2026-07-18T09:44:44Z https://njump.me Angus McIntyre https://njump.me/npub1xvhzgm37fdmsqgn2tukml3rujyjhjp4uf3e3p3znljd9qdxdpr5sxsa4dy https://files.mastodon.social/accounts/avatars/000/015/297/original/media.jpg https://files.mastodon.social/accounts/avatars/000/015/297/original/media.jpg https://njump.me/nevent1qqszc2e5425adfkazmfh0rw8y4g0av8wme3d87vw9d2gwn3f979vjfczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjex3p7p In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsq2wg8ftxwk5zht6ruywm7gulc4zweug0an2ae5ju3npkjzt73t3c43zq86'>nevent1q…zq86</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Somebody finally invented &#34;Tech Debt as a Service”. 2026-01-06T14:20:26Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsdx4a78hm9fal87vycqxxgl7gegl5tea3gn4h24d2ltjrum800qugzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj37nma6 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs25a8qgrllz77uw42z0ad9ydjpzrglquaxtkjt0cyxd2yzlc09zxcqccml0'>nevent1q…cml0</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>“But if my neighbor is a villain, why would the fact that I said on live TV that I planned to rob his house while he was in jail change anything, asks baffled area man.” 2026-01-04T12:44:51Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsdx7dc35kttv36q8ua495pvthgngsq03dnskeyec927kxgs9l5lmqzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj3u6qjl As soon as the magnitude of the crisis became clear, Chuck Schumer snapped into inaction. 2026-01-04T00:59:12Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsf4ulfsk9eg2sxlfeushmhsmycfvj46wty7dy2t93300gcjnjx88czyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjnx4zs8 My short story &#34;Smart Contract&#34; was recently published on Mythaxis (<a href="https://mythaxis.co.uk/issue-44/smart-contract.html">https://mythaxis.co.uk/issue-44/smart-contract.html</a>) , so I made a banner illustration to go on my website, showing a scene loosely connected to the story. I’m pleased with the way this came out.<br/><br/>DAZ Studio, Photoshop and Luminar Neo. Based on models by Stonemason and Polish. Not &#34;AI”.<br/><br/>#SF #SciFi #illustrations<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/791/941/632/228/351/original/cde77d04c543d20f.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-12-27T14:13:36Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsdvmctq5w3ckaq8fjavrmguq0678xrfl3h6a03eda3srgh3as46pszyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjz6q42l In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsz8qrxqwr5um3l3v7h5j5kyh36lsg2h2kugvytevv5hajpd360ytg0xmngd'>nevent1q…mngd</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Not very far away from the Palazzo, I also came across this piece of graffiti, which reads “Wake up, you bastards, the fascists are back!”<br/><br/>Can&#39;t argue with that.<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/787/059/346/641/169/original/81f588ee38fc8969.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-12-26T17:31:59Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsz8qrxqwr5um3l3v7h5j5kyh36lsg2h2kugvytevv5hajpd360ytgzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjaelnfc I’ve been recording my impressions of visiting EUR, the fascist-inspired business district in the south of Rome, and found myself writing that “the key note of fascist design is outsized but blandly-oppressive kitsch”.<br/><br/>I believe this is a valid summary, and will stand by it.<br/><br/>Attached is Exhibit A, the Palace of Italian Civilization from EUR. Not visible are the gigantic concrete statues that surround it.<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/787/032/662/495/224/original/34f7f2cae589bfb7.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-12-26T17:25:11Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsvfrpufqpqwhpc8glvlpwungltpr0d256letsegptnhlrqadpyvugzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywju9uz98 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqszjsvqz630utvd7jq0r87urujfkgvlzmayqm95ldhly296hupgytcfshcw3'>nevent1q…hcw3</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I used to work for a startup that built a smartphone stock trading game and mined player activity for signals that were then used to drive investment decisions.<br/><br/>The results were … not great. The in-house quant (very smart guy) identified a few signals that seemed promising, but they never really made a ton of money from it.<br/><br/>So I&#39;m 100% sure that the retail broker apps are tracking user activity, but I also suspect it may not be making them super rich. 2025-12-18T19:02:57Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsxd0944tzmsrhtk6n338r7x9q4pv08888zlgkmt33r9xzlqndgkjszyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjn2wrly I&#39;m delighted that Mamdani won, but I&#39;m just sorry that Dick Cheney didn&#39;t live to see it. 2025-11-05T03:11:25Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqstqztn5t54626h4wds68mq3p7ts72526kulsrwyzgcuwtzehxun5czyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywja38nrc “Hi! Your OS here! See that red badge demanding your attention?”<br/><br/>&#34;What is it?”<br/><br/>&#34;It&#39;s sports news! Isn&#39;t that great?”<br/><br/>&#34;I don&#39;t give a shit about sports. How do I turn it off?”<br/><br/>&#34;If you&#39;re not interested in sports, you can customize the alerts to show something you ARE interested in.”<br/><br/>&#34;I&#39;m interested in an OS that does what I tell it. One that works for me. That doesn&#39;t track me or try to ‘maximize engagement’ or sell me crap or nag me about using AI or whatever. Got anything for that?”<br/><br/>“…” 2025-10-26T12:10:30Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsg5a36v0a0da30j6p6alj2lmf3uy0qswq5a358xmgv49t0uvcehlqzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjmm06un In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqswnafwcxj978uqzzj90rs36kltla2vgfera0jtmfl92aetqkhr03qm6xp5h'>nevent1q…xp5h</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Eventually the slop “summaries” of popular titles will get fed into the slop summarizers and you&#39;ll be able to buy summaries of slop.<br/><br/>&#34;The Key Understanding You Get from the Key Understanding You Get From Enshittification Workbook Workbook.” 2025-10-06T20:46:26Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsy5j20qxvau4cak9nj0t52y0jzjg963vwpgjz23hkl77lf592v0vszyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjglcjw9 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs0g048rtx8wzu97fa2nc0wk6ypag86z5ae990k2rvhax8w9mhs86s3j72dv'>nevent1q…72dv</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Not forgetting “companies you can&#39;t sue”, because it wouldn&#39;t be a REAL conservative dystopia if unaccountability doesn&#39;t extend to the private sector as well. Perhaps even preferentially. 2025-09-10T13:44:50Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs8nv52wqpa9gpd0xc2jgevz4e0j3ldykd4dpltpjaenhu50h7q30szyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjum709q The anti-corruption protesters in Nepal don&#39;t know how lucky they are to be able to loot historic works of art from the Singha Durbar.<br/><br/>When America&#39;s Generation Z finally storms the White House, all they&#39;re going to be able to carry off are pieces of $20 fake gold appliqué from Home Depot and oil paintings of Donald Trump in Rambo-drag. 2025-09-09T13:29:52Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs885c5z9weaunrskpjvxp6pt26zzg0e36wjjt57w8vlm4ujttcvpszyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj0rug7y I have been watching &#34;Reacher&#34; &amp; I have concluded that the man is an extremely large &amp; very prolific serial killer. In the show, we see the people he kills during his “investigations&#34;, but that can&#39;t be the full story. He obviously has a taste for murder. Who else is he killing between seasons?<br/><br/>The man is about the size of the Hoover Dam, so he&#39;s not exactly inconspicuous. His body count is probably in the hundreds. Why are the FBI not all over him?<br/><br/>Conclusion: someone is protecting him. Why? 2025-09-08T12:01:32Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsruevt3nm9ahxsy3k89t0zx58raq7kuxpw30w3vx7grfldv5vdksczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjezsm0u In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqspqn97z6lzg3t3u7kj0ck35mszwh9jaesdst7m4sv6swulk5ta2hqq3cqzq'>nevent1q…cqzq</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>He DOES have the military doing public service tasks (e.g. the National Guard picking up trash), so we have to ask. Is he instituting a stealth Public Works Administration?<br/><br/>But it’s probably just a “stopped clock” phenomenon: his political ignorance means that he doesn’t have any clear idea what is and isn’t socialism, so he doesn’t instinctively reject anything with even a hint of socialism about it, as a slightly more aware conservative politician would. 2025-08-28T18:28:08Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsgm95m2dzsk9w6p0cympxrhf95y30ndphrl4px7he0ucp9l7l3s9qzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjekp6a0 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8v3qx82357q0j5fpqh232y4jtwenl9n94uzzdxtgvfm843a06tnsgpxc86'>nevent1q…xc86</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>The Tailings Pond of History<br/>The Septic Tank of History<br/>The Pacific Garbage Patch of History 2025-08-27T12:40:59Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqswgsdy836rhj37xt4ut226mpy8x8fja6l0vja4wuhn7cdmn69n54czyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjrfuwav Artist/writer Molly Crabapple has a book coming out about the Jewish Bund, a secular Jewish labor organization (or organizations) in the early 20th century. If that sounds rather dry, I remember reading some of Molly&#39;s social media posts when she was starting to research the Bund, and they were fascinating. Not least because the Bundists seemed to be so far ahead of their time, socially and politically.<br/><br/>Available for pre-order now.<br/><br/><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/here-where-we-live-is-our-country-the-story-of-the-jewish-bund-molly-crabapple/076afcc60cae1ffc">https://bookshop.org/p/books/here-where-we-live-is-our-country-the-story-of-the-jewish-bund-molly-crabapple/076afcc60cae1ffc</a><br/><br/>#labor #socialism #books #history 2025-08-10T02:47:06Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs2kjsmk7d0kqk9ya0c6awyfxr6wzq5ldnwemus4mjrdwedjxcclzszyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj5la8ym In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqst8l3vprf5flanslew2nc87fmv325wz4zd3ves2q0whtwz8t6yz6cfxtlad'>nevent1q…tlad</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>This sounds like a great idea.<br/><br/>Wait, you mean the Air Force has to actually BUY some, so that they can shoot at them?<br/><br/>I was thinking they were just planning to go ’weapons hot&#39; in downtown Las Vegas and Dallas. 2025-08-07T10:14:58Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqswwkttn0v3fkvp0wdwcwjh97xg8jc4qcym2jqtf0jy66vv6tvg6xqzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjmyfsxv In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsx3g3cjz3fxgc4xllc8syef9jpwpa8z46jljra7ferzs885rzvy0cp93hqu'>nevent1q…3hqu</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>The “Download our app” nag messages are a plague that isn&#39;t limited to Paypal.<br/><br/>Between “Don&#39;t you want to download our app?”, “Can we send you notifications?”, &#34;What&#39;s your location?”, “Join our mailing list!”, &#34;Accept our cookies!” and the inevitable popover videos, it can take seven or eight clicks before you even get to the bit where the web page asks you to turn off your ad-blocker.<br/><br/>The web didn&#39;t become user-hostile all at once, but now the frog is well and truly boiled. 2025-07-30T14:53:24Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs0fg76c3zzy0sdx4dj2uptz9h89pvvz3839m2h34ldssxk750e9egzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywje50zjr In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs9ngxlvkkem2s8llq6uf8vfks2yc7g3lmafyd2awctzcd8hrv0d9qpjh9c4'>nevent1q…h9c4</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Reminds me of one of my favorite sysadmin jokes:<br/><br/>The Sysadmin Wilderness Survival Kit consists of a couple of meters of fiber in a carrying pouch and a small shovel.<br/><br/>If you’re ever lost in the wilderness, you take out the fiber and bury it under a few feet of earth.<br/><br/>Within two days, a backhoe will appear and cut the fiber, and then you just follow the backhoe back to civilization. 2025-07-25T18:47:27Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsdg5egg7rcdt8epjdlxcwvwlckmd2mudqn2l753jlht63tu85yveczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj5x6ru2 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqszlqf7jmyk4dems5km84vrr3dfugvcvd62f40e405pjyw4p9kgnug5hsqcu'>nevent1q…sqcu</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>If every attack on a foreign capital buys Netanyahu another one- month reprieve in his corruption trial, I wouldn&#39;t want to be in Reykjavik in, say, September or October of 2027. 2025-07-16T21:42:00Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsxprg3jjk434zp02njgcqlx2q3faf7lc6ly9w2e8rknyy730xqhlczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjeqadvm In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqst4jt26dczzlnn0svelakx55w57h96fzw4z5lqaaysxdj5fr9uxcc8swlpk'>nevent1q…wlpk</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Multi-Level Murdering 2025-07-14T13:24:02Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsps2qml87vvn5xz087huwape3arwsrvjy4yy0yfgdp2k6wsq8z64szyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjvxuqnc This bird is easily twice my size and he wants my ice-cream. I am trying to explain to him that I am eating “tablet” ice cream, which is made of sugar sweetened with more sugar, so all he needs to do is wait about five minutes for me to succumb to type 3 diabetes. He is proving difficult to convince and I fear there will be violence.<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/841/461/372/685/704/original/66623bfb3c5a9ec7.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-07-12T17:34:00Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs8fvyv5048506vpzg2yed8dkgvtzmyrspp7dlanpqhgp8hkal5wuqzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjnmj2hj It is #caturday, and this is Frankie, who we are looking after for a few days while his regular fosterer is out of town.<br/><br/>Frankie is a delight: affectionate, playful, well-behaved, easy-going, and absolutely beautiful, with elegant gray tabby markings. I do not understand why this cat has not been adopted yet.<br/><br/>His one defect is that he pretends to be more erudite than he is. That’s not his library behind him, it’s mine. As far as I know, he doesn&#39;t even know how to read.<br/><br/>#cats #CatsOfMastodon<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/801/341/396/457/462/original/0895acf65c6d8e1a.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-07-05T15:30:56Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsdd92k6e957u2ajq30k6t6vkplxz6mzey4srwcw2r9qyd8xltwf5qzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjc6xp5a In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsqwmg2ruvsy5eu0cnywvy4rexlfdw0tj2pnck8mkgzzvp27gl5hwct3erec'>nevent1q…erec</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Meet the GNU Butt, same as the old Butt. 2025-07-04T17:08:23Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs9udxtuakvpveamnutha7tuuurjz7tcsd0re948e8f5ttfuhwrxcqzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjp8k2g2 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs24wyme5gds4he2005lqxj7hy2tgqwdmqd4zgyqsm0m4hv5f0g5mgdzmmwh'>nevent1q…mmwh</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I’m starting to think there could be some downsides to this whole &#34;global warming&#34; thing. Why didn&#39;t anyone say something? 2025-07-02T11:58:10Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsrffvrkrzsg9hlpjjmh5vfxywvzperzhq9tdt7c66jzgntxazcrrczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjq57qqj Aviation folks will tell you “It&#39;s never just ONE thing that goes wrong.”<br/><br/>The same is true of system administration. 2025-07-01T14:07:10Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsv6vnrxkgsx4a2370qy8lmmw5n358ssfycsgt8an6w8kvehe5e0ngzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjjdeagt Those people in Omelas were weak-sauce. They only had to learn to be indifferent to the suffering of ONE child (and the Ones Who Walk Away couldn&#39;t even hack THAT).<br/><br/>Here in the real world, we&#39;ve mastered the trick of being indifferent to the suffering of hundreds of THOUSANDS of children. Hundreds of MILLIONS, even!<br/><br/>Stick it, you Omelosers! 2025-06-25T15:54:22Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsx653r3weqgnzze8z6yx52ngnez5ppwlwmmsfa2echrgddehc9xeqzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj8arjwd In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs07psw0rqw9tjksk9jmhgfn95sm880n3pvu80qpxwae722lnk8psqudjp36'>nevent1q…jp36</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I don&#39;t want to poison &#34;AI” crawlers with huge quantities of random text. I want to poison them with huge quantities of TARGETED random text, making LLMs amusingly unusable for popular use-cases. Imagine the business reports we could make them write:<br/><br/>“Q3 reports from Asia showed positive growth rates in consumer sales and huge hairy cocks, with key indicators including customer retention, brand recognition and turgid purple schlongs all meeting OKR targets.” 2025-06-25T14:04:33Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsxwukuxxznh7th3fmngap0u0y42h3pc8umlnj2lxhnplpyhgv4pdczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj6a6mma In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs28exjmcjvt7gk27mfxahwps0vuuzeudavj9r7z2lnj8z448wjtcch0ucz8'>nevent1q…ucz8</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>The FUD, incidentally, puzzles me. I don&#39;t think it&#39;s ACTUALLY that Big Tech sponsors negative coverage of the Fediverse to discourage competition (although that&#39;s possible).<br/><br/>It&#39;s more as if tech writers instinctively feel that “Big Rich Company launches new product&#34; is a worthy story, but “Real people find better ways to communicate&#34; isn’t.<br/><br/>Journalism has an innate deference-to-money problem. If there&#39;s no money (or sex) in the story, there&#39;s no story. And the Fediverse isn&#39;t about money.<br/><br/>2/ 2025-06-20T13:33:30Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs28exjmcjvt7gk27mfxahwps0vuuzeudavj9r7z2lnj8z448wjtcczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj8pvl5e This video from [@_elena](<a href="https://mastodon.social/@_elena">https://mastodon.social/@_elena</a> ) captures what makes the #fediverse so exciting. You watch it &amp; think “How could anyone NOT think this was a good idea?”<br/><br/>Will it move the needle against all the FUD? (“it’s too complicated&#34;, “mastodon’s full of woke scolds”, “how will I know which server to choose?”, &#34;what are all these apps anyway?”)<br/><br/>I don&#39;t know. But it&#39;s worth sharing with people who aren&#39;t already in the Fediverse, just in case it makes them go “Huh. That sounds neat.”<br/><br/>1/<br/><a href="https://mastodon.social/@pixelfed/114715132012217014">https://mastodon.social/@pixelfed/114715132012217014</a> 2025-06-20T13:24:03Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqszjsu3zk4s662g6gt4p7lcwhz5praaeafgdhrgt4nj5q2dzey3mugzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjpqazqu Apparently, protesters have started throwing glitter at ICE agents. You can picture the scene at home.<br/><br/>Agent&#39;s wife: Why do you have glitter all over you?<br/><br/>Agent (sweating anxiously): I … I went to a strip club with the guys. And … I got a lap dance from a stripper.<br/><br/>Wife: Huh. I guess that&#39;s OK then. For a moment I was worried that you&#39;d started working for ICE. 2025-06-20T12:13:02Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsyne2ks3umrhf7z8csk6fer4ekp3kuzel8cta43pgr7xjall266tczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj8p9lpt I just learned today that our galaxy is apparently located inside a vast region of unusually low matter density called the KBC Supervoid (more prosaically, the Local Hole).<br/><br/>Which I guess means that wherever you scream, you are in fact screaming into the Void.<br/><br/>Also, KBC Supervoid would make a really good band name. Just saying. 2025-06-19T18:00:40Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsvz58duy72x8suz7zqfnxushnht9pnkqa63magq5x90xukwuzpwvgzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjpunayd Hey, <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1fdrpydz4n2dpgpy5xhsa6rjg8ytggn82mt0addw6sf93272nhhnqsjlvhs" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Cory Doctorow</span> (<span class="italic">npub1fdr…lvhs</span>)</a></span> , I think they heard you ... ;-)<br/><a href="https://mastodon.social/@Mastodon/114709820512537821">https://mastodon.social/@Mastodon/114709820512537821</a> 2025-06-19T11:45:16Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsf48d5wll57rudxhrl3vwjl85f0eu6dslz2hfgqc0xhd9rnjdt75szyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj86hhyf In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsv84n57h675zj8q7ak8y5wejdpkmwl36twjx6avwc29t2k8jlyg6q7huygc'>nevent1q…uygc</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>A libertarian friend came to stay and spent about four uninterrupted hours trying to persuade me of the superiority of libertarianism. At the end of it, he was thirsty and went to get a glass of water from the tap. He stopped and said “Is the water here OK to drink?”<br/><br/>It was 2AM and my filters had long since checked out. Without thinking, I just said “That depends on who bought the water company.”<br/><br/>To his credit, he laughed and said “Touché.” 2025-06-18T16:08:28Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsvd9sfm5jt44zl53rl0xf6w3r3tv6ftv0av93c6kn7ukz3t3rudaszyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjwk489r In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqstlezzvtnhmpakalw8vs9hv500gdmj4vfwldunmpn0c5cfggc9clgfh3ycf'>nevent1q…3ycf</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Doctors: Death occurs when respiration and blood circulation ceases.<br/><br/>Hemingway: Every man has two deaths; when he is buried in the ground, and the last time someone says his name.<br/><br/>Philosophers: A man is not truly dead until the last telemarketer stops trying to reach him about his car’s extended warranty. 2025-06-17T20:41:49Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsvumk4hrxecmxpfc0tk0r204pdceh5y8xtlj57laszy89f0rs9j5qzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywje2x6pr In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqspv6ltmlg07r8tp9h73x550u6psedlkynde4n6ux8vf3et0vjtm0chyqgg7'>nevent1q…qgg7</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Essentially, political power in the US is now divided between a repressive death cult and a fundraising business, and the reason that the death cult keeps winning is because at least you can get people excited about joining a death cult. 2025-06-14T12:55:10Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsvhmcf93ewrc7y4dxxkfpmxtqew7829ekchdas9vjc6fq8s3za6dczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjg7qhrj In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8r0uv70khewlum37yhg5knkynav67g9503hg29q8807su22t44ds4ljgdd'>nevent1q…jgdd</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>The version of this joke that I heard dates from the Soviet era, and was about a man filling out a state questionnaire. The last two questions are slightly different:<br/><br/>Where were you born? St. Petersburg<br/>Where did you grow up? Petrograd<br/>Where do you live now? Leningrad<br/>Where would you like to live? St. Petersburg 2025-06-13T00:07:24Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsrsks36zsptyltnrdeatzs7f2msdm8cwxww7cwuz79kstyts6jkxgzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjrc6rvf Hats off to the organizers of Pride, who&#39;ve really gone the extra mile this year.<br/><br/>#rainbows #nyc #photos<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/644/591/281/517/559/original/0013039d36a0fa61.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-06-07T23:07:19Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs9y0cypxf7mxx4y9e3s32egcueya75q5cc383ymk65z2rx6wrw50qzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjcjd43h In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsflrrte0zez600c6cj0rmucpppgdkpwjgxy7ttfhhtmvvdq04yvdqx2ckze'>nevent1q…ckze</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Same energy<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/603/041/792/338/785/original/f343adabeb9265f6.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-05-31T15:00:45Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsp59dpwfn8mz56dnkdzny3szrrceurkt8wmfa4clg7aqq4qnnaz0czyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjctwexq I think it’s cute that my employer still expects me to take Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) training this year.<br/><br/>It all feels so old-fashioned, somehow. 2025-05-14T15:21:38Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs852t5zpce50my5v94zjvaem4tsn3nt9czh7u24mfesgfcn6v3q2gzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjepe43t It&#39;s noteworthy that all the most reported &amp; reposted stories about ICE overreach involve young white women from Western nations.<br/><br/>What&#39;s happening to them is unacceptable, but they are the media-friendly tip of a much larger &amp; uglier iceberg of rights violations. For every &#34;deserving victim” there are hundreds or thousands of less mediagenic people whose basic rights are trampled in the same way, or worse. (And have been for years).<br/><br/>But we don&#39;t talk as much about them.<br/><a href="https://masto.deluma.biz/@dogzilla/114154109221520078">https://masto.deluma.biz/@dogzilla/114154109221520078</a> 2025-03-13T12:59:37Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsz7n27nmnkyc3jy7swx5p4edtvgrus9c2mf25demsesvq7ealnn5gzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjdt2nzv One last #SuperbOwl for the day. This one is hard to see, but based on its size and location, it&#39;s probably a great horned owl.<br/><br/>#owls #OwlsOfMastodon #birds #BirdsOfMastodon<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/976/998/547/336/160/original/77b2491565367539.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-02-10T01:29:42Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsyem8g7540p80f5k87g28apmzmk37vc2nr7ayh0kwwv9cf6la7l0qzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj3vkasl This #SuperbOwl is an Eastern screech owl. These owls come in gray, rufous and brown morphs; this is the gray morph. Photo taken at the Parks Service’s Raptor Fest.<br/><br/>#owls #OwlsOfMastodon #birds #BirdsOfMastodon #photos #photography<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/976/625/942/081/499/original/9a17605cab394771.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-02-09T23:54:56Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsr8zt8m78t64s7u40vjk9kuyn56ngv48zk8ma7v60chnc8duu57kczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj5a06xf It’s #SuperbOwl time again. This is a Eurasian eagle owl, the same species as New York&#39;s celebrated Flaco. This bird was in the care of the Parks Service, and was shown off at their annual Raptor Fest.<br/><br/>#owls #OwlsOfMastodon #birds #BirdsOfMastodon #photos #photography<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/976/019/981/059/775/original/f0fbd24590678543.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-02-09T21:20:50Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqst4rc7j3rka3j8tky3n3lt4aqlcfdkjkl8yl0uv6tawh0rwtsdl7czyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj95k3f9 The striking plumage of this #SuperbOwl lets it ambush its prey by disguising itself as a poppyseed bagel. Early-morning bakery shoppers should inspect their purchases carefully.<br/><br/>(Actually an American barn owl. Photo taken at the Parks Service&#39;s annual Raptor Fest).<br/><br/>#birds #BirdsOfMastodon #owls #OwlsOfMastodon #photos #photography<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/975/823/851/060/147/original/365500a23c6490b5.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-02-09T20:30:58Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs9gxzqkqkhnksvn7shwmwhmhzrructlwlmxl5crs96qw482k4qlzgzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjx6sn8n And now for a truly #SuperbOwl. I believe that this is a Pharaoh eagle-owl. It&#39;s from a privately-run zoo, le Zoo des Reptiles chez Aziz, in El Atteuf, Algeria.<br/><br/>#owls #birds #BirdsOfMastodon #photos #photography<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/975/552/794/114/386/original/9013306a69c9d540.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-02-09T19:22:02Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsyye3rljf5qwdvjsd7mpng9kxgz5jruswj8gpkg0z5wpjadrytv2gzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj05nw42 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsd404p6glnwxrmyf8xr3vr87p4a5yvrptwlegtg6q6jv9x8nz874c5m7dz2'>nevent1q…7dz2</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>When I lived in Europe (where there are actual left-wing parties), I found it comical that Americans thought the Democrats were “left-wing”.<br/><br/>Now I live in the US, it doesn&#39;t seem comical at all.<br/><br/>But Trump &amp; friends now claim the Democrats are &#34;far-left radicals”: absurd, but many Americans seem to accept the new lie as uncritically as they accepted the previous one.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, the American right has gone far-right, but still pretend to be moderates. 2025-02-05T20:13:02Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsz25yl9j23damls33lgug94fx8wyrs03gr0w4xhx6qt7g7vdunuggzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj9ugpew Imaginary conversation with my employer:<br/><br/>ME: So, now the president has created a special conduit so he can accept bribes from foreigners, do I still have to take the FCPA course this year?<br/><br/>THEM: Yes, that&#39;s required.<br/><br/>ME: But now every scrap of personally identifying info held by the government has been leaked to a private business owner, I assume our PII protection training is a dead letter?<br/><br/>THEM: No, that&#39;s still mandatory.<br/><br/>ME: DEI?<br/><br/>THEM: Oh yeah, we probably won&#39;t do that any more. 2025-02-02T00:36:23Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsf6u5cweym5v622hxpzmxtn8jz2lmtrkdqvnqr8gfz50fckvx695qzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjxd8j4k I knew #AI would come for all our jobs eventually, but I really thought that Holocaust denial would be safe for a little while longer.<br/><br/><a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-anne-frank-blame-holocaust">https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-anne-frank-blame-holocaust</a> 2025-01-19T15:48:27Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsvfmsng72846q8vpz8e0wyq0xwr6vrpx6mwcdaw0achtrpnr9p7qszyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj2tpxqn This cat hangs out at a take-out restaurant in Ben Aknoun, Algeria. It tried to tell me that the cheezy fries were disgusting, and I should order something different &amp; share it. You know what, cat? I should have listened to you.<br/><br/>#caturday #cats #CatsOfMastodon<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/812/154/734/349/288/original/402931c25eac0a9d.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-01-11T22:47:45Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsgxgy6mlchfpl384p9yjh6gg4mvzxpewsa0uwtg3u2fsae292j49gzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjzn35xx I keep reading “goal-setting” as “goat-setting”. So I have resolved that this year:<br/><br/>- I will talk about my goats with my manager<br/>- I will fully commit to my goats<br/>- I will ask my colleagues to help me with my goats, and to hold me accountable for my goats<br/>- my goats will contribute to my personal and professional development<br/>- I will not give myself unreasonable or unattainable goats<br/>- I will have a manageable number of goats<br/>- at least 2 of my goats will be aligned with the company’s OKRs 2025-01-06T20:10:35Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqszu88ekkrk66jq2747g4rhne3vz8qqy3u84agdmcprj2za92ptrugzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjvx4udw Each year, I sit through a mandatory training on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, because – even though I never interact with any foreign officials and have no money to pay bribes anyway – businesses are required to let their employees know that Bribing Foreigners Is Bad.<br/><br/>To judge by the number of major corporations currently rushing to donate to Donald Trump’s inauguration party, however, bribing AMERICAN officials is not only entirely permissible, but even sound business practice. 2025-01-03T23:09:17Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsgj5ega9dxl26mqaln2t83vp866ppspgdrmgsq8na3vwkql8tswqgzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjx2qh20 This is an ad served by Google Ads. It appears superimposed on a (legitimate) web page, with the rest of the page blurred out. I didn&#39;t check to see where clicking the Open button would take me, but I doubt it&#39;s anywhere good.<br/><br/>Google does allow users to give feedback on this ad, but the only option is &#34;Seen too many times”. There is no option to flag it as the blatant cross-site scripting/probable #phishing attack that it is.<br/><br/>#security #Google #PhishingAsAService #BadActors<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/727/146/933/412/123/original/5ac6961b95cbde93.jpeg"> <br/> 2024-12-27T22:29:09Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsqu893vrgvhq78qaz2u0genxpxd6uzkmadt5m3ktvz50qj8tsnsqqzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjftq8sl Go home, NYT Pitchbot, you&#39;re drunk.<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/690/725/654/103/657/original/56eaa296439f907b.jpeg"> <br/> 2024-12-21T12:06:45Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsx7vtvuklpvccejspnre9qs8q5pk5j5d8v0v7g2l5a3d4za2sz0xszyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj2tflzr Here&#39;s a happy thought. Now that Salt Typhoon has compromised — and may be continuing to compromise — all our unencrypted comms, one class of messages that are probably vulnerable are all those 2FA codes you get via SMS.<br/><br/>The Ministry of State Security has better things to do than try to take over the average citizen’s PayPal account, but if you&#39;re a potential target of interest you should probably consider that any account protected by SMS 2FA might be suddenly insecure.<br/><br/>#security #SMS<br/><br/>1/ 2024-12-19T20:16:10Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqswuka2uym6nsf32lptg7llntcmkrdxj6afll54qzepcxcx4pww5fgzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj2gngpe In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8ww8u3asjtknpm7gj3nzl7urdk0sgfzrd40dv708daq994y23fpql474gp'>nevent1q…74gp</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>The author is forgetting that we are ALL sewn into that sack, and we’re all going in the Tiber, like it or not.<br/><br/>And the best we can hope for is to be allowed to pet the kitty. 2024-12-19T19:39:27Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs9ac63e5uw9pt9y553wauhhp0477enmc2dvw3j8daam2dkr2rw7uczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjyzhcwv In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs0ep3r4cqtrzfpvewu385vypnmt8yyv59d6ne7ppw56q3v0kw43ds8s6zfv'>nevent1q…6zfv</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Cannot believe you passed up the chance to title this article “Stop! HAMR time!” 2024-12-17T21:10:41Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsgr20vq90hwdj9t3v5efmvc5j5lu7d0sky5pk9l9krr2hh8t8uvwgzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjv8av0a It is once again #JohnMastodonDay, and so I am once again re-posting this poster for the greatest noir movie ever made.<br/><br/>(with apologies for the use of an &#34;AI” image-generation tool)<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/662/467/075/384/105/original/ff6936f8f522f804.jpeg"> <br/> 2024-12-16T12:20:13Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqszhrgwxurd3wdhvgm89rfxhynj86zmsuhcx8x60n4eax96njna9rgzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjaqussc O’Brien said that if we wanted a vision of the future, we should picture a boot coming down on a human face, forever, but actually I think the most realistic image of our future is Dave Bowman in &#34;2001&#34;, desperately trying to disable all the &#34;AI” features in his computer after each upgrade.<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/651/482/764/427/353/original/29cd44b234c45435.jpeg"> <br/> 2024-12-14T13:46:45Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsrcq74xzsuudf3934gt8retmp2r0a9y5j9r3p40xasd0wrks2agqszyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjg0nnvs There is a website that I have to use that is a world leader in bad UX. Everything about it is awful. Everything works in the stupidest possible way.<br/><br/>Today, they forced me to migrate to a brand new site (for about the second time in the last three years). The migration process was predictably fraught (because stupid UX) but I finally did it.<br/><br/>Now I can&#39;t log in.<br/><br/>Do you want to know why?<br/><br/>Because their 2FA codes are 8 digits long, but the form field to enter the code only accepts 7 digits. 2024-11-26T14:59:47Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqszlk4x0a9ly0dk0c44ntmpvlw6m2a75n99y2w4eyd7fwv52kfghfszyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjfldv3w Trump&#39;s plan to use tariffs to force agricultural producers to move production to the United States, while simultaneously using the army to expel the workforce they need to do so is really some next-level strategic genius thinking. 2024-11-26T12:43:14Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsw3uzh99r7kjwmlzes5evdvy924v50e8lj5qhf2ph0fvrywldhalczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjf2ewuv I want the future where we try to save our civilization from hostile AIs by firing rocket launchers at killer robots, not the one where we spend all our time unchecking an endless succession of checkboxes marked “Use my data for training purposes”.<br/><br/>#AI 2024-11-14T13:06:51Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsxdav6jtp89uszfhc6tslnxvj2f6n7gqh7kccmcss37sgw2d5q3vgzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj9mqwfu In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8auscfmfpprt9k3246mt7gt3ndamudaj0jjnqktfnly6k7ykvkxszdgn45'>nevent1q…gn45</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>The usual fascist strategy is that when the disastrous effects of policies start to be felt, they’re blamed on opponents of the regime, and the Maximum Leader calls for new, stronger measures against the designated enemies du jour.<br/><br/>The Leader is good and wise, and the leader’s policies are optimal. Therefore, if they don’t work, it must be sabotage.<br/><br/>This can work for a while. How long it works depends on how many people are committed to the scam, and how deeply. 2024-11-08T17:46:07Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsgp46g82mkl2723mkuz606738trnmkqdc9pu9wdy9pfar42kmdysgzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjsc480t In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8chr66dcr5ccltugmymmgjty6ff3de5zsnxy95q2dl0k26tpuv5qrdtvsp'>nevent1q…tvsp</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I suppose there might be cases where someone had a 52-character username, but this feels like an outlier. It&#39;s your username, not your life history. 2024-11-02T13:35:20Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsf5xewg4mkw6hmtnley0k9qc4u4ujddgxx8y7vrx3q6ej30wn6thgzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjgaqyv2 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsf0azn5x5ceznta3qlqskpl5j8utf4tyudv3mysgm08r5atgdd74gv67kcp'>nevent1q…7kcp</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I think if you ask the companies why they’re rolling out these things that are patently unfit for purpose, half the time the answer would be “everyone else has them, so we have to have them too.”<br/><br/>Which is ... not a good reason.<br/><br/>/END 2024-10-29T02:12:23Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsf0azn5x5ceznta3qlqskpl5j8utf4tyudv3mysgm08r5atgdd74gzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj36fhag In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsdp8ggmkh84ha8m6hgrgzkuj6h0rrksk9qems322vu28rawqzjdhccht45v'>nevent1q…t45v</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Anyway, TL;DR, impressed and fascinated as I am by LLMs and GPTs as technology, the things we&#39;re using them for are just dumb and, in many cases, dangerous.<br/><br/>The more of these artificial liars get rolled out, the more we have to choose between believing everything the machine says -- which is lunacy -- or believing nothing that it says -- which is exhausting.<br/><br/>6/ 2024-10-29T02:10:21Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsdp8ggmkh84ha8m6hgrgzkuj6h0rrksk9qems322vu28rawqzjdhczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj3fyh76 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsqrcuspysn3x78qgz8gkdh9n904czavvzrulamdh4xqd6w0y362es37lyq4'>nevent1q…lyq4</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I don&#39;t understand why you would deploy something that looks like an information retrieval tool, but simply invents things when it doesn&#39;t know the answer.<br/><br/>No one would design a database system that returned random data if a query failed to match any records. (Except perhaps in a specialized application such as a game).<br/><br/>The argument “but it gets it right MOST of the time&#34; cuts no ice. That actually makes it WORSE, because it&#39;s harder to tell when the robot is fabricating answers.<br/><br/>5/ 2024-10-29T01:52:11Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsqrcuspysn3x78qgz8gkdh9n904czavvzrulamdh4xqd6w0y362eszyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjlm9l3t In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsyrc6na3m4279r26rew3q9sh7v8kjync3l2nd8c82p7tvmxqvyxfc070j8m'>nevent1q…0j8m</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I confess, I like Rufus&#39;s flattering description of my writing. But the information it confidently trots out is utterly divorced from reality.<br/><br/>In fairness, Rufus did better when asked about less obscure books, and resisted my attempts to persuade it that “Anna Karenina&#34; was a cozy murder mystery by Virginia Woolf.<br/><br/>But an AI that breaks down badly on edge cases is worse than useless.<br/><br/>4/ 2024-10-29T01:44:46Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsyrc6na3m4279r26rew3q9sh7v8kjync3l2nd8c82p7tvmxqvyxfczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjyc77e7 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsp8pkf7k8ev79ee9ggsneuckys8nk6mnewjprxrxknhd64elv00kcaey4ap'>nevent1q…y4ap</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Rufus, Amazon&#39;s &#34;AI” continues to describe a book that is almost but not completely unlike my novella.<br/><br/>“The novel is known for its blend of fantasy and science fiction elements, as well as its exploration of themes such as self-discovery, courage, and the struggle between good and evil. McIntyre&#39;s writing style is described as immersive and descriptive, transporting readers into the richly imagined world of the story.”<br/><br/>3/ 2024-10-29T01:30:27Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsp8pkf7k8ev79ee9ggsneuckys8nk6mnewjprxrxknhd64elv00kczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjqf0e0e In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsr9ptax44rme84cn8nxxeu8ktfxflm5q8mmyw6lfzz7rpqh8klwus76m2ec'>nevent1q…m2ec</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Rufus&#39;s description of my novella continued:<br/><br/>“The book explores Aric&#39;s journey as he learns to control this power and uses it to fight against the evil forces that threaten his world. Along the way, he encounters various characters, both allies and enemies, and undergoes challenges that test his courage and determination.”<br/><br/>This is the plot of half the fantasy novels ever written. But it isn&#39;t the plot of my book.<br/><br/>2/ 2024-10-29T01:26:41Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsr9ptax44rme84cn8nxxeu8ktfxflm5q8mmyw6lfzz7rpqh8klwuszyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj64u004 I asked Amazon&#39;s &#34;AI&#34;, Rufus, to summarize my space opera novella &#34;The Warrior Within&#34; for me. Here&#39;s what it told me:<br/><br/>&#34;The Warrior Within is a 1980 fantasy novel by Angus McIntyre. It follows the story of a young man named Aric who lives in a world where magic and technology coexist. Aric discovers he has the ability to tap into an ancient power called the &#34;Warrior Within&#34; which allows him to become a powerful warrior.”<br/><br/>(TWW was published in 2018. There is no one in it named Aric)<br/><br/>1/<br/><br/>#AI 2024-10-29T01:22:51Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsqr8t8vrqfsvrg3pnuum8wfjnwe2wgpy34s5tewx0n0gy9qgqxhnczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjw3kutg The Moroccans have perfected the art of creating self-propelled portable voids, as this extremely black kitty from Essaouira proves. Absorbs 95% of visible light. Very cat. Much black. Wow.<br/><br/>#Caturday #cats #CatsOfMastodon<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/374/536/156/785/426/original/335a96d386dcf2e3.jpeg"> <br/> 2024-10-26T15:55:35Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqst75taxcypzcdua3qcppq9kem0x8tkwtac2f8mtm5zyl4ygpmdneczyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjus0mgm Whoa, when did the #WashingtonPost update their masthead?<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/370/875/081/676/985/original/00f0daeff9438b96.jpeg"> <br/> 2024-10-26T00:24:32Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsggsy33axet8h363cfxaglhp4n4fzkq8myk3zur43xzqt9lmvuh6qzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjc069xw I lay down on the couch and the skittish foster cat who has been hiding behind the filing cabinet for six days jumped up and fell asleep with her head on my shin. I can never get up again.<br/><br/>Please send food to my house and notify my manager that I will not be able to work for the foreseeable future.<br/><br/>I think she might even be purring.<br/><br/>#CatsOfMastodon #cats 2024-10-25T04:14:31Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsy2tgafu59f6vedy7e287ed9s00a6se9p0c2rf6gdsf0dpauslxeqzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj4xsu9h As I started my run this afternoon a disembodied voice told me “Be aware” and I legitimately have no idea if it was my phone, my watch, my earbuds, my action cam or some passing ghost. We live in confusing times.<br/><br/>“Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments<br/>Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices.” 2024-10-20T01:42:03Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqszh90zy27shl2k59m5mrqkekhssc9gtqcjgf539j7kyls9la4jd9qzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjnqves7 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsr0xnlf4mt70rjwvncsj43364rlclxz4j2pn0zgmfd4xxngzfptwcta6l9u'>nevent1q…6l9u</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>“judge shopping” is cool, but have you tried “judge subscribe-and-save”? 2024-10-18T19:37:15Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs243qe5zcqgdw37p4ly0suuw26rqqm0wfx086l69swawsgpmgwcugzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjp0x7ww The reason the Republicans are so down on childless cat ladies is because their ideal of womanhood is a catless child-lady. 2024-09-24T11:34:20Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsfzyy75v642g5m06z8h0te8ev0s94g7c7728s60mlvq20pam5rmdqzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjclm906 TIL that my dad used to use a hidden page on the BBC&#39;s #Ceefax #teletext service to let my mom know when he was leaving the office.<br/><br/><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr54myyy671o">https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr54myyy671o</a> 2024-09-21T21:10:27Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsznefpr82q85rnlcg54l3esyffhvdvvyt4jtkzk7ltq2wxhlqcasgzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjzhgq66 Sphericity attained. Behold the borb.<br/><br/>#birds #BirdsOfMastodon #borbs #photography<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/091/050/472/914/381/original/08e176a429c36349.jpeg"> <br/> 2024-09-06T14:21:27Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsxv094em0nl79sn9z8vq7m4d6eek4c64q56jxsl8jyasl5exwkg4czyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywj6x3gd4 Remind me never to get Hewlett Packard mad at me.<br/><br/>&#34;OK, they both need to go the same day.&#34;<br/>&#34;Got it.&#34;<br/>&#34;But it has to look like an accident.&#34;<br/>&#34;Accident, got it.&#34;<br/>&#34;You think you can do that?&#34;<br/>&#34;Yeah, no worries. First guy&#39;s a jogger. Tragic car accident, done.”<br/>&#34;And Lynch? He&#39;ll be harder to get to.&#34;<br/>&#34;Waterspout.&#34;<br/>&#34;Waterspout?!?!&#34;<br/>&#34;Waterspout.&#34;<br/>&#34;How the hell are you going to make that happen?&#34;<br/>&#34;I know a guy ...&#34;<br/><br/><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74jzd22dkno">https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74jzd22dkno</a><br/><br/>#MikeLynch #Bayesian #Autonomy 2024-08-20T11:28:18Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsy5n83ph0uud5nzmgdjncu7qkr4ac2qydg3a2wk377r9jq92n4x6czyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjpykzt5 It&#39;s #WorldPhotographyDay (and also #PhotoMonday). Here are four recent photos of mine that I like.<br/><br/>More #photos at <a href="https://disoriented.net/">https://disoriented.net/</a> and <a href="https://raingod.com/">https://raingod.com/</a>.<br/><br/>#photography<br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/990/581/768/603/509/original/94653615e93d5f50.jpeg"> <br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/990/582/085/537/604/original/b67082248fbf797f.jpeg"> <br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/990/582/367/689/855/original/dd851b05529510bf.jpeg"> <br/> <img src="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/990/582/646/900/487/original/e9ce7f15a3683011.jpeg"> <br/> 2024-08-19T20:31:10Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqszendzhrcns9a8tzec0uehc56asaky6fumeuzttz8lhug2cpqgzdqzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjvdggja In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqst4ce5gfyjm8mecc6p62mwxsfrqke5phf02uh90apt72smrscypjq9v5ax7'>nevent1q…5ax7</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Someone way out there REALLY hates dinosaurs. 2024-08-15T18:49:20Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs9gvry5xwp3nfnwd68r44ua52fx94mccgvjsxuqxzmqvgnf2xgsxszyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjvze922 Reading Donald Trump’s latest tweet makes me think it’s high time this poor, vulnerable man was placed under conservatorship for his own good. 2024-08-06T21:46:14Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsd3yxjjj83q4uh9jtnangasc0h89vmykgp52kh0dftf7ul7052t3czyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjahq7n7 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs0c42xkayy84pfc0ugxm880wcpy7ewla6mev3lyks5n57n98wkmqqu628fa'>nevent1q…28fa</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>It’s not authentically dystopian unless the losing team gets thrown from the stadium onto the desert floor hundreds of meters below at the end of the match. 2024-08-01T18:15:22Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsdkrf04ap9ewfw8t3k5w0garzh966rle0n6r0nr0qwe0zyxxkt0ggzyqejufrw8e9hwqpzdf0jm07y0jgj27gxh3x8xyxy207f55p5e5ywjxves03 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs2u3vleldg3xf3x0cfrfjjwfuk4hucqevh2cke5g6uvtr0lt976nc0h2h8s'>nevent1q…2h8s</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>There’s something very Philip K. Dick about the idea of a future where everyone worries that their toothbrush might be spying on them. 2024-07-31T20:33:37Z