Open Hardware and IP Laws

First up, that big 3D printer company, Prusa, put out this article asking if open hardware for 3D printing is basically dead. They're saying all the super strong intellectual property laws are kinda killing it. People in the comments were going back and forth on whether patents and copyrights are just way too powerful, making it hard for open stuff to thrive. Someone even brought up how before patents, people used to have these secret guilds that would literally kill to keep their tech secret, which is wild to think about. But also, people were saying Prusa themselves are actually really good for open hardware, like, they make their stuff locally and offer upgrades for old printers.

Occult Books Online

Then there was this super cool one: some library in Amsterdam, the Ritman Library, digitized and put online over 2000 old occult books! Like, magic and alchemy and all that jazz. Someone in the comments recommended starting with Agrippa's "Three Books on Occult Philosophy" if you're into that. And another person pointed out that back in the Renaissance, science and spirituality were way more intertwined than we think now. Pretty neat.

The Beauty of Text-Only Webpages

Oh, and remember those old-school websites, just text and maybe a couple of images? There was an article talking about 'the beauty of a text-only webpage'. A lot of people in the comments were all for it, saying it's so much better for readability, especially for screen reader users, and just brings back that early internet vibe. Someone even linked to motherfuckingwebsite.com and bettermotherfuckingwebsite.com – those are hilarious and good examples.

Do Things That Don't Scale

Paul Graham's old essay, 'Do Things That Don't Scale', popped up again. It's about how startups need to do manual, unscalable things at first to get going. The comments were talking about how the biggest problem for a startup is inertia, and you really gotta create that momentum from scratch. Someone else had a cool theory about different 'scaling regimes' – like, first you're not scaling, then you are, and then you hit 'antiscaling' where things get messy. And another point was that it's not about being slightly successful; you need people to love your product, not just mildly like it.

Losing the Ability to Write Japanese

Then there was this interesting personal story from someone who said they 'used to know how to write in Japanese' but basically lost the skill because they always type now, never write by hand. Super relatable, right? We all type everything. Someone in the comments had a cool detail about the term 'ワープロ馬鹿' (warupuro baka), which means 'word processor idiot' and apparently refers to old dedicated word processing machines from the 80s/90s, not just software. It’s wild how technology changes our brains like that.

UK Government and Public Discourse

Okay, and this one's a bit spicy: a headline said the 'UK government states that 'safety' act is about influence over public discourse'. Basically, implying they admitted their 'safety' law is more about controlling what people say online. But a bunch of comments immediately jumped in saying those quotes were totally taken out of context and it's super misleading. So, mixed feelings there, but definitely got people talking about government power and free speech.

Sig Sauer Pistol Risks

And finally, a pretty serious one: 'Court records reveal Sig Sauer knew of pistol risks for years'. Apparently, this big gun manufacturer knew their pistols had problems that could make them fire without the trigger being pulled. Now, some comments were quick to point out that the source article is from an anti-gun group, so maybe biased. But then, others dropped links showing that Sig Sauer actually sued organizations to make them continue using these risky pistols even after they wanted to stop. That's a pretty wild move, if true, definitely shady.

Anyway, that's the main stuff. Gotta run, talk later!