debile.net (EN)

Dictionary software

2025-10-21T00:00:00+00:00

I am as much of a sucker as the next guy for "cool Linux tools" or "obscure Linux software" recommendations. But one kind of software that I rarely see mentioned is dictionaries, and I think that the usefulness of such tools is underappreciated.

The need for a dictionary tool came whilst I was reading a poem by Gérard de Nerval in which some words, in addition to being uncommon, sometimes carried older meanings rather than the ones we know today. For this reason, I had to use an old dictionary — namely the Littré — alongside a modern one to try to decypher the mysterious verses of The Chimeras.

I chose goldendict-ng, a fork of goldendict. It compiled in 20 seconds and was ready to use on first launch. I configured it without needing to read the documentation. Adding online dictionaries is as easy as this :

Get the URL of a dictionary search, say https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/callisthenics.
Replace the word you looked for in the URL with the placeholder "%GDWORD%" like so: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/%GDWORD%.
Add that URL to your list of online dictionaries.

I can launch the tool from a keyboard shortcut and quickly look up the definition of a word across multiple sources: Wikipedia, Wiktionary, modern, historical and slang dictionaries...

I haven't yet experimented with offline dictionaries, but I will get to it soon, since some websites block connections from goldendict. There are also other features that I haven't explored yet, such as integration with other applications, clipboard monitoring and translation.

Save a pigeon

2025-10-22T00:00:00+00:00

Considering that I chose a pigeon as the mascot for my website, this should probably have been the first post I published here. I want to relay a 2012 article from La Terre d'abord ! titled "The daily pain of pigeons with wires on their legs".

Pigeons, like horses, share a long history with humans. Both were bred by them: one for transport and the other for communication. They served well and were later made obsolete by technology. Yet, only one remains respected as a noble companion of humankind. The other was nicknamed a "flying rat" and treated as vermin. Acts of cruelty toward it are taught from childhood. Have you ever tried to kick a horse?

People are often disgusted by pigeons because they see their necrotic legs and immediately assume that they carry dangerous diseases. But these wounds are caused by human hair and other fibrous waste left in the streets or mixed with alimentary scraps where pigeons forage for food. These fibers, tangled around their limbs, act like a tourniquet and cut off blood flow, causing necrosis. The affected parts swell, double in volume, darken and eventually rot. The pain is, as we can imagine, unbearable, and the sight revolting. But necrosis is not contagious.

If you want to help a pigeon, La Terre d'abord suggests feeding it and trying to catch it while it's busy eating. Hold its wings against its body, never holding it by its extremities, which could cause injury. Then, using a precise tool such as nail scissors, cut the threads tangled around its feet.

Save a pigeon. They shit on statues, but you shit in drinkable water.

Burden horror

2025-10-23T00:00:00+00:00

I had a nightmare. Usually, I enjoy nightmares more than normal dreams, because their memory stays with me longer after I wake up, and they are often more entertaining. But once in a while, I have one that I don't wake up unaffected by. The one I want to talk about today happened recently, and it made me aware of a horror trope that I could not find a name for, except in psychology research.

My dream started in my childhood home. I was in the bathroom with my little brother, when the boiler suddenly exploded, splashing us both with boiling water. Our skin had started to melt when my mother called the emergency service. The three of us were rushed into an ambulance but, instead of arriving at a hospital, we were dropped off in a strange indoor place with sand on the ground where there were already fifty or so people. A voice announced "The Battle Royale will start in 30 seconds". Some participants tried to leave but couldn't find an exit. I panicked and started to explain to my mother what a Battle Royale was, but she was confused and terrified, refusing to let go of the handbags, purses and shopping bags she always carries everywhere.

I woke up to that image of my mother holding on to her useless belongings, seconds before I would have to protect her and my brother from people trying to kill us.

That dream made me realize that I have encountered this specific kind of horror in fiction, thought I have never seen it named. It's a scenario in which you — or the protagonist of a fiction work — cannot die, not because you want to live, but because your death would mean the death of people you want to protect.

It's especially common in disaster movies like 2012, in front of which you catch yourself thinking "How would I save all my family members from an apocalyptic deluge?"; or in zombie stories in which you project yourself looting abandoned shops and smashing zombie skulls, until you remember you have a grandpa who can't walk, or a baby nephew whose cries would attract a horde. I also think of the manga Gantz, where elederly people, infants and even animals are sent to fight dangerous aliens, and you end up caring more about them than about the protagonist.

"Burden horror"? "Burdened empathy"? I'm not sure what to call it. All I know is that, if I had been alone in that Battle Royale arena, it would have been a nice and fun dream.