Oregon bill would decriminalize homeless encampments and propose penalties if unhoused people are harassed or ordered to leave | This makes me very happy, as it puts the onus of dealing with the #unhoused population exactly where it should be - on society in general and local municipalities specifically. If you don’t want the #homeless in your downtown, provide them a safe space elsewhere. It’s our responsibility as a society to care for our homeless citizens, it is society that has failed them in most cases. So instead of NIMBY vigilantes at all levels punting the population from one place or another, it’s long past time to deal with the crisis head on and provide the space for their tents, tiny houses and warming centers during harsh winters, cooling centers during blazing summers, and access to service at all times. Proud of my state: #oregon and proud of our Governor, Tina Kotek, who with her first lady constitute our first same sex first couple. #LGBTQIA#LGBTQ#Governancehttps://www.cnn.com/2023/04/28/us/oregon-homeless-camp-bill/index.html
@CharlieMcHenry
We desperately need to do something to help people. I'm not sure how much this bill would do practically since the federal courts already decriminalized homeless encampments under the 8th amendment and it will be very difficult to successfully sue for $1,000 except in extraordinary cases where attorneys work pro bono. But it would still be very meaningful if they can pass it. We really need housing construction and housing assistance on a large scale though. @BeamsAndBows
So let me get this straight… #Threads collects massive amounts of data, the platform is full of brands and celebrities, AND it uses an algorithm-driven feed. It tracks users, serves ads, and has quickly filled up, according to reports, with trolls, Nazis and the far right. Oh, and the site makes a shadow account for everyone with an Instagram profile, whether they want to participate or not. But still new users are flocking to the platform?? It’s a case of FOMO, and I don’t think it will last. F*ck Zuck and the corporate trojan horse he rode in on. Very disappointed in those I know who have bought the BS. That’s all I have to say on the matter. #TwitterMigration#TwitterMigrants#SocialMedia#Meta#Zuckerberg
No tree swallows for three years at my house, but that could be the mosquitoes have been replaced by blowflies, which stay nearer the ground where the carrion seems to dwell… and smell.
@NoctisEqui I just read that the UK’s animal welfare agency has declared crabs, lobsters and octopi sentient, capable of feeling pain and distress. Presents a clear moral dilemma. New regs re: transportation, stunning and slaughter are needed to accommodate this ruling.
I wrote a thing about #AI for a local newsletter with a few thousand subscribers. So I kept it as non-technical as possible for that audience. I should say, after 35 years in the technology sector, I am a tech journalist/writer - not an AI scientist or programmer. Companies have hired me in the past to ‘explain’ complex tech, so let me know if I got this right. There’s a second, more technical post coming that explores the evolution of AI through neural networks to machine learning & intelligence. Hey, it’s the topic of the day, how could I not write about it? That’s kinda what I do. #artificialintelligence#essay 1/2
@CharlieMcHenry Oh, so they invented a test that "measures intelligence". Since ChatGPT scores so well it must be intelligent too. I see no problems with this.
@CharlieMcHenry Anyways I think your piece wildly over-anthropomorphizes current AI systems. They don't "reflect" or "research", ChatGPT is a linear algebra function with mechanistic outputs. A statistical model of human language. Both have neurons and show some intelligent behavior, but a human isn't a transformer model.
And… The #EnglishPremierLeague is back, so don’t expect a lot of toots from this account on match days. Imma one sport guy, and the #EPL is my favorite #Football league - though I follow Spanish, German, French and Italian leagues as well. Regrettably, I’m a #Coys fan and thus never see my team holding trophies at the end of the season, but that’s part of the game. Now that #HarryKane has gone to Bayern Munich, I’m not sure what we’re going to do. #Soccer#Futbol#sport
Google to invest up to $2B in Anthropic - and… the race is on between, on one side, Microsoft and OpenAI; and on the other side, Google and Anthropic. My $$ is on MS & OpenAI at the moment - and I don’t expect that to change. OpenAI is the clear leader in AI, with a considerable head start and a top-shelf team. Anthropic will have a lot of catching up to do unless they’ve got some kind of killer, breakthrough tech they’re hiding until launch. #AI#Microsoft#Google#OpenAI#Anthropichttps://www.reuters.com/technology/google-agrees-invest-up-2-bln-openai-rival-anthropic-wsj-2023-10-27/
@eloquence Thanks for the feedback, it’s all unfolding at a dizzying pace so for me, keeping up is important. I haven’t used Claude yet, and look forward to some creative conversations. I must say that I’ve integrated ChatGPT into my research and reporting practice with some success.
I’m a long-time #Reddit user with the karma to prove it. I love the site, but have been absent now for several days. PLEASE, stay off of Reddit for at least the next few days, we’ve got a point to make - that our community is mightier than the greedy corporation. The CEO says it will “…all blow over soon…” Let’s prove him wrong. It’s hard, but we need to stay off the site until management gets the point. It’s ok to explore profit-making moves, but it’s not ok to attack the community and valued third party app devs. #redditblackout#redditapi#redditstrike#redditapiprotest
@CharlieMcHenry ditto, 6 years there and i really enjoyed it, but because of 3rd party apps (Apollo and Slide). The internal memo was the end for me though, i couldn’t see that users would stay motivated enough to continue the blackout so i deleted my account. Hopefully I’ll be proven wrong
@CharlieMcHenry I wonder if they've worked out that a lot of their page hits are just people deleting their accounts or scraping its content for posterity
I love finding new music, especially ethnic roots music, and learning the stories and performers behind the tunes. As mentioned in my bio, I’m an amateur ethnomusicologist, and I collect music videos and have them organized into 19 playlists on my YouTube channel. The channel is over a decade old & my collection of tunes has been years in the making. In some cases, I have published articles about the various genres on my Medium page. Here’s a link to my Afrobeat/Afropop playlist - almost 130 music vids of the best the continent has to offer IMO. Especially fond of West African Griots and guitarists. Also the standout female African vocalists and instrumentalists like Kidjo, Diawara, Nneka, ASA and Jobarteh. #music#afrobeat#AfricanMusic#Africa#YouTube#MusicVideo#playlisthttps://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE6DB27B73B588787
In addition to my extensive ethnic music video playlists on my personal YouTube channel, I am also a fan of #choralmusic and have a playlist devoted to my favorite choirs and choral groups. I am definitely not religious in the traditional sense, I’m a Pythagorean by faith, but I recognize that composers past and present do some of their best work when inspired by their concept of the divine - so I overlook overt religious references in favor of the marvelous harmonies and compositional excellence. So if you’re a fan too, you may enjoy this playlist. #music#choir#choirs#choral#MusicVideo#playlisthttps://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0iiAuVrDAzHbYzqhpmjvJ-tfkan9Z8u_
So how about some #GypsyMusic for a Sunday night? The Roma and Scinti people produce some of the planet’s greatest music, and it makes sense when you think about it. The Roma tribes started in India, then migrated across Central Asia, North Africa, the Middle East and finally into Europe. In the process, their music became a rich tapestry of what they brought with them combined with what they encountered along the way. The tunes on this music video playlist are energetic, sometimes brassy, and in the case of the French Manouche tradition, very cool jazz by the likes of Django. I like it all, but especially the brassy and joyful Balkan sound. Because the Roma have long been persecuted, there are also some songs of pain, grief and defiance. Musically, it’s all good. #music#Roma#Scinti#GypsyJazz#musicvideo#playlisthttps://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL77954DAEE722A285
Damn, if you’re in Acapulco, LEAVE NOW. Make that if you’re anywhere on the south Mexican Pacific coast. Damn big storm headed your way. It will kill, mark my words. Just another extreme weather event. A real eye-opener that the big hurricanes that hit this year hit on the West Coast of the hemisphere.