@FeralRobots@mastodon.social
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

FeralRobots

@FeralRobots@mastodon.social

Following-back because I followed you may not be a good use of your time.

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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

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@cstross @Tallish_Tom
Whether or not Starship as such succeeds, Super Heavy still looks sound, though, right? (Cynical as I am about things Musk, re-using a stage that big will be a fantastic milestone.)

SpaceX's big challenges seem to me to be to avoid crashing with Musk. His shoot-from-the-lip ridiculousness tends to tar SpaceX's approach to development, which legitimately includes tolerance for early failures. & there seem to be growing cultural issues that could hamper them going foward.

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@glitzersachen
Probably he couldn't think of an obvious way to skim money off it, but figured there had to be one with those amounts in play. So he left it in place in anticipation of figuring out how to grift off it.
@cstross @meltedcheese @ovid

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@cstross @glitzersachen
True, he's not exactly a visionary thinker.
@meltedcheese @ovid

FeralRobots, to random
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

Alito is never, ever going to recuse without being coerced.
I'm not sure what that means about how we should talk about is anti-democratic judicial activism, but I do think we need to remember it before we "call on" him to do anything. He's the wrong entity to call on for ANYTHING regarding his ethics.

luis_in_brief, to random
@luis_in_brief@social.coop avatar

yo does anyone have a recommendation for a history (need not be a book, could easily be a longread) of the Dark Wood Panel aesthetic of academia/old-ass dive bars/upscale steak houses/libraries?

https://social.coop/

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@luis_in_brief did not realize I wanted thsi until you stated it.

virtualbri, to random
@virtualbri@mastodon.online avatar

As bad as the last ones have been just from a format and neutrality standpoint, regardless of the personalities involved: Do we really want Biden/Trump debates?

Still say they're not going to happen. But I don't think we should even bother with the circus. I think we're pretty good on where each stand policy-wise.

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@virtualbri
We do not want. They can only cause harm.

I would like to agree with you on their probabiliy, but I have a sick feeling they'll come off. There are enough vile cynics in Trump's orbit who believe it gives them a small net gain, that the only way they don't come off is if Biden backs down, & he's kind of painted himself into that corner.

MLE_online, to random
@MLE_online@social.afront.org avatar

Figuring out the length of spokes I need to rebuild my Sturmey Archer hub into a different wheel is harder than I was expecting.

There are a lot of online calculators, sure, but you have to disassemble your wheel to get the measurement the calculator needs.

I don't want to disassemble my wheel until I have the spokes for rebuilding it!

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@MLE_online
So, it's a different rim diameter, right? Trying to make sure I understand why you can't measure the existing spokes. (Especially whether there's a reason that wouldn't be sufficient even if it were the same rim.)

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@MLE_online
ah, nevermind then. I thought this might be revealing some arcana of wheelbuilding that I dreaded learning.

ZachWeinersmith, to random
@ZachWeinersmith@mastodon.social avatar

Ethics papers:

Suppose X. Now, consider X is a subcategory of Z which is equivalent to R, which as recently been shown to be comparable to N which is, taken with P2, a type of W, and W is generally agreed to be icky.

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@ZachWeinersmith pretty much. & they've been that way for a long, long time.

MLE_online, to random
@MLE_online@social.afront.org avatar

I receive daily security reports for work, and one of today's is about graffiti found in the basement of one of the buildings.

This is the graffiti. I hope they leave it.

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@MLE_online
From the graphic arts builting at University of Buffalo. I think this isn't technically graphiti because there were drawings like this all over the department.

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

I've been reading some history books about Europe in the middle ages. The matter of the education of kings is incredibly interesting. It seemed nearly universally recognized that an excellent education is essential to a family holding on to power. And even in the controversies of the day (such as religion) children of the ruling class were exposed to a surprisingly wide range of ideas. Including those treated as heresy for the general population.

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@futurebird there were also interesting variations in that theme, e.g. Victoria being educated for rule only by subterfuge on the part of men who realized she'd have to give them orders one day. Or Nicholas II of Russia not getting much training at all for rule because his dad thought he'd live longer. That didn't work out very well.

FeralRobots, to ai
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

Strapping a GoPro to a toddler's head in order to figure out how it learns words is much like looking under the streetlamp for the car keys you lost in the alley. You're only seeing a tiny fraction of the learning process.

But then researchers have form for being uninterested in the parts of a problem they can't take apart. This isn't just an SV AI-bro thing, it goes way back.

https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/12/boffins_hope_to_make_ai/

FeralRobots, to random
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

Starting to see major websites that won't work at all with Firefox. IHG.com (International Hotel Group), for example, will only allow me to authenticate when using Chrome.

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@virtualbri In this case I was wrong, but the truth is also not great: it was telling me that I couldn't log in, even as I was at that moment logged in. (Password reset would only work on Chrome, though.)

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

It still tickles me that the TERFS and Transphobes tried to claim Terry Pratchett as their own, and everyone who actually knew him, including his daughter, and co-author Neil Gaiman, was like WRONG, WRONG, WRONG, you couldn't be further from the truth.

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@Amoshias @RickiTarr
People have a great capacity to find what they're looking for, especially when the discussion is nuanced - & Pratchett wrote some of the most-nuanced satire I can remember ever reading. I.e. it doesn't surprise me that highly motivated bigots could construct a specious interpretation of something they read in Pratchett as anti-trans; but I also agree that interpretation couldn't stand up to scrutiny.

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@Amoshias @RickiTarr
...& when I say it's nuanced, that's bearing in mind that satire is a blunt instrument. Pratchett's giving credible voice to his antagonists, which when done well (& he does it very well) helps one's point land better. But bigots will silence the rest of the argument, & hear only the credibly-represented antagonists.

atomicpoet, to random
@atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org avatar

Not many people know this, but the ZX Spectrum was actually released in North America.

Over here is was called the Timex Sinclair 2068. It actually improved on the hardware in multiple ways:

  • an AY-3-8912 sound chip
  • twin joystick ports
  • a cartridge port to the right of the keyboard
  • higher resolution

It sold for $200. Unfortunately, it flopped – which is why so few people in North America ever played Spectrum games.

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@atomicpoet wow, I never saw the version in your picture. The version I saw down here in the US was black, & smaller. (Or maybe not, I can't be sure how large that is now that I think of it - let's just say our version had keyboard dimensions that were close to standard.)

(TBC I never owned one, I just mallgazed at them in shop windows.)

FeralRobots, to random
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

Sweet spot for someone like Dorsey is always to shed responsibility (e.g. as liability) while still retaining de facto control. As many folks correctly pointed out, that was basically how AT Protocol works out in practice.
https://mastodon.online/@jackmjenkins/112414754093310573

MLE_online, to random
@MLE_online@social.afront.org avatar

I finally saw a Honda Motocompacto in the wild. A guy was riding it on the bike path. It was smaller than expected, but very cute.

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@MLE_online
I read the Car & Driver review for the original version back in the 80s!
(I would worry about the weight distribution - looks like it would be tail-heavy - but I guess the front-drive & low acceleration would mitigate that a lot.)

misc, to random
@misc@mastodon.social avatar

We should make this their most immortal ad since 1984. https://xoxo.zone/@mathowie/112412171573722298

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@misc in this Matt I will continue to trust.

rolle, to fediverse
@rolle@mementomori.social avatar

Former CEO of Twitter wanted to build a social protocol no-one can control, like SMTP or HTTP for social media. Bluesky’s ATProto was supposed to be an open source protocol that Twitter could eventually utilize, but then Musk happened and Bluesky started taking it to the wrong direction and everything fell apart in Dorsey’s mind.

A very revealing interview. I now see even more future in W3C’s ActivityPub.

https://www.piratewires.com/p/interview-with-jack-dorsey-mike-solana

#ActivityPub #JackDorsey #Bluesky #Twitter #X #SocialWeb #SocialMedia

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@reiver @rolle Mike McGirven (streams) is working on addressing 2 in an AP context.

KimPerales, to random
@KimPerales@toad.social avatar

The argument is weak:

"The Trump trial &- burning Q: What are legal expenses? It's hard to believe, but NY prosecutors are seeking to jail the Trump for a maximum of 136 yrs partly over a disagreement about the definition of 'legal expenses.' It was always a weak, politically motivated case. But now, in the 4th week of the trial, we're learning more about the specific weaknesses in Bragg’s allegations. They can make any reasonable person wonder why this trial is happening at all." -B York

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@KimPerales where the f is he getting 136 years? From what I can see the absolute cap in NY is 20 yrs, & honestly Trump'd probably get no more than 4. Such disingenuous nonsense.

mcc, to random
@mcc@mastodon.social avatar

Irene Pepperberg's theory is that parrots do not learn words by hearing the word in proximity to an event, rather they learn words by hearing flock members use a word during an interaction with another flock member https://mastodon.social/@JoeKozinski/112394735459907294

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@mcc LOL oh wow, that's honestly a really cool juxtaposition.

blogdiva, to movies
@blogdiva@mastodon.social avatar

BERNARD HILL,
MAY YOU REST IN POWER

the LOTR happened when my sons were 4 & 1 respectively. Bernard Hill's Theoden fascinated THING1 so much, he would replay his scenes until he learned his speeches. when i asked why, i can remember him saying in his 5 years old voice, "because he's old and weak but then he's old & strong again".

Theoden's arc is so beautiful because Hill made him a real man, an old man blooming into the hero he was always meant to be.

https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=Qz-k4g87ff4

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@blogdiva Bernard Hill & Miranda Otto were among the best casting decisions they made.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Okay, this might sound weird, but this is what I'm thinking of today. I'm assuming most of you know the idiom, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." I know it's about looking at the horse's teeth to check it's age and health, but in my heart I have an alternate history where it's about The Trojan Horse, which doesn't really even make much sense, but it's still living there rent free.

So, does anyone else do this, make up alternate histories for words or phrases? If you do, I'd love examples!

FeralRobots,
@FeralRobots@mastodon.social avatar

@FlockOfCats
I had a parsing not unlike this one. In my headcanon, 'gift-horses' were a particular kind of horse - maybe they gave gifts, maybe they were a metaphorical gift, but in any case it was an insult TO THE MYSTICAL HORSES to look in their mouths. I had to do a conscious shift in thought to think of them as a horse that had been given as a gift. (Like, why would any self-respecting Gift-Horse even let that happen to themselves?)
@RickiTarr

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