@karabaic@mastodon.social
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karabaic

@karabaic@mastodon.social

John Karabaic's account. he/him. BLM.

NYC MIT WPAFB CIN PDX, kinda in that order

Virtual plumber to https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic

Breakfast on the Bridges volunteer https://social.ridetrans.it/@bonbpdx

Working for tech companies since they made hardware.

The gurney is the reward, as my NeXT colleagues put it.

Expect book and media reviews, comments on science and technology policy, frequent #NoirAlley #TCMParty posts.

Banner from Leo Szilard: His Version of the Facts

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

georgetakei, to random

A calculated error.

karabaic,
@karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

@georgetakei if you don't watch out, those errors multiply

karabaic, to bookstodon
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Le Guin’s “The Wave of the Mind” is a good complement to Francine Prose's "Reading Like a Writer" and James Wood's "How Fiction Works". She emphasizes rhythm over word choice, says the rhythm picks the word, which is a different viewpoint than Francine Prose but somehow fits.

@bookstodon

karabaic, to bookstodon
@karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

chapter 8 of is one of the finest chapters of American English-language fiction ever written.

@bookstodon

karabaic,
@karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

@leapingwoman @bookstodon

It is an astounding work. Maybe it wasn't the right time for you to read it? I encourage you to try it again.

karabaic,
@karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

@bookstodon

In particular, I plan to take some of the exercises in Le Guin's "The Wave in the Mind" and apply them to chapter 8 so I can understand exactly what McBride did there. The rhythms and words that establish them are awe-inspiring.

Each chapter is different tonally, the rhythms and words adapted to the character it highlights.

alissaazar, to random
@alissaazar@kolektiva.social avatar

I wish you could see my face when I learned that border patrol in southern Texas has a surveillance blimp

karabaic,
@karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

@alissaazar its importance is inflated

karabaic,
@karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

@alissaazar It's a pun. Just doing the dad joke thing, apologies if it distracts!

karabaic, to random
@karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

The original "Turing Test" paper[1] has a section on ESP as an objection to the resolved proposition, "Machines can think."

[1] "Computing Machinery and Intelligence", AM Turing, Mind, Oct 1950, vol. LIX, no. 236

karabaic,
@karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

@emilymbender @alex You folks did so well dissecting the original Dartmouth proposal, might I suggest you record a show dissecting Turing's paper? It could be as entertaining. I'm certainly finding a lot in it, such as his assertion that a "child-brain" is "like a note-book...from the stationers. Rather little mechanism, and lots of blank sheets." Maybe Alison Gopnik as a guest? Could be an evergreen show you bank for an off week.

drcaberry, to random
@drcaberry@blacktwitter.io avatar

Lily∞Bright has LEDs and Photoresistor, NoireSTEMinist.com

video/mp4

karabaic,
@karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

@drcaberry Every time I see one of your posts showing folks how stuff works, it makes me smile! Keep on going!

lauren, to random
@lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org avatar

Shocked to discover that apparently there isn't a telephone company "at the tone the time will be" simulator on the Internet. Or if there is, I haven't found it yet. Shameful. A disgrace.

karabaic,
@karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

@lauren I am also incensed that there is no dial a joke

karabaic, to bookstodon
@karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

Oh, my friends, I know this is a review from 2 years ago, but if you have not read 's and 's cold intellectual rage transformed into ironically dry humor of the highest sort, you need to read their review of 's

@bookstodon

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2022/04/21/why-biology-is-not-destiny-genetic-lottery-kathryn-harden/

And then read the reply from the author, letters to the editor, and the author's just absolutely perfect replies.

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2022/06/09/why-biology-is-not-destiny-an-exchange/

karabaic, to bookstodon
@karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

The Sociology Book, one in the DK "Big Ideas" series, does a good job of explaining the core ideas in Sociology, and is an excellent complement to targeted reading & classes (such as Harvey Molotch's NYU class on Youtube).

I wish the index were better. I have a sneaking feeling a human indexer was not used, and a textbook is not a place to cut that corner.

@bookstodon

lauren, to random
@lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org avatar

Today's exciting hi-tech web research: Replacement toilet flappers. Definitely need Generative AI for this one.

karabaic,
@karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

@lauren well genai should be flushed

thepoliticalcat, to random
@thepoliticalcat@mastodon.social avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    karabaic,
    @karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

    @glasspusher @thepoliticalcat @SRDas .6 Kwh/mi according to a BlueSky post

    lauren, to random
    @lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org avatar

    HP CEO claims that "counterfeit" ink cartridges can spread malware. I've never heard of such a case. Have you? Pretty sure Brother doesn't have this problem with their tanks of ink you refill from bottles, unless some evil genus has figured out how to spread malware in liquid ink.

    karabaic,
    @karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

    @lauren HP cartridges have a chip attached to them with contacts that interface with the printer. The chips report ink level, manufacturer, etc, which is how "counterfeit" cartridges are detected by the printer.

    If there's a printer vulnerability that allows a hack from these chips, it's up to HP to fix it.

    karabaic,
    @karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

    @lauren Never seen a CERT on it, tbh, but wouldn't it be on the printer software itself?

    mekkaokereke, to random
    @mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

    They're talking about grade inflation at the Ivies again. And OK, fair. Everyone gets an A. But can we also talk about educator inflation? Educator inflation is a good thing! By educator inflation I mean: the typical educator at a top tier university today, is miles better at educating, than the typical educator at that same institution 50 years ago.

    The field of education is not static. There are constant advances in how material is presented, and how students are supported.

    karabaic,
    @karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

    @mark @mekkaokereke

    The gap correlates to my experience at MIT 40ya, but they didn't emphasize core skills offerings. I remember being gobsmacked that a declared EE major didn't know what a relay was until I realized that the only reason I knew was that my uncle and my neighbor taught me.

    donni, to random
    @donni@mastodon.social avatar

    After 1 AM I start to get sleepy, but if I push through that I can get several more hours of nothing done

    karabaic,
    @karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

    @donni that's a solid night of existential dread

    karabaic, to bookstodon
    @karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

    repost from BlueSky for @bookstodon

    Soon, The Language of the Night will be available once again! Ursula's 1979 collection of essays will be reissued by Scribner on May 14th, with a new introduction from author Ken Liu.

    https://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.bsky.social/post/3kib7af7hon2u

    More details: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Language-of-the-Night/Ursula-K-Le-Guin/9781668034903

    timnitGebru, to random
    @timnitGebru@dair-community.social avatar

    I continue to think about the disregard for Africans by any institution anywhere in the world, let alone African institutions. E.g., I see that South Africa is doing a suit against Israel, good!

    What stops it from doing the same for the millions of Africans who have been dealing with genocides on the continent, perpetuated by African governments?

    What mechanisms do these victims have for an ounce of justice or accountability?

    Thinking about this 2016 article by Nanjala https://thenewinquiry.com/eulogy-for-pan-africanism-long-live-man-africanism/

    karabaic,
    @karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

    @timnitGebru South Africa claims that the ICC has a selective prosecution bias against African nations, rarely pursuing cases outside Africa. There was a big deal last year about them almost withdrawing from the ICC over Putin's visit to the BRICS conference in SA. There's an ICC warrant out for Putin.

    This is explicitly a political move by them to get a non-African case in front of the Court to call out that alleged bias.

    tzimmer_history, to random
    @tzimmer_history@mastodon.social avatar

    On Substack’s Nazi Problem, and Ours

    Happy New Year! We are off to a depressing start with a reflection on how to navigate the moral quandaries of social media extremism and tech bro idiocy – and a plea to my readers to stick with me through it all.

    New piece:

    🧵1/

    https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/on-substacks-nazi-problem-and-ours

    karabaic,
    @karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

    @tzimmer_history You haven't yet mentioned that Substack is making money with and for nazis.

    karabaic, (edited )
    @karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

    @tzimmer_history just been reading the thread, not the post, and I did miss it. my apologies. I note it's an appositional mention, usually used to supplement a main point. Thematically, I think profiting belongs with promoting, and deserves more attention than you're giving it.

    thomasfuchs, (edited ) to random
    @thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io avatar

    We could have home-use tests like this—for pennies on the dollar—but we don’t because we have utterly corrupt political leadership having bullshitted everyone for decades, purely for personal gain.

    karabaic,
    @karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

    @thomasfuchs @tinfoilhat The 's dysfunctional, centralized approach to testing is detailed in 's and contrasted with the approach that worked better in the pandemic.

    It's more than just testing regulation, it has to do with billing and insurance, too.

    It's worth noting that this regulatory structure is what also kept the USA from widespread use of thalidomide for morning sickness in the 1950's.

    flexghost, to random
    @flexghost@mastodon.social avatar

    No politics today. No news.

    Just relax with auntie Flex and enjoy pre-game NYE vids and pics...

    thread 🧵

    1/

    karabaic,
    @karabaic@mastodon.social avatar

    @flexghost I would absolutely watch this video redone with the grown person

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