The search for lost verbs continues.
Every now and again, as if to prove to myself that I am still that kid and that teenager, I do things like decide to migrate all of the [embarrassingly large number] of domains I own from one host to another at once; or setup a local NAS; or come up with some hilariously complex way to be able to play all the music I own on all the various permutations of speakers in the apartment.
(Speaking of which: I would co-sign a letter of recommendation for getting a CD player)
It is my reminder to myself — in the neverending morass of Discourse about who gets to be considered “technical” (spoiler: mostly not people like me), in an environment in which not being white and not being male means you get auto-tagged as a “DEI hire” / job-stealing immigrant who should be summarily deported / someone generally Not Welcome Here — that I don’t need to internalize limitations invented by people who lack imagination.
None of this inoculates me against the efforts of powerful people who are determined to turn their personal bigotries into public policy. But it does help me find the energy to keep going despite them.
—
I got a very good suggested addendum to my ‘causes worth supporting’ missive, from one of my favourite writers: “I would add “friendly conspiratorial acquaintances” to that list!” A word.
Attribution
We ignore old historians who tell us we are extinct. We chant our ancestors’ first words every day--- iguana, tiburón, manatí, yuca, huracán, cuba, hamaca, canoa, quiskeya, maíz, borikén. The search for lost verbs continues. We have to estimate pronunciation, spelling, and punctuation. — from How to Awaken a Sleeping Language by Margarita Engle