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Boosted by jwz:
AlexGallagher@mastodon.scot ("Alex Gallagher") wrote:

Congressman Jamie Raskin hands Nigel Farage his arse on a plate

Anyone in the UK care to plagiarize?

#politics #ukpolitics #farage #reform #bbc #jamieraskin

Attachments:

• video: 09161420d669331d.mp4

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

Also, the Nanuk cases are made in Canada, which feels vaguely virtuous to support these days.

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

And no, I'm not "sponsored" to plug things.

Boosted by jwz:
anderseknert@swecyb.com ("Anders Eknert") wrote:

I don't know who did this, but, lol

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

The Rogeti tripod bag is another well-designed gem that makes it unusually usable for my setup. It has two lateral straps that let you slide the bag over the back of the roller case's retractable handle. It stays put as you wheel the hard case around. I haven't found any other tripod cases that inter-operate with a roller bag as well as this. Straps let you also use it as a shoulder bag or carry it backpack-style

Anyway, I was surprised at how much easier this combination made things.

4/4

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

I can't tell you enough how great the large wheels are. And they pop off and stow in a mesh bag on the side of the case if I need to stow the case in a tight overhead bin. It's really nicely designed.

Inside the hard case, I use two Phase One/NYA-EVO modular packing cubes, which each have velcro padded dividers for the lenses and stuff. This lets me quickly take one out and put it a backpack if I want to go hiking or something without the hard case.

3/

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

"Some of the key findings from the poll about 8 to 12-year-olds include:

"Over one in four kids isn’t allowed to play alone, even in their own front yard.
"71% of kids have never used a sharp knife.
"45% of kids have never walked alone down the aisle of a store when their parent was in a different aisle."

Who are these parents

https://www.scarymommy.com/parenting/harris-poll-kid-independnce

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

My current secret weapons for this are a Nanuk 935 hard case with the large wheel option and a Rogeti tripod bag. This combination, which incorporates some very specific and somewhat unique features, has been a game changer for my photo schlepping.

The 935 case is a standard roller carryon size Pelican-style case with an unusual option: large (and field-removable) wheels. The large wheels travel far more easily over rough, uneven terrain than the typical rollerblade wheels on such cases do.

2/

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

#photography nerditry:

I don't travel light, at least where my photo gear is concerned. I use a medium format technical camera system (Phase One/Cambo), and that means *everything* is big and heavy. My typical four lens kit (23, 32, 70, 138) plus digital back, camera body, filters, spare batteries, and assorted dodads weighs in around 35lbs, not counting my tripod and head. And I spend a lot of time on foot and public transit, especially when I'm traveling out of town.

How do I manage?

1/

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

Meanwhile, diagonally opposite to me geographically speaking... 😬:

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2025/09/03/florida-ends-all-vaccine-mandates-desantis/

Boosted by jwz:
mathowie@xoxo.zone ("Matthew Haughey") wrote:

“Marc Benioff called the first eight months of 2025, during which an estimated 10,000 jobs have been lost to AI, ‘eight of the most exciting months of my career.’”

(I’m glad I don’t work for this guy anymore. I left six months after he took over because it was clear he was an extremely lucky dumbass boss)

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

These are just a few highlights! For the full two-day program, see the YouTube playlist on our channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLltrHIXltfGLotq79TBgIK9QK4O29Z2FF

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

GA Tech professor Michael Specter described the sorry state of the art in fielded mobile voting systems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=%5FBgAW-uxXYA&list=PLltrHIXltfGLotq79TBgIK9QK4O29Z2FF&index=17

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

Marilyn Marks, Drew Springall, and Philip Davis described a new, highly practical attack against a widely-used Ballot Marking Device.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYL8X2SQIpU&list=PLltrHIXltfGLotq79TBgIK9QK4O29Z2FF&index=14

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

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

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

Boosted by mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze"):
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:
divbyzero@mathstodon.xyz ("Dave Richeson") wrote:

As I was walking home today, I had this idea: Is it possible to turn a QR code into a Truchet tiling that's still a functioning QR code? Yep.

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

“A billion-dollar destroyer sank a speedboat, instead of capturing it and its crew to seize evidence and put its crew on trial. The movement of Space Command does little more than punish Colorado for voting for Democrats. And the deployment of national guard troops without permission from a state’s governor sets up yet another battle in court.” [2/2] - George Chidi in ‘Guardian US’ newsletter

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

“From sinking a drug boat, to moving Space Command, to deploying troops in American cities, Trump has focused on the use of military force in pursuit of his domestic political goals. The effects are questionable for their proportionality, legality and expected effect.” [1/2]

Boosted by mattblaze@federate.social ("Matt Blaze"):
middleclasstool@phire.place ("Pastor of Muppets") wrote:

Friends and enemies, I would like to show you the best blue screen of death I've ever seen. I pulled over with two hyperactive dogs in the car just to take the picture.

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

A universal truth, brought to you by https://dns.kitchen. :chef:

Attachments:

• video: The phrase “it’s always DNS”, presented as a little musical jingle.

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

One of the great pleasures of faculty life: Every now and then you get a note from a former student mentioning how they found something you taught useful. Or sometimes, just how they're doing.

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

This is part of my "slightly better photos of local attractions than you'd typically find hanging in a cheap hotel room" series.

Boosted by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
polpo@chaos.social ("Ian Scott") wrote:

Yesterday we visited Green Mountain Falls, CO to visit the kinetic sculpture Off the Beaten Path by Patrick Shearn. I wasn’t ready for just how dynamic it was even in the slightest breeze. Reminds me of a murmuration of starlings. Incredible artwork. It’ll only be up through October 19th.

Attachments:

• gifv: A fluttering, undulating sheet like form, made from strips of kite material in a color gradient going from warm to cool colors. In the background is a blue sky and a mountainside filled with evergreen trees.

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

Just did another round of blocking, and I feel a buoyant lightness.

Getting rid of the dude who suggested that I can only redeem myself by personally assassinating the president was particularly therapeutic.

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

2/3 10 years ago today I wrote a retrospective on the "Being Poor" piece, talking about why I wrote it, how it had gone out into the world after I wrote it, and my thoughts on some of the responses to it.

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2015/09/03/being-poor-ten-years-on/

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

1/3 20 years ago today, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, I wrote a piece called "Being Poor," to answer, in a way that I hoped would stick, why so many people stayed in New Orleans to face the storm. It was and remains one of the best things I've ever written.

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/03/being-poor/