tomkatt

Try Source Serif Pro. It's my favorite font, and looks great on every device I've used, including Kindles.

https://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/source-serif-pro

Other fonts I'd recommend are:

• Bitter Pro
• Literata
• Lora
• Linux Libertine O
• Gentium Book Plus
• Alegreya
• Open Sans SemiCondensed
• Rosario

That's fair and I don't think I actually disagree with you in spirit, but there is a delineation between high skilled work (roles that involve knowledge and skill growth and regular continual learning/advancement/improvement) and lower skilled work (roles that involve doing the same thing day in and day out in a repeated fashion with no change or opportunity for advancement or growth). I'm not sure exactly how that would be described otherwise, it almost seems a semantic issue we're arguing over more than a concept.

If not skilled and unskilled, or perhaps "highly skilled" and "low skilled," how would you describe or define the difference?

for all your claims of not doing it to feel superior, you certainly use all the trappings of superiority. “Low skill ceiling” and “dead ends” eg.

Not superiority. I've lived it personally. I did those kind of jobs in high schoole and to work my way through college (ironically, I dropped out and never finished, moved into IT and got on certification paths instead). Many jobs ranging from deli and freezer packing, food service, restaurant bussing, groundskeeping, retail.

I'd describe them exactly as I did, low skill ceiling and dead end. When I was in those roles, that's exactly how it felt, and I personally hated it. No chance for career advancement doing repetitive tasks where I had fully optimized my job to the point I could do it in my sleep and there was no additional way of improving process or invoking change either due to policies, stubborn management, or simply because it was already optimal and there was no better way to do it without automation making the job redundant.

When I say "low skill ceiling" and "dead end" it's not an insult to people doing that sort of work. It's simply a statement that if you do the job x amount of time, optimize, eventually you're capped, and that time duration tends to be short. Someone in the role a few months is a "veteran" often due to turnover, but that doesn't stop things from keeping on. The tasks are the same every day, the position has minimal or no growth opportunities, and the only opportunity for personal advancement is to quit and do something else. There's only so many ways to mow a green, bag groceries, pack a package, or scan items and ring someone up at a checkout. Logic and/or creativity aren't encouraged or required, the job is basically a checklist to follow.

Also, I do agree that those jobs should all pay a living wage regardless. Given the state of the economy and inflation, minimum wage should be more like $20 or more these days. Regardless of the supposed skill level of any job, anyone working full time should certainly be able to afford food, shelter, and general life necessities and amenities.

It's been 12+ years for me.

I haven't left completely, as there a a few subreddits that are important for me for either work or hobbies, but I only browse those now and don't go to the front page or out of specific purpose driven communities that don't have active equivalents on Lemmy. My time on reddit is down to a fraction of what it was prior to June, and I hope I can drop it altogether at some point as more communities grow here.

Stop trying to find the thin dividing line that makes you superior to someone who works hard all day putting things in boxes.

I’ve spent over 15 years in IT building my skill set, moving into virtualization and automation, and still continue learning new things and becoming certified for new skills every few years.

I won’t apologize for thinking my skill set is more valuable than that of putting things in boxes.

It’s not an idea of superiority, as you put it, and more just a focus on personal growth and effort to continue educating myself and learning new things independently of any school, university, or job training.

I’ve done physical labor, worked groundskeeping, retail, food services, etc. in the past. Many roles of that nature have a low skill ceiling and are eventually dead ends unless you can somehow transfer to a role in management or other leadership position that would be transferable for more pay and training opportunities.

I didn't mention fry cooks or anything of that nature. I think I was pretty clear with my criteria of what I consider unskilled.

For example, I wouldn't call grocery bagging or cart collecting "skilled labor" in any way. And there are people working at stores who exclusively do those jobs.

Packing center... depends on what the role entails, I suppose. If you're just packing boxes and taping them shut to prep for shipping, I don't think I'd consider that a skill. Especially considering the state of most packages I receive from Amazon.

Is this just for sci-fi or books in general? In July I didn't read any sci fi, just fantasy stuff.

I think it's a straightforward categorization. If it's a skill you could pick up as a toddler or young child (packing a box and matching shapes, flipping things, moving things around, bagging things) and doesn't require further education or training (as in, literally anyone you meet on the street could do it), or something extremely simple to automate away with a script, I think it's reasonable to call it unskilled.

There will always be people who seek to challenge themselves.

Others will want more money than is included with their UBI. What on earth would be wrong with people having a little more, as opposed to so many struggling, needing roommates, and so on? I imagine with an extra 1k-2k in their pocket monthly, a lot more people would buy or build housing, and a lot of service industries would boom with all the additional potentially disposable income.

Or how about people being able to retire, like actually retire, without stress. We could lower the retirement age, or people could retire independently from government assistance, leading to more available jobs for younger people as more roles transition away due to automation.

And frankly, I honestly don't see anything wrong with some portion of the populace just living on UBI and enjoying life if that's how they want to do things. Nothing wrong with people being happier, less stressed, and potentially mentally and/or physically healthier for it.

I only really have the Powkiddy X55 and the Nintendo 2DS XL. I like both but lately I’ve been enjoying the x55 a lot more. Great scaling for retro games and there’s a ton of ports available for it.

For a handheld the x55 is surprisingly ergonomic, though I kinda wish the grips went out further, more like a modern controller. I don’t really care about pocketability though.

I dunno, there's so many great NES games with interesting mechanics, and totally hold up today. Stuff like the OG Mega Man series, Bionic Commando, Blaster Master, Castlevania (especially CV3), River City Ransom, Little Samson, Batman (Sunsoft version), Metal Storm, Double Dragon 2, Mighty Final Fight (IMO better than the original), Ninja Gaiden series, Contra, Tecmo Super Bowl, Shatterhand... list goes on.

There's a lot of great games for the system if you can look past the graphics. And there are still games being made either for it, or as homages. Stuff like Micro Mages (actual NES game that's also on Steam and it's great), Blazing Chrome (inspired by Contra/Contra 3), and stuff like Legend Bowl and Retro Bowl (retro inspired American football games), and The Messenger, which was Ninja Gaiden and Metroidvania inspired.

Ooh, nice. I wonder if this might hit portmaster or get compiled for Android at some point.

You're missing out man, even if you are the god of rock.