Mastodon Feed: Posts

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

‘In the phantasy world of each user lives the Good Method and the Bad Method. When the user taps and the program freezes, then the Bad Method comes to the fore. When the user taps and the bytes flow, then the Good Method emerges. When the patient is neurotic, one or the other may become all encompassing and seemingly eternal. To hold the Good Method and the Bad Method both at once is the goal.’

(maybe followed by a Family Systems Theory riff, with echoes of R. D. Laing)

https://social.coop/@shauna/114264665552147485

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
kevinrothrock@infosec.exchange ("Kevin Rothrock") wrote:

Would certainly be something if the main result of all Trump’s efforts to win over Putin is merely that Washington ups the level of its enforcement of sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet.

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

‘Sometimes, China’s military does not spell out why it holds drills. This time, officials and state media reports were clear: “This is firm punishment for the Lai Ching-te administration’s rampant ‘pro-independence’ provocations,” Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the Chinese government’s office on Taiwanese affairs, said in a statement.’

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/world/asia/china-taiwan-military-drills.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

pzmyers@freethought.online ("pzmyers 🕷") wrote:

The truth about universities is that they aren't run by liberal professors and radical students, although they get the blame. We're run by wealthy and often conservative CEOs and lawyers.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/04/01/the-dirty-little-secret-of-universities-everywhere/

Boosted by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
trashheap@tech.lgbt ("trashHeap :hehim: :verified_gay:") wrote:

HEADLINE: #Netflix CEO says movie theaters are dead

CORRECTED: Number one competitor to traditional movie theaters would like you to think theaters have no future. Will likely hike rates again within six months.

Boosted by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
trashheap@tech.lgbt ("trashHeap :hehim: :verified_gay:") wrote:

HEADLINE: 'No Longer Think You Should Learn To Code,' Says CEO of AI Coding Startup

CORRECTED: CEO Of Company Whose Flimsy Business Model Is Only Hypothetically Viable If You Cant Code For Yourself; Says You Should Stop Learning To Code.

#AI #MachineLearning #Eliza #StochasticParrots #LLM #LLMs

Boosted by keul@fosstodon.org ("Luca Fabbri"):
francoisz@fosstodon.org ("François Zaninotto") wrote:

JavaScript Date is slow, JavaScript Temporal is overdue. This npm package finally solves all your date problems with one simple trick. #AprilFoolsDay https://marmelab.com/blog/2025/04/01/get-current-day.html

Boosted by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
StuntmAEn_Bob@mastodon.art wrote:

Just a peaceful night at the ocean

#PixelArt

mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

Note, important safety tip: you can get closer to this tower without clearly trespassing or jumping fences than most other 50KW broadcast antennas I've encountered. I measured a field strength of over 80V/m a bit outside the tower fence, which is an incredibly strong signal (though still within OSHA limits at the frequency involved).

Resist any temptation to jump the fence and climb the (energized) tower. You'd be electrocuted as soon as you touch it.

mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

The antenna field is in the final approach and takeoff flightpath for SFO airport's runways 28L/R (and 10L/R), and so the site has special markings to warn pilots of a collision hazard. In addition to the usual tower lights and red/white paint, 3-dimensional "HAZ" warnings were installed around the field. These are easily visible in areal photos; see, e.g., https://earth.google.com/web/@37.5471204,-122.23429544,0.73120256a,577.14725587d,35y,0.01179999h,0t,0r/data=CgRCAggBQgIIAEoNCP%5F%5F%5F%5F%5F%5F%5F%5F%5F%5F%5FwEQAA

Boosted by jwz:
mwl@io.mwl.io ("Michael Lucas :flan_set_fire:") wrote:

Happy April Fools' everyone.

Attachments:

• gifv: MacReady from The Thing, talking into a mic: Nobody trust anybody now. And we're all very tired.

mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

This distinctive stacked dual antenna arrangement is used to lower the radiation angle of the antenna, concentrating transmitted power to the "ground wave" and reducing energy that would otherwise be sent upward into the sky.

The smaller (300 foot) freestanding mast in the background left is not in current use. It can be used as an emergency spare antenna for KNBR during maintenance of the taller main antenna.

mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

The taller tower (550 feet) at right is the main KNBR antenna, built in 1949. It employs an unusual "pseudo-Franklin" design; it's actually an array of two antennas stacked atop one another. The 400 foot lower section is insulated from the ground. The upper 150 foot section is insulated from the lower section. The large (50 foot) diameter "capacitance hat" at the top (reminiscent of the Parachute Jump at Coney Island) electrically lengthens the top section, saving 250 feet of additional height.

mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

Mediumwave (AM) broadcast radio uses lower frequencies than other modern broadcasting and so requires much larger antennas (generally getting larger and larger as the frequency gets lower on the dial). This often entails highly customized antenna designs engineered for the particular site and station frequencies. For most radio stations (FM, TV, etc), the towers are there simply to get the relatively small antennas up high, but for AM stations like KNBR, the towers generally ARE the antennas.

mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

KNBR is a 50KW "Class A" (formerly "clear channel") mediumwave (AM) rado station broadcasting on 680 KHz, serving the San Francisco Bay area (and, at night, most of the west coast of the US). Opened in 1922, It was originally known as KPO, (later KNBC, and still later KNBR), and soon became the flagship station for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC)'s new western radio network. It is currently owned by Cumulus Media and now broadcasts a sports format.

mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

Rodenstock 50mm/4.0 HR Digaron-W lens (@ f/6.3), Phase One IQ4-150 digital back, Cambo 1250 camera (vertically shifted -23mm).

This simple photo pushed the 50mm lens to the limits of its image circle with the large shift required to keep the tall antenna mast fully in the frame while maintaining its geometry. Hard vignetting of the upper corners was visible in the full sensor image, but fortunately the composition benefited from a narrower aspect ratio that cropped out the dark corners.

mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze") wrote:

KNBR (AM 680) Antennas, Redwood City, CA, 2024

All the pixels, none of the vertigo, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/54131419266

#photography

Boosted by jwz:
MLNow@sfba.social ("Mission Local") wrote:

S.F. Drag queen Heklina’s cause of death is still a mystery, and the show goes on

“I'm just going to read this,” says Bobby Barber, a solid, bearded man standing in front of the glittery backdrop of the stage at The Stud, before the drag show protesting London’s Metropolitan Police Service begins. It’s 6:30 p.m. on Monday in San Francisco, and London is a long ways off. “So many people have so many questions,” Barber continues. …

https://missionlocal.org/2025/04/s-f-drag-queen-heklinas-cause-of-death-is-still-a-mystery-and-the-show-goes-on/

Boosted by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
flamingspork@tacobelllabs.net ("spork (sleepy)") wrote:

I've written a new story: "I Helped A Stranger Fare Evade On The MBTA And Now There's An Elven Mage On My Couch"

when Rachel helps a strange pink-haired woman fare evade on a MBTA train, she doesn't expect to end up having to help a mage get home to another world

https://philo.gay/stories/isekai.html

jwz wrote:

Hello to my new completely legit follower named "wedding venues near delhi".

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
astro_jcm@mastodon.online ("Juan Carlos Muñoz") wrote:

🚨 Attention #science communicators! There are still a few days to apply for a cool #scicomm #job at the ESO Supernova Planetarium here in Garching bei #Munchen.

If you're passionate about getting audiences of all ages excited about #astronomy and you're fluent in both English and German, apply here: https://recruitment.eso.org/jobs/2025%5F0019

📷 ESO/P. Horálek

#FediHire #astrodon #space

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
popcornreel@mas.to ("Omar Moore") wrote:

SENATOR CORY BOOKER IS APPROACHING 18 CONSECUTIVE HOURS STANDING AND SPEAKING ON THE SENATE FLOOR.

He began at 7pm Eastern on Monday night.

#corybooker

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

Democrats take note

Senator Cory Booker is demonstrating remarkable courage, holding the Senate floor overnight in a marathon filibuster speech to protest the current administration’s policies

Join him. All of you.

You can even get out the Dr. Seuss books if you need to

Attachments:

• video: Senator Corey Booker during his marathon filibuster this dude is freaking amazing did you know he saved someone from a burning fire? Check it out he really did this

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social ("Kevin Beaumont") wrote:

Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101 🫡 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78jd30ywv8o

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
MennoOng@waag.social ("Menno 王 Ong") wrote:

Robert Reich: “If you live in #Wisconsin or #Florida's Sixth congressional district, today's your day to tell Trump and Musk to go to hell” https://open.substack.com/pub/robertreich/p/if-you-live-in-wisconsin-or-floridas?r=50tqdq&utm%5Fmedium=ios

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
freedomofpress@freedom.press ("Freedom of the Press") wrote:

Good news! Prosecutors have dropped their unconstitutional case against Chicago photojournalist Matthew Kaplan for covering an ICE protest in Gary, IN.

We're proud that our advocacy helped make this happen.

https://www.instagram.com/mkaplanphoto/p/DHuMXpYP5QI/?img%5Findex=11

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
michael_w_busch@mastodon.online ("Michael Busch") wrote:

Obituary for the astronomer Alicia Soderberg; who I overlapped with at Caltech - https://baas.aas.org/pub/2025i006/release/1 .

Alicia took the time to teach me how to use the telescopes on Palomar the first time I was on the mountain.

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
TomWellborn@universeodon.com ("TomWellborn3") wrote:

Trump’s deportation flights are flying prisons—shackled migrants, sick children, and powerless civilians forced into silence. Flight attendants describe chaos, inhumanity, and instructions to abandon detainees in emergencies. It’s cruelty by design, executed in secret, with fascist efficiency.
https://www.rawstory.com/i-cried/

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

this is so very not normal

https://universeodon.com/@TomWellborn/114259360391350630

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
TomWellborn@universeodon.com ("TomWellborn3") wrote:

A top cybersecurity professor at Indiana University, Xiaofeng Wang, vanished after the FBI raided his homes. The university scrubbed his and his wife's profiles. No charges are public. No one can reach them. No explanation has been offered. This is not normal—and the silence is deafening.

https://www.wired.com/story/cybersecurity-professor-mysteriously-disappears-as-fbi-raids-his-homes/?