@stshank@mstdn.social
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

stshank

@stshank@mstdn.social

Head of Content at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a startup developing zero-carbon power plants to help fight climate change. Former science and technology journalist at CNET.

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

benjedwards, to random
@benjedwards@mastodon.social avatar

Clip art collections from the early 1990s are forgotten cultural time capsules, freezing life three decades ago as digital illustrations full of obsolete tech, vintage fashions, and more

I dug through clip art CDs to find fun examples:
https://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/3337/tech-time-capsule-early-1990s-clip-art-captured-an-era

Clip art example from the 1990s
Clip art example from the 1990s
Clip art example from the 1990s

stshank,
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

@benjedwards I haven't forgotten! The CDs with 500 knockoff TrueType fonts have aged better.

stshank, to random
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

AI image generation meets Roko's basilisk https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/art-6

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

I was so disappointed to see an episode of Abbot Elementary which assumed that tools purporting to detect "AI" generated text work 100%, given the number of students wrongfully accused of using ChatGPT because of these tools.

stshank,
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

@timnitGebru I'm hoping this AI technology shift eventually will help disabuse people of the idea that if a computer said it, it must be true.

Migueldeicaza, to random
@Migueldeicaza@mastodon.social avatar

Performance improvements in Safari.

1% here, 0.3% there and six months later you have a 30% boost on a mature codebase.

https://webkit.org/blog/15249/optimizing-webkit-safari-for-speedometer-3-0/

stshank,
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

@Migueldeicaza If only I could bear Safari's tab management, I might use it regularly. It just does not work for my needs.

tilde, to random
@tilde@infosec.town avatar

In addition to the one very polite (though sometimes loud) bird who lives inside the house, there are simply too many extremely loud birds who live in the garden and are on birdie-Tinder at the top of their tiny lungs at a truly unreasonable hour. Send help.

stshank,
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

@tilde My wife recalls this vividly from when we lived in the UK (in a village with trees and agriculture nearby). I suspect part of the issue for her was longer days vs. lower latitudes mean birds went bananas earlier in the day. I loved it.

stshank, to random
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

OK Boomer

I was curious about these avalanche control devices at Palisades Tahoe and discovered they're called Gazex cannons — remotely controlled gas explosions at ridgelines where slides are likely. Easier than howitzers, lower risk than patrollers tossing explosives, faster than both.

stshank, to random
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

The bad news is I lost my ski pass. The good news is that meant I was back at our rental house looking for it just as the eclipse peaked. Not totality, but I like it. Lots of sunspots.

stshank,
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

@clairegiordano Thanks! As long as you have a telephoto lens, solar filter, and clear sky the sun is pretty easy to photograph. I wish I could share the HDR version — many more structural details visible in the brights.

stshank, to random
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

Sunset alpenglow on Santa Fe Baldy northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

mike, to threads
@mike@flipboard.social avatar

Yesterday morning I was flipping through my Mastodon timeline via Flipboard and I saw a post from @gtconway3.

@tchambers had boosted George's post using whatever app Tim likes to use to these days (I suspect @phanpy though it could just as easily have been the native Mastodon app, @mammoth, @ivory, or @IceCubesApp)

I tapped on George's profile and saw he was posting from #Threads. I tapped the follow button and now I see his latest posts in Mastodon and Flipboard.

There's a whole new array of apps, people and posts in the fediverse and it all just works. It's wonderful.

#Fediverse FTW.

stshank,
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

@mike OK but which profile should I keep to cross-post?

stshank, to Birds
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

Marsh wren singing in Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont, California. Love their jaunty tails.

stshank,
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

@Elleaster Prime real estate to defend! It's hard work.

Maleve, to random
@Maleve@twit.social avatar

I still find it striking how noisy swans in flight are. Not from any calls, just the movement of their wings through the air.

stshank,
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

@Maleve concur. They displace a lot of air with those big wings and heavy bodies.

stshank, to random
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

Those black holes sure do clean up nicely. https://eventhorizontelescope.org/blog/astronomers-unveil-strong-magnetic-fields-spiraling-edge-milky-way%E2%80%99s-central-black-hole

stshank, (edited ) to california
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

By-the-wind sailors, Latin name Velella velellas, spotted out on Monterey Bay but thousands of these are blowing onto Bay Area beaches now. They're related to jellies but not actually jellies. #NaturePhotography #Jellies #PacificOcean #Monterey #California

stshank,
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

@darryl_ramm Friend of mine got man-o-warred in the Mediterranean. Bad scene.

stshank,
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

One creature happy with all the by-the-wind sailors west of Monterey was this common mola (Pacific sunfish) that was gobbling them up. #fish #Monterey #PacificOcean

stshank, to random
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

Good thing the video instructions show how to remove the base to find the code that you type in manually (twice in my case!), because the Google Home app insisted this Nest Cam was a Google Wifi router. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlvRybsaJLs

9to5Mac, to random
@9to5Mac@mastodon.online avatar

iPhone 16 Pro: New A18 Pro chip to offer powerful on-device AI performance https://9to5mac.com/2024/03/24/iphone-16-pro-a18-pro-chip-artificial-intelligence/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

stshank,
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

@9to5Mac It would be really surprising to see Apple decrease the transistor count and surface area devoted to AI acceleration compared to previous A-series processors. Every single consumer chip out there, mobile and PC and server, is beefing up AI acceleration.

stshank, to random
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

Happy Breakfast Club Day. At the time of the movie 40 years ago, I listened to 3 bands from each of these categories. Now it's 4 or 5 from each category. Though New Trier High School had somewhat different demographics. E.g. no Stomps (country music, cowboy hats, pickups).

stshank, to random
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

Gotta buy a rolling suitcase, carry-on sized. Anybody have any recommendations? Or brands to avoid?

aral, to mastodon
@aral@mastodon.ar.al avatar

“Meta is now automatically muting all posts that mention PixelFed, so its users can’t read about any alternatives to its services.”

https://mastodon.ar.al/@queue@todon.eu/112130436367389679

But I’m confused… Mastodon gGmbH and Meta Platforms, Inc. are besties according to Mastodon gGmbH CEO.¹

There must be some mistake.

¹ https://www.platformer.news/mastodon-interview-eugen-rochko-meta-bluesky-threads-federation/

stshank,
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

@renchap @aral @briankrebs Some indication at least in these tests that Meta isn't hiding mentions of Pixelfed. https://todon.eu/@teamtoot@toot.wales/112133828533785201

stshank, to random
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

Mastodon crossed the 15 million account threshold. (By one measurement, at least.) https://phanpy.social/#/mstdn.social/s/112130027256956002

stshank, to Netherlands
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

TIL there is a Dutch fish doorbell in Utrecht you can ring over the internet to get a person to let the fish through a lock during spawning season. https://visdeurbel.nl/en/the-fish-doorbell/

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

Starship lost connectivity via Starlink and TDRS simultaneously. So they probably lost the vehicle at that point, during plasma blackout.

stshank,
@stshank@mstdn.social avatar

@cstross Confirmed — they lost the ship

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • megavids
  • thenastyranch
  • rosin
  • GTA5RPClips
  • osvaldo12
  • love
  • Youngstown
  • slotface
  • khanakhh
  • everett
  • kavyap
  • mdbf
  • DreamBathrooms
  • ngwrru68w68
  • provamag3
  • magazineikmin
  • InstantRegret
  • normalnudes
  • tacticalgear
  • cubers
  • ethstaker
  • modclub
  • cisconetworking
  • Durango
  • anitta
  • Leos
  • tester
  • JUstTest
  • All magazines
    •