@ovid@fosstodon.org
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ovid

@ovid@fosstodon.org

Well-known software developer. American living in France.

I have a poetic license to kill.

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AkaSci, to space
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

Preparations for NASA’s Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test Launch are in progress.

Launch time: 12:25 pm ET

"The two NASA astronauts aboard, flight commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams, will test the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system, including launch, docking, and return to Earth. After a one-week stay docked to the International Space Station, the Starliner and crew will land under parachutes in the western United States."

https://youtu.be/aEi5boWupRk

1/n

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

@AkaSci Do we know what time NASA is planning on scrubbing this launch today?

ovid, to opensource
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

Using on a Mac and ... it won't edit photos any more. I tried resetting, reinstalling, searching the web like mad. Can open photos and do almost anything I want, including adjusting levels, but literally nothing using the edit buttons works, so no image editing 😢

(Exception: bucket fill works if I'm not in gradient mode, but it fills with the background color, not the foregound).

Anyone have any ideas?

ovid, to ai
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

I can't imagine working without GenAI any more. I often write quick bash scripts to automate things, but for some reason, the syntax always falls out of my head and I'm constantly looking things up.

Now I just hit ChatGPT and ask it to write the script for me. With the latest version, is usually works perfectly the first time, so long as I craft a good prompt. This is a huge productivity boost.

#AI #GenAI #LLM #Copilot #ChatGPT

ovid, to random
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

Y'all ever notice how fascist fucks are constantly banging on about the rule of law ... until it applies to them?

ovid, to random
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

I think one the best things about AI today is I'm hearing a lot less about blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

That alone is a vast improvement in my quality of life.

ovid, to meta
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

So #Meta is expanding their #AI features on #Facebook and I was presented with the following. It states I have a "right to object." The next sentence begins with "if your objection is honored...."

WTF? I have a right to object but they get to decide if they want to honor it? What kind of "right" is that? Did they mistype, "You have the slight possibility to object"

To really drive home the "fuck you" nature of this, I clicked on the "right to object" link.

"This form isn’t available."

Screenshot of the Facebook page received after I clicked the "Right to object" link. It reads: This form isn't available. This form is only available to people in certain regions who have an active Facebook account. Make sure you log into your Facebook account and then try again.

ovid, to random
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

I've been think a lot about how often people who demand action on climate change, but only if someone else is inconvenienced. I think I've found a synergy of ideas that helps with this.

Some of this is odious and predictable, such as oil companies agreeing that something must be done, so long as it doesn't hurt their record-breaking profits. 1/9

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

Or there's the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank heavily funded by the Koch brothers, which has criticized UBI as a "neo-liberal strategy for serfdom" that would increase dependence on the state and centralize power.

The ultra-rich very much object to UBI for two reasons. First, they would be taxed more. Second, UBI means it's much easier for you to leave an abusive job. Amazon fulfilment centers—which offer jobs without fulfilment—would see employees quit en masse. 8/9

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

You still have to work, but UBI is enough, with even a small income, to meet your basic needs.

Or for some, they could pool resources and share a small house. Not great, but imagine more communal living, where you and your extended family and/or friends are there to help the children grow and thrive. Extended families used to be a thing and they can be a thing again.

The main obstacle against UBI? To make it work, taxes must be progressive. 6/9

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

Those who will pay the most are those who need the money the least. People like accelerationist billionaire Marc Andreeson who wrote in his Techno-Optimist Manifesto, “We believe a Universal Basic Income would turn people into zoo animals to be farmed by the state.” Naturally, he never bothered to explain what he meant by that, or offer any evidence that this is true. 7/9

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

She can't clothe anyone with it.

If that single mother had food, clothing, and shelter guaranteed, regardless of whether or not she could drive, that would change the entire climate debate. Macron could have raised those taxes and the real complaints of the people would largely be moot.

Enter . It's not a perfect solution because no UBI solution I've seen is a replacement income. But now you have a choice. 5/9

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

For many of us, higher gas prices are an annoyance. For a single mother of two who needs her car to get to work, higher gas prices could lead to unemployment. Thus, the "Gilet Jaunes" (yellow vests) protests across France. Demand for fuel is, in the short run, inelastic.

Thus, one of the strongest tools against climate change is taken off the table, right?

Not really. That single mother doesn't want fuel. She can't feed fuel to her children. She can't pay the rent with it. 4/9

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

When French President Macron introduced higher fuel taxes, it was with a laudable goal that if petrol/gas costs more, people will drive less. However, that misses out a key point from economics: it assumes the demand for petrol is elastic. For example, if the price of ice cream is twice as high, people will buy less. The demand for ice cream is thus elastic. However, the demand for insulin is inelastic because if you need insulin and don't get it, you risk death.

But fuel for your car? 3/9

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

They've also got a lot of politicians in their pocket because when those pols are out of office, they'll get a cushy board role or lobbying position if they're willing to vote the right way while they're still in office.

But those are the obvious problems who make the news. What about the vast majority of people? People like us who need to have food, clothing, and shelter? We're a less obvious problem. 2/9

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

@wordshaper Expanding public transportation effectively might take many years. That means infrastructure must be built out, organizational structures grown, and convincing people to change habits. I don't think it solves as many issues as UBI could.

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

"Visionaries at NASA identified a futuristic new energy source (space billionaire egos) and found a way to tap it on a fixed-cost basis"— ouch!

The Lunacy of Artemis (Idle Words), or why the Artemis moon program is incoherent, badly designed bollocks that will probably kill astronauts.
https://idlewords.com/2024/5/the_lunacy_of_artemis.htm

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

@cstross OK, I'm going to retract my previous comment. While I generally like idlewords, I think he missed the mark here (somewhat).

In reality, much of the mess of the Artemis program is due to Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama. He forced NASA to use outdated technology because it brought the pork to Alabama.

In fairness, the program was started before commercial launch seemed viable, but after it was clear there were alternatives, Shelby said "no."

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/so-long-richard-shelby-and-thanks-for-all-the-pork/

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

@glitzersachen @cstross I'm not so sure about that. Look at the proposal for reaching Mars they created after Bush Sr. asked them to go to Mars.

The program seemed designed to please everyone in NASA and NASA thought they could get Congress to cough up half a trillion dollars (over 20-30 years). The proposal was laughed out of Congress.

NASA's excellency is because everything, politically, must work the FIRST time. That forces costs to explode instead of rockets.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Exploration_Initiative

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

@glitzersachen @cstross OK, that reply was too brief and doesn't even do this topic justice. Let's just say that NASA is in a political grinder (grindr?) where they have to please everyone if they want funding and SpaceX's agile, vertically integrated approach to rockets is better suited for developing technology while minimizing costs.

However, it absolutely does not fit political needs because it doesn't spread jobs across the US (like Blue Origin is trying).

Still too brief 🤨

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

@glitzersachen @cstross

There's a point that many are completely unaware of: NASA is part of the executive branch of the US government. They are legally obliged to execute the will of the President. Even if they don't like that will, they're are bound by it.

The head of NASA is always a political appointee and they have to follow the line or get replaced by someone who will.

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

@hittitezombie @glitzersachen @cstross They had slightly less than a decade to get someone on the moon and the country was (more or less) supportive of the program.

There's an argument that Kennedy's assassination meant a country in mourning supported his legacy. Couple that with "better dead than red" cold-war paranoia and the US was prepared to tolerate quite a bit.

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

@cstross @hittitezombie @glitzersachen I assume you've read idlewords post on that topic. https://idlewords.com/2005/08/a_rocket_to_nowhere.htm

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

@hittitezombie @glitzersachen @cstross What's that about the Viking biology tests? To this day, we still don't have a good way to test for life (assembly theory might help here, but not everyone agrees). I'll give 'em a pass on the Viking missions because it was one of the first times we could try science like this, so we didn't know what to look for.

That being said, I'd love to hear a difference of opinion.

ovid,
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

@glitzersachen @cstross I'm not sure, but I say that without having done a deep dive on Nelson, Bridenstine, Bolden, and others.

I have the vague opinion that the post is offered as a sincecure for someone at the end of their career, but I have ZERO confidence that I'm right (I suspect I'm dead wrong, but I don't know). However, if it's anything close to the truth, would they be either:

  1. Less worried about their career?
  2. Less able to understand the role?
ovid, to random
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

Hey, devs. Do you use DBIx::Class::Schema::Loader? Do you also use Perl::Tidy? You can get disappointed if Perl::Tidy reformats the dbic files, so drop this in your .perltidyrc to stop that:

Ignore DBIC-generated content

--format-skipping-begin='#(<<<| DO NOT MODIFY THE FIRST PART OF THIS FILE)'
--format-skipping-end='#(>>>| DO NOT MODIFY THIS OR ANYTHING ABOVE!)'

ovid, to Lisp
@ovid@fosstodon.org avatar

, , and are three powerful programming languages that share a common feature.

Nobody knows how the hell to capitalize them.

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