This means that we can lay off Zuckerberg and replace him with this ... right?

She got a buoyant cartoonish smile surgically grafted onto her face & damnit if she ain't gonna use it

Spooky aggression at a distance

This is a truly incredible archive. This sort of thing just… doesn’t exist. Insane. A gift!

I earnestly tried to get through it but got to the endnote in which he called a female scholar “shrill” and didn’t manage to get much further …

Is European AI A Lost Cause? Not Necessarily. | NOEMA If Europe wants to build a new AI Stack it should stop listening to critics who claim to lead the way but only offer resistance.

Billionaire-owned “philosopher” Benjamin Bratton finally coming out as full technofash in this declaration of alliance with JD Vance & a16z — here’s his scathing rejection of those who “stand in the way” of corporate AI agendas nobody wants. www.noemamag.com/is-european-...

Carlito’s Curds & Whey

A Fifth of NYC Built on Bygone Water Now at Risk: Study Maps City’s 'Blue Zones' Researchers at the New York Botanical Garden identified more than 500 places in the city where water used to be, where it still floods and where flooding is likely to get worse due to climate change.

Researchers at the New York Botanical Garden identified more than 500 places in the city where water used to be, where it still floods and where flooding is likely to get worse due to climate change.

www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/01/f...

Sending ICE to Polling Places Is Illegal Armed federal agents have absolutely no business near election sites. 

The federal law prohibiting federal armed agents from polling places has been on the books since the Civil War. If ICE shows up to the polls, voters should report it to their local election officials or call 866-OUR-VOTE if they have any issues. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

Text from a Rick Steves post on Facebook: "A Millionaires Tax? Let’s Try Shared Prosperity! A new tax on fat paychecks like mine was just signed into law in my home state — and I like it. In 2029, Washington state will start collecting a 9.9% tax on income over $1 million. The 8,000,000 Washingtonians whose households make less than a million dollars a year will pay zero under this new tax and enjoy all the benefits of a better-funded state. And for the wealthy (like me and an estimated 30,000 others), every million dollars in taxable income that our households earn after the first million will cost us about $100,000. It takes a lot of money to run a state that’s as livable as ours. Yet Washington is one of only nine states that don’t currently levy a traditional income tax. Our state is still funded by consumption taxes, such as sales and excise taxes, giving us the second-most regressive tax code in the country. (Only Florida has us beat.) And it’s time for Washington millionaires to pay our fair share. Right about now, Republicans reading this are queuing up in the comments to holler their well-worn excuses: A state income tax will penalize, and therefore demoralize, Washington state’s job creators! Letting the rich get richer results in more wealth trickling down! Wealthy people will flee your state for those with more regressive taxation! (Since California and Oregon already have a comparable tax, that would be distant lands like Texas, Tennessee, and Nevada.) As a wealthy person myself, I see this tax as essentially free money for all Washingtonians. Everybody in my state gains. And speaking from personal experience, I know that anyone who earns enough to be subject to this tax is beyond the point where consuming more adds to their security, their well-being, or even, arguably, their happiness — meaning there will be basically zero human cost."

Text from Rick Steves Facebook post: "If you disagree, consider the minuscule impact this tax will have on my state’s millionaires. Now, contrast that with the value of close to $4 billion a year in tax revenue once it’s smartly invested in programs that will help the roughly one-third of Washington households living paycheck to paycheck. For those who still aren’t convinced, here’s a lesson I’ve learned in my travels: Even if you’re motivated only by greed, if you know what’s good for you, you don’t want to be filthy rich in a society with a huge gap between rich and poor. It’s just not a nice place to raise your kids. And remember: Shrouds have no pockets…especially if you’re a multimillionaire with no heart for your neighbors. Plus, helping build a better community for you and your neighbors just…feels good. I learned this firsthand back in 2011, when — after years of receiving a Bush-era tax break for the wealthy that I didn’t need — I noticed that to pay for that tax cut, public funding for community programs and institutions was being decimated. Recognizing the practical value of investing my tax savings in my community, I’ve donated $100,000 a year to our local arts center and symphony ever since, covering concert hall rental costs for our volunteer orchestra and much more. Paying a “self-imposed wealth tax” and knowing I’m helping my entire community has brought me great joy for 15 years and counting. It’s far from heroic…but it is a little lonely."

Text from Rick Steves Facebook post: "The “millionaires tax” that Governor Bob Ferguson signed into law today will make our state better than ever — not just for the working class and poor, but for everyone who values a healthy and sustainable future. And for us millionaires who are enlightened enough to realize that we’ve reached a point where consuming more won’t make us genuinely happier, it just feels right to pay a little extra. For me, it’s biblical (“To whom much is given, much will be required”)… It’s European (after all, societies that are equitably funded are much more “content” than ours)… And — for those of us with a heart for the public good — it’s simply common sense. Sign me up!"

Travel writer Rick Steves on Washington's newly signed "Millionaires Tax"

In his @status.news newsletter @oliverdarcy.bsky.social reports the White House got Getty to delete this photo (from a Thanksgiving White House PHOTO-OP STUNT) because Karoline Leavitt was offended

It ran only in a Swiss newspaper. It would be a shame if you retweeted and Streisanded it

All three Ks even

Apropos of nothing I was wondering about the etymology of 𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘨𝘪𝘢 yesterday, thinking maybe it had something to do with us (Latin 𝘯𝘰𝘴). Surprised to learn it's of Greek origin from 𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘴 (homecoming) and 𝘢𝘭𝘨𝘰𝘴 (pain). Let's make up a Latin alternative ... retropathy?

Getting rid of Trump *is* a solution

Obvious example of computing being advertised as something to make new friends or whatever…

Mark Zuckerberg looking very obnoxious in a tight olive colored t shirt giving a presentation standing in front of a projected screen that says in black text on white background “Our mission: Bringing the world closer together”

www.facebook.com/story.php?st...

“The licenses in the GPL series are all copyleft licenses, which means that any derivative work must be distributed under the same or equivalent license terms.” [wikipedia]

Computing since ~2000 was advertised as being about new forms of connection, community, sharing & writing as well as reading. Now we’re learning they only wanted us to write & share so they could hoover up all our words & make it impossible to earn a wage

Now do ground visibility distance

These cars are deadly for little kids and animals

Yup. My original comment was just to add that open source does not mean allowing your work to be used for any reason. There are many different licenses with different constraints

That’s the bottom line

I’ve heard the .ass extension can be dangerous

Code was directly reproduced when it was downloaded from FLOSS repos onto LLM servers & incorporated into proprietary systems & biz models. We end users might not see that code fully reproduced, but we rarely do when it’s wrongly incorporated into proprietary systems, b/c they’re not open source!

But open source does not mean allowing your work to be used for any reason. There are plenty of different licenses with different constraints, and what many LLMs are doing with people’s open source work is definitely in violation of many of those

This is one of those songs that’s ambiguously nostalgic the first time you hear it, but then also readily attaches itself to specific moments & creates nostalgia for them. Like a nostalgic mercenary

If you use GitHub (especially if you pay for it!!) consider doing this *immediately*

Settings -> Privacy -> Disallow GitHub to train their models on your code.

GitHub opted *everyone* into training. No matter if you pay for the service (like I do). WTH

github.com/settings/cop...

AI as Fuck Shit Stack

I’ve had one married couple that I know of. It’s very sweet.

If I learned anything from those high school days slanging Cutco ...

PS – I find it also worth emphasizing to students that focusing on option two will ultimately aid with both options 1 & 3: "getting a job," or developing skills needs for any personal, creative practice

Call it the "wax on, wax off" approach (with apologies for the 1980s Orientalism)