rayckeith

rayckeith, 17 hours ago to random

"Google quietly added something else to its results—a “Web” filter that presents what Google used to look like a decade ago, no extra junk. While Google made its AI-focused changes known on its biggest stage—during its Google I/O event—the Web filter was curiously announced on Twitter by Search Liaison Danny Sullivan."

https://tedium.co/2024/05/17/google-web-search-make-default/

rayckeith, 17 hours ago to random

finished watching #Upload season 3 and it has something of a clifhanger ending.

almost muted a commercial that was part of the show.

hopefully it gets a new season but I'm not hearing any buzz about it.

rayckeith, 17 hours ago to random

A given call might contain information about a suspicious figure’s identity (“hawk!” “coyote!”), speed of approach, and size—or, if they happen to be a nosy researcher, their height and the color of their shirt. These messages are responded to with the appropriate behavior—craning a neck for a wheeling falcon, diving into a burrow for a close-by dog. By hanging cutout shapes above a prairie dog colony, UFO-style, Slobodchikoff and his colleagues learned that the rodents can even differentiate between circles and triangles (although not, for whatever reason, between circles and squares).

“It has been unfashionable in scientific circles to refer to animal communication systems as language,” says Slobodchikoff. Plenty of people consider language to be unique to our own species. But to him, the prairie dogs clear the bar, exhibiting “all the elements that linguists say you have to find,” from sounds that carry distinct meanings to the capacity for expressing new combinations of thoughts.

rayckeith, 17 hours ago to random

"Here in Boston, we call such incidents “Storrowings”, after the crosstown route where they most frequently occur. In the years since my previous post, neither the design of Storrow Drive nor the bridges that span it have changed, so it’s not surprising that the calamities have continued unabated.

"Local brewery Trillium even has a beer called “Storrowed”, named for the phenomenon."

https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/05/17/maximizing-those-marketing-dollars/

rayckeith, 22 hours ago to random

Sony Music opts out of AI training for its entire catalog | Ars Technica

"Sony Music is sending warning letters to more than 700 artificial intelligence developers and music streaming services globally in the latest salvo in the music industry’s battle against tech groups ripping off artists.

The Sony Music letter, which has been seen by the Financial Times, expressly prohibits AI developers from using its music—which includes artists such as Harry Styles, Adele and Beyoncé—and opts out of any text and data mining of any of its content for any purposes such as training, developing or commercializing any AI system.

Sony Music is sending the letter to companies developing AI systems including OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Suno and Udio, according to those close to the group."
https://www.ft.com/content/c5b93b23-9f26-4e6b-9780-a5d3e5e7a409

rayckeith, 1 day ago to random

A lot of adults have lost their immunity to whooping cough. It won't kill adults (usually), but it will kill babies and children. Update your vaccinations, please! https://mastodon.world/@shonin/112454680051500375

rayckeith, 1 day ago (edited 1 day ago) to random

Thread by @SethAbramson https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1791200413749817367.html

long explanation why Trump's defense doesn't seem to make sense (it's designed to confuse the jury.)

"Suffice to say, for now, that every single way this case has been handled so far benefits Donald Trump.

Literally every single way.

And I need to briefly cover that.

"13/ This case can be termed Trump’s Falsifying Business Records case (the misdemeanor statute that led to the 34 charges thereafter quite appropriately elevated to felonies for the reason cited above) or his Election Fraud Conspiracy case (the statutory basis for elevation).

"14/ Under no circumstances—ever—could a responsible media outlet operating under the journalistic ethics I taught for years as a journalism professor at University of New Hampshire call this a hush-money case."

rayckeith, 1 day ago to random

if someone can publish (this dreck I just read), then I should be able publish my book.

rayckeith, 1 day ago to random

How did sabre-toothed tigers acquire their long upper canine teeth? | ScienceDaily

"Despite the relatively recent extinction of sabre-toothed forms 'only' a few thousand years ago, feline predators have in fact been in decline since the Miocene epoch (between -23 and -5 million years ago). "Some of these feline predators, particularly the sabre-toothed species, rapidly occupied fairly specialised niches, which made them more susceptible to extinction," explains Dr Tamagnini. This phenomenon, known as 'ratchet' or macroevolutionary ratchet, has been proposed as a potential driver for the decline of certain groups."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/05/240516122644.htm

rayckeith, 2 days ago to random

Election Countdown, 176 Days to Go: ‘Hot dogs. Let's talk about hot dogs.’

"2) And speaking of a guy in a bar …

Among Donald Trump’s virtues is that he does not drink. That is useful to remember in considering his current speaking style. On Saturday night Deb and I sat through the nearly two-hour entirety of his rally performance at Wildwood, on the Jersey shore, as televised by Fox. The whole thing is archived here, courtesy of Right Side Broadcasting."
https://fallows.substack.com/p/election-countdown-176-days-to-go

rayckeith, 2 days ago to random

Texas school board member disavows the far-right platform she campaigned on | The Texas Tribune

"After Gore reviewed hundreds of pages of the school curriculum, she was shocked that the pervasive indoctrination she had railed against as a candidate did not exist. She has since helped form a group that supports Republican candidates who have been alienated by the local GOP’s far-right faction. Shelby Tauber for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune normal
Gore’s open defiance of far-right GOP orthodoxy represents an unusual sign of independence in a state and in a party that experts say increasingly punish those deemed disloyal. It particularly stands out at a time when Republican leaders are publicly attacking elected officials who do not support direct funding to private schools."
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-granbury-isd-school-board-courtney-gore/

rayckeith, 3 days ago to random

In this episode of Amazon Prime series #Upload the main characters are stealing "gigabytes" from other uploaded dead people, to give to poor uploads who are rate-limited to 2 gigs/month. Then my tv lost its connection to the internet.

rayckeith, 3 days ago to classicalmusic

https://youtu.be/gDm4IphrlYg?si=wJLHPjPBWdzhAhvr

J. S. Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D minor on the glass harp
#classical #music #bach

rayckeith, 4 days ago to random

What Will Americans Do When Birth Control is Illegal?
https://hartmannreport.com/p/what-will-americans-do-when-birth-bc8

rayckeith, 5 days ago to random

Understanding the Teapot Dome Scandal of the 1920s

History doesn't repeat but it rhymes.

"Blatant corruption was discovered, denials were made, hearings were held on Capitol Hill, and all the time reporters and photographers swarmed the scene. By the time it was over, some of the characters stood trial and were convicted. Yet the system changed very little.

The story of Teapot Dome was essentially the tale of an unqualified and inept president, surrounded by larcenous underlings. An unusual cast of characters took power in Washington following the turbulence of World War I, and Americans who thought they were returning to normal life instead found themselves following a saga of thievery and deception."
https://www.thoughtco.com/teapot-dome-scandal-4158547

rayckeith, 6 days ago (edited 6 days ago) to random

"While it may seem harmless if #AI systems cheat at games, it can lead to "breakthroughs in deceptive AI capabilities" that can spiral into more advanced forms of AI deception in the future, Park added.

"Some AI systems have even learned to cheat tests designed to evaluate their safety, the researchers found. In one study, AI organisms in a digital simulator "played dead" in order to trick a test built to eliminate AI systems that rapidly replicate.

"By systematically cheating the safety tests imposed on it by human developers and regulators, a deceptive AI can lead us humans into a false sense of security," says Park."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/05/240510111440.htm

rayckeith, 7 days ago to random

"Trump Trial Prosecutors Reveal Alleged Hush Money Deal to Trump Crony Allen Weisselberg"

"In a turn that is oh-so-meta, a brand new hush money deal is now at the center of attention in Donald Trump’s ongoing hush money trial: $750,000 that prosecutors say the business mogul is dangling above Allen Weisselberg’s head to keep him testifying against his former boss.

"For the first time on Friday, prosecutors disclosed the strict terms of a severance agreement that the Trump Organization used to promise more than $1 million to its outgoing chief financial officer—as long as he kept his mouth shut."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-trial-prosecutors-reveal-alleged-hush-money-deal-to-trump-crony-allen-weisselberg

rayckeith, 7 days ago to random

New York Times Pitchbot:

"A second Trump term may involve suspension of the Constitution, the purging of the civil service, and the military deployed in American streets. But what will it mean for gas prices?"

rayckeith, 8 days ago to random

Trump May Have Just Violated His Gag Order with Alina Habba’s Stormy Attacks - MeidasTouch News

"The gag order issued by Justice Merchan bars Donald Trump from “making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding.” It can be reasonably construed that Donald Trump directed Habba to attack the witness, Stormy Daniels, due to the fact that she was acting as an official mouthpiece for Donald Trump. Habba’s title was even listed on the Hannity chyron, which read, “FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S LEGAL SPOKESWOMAN.”
https://meidasnews.com/news/trump-may-have-just-violated-his-gag-order-with-alina-habbas-stormy-attacks

rayckeith, 8 days ago to random

Debugging

I think "bugs" in engineering predates computers. (this idea is not based on this cartoon.)

https://mastodon.social/@nancycomics/112414256615541900

rayckeith, 8 days ago to random

Trump promised to scrap climate laws if US oil bosses donated $1bn – report | Donald Trump | The Guardian

"Trump promised to 20 executives at Mar-a-Lago dinner to increase oil drilling and reverse pollution rules among other pitches"
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/09/trump-oil-ceo-donation

rayckeith, 8 days ago to esperanto

https://youtu.be/Ei9gedegOzE?si=sVftzCG0AtdbVpye

"Correlatives #Esperanto Lesson"

#english

rayckeith, 9 days ago to random

"tycoons like Jeff Bezos live off their wealth. In 2019, when Mr. Bezos was still Amazon’s chief executive, he took home an annual salary of just $81,840. But he owns roughly 10 percent of the company, which made a profit of $30 billion in 2023.

…

"Unless Mr. Bezos, Warren Buffett or Elon Musk sell their stock, their taxable income is relatively minuscule. But they can still make eye-popping purchases by borrowing against their assets. Mr. Musk, for example, used his shares in Tesla as collateral to rustle up around $13 billion in tax-free loans to put toward his acquisition of Twitter."

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/03/opinion/global-billionaires-tax.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pk0.Gj_O.XGUgkTNHp0k3

rayckeith, 10 days ago to random

Opinion | Trump’s sleepiness in court shows his weakness and vulnerability - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/05/07/trump-sleeping-trial-new-york/

rayckeith, 10 days ago to random

Thread by @RealPatrickWebb

"Newly obtained internal documents reveal that the Washington, DC, police have been paying for and using online surveillance tools to monitor citizens' social media activity and track geo-locations…

"An email below from 2015, shows that Babel Street provided the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, a fusion center to which the police belong, a list of people who had been present in both Baltimore & Ferguson, Missouri, during protests against police brutality, revealing they were tracking their social media accounts, and geo-locating them.

A fusion center analyst then shared the list with DC police department personnel.

This list of people flagged by the company included a veteran, a student, and a public school teacher."
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1787963522686517626.html