Look… I’m as furious with Joe Biden’s support for Israeli genocide as any proper progressive leftist. I feel personally betrayed by our current policies. That said, we can work on that and have momentum in our favor. Just look at what’s happening on our college campuses, surely a positive harbinger of things to come. I also understand the existential threat to democracy and all we hold dear that DJ Trump and his remade fascist #Republican party represent to us all. There is absolutely no comparison between the two, they are NOT the same. I will hold my nose and VOTE FOR Biden - while continuing to work for a #PalestinianState and justice for Israeli #WarCrimes. I trust you will do the same. #Israel#Gaza#GazaGenocie#Politics
@AccordionBruce I was a HS and college debater. A member of the Nat’l Forensics League who competed at nat’l tournaments. The beauty of academic debate is that teams are required to take both sides of the issue at tournaments, thus the debates become an exercise in logic, argumentation and rhetoric. One must be as persuasive and convincing on one side as the other to win. Great training for those who would be lawyers, litigators especially. I was one of the few who did not take that path, opting for a diverse career in multiple disciplines.
""What I’m really calling for is something like tech Zionism,” he said, after comparing his movement to those started by the biblical Abraham, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith (founder of Mormonism), Theodor Herzl (“spiritual father” of the state of Israel), and Lee Kuan Yew (former authoritarian ruler of Singapore).""
@timnitGebru Insufferable, arrogant idiots. This level of hubris and entitlement is off-the-charts. Begs the question: what happens when the individuals who drive tech and the firms who fund it lose any semblance of connection to reality?
@invno1 Agreed. That said, the tendency of transportation corporations to sacrifice quality and safety for profits; to cut corners in hopes of pumping up revenues, is a major concern. Whether it be the manufacturer or the aircraft operator.
Unpopular opinion: Antoni Gaudi was a terrible architect whose designs are frightful, the opposite of eye candy. Been there, seen the #SagradaFamilia twice - decades apart. So it will finally be done, complete after 140 years and long after Gaudi’s death. Structure wasn’t even properly permitted until 2019. #architecture
@popcornreel No. With some, perhaps many things… the less intelligence the better. The axiom of our age: “Everything that can collect data WILL collect data…” then seek to sell it or use it to train a new AI. No thank you!
@MexicanYenta Yes. GoFundMe is a for-profit company. It charges a 2.9% payment-processing fee on each donation, along with 30 cents for every donation. That means if a campaign raised $1,000 through 10 donations of $100 each, GoFundMe would collect about $32. (from search) I’ve set them up before and it is incredibly easy - all of it, from inception to collection of donated funds. The key, of course, is engaging and compelling copy with a strong headline and a good network to seed the campaign and spread the word.
@lauren if your proposition is accurate, the basic law of physics, the conservation of energy, is rendered invalid. I would argue that what ceases to exist is individual consciousness - the core of our temporary ‘being’. When I die, the universe ‘for me’ ceases to exist. The universe, however, conserves and repurposes the energy that was ‘me’. I suppose in a model of endless, multi-dimensional parallel universes, each associated with a unique individual, your proposition could be plausible. But it occurs to me that is a pretty person-centric POV, “I am the main act” is unlikely IMO.
A model powered by sodium-ion batteries built by Farasis Energy in partnership with JMEV, an EV brand owned by Jiangling Motors Group, rolled off the assembly line on December 28,”
@auscandoc With the rapidly, truly dramatic falling prices of Lithium across the globe and the lower density of sodium-ion, the value proposition of these new batteries is being tested. We are in early stages, so it will be interesting to see how battery tech plays out over the next couple of years. The discovery of massive new Lithium deposits, like this one in the USA https://finance.yahoo.com/news/worlds-largest-deposit-lithium-may-231936498.html#:~:text=The%20world's%20largest%20deposit%20of%20lithium%20may%20have%20just%20been,border%20of%20Nevada%20and%20Oregon, have changed the game. Sodium-ion batteries require less destructive mining, but that said…”Battery materials like lithium, nickel and cobalt are infinitely recyclable. The critical materials in lithium-ion EV batteries can be recycled over and over without performance loss.”
I admit to being a tea snob, like some are coffee connoisseurs. I order my tea from the Upton catalogue. I’m partial to single-estate, tippy Assam - blended with just a taste of Lapsang Souchong to add that hint of smokiness. Milk and sugar are required, not optional so live with it. The result is the most heavenly hot beverage on the planet, none compares except perhaps proper chai (which I am not permitted as I do not tolerate black pepper). When it comes to Green tea, I prefer high-mountain grown (Alishan, Taiwan) Jin Xuan for its lovely floral notes. #Tea#TeaSnob#TeaDrinker
I'm using the first two digits of phone numbers as letters old.
My number was "Lake" or "LA", and grandma's number was "Emerson", or "EM". #GetOffMyLawn
@DrOinFLA “Kimberly” or KI-72297, my first phone number still committed to memory over half a century later. I still remember ‘party’ lines. Ya’d pick up the phone and a neighbor would be on it already.
@GQB Missing comma situation. He was deeply involved in an anti-gay, conversion therapy advocacy. Let’s convert those sinners kinda thing. How anyone in this modern age can be ‘strictly biblical’ is both counterintuitive and terrifying. I see young girls dying in Iran because they disdain the hijab, I don’t want that or anything like it for my/our country.
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/