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

Berkeley statistics professor Philip Stark described "Risk Limiting Audits", perhaps the most important advance in election security of this century.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI07TS5kQkU&list=PLltrHIXltfGLotq79TBgIK9QK4O29Z2FF&index=8

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

Turing Award winner Ron Rivest talked about the need for "Software Independence" in voting systems, and explained what that means in practice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31joiscFlUw&list=PLltrHIXltfGLotq79TBgIK9QK4O29Z2FF&index=7

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

In our first keynote, Former California Secretary of State Debra Bowen reflected on the 2007 "Top to Botton Review" of her state's election systems, the first independent exam of post 2000 computerized election technology.

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

Boosted by jwz:
breakfastgolem@goblin.camp ("Dicks Lmao, Private Eye") wrote:

Mastodon's reserves are secure

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

I kicked us off with a brief introduction to the technical problems in securing US voting systems, the progress we've made, and the work still left to do.

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

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

For those who couldn't join us at the #VotingVillage at #DEFCON33 earlier this month, videos of all the talks are online in this YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLltrHIXltfGLotq79TBgIK9QK4O29Z2FF

We had a great program covering a wide range of topics on the theory and practice of US election security.

I'll post a few highlights of more general interest in the thread that follows.

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

He's created his own paramilitary force, the current incarnation of ICE, with the huge injection of money the Republican Fascist Party in control of Congress gave him. He's attempting to incorporate the National Guard across the country into ICE's operations. 3/

Boosted by jwz:
cmconseils ("Laura Manach :bongoCat:") wrote:

Boosted by jwz:
virtualbri@mastodon.online ("Brian Tatosky") wrote:

Ghislaine Maxwell was at a Clinton event in 2013? Glad the media has uncovered that timely bit of information.

Well, we better fucking make sure he isn't President again!

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

The power station has long been an iconic landmark on the south bank of the Thames, distinctive for its four prominent smokestacks (two for each of its two separate generating facilities) and industrial art deco architecture. Perhaps most famously, it featured in the cover art for Pink Floyd's 1977 “Animals” album, with one of London's (sadly now extinct) giant flying pigs captured hovering near the smokestacks.

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

London's Battersea Power Station, built as two nearly-identical halves completed in 1935 and 1955, respectively, was originally a coal-fired electrical generating plant. It was decommissioned in 1983. After being idle for nearly 40 years, the plant has been re-developed as retail space and commercial offices, opened in 2022. Along with the Tate Modern, it gives London a second striking example of large-scale adaptive reuse of an obsolete, but still handsome, power station.

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

Rodenstock 70mm/5.6 Digaron-W (@ f/8), Phase One IQ4-150 digital back (@ ISO 50), Cambo WRS 1200 camera (right shifted 20mm, vertically shifted 8mm).

This composition fully exploited the image circle and edge sharpness of the lens. We're to the right of the power station, but to preserve the geometry of the river side facade, the camera was pointed straight ahead, parallel with that side of the building. The camera back was then shifted 20mm to move the building back into the composition.

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

Battersea Power Station, London, UK, 2024.

All the pixels, but no shops or restaurants, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/54079042655

#photography

Boosted by jwz:
RYStorm@mastodon.gamedev.place ("Robin-Yann Storm") wrote:

Remember how ridiculously hard it was to convince so many companies to quit using ozone destroying material?

Remember how ridiculously unpopular it was to ban smoking by law in every bar, train, event arena, and even planes?

You can just do things. It requires actual leadership though!

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

TWENTY YEARS AGO I posted about how easy it is to get around any sort of flag-burning law/amendment/executive order/whatever, and here we are today, having it have some relevance. Also our current president is a feculent spoon.

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/06/23/cracking-the-flag-burning-amendment/

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

The bill for scientific research is but a speck on the cost of maintaining Trump's anti-immigrant crusade.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/08/25/we-traded-cancer-research-for-a-fancy-new-paint-job/

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

We're seeing more Monarchs!

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/08/25/monarchs-like-our-house/

Boosted by bcantrill ("Bryan Cantrill"):
mikeolson ("Mike Olson") wrote:

Bob Swan doesn’t even get *mentioned*. Imagine being that irrelevant.

He’s the Millard Fillmore of Intel.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/technology/intel-computer-chips-tech-ai-trump.html?unlocked%5Farticle%5Fcode=1.gk8.jq%5F5.nplj231eOpMy&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

bcantrill ("Bryan Cantrill") wrote:

This week's Oxide and Friends is going to be at a special day and time: on Wednesday at 3p Pacific @ahl and I will be joined by our operations team to talk about the myriad challenges the team has surmounted in scaling manufacturing. Join us on Wednesday!

https://discord.gg/QrcKGTTPrF?event=1409561378452279427

Boosted by ChrisWere@toot.wales ("Chris Were ⁂🐧🌱☕"):
catsalad@infosec.exchange ("CatSalad🐈🥗 (D.Burch) :blobcatrainbow:") wrote:

:neocat_flop_sleep:

Attachments:

• video: Video of a cat sound asleep with a warbling style microphone next to it amplifying the kitty's snores. That's one tired kitty!

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

If you can't make heads or tails of biology class, don't bother asking AI for help.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/08/25/sure-go-ask-google/

Boosted by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
ancientjames ("James Brown") wrote:

Amazing what these Arm processors can do.

Attachments:

• gifv: A remake of the Lander demo from the Acorn Archimedes, running in volumetric 3D inside my home made orb.

Boosted by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
noelle@noelle.dev ("Noelle") wrote:

Martha Wells DRM-free ePUB bundle! Murderbot and more!

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/martha-wells-murderbot-and-more-tor-books

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

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity, and don't think you can talk someone out of it.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/08/25/complacency-will-not-defeat-stupidity/

Boosted by ChrisWere@toot.wales ("Chris Were ⁂🐧🌱☕"):
stavvers@masto.ai ("Another Angry Woman") wrote:

Annoying grammar sticklers, now is your moment to shine. Be more like Ian.

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

"Imagine the plausibilities!"

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

"Enjoy the plausible!" will be the trademark of my hot new "AI" startup.

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

Huckster: Our device can generate plausible answers faster than ever!

Potential Sucker: Can it generate correct answers?

Huckster: Who needs correct when you have speed?

PS: Hmmm.... I dunno. I've always had to strive for correct in my work.

Huckster: You can go faster if you don't check, and if you don't check you won't know if it's wrong, which is like being right. Right?

PS: Uh...

Huckster: Your boss has already ordered one for each of you that he hasn't laid off. Enjoy the plausible!

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

Ukraine–Hungary relations continue to deteriorate after Zelensky implied today that Kyiv will keep attacking Druzhba oil pipeline infrastructure if Hungary doesn't lift its objections to Ukrainian EU membership. Ukraine's foreign minister doubled down after his Hungarian counterpart complained.

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

@SwiftOnSecurity I remember how stupid the idea of a ‘political officer’ seemed, and now they’re being installed at TV stations.