Thranpageshttps://www.thran.uk/2024-03-02T00:00:00+00:00Rescamming: The story of haha.pl2024-03-02T00:00:00+00:002024-03-02T00:00:00+00:00Thrantag:www.thran.uk,2024-03-02:/writ/devlog/2024/03/rescamming-the-story-of-hahapl.html<p>A naughty script delivers payback to some Facebook scammers. A story featuring Perl, great justice and many copypastas.</p><p>One innocent day on Facebook, I received a message from a sketchily named character. Despite all appearances, Guest 7110 assured me that he was from the Meta Pro Team and delivered the unlucky news that "my fanpage is restricted from accessing". Woe is me!</p>
<p>That said, our numerated guest was never one to dwell on bad news. He happily informed me that I could verify my identity by opening 'support-media pages' and entering my username and password.</p>
<p><img alt="scam message" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/res-msg.png"></p>
<p class="caption">I wonder what he did with the other 7109 guests?</p>
<p>Being a curious fellow, I clicked the link to see what awaited there:</p>
<p><img alt="scam message" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/res-login.png"></p>
<p class="caption">Login, sure you want to.</p>
<p>Ah, a login form! Seems very legit. And what happens if I enter any username and password? Alas, only errors.</p>
<p>Digging into it, I opened the Firefox dev tools and noted the URL to which the form was sending the login data. I also made a copy of the JSON payload, i.e. the format of the login data expected by the server.</p>
<p><img alt="ff dev tools" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/res-devtools.png"></p>
<p class="caption">Peering into the depths...</p>
<p>Note it is in Portuguese - "titulo", "valor". Apparently Facebook has been outsourcing to Lisbon.</p>
<p>Then I thought I'd give them some help. I wrote a Perl script that will randomly generate plausible email addresses and rude passwords, then send one "login" every second to the server.</p>
<p><img alt="main loop" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/res-mainloop.png"></p>
<p class="caption">Behold, my Perl!</p>
<p>If you follow the annotations, the same target URL where the login form sends the username and password have been entered into the script.</p>
<p>But that wasn't enough. I thought to brighten up their day, it would be funny for there to be a one in ten chance of sending a selected copypasta. I added some of my favourites to the top of the script, as well as other famous speeches that inexplicably came to mind.</p>
<p>So in addition to the random email addresses, the login form was bombarded with the copypastas of Gorilla Warfare, Rick and Morty, They targeted gamers and Richard Stallman's interjection. It also routinely sent Donald Trump's wall speech, Nixon's watergate speech, Alex Jones' frog speech, and some Sumerian poetry.</p>
<p><img alt="script" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/res-script.png"></p>
<p class="caption">Surely some of these are valid?</p>
<p>Running the script, we see it working. The server replies 'SUCESS' to each submission, even after receiving the very long copypasta texts. I wonder if that's a typo, or just Portuguese. I'm not bothered enough to look it up.</p>
<p>Naturally after 10,000 iterations of this - 9 email addresses and passwords, then 1 pasta - I thought that was enough. Surely the spammer would enjoy some of his own art returned.</p>
<p>And indeed, a week later I visited the same login form to find this message:</p>
<p><img alt="dead" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/res-dead.png"></p>
<pre class="rainbow" style="text-align:center">
____ ____ _____ _ _____ ____ _ _ ____ _____ ____ ____ _
/ ___| _ \| ____| / \|_ _| / ___|| | | |/ ___| ____/ ___/ ___|| |
| | _| |_) | _| / _ \ | | \___ \| | | | | | _| \___ \___ \| |
| |_| | _ <| |___ / ___ \| | ___) | |_| | |___| |___ ___) |__) |_|
\____|_| \_\_____/_/ \_\_| |____/ \___/ \____|_____|____/____/(_)
</pre>
<h1>Download haha.pl</h1>
<p>If you are inclined to see the script in its entirety, you may <a href="https://soft.thran.uk/files/haha.pl">download haha.pl here</a>. It isn't my tidiest or cleverest Perl, but it is obvious enough what it does. You'll need the LWP module for it to run.</p>
<h1>Addendum - why do this?</h1>
<p>The message was an obvious attempt to steal my login details, as well as the login details of countless others. Likely, the scammer would lock the page and charge money to retrieve access. He could use my account to spam others. Or he could sell my details and have someone else use them for identity fraud. Countless possible sins come to mind.</p>
<p>Thus by flooding his database with 10,000 useless usernames and passwords, the whole dataset becomes worthless to him. Also it is funny.</p>Lessons from the Mistakes of Youth2023-12-30T00:00:00+00:002023-12-30T00:00:00+00:00Thrantag:www.thran.uk,2023-12-30:/writ/sr/2023/12/mistakes-of-youth.html<p>Closing the year, some lessons I wish I could share with my younger self. Featuring loose references to Greek and English philosophers.</p><p>Closing the year, some lessons I wish I could share with my younger self. Sharing these for anyone else who may benefit.</p>
<h1>1. There are rules even to non-conformity</h1>
<p>Some of us have a deep-set drive to be different from the crowd. This manifests in a stubborn refusal of most requests or any invitation to play along a group. While I think this instinct isn't bad, the application is often too strictly. This leads to an ignorance of how one is perceived, a disregard for the effects of his actions on others.</p>
<p>Doing your own thing doesn’t mean disregarding everything everyone else likes, it’s wise to understand why things matter to others, and understand what you are disregarding. Ask these questions first:</p>
<ul>
<li>Do you have a good reason to besmirch this thing that everyone likes? </li>
<li>Do you understand why they like it?</li>
<li>Do you have something better to offer? </li>
<li>What is the best way of communicating that?</li>
</ul>
<p>Also, mastering what is already there and then putting your own spin on it is the real way to “do you own thing” - the base of it needs to be recognised by your audience, and your own spin is how you stand out. If you were to create a new art style, the depictions would need to be recognisable. Or, no one will notice and no one will care.</p>
<p>Applied to social situations, you need to deliver something your audience wants. They need to like you before you can 'shatter their world' by breaking the rules or presenting to them something truly heretofore unseen.</p>
<p>Taken to absurdity, I wouldn’t invent my own language. If I invented my own language I would have no one to communicate with, unless I persuaded someone else to learn my new language… quite a task in a language that is yet unknown!</p>
<p><img alt="Diogenes of Sinope" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/diogenes_sml.jpg"></p>
<p class="caption">Diogenes of Sinope, the original non-conformist</p>
<h4>An exception to this rule</h4>
<p>That said, if your crowd constantly attacks and rejects everything you put forward, it is time to find another. They suffer from the vice of hubris and lack the virtue of curiosity; therefore they aren't good people.</p>
<h1>2. The assumption that everyone would choose "right" over "popular"</h1>
<p>Related to the foregoing, I thought that I would be thanked for introducing my friends to better music. Or arguing strongly for religious precepts. I was elevating the masses to more enlightened tastes and values, Plato's cave style.</p>
<p>This never happened. Invariably I was asked to shut off the radio, or had headphones thrown back at me, or was told to "become a minister". The mellow sounds of Blur, Radiohead and Eels were not to be received by the masses. The world wasn't filled with lost souls who would eagerly latch onto the word of life.</p>
<p>I took this as a great personal defeat, even a slight. Here was a better way than the "chart" music that was eroding their souls. Here were the timeless words of life that would guide them through the turmoil of this age. Why would they refuse?</p>
<p>The problem was that most people like popular music and hold certain opinions because they are popular. They want something that most of the masses find relatable, so they can relate to each other. This matters much more than "being right", even if what you are offering is objectively better. Strange, new and different is a threat to this delicate social harmony. Thus, my outsider music and religious opinions were to be attacked as threats to the tribe. Though thankfully not with the same ending as the enlightened man in Plato's cave analogy; I endured only scolds and snubbings.</p>
<p>While it is possible to have your own tastes and opinions, if you want to fit in with a certain "tribe" it is important to give their familiar tastes a similar respect as you would have given to yours. If the crowd is to be won over, it will happen when it first respects you. If it cannot even be moved to respect your musical tastes, then it is a signal to find your own people instead.</p>
<p><img alt="Plato's Cave" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/platocave_med.jpg"></p>
<p class="caption">Plato's cave allegory. What I attempted when young, only with music.</p>
<h1>3. That you can control every outcome and failures are your fault.</h1>
<p>Similar to the above, acting with an expectation that everything will go your way will just set you up for more failure. Instead of enjoying the moment and concentrating on the task, your mind will be occupied with thoughts of every possible outcome, and when it fails it is like the sky has fallen.</p>
<p>Ironically this obsession makes failure the most likely outcome; your mind is concentrating on the result and not the means to get there while you are in the act of getting there. It has time travelled ahead to futures that won't exist, while abandoning the body to falter in the present.</p>
<p>The reality is that you have no control over other people (unless you are a politician or master manipulator, but most of us aren't). You can only act in accordance with what you know, and see how they respond. Embracing this will lift a burden off your mind, and free you to enjoy the precious moments of life when they come. Failure will become less frequent when efforts are repeated.</p>
<p>Further, a poor relationship with failure will make future attempts less likely, for who would wish to bear that anguish over and over?</p>
<p><img alt="Hobbs' Leviathan" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/leviathan_med.jpg"></p>
<p class="caption">King Leviathan orders all his domain and is therefore ultimately responsible for every action. You might want to be him, but you really wouldn't.</p>
<h1>4. You must be already popular or evidently competent before self-deprecating.</h1>
<p>This makes it clear that you're joking. If you have a lowly social place, self-deprecation will just further cement that.</p>
<p>There is a vain hope that by making jokes that put yourself down, this propitiation will overcome your pitiful status and the crowd will finally welcome you as an equal.</p>
<p>The reality is that unless you are already an equal, this will not happen. A man of good standing who is very clearly skilled and respected can make jokes putting himself down, because everyone knows it is ironic. It is a social flex, or power projection:</p>
<blockquote>
"I can insult myself, but I know you who are beneath me would never dare".
</blockquote>
<p>Copying the high status individuals and putting yourself down will not make you like them, if you are already a loser in the eyes of this crowd. You have to build yourself up, if you even can, before you do that.</p>
<p>Yes, they will laugh - but at you, not with you. They won't take you seriously otherwise, or invite you to their social gatherings and holidays. That's how you know.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>While that ended on a grim note, I think the overall lesson is clear: Don't put yourself down unless you are already there. Learn what the crowd likes and why before you dump upon it. If the crowd really doesn't like you, find another. If no crowd likes you, it might be time to think why.</p>
<p>There are things you can learn to better your situation. There are deep pitfalls to avoid. The sooner these lessons are digested and the pitfalls are paved over, the longer you have to enjoy an easier passage through life.</p>Retreading the old paths: Part 1. Ascending The Hill2023-12-09T00:00:00+00:002023-12-09T00:00:00+00:00Thrantag:www.thran.uk,2023-12-09:/writ/sr/2023/12/oldpaths-part1.html<p>Were I to try describing the Christian religion's impact on the world, and especially the western world, I would immediately find myself out of my depth. Criticising an ancient belief system with roots in the earliest memories of mankind invites humility. Still, here I go.</p><p>Were I to try describing the Christian religion's impact on the world, and especially the western world, I would immediately find myself out of my depth. Criticising an ancient belief system with roots in the earliest memories of mankind invites humility.</p>
<p>That said, I will be laying down some praises and some criticisms. Some of these points will stem from personal experiences, other points the observations of others' experiences. My desire is to promote some appreciation of religion for the non-believer, and some self-awareness for the believer.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/oldpaths-killyfaddy.jpeg"><img alt="An old Road, depicted April 2015" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/oldpaths-killyfaddy_med.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">Returning to an old familiar hill, depicted April 2015.</p>
<p>Note: I use the terms 'the religion' and 'Christianity' to mean both the Bible as well as general ideas held by those who follow it. Some press for <em>scripture alone</em> and say that we must discount anything that cannot be traced directly to a Bible verse, but it is inescapable that there will be common ideas sprung from the same foundation.</p>
<p>Part 1 is a reflection on the good things that are difficult to replicate when we discard religion. Part 2 will concern the parts that we will not miss.</p>
<blockquote>
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord.
<div class="saidby">Isaiah 1v18</div>
</blockquote>
<h2>Spotting yourself in the big picture.</h2>
<p>Christianity offers the believer a 'big view' of human history. The world is fallen but everything is to be redeemed and renewed; that includes you. Even this alone gives life meaning in a way that few other belief systems match. This also helps you find your place in the vast and ever changing tides of ideas, nations, events and discoveries. Come what may, you still have your faith and God is in charge.</p>
<p>I'm sure for many this helps to assuage anxiety, because even if you take a moment to pause and consider everything happening in the world it is quite terrifying.</p>
<p>Even if someone will object that Christianity often disputes with itself, with doctrines and denominations often going at each other - sometimes to the point of fatality - each believer has faith in the same living God who is outside of this world and above even those sectarian conflicts. So in a way, whoever wins, God ultimately wins anyway.</p>
<blockquote>
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
<div class="saidby">Psalm 90v2.</div>
</blockquote>
<h2>Justly condemned.</h2>
<p>One of the effects of everlasting life is everlasting justice. When the end of days comes, all who ever walked the earth shall be resurrected from the grave to explain themselves. The teaching is that vengeance is God's to repay, we shouldn't take matters into our own hands and make things worse because our own judgement will be flawed compared to a perfect God. We might feel bitter that someone got away with a great evil, but we can be comforted knowing that someday justice will come.</p>
<p>I think we all know of someone who has been greatly wronged, if we haven't been wronged ourselves. Worse still, you know of someone who was wronged by a cunning exploiter and this person doesn't even know it. You might even try to make the case to the victim, but find yourself fighting alone.</p>
<p>The desire to set wrongs right runs deep, perhaps because our unconscious mind realises we have been done down before the conscious mind has finished its breakfast. Or perhaps, as Christians would say, it is because we take after the image of God, who "loves justice".</p>
<p>For the Christian, because God has perfect knowledge of events, you know God will make the right call. Even that unsavoury fellow with the cunning tongue won't be able to talk his way out of his final trial. For the rest of us, in the face of a rather limp legal system, we are left scratching our heads and furiously scanning the news every evening.</p>
<blockquote>
For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.
<div class="saidby">Psalm 11v7</div>
</blockquote>
<h2>Deep sea millstones.</h2>
<p>If I asked you to answer who were the most needy and unjustly downtrodden class in society, which would you choose? I will make a case that it is children.</p>
<p>Children are fully human, yet also fully dependent. They do not choose their place of birth, or their parents, but must adapt to both quickly for survival. There is a desire in adults to reproduce, but the desire to make time for your children isn't as natural for many. Children are hounded to schools that they often hate, forced to regurgitate things they already know, be subject to all the smothering social pressures of the day - and too often face them alone.</p>
<p>If children are trapped in a home with bad parents, who subject them to shouting, beating, name calling, neglect, and many other grave misdeeds, they normalise this to survive and that later manifests as dysfunction in adulthood - popularly known as "mental illness". You can ask any decent psychologist if you don't believe it, but the connection is painfully obvious to me.</p>
<p>I could go on, but almost all of your life is determined by your childhood. As are the lives and behavior of everyone you meet. "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world" and whether that world will be violent and tense or peaceful and pleasant is ultimately determined by the quality of upbringings.</p>
<p>Thus, Christ was not overstating when he said:</p>
<blockquote>
Whoso shall [harm] one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
<div class="saidby">Matthew 18v6</div>
</blockquote>
<h2>Having the integrity to be honest.</h2>
<p>The question of how to live the good life is as old as the days themselves, with many tomes written in deep debate. "What is virtue and why should I care?" is a question that isn't answered in a day, or before the end of a blog post.</p>
<p>That said, if you are a Christian, the answer is be good because God commands it. And, the classical virtues like:</p>
<ul>
<li>honesty: <em>speaking the truth</em></li>
<li>integrity: <em>living the truth</em></li>
<li>justice: <em>ensuring you treat people as they deserve - rewarding both good and bad deeds appropriately</em></li>
</ul>
<p>are praised and urged - if a little underdefined - in scripture.</p>
<p>This is the closest the masses will come to 'virtue for the rest of us' - if you have a busy family life in addition to working long hours, worrying about bills, you need an easy end to the day. You don't have time to worry about these big questions and pour through endless volumes of philosophy. </p>
<p>And the only thing worse than that might be listening to some jumped-up philosophy professor argue that we can't be sure reality exists, but also words have no meaning. It doesn't seem that way when you have four kids to feed and a boss on your neck every day. Working out a system of objective ethics is a big ask on top of that.</p>
<p>So if you pull out the Bible you can get a clear enough idea on what you should do and should not do. You read that drunkenness is to be avoided, or that bad company corrupts good morals, or that we should be so honest in our speech that it is never necessary to swear by something else. That's quite digestible even in an evening.</p>
<blockquote>
The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
<div class="saidby">Proverbs 11v3</div>
</blockquote>
<h2>Powering down.</h2>
<p>We are taught several things in Christianity that make a strong case for limiting the power some may hold over others.</p>
<p>All mankind:</p>
<ul>
<li>Share a common origin</li>
<li>Are affected by the fall and have a tendency to do evil, unless checked by God's grace</li>
<li>Are alike in being image-bearers of God, and therefore cannot claim special privileges over the others</li>
</ul>
<p>This has given societies - particularly those that take after the western tradition - a strong scepticism of power. It certainly fed the ideas behind constitutional government - whether it is a constitutional monarchy in Britain or republic in America.</p>
<p>We see strong scepticism towards power, questioning of the intentions of our ruling class, checks and balances in the legislative system and the legal system come from this. You can't call yourself king and go around taking what you want without the consent of your people, because even under the robes you are still just a man like them; a man who has no more privileges before God than you. You can't just charge and throw anyone in prison on a whim or hearsay, because we know everyone has a tendency to corruption, so you need a proper adversarial legal system.</p>
<p><img alt="The gift" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/oldpaths-gift.jpeg"></p>
<p class="caption">The gift of freedom.</p>
<p>While hardly applied perfectly through the centuries, these ideas have fuelled many of the strengths of the West. I would even argue that the ideas if taken far enough would even challenge the idea itself of having a state with exceptional powers for its operatives that sets them above the governed.</p>
<blockquote>
There is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
<div class="saidby">Romans 3v22-23</div>
</blockquote>
<h2>The Ends Don't Justify The Means</h2>
<p>At the risk of being overly reductive, there is the question of what psychologically drives man to commit evil - I'm thinking of tyrannies, dictatorships, wars of aggression, suppression of freedom, genocides, forced conversions, indoctrination, torture. I'm sure your own imagination can finish the list.</p>
<p>Usually what drives these is a sense of 'higher purpose' that overrides the individual moral choices. Something that reduces the other person to a mere component in some grand model of the world that's meant to explain everything - itself contained in some emotional narrative. And grand models with an emotional attachment feel like a family, a tribe, the truth of the model is the security of the tribe and therefore must be defended above all; there is little time to tolerate dissent.</p>
<p>Another way of putting it is that 'the ends justify the means' - i.e. if we're marching to a glorious future, then who cares if a few people get hurt along the way. It's just like strength training really.</p>
<p>You can find this thinking behind many movements that resulted in mass evils and suppression, and even in individual acts of terrorism - <em>I need to make the civilians fear for the good of my cause</em> - without thinking how that discredits your cause to anyone with a healthy level of self-respect.</p>
<blockquote>
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
<div class="saidby">"God in the Dock". C. S. Lewis, 1970.</div>
</blockquote>
<p>A strong case can be made that Christianity teaches that the ends do not justify the means. Christ was tempted by Satan in the early chapters of the gospel; the suggestion was that Christ would have all the kingdoms and power of the earth if he worshiped Satan, suggesting Jesus could do great good with the power.</p>
<p>Instead Jesus firmly dismissed Satan and said he would rather languish in the desert than take up the offer. </p>
<p>This isn't just a mere legal prescription, the point is driven home through a story where Jesus refuses power in the most desperate of circumstances. He had been in the wilderness for weeks; many of us would break sooner, but he refused to even turn stones into bread though it was well within his power.</p>
<p>I see a clear refutation here of "the ends justify the means". Jesus, who is held up by Christianity as the perfect man would rather follow his principles to near death than compromise, even when told he might do some good if he broke them and worshipped Satan. </p>
<p>A supporting argument against "the ends justify the means" is that the ten commandments, the golden rule, and all the rules in the Bible are intended for all mankind generally - they do not find exceptions in your 'higher cause' or your titles and rank in society. You are as responsible for your choices as anyone else in the eyes of God.</p>
<p>This point lends further support to the above point in "Powering Down" that Christianity creates scepticism of power, calling for restraint, if not absolute abolition of it. Even though our leaders claim they will do great good if we entrust them with exceptional power over us, the message from Jesus is that they should resist any opportunity to take power and we underlings shouldn't give them the opportunity to seize power.</p>
<blockquote>
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
<div class="saidby">Matthew 4v8-10</div>
</blockquote>
<h4>A sceptical interjection.</h4>
<p>One can question what happens when these principles are applied to Christianity itself. Is Christianity similar to those tyrannies, with its own 'grand emotional narrative'? Isn't the idea that God's will trumps all else a suggestion that the ends justify the means?</p>
<p>These are valid objections, and I will defer to theologians and scholars who are better prepared to answer them than me. Perhaps they would answer that we can't know the will of God, but we only know the principles, and that following them is the only <em>"end"</em> with which we should busy ourselves.</p>
<p>And even if that argument was refuted, we shouldn't overlook how Christianity enshrines this idea in one of the first stories it tells of its founder.</p>
<h2>Finishing well.</h2>
<p>Think long term - you have a long life ahead and an eternal destination, so saving for your future is to be sought over short term pleasure. Christianity offers a positive incentive beyond these bare facts to choose wisely in the moment. </p>
<p>This is a problem - long term thinking and planning is seldom presented in a positive way in our culture. Think of how it is normalised to seek maximum pleasure in your youth, or how corporations obsess over next quarter's results but neglect the long term interests of the customers they claim to serve, or how elected governments only care for what they can do to maintain popularity during their time in office.</p>
<p>Those who are saving and not spending all their resources of time and money on immediate pleasures are maligned as 'bores', 'dullards', or worse. It is true that absolute forbearance is impossible to hold, a life with no pleasure isn't a life at all and it is an early grave even though you yet walk the earth. But I think nowadays we need nudging the opposite way - try to count the private and the national debt pile, or the growth in health problems after mid age.</p>
<p>Wouldn't you rather finish with something to pay forward, rather than spending the latter part of your life fighting away the debt collector in his many guises? He always comes for his dues, the writers of the Bible knew that well.</p>
<blockquote>
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.
<div class="saidby">II Timothy 4v7</div>
</blockquote>
<h2>Love the brethren or consider yourself dead</h2>
<p>Gathering together under one roof for the one reason - how often does that happen for the irreligious? You could go to a concert, or perhaps a political rally, or a sports club. Some of these satisfy this need better than others.</p>
<p>But in a time when most people don't even know their neighbours, and with even record pub closures, reported lack of community cohesion, the opportunities are few indeed. It shouldn't be shocking that there is a growth in loneliness these days.</p>
<p>With the decline of religion comes the loss of a vital 'third place' for many. The third place concept was first described by American sociologist Ray Oldenburg who defined the first place as home and the second place as work.</p>
<p>Aside from work and home there is a need for us to have somewhere to gather, to build connection and allow for the interesting chance encounters that make life worthwhile. Or to simply get a break from the responsibilities placed on us by the first and second places. You don't get this at work because it is your time for someone's money, and while this isn't the case at home, home is the old familiar. It's safe but there is little chance to find anything new there.</p>
<blockquote>
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
<div class="saidby">I Corinthians 12v12</div>
</blockquote>
<p>Now in the church I recall there were many groups organised for all ages: creche, youth clubs, young adult Bible studies, choir practice, the band, various forms of outreach, midweek drop-ins for young mothers, language courses for new arrivals, house groups. There was a designated 'elder' for your part of town, meaning you had someone who was familiar and expected to look out for all congregants in one area.</p>
<p>Outside of the Sunday gathering where before and after worship there were many chances for informal catchups, many families would develop friendships over the pews.</p>
<p>On top of it all, referring back to point one, we were all in it for this bigger mission, urging each other along the way through mirth and travail alike. With this foundation you'd expect a strong community without rival, where everyone is living in that new life, with a care for each other that is beyond each's material interest. There was the teaching that we are all the body of Christ and it is one body of many parts, the eye should not be envious of the hand, for they all find their place and purpose.</p>
<p>This is the ideal, but even if it is far from perfect in practice, there are few social institutions that can cover so many ages and bring so many people together under one mission.</p>
<blockquote>
We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
<div class="saidby">I John 3v14</div>
</blockquote>
<h2>The case for reliable transmission of scripture is strong</h2>
<p>I've heard extreme scepticism against the reliable transmission of scripture. All of Christianity rests upon the Bible - demolish this foundation and the church shall crumble. While we can dispute the idea of 'inerrancy' - the belief that all scripture is inerrant and does not contradict itself - addressing that is a task well beyond my time or interest. But the fact remains that the text has been well preserved and the evidence for mass tampering is minimal. I summarise why:</p>
<ul>
<li>From the beginning, Christians regarded the scripture as sacred and were keen to distribute it far and wide. They were on a mission to bring the word to the world.</li>
<li>Literacy was widespread; many people would've had familiarity with the Greek language of the New Testament, so they would want their own copies.</li>
<li>Thus, the scripture was distributed to far and wide place in the Roman Empire and then copied.</li>
<li>This continued for centuries.</li>
<li>This provides us with multiple, distributed streams of scripture to cross-reference.</li>
<li>Cross-referencing the earliest texts allows us to confirm the accuracy of transmission.</li>
</ul>
<p>As a reference, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqcwcxoxoUo">here is a presentation</a> by eminent Biblical scholar Dr. James White on the subject.</p>
<p>There is much more data covering the New Testament than any other work of antiquity - and we do not see such extreme scepticism towards the works of Caesar or Plato, for instance. With these multiple lines of transmission and their wide distribution, we can reconstruct the New Testament very accurately. New discoveries of even older fragments dating to the first century AD confirm the reliability - there is no evidence of mass error or tampering.</p>
<p>For instance - when the King James Version was written in the 17th century, the 'oldest' copies of the New Testament that the scholars had were dated from the 14th century. When the English Standard Version was published in the 2000s, the 'oldest' fragments these scholars had dated from the 1st-2nd centuries AD. If you read both translations side by side, aside for a few minor corrections and fully understandable omissions, you get the same message and support for the same major doctrines.</p>
<p>This is not to mention the fact that scripture was often quoted and in ancient polemics and commentaries, to the extent that we could reconstruct much of it from the quotations we have alone. Then the debates and creeds that were declared show a clear desire to understand the text from those early days. There is just so much out there that we can identify an 'orthodox' line of agreed scriptures.</p>
<p><img alt="Dead sea scrolls" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/oldpaths-deadseascrolls.jpg"></p>
<p class="caption">The Dead Sea Scrolls, dated 1stC AD. Unearthed in the 1940s.</p>
<p>This argument applies to the New Testament, while I am less familiar with the textual history of the Old Testament, I'm sure there are good sources from Christians and Jews that will spring to its defence. I have witnessed the Dead Sea Scrolls in the remarkably neat Hebrew, written down before the Christian era and preserved in jars in a cave for two thousand years. I have also heard that the scribes would have the number of letters in the Torah memorised, they would count up everything they had written and if anything came short they would start the task again.</p>
<p>I think we can make a good case that we have Bible as originally written, or at least something so close that we get the original intent. It makes me more mournful of every failed hard drive and floppy drive with all the data we lose when they die, and I wonder whether our digital copies will stand the test of time as well as the old parchments.</p>
<blockquote>
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
<div class="saidby">Isaiah 55v11</div>
</blockquote>
<h2>Many of our oldest stories are preserved here</h2>
<p>It's a pop quiz favourite, but which is the oldest book in the Bible? The answer isn't Genesis, but Job. The book of Job is an extended debate between four friends on the question 'why do bad things happen to good people?' which is truly as old as time itself. We also have this debate delivered in the form of verse and not prose, further dating it back in the mists of time, because written poetry preceded prose.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/oldpaths-megiddo.jpeg"><img alt="The ancient city of Megido" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/oldpaths-megiddo_med.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">The ancient city of Megido, Israel. It dates to 5000BC or earlier. Photographed 29/06/2013.</p>
<p>We also have the creation story and the flood epic, echoes of which are shared in Greek and Mesopotamian mythology. Pandora, the woman opening the box and unleashing the evils upon the world, resembles the story of Eve and the snake. The flood is retold in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the call to adventure into the unknown is a universal that is shared with the story of Abram - himself a fellow dweller in the Sumerian city of Ur, which is a sister city to Uruk ruled by Gilgamesh.</p>
<p>Some may use these overlaps to dismiss the credibility of the Bible, but I think it equally grounds the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament) in ancient and foundational stories. When man first learnt to write, this is what he wrote. Given that many through the millennia have found them entertaining, instructive, and deeply compelling - we owe them respect and our time of day, even if we dismiss the spiritual and the higher reality they sometimes allude to.</p>
<blockquote>
The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
<div class="saidby">Ecclesiasties 12v10-11</div>
</blockquote>
<h2>A wellspring of beauty</h2>
<p>It cannot be denied that the Christian religion has led to the creation of many beautiful buildings, hymns, and scriptures; even if it hasn't always created beautiful people. Outside of religion, you need a good reason to command the resources to build a vast and imposing cathedral, with its stained-glass windows, carefully planned acoustics, ancient stained oak pews, vast arches and imposing spire. I have visited numerous cathedrals and churches - both Protestant and Catholic - and will safely vouch that mankind would be the worse without them.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/oldpaths-wells.jpeg"><img alt="St. Andrew's Cathedral, Wells, Somerset, England" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/oldpaths-wells_med.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">The 12th Century St. Andrew's Cathedral, Wells, England. The first fully Gothic cathedral in Europe.</p>
<p>Or consider the lyrics of this old hymn:</p>
<blockquote>
Time like an ever rolling sea<br>
Bears all its sons away<br>
They fly forgotten as a dream<br>
Dies at the opening day
<div class="saidby">Isaac Watts</div><br>
</blockquote>
<p>It is bleak on the surface but there is a glimmer of light in these words. We are all 'sons' of father time, like any son we share the nature of the father. In this case the nature is finitude. And yet there is a call to make something of the time - sure the dream will be gone in the morning, but dreams are places where anything can happen. It's in the midst of a hymn called <em>God, our help in ages past</em> and it tells the singer to look for what makes life meaningful in that big picture. We are finite but God is infinite. There's a lot to discuss here.</p>
<p>Yet, and regrettably, the modern Church has all but abandoned lyrics like these for shallow lines that present shallow messages. This will be considered in the second part of this series.</p>
<p>There is also the case of the scripture itself. While modern translations like the New International Version or the Good News Bible absolutely butcher the beauty of the prose, we still have access to the stately King James Version. It's ringing phrases still lodge in our minds in the form of quotes and sayings - "ripe old age", "to dust shall you return", "filthy lucre", "faith, hope and charity", "lewd fellows of the baser sort". </p>
<p>It is a travesty that the King James Version is no longer used in most Protestant churches, but when read aloud it sounds <em>scripture</em> without having to say it is so. It is a translation that is designed to be read aloud on cold Sunday mornings, provide comfort to the weary, words of praise for the joyous to shout and sincere admonishment to the wayward. </p>
<p>For those who make the pathetic argument that 'it is old and hard to understand' - more than a few months spent in the text and some idea of how select words have changed, or even a small commentary, can be massive aids in appreciating the older English. Besides, those who are interested in a religion are by definition interested in timeless things, so what does it say when that religion abandons its inherited treasures and speaks its holy words in bland business English?</p>
<p>It is an elitist sneer to suggest otherwise: anyone who speaks English can learn a few more words, and indeed that person will appreciate the wider vocabulary for religious use. Further underlining this point - all the quotes so far in this essay have been citing the King James translation. Is it really that unclear what is being said?</p>
<p>That said, the point will be driven further home with select examples. Here are some verses contrasted in their old and new translations:</p>
<h4>Addressing the Dark Lord</h4>
<blockquote>
It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
<div class="saidby">Matthew 4v4 (KJV)</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word that God speaks.’”
<div class="saidby">Matthew 4v4 (GNT)</div>
</blockquote>
<p>The second doesn't quite carry the force of the point that Jesus was trying to make - defiance in the face of Satan himself, at Christ's lowliest point. And who ever uses the term 'human beings' in anything other than scientific or sociological literature? Put simply, the GNT rendering lacks any <em>power</em> and if Satan actually heard it spoken aloud he would reply roaring with laughter.</p>
<h4>The Beatitudes (not from Liverpool)</h4>
<blockquote>
Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
<div class="saidby">Luke 6v20 (KJV)</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Happy are you poor; the Kingdom of God is yours!
<div class="saidby">Luke 6v20 (GNT)</div>
</blockquote>
<p>Which one is the most comforting to the downtrodden? The first sounds sincere, as if the deity himself is speaking directly to the poor. The second is condescending, as if a 'smart person' wrote it in a way he thinks 'stupid' people would understand.</p>
<p>Besides, <em>blessed</em> does not mean <em>happy</em>. The poor may know harsher lives and unhappy circumstances, but Jesus is saying that they are <em>blessed</em>, because of their faith they have access to something higher and more everlasting than mere happiness. The second translation does not convey that at all.</p>
<h4>The Dark Night of the Soul</h4>
<blockquote>
As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
<div class="saidby">Psalm 42 v10-11 (KJV)</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
<div class="saidby">Psalm 42 v10-11 (NIV)</div>
</blockquote>
<p>Which would you rather read aloud on a dire occasion? The former <em>sounds</em> like the groaning of a soul in its darkest depths, while the latter reads more like a first attempt at poetry by a lackadaisical GCSE English student. The former conveys pain mingled with hope, amid striking imagery like <em>a sword in my bones</em>, which deserves to be a metaphor in its own right. The NIV renders the same phrase as <em>my bones suffer mortal agony</em> which is like a line from a low-rent Emo band, and is just as instantly forgettable.</p>
<p>There are many more examples I could offer, but I think these are enough to make my case. If you want to see my point for yourself, just open any Bible website in a <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2013%3A35-37&version=KJV;NIV">side-by-side translation mode</a> and read any Bible passage. I guarantee that every time, the King James Version will distinguish itself in beauty, force and brevity.</p>
<h3>Yet Another Translation, In Service of Both God and Mammon</h3>
<p>There is also a perverse commercial incentive here - on the Bible Gateway website I counted 62 English translations.</p>
<p>How many Bibles does the English speaking world need? I can understand some tweaks to suit dialects and spelling differences, but whole and separate translations? Where is the need? I'd make a case that having castes of translations for 'different reading levels' as decided by committees at publishing houses is splitting the church unnecessarily. </p>
<p>One translation with some minor updates that we are all expected to reference is closer to how the ancients did it - there was <em>one</em> Greek translation of the Old Testament and it was used by all the Early church. When I was more involved with religion, I found the different versions were a distraction in group settings; the flow of the text was broken. The sense of unity gone.</p>
<p>In an ideal world, we would use the King James Version for this purpose. The classical text could be annotated with the latest discoveries of textual criticism, just like the modern translations. We'd have our original text combined with the accuracy modern scholarship brings. But I suppose there isn't as much money, or vanity in that, when these publishers could be licencing yet another English translation.</p>
<h2>Holidays, or Holy-Days</h2>
<p>Imagine a calendar without holidays. This very idea is unnatural - the year isn't the same, there is a <em>shadow of turning</em> from day to day through the year. The Highdays and Holidays take after this. They mark the times and seasons, ground us in the passage of time and break the mundane patterns, so every day isn’t the same.</p>
<p>You might think that these traditions mean conformity, but this isn't true. A good tradition allows variation around a core idea. Traditions develop across time and place, Christmas in Germany isn’t the same as it is in England but it would still be recognised as Christmas to a traveller.</p>
<p>Even Christmas didn't begin as strictly Christian and religious observation. It has its roots in Yuletide, a Saxon and Norse winter celebration. When Christianity was preached in England and Scandinavia, the Christians realised the importance of this holiday to the people and kept some of its traditions while introducing the Christian characteristics. At the very least in our day, it is an excuse for friends and family to gather together and make lasting memories. Or the town to have a big ceremony where the Christmas lights are switched on and the pubs keep their doors open late.</p>
<p>I think it is difficult to make a case against Christmas after attending a candlelit performance of Handel's Messiah in an English cathedral. Yes, it was just the day that Christians chose long ago - but it has centuries of stories behind it, building up to that moment when you hear the chorus of 'Hallelujah'. And moments like that are even better when everyone else around you appreciates what they mean.</p>
<blockquote>
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.
<div class="saidby">Genesis 1v14</div>
</blockquote>
<h2>The most freedom is in "thou shalt not"</h2>
<p>Consider this old joke:</p>
<blockquote>
In England, everything is permitted unless it is forbidden.<br>
In Germany, everything is forbidden unless it is permitted.<br>
In France, everything is permitted even if it is forbidden.<br>
In Russia, everything is forbidden even if it is permitted.
</blockquote>
<p>If we consider two ideas of rules, or legal systems. One aims to regulate every faucet of life, every action of the day. The other simply restricts a few behaviours that are considered harmful to all. Which one is the most appealing to you? Which one do you think would grant the most freedom?</p>
<p>The idea that "everything" needs to be regulated and needs the approval of some authority before you act is endemic in certain jurisdictions and religions. I can imagine it assuaging some anxious minds who insist on the tightest of order, who somehow believe that rules and words can keep them safe, and the more words and officials we have the safer and more predictable our reality becomes.</p>
<p>Ironically the opposite is what bears out. Authoritarian states and bureaucratic regimes are often anything but safe or predictable in their behaviour, and the human spirit is buried under their layers of rules and rubber stamped papers.</p>
<p>No, the happiest and most free societies allow you the most choice and the most autonomy. They trust you and respect you to make your own decisions. And the Ten Commandments reflect this:</p>
<ul>
<li>Thou shalt not steal. This means you are free to enjoy all that you own, and no one else should take it from you without your permission. </li>
<li>Thou shalt not kill. This is something we can achieve quite easily.</li>
<li>Thou shalt not bear false witness. When it really matters, or when life and death is at stake, you owe the truth. Yet it isn't as flat as 'thou shalt not lie' which grants wiggle room - you don't need to tell the truth to your detractors when they ask for compromising information.</li>
</ul>
<p>Essentially, having a few simple house rules and leaving everyone to play makes for a freer society than a strict regimen of who can do what, where and when. It makes it easier to be good and have an easy conscience, because the rules are simple and if you act in accordance with them you will not be harming anyone. I argue it even lays the groundwork for an objective morality.</p>
<blockquote>
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
<div class="saidby">II Corinthians 3v17</div>
</blockquote>
<h1>Landing at the summit</h1>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/oldpaths-summit-masada.jpeg"><img alt="The summit of Masada" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/oldpaths-summit-masada_med.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">At the summit of Masada, Israel. Photographed 01/07/2013.</p>
<p>We arrive at the summit of the hill and conclude our ascent of the old paths. My hope was that some of these points have brought attention to some universally appreciable aspects of the Christian religion.</p>
<p>Perhaps someone will be able to refute them all, or suggest that other belief systems offer the same. My intention was simply to be descriptive and reflective, it wasn't to argue that any of this establishes the truth of Christianity. I have heard arguments for and against that, and I will confess that it is beyond my ability - <em>or perhaps, interest</em> - to enter that debate.</p>
<p>That said, take a break at the summit and refresh yourself. We must soon make our descent of the hill, and consider the downsides of the Christian religion.</p>Detweeted: Spammers do not deserve rights2023-10-25T00:00:00+01:002023-10-25T00:00:00+01:00Thrantag:www.thran.uk,2023-10-25:/writ/yarn/2023/10/detweeted.html<p>Suspended from Twitter for speaking my mind to cryptocurrency scammers.</p><p>I must come clean and admit that I am a closet enjoyer of Twitter. There are few other websites that blend together eccentric personalities, original takes on every conceivable question of the day, personal interests and good old flamewars.</p>
<p>Praise aside. The site has a whole host of problems and none as bad as this.</p>
<p>Over the past month especially I have been bombarded with mass tweets sent by crypto scammers. These lowlife loafers send out tweets with a link in their profile promising a quantity of bitcoin when any visitor opens a link in his bio - probably flooding your browser with heaven-knows-what.</p>
<h2>Wayward wastrels</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/twitspam.png"><img alt="Twitter crypto-spam example" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/twitspam_sml.png" title="Twitspam."></a></p>
<p class="caption">Crypto-spam example (censored)</p>
<p>So much for Mr. Musk clearing out the bots - the spam problem has been getting worse in my experience!</p>
<p>Now, I maintain more than one Twitter handle. Shock - horror - but it is true. As a longtime netizen, I value separation of concerns. And I do get my kicks from stirring the pot. Life is too serious, we need some lulz every now and then.</p>
<p>So after getting mentioned in crypto-spam for the millionth time in a week, in a moment of exasperation, I tweeted the following to a cryptoscammer:</p>
<blockquote>
@get_btc_quix!!! <br>
castrate yourself
</blockquote>
<p>Satisfied, I closed Twitter. When I revisited the following morning, I was prompted thusly:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/twitban1.png"><img alt="Twitter suspended me" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/twitban1_sml.png" title="Twitban."></a></p>
<p class="caption">Pardon me?</p>
<h2>In Defiant Defence</h2>
<p>Firstly, what with my message is an incitement to violence? Arguably, I'm just doing my bit, promoting the "healthy" medical procedure known as circumcision. What have Twitter against this ancient practice? Becoming an eunuch and retreating to a monastic cult up a distant mountain would be a better life for these shady souls. Perhaps in time they could pray, meditate, and atone for their sins. Sins which include stealing money and wasting everyone's time even when they don't.</p>
<p>Secondly, this person tweeted me with the <strong>plainly evident</strong> purpose of stealing my money. I ask, does this person have the right to 'feel safe online'? It is a stretch, but even this kind of theft is an act of violence; depriving me of my property through false promises and deceit. So surely I am entitled to verbal self defence? The difference is that I am taking nothing from the spammer other than his dignity.</p>
<p>And yes, he absolutely deserves to feel terrible about what he has done. He deserves hundreds of messages every day, containing worse wishes and iller minded threats than any I could contrive.</p>
<p>I appealed to Twitter explaining my reasoning - I was joining their boss in his anti-spam crusade - but received no timely response. I clicked to 'delete tweet' in contrition and my access was reinstated. When I looked into my notifications, I saw this:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/twitban3.png"><img alt="Elon musk cryptospam tweet" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/twitban3_sml.png" title="TwitSPAM!"></a></p>
<p class="caption">Why won't you stay dead?</p>
<p>Shamefully, the original spam tweet was still present on Twitter. Still using the image and likeness of the Chief Twit himself, still begging the naive for their loose satoshis.</p>Farewell, live well2023-10-09T00:00:00+01:002023-10-09T00:00:00+01:00Thrantag:www.thran.uk,2023-10-09:/writ/sr/2023/10/farewell-live-well.html<p>The new Sainsbury's slogan is dishonest and condescending.</p><p>I once was a regular at the British supermarket chain Sainsbury's. I found it had a reasonable assortment of groceries which matched the quality of rival chains, but they distinguish themselves by selling some higher quality goods at prices below known brands.</p>
<p>A favourite comparison is Sainsbury's tins of chunky beef and vegetable soup; in 2022 tins of it were bought for 70p each. Compare with known brand Heinz which sells their chunky soup for £1.25 to £1.50. That's quite a lot to ask for something in a tin! Meanwhile Tesco's own brand of soup includes abominations like 'broccoli and stilton' or 'pea and ham' - who would ever?</p>
<h1>Corporate coddling</h1>
<p>Now we've established what sets Sainsbury's apart, let's consider the matter of its slogan. A good slogan tells us in a sentence: </p>
<ul>
<li>what a company offers </li>
<li>how it sees itself</li>
<li>why we should give our custom to it above all others</li>
</ul>
<p>Sainsbury's perfectly captured its offering - affordable quality - with its slogan used until 2021:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/livewell.jpg"><img alt="old sainsbury's bag with live well for less slogan" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/livewell_sml.jpg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">Live well for less</p>
<p><em>Live well for less</em> describes what Sainsbury's offer uniquely in the competitive grocery retail market. It describes all that I, the customer expect you to do for me: let me enter your premises and purchase quality food while saving more of my own meagre resources.</p>
<p>And for some reason they threw that away for this silly new one:</p>
<p class="caption">Helping everyone eat better</p>
<p>What on earth does that mean? Are they offering courses in eating something called a 'better'? Instruction for how to properly align teeth and jaws for optimal chewing?</p>
<p>I think the intent is 'we want to help you eat healthier?' but that's not clearly communicated. <em>Helping everyone eat better</em> is actually coddling and patronising to your customers. We already know what we want to eat, just stop the lectures and let us buy it.</p>
<h3>Helping everyone give us the better part of their income</h3>
<p>The first slogan is more honest - they are a company that exchanges your money for food, and they aren't hiding the fact that doing that at a discount is attractive. The present slogan suggests that I need their help to make better dietary choices, an odd thing for a company marketing many 'unhealthy' foods to suggest indeed.</p>
<p>What a strange time we live in. Does anyone actually <em>like</em> businesses more when they pretend to be your friend, rather than saying 'yeah we take your money but we we give you something you want in return', because that is all I expect from them. <em>Please</em>, just be honest.</p>Pavement in Galway, 20232023-09-03T00:00:00+01:002023-09-03T00:00:00+01:00Thrantag:www.thran.uk,2023-09-03:/writ/yarn/2023/09/pavement-in-galway-2023.html<p>Visiting Galway and a report from the Pavement concert on the 24th July 2023 at the Galway International Arts Festival.</p><p>Visiting Galway and a report from the Pavement concert on the 24th July 2023 at the Galway International Arts Festival.</p>
<h2>From Belfast to Galway by car</h2>
<h4>Saturday 22nd July 2023</h4>
<p>When I'm travelling a distance and it is possible to travel via rail, usually I buy my ticket and cast all other considerations aside. Belfast to Galway may be certainly journeyed by rail, but this time I opted to travel by car. The car that had recently become mine had never yet been taken for a lengthly drive. I knew the west coast of Ireland is scenic so it made a perfect reason.</p>
<p>Scenic it was in an Irish sense where I don't get exactly what I wanted. While the skies were reasonably clear in the beginning, the clouds were a foreboding grey and soon the heavens opened to send down bucket-loads of rain from Antrim to Galway. Still, that didn't deter me from stopping in Antrim and enjoying some Fish n' Chips from Moe's Grill; fuel for me too!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/fishnchips.jpeg"><img alt="fish n chips from Moe's grill" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/fishnchips_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">Fish n' Chips.</p>
<p>Despite the unfriendly weather, I stopped in a town called Grange for refreshments and a stroll; it's absolutely necessary to stretch the legs midway through a long drive. Along the way I noted there was another Bellaghy, sharing the same name as a village in Co. Londonderry. For the curious, the Southern motorway I travelled was the N15.</p>
<p>The signs are in strange units: km/h. This new car has a digital speedometer, I missed the round dial of my old Polo that indicated both mph and km/h; ideal for times like these. I was never sure if I was obeying the speed limit. I’m also told that everyone just drives at the speed they want here, but that might be a ruse from a canny southerner to get me arrested. I passed a sign announcing I was in An Gaeltacht but was immediately dismayed to still see English on the signs and even a McDonald’s without any Irish translation.</p>
<p>I had filled my tank wondering how long it will carry my motor. When I arrived I noticed the Honda Civic managed the 4½ mile journey in half a tank, now that’s fuel efficiency!</p>
<h1>Arrival at the AirBnB</h1>
<p>The house was shared with 4 other rooms. Initially, my door wouldn’t stay closed. There was a sealant around it probably to insulate and soundproof it, but that disabled the door’s primary function: to keep people out. I found a key in a hallway drawer that matched my door, glad to say it fit and with some effort I had privacy; my fallback plan was to barricade the door with the chest of drawers in the room!</p>
<p>Hunger set in and I thought to answer with an evening snack. At the local shop I was outraged at the price of cheese. A small block for €4! I thought they had more cattle than people here.</p>
<p>Returning to my room later, I had locked it from the inside then realised I hadn't yet brushed my teeth. I went to open the door with the same key and noticed the latch was caught. It would not budge. I was trapped behind this door and the time was 11.50pm. I then tried to leverage the key with my Swiss Army knife bottle opener and it instead snapped the bow off the key. Embarrassment ensued, but I was not dismayed. I remember that I still have my front door key, so I climb out the window and enter via the front door, hoping to find a matching key in the same drawer and at least get my teeth brushed.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/lowkey.jpeg"><img alt="the mischievous key" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/lowkey_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">The mischievous key.</p>
<p>Then as I open the front door I double check the key ring I was given; I notice it has an internal door key. I put this door key in my bedroom door, it immediately turns and the door swings open. I pause to realise what had just happened then I laugh.</p>
<h1>Wandering the streets</h1>
<h4>Sunday 23rd July 2023</h4>
<p>I spend the morning learning to adjust the focus on my 70-220mm manual zoom lens on my Sony Alpha 6000 camera. There are myriad adjustments but enough of it clicks in my mind and I hope to get some shots with this camera despite the rain. I also think that I can't leave my host with a snapped key. One search of Apple Maps reveals there is a Timpson's locksmith opening at 12.</p>
<p>I’m about to board the bus and go to use contactless payment like we have in Belfast, the Bus Eireann driver says I need change. I say I’ve none he smiles and beckons, "oh, get aboard!"</p>
<p>In town I have lunch at 34 Eyre Street, also called The Kettle Cafe. The house sourdough toastie is recommended. </p>
<p>I find the locksmith and he asks no questions when I hand him the bowless key. This is much to my relief. He hands me the new duplicate, adequate to take the place of its shattered original.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/galway4.jpeg"><img alt="come in if you love books" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/galway4_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">An invitation beckons.</p>
<p>In the Eyre street shopping centre I find the city walls have been preserved, there are information boards with mention of none other than Cromwell and the Normans. Curiously he targeted the city because Galway was known as a Royalist stronghold. Nearby there is a bookshop inside a another small shopping arcade called 'Byrnes', the exterior wall lined with bookcases and volumes on every topic imaginable. A sign urges: 'Come in if you love books' and I can't resist the invitation. I spend an hour browsing and consciously stop myself from spending all my money inside.</p>
<p>Back outside, I have to wear a polyester raincoat. I almost didn’t bring it. I hate them. Uncomfortable and unstylish. You can imagine I’m not a flamboyant man, but even I recognise the hardships of dressing well in wet weather.</p>
<p>I wander the streets and rest briefly in the park at Eyre square. I find a record shop that looks independent and buy a poster of the Great wave of Kanagawa. While it isn't Irish art I had been looking for it. I briefly consider a rules of Fight Club poster but it is styled like a lifestyle marketing YouTube advert, pass!</p>
<p>There is a protest gathered in the square bearing banners in Arabic asking for the release of an imam Anjem Choudary, others carry sings with his sayings in English. Women in niqabs join them, not before getting instructions from the Garda. No disturbance ensues; the Irish police allow the procession to proceed and most other people simply glance before getting back to their business.</p>
<p>On the streets there are many performers and buskers, some include a young girl who can’t be more than 11 with an angelic rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. There is also an elderly man selling volumes of his poetry; I have no change so miss the chance to purchase any. There are many folk singers and instruments of all kinds fill the air with their sounds.</p>
<p>While passing through the crowds I notice the pangs of thirst. Time to sample the local produce.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/galway2.jpeg"><img alt="the king's head Galway" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/galway2_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">The King's Head (once belonging to Charles I).</p>
<p>I enter a pub called the Kings Head, it claims to be established before 1649 and is named for the dismembered rival of old Ollie. There is a house red ale, nitrogenated and rounded off with a not too harsh bitterness. I purchase one to go alongside my meal - a steak and Guinness stew, superb aged beef and creamy mashed potato, then return and ask for a Murphy's. I learn they don't sell them here, and remark that I'd have to travel as a far as Cork to find a pint of the stout. I instead settle for a Smithwick's while a crowd behind me watches the Gaelic games.</p>
<h1>The walking tour</h1>
<h4>Monday 24th July 2023</h4>
<p>I wake up and lead through the books I bought from Byrnes. Breakfast is instant oats and peppermint tea; I didn't purchase any milk to accompany the complimentary black teabags. Leaving the house and finding the bus waiting at its stop, I board and this time I pay the bus man with a 20 euro note. He gives me change in coins only, my wallet now significantly weighed down.</p>
<p>After exploring the streets, hunger returns. I enter a lunchery called McCambridges, my order is a pickled ham and cheese sandwich called El Cubano. To accompany my meal I chose an iced cappuccino muffin and a chai latte; these finish it well. Upstairs where I seat myself there is a wine bar that is well stocked but only with red. Downstairs there is a table of pastries that is steadily replenished by the busy staff.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/galway1.jpeg"><img alt="mccambridges" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/galway1_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">McCambridge's.</p>
<p>Even at this lunchery there is an off-licence and the option of Bailey's in your coffee. This is common. I have to wonder whether the licensing laws are looser in the South, or perhaps no one is checking too often. Another thing that happens everywhere I sit is American tourists will always rearrange the seating to their preference; perhaps because they travel in larger groups, but I am often asked whether I'm "waiting for anyone" before an unclaimed seat is lifted from my table.</p>
<p>I had arranged a walking tour of Galway, thinking there is no better way to learn the history than from a local enthusiast. I meet this story teller at Thirteen on the Green, Eyre square, near the railway station. Despite that I was the only one who booked this particular slot, he goes ahead with the tour anyway. We wander the streets and he explains the history from Tullagh Mór O’Connell who founded the city in the ninth century through its heights as an independent medieval trading town, to its low points in the Cromwellian invasion, to the modern day when President Kennedy gave a speech a mere three months before his death.</p>
<p>Many details and sights were explored, the gentleman had a wealth of knowledge. I'll not share it all here; you'll have to pay him if you want to know. His favourite saying: "Never let the truth get in the way of a real story."</p>
<p>He also informs me that I'm the third person who he has met who is down to hear Pavement, and he wonders if they are just "big up there [North]". As we part at a place called Arches' End, I give him an album recommendation, reasonably confident I've made another convert.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/galway3.jpeg"><img alt="the old cathedral" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/galway3_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">The old Cathedral in Galway, now home to a top Pizzeria.</p>
<p>Thereafter I walk past South Park near Corrib (not Colorado) and see the harbour, there are many swans and too many seagulls, waterfowl diving for their prey, charred shipwrecks, very rapid waters under the harbour bridge. The harbour joins an old canal, I walk up part of the towpath and then head for a pizza shop known as The Dough Bros. I have the Hail Caesar, an Italian style pizza. This is a pizza shop inside the old cathedral building and I’m told this pizzeria has been ranked among the top 10 in the world.</p>
<p>I wander down an alley beside the church of St Nicolas', there is an old man playing blues on his fiddle. He must be over seventy, the street is well-weathered but he isn’t, not many pass him but he is not deterred. I make sure to tip him some of that change I was gifted earlier.</p>
<blockquote>
Down derelict alley, down by the church<br>
Sounding old blues, fiddler of lost love’s lament<br>
Ask me then, or ask me how<br>
I care not where the time went
</blockquote>
<p>After the food settles, I go to the renowned alehouse Tigh Nechtain and request a Murphy’s Red, a well poured pint of red ale. The time of the concert drew near.</p>
<h1>Pavement at the GIAF</h1>
<p>Outside the big tent there is a stall selling merchandise. Three ranges are available: the supporting act, the hosts (GIAF) and the big act themselves. Regrettably, there are no T-shirts that specifically name the venue or the tour. Not dismayed I purchased a band t-shirt with <em>Pavement - The Long Century</em> emblazoned in print. Making my way to the portaloos, I change out of my <em>Rainbow - Uprising</em> t-shirt and put on my new apparel.</p>
<p>Then time to enter the beer conglomerate sponsored Big Top tent. The openers were the Pillow Queens, an all-female group. I wager that they were sourced from the nearby University of Galway. They played from roughly 8-9, they had good stage presence for an audience that wouldn't know any of their songs. </p>
<p>Then Pavement entered the stage without any introduction. A cheer erupted. They opened with ‘In the mouth a desert’ which was thankfully not a portent of things ahead!</p>
<p>Roughly one to two thousand made up the crowd; expectantly more packed for the headline act. There were a mix of ages though the average slanted 40.</p>
<h3>The show begins</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/pavement1.jpeg"><img alt="pavement in 2023" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/pavement1_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">Stephen Malkamus, guitars and vocals</p>
<p>From what I saw online it looks like the band were playing a setlist tailored to each stop on their tour, what would they have to play for us?</p>
<p><em>Folk Jam</em> made an appearance. Stephen made time to emphasise the line ‘beware the head of state says she believes in leprechauns… Irish folk tales scare the shit out of me’. The crowd cheered because everyone knew it was coming!</p>
<p>Towards the end they also played <em>Two States</em>, an appropriate choice for this geographic region. The audience relayed the chorus with a roaring shout ‘forty billion daggers’!</p>
<p>While taking in the songs I noticed a chap to my right who stood with a tucked shirt and scarcely moved the whole night, he just stared at the stage, I presumed his thoughts were ‘did you not get the memo, it’s business casual’! The rebuttal would come from <em>Embassy Row</em>: "don't forget your manners when the anthem plays"!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/pavement2.jpeg"><img alt="kilmacduagh" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/pavement2_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">Drummers 1 & 2, Scott "Spiral" Kannberg on guitar</p>
<p>The crowd really came alive for Stereo, Harness your Hopes and Gold Soundz, the music compelling my usually guarded self to jump and cheer and point at the air, swaying and bopping with the crowd.</p>
<p>While “Gold Soundz” was my first introduction to the band way back in 2010, it never gelled with me at the time and I did not listen any further through their catalogue. But hearing it live that evening and being in a crowd who sang every lyric as loudly as the band's passionate rendition of their signature song made me recant any previous criticism. </p>
<p>Further we were briefly treated to the ‘Spiral Stairs’ where the band played a song from guitarist Kannberg’s side project; that was kind to see, as I read his contributions were overlooked during the recording of the band's final record.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/pavement3.jpeg"><img alt="kilmacduagh" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/pavement3_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">The last Neanderthal</p>
<p>Bob was the one with the energy, nominally the second drummer but most of the time he was jumping up and down the stage and channelling this energy between the band and audience, with Steve preferring to stand in place and channel his energy into the singing and extended jamming between songs. The improvised jamming gave the songs a life beyond that of the albums, certainly because they were played to a crowd just as lively.</p>
<p>We were then treated to ‘The Hexx’ one of their most haunting and trancelike pieces, a favourite of mine. This was drawn from their final record <em>Terror Twilight</em>, I expected less from that album because of its fraught history that culminated with the band breaking up in 1999.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/pavement4.jpeg"><img alt="pavement in 2023" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/pavement4_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">Farewell to the last psychedelic band...</p>
<p>Other songs played included Grave Architecture, Embassy Row, Shady Lanes, Date w/Ikea, Type Slowly and the appropriate closer Range Life.</p>
<p>I harnessed my hopes for an encore but I knew it wasn’t coming, the band left the stage and their instruments were collected. </p>
<p>Still, I leave satisfied that I've finally been able to find this band live, and it was only a matter of driving the car and booking an AirBnB room. Pavement are a band who treat both the instruments and the lyrics as playthings. There’s a depth to both, even if the lyrics appear cynical at the surface. It’s music for someone who feels the world is made for an aggregate that excludes himself.</p>
<p>I return to the merchant stall desiring something to go with my t-shirt. The hats looked good but it was either a hat for €35 or a <em>Slanted and Enchanted</em> vinyl for €35, naturally I picked the one less suitable as headwear but intended for needle wear on my turntable. While there I ask the men in the merchant stall if they could overcharge my card by €3 and give me the change for the bus; they kindly agree. I'm glad to see arrangements like this may still be made, with the proliferation of jobsworths and stringent rules that characterises too much of life these days. </p>
<p>All the Galway International Arts Festival t-shirts were left hanging in the small merchandiser's tent, still unsold.</p>
<p>My phone was at 1% battery and I had turned it off to save power, then my mind was swayed to take a few photos of the concert, so I turned it on. Then I thought we need some short videos which I also filmed, and yet the phone still found power. A very long lasting 1%. I thought it would be videos or the bus home, but it was both, because after the concert I was still able to find bus times and the route number to get home.</p>
<p>When I alight the bus I meet a gentleman from the USA, it happens that he was staying in my AirBnB house. He was recording a podcast where he interviews buskers and he was optimistic because it went well. He knew of Pavement and Dino Jr, and noting my LP asked if I was record shopping. I let him know he just missed seeing the band live.</p>
<h1>Kilmacduagh and The Burren</h1>
<h4>Tuesday 25th July 2023</h4>
<p>I check out of the AirBnB; bags packed and room tidied to a presentable state. I notice that the Germans who were staying in the house leave their trainers on the drive. Even a local cat is staring at this loose footwear, perplexed.</p>
<p>When on the road I stop in the adjacent town of Seahill and sit down to hear a busker, he’s originally from the Netherlands but sings with a perfect Irish ballad voice and plays the mandolin. I tip him. We speak briefly after I notice the second song he played was ‘I wish I was in Carrickfergus’ and I give a clap then explain that I used to live there. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/kilmacduagh2.jpg"><img alt="Kilmacduagh monastery chapel" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/kilmacduagh2_sml.jpg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">Kilmacduagh Monastery Tower</p>
<p>I drive to Co. Clare on a side quest to find the Craggy Island Parochial house. Ironically while seeking the location of a religious comedy, I find the location of real ancient religion; the ruins of <a href="http://monastic.ie/history/kilmacduagh/">Kilmacduagh Monastery</a>. I have no choice but to stop and take a moment among the ruined monuments, a place of learning and prayer for centuries.</p>
<p>The sky is dominated by the monastery’s tall round tower; I later learn it was built for refuge from Viking raiders. Now it is convenient habitation for pigeons. It has stood pointing skywards for a thousand years.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/kilmacduagh.jpeg"><img alt="Kilmacduagh monastery chapel" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/kilmacduagh_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">The chapel at Kilmacduagh</p>
<p>The chapel itself still has an altar, the arches and pointed Gothic windows still speak strongly to the building’s former purpose. I study them before returning to my car and continuing my quest.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/parochialhouse.jpeg"><img alt="the parochial house" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/parochialhouse_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">Craggy Island Parochial House</p>
<p>The Parochial House from Father Ted is found after travelling down narrow country lanes, there is scarcely room for a single lane of traffic and motorists often stop to let the other past. When I reach the Parochial house I wonder how I’ll get my photograph with it in the background, conveniently a local walking his dog passes and he happily obliges. I note from the clear signage that it is private property; there once was a public tearoom but this closed and hasn’t been opened since the pandemic.</p>
<p>Further along the way I pass a dozing hill and large open rock formation. It is known as The Burren, and it is a momentous work of nature to see. While the sight makes me wish to trek it, I don’t have time for more than photographs.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/theburren.jpeg"><img alt="the Burren" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/theburren_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">A view of The Burren</p>
<p>I drive home from here through the middle of Ireland, travelling some hundred miles in my faithful Honda Civic. Quite impressively I only need to refill my tank when I reach Monaghan.</p>
<h1>Thoughts on identity and walkable cities</h1>
<p>I’ve visited Cork and I’ve visited Galway. Two things these towns do well that we lack in Belfast:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>The streets are walkable, the town feels pedestrian first and car second. This is the opposite of Belfast.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The second, certainly owing to the first: there are many more pokey shops, artisan coffee shops and gastropubs. This makes dining or sitting and sipping coffee an easy part of the day, I’ve no doubt this makes for a better social atmosphere. There simply aren’t the same number of pubs and establishments, and I don’t enjoy walking Belfast as much as I do these two cities.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Why is this not the case in Belfast? I suspect due to divisions and the impossibility of agreeing on a shared culture. This isn’t a problem down south, they have none of the tension over naming and culture that we have. If a road is to be named after some notable figure from Irish history it just happens. Buildings and streets are maintained. Everything is just Irish. In the North, it is not so simple and a solution is difficult to find amid the strong and sincere passions that divide us.</p>
<p>Moreover, our council is laughably corrupt. Sure it may be the same story everywhere, but many grand Victorian buildings in Belfast have been demolished or left to languish until they have no option but to be torn down. Dodgy contractors start projects and never finish. Foreign consortiums swoop in and buy up entire areas, rename them and make them unrecognisable.</p>
<p>This hurts the senses of belonging and owning a city that are necessary for the inhabitants to care enough to start these local businesses. Local business relies on trust and your neighbours supporting you with their custom, but how are neighbours made without recognisable neighbourhoods?</p>
<p>That said, this jealousy did not last long enough to sully my time in Galway. The concert was exhilarating, the beer flavourful and plenteous, the feeling that there was a life to the place and that there's always something happening makes the visit. It might take a miracle but perhaps someday we may say the same of our own capital.</p>
<p>Finally, if you are ever in this part of the country, find a SuperMac's and try the Mighty Mac burger. You'll thank me for the suggestion.</p>Announcing No-WEI!2023-08-17T00:00:00+01:002023-08-17T00:00:00+01:00Thrantag:www.thran.uk,2023-08-17:/writ/devlog/2023/08/announcing-no-wei.html<p>The Web Environment Integrity proposal from Google is a serious threat to user choice and privacy on the Web; it must be stopped. Add this banner to your website that informs Google chrome users of the dangers and urges them to switch to a browser that better respects the open web.</p><h1>Why no WEI?</h1>
<p>To quote Greg Farough of the Free Software Foundation:</p>
<p>"Before serving a web page, a server can ask a third-party "verification" service to make sure that the user's browsing environment has not been "tampered" with. A translation of the policy's terminology will help us here: this Google-owned server will be asked to make sure that the browser does not deviate in any way from Google's accepted browser configuration."</p>
<p>This means that the verification service controlled by Google can and <em>will</em> be used to exclude certain configurations of web browser from accessing websites that implement WEI. This will empower Google to refuse attestation to web browsers with advert blocking, web browsers on operating systems other than Windows/Apple/Android, users with stricter privacy preferences, web archiving services, competitors to Google, and anyone else their verification server deems invalid.</p>
<p>We can expect that such power entrusted with one corporation will be used to attack anything that goes against their chief business interest - namely advertising. The effect of this will be a significant detriment to the open web.</p>
<p>More details and commentary on WEI may be read <a href="https://openwebdefenders.org/">here (OWD)</a>, <a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/web-environment-integrity-is-an-all-out-attack-on-the-free-internet">here (FSF)</a> and <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/27/google_web_environment_integrity/">here (El Reg)</a>.</p>
<h1>November 2023 Update - WEI has been retracted by Google!</h1>
<p>As of November 2023, Google has announced that it will not be implementing WEI in its browser. Huzzah!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/02/google_abandons_web_environment_integrity/">VICTORY</a> (for now). It may not have been much, but this humble banner will have been part of that pressure against Google. Thanks to everyone who installed it!</p>
<p>We must remain vigilant, because due to Google's monopoly and business interests this 'feature' will surely reassert itself in another guise.</p>
<p>Due to this news, the NO-WEI banner will be reworked into a banner that protests the Google Privacy sandbox, which sends a list of your 'interests' to advertisers. <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/06/google_privacy_popup_chrome/">This one is actually now live in Chrome.</a> Classy.</p>
<h1>What is No-WEI?</h1>
<p>A simple JavaScript banner for your website. It informs Google Chrome wielding netizens of the coming abhorrent attack on their freedom and privacy from the rotten WEI (Web Environment Integrity) anti-feature.</p>
<p>The banner will only show for Chrome users. It will explain very briefly and politely why they should consider another browser. There is also a link to an online resource that informs of the dangers posed by WEI.</p>
<p>Finally, there is an option to hide the banner, with this preference stored in localstorage. This option may be switched off; that depends how strongly you feel. To switch off the dismissal option, set <code>allowDismissal = false</code> in <code>no-wei.js</code>.</p>
<p>An example of how the banner will appear <a href="https://soft.thran.uk/no-wei.html">may be seen here</a>. This example has UA detection turned off, so will be seen by all browsers.</p>
<h1>Installing</h1>
<p>First download it here: >> <b><a href="https://github.com/lordfeck/no-wei/archive/refs/heads/master.zip">No-WEI Stable (Master)</a></b> <<</p>
<p>Simply include the JavaScript and CSS at the top of your HTML. See <code>example.html</code> in the archive for an example. The exact steps follow anyway:</p>
<p>Copy <code>no-wei.css</code> and <code>no-wei.js</code> to your web page assets directory, then include a link to both in all your HTML documents/templates between the <code><head> ... </head></code> tags.</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><code><span class="nt"><link</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="na">rel=</span><span class="s">"stylesheet"</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="na">type=</span><span class="s">"text/css"</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="na">href=</span><span class="s">"$PATH_TO_CSS/no-wei.css"</span><span class="nt">></span>
<span class="nt"><script</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="na">type=</span><span class="s">"text/javascript"</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="na">src=</span><span class="s">"$PATH_TO_JS/no-wei.js"</span><span class="nt">></script></span>
</code></pre></div>
<p>This project is written in vanilla JavaScript and uses no dependencies (JQuery or anything).</p>
<h1>User-Agent Detection</h1>
<p>Currently a bit basic but the most obvious way I could make it work without relying upon dependencies. No-WEI's user agent detection simply checks the UA string for telling keywords and then deducts which browser is in use.</p>
<p>We currently show the banner only to Chrome. This may change; we could include other browsers when their position on WEI becomes clear. Currently, no concrete position on WEI has been given for Edge, Opera or Safari (though Safari uses its own equivalent PATs that are <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/27/google_web_environment_integrity/">allegedly more private</a>).</p>
<p>Vivaldi will <a href="https://vivaldi.com/blog/user-agent-changes/">usually send the same user agent as Chrome</a>, sorry Vivaldi users, you'll get the banner too. This is also a problem with Brave.</p>
<p><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers/User-Agent">Sample User-Agent sources</a> used for this project; it is MDN's fault if I got any wrong ;)</p>
<h4>GET IT (Download latest stable release)</h4>
<p>>> <b><a href="https://github.com/lordfeck/no-wei/archive/refs/heads/master.zip">Download No-WEI Stable (Master)</a></b> or <a href="https://github.com/lordfeck/no-wei/">Visit Github repository</a>.</p>
<h2>From THRANSOFT</h2>
<p>Further details and all my other software may be found at <a href="https://soft.thran.uk">Thransoft</a>.</p>The Lion and the Fox, or the travails of mobile browsing and privacy2023-07-30T00:00:00+01:002023-07-30T00:00:00+01:00Thrantag:www.thran.uk,2023-07-30:/writ/sr/2023/07/the-lion-and-the-fox.html<p>Why isn't it possible to browse the mobile Internet while maintaining our dignity?</p><h2>Setting the scene</h2>
<p>I am a Firefox loyalist. Recently I chose to move from my Pixel 3 running CalyxOS to a conventional iPhone SE 2020 running whatever is the latest iOS; I stopped counting them after version 6. The reason for this was simple: while the alt-tech powerhouse provided good substitutes to every popular application and platform, there wasn't anyone else using them. Some applications that I wished to use required Google Pay and did not accept any alternative means of payment; this was a problem on a device without official Google Play Services.</p>
<p>Given my utter disdain for the advertising behemoth Google and its unscrupulous business model, I had but one alternative: the iPhone. I was encouraged to see Apple implement E2E encryption for iCloud, <a href="https://it.slashdot.org/story/22/12/08/2140213/fbi-calls-apples-expansion-of-end-to-end-encryption-deeply-concerning">even to the FBI's chagrin</a>. The last iPhone I owned was the iPhone 4 rocking iOS 6 and I had good memories of using it.</p>
<p>Even though I liked the open hacker's toy that was the Pixel 3 with CalyxOS, basic needs to pay for services and communicate with everyday mortals come first, so to Tim Apple I went.</p>
<h4>My requirements for mobile browsing in 2023:</h4>
<ul>
<li>Cross-platform bookmark syncing</li>
<li>Be able to easily send tabs between instances</li>
<li>Password syncing</li>
<li>Advert and tracker blocking</li>
<li>Cookie banner blocking (I <strong>never</strong> consent. And daily pray: Please, O Lord, make them go away)</li>
<li>Annoying 'join our mailing list' popup blocking</li>
<li>Just be performant</li>
</ul>
<p>I think these are reasonable to ask. I have multiple platforms I use every day: Mac, Windows, Linux. Some down to my choice, others not. Bookmark and password syncing is non-negotiable. Secure random unique generation is needed for security because I learn of new data breaches every time I find yet more spam dumped in my ancient Hotmail address. Whether its lax standards, lazy developers or clever <span title="Black hat hackers">crackers</span> to blame, I'll leave to your judgement.</p>
<h2>Browser options on iPhone</h2>
<p>Anywhere the web is accessed, advert blocking and content filtering is a necessity; I hate being pressured into parting with my money. I despise manipulation but not as much as I loathe stalking (euphemistically called tracking/targeting). If the Internet is to be truly open and truly in the user's hands, then the user must be able to control what enters his device and what leaves it. While this is increasingly difficult on mobile platforms, it is possible to claw back some control.</p>
<p>On Android, it is trivial to install Firefox and enable the excellent uBlock Origin. Its features match the desktop version exactly. Moreover, if that's not enough, you can enable NoScript and selectively enable scripting on certain websites. Much of the nastiness and bloat on the modern web is due to client-side scripting; selectively permitting this per-site helps with both privacy and battery life.</p>
<p><img alt="Firefox for Android addons" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/firefox_android_addons.png"></p>
<p class="caption">Firefox for Android addons. Not many are available, but they have most that you will need.</p>
<p>I labour this point because mobile data is limited, mobile processing power and battery life restricts my time much more than it would on the desktop. Yet on iPhone, a platform that presents itself as more privacy-friendly, this is much more difficult to achieve.</p>
<p>iOS comes with Safari, which I have no doubt is a capable browser. It also has a 'content filtering' framework which allows you to buy an advert blocker from the App Store. This could be adequate, but I also need bookmark syncing with Windows and Linux as well as Mac; this rules out the savanna sightseer.</p>
<p>Next choice is Firefox, which does sync everywhere. Though for whatever reason, there is no ability to install extensions or do content filtering on iOS. This made the flammable woodland critter a non-starter. I was left with one choice for iPhone: Brave.</p>
<p>I'm somewhat wary of its crypto attention token weirdness, but I was impressed to see that Brave had built in content filtering; no need for an extension. Best of all, this feature was on both the desktop and the mobile version. Something that Firefox should really do out of the box, but here it was already in the Big Cat. Moreover, it reads filter lists in the same format as uBlock Origin. With the task of filtering now handled in the browser, I'd expect this to perform better than something using a JavaScript extension API. Onwards and upwards from here?</p>
<h2>Problems pop up</h2>
<p>I installed Brave on my Mac and found it imported passwords and bookmarks from Firefox, this was good; I could pick up where I left off. I could also sync them with my iPhone.</p>
<p>But when using it on iOS 16, I immediately noticed the sluggish keyboard, this was not good. It was not a problem on FF or any other app, I have disabled swish typing and autocorrect because it is incompatible with my blend of technical vocabulary and colloquialisms. So we can rule out the problem being with the on screen keyboard.</p>
<p>Another major headache was Brave did not auto-fill email addresses for logins, very frustrating because I use multiple email addresses to avoid spam from reselling and data breaches, another delightful effect of bulk data collection and forced logins that proliferates this era of the web.</p>
<p>But that's not nearly as frustrating as what happens when you send tabs to the mobile browser:</p>
<ul>
<li>When the tab is received the notification appears very briefly in the browser</li>
<li>Accidentally tap anything other than 'Go', which is easy to do, the notification is dismissed and you will have no further opportunity to open the tab</li>
<li>Send more than one tab to iPhone, you're out of luck. Only the latest tab is 'received' by Brave for iOS.</li>
</ul>
<p><img alt="Receiving Brave tabs on iOS" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/brave_ios_tabs.png"></p>
<p class="caption">Receiving Brave tabs on iOS. Blink and you will miss them.</p>
<p>Sending from mobile to desktop does not fare much better. Each tab sent to the desktop must be individually approved!</p>
<p><img alt="Receiving brave tabs on desktop" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/brave_desktop_tabs.png"></p>
<p class="caption">Receiving Brave tabs on desktop. Good, but not good enough.</p>
<p>On Firefox there is no such trouble:</p>
<ul>
<li>Ctrl click as many tabs as you wish and send them any direction</li>
<li>Tabs just open and you get a notification that they were received</li>
</ul>
<p>I have no experience of how this process works on Chrome but I'll bet tomorrow's lunch that it is just as easy.</p>
<p>Another disquieting aspect of Brave is the amount of bloat that must be disabled. I have to turn off adverts in the tab view, tailored news, the crypto token, switch the default search from Google and disable typeahead suggestions. While this is something a technically-inclined man can easily manage, it is not that way for everyone. I'd like something I could recommend to my non-techie friends that would guarantee privacy out of the box, and not constantly goad them into distractions when they just want to access the web.</p>
<p>With the mobile now very predominant, and mobile apps encouraged yet very hard to sandbox and control with strictly selected access permissions, I don't know where to go. Both the web and mobile operating systems are far from where they should be. There is an unnerving realisation that we are losing control of our computing machines, bit by bit and octet by octet.</p>
<p>This isn't the future many of us saw when we were first connected to the Internet. It isn't the future that I saw promised in Osborne books rented from the library before I even had a dial-up connection, or that I anticipated when they made mobile data ubiquitous and affordable. We should have it better now. There is no technical reason why software cannot be better; this is why it despairs the technically-inclined man.</p>When A King Is Crowned2023-07-01T00:00:00+01:002023-07-01T00:00:00+01:00Thrantag:www.thran.uk,2023-07-01:/writ/yarn/2023/07/wakic.html<p>A solemn occasion is sullied by children's entertainers, only for the new King to have his revenge.</p><h2>The Open Air Investiture</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/king-charles-of-carrick1.jpeg"><img alt="Throne, I Come For Thee" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/king-charles-of-carrick1_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">Throne, I Come For Thee</p>
<p>The day was the 6th of May 2023 and the nation was set to witness the coronation of King Charles III. Given that such events do not happen regularly, I thought I'd like to observe. Ideally I'd witness it in person at Westminster Abbey, but I was either not an invited guest or my invitation was lost in the post. Perhaps I could witness it at home, but then I don't have a TV licence and unlicenced viewing of the ceremony just wouldn't be proper now guv'nor, would it?</p>
<p>So where would I go? I noticed that a large screen was set up in the Marine Gardens, Carrickfergus so I made my way there. It would only be proper to witness the making of our King while standing in a crowd, assailed by a light drizzle. There were several folks pitched out in deck chairs, some dogs tethered to the ground, and a flurry of activity serving refreshments from the nearby tea rooms. Which crowd would be better to join me for the big occasion?</p>
<h2>Then The Din Did Begin</h2>
<p>As the countdown lowered to the beginning of the ceremony, there was a great disturbance to my right. Two children's entertainers began thumping lifestyle pop music at great volume. They had set up a post in the ground and were beckoning children to come play some game where they'd grab twine and run around it in circles, while the entertainers yelled cheers from their wireless headset microphones, further compounding the noise.</p>
<p>Such a bizarre contrast. To my front, a screen broadcasting a solemn occasion and sacred music. To my right, Eliza Doolittle and kid pop covers of The Monkees. The entertainers were oblivious to the occasion they were profaning and just continued in their own world. I sent many glares their way and remarked to other bystanders, "I didn't think they'd invite the court jesters". Their act would continue all throughout the coronation, with the exception of the anointing.</p>
<h2>A State Afraid To Throw Its Weight</h2>
<p>Curiously, during what is the most significant state occasion we will witness, its servants were anything but emboldened. A gentleman was present dressed in full 18th century regalia, presumably the Lord Lieutenant of Antrim, or the Mayor, or someone of note. Instead of asking the entertainers to stop, he just walked over to them and shared a joke.</p>
<p>Two police officers entered the park and roamed around, I hoped that someone had filed a noise complaint and that they were there to serve it. Indeed, the children's entertainers stopped their act as soon as the police arrived. The police had a quick word with them. Would we be finally free to enjoy our ceremony in peace? No, for as soon as the police were out of earshot, the "cheery" bubblegum pop resumed.</p>
<p>Finally, given the demographics I'm sure the Mid and East Antrim council were only to happy to use their public space to host the coronation. So who in the council planning thought amplified music wouldn't clash with our enjoyment of the ceremony? Couldn't they have been placed out of earshot at least? The crowd had gathered to see and to <em>hear</em> the coronation to suitable sounds, not kid pop. Otherwise the King would've found a place for the Kids Fun Time group in his itinerary.</p>
<p>Why do I pay my rates again? I've "paid" the council a lot more than any of those children who were present, I'll guarantee it!</p>
<p>Imagine going to a concert or funeral and these jesters decide their MP3s must be heard, no matter what anyone else thinks. But I also wonder who works in this field and is so oblivious to the effects of their actions. They must themselves have the mentality of children, and not very bright ones at that.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thran.uk/img/king-charles-of-carrick2.jpeg"><img alt="The anointment of King Charles on the big screen" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/king-charles-of-carrick2_sml.jpeg"></a></p>
<p class="caption">The anointment was not to be a disappointment</p>
<h2>The Young who were Stung</h2>
<p>Expecting children to participate in mind-numbing distractions while a kingmaking ceremony proceeds is actually a snub to them. I think even a four or five year old could appreciate what is happening. Why leave them out of big things in life? I think the colours, the noises and the procession on a big screen would be enough to excite any child. Get them an ice cream and a toy plastic crown to wear. They'll be glad to share in something big with mum and dad. </p>
<p>Why dump them with strangers for the occasion? Children do not like to feel excluded either. Ironically, children's entertainers are making things worse for the children too. That's another crime to lay at their feet.</p>
<h2>The Showdown</h2>
<p>But I'm not one to end on a sour note. As the King entered the abbey, I heard the first few notes of Handel's <em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiXgOQ9_-RI">Zadok The Priest</a></em> begin on the organ. The buildup to the glorious moment began. And yes, our distinguished guests were still blasting lifestyle pop, in full competition with Handel. Only one of them would be, ahem, crowned victorious.</p>
<p>The organ gave way to the chorus, and triumph! The very ground shook at the sound of their voices, and while the ground regrettably did not open up and consume the jesters, they were inaudible over the Westminster Abbey Choir. I was beaming with delight, almost in tears, and couldn't help but send a jeer towards the profaners. The choir sang:</p>
<blockquote>
God save the king!
Long live the king!
</blockquote>
<p>His first act was to utterly silence some clueless children's entertainers. May he indeed reign forever!</p>Eleven conversational habits that need a full stop2023-01-28T00:00:00+00:002023-01-28T00:00:00+00:00Thrantag:www.thran.uk,2023-01-28:/writ/sr/2023/01/11chnfs.html<p>These habits of spoken English need their farewells said.</p><p>Some habits in modern English need to go. Unless you are an American; it is too late to fix your language when you see no problem indefensibly spelling words like "defense". But for the rest of us there is still a chance. I've heard these habits and I've read them often enough, now it is finally time to do something while we still may.</p>
<h2>1. Y'all stop it</h2>
<p>This is an unnecessary American import. We already have native Ulsterisms like "yous", "you'ns" and "yousn's", earlier English had "ye". We don't need any help from America when we're addressing a multitude in the second person. We are not in the Deep South eating Taco Bell and watching NASCAR, but when you say "y'all" you sound as stale as watching several hundred cars drive around in circles all day.</p>
<h2>2. I am going to the bathroom (to drown this phrase in the bath tub)</h2>
<p>What, did you forget to shower today? When you wish to relieve yourself say toilet, loo, or even convenience. Even in formal contexts Americans call it a "restroom", when they are too shy to say "toilet". If there is no bath in the room you just sound daft.</p>
<h2>3. Misheard metaphors</h2>
<p><em>Toe the line</em>. It is actually tow, a nautical term. "Toe the line" makes no sense. Who ever tiptoes in a line? That's cumbersome and counter-intuitive. The phrase <em>tow the line</em> means stand in a line and pull the rope together, it better conveys the meaning of the metaphor: everyone lined up and attentive to the same task, under the orders of a captain and following them blindly with naval discipline.</p>
<p><em>Lost the plot</em>, what does that mean? Are we characters in a story going against the author's intention? Perhaps Christians would <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_man">tell you we are</a>, but I think most uses of this phrase aren't evoking theology. Maybe it is applicable if you are a paperback author and your papers were sogged on the way to work.</p>
<h2>4. I've got (a habit that should be forgotten)</h2>
<p>In this phrase the 'got' is redundant, unless you wish to make it known you came into possession of an object in the past. If you own something you say "I have" or "I've" if you are in a rush.</p>
<p>To illustrate: You meet a friend and you say "I've got a car", are you telling him you own a car, or are you telling him you recently acquired a car? The former might be useful when arranging transport, the latter news calling for celebration. If you say "I have a car" or "I got a car" it eliminates any ambiguity.</p>
<p>Possession of an item and coming into possession of an item are distinct concepts. We have words for both concepts and they should be kept well apart.</p>
<p><img alt="Furry and Sign Man debate it at UCB, 2023" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/ucb_debate.jpg"></p>
<p class="caption">We shouldn't take our grammar after a country that looks like this</p>
<h2>5. Can I have (a return of 'may')</h2>
<p>There is this habit of saying "Can" when you really mean "may" or "would". May we stop it?</p>
<p>As it has been said before, "can" is ability, "may" is permission. We shouldn't forget "would" and "could" either. Would is to do with will; when you say would you mean "does this action exist within your preferences", while "can" and "could" is to do with ability. Sometimes I want you to do something, other times I am curious whether you have the ability, yet other times I wonder whether you ever carry out the action.</p>
<p>To illustrate: If I ask "Could you climb that building?" am I asking whether you have the ability to climb the building, or am I asking you to go over to the facade and begin clutching the window ledges? These aren't the same question. </p>
<p>Rather when I ask, "would you climb it?" I am asking whether climbing it is something you'd consider. When I mean to request you climb the building, "Will you climb it", "Please climb it", or "You should climb it now" are unambiguous alternatives ranked by urgency.</p>
<p>The other ugly appearance of this habit is when ordering food. When you select an item on a menu and ask "Can I have the seafood special?", we can wager that the waiter is sure you could have that particular dish. What you really want to do is ask the restaurant to prepare it and give it to you, so you should say "may I have the seafood special with extra tartar sauce?"</p>
<p>Other appearances include "Can I come in?". I am sure you are able to come in; you walked to my front door so the hallway isn't going to be a reach for you. And when a shop assistant asks me "Can I help?" I am not sure how to answer. Presumably you <em>can</em> help me if you attended training and have acquired experience with the job.</p>
<p>Instead of that unwieldy phrasing say "may I come in?". It is clear you are asking for permission to enter my dwelling, it sounds politer and accurately conveys what you are asking. While "may I help?" is asking me to permit you to help me. That's kind, and I am flattered, and might say yes if I need the help.</p>
<p>The silliest of all is "Can I ask you a question?". I am sure you can; you just did!</p>
<p>In each case you're making a request to the other party, "can" sounds stupid. I don't know if you can help or not so it doesn't make sense to ask me, but asking me if I would like help is the relevant question. The effect of confusing "can" and "may" is that it makes an enquiry into a demand. It closes the mind to curiosity. We are not better served by more demands and less curiosity; would it be that we would reverse this trend.</p>
<h2>6. Maybe I might like it if you would just possibly get to the point</h2>
<p>There is a poor breed who cannot finish a sentence without cushioning every word in maybes and mights and likes. Probably an unmistakable malady that's like maybe of the late-millenial generation.</p>
<p>This is a problem; don't inject doubt because you'll doubt yourself. There is no room for maybes. Commit to your words. There is a saying: never leave your actions in the lurch. These bluster words make you hesitant to act and the cumulative doubt makes it harder to break the habit. That's because you've doubted yourself so much before, when you next speak you bring those same doubts to the table again. It is time to break free of the cycle.</p>
<p>You might be under the impression that it is maybe like presenting your humility to everyone around you, but it just makes your seem unreliable and weighed down. Moreover, I have to work twice as hard to pluck the key words from your sentence, so I'm probably not enjoying the conversation very much.</p>
<h2>7. Oh, my God forbids</h2>
<p>From the television I regularly hear "oh my God" exclaimed for small things. The Lord really, really doesn't care that you've won a prize and a C-list celebrity has come to your door to present it. Really, it isn't even blasphemous. He has heard it so many times that it's just annoying now. Worn.</p>
<p>Find another expression. Try colourful phrases like "Delight, sweet delight!" or "Oh my giddy aunt!". Find one that you identify with. Thereby you won't sound like a copycat whose only habit is watching daytime TV.</p>
<h2>8. I am good when I don't presume much</h2>
<p>Don't say "I'm good", when you mean that you're well. "Good" is a moral quality, if someone asked you how you are that means your state of well-being so you answer that you're well.</p>
<p>When you answer "I'm good" that is making a moral judgement. You might be righteous or you might not be, but it is a bit presumptuous to say so even if you are.</p>
<p><img alt="saint basil is the saint who came to mind bless him" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/basil.jpg"></p>
<p class="caption">This is not you</p>
<h2>9. Does your mum know?</h2>
<p>Another habit that is spoiling our language is saying "mum" and "dad" when you don't mean your own mother or father; the words mum and dad are reserved for intimacy. That means it is only meant for direct maternal or paternal relations and only when you mean to signal that you are close to your family.</p>
<p>I don't understand why but the BBC prints "mum" on its website. They don't know my mother; it comes across as creepy, as if a major broadcaster is coddling up to her. Is this done because one more syllable is too much for its readers? Do its readers struggle with the th (thorn) sound amid mo<em>th</em>er and fa<em>th</em>er? Will they say "mummy" next?</p>
<p>When you refer to someone else's begetters say "mother and father". You aren't their son or daughter!</p>
<h2>10. Stop this train!</h2>
<p>I often hear "train station" when the correct term is "railway station". Train station is another Americanism that has seeped into our speech. This one is curious because there are very few railways in America; they prefer the aeroplane. We only see 'train stations' and 'railroads' in American western films or video games.</p>
<p>To elaborate: "Station" means a stop on something else so a "railway station" is a stop on the railway. A train is what travels upon the railway; it makes little sense to say "train station" because that means a stop on the train itself.</p>
<p>We don't even say "bus station", we have bus stops and bus depos (short for depository). Yet this transport crime prevails. I've even seen modern railway stations in Northern Ireland rename their signage to say "Lanyon Place Train Station" when before it was simply "Belfast Central Station".</p>
<p>We can only wince and pray that our sins will be forgiven. This isn't the Old West, but it feels like a stick-up.</p>
<h2>11. It's making me antisocial</h2>
<p>This is the final one. I might turn antisocial after making it this far in the list.</p>
<p>When you're someone who is socially awkward or shy, you're not "antisocial". You're <strong>unsociable</strong>. Antisocial means being against the norms and customs of society. Refusing to attend a dinner party will not upend the system.</p>
<p>Rather, antisocial is best understood from ASBOs or Anti Social Behaviour Orders. These orders entitled one to police tracking tags which were only awarded after you'd truly proven your abilities to destroy the property of others or deprive your neighbours of sleep. Don't malign the hard work of those hardworking loafers, don't say you are antisocial before you've earned it.</p>
<p><img alt="vandalised house" src="https://www.thran.uk/img/vandals.jpg"></p>
<p class="caption">This is not the work of introverts</p>
<h3>Am I A Pedant?</h3>
<p>If you've followed the article to now, you might be wondering what is the point? Surely we may infer meaning from context or ask follow up questions to clarify. Isn't imposing rules limiting creativity and levelling over the richness of human expression?</p>
<p>I don't think so. When we're wilfully subjecting our language to Americanisms, we're actually reducing the richness of expression. British, Irish, Canadian or Australian English become less unique. Even Americans who enjoy travel and the mystique of the "Old World" must surely feel a loss when they hear "y'all" or "sure thing" in an English accent.</p>
<p>When we overload possible interpretations of the same word we have dilution of meaning. The effect is more work is needed from the listener to understand the speaker. We become less specific in our speech, and I'd argue that has a sinister effect on your thinking.</p>
<p>Distancing yourself from words and their meanings is distancing yourself from reality, making communication difficult with other inhabitants of the same reality. That's the brink of madness, if I may escalate the point. Grammar is serious business.</p>