Mastodon Feed: Posts

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

OK, people, I've had enough. Stop posting your photos of flowers and bumblebees and your signs of spring blooming.

This is my garden. I'm feeling like you're taunting me.

Boosted by kornel ("Kornel"):
q@glauca.space ("Q ✨") wrote:

Apple Intelligence truly is something

Boosted by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
wim_v12e@merveilles.town ("WimⓂ️") wrote:

The more time progresses the more implacable my position towards generative AI becomes.

That a technology can be useful in some cases does not justify its existence. There are many examples of technologies that were useful and yet have been abandoned or even forbidden because of their negative consequences.

#AI

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
Crispius@infosec.exchange ("*|FNAME|* 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇬🇱") wrote:

The corruption is on full display. This was a crypto company found guilty of breaking money-laundering laws. 🤦‍♂️

“Trump Just Pardoned … a Corporation?

In what may be an American first, President Donald Trump pardoned a company sentenced to $100 million in fines for breaking money laundering laws.”

#USPol

https://theintercept.com/2025/04/02/trump-pardons-corporation-bitmex-crypto/

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
vij@sfba.social ("Manish Vij") wrote:

They’re killing the cats, they’re killing the dogs

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
hamishb@mstdn.ca ("Hamish Buchanan") wrote:

This has been going on for years, especially against minorities.

Wikipedia reports that most of the seized cash and property goes to "law enforcement" — the police and/or prosecutor's office (it varies by state). In one case, cash "could not" be returned because it had already been put into the police retirement fund.

Obviously, there are huge conflicts of interest there. And great opportunities for arresting officers to quietly skim a little off the top.

Avoid the US.

@Snowshadow @dougiec3

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
ryanleesipes ("Ryan Lee Sipes ⚡🦅") wrote:

It's time to explain Thunderbird's relationship to Mozilla again.

Thunderbird is in its own legal entity - MZLA Technologies and is governed in part by a Community Council elected by and from our open source contributors.

Thunderbird is currently 100% donation-funded. We do not receive any money outside what our donors give us.

This is good for Thunderbird and makes us unique. Our whole structure only works to serve the interests of our users and contributor community.

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

dynamite!

“The study, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, found that people who received the shingles vaccine were 20 percent less likely to develop dementia in the seven years afterward than those who were not vaccinated.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/health/shingles-vaccine-dementia.html?unlocked%5Farticle%5Fcode=1.8k4.CK6x.X-I7l19fSY6G&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green ("Gerry McGovern") wrote:

Bitcoin is pure evil

“From mid-2022 to mid-2023, the 34 mines consumed 32.3 terawatt-hours of electricity—33% more than Los Angeles—85% of which came from fossil fuels. We estimated that 1.9 million Americans were exposed to ≥0.1 μg/m3 of additional PM2.5 pollution from Bitcoin mines, often hundreds of miles away from the communities they affected.”

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58287-3

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org ("AI6YR Ben") wrote:

Health Officials Confirm Kent County's First Measles Case in Over a Decade

GRAND RAPIDS, MI. (April 1, 2025) —The Kent County Health Department (KCHD), in partnership with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), has confirmed a case of measles in a Kent County resident. This marks the county's first confirmed measles case since 2013 and Michigan’s second case of the year. (More)

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/KENTCOMI/bulletins/3d93e1e

#measlesoutbreak #michigan #measles #health

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
seanfobbe@fediscience.org ("Seán Fobbe") wrote:

I'll be honest, I don't intend to submit academic papers to US-based journals and conferences anymore.

1. Self-censorship of science at US universities and scientific organizations is in full swing and I see virtually no institutional resistance (although some individual scholars are protesting). I don't expect to get a fair hearing with human rights-oriented empirical legal research in peer review any longer.

2. The way this is going I would expect even currently neutral journals to fold within the usual timeframe of a paper review process. I don't feel like burning a paper in the hopes of getting it published before the door closes.

3. I prefer to submit my research to journals backed by institutions that support human dignity, diversity and the freedom of scientific research.

We've all seen where this went in Europe during the 1930s. I hope the US will learn from our history, but I am not optimistic right now.

#AcademicMastodon #ScienceMastodon

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
inthehands@hachyderm.io ("Paul Cantrell") wrote:

What's the difference between a burning Tesla and an apartment lease?
You can get out of a lease.

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
GottaLaff@mstdn.social ("Laffy") wrote:

Don’t ever tell me pressure doesn’t matter.

“Target suffers eighth week of foot-traffic losses since caving on DEI

Costco, which resisted demands to end DEI, extends its streak of foot-traffic gains to 13.” https://www.retailbrew.com/stories/2025/03/28/target-suffers-eighth-consecutive-week-of-foot-traffic-losses-since-caving-on-dei

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
billkimler@mstdn.social ("Bill Kimler") wrote:

"Nearly every modern medical treatment can be traced to research funded by the National Institutes of Health: from over-the-counter and prescription medications that treat high cholesterol and pain to protection from infectious diseases such as polio and smallpox.

However, the scientific work driving these medical advances and breakthroughs is in jeopardy."

2/2

Boosted by jwz:
_9CL7T9k8cjnD_ ("-0--1-") wrote:

Lololol! #TSLA This!

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

“the greater good” appears to be an alien concept to this administration

https://mstdn.social/@billkimler/114269700221994377

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

using #firefox or a derivative? Setting browser.ml.chat.enabled=false turns off the brand-new AI features.

You're welcome.

(RIP my mentions, muting this)

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
TexasObserver@texasobserver.social ("Texas Observer") wrote:

Featured story: These legislative proposals mark the most significant effort by Republicans to allay concerns from patients and providers about Texas abortion law. But now advocates worry this "clarification " poses new dangers to pregnant people. https://www.texasobserver.org/republican-abortion-laws-texas-legislature-exceptions/

#politics #USpol #ReproductiveRights #abortion #Texas #TXlege #health #healthcare #women #news

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
b0rk@jvns.ca ("Julia Evans") wrote:

spotted this van today

Boosted by jwz:
PhineasX@mastodon.art wrote:

Hello people who are inexplicably following me here. It's possible you've noticed that the world is going quite entirely to hell, and with it a lot of my work drawing things for money has dried up. Gotta be honest, it's bad. So I am telling anyone doing less badly who wants to buy some stuff from me how to do that…

Original paintings, prints, etc: https://octophant.us/buy

Art Prints: https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/phineas/

Shirts & Merch & Stuff: https://octophant.threadless.com/

Please to have a look won't you

Boosted by jwz:
QasimRashid ("Qasim Rashid, Esq.") wrote:

Guy worth $340B spending $25M in WI is like the median American worker who makes $39,982 a year spending $2.94.

Meaning, a $5 cup of coffee has a greater financial impact on a working American than $25M did on a maniac billionaire.

This is how democracies collapse.

TAX BILLIONAIRES OUT OF EXISTENCE.

Boosted by adam@social.lol ("Adam Newbold"):
valerie@social.lol ("valerie :prami_pride_ace:") wrote:

@adam I have an artist friend who last year found an AI model made specifically to mimic her work and style. I find it so frustrating that society has become accustomed to this feeling that art should be free, and have lost the respect for the amount of effort it takes individuals to make it. The person who made that model surely did it because they love her work, and not with the intent to do her harm, but that line of thinking is so disconnected from reality.

Boosted by adam@social.lol ("Adam Newbold"):
piccalilli@front-end.social ("Piccalilli") wrote:

Fantastic advice *and* a tangible call to action.

https://brilliantcrank.com/eject-disk/

taral ("JP Sugarbroad") wrote:

I'm going to guess that Matrix doesn't implement Byzantine consensus, even though my many years of experience with IRC say that it definitely will need it.

https://akko.erincandescent.net/objects/25eda234-9d88-4297-bafa-ec1e2fed1c27

Boosted by taral ("JP Sugarbroad"):
erincandescent@erincandescent.net ("Erin 💽✨") wrote:

A friend likes to say "distributed systems are a way to turn a single node failure into a multiple node failure"

Now, they weren't talking about Matrix, but they sure were talking about Matrix.

Boosted by jakedel@mamot.fr ("S. Delafond"):
santiago@framapiaf.org ("Santiago") wrote:

Just uploaded my first package to Debian via #debusine! 🍥 🏭 🎉 !

Take a look to the nice workflow (https://debusine.debian.net/debian/developers/work-request/74300/) that ended up as "Accepted pypdf 5.4.0-1 (source) into unstable" (https://tracker.debian.org/news/1634651/accepted-pypdf-540-1-source-into-unstable/)

And did you know that any DD can use it right now?

Kudos to the #debusine team!

#debian #debusine #freexian

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

There is a Star Wars quote that is perfect for this situation. “I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.”

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/04/02/i-felt-a-great-disturbance-in-the-force-as-if-millions-of-voices-suddenly-cried-out-in-terror-and-were-suddenly-silenced/

Boosted by adam@social.lol ("Adam Newbold"):
andycarolan@social.lol ("Andy Carolan :prami:") wrote:

@adam Slop Quest! @stroughtonsmith

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

Mr Rogers said, "Look for the helpers." Israel says, "Look for the helpers, so you can execute them."

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/04/02/monstrous-2/

Boosted by adam@social.lol ("Adam Newbold"):
siracusa ("John Siracusa") wrote:

I really hope a part of the Nintendo Switch Welcome Tour is a visit to the Hall-effect sensors that power the JoyCon sticks…