@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

mkristensson

@mkristensson@urbanists.social

Husband, Father, Family Quartermaster and IT Guy

Semi-retired software engineer who has worked on enterprise, SaaS and mobile software for 25 years.

Interested in projects that house and move move people because cars ruin cities.

Skier (nordic, AT, downhill), Biker, Runner, Triathlete

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

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

Reddit's 'Squat Plug' Joke Is Now Google AI's Fitness Advice

https://lifehacker.com/tech/reddits-squat-plug-joke-is-now-google-ai-fitness-advice

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@lauren they may not be an essential piece of weightlifting equipment but I hear they’re essential in competitive chess ♟️ https://www.npr.org/2023/09/26/1201734274/chess-hans-niemann-anal-beads-cheating

ai6yr, to random
@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org avatar

Reuters: Orcas sink sailing yacht in Strait of Gibraltar https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/14/travel/orcas-sink-sailing-yacht-gibraltar-intl-scli-scn/index.html

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@ai6yr the orcas haven’t started attacking boats as far east as Barcelona (yet) but with the America’s Cup races happening there later this year it would make for interesting sport if the sailors have to also brave attacks from below the water

ai6yr, to tesla
@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org avatar

If you're wondering why warranty repairs on your Tesla are taking so long, report that ALL warranty repairs there have to be personally approved by Mr. Musk 😂 https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/1cnp13y/elon_himself_wtf/

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@ai6yr That sounds like a company on the verge of bankruptcy that is worried about every single last penny

LeftistLawyer, to random
@LeftistLawyer@kolektiva.social avatar

Serious question, please boost for reach.

I’m a 50+ white male.

How many old white guys out there would be willing join a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to oppose old white guys in positions of power? How many people would be willing to provide financial support for the same?

Nothing like this currently exists in the U.S. and I think it could be a damn effective form of protest. Personally, I’m sick and tired of seeing old fucking white guys in power everywhere I turn. Am I an aberration?

Oh, and despite thinking of myself as a bit of wordsmith, I’m admittedly terrible at acronym generation. What’s a good name for an organization pursuing said mission?

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@LeftistLawyer was tried a few years ago and didn’t go very far http://canyounot.org/

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

This evening on my usual Monday national network radio network tech segment, I'll be discussing the smashing, burning, and total destruction of a Waymo robotaxi in San Francisco a couple of nights ago by an angry crowd. Has the anti-robot rebellion begun?

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@lauren I view this as more of anti-car protest than an anti-robot one. It was clear cars were not welcome at this event and the waymo car violated that (yes because it is a crappy robot car). Since no one was inside, the crowd could attack without hurting anyone.

film_girl, to random
@film_girl@mastodon.social avatar

Here is my continued discomfort with the Apple Vision Pro and how its announcement/roll-out has gone: In every single way, this is a dev kit, which I think is completely valid and is the proper positioning for a device like this at this stage. But Apple, while somewhat positioning it like a dev kit in terms of price/release/how it can be tried out, continues to market this as a direct to consumer device. You cannot be both, and I cannot stress this enough. You cannot be both.

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@film_girl this is a dev kit and will be for several years. Apple is trying to prime the supplier pump for the glasses because they cannot currently make the product they actually want to ship. I feel bad for the developers and customers who are buying (into) this expecting it to be a big deal now cuz this is a 3-8 year effort by Apple

peter, to random
@peter@thepit.social avatar

gotta say, email, VPN, password manager, and cloud storage for the whole family for $20/month is a Pretty Good Deal @protonmail

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@peter @protonmail wow, they added a password manager…I’m going to check that out cuz I’m paying for three separate services for all that…and all three are enshitifying themselves in various ways that I don’t like

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@protonmail I’m actually least interested in email and more interested in your password manager, cloud storage, vpn, etc. Any chance you’ve got a good solution for contacts shared by a family???

ai6yr, to random
@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org avatar

In more random adventures in forced home remodeling: our Good: kitchen is wired for 220V! (apparently built in the 1970's war between electric and gas). Can put in an induction range/stove if we want!
Bad: HOLY CARP HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE PRICES FOR INDUCTION RANGES/STOVES?!

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@ai6yr Not only does it not need wi-fi, it shouldn't even HAVE wi-fi because smart appliances that you don't connect to the internet can still be a security risk. Security researchers have shown it's possible to directly connect to some smart appliances from outside the house when those devices aren't hooked up to a wi-fi network. So, damned if you do connect them to the internet and damned if you don’t

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@cshishido @ai6yr yup they are trying but so far people aren’t playing along cuz most don’t connect their appliances https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/01/half-of-smart-appliances-remain-disconnected-from-internet-makers-lament/

mbonsma, to random
@mbonsma@mastodon.social avatar

We moved to a house with no ductwork and now we have a heat pump. I'm at a complete loss as to how I will dry my kid's winter gear without one of these! Anyone have tips?

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@mbonsma we use something like this, which works great for us. The one caveat is that we live in a very dry climate https://www.plowhearth.com/freestanding-tubular-steel-14-branch-mitten-drying-tree/p/83300

shoq, to random
@shoq@mastodon.social avatar

I couldn’t sleep, but it had a good outcome. I stumbled upon the worst zombie movie ever made. Possibly the worst movie ever made. A remake of what was already a runner-up for that title: Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005). It’s so bad, you can’t stop watching to see how much worse it will get. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaDI4LnFE_Q

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@shoq most people don’t realize that most movies are financed similar to the way start up tech companies are: by raising funds from investors. If you invest enough you become an executive producer for the film. The direct to video movies are the ones that a distributor won’t pick up to go into the theaters, similar to a failed start up they are simply trying to recoup as much money as they can

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@shoq I only learned this a few years ago when a buddy invested in a film and started hitting up his friend group to attend a showing and wanted us to talk up the movie afterwards. I always thought the movie studios drove the process from the beginning

ai6yr, to random
@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org avatar

I once again, forgot the (stupid) rules of the American male.

  1. Never admit you are wrong.
  2. If people challenge you, double down, and double down again.
  3. If they still disagree with you, get personal ("Your mother was a hamster!")
  4. The best defense is a good offense.
  5. Listening to other people is for LOSERS!
  6. Changing your mind is a sign of weakness.
  7. It's always the other person's fault!
  8. The world is against you if they don't agree! You are the victim!

😉

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@ai6yr the collapse of twitter has really exposed a lot of people (mostly men) that I followed for their good content (weather, science, news, software) as being far more vainglorious than I thought they were. All of us are adjusting to a new social media landscape and complaints/frustrations are normal, but the inflexibility and tantrums are just pathetic

DrTCombs, to random
@DrTCombs@transportation.social avatar

So anyway, here's my question:

Has your kid's school banned particular movements during recess, "for your child's safety?"
Our kid reports that cartwheels, handstands, and backbends are now forbidden, even when done in wide open spaces. I'm pretty perturbed about this for a whole lot of reasons, and am looking for advice on how to approach the school.

*caveat that yes, I have confirmed from others that my kid isn't making this up.

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@DrTCombs that’s really messed up. Kids (and humans in general) will keep piling on risk when you forcibly try to limit the risk. Kids fall off slides so they made the slides into tunnels. What do kids do? Climb on top of the tunnels of course! Same applies to helmets in football and automobile safety features. Kids need to test risk boundaries and the lower the risk threshold the better, so basic body movement like cartwheels is about as low as you can get

drahardja, to random
@drahardja@sfba.social avatar

I occasionally encounter people who still think that voting 3rd party in the US is a good idea; that it’s a way for them to express support for a maverick candidate; or that it’s an effective way to express dissatisfaction with their preferred major party.

There’s one really big problem with that: the system most widely used in the US is INCAPABLE OF CAPTURING THAT KIND OF NUANCE. You may think you’re sending a message when you vote 3rd party, but the system quantizes your vote and essentially turns it into a vote AGAINST THE MAJOR PARTY MOST ALIGNED WITH YOU.

Unless the voting system is changed to capture voter nuance (e.g. ), you should NEVER vote 3rd party. Hold your nose and vote for the lesser evil. Realize that 3rd party candidates are usually funded explicitly to siphon votes away from a major party. Don’t fall for it.

CGPGrey made a video that I find invaluable in explaining why this is the case. Please give it a watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@arroz @drahardja there are a lot of issues with the US system, but they all effectively boil down to the same problem: Americans are forced to join a pre-election coalition which forces a system that has 2 and only 2 parties. And those two parties are forced to effectively compete for a narrow slice of “moderate” yet consistent voters

ai6yr, to environment
@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org avatar

CBS: Climate change-fueled disasters push homeowners insurance marketplace to extremes With 23 extreme weather events costing more than $1 billion each in losses so far this year, many private insurance companies are pulling out of states like California and Florida altogether. This is leaving homeowners with few choices to protect their most valuable assets. https://www.cbsnews.com/video/climate-change-fueled-disasters-push-homeowners-insurance-marketplace-to-extremes/

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@ai6yr I’m beginning to wonder when the wave of insurance company policy changes might make renting a better long term bet than homeownership

w7voa, to random
@w7voa@journa.host avatar

This morning on the social media platform formerly known as : https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/donald-trump-jr-twitter-hacked-donald-trump-dead-1235728757/

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@ai6yr seems like “luvmycoke” was a bad password choice for him

briankrebs, to random

Why doesn't Apple make a TV? They would own that space. Half the people I know would happily buy one, if it meant no spyware, user choice, and never buying another "smart" TV again. Even if the cost was 2x normal smart tv.

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@briankrebs plus it’s becoming increasingly clear that only a handful of companies (Apple, Google, MS, and a few others) are really capable of making and updating internet connected OSes to keep them secure.

arstechnica, to random
@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar

Tesla Cybertruck’s bad build quality “shows up like a sore thumb,” Musk says

After driving a production prototype, Musk told his workers to do better.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/08/tesla-cybertrucks-bad-build-quality-shows-up-like-a-sore-thumb-musk-says/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@arstechnica Almost as if a bong water stained napkin is not a design spec that leads to a quality product

glightly, to random
@glightly@mastodon.social avatar

Question (the intent of which is not to be negative, but highlight gaps people can try to fill): What "content" did you used to get elsewhere that you wish there were some/more accounts here that created that? Please boost and reply below:

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@glightly weather, especially breaking severe weather info. The wx hashtags (eg #cowx) were amazing for this on twitter.

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@glightly @ai6yr i am now 😜 Thanks for the tip. I hope a few more of the TV meteorologists start posing here because they provide a critical mass for weather info

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

🤔 Do bicycles create empathy? Or do people that care about other people, tend to care about bikes?

Why is there such a big overlap between "bike infrastructure radicalized people," and "people that care about people that are different than themselves?"

Why is there such a low overlap between "people with trash hateful takes" and "people that want more bike infrastructure?"

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@mekkaokereke turn your question around: why so cars turn people into sociopaths? It’s because you are isolated from the world around you and don’t hear or make eye contact with anyone outside your car. I’ve become convinced that cars are the biggest threat facing democratic societies because of the isolation and entitlement they engender

bikepedantic, to random
@bikepedantic@transportation.social avatar

Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) are good, and places should do them...

But exclusive ped phases (widely found here in Eastern MA, rare elsewhere AFAIK) are true all-ages signal ops.

Why don't we talk more about them?

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@DrTCombs @peter @owen @LhasaCM @bikepedantic here in Denver the cops are effectively on strike after BLM and don’t enforce any traffic laws. Fortunately the state of CO just passed legislation that will allow cities to add a lot more automated enforcement (ie red light and speed cameras) and Denver is considering moving most of the enforcement out of the police dept and under the city DOT, which seems like the right direction. But it’ll take years for that to make any difference

futurebird, (edited ) to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Which country has the most pyramids? (no cheating)

mkristensson,
@mkristensson@urbanists.social avatar

@futurebird US if you count pyramid schemes

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