@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

ralfmaximus

@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social

49% Evil Is Not Half Bad

Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Multi-fandom nerd but lots of Star Trek.
Multiple careers, but centered around software & technology & public healthcare especially EH.

I write sometimes, mostly science fictiony things.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

paninid, to random
@paninid@mastodon.world avatar

All the details of this story lead me to say:
https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/40162983/scottie-scheffler-detained-police-prior-start-pga-championship

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@paninid

Wow. The details are chilling. Way worse than the headlines suggest.

Apparently the only people more powerful than cops are white pro golfers.

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Worth emphasizing this, because most news outlets did not:

“Rep. Matt (R-Fla.) on Thursday ominously invoked Donald ’s call to far-right violent extremists while joining the former president at his criminal trial in New York.

“Standing back and standing by, Mr. President,” Gaetz wrote on social media, along with a photo of himself positioned behind Trump at his trial.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/matt-gaetz-stand-back-stand-by-proud-boys_n_66462d52e4b0dd63cd2ba653 https://uk.news.yahoo.com/stand-back-stand-matt-gaetz-174110101.html

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff

He realllllly wants that VP slot. A magic wand to make his own criminal problems go away.

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

NEW 🧵starts HERE.

Remember: I cannot reply while live-posting, so plz use NFL (Not For Laffy.. no hashtag) so I can skip your replies. THANK YOU.

1/… First, via Lawrence O'Donnell:

J.D. Vance was on the phone the entire time. He wasn’t taking in a word of testimony. Tuberville, to his credit, looking straight ahead, taking it all in as best he can, whatever sense he can make of it

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff NFL

> but we're sure as hell seeing them now

In case anyone's wondering, Signal (and other end-to-end encrypted apps) certainly do use encryption to protect messages from interception. But if an attacker gains access to a physical phone with the messages stored locally? Not so much. And prosecutors subpoenaed Cohen's phone, giving them access.

Similarly, lots of Jan6 participants were ratted out by 3rd party group chat participants, even though everything was encrypted end-to-end.

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

🧵starts HERE.

Remember: I cannot reply while live-posting, so plz use NFL (Not For Laffy.. no hashtag) so I can skip your replies. THANK YOU.

1/… more preamble, via Rupar:

Trump this morning printed out new NYT poll showing him ahead in swing states+ some Fox columns for good measure.

"A legal expense is a legal expense. It's marked down in the book, 'legal expense'" --Trump still pretending he doesn't understand why he was charged w crimes re Stormy payment

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff NFL

Defendant Trump is more timely & accurate nowadays.

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Word-slaw.

: The case is not about all of the other stuff you’ve been seeing because we’re using that to attempt, it’s had no impact because it’s so old, attempt to do something to me politically

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff

An excellent strategy: it can't be a violation of his gag order if it's incomprehensible.

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Via Kyle Cheney:

BREAKING: Judge MERCHAN has just quashed 's effort to subpoena Mark Pomerantz, former prosecutors in Bragg's office. https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/DM-PomerantzSubpoena.pdf

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff

First whompwomp of the day?

nixCraft, to random
@nixCraft@mastodon.social avatar

¯_(ツ)_/¯

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@nixCraft

https://www.thetastelesstrex.com/p/about.html

ernie, to random
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

I have an idea. I would like to build a desk for myself using a slab of wood and a bunch of milk crates.

Milk crates are cheap. You can buy them for $5-$6 each on specialty sites.

I have the perfect spot for it on my third floor, next to a window. I could theoretically fit a 100-inch slab of wood in the spot.

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@ernie

With a nice pre-drilled hole for cables.

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

#TrumpTrial #Trump #legal 🧵starts HERE.

REMEMBER: I can’t/won’t reply while live-posting. Please use NFL (Not For Laffy) so I can skip your reply, but NO hashtag on that. Thx.

1/…

Tyler McBrien::

Necheles rises to renew Trump's objection to Daniels testifying about any "sexual details," which she says has no relevance and is prejudicial.
By details, Merchan asks, more than just "we had sex"? Yes, Necheles says.

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@not2b

> I don't see why a mistrial makes sense

It's not about making sense. It's (1) performative for the Defendant and (2) their legal strategy has always been "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks".

@GottaLaff NFL

GottaLaff, to Georgia
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Via Tamar Hallerman:

This came after committee's GOP chair said he would subpoena Willis if she did not voluntarily testify.

The panel is probing whether Willis misused any public funds during her relationship with former spl prosec Nathan Wade

Rob DiRienzo:

DA says she will not testify before the GOP-led senate investigative committee: "I will not appear to anything that is unlawful," adding. "I'm sorry that folks get pissed off that everybody gets treated evenly."

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff

Pretty sure this was asked & answered during the last "investigation".

Too bad double jeopardy doesn't apply to state investigations kike this because Willis has not been accused of any actual crimes. They'll just keep asking questions as a form of harassment.

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

🧵STARTS HERE. 1/…

(Please remember to use NFL …Not For Laffy… in replies)

😂 See my previous post, just before this one, in my TL

Pagliery:

The judge starts out be making an odd clarification about his gag order.

He says that despite the restrictions on what Trump can say outside the courtroom, he can absolutely testify from the witness stand.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche thanks him.

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff NFL

The "locker room talk" dismissal has always made me nauseous. Nobody I know says shit like that, even in private.

Adam_Cadmon1, to random
@Adam_Cadmon1@mastodon.online avatar

I'm not against people using whatever they use to get off ( as long as it's consensual and doesn't involve kids) but sex doll brothels still bother me.

They BOTHER ME.

Not the sex dolls. The sex doll brothels.

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@_L1vY_ @Adam_Cadmon1

Except that nobody worries about catching the clap from a rented chainsaw.

GrimmReality, to random
@GrimmReality@beige.party avatar

I am editing a book for someone and, while it is my job to clean this up, I would like to take a moment to step outside this immediate task and IMPLORE everyone this might apply to to stop using apostrophes to indicate plurality. Thank you in advance.

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GrimmReality

How about in the case of a plural possessive?

The apples's tree.
Our minds's thoughts.

Also what about in my stupid made up alien language where apostrophes are sprinkled about like glitter? The proud K'than'gas's many languages use apostrophes to indicate group possession!

GottaLaff, to tesla
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

has backed away from an ambitious plan for innovations in gigacasting, its pioneering manufacturing process, according to two sources familiar with the matter, in another sign that the electric-vehicle maker is retrenching amid falling sales and rising competition.
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-retreats-next-generation-gigacasting-manufacturing-process-2024-05-01/

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@Eka_FOOF_A

Even if this were true, and Tesla was the most advanced company on the planet, their anti-labor & anti-customer practices make them unacceptable to anyone watching.

Tesla builds shitty dangerous EXPENSIVE products using those 'advanced' processes.

@ralph058 @GottaLaff

ernie, to random
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

The Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1 dunkings are well-deserved, but I worry we might be taking the wrong lessons about hardware design from their failures.

https://tedium.co/2024/04/30/rabbit-r1-humane-ai-hardware-design-criticism/

new @tedium

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@ernie @tedium

Behind The Bastards podcast ripped Rabbit apart, but not from a hardware perspective. Their primary observation was how terrible an idea the software was. That giving direct control over purchases & task scheduling to a device -- any device -- carries more risk than reward.

"It's ALREADY too easy for me to order fast food delivery at 10pm!" was an observation, but also how letting a system automatically reorder a Big Mac by observing your purchase patterns was uh, terrible.

YusufToropov, to Dogs
@YusufToropov@toot.community avatar

Hello humans. My name is Commander. | was brought into the White House to live with my dad. Sadly it turned out | was untrainable as a White House dog.

So my dad didn’t shoot me - he gave me a new home with friends. Cause he is a decent human.

In November vote for my dad.


ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@qkslvrwolf @YusufToropov

^^This. Unless the owner is an asshole, dogs typically do not go berserk and start biting without provocation. Trust the dogs in your life -- they are a good judge of character.

sjvn, to random
@sjvn@mastodon.social avatar

I've seen a lot of weird tech gear in my day, but it wasn't until today that I saw the Casio QL-10, aka the Calcu-Lighter, a 1981 cigarette lighter and calculator combination.

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@sjvn

Well to be fair, EVERYONE smoked in 1981. I woulda killed for one of these back in the day.

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

🧵starts HERE. 1/…

👀Via Katie Phang:

Interestingly: Eric Trump has accompanied his father to court today. Perhaps Trump’s legal team heard all of the chatter about the appearance to the jury with no family members being present?…

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff NFL

Probably hired performers. They've done it many times before.

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff NFL

> the personal interaction of Ms. McDougal with Donald Trump

what a euphemism LOL

ernie, to random
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

Here’s how screwed up brand safety is: Time’s most popular story of 2023, its Person of the Year piece on Taylor Swift, was marked brand unsafe.

I’m sure advertisers love hearing that they missed out on 90 million pageviews from an article that became a mainstream phenomenon because the adtech sucks.

https://www.adweek.com/media/why-times-taylor-swift-feature-was-marked-brand-unsafe/

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@ernie

Two of the examples cited by the article (Taylor Swift & Sam Altman) worked exactly as intended: the adtech flagged them as 'divisive'.

Swift, because MAGA Conservatives hate her and Altman because OpenAI is indeed polarizing. Advertisers don't want hate mail & boycotts from angry consumers. The Webb telescope was the only example that was a silly misfire. If THAT happens a lot then yeah, the tech is broken but more examples of that would be nice.

flexghost, to random
@flexghost@mastodon.social avatar

Wait. You’re telling me a bigoted antivaxxer who only goes on right wing media and is supported by thought leaders like Joe Rogan and Rob Schneider isn’t taking Dem votes away?

Ya don’t say…

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@zalasur @flexghost

That. But also a common delusion among MAGA types, that there is a faction of Democrats who fundamentally agree with MAGA beliefs but due to Trump Derangement Syndrome won't vote for the guy. So by offering a Trump-like candidate named Kennedy they'd sweep the election!

This is what living in a bubble gets you.

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

NEW THREAD 🧵 1/...

Inner City Press (aka Press):

Justice Merchan: I've signed the order to show cause. Now, the texts?
Prosecutor: We are introducing them as business records. It was part of the regular business of AMI. These are discussions between co-conspirator Dylan Howard and Ms. Rodriguez

Klasfeld:

Trump is back in the courtroom, appearing to sharply exhale when he reached the defense table before sitting down.

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff NFL

Any idea what the objection was about? Aside from "stop saying mean things about my client" I mean.

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff

"Catch and kill" was a thing at the Enquirer during the 1980s with Bob Hope stories. Also Tiger Woods in the 2000s. Pecker might not have called it that but they were definitely doing it long before he got there.

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

MEANWHILE, at , via Ryan Reilly:

Supreme Court Trump immunity arguments underway.

"There can be no presidency as we know it" without presidential immunity, Trump lawyer John Sauer argues. 🤦🏻‍♀️

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff NFL

> turning the Oval Office into the seat of criminal activity in this country

Not even a hypothetical. This actually happened.

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

NOTE: I have stuff to do today. My live posting will be limited. So will my replies/reading your replies.

THREAD: 🧵 #TrumpTrial #Trump #legal 1/…

Klasfeld:

Now

Trump enters the courtroom and is seated at the defense table.

Photojournalists go close up in front of him, as usual, to take their photos.

"All rise."

Justice Merchan takes the bench and invites Trump's lawyer Emil Bove to put their email exchange from Wednesday on the record.

It's an evidentiary issue.

ralfmaximus,
@ralfmaximus@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff NFL

My popcorn popper just exploded.

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