@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com
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gwcoffey

@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com

I contain singletudes.

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EeveeEuphoria, to random
@EeveeEuphoria@translunar.academy avatar

google has unleashed ungodly AI nightmares beyond my comprehension

so awhile ago, i've set up screen call on my android phone, because it's pretty useful for stopping robocalls from annoying me, since usually they just hang up, or google knows it is just a scam call.

well. i got another call in, but it couldn't get the transcript. so, i played the audio back.

to my fucking horror, GOOGLE IS USING MY OWN VOICE TO ANNOUNCE IT'S PRESENCE AS THE VIRTUAL ASSISTANT.

nowhere, i mean fucking NOWHERE did they ever tell me this was a thing they'd do. in fact, i'm not able to find a single fucking thing about this online!

i don't even have the fucking option set for them to preserve my voice history, the fact they have audio recordings of my voice, and enough of them to make a fucking AI-generated version of my voice, without my god damn consent, is... i don't even know how to put it.

google, i sincerely hope someone burns down all your data centers

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@EeveeEuphoria Sometimes legislators overthink regulations but I gotta say a simple law that says:

A machine must alway identify itself as a machine and can never pretend to be a person.

Is something we desperately need.

JamesGleick, to random
@JamesGleick@zirk.us avatar

Mitch McConnell did so much to destroy our democracy that it’s hard to pick just one thing. But Josh Marshall says this is the worst:

"These days you often hear reporters and commentators saying matter of factly that legislation requires 60 votes in the Senate. This is truly McConnell’s greatest accomplishment. People say this like it’s in the Constitution, like the two-thirds requirement for conviction at impeachment or to approve a treaty. (1/2)

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@JamesGleick Couldn't agree more. The filibuster was a mistake. The rule changes that made the filibuster infinitely abusable was a mistake. But the active abuse of the filibuster was McConnell's intentional baby.

mshelton, to random
@mshelton@mastodon.social avatar

A fun news story going around: HP's CEO says using third-party ink cartridges brick your HP printer because of the risk of malicious cartridges. So they are gouging you for printer ink that costs more than human blood AND their CEO is saying their printers don't mitigate the most basic security risks.

So just get a Brother laser printer. End this once and for all. Reenact the Office Space printer scene with your HP. Settle your spiritual well-being. Brother laser printer https://www.theverge.com/23642073/best-printer-2023-brother-laser-wi-fi-its-fine

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@mshelton The HP logic is so ridiculous you almost have to laugh.

  1. We put chips in our cartridges to ensure they're "authentic".
  2. We require "authentic" cartridges because inauthentic ones might use the chip we put in there to do bad things.

Folks I'm not a print cartridge engineer but I think I have come up with a solution… … …

RickiTarr, (edited ) to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

This is probably my worst poll, but I'm curious, for science:

I have/had:

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr I've spent a lot of time thinking about this line from Xochitl Gonzalez' novel Olga Dies Dreaming:

"She told him how they had put all their letters in order, how hearing them out loud, in front of other people, in front of each other, had made them feel: like dolls in a rich kid’s toy chest—occasionally played with, largely neglected, sometimes abused."

But anyway I chose the second option.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Something I've noticed a lot lately, is that especially Boomer women, but honestly, women in general, don't seem to ask for what they want or need in a direct way. I notice this a lot with my Mom and her friends. Instead of just asking for what they need directly they tell a story, to ask in a roundabout way. For instance, my Mom needed help this morning, and Instead of just saying, "Hey, I dropped my remote, can you pick it up for me?" She tells a one minute story about what happened, no ask, and eventually I get the point, and then suggest that I come pick it up. Or if one of her friends wants to do something like have a birthday party for a friend, they don't say "We should have a party!" They say, It's Sarah's Birthday coming up, you know she likes surprises, what does everyone think we should do?"

I often wonder if this is why older people think younger women are rude and demanding, because younger people often just ask for what they want and need in a more direct way. But also it's probably just straight up sexism, because men are supposed to make decisions, and women are supposed to make suggestions.

What do you all think? Is this just me? Have you experienced something similar?

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr Is this in any way related to how my wife will, like, buy the plane ticket for herself that is $12 cheaper even though it's a TERRIBLE flight, but then an hour later gladly pay the full price of her dad's ticket to the funeral and make sure he has a good flight?

I have to push so hard to get her to take her own comfort and needs seriously.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Okay, since I'm on laundry today, a little story.

When hubs and I first got married, we were very much enjoying our little Honeymoon Bubble, and we were being lazy as Hell. We didn't do many chores, but the laundry we really let go. We weren't wearing many clothes at home anyway, so why bother. Anyhow, after weeks we finally reached the swimming suit bottoms situation, and decided it was time. It was loads and loads of laundry that needed done, so I had my husband back the trunk of the car up to a window of the house, then he popped the trunk, and I started tossing laundry out of the window into the trunk. We went to the bank, got about $30 bucks in quarters, and found the emptiest laundry mat we could, and did it all in one fell swoop. We folded it all and loaded it back into the car using those wheeled laundry carts. We never let it get that bad again, and decided it was time to be adults, and do regular chores, but it still makes me laugh imagining what the neighbors and the laundry attendant thought.

Feel free to share your own laundry story, if you feel like it, I love hearing people's stories!

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr There was a period when my family was very busy with me working, my wife in school, and my kids in the throes of teenage.

Even though I had a washer and dryer at home I started going to the laundromat just because I could wash, dry, fold, and load a week of laundry for a family of four in 90 minutes start to finish.

I'm such a laundromat fan. Just walls and walls of washers, and miles and miles of folding tables.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

What kind of high-school experience did you have? Were you in a clique? Were you popular, unpopular, the coolest kid in your Homeschool? Did you have a sweet jean jacket with patches, or maybe a leather vest? Were you an evil villain or a Mary Sue?

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr I his my computer magazines behind cooler things so I could read them at school.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

You are going to make love to a Cereal Mascot, who do you choose?

I'm going Snap, Crackle, & Pop.

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr Is Wilford Brimley taken? Swoon…

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Writing Prompt:

Write the saddest sentence you can think of.

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr In the words of John Prine: "We lost Davey in the Korean War, I still don't know what for, don't matter anymore."

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Alright Ya'll I have a strong appreciation for The Grateful Dead, but imagine going to a concert for the first time, and then imagine Track 15 just happening for nearly 30 MINUTES. I'm listening to it high as hell right now, and I'm like WHAT?!

https://archive.org/details/gd74-09-11.sbd.powell.12183.sbeok.shnf/gd74-09-11d3t01.shn

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr Haha my dad's huge deadhead and he dragged some friends to a concert once. They said it was "pretty good" but they didn't understand why they had to "tune their instruments for half an hour in the middle."

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Okay, a little mystery also for today. After the Toxic Club, my
brother and I got a strawberry limeade at a little drive inn, and drove around this Conservation Area, but then we start seeing this fence with these signs, it's like 8 foot tall with lots of the fence totally blacked out, and these signs placed on them that say:

Saline Valley Ranch, No Hunting, No Trespassing

This fence went for miles, and miles had to be incredibly pricey to put in, it reminded me of the fence they'd have at a minimum security prison, but we didn't see cows, horses, crops, nothing but woods and hills and miles and miles of giant fence.

We try to find information about what it is, but there's basically nothing. My husband looks it up on Google Earth, and finds Little Saline Ranch, and I look it up, and it says permanently closed, and even less information is available about that. Google Earth shows lots of wooded land, a lake, and a few open fields, but we couldn't see any buildings or animals, nothing like that.

So, looking up that I find this article about mysterious happenings in the area:

https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/local/2018/10/31/hunting-ghosts-miller-county-other/9408986007

It mentions several people seeing a Bigfoot type cryptid in the area, so obviously the fence is to keep it in. My other guesses involve a government blacksite, as it isn't too far from and airforce base, or a doomsday cult, what do you all think?

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr I saw something like this once years ago and then eventually we found one sign on the fence with one of those radioactive warning icons. And finally after some digging we learned the fence was keeping us out of a contaminated site in the middle of nowhere.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Have you ever met someone who lies all the time, but doesn't seem to realize they are lying?

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr I see you’ve met my father.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Why do you think so many people are obsessed with murder?

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr @notroot @Jennifer You might like the book “The Anatomy of Violence” by Adrain Raine. It goes deep into this very question and is fascinating, eye-opening, sad, and empathy-inducing.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Okay, so last night I was on a date, and I asked hubs what he was up to at work, and he told me he learned Python, so he could write a program to help people troubleshoot computer problems on their own.

I ask him, "You're creating a program to replace yourself?"

Apparently, just the boring easy stuff he doesn't want to deal with, because he has better ideas about how he wants to use his time at work.

Is this what you smart people do all day?!

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr Sort of. This comic captures the dynamic more precisely:

https://xkcd.com/974/

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

I'm going to ramble a bit, but it will hopefully come around to something. When I was growing up, I read a lot of older historical book series, a big one would be the Little House On The Prairie series. While I really enjoyed it, there are some very obviously negative portrayals of Native Americans and African Americans. I remember being angry about it as a kid, and my Dad telling me, that part of learning about history is that we have to acknowledge the people we were, and still are. But because Little House on the Prairie is only semi-autobiographical, I still have mixed feelings about this. I do think they are well written books by a female author, an interesting perspective on early American life, and as an adult I can see and acknowledge the issues with the text. If we try to get rid of every author with racist ideas there wouldn't be much left to read from the 20th Century, and it also feels like being dishonest about who we are. So, I'm very mixed, how do you all feel about it? Do you think children can handle books with racial issues like this if it's explained to them? What is our responsibility here?

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr Not about children per se but you might enjoy the book The Great White Bard by Farah Karim-Cooper. She grapples with this question as it relates to Shakespeare.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Please Social Media Scientists, tell me why smacking booties is so fun?!

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr It’s an evolutionary trait. When early humans first began to walk upright, it became harder to run away from predators. They would sometimes smack each others butts to help hurry everyone along when the lions were after them.

In this way communities who liked engaging in butt smacking had higher survival rates.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

How To Do A Backflip:

Step 1: Do a backflip.

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr Do a front flip backwards.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

You're at the Frozen Yogurt place, what flavors and toppings do you choose?

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr Vanilla yogurt with fresh berries and sliced almonds. This is the way.

gwcoffey, to random
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

My wife sends me these dinosaur comics sometimes to remind me how lucky I am to have her.

paninid, to random
@paninid@mastodon.world avatar

is a learned skill.

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@paninid I feel like there’s a valid corollary here: Some people don’t speak with the intent to be understood, they speak with the intent to elicit a response.

Which is to say seeking to understand and not responding can be acts of rebellion.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Y'all, did you know there's a sex move with genitals in mouth?!

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr I'm blown away by this.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Have y'all ever had someone act like you were hurting them somehow by just liking a food?

Any time I buy or make kimchi, my Mom says it's so gross and she doesn't want any and just on and on. I never offer it to her, or make group food with it, but for some reason she seems offended by it, and I don't know why.

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@RickiTarr I’ve definitely seen this. I get the sense that sometimes people who identify as “not picky” react this way because they feel self conscious about it even though nobody is judging them.

gwcoffey, to random
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

I need a neuroscientist to tell me what is going on in the brain when we use the wrong word.

I just called my glasses "my headlights". Sometimes I accidentally call a pillow case a "cookie sheet".

I just feel like something interesting is going on in there to make funny misattributions like this.

paninid, to philosophy
@paninid@mastodon.world avatar

The options of a philosopher-king: or

Human beings exist for the sake of one another: so either teach them or endure them

http://inaniludibrio.com/2024/04/12/the-options-of-a-stoic-philosopher-king-coach-or-suffer/

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@paninid This reminds me of a great story in Jill Lepore's book The Mansion of Happiness where Fred Taylor of Taylorism fame went before a congressional committee to promote his views and the committee chairman wasn't having it.

I read this book more than 10 years ago and his mic drop "…for whose benefit society is organized" is still ringing in my brain.

paninid, to Parenting
@paninid@mastodon.world avatar

It turns out there are a lot more people who have violence in their hearts than you think.

That is the detail I’ll always struggle to rationally explain to my kids.

gwcoffey,
@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com avatar

@paninid I sometimes have to remind myself that violence meant survival for most hominids for a million years and then like a thousand years ago we started to sort of feel like maybe we shouldn’t.

In fact just the other day I was thinking about how ill-adapted I am to survival in harsh conditions and how well adapted I am to survival in the modern socio-economy and how not all asteroids fall from the sky.

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