Mastodon Feed: Posts

jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:

sadness, loss:

‘California's largest wildfire of the year continues to grow in the eastern Mojave Desert, burning Joshua trees and other vegetation across more than 80,000 acres. National park officials and ecologists are preparing for native habitat losses that are likely to alter the landscape forever.

"Recovery is really not a meaningful term here in the desert because of the global change going on," said Debra Hughson, deputy superintendent for the Mojave National Preserve.’

- LATimes

Reblogged by kornel ("Kornel"):

sjpalmer1994@genart.social ("Sam Palmer") wrote:

#Processing #CreativeCoding #Procedural #Generative #PerfectLoop #Art #Math #Mathstodon

Attachments:

• Drifting light and dark purple squares switch between foreground and background (remote)

Reblogged by kornel ("Kornel"):

Nickiquote@mstdn.social wrote:

Just a note on the #BBC:

The BBC is not just the editors of The Today Programme, or Question Time. It is not just that Panorama about ADHD or Stephen Nolan’s Stonewall podcast

The BBC is also Yasmin Finney and Ncuti Gatwa on Doctor Who. It is Newsround. It is Horrible Histories doing the Bristol bus boycott. It is CBBC dramas for children about autism. It is a platform for new music of all kinds on radio. It has no ads.

Hating “the BBC” because of Tory news editors misses the bigger picture.

Reblogged by rmrenner ("The Old Gay Gristle Fest"):

SuperSelena64@vmst.io ("Selena the Retro-Princess") wrote:

I don't want to shame anyone for shaving their pits obviously, but I just sort of feel like it's a strange choice for Donkey Kong.

Attachments:

• Donkey Kong in the marquee of the original Donkey Kong and it looks like his armpits are shorn. (remote)

Reblogged by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):

ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz ("Colin the Mathmo") wrote:

This is a bit of fun ... a Theremin played well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0NVb25p1oU

Reblogged by pzmyers@octodon.social ("pzmyers 🦑"):

renwillis@mstdn.social ("ren 🏳️‍🌈 (a they/them)") wrote:

"An Asian MIT student asked AI to turn an image of her into a professional headshot. It made her white, with lighter skin and blue eyes."

Super cool and totally not racist tech bro culture we got running our world, eh? PROGRESS!

https://www.businessinsider.com/student-uses-playrgound-ai-for-professional-headshot-turned-white-2023-8

#AI #tech #linkedin #photography

Attachments:

• e0086a514b4021f6.png (remote)

Reblogged by keul@fosstodon.org ("Luca Fabbri"):

qristy@xoxo.zone ("NextLevelBanana") wrote:

Zeno's guide to project management: break every task into steps. Break those steps into smaller steps. Continue in this manner until you realize you have an infinite number of steps and the task will never be accomplished.

pzmyers@octodon.social ("pzmyers 🦑") wrote:

Guess who is in charge of my chronic pain management?

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2023/08/01/chronic-pain-sucks/

Attachments:

• demonic insurance agent (remote)

Reblogged by isagalaev ("Ivan Sagalaev :flag_wbw:"):

SKleefeld ("Sean Kleefeld") wrote:

When your font choice is on point.

Attachments:

• 0b544f8ea7f924ab.jpg

Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):

brewsterkahle@mastodon.archive.org ("Brewster Kahle") wrote:

"Getting rid of physical books because we now have databases is like getting rid of sunshine because of the existence of vitamin-D pills and cod liver oil." --love that.

a cogent plea for keeping physical libraries available:

https://scottlocklin.wordpress.com/2023/07/28/death-of-the-physical-library/

jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:

which style do you prefer, define-at-declaration or define-at-first-use?

#LearningRust

lloydmeta ("Lloyd") wrote:

More #StableDiffusionXL images, this time of dystopian cities, Bladerunner-style

Attachments:

• 91e4237047781176.png
• 396c317ba80114f8.png

jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:

Weather: ⛅️ Partly cloudy, +58°F, 93%, ↗4mph, 1023hPa
Timezone: America/New_York
Now: 09:35:32-0400 | Dawn: 05:27:58 | Sunrise: 06:00:58
Zenith: 13:16:51 | Sunset: 20:31:59 | Dusk: 21:04:51
Location: Rochester, Monroe County, New York [43.1572,-77.6151]

jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:

[END TODAY IN HISTORY RUN]

jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:

Today in History: Lughnasa; Feast of the god Lugh, a 30 day Celtic feast centers on

jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:

Today in History: Herman Melville born, 1819

jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:

[BEGIN TODAY IN HISTORY RUN]

lloydmeta ("Lloyd") wrote:

To be honest, quite happy with the results.

It feels like a step up from the last time I ran #stablediffusion locally ~9 months ago.

https://mastodon.social/@lloydmeta/109483388125738106

https://mastodon.social/@lloydmeta/109483389605995925

lloydmeta ("Lloyd") wrote:

Played around with the latest version of the "Diffusers" app that allows using the #StableDiffusion XL model.

Had to "hack" (s/macOS 14/macOs 13/g 😛) around the Swift app and the "ml-stable-diffusion" lib from Apple so that I could use the #SDXL model from my Intel mac on MacOS 13, but worth it to be able to run it using CoreML on my GPU.

Granted, it's a slow GPU and running it means everything is choppy (why doesn't CoreML run on the Radeon GPU and the UI run on the Intel built-in GPU :🤔 ?)

Attachments:

• Stable diffusion running on custom "Diffusers" app. htop running on the side with low CPU usage and GPU history showing high GPU usage on the Radeon 5500M.
• Flying corgi with wings, generated by stable diffusion.
• Corgi in front of a Japanese shrine, animated style, generated by stable diffusion.

Reblogged by pzmyers@octodon.social ("pzmyers 🦑"):

gwensnyder@mstdn.party ("Gwen Snyder is uncivil") wrote:

What do you call ten people having dinner with a Nazi? Eleven Nazis.

We do not platform.

We do not engage.

We do not debate.

These assholes want to murder our marginalized comrades. There is no middle ground for agreement.

We do not need their disingenuous "insight."

rmrenner ("The Old Gay Gristle Fest") wrote:

I never did finish off Fallout 2. At first I was trying to shotgun it but doing it back to back with Fallout 1 kinda burned me out. I might just return to it every once in a while and do one or two areas

Reblogged by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):

axbom@axbom.me ("Per Axbom") wrote:

A common argument I come across when talking about ethics in AI is that it's just a tool, and like any tool it can be used for good or for evil. One familiar declaration is this one: "It's really no different from a hammer". I was compelled to make a poster to address these claims. Steal it, share it, print it and use it where you see fit.

https://axbom.com/hammer-ai/

#AiEthics #DigitalEthics

Attachments:

• Poster: If a hammer was like AI. Illustration of a hammer (a line drawing) and the quote "It's just a tool". Various topics surround the hammer and have lines drawn to the hammer, as if explaining what it is made of. Obscured data theft. It copies the design of most constructions in the western, industrialised world without consent and strives to mimic the most average one of those. Bias & injustice. By design, the hammer will most often just hit the thumb of Black, Brown and underserved people. Carbon cost. The energy use is about 100 times greater than achieving a similar result with other tools. Monoculture and power concentration. The hammer is made by a small, western and wealthy subset of humanity – creating costly barriers to entry. Invisible decision-making. Computations will “estimate” your aim, tend to miss the nail and push for a different design. Often unnoticeably. Accountability projection. If the hammer breaks and hurts someone, the manufacturer will claim the hammer has “a mind of its own” and they can’t help you. Jerry-building (Misinformation). Optimised for building elaborate structures that don’t hold up to scrutiny. Data/privacy breaches. May reveal blueprints from other people using a hammer from the same manufacturer, or other personal data that happened to be part of its development. Moderator trauma. Low-wage moderators work around the clock watching filth and violence to ensure the hammer can’t be used to build brothels or tort (remote)

Reblogged by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):

yuvipanda@hachyderm.io wrote:

The pinnacle of my love affair with technology has been reached, and will never be surpassed now that I have made this website: https://werecomputersamistake.com/

Gargron ("Eugen Rochko") wrote:

Building a Submersible PC #diy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFswDJPvtPY

fribbledom ("muesli") wrote:

I don't even remember the last time I went to the cinema and didn't leave utterly disappointed.

Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):

dangillmor ("Dan Gillmor") wrote:

The BBC's experiment with Mastodon is pathbreaking in English-language news -- a major organization setting up its own instance. They've really thought this through. Key language:

"We're using social.bbc as the domain, so you can be sure these accounts are genuinely from the BBC. And by linking to and from the BBC’s website, we have verified our identity on Mastodon."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/blog/2023-07-mastodon-distributed-decentralised-fediverse-activitypub

Welcome to:
@BBCRD
@BBC5Live @BBCRadio4
@BBCTaster
@Connected_Studio
@BBC_News_Labs

Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):

danhon@dan.mastohon.com ("Dan Hon") wrote:

This looks great!

https://www.challenge.gov/?challenge=library-of-congress-friends-choice-civics-video-game-challenge&tab=overview

Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):

GottaLaff ("Laffy") wrote:

👀Via Tamar Hallerman: 🧵1/…

Breaking: George Chidi, the independent journalist who stumbled upon the Dec 2020 meeting of “alternate” GOP electors at the #Georgia Capitol, was subpoenaed to be a witness before two #Fulton County grand juries

Chidi told the AJC that he received two subpoenas requiring his testimony at some point between Aug. 7 and Aug. 31. He's considered "on call," which means prosecutors can call him at anytime with 48 hours notice #FaniWillis #legal #Trump #GrandJury

Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):

rayckeith@techhub.social ("Ray C. Keith") wrote:

“It is difficult for me to think of another president in modern time who has literally driven a national scheme to disenfranchise Black voters and other voters of color en masse, in the way that we see with these post-election lawsuits,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law during the aftermath of the November 2020 elections. Clarke claimed, correctly, there was “racial motivation” in Trump’s focus on cities like Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta.

"Clarke, I should note, is now head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division." https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/conspiracy-against-rights

Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):

Sheril ("Sheril Kirshenbaum") wrote:

Today is my dissertation proposal defense. That means I'll give a public lecture about my research in front of my committee.

As some folks may know, I'm doing another round of grad school, mid-career, focused on scientific decision making in the U.S. Congress https://sheril.substack.com/p/a-dissertation-on-democracy #science #politics

In terms of PhD-ing, this is kind of like the pregame. I passed my comprehensive exams last year & will officially defend my dissertation & finish this Fall. So here goes...