt. Even stepping out of art and into design, it makes me sad how many cars are grey, black, or white. Let’s get some variation!

But… This is a logo. It’s not a poster. It’s not a t-shirt or a building or a painting. It’s a logo. As such, there are some specific criteria that will make it better at being a logo. It needs to be instantly recognizable. It needs to be legible across a wide variety of contexts, sizes, mediums, and color applications. As a result, logos tend to be better if they’re simpler.

The AI output is an illustration because it uses things like shading, complex shapes, and shadows, etc… Can you use an illustration for a logo? By all means. In some situations, it’ll probably look nice. But at a certain size, it just won’t be recognizable, and then it won’t be doing the main job you want a logo to do — be instantly recognizable across as wide a set of scenarios as possible.

Also, to be clear, I’m not a fan of the logo on the left either. It’s not particularly imaginative, the highly variable line weight makes it feel in cohesive, and the details mean it probably wouldn’t work well at small sizes either.

Personal taste is totally fine, but what you’re describing isn’t a logo, it’s an illustration. A good logo specifically must be simple so that it can be applied across a bunch of different contexts — print, digital, large, small. What if you wanted your logomark as a favicon? Depth and lighting would make it look like a smudge at that size. What about stitching your logo onto a hat?

This is the main issue. Logos are part of a brand system, and generating a logo with AI circumvents all that thought. You get something that might look good, but your whole system becomes super fragile.

Again, there’s no disagreeing with personal taste, it’s just a matter of thoughtful use of the system and medium.

This unprecedented relationship between the world’s richest man and the leader of the free world raises concerns about the influence of wealth on government.

Raises?! Where have y’all been?

Plus 1 to this. A lot of great games have broken through to mobile, and are really affordable. Two specific recommendations:

1. Balatro— if you have any familiarity with poker this will make a ton of sense to you. It’s very popular, easy to pick up, and has a lot of depth.

2. Listen to video game podcasts for recommendations. I love The Besties, but there are a ton. Try the games they recommend. If you like what they say is good, then you’ve found a reliable source of Future recommendations. If not, try another podcast!

I really do recommend the hobby. It’s a lot of fun, there are a bunch of different kinds of games, and the landscape is constantly evolving so there’s always something new (or old—retro games are super fun) to discover. Take your time and try a bunch of different things!

But look at the US popular vote. Even with different representation of the populace, this election would still have been fucked. We do need massive reform of the US voting structure, but this is not the biggest thing. Getting rid of first past the post in favor of at least ranked choice would make a much bigger difference.

That would open the door for a true left wing party to actually have a voice.

For a second I read that as America, and I thought, eh, pretty close.

We didn’t start the fire!

It’s not easy, fast, or free, but it is worth it. I currently still have a Spotify account, but I’m weaning myself off. I’ve been going the Bandcamp + jellyfin route. Buy an album a month (about the price of monthly streaming) and add it to my personal library. Next month, check what I’ve been listening to most on Spotify and buy that. It’s twice as expensive (for now) but I’m supporting artists more directly and have an exit strategy for Spotify. Curious about other’s approaches!

So there you have it; you don’t need to worry about security seeing all your bits and pieces - just whatever you’ve forgotten to take out of your pockets.

Clearly not written by someone who knows any trans people.