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

The Hon. Deborah Bowen, the former California Secretary of State behind the 2007 "Top To Bottom Review" of the state's election technology, gave a keynote describing her experiences introducing transparency into voting systems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjwYf3TsQwU&list=PLltrHIXltfGLotq79TBgIK9QK4O29Z2FF&index=5

#VotingVillage

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

It was a great program, and we're proud of every talk, but here are a few highlights of general interest.

I kicked us off with a general overview of the technical problems (and solutions) in making elections trustworthy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzRSA%5FVDsdc&list=PLltrHIXltfGLotq79TBgIK9QK4O29Z2FF&index=2

#VotingVillage

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

Videos of the talks at #VotingVillage 2025 (held at @defcon 33) are now up on our YouTube channel! Here's a full playlist of all 20 talks:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLltrHIXltfGLotq79TBgIK9QK4O29Z2FF

I think I'm supposed to tell you to "like and subscribe", but really, just enjoy.

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

Captured with a Rodenstock 50mm/4.0 HR Digaron lens (@ f/5.0) and the Phase One IQ4-150 back, shifted vertically by 12mm.

This is a straightforward, somewhat abstract, composition, emphasizing scale and lines. It converges out of sight below the foreground pier, suggesting an infinite roadway.

I shot this several times, day and night, and the nighttime image, in which the steelwork under the bridge is closer in brightness to the sky, was much more interesting. The cloudy night helps, too.

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

Manhattan Bridge, NYC, 2023

All the pixels, no congestion charges, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/52841667763

#photography

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

Shout out to Lars Gotrich at the end with his over the ear Sony headphones with the rotting ear pads. I know how that goes... :/

Boosted by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
waldo.net@bsky.brid.gy ("Waldo Jaquith") wrote:

The Supreme Court is no longer a legitimate institution. More and more people are saying it.

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:phwd3z2467lpso7iza2xmkwk/post/3lwwtgy2tks25

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

A fun look behind the scenes of NPR's Tiny Desk:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka1DKkj7pGk

adam@social.lol ("Adam") wrote:

(At the Kentucky State Fair)

adam@social.lol ("Adam") wrote:

Kier’s Finest

Attachments:

• video: A group of goats wearing red shrouds eating straw.

slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell") wrote:

I really am going to write the *"You Had One Job, React"* blog post, but also we need to fix the platform. Feedback on design options warmly appreciated:

https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/blob/main/EventPhases/explainer.md

jscalzi@threads.net ("John Scalzi") wrote:

Again, why go someplace it's been made clear you're not wanted

https://www.npr.org/2025/08/21/nx-s1-5508461/fewer-canadians-visiting-us

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

@mlevison The point here is that if there are any hoops that you have to jump through to exercise the service contract that you don't have to jump through if you don't have it, that makes the service contract less valuable.

I wish I had just bought a new phone immediately, It would have saved me a lot of time and trouble.

jwz wrote:

Legion of heroic volunteers: "Would you like to download an IMAX version of the latest blockbuster? That will take 6 1/2 minutes."

Apple, market cap of $3.3 trillion: "Would you like to download an update from 14.7.7 to 14.7.8? That will take 45 minutes."

* And we will spend 30 of those minutes saying "10 minutes remaining".

slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell") wrote:

A ground-up React app layout-thrashing multiple times in the same callstack? It's more likely than you think.

Boosted by jwz:
danfuzz ("Dan Bornstein") wrote:

Unexpected Gorton sighting in Katamari Damacy Reroll (2018 rerelease of the 2004 original of the series). Unclear (literally, I looked for screenshots) if the original used Gorton.

CC @mwichary

Boosted by jwz:
heidilifeldman ("Heidi Li Feldman") wrote:

DC is a canary in the coal mine. Because it is treated like a plantation by Congress - a place whose residents have none of the protections of state government, Trump and his minions are using it to model, showcase, and normalize their authoritarian tactics. 2/

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

...

And I when I look at how often I actually use AppleCare, the balance tips even further away from getting it. I am clumsy, but not so clumsy I break my phone multiple times during its normal life. Maybe once every five years on average. At that rate, it's cheaper (in the aggregate) to just eat the cost of a new phone every time one breaks than to pay for the service plan and have to jump through time-wasting hoops just to exercise it.

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

Game Bub's gone live at Crowd Supply.

https://www.crowdsupply.com/second-bedroom/game-bub

Looks cool, and I wish them luck, but I will never buy one since I appear to enjoy the idea of games and game consoles more than I do the actual playing and using of them. 😆

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

...

On the one hand, this looks like a win. Total cost was $30 plus the cost of AppleCare - definitely cheaper than a comprehensive repair or a new phone.

On the other hand, this killed almost three days of my life. If I didn't have AppleCare, I would have just bought a new (and more current) handset and done the transfer at my leisure at home (e.g., overnight while sleeping). And I wouldn't have felt like an unwelcome guest in the Apple store.

Probably will forgo AppleCare in the future.

4/

adele@social.pollux.casa ("Adële") wrote:

I know, I'm a bit blurry.

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

...

Get to the local Apple store. They indeed have my replacement phone. But they don't want to let me transfer all my data (ESIM, data, Signal history, etc); they want me to restore from backup (which isn't possible for Signal history). After some discussion with manager, they let me do it.

Takes *six* hours. Staff is hovering over me the whole time like they're worried I'm going to break something. Eventually I finish and do go home with a new working handset.

3/

adele@social.pollux.casa ("Adële") wrote:

This avatar is too old now... let me replace it!

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

...

Following day, went back for them to swap out the broken TD camera. Four hours later they determine that the repair was infeasible and will swap out the entire handset instead. But none is in stock. Flight home is next day, so I take the phone back and will do it at local Apple store after I return.

Everyone was very nice, but my phone is still broken.

So yesterday, I go to the local Apple store (which called me to let me know the replacement phone was in).

2/

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

AppleCare can seem like a good deal on paper, but that may not take into account the value of your time.

Broke my not quite-2-year-old iPhone screen (in a voting machine mishap the last day of DEFCON. Went to local Apple store, which replaced the screen. Took about an hour and cost $30 under the plan. So far, great.

But they found the TrueDepth camera was also broken. Store was closing so I took the phone and went back the next day to have that swapped out.

1/

Boosted by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻"):
UnicornRiot ("Unicorn Riot") wrote:

Today, hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza City marched against Israel's war on Gaza, the siege of Gaza City & the forced displacement & ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population.

At least 43 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip by Israel today, 13 while seeking aid.

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

What's the best fast food chain and why is it Pollo Tropical?

Grilled bone-in chicken quarter, yellow rice with carrots & peas, beans and a roll.

Why there isn't one on every corner in every city I'll never know.

Boosted by aral@mastodon.ar.al ("Aral Balkan"):
RussCheshire@mastodon.scot ("Russ Cheshire") wrote:

No matter how much #Starmer denies it, this is genocide.

The Zionazis led by the Murderer #Netanyahu have much to answer for.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/aug/21/revealed-israeli-militarys-own-data-indicates-civilian-death-rate-of-83-in-gaza-war

Boosted by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
brad_frost wrote:

NEW RECORD! I logged into Quickbooks and got hit with not one, not two, not three, but FOUR modals at once!

Boosted by aral@mastodon.ar.al ("Aral Balkan"):
SANKOFAB@zirk.us ("🔻Stones of David🔻") wrote:

Al Jazeera airs footage of relentless Israeli airstrikes striking residential neighborhoods in Jabalia, northern Gaza, as bombardments intensify amid declared plans to occupy Gaza City

https://x.com/QudsNen/status/1958611522521112665

#Gaza #Palestine #Syria #iran #lebanon #Genocide #geopolitics
@palestine @lebanon @yemen #SettlerColonialism
#AntiImperialism #tiktok #cdnpoli canada #usa #yemen
@blackmastodon #freePalestine #GazaGenocide #IsraelTerroristState #StopGenocide #palestina #IDFTerrorists #DismantleZionism