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

Having a little taxonomic awareness is a good idea.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2026/05/07/quit-blaming-loxosceles/

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
nova@lunar.place ("Nova :neocat_floof_cute:") wrote:

​:neocat_laptop_notice:​

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

1 CPU (cat processing unit) https://lunar.place/notes/alxltc1g2m1901km

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
obtener@mastodon.world ("Georgiann Baldino") wrote:

#Inflation #Affordabiity
"Central California peach farmers are preparing to destroy around 420,000 clingstone peach trees after Del Monte Foods shut down its canneries ...The closures left hundreds of workers without jobs and devastated growers, many of whom lost 20-year contracts with Del Monte and had few alternative buyers for their crops. Farmers could face an estimated $550 million in lost revenue, according to the Sacramento Bee." The Independent https://www.yahoo.com/finance/sectors/energy/articles/california-farmers-destroy-420-000-131908299.html

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

Oxford scientists achieved the first experimental demonstration of “quadsqueezing,” a once-theoretical quantum effect that enables stronger control of quantum systems. The breakthrough could advance quantum computing, sensing, and simulation technologies.

#Quantum #QuantumComputing #technology #Science

🔗 Discover more: https://thedebrief.org/scientists-unlock-elusive-quantum-effect-long-considered-theoretical-in-breakthrough-experiment/#:~:text=Credit%3A%20David%20Nadlinger-,SCIENTISTS%20UNLOCK%20ELUSIVE%20QUANTUM%20EFFECT%20LONG%20CONSIDERED%20THEORETICAL%20IN%20BREAKTHROUGH%20EXPERIMENT,-RYAN%20WHALEN

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

Boosted by soatok@furry.engineer ("Soatok Dreamseeker"):
bascule@mas.to ("Tony “Abolish ICE” Arcieri🌹🦀") wrote:

Firm solar and wind with battery storage, capable of around-the-clock operation, is now cheaper than coal and gas (and much cheaper than nuclear)

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/solar-wind-with-battery-storage-become-more-cost-competitive-irena-report-shows-2026-05-06/

#renewableenergy

Boosted by aredridel@kolektiva.social ("Mx. Aria Stewart"):
arclight@oldbytes.space wrote:

Thanks to @meena for prompting this - it's not like I'm some sort of Superior Programming Being whose every line of code is elegant snd brilliant and not worthy of the sweaty masses. I'm a tediously average programmer. I detest status-driven gatekeeping. I would like to share my work so the effort can be leveraged by others to do new and useful work. I support some ideal of open source circa 1995 where useful decent quality tooling is freely shared and available.

That is not the environment we live in today. Beyond the individual entitled ankle-biters that harass devs for not doing work they want for free, we now have this extreme corporate bullshit of "open source supply chain", that freely-provided _caveat utilitor_ code should be treated like code acquired under a commercial procurement agreement with formal specs, requirements, and standards for security, quality, and lifecycle management.

I work in this space in my day job, I'm the one who sets and verifies those specs for our acquired codes, and I'm going to say flat out, that is that absent an explicit agreement with a supplier, all that supply chain and capital-P procurement activity is *solely* on the code user, not on the code author, full stop. Screw off with that CTO/infosec/bureaucrat thinking. Into the sea with you.

For those of you in the back:
_IF THAT PROCUREMENT AND ASSURANCE WORK IS IMPORTANT TO YOUR ORGANIZATION, YOUR ORGANIZATION NEEDS TO PAY FOR IT_.

Further:
_WITHOUT AN EXPLICIT AGREEMENT, NOBODY IS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE TO YOU AT ANY PRICE_.

And finally:
_WHAT PART OF 'USE AT YOUR OWN RISK' IS UNCLEAR TO YOU?_

I will curse all day long about research-grade software being built and distributed by organizations who explicitly know they are working on nuclear safety applications and do not perform adequate diligence in design, implementation, and testing. This goes beyond #ResearchSoftwareEngineering - it's production software engineering practice. These are organizations who absolutely know how their code is used (we have monthly meetings with them). I hold these organizations and individuals to a higher standard because this is quite literally our jobs.

By contrast, this is not the job of @bagder and expecting or demanding he do some corporation's or industry's V&V and SQA work is laughable, expecting him to do it _for free_ is arrogant, insulting, and delusional.

But this is where we are now with sharing our code. Ethically, I believe anyone who puts their code in public bears some personal responsibility to ensure it's of a reasonable level of quality, functionality, and security. It's as if you were bringing homemade food to a potluck - the expectation is that it's edible and not spoiled or adulterated. You aren't expected to disclose every significant allergen, provide a list of ingredients, or a nutritional statement but you're expected to wash your hands, use clean utensils and ingredients of good quality, and ensure the food is cooked all the way through.

That's gatekeeping, absolutely, and I won't apologize for setting that demand or an analogous one for "potluck" software.

I am old enough to remember Matt's Script Archive and I have seen what happens when we don't do this sort of positive gatekeeping. For those unfamiliar, Matt was the Typhoid Mary of insecure internet software and his formmail.pl script was the poster child for bad and dangerous code you found for free on the internet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt%27s%5FScript%5FArchive

And while I appreciate he was a teenager when he posted most of that code, as an adult he was repeatedly told how damaging his code was and yet he kept distributing broken versions for YEARS.

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

Some of my little friends like rock-climbing.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2026/05/07/all-it-takes-to-make-a-girl-happy-is-a-big-rock/

aredridel@kolektiva.social ("Mx. Aria Stewart") wrote:

RE: https://mastodon.social/@ploopy/116527277517059346

Wholesomeposting like this on main smdh

dysfun@treehouse.systems ("gaytabase") wrote:

okay i have no idea what i did but it works now.

aredridel@kolektiva.social ("Mx. Aria Stewart") wrote:

I have basically mildly positive feelings about Gemini Nano being available in Chrome. I don't use Chrome, but lots of stuff should be done on-device, not off. That's a win.

If "software shouldn't have features i don't like" is the argument you're actually making, that's not really a good argument. Even when the feature is an LLM model.

"Chrome is getting big and bloated and we can do better” is absolutely a good argument you can make.

And then the real kicker: Google pushing the web platform around through dominance is just the real ick here. It's the same sort of thing monopoly power enables. Companies that own verticals in the economy or a product market can dictate rather than negotiate. This is, in general, bad. Google does this, not because the ideas its employees put forward are good, but because they work out to be in Google's interests. And those interests can run counter to the rest of the world.

That's what we have to push back on.

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

Because I know some creative types feel weird about promoting their own stuff when the world is on fire, this is a GUILT FREE SELF-PROMOTION THREAD. People need a break from the horrors! Your stuff will provide that! Tell us what you've got for sale! Include links!

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

I have experienced this with options/development and it is aggravating AF (although to be fair to Hollywood, it's not just them who do this, I've had publishing deals that have taken the better part of a year to get fully papered). The one "advantage" I have here is that my primary income is elsewhere, so I don't starve while the deal drags on, which is a luxury other some other writers dealing with film/TV don't have. But that doesn't mean it's not still a problem.

RE: https://www.threads.com/@hollywoodreporter/post/DYCV5%5F-lD1u

Boosted by soatok@furry.engineer ("Soatok Dreamseeker"):
pojntfx ("Felicitas Pojtinger 🌅") wrote:

@onepict It's so well written it even got my nonexistant attention span to respawn

Boosted by soatok@furry.engineer ("Soatok Dreamseeker"):
onepict@chaos.social ("Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:") wrote:

@pojntfx That post is utter perfection.

Boosted by soatok@furry.engineer ("Soatok Dreamseeker"):
pojntfx ("Felicitas Pojtinger 🌅") wrote:

https://www.stvn.sh/writing/programming-still-sucks-fqffhyp

Everyone should read this.

Boosted by soatok@furry.engineer ("Soatok Dreamseeker"):
web3isgreat@indieweb.social ("web3 is going just great") wrote:

TrustedVolumes suffers $6.7 million exploit

May 6, 2026
https://www.web3isgoinggreat.com/?id=trustedvolumes-exploit

Boosted by soatok@furry.engineer ("Soatok Dreamseeker"):
patrickcmiller@infosec.exchange ("Patrick C Miller :donor:") wrote:

Microsoft's bad obsession is showing up in shabby services and slipshod software. Here's proof https://www.theregister.com/2026/05/05/microsoft%5Fopinion%5Fcolumn/

aredridel@kolektiva.social ("Mx. Aria Stewart") wrote:

There it is, the good take about Gemini Nano being included in Chrome.

https://wil.to/posts/googles-prompt-api/

Google is behaving abominably here, and acting as always like they own the web.

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

Now that classes are over, it's time to face the chaos of my lab and office.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2026/05/07/the-drudgery-beginsnow/

dysfun@treehouse.systems ("gaytabase") wrote:

i don't even know where it's getting this key from. i've deleted every copy i can find. i am currently doing a find on / ...

dysfun@treehouse.systems ("gaytabase") wrote:

i am having tremendous fun(tm) trying to get abuild to use the keys i have generated for this purpose to sign the damn package index.

Boosted by baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason"):
sue@glasgow.social ("Sue Smith") wrote:

This one prompted a blog post https://www.sue.codes/blog/convenienceunderstanding/

Boosted by baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason"):
tante@tldr.nettime.org wrote:

"There are no more juniors. There was a funeral for their passing in 2024. Nobody came. The machine does what they do now, but cheaper. Of course, juniors weren't valuable for what they produced, they were valuable for who they would become: the senior engineer who knows where the bodies are buried. We optimized for output, and abolished apprenticeship. A few years from now, we'll wonder where all the seniors are. We shot them. Nobody will remember."

https://www.stvn.sh/writing/programming-still-sucks-fqffhyp

Boosted by baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason"):
glecharles@gardenstate.social ("Guy LeCharles Gonzalez") wrote:

For the first time since 2015, I’m on the open market, looking for my next gig!

Details in the post, but tl;dr, I’m taking on some short-term consulting gigs while exploring opportunities for a full-time role.

If you’ve ever wanted to work with me, or have been curious about what I’m actually good at, let’s talk.

If you have or know of something that might be a good fit, drop me an email or pass along my LinkedIn profile to anyone you think should know about me.

https://loudpoet.com/2026/05/07/personal-news-open-to-work/

Boosted by baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason"):
davidgerard@circumstances.run ("David Gerard") wrote:

we joke that when the AI bubble pops and the managers can't afford the chatbot any more, the surviving companies will hire the people who know how shit works to clean up

but this is of course optimistic. observed behaviour is that they will instead do the stupidest and shortest-term thing they can do instead of ever doing it properly.

so what do you envision this might be?

for clarity, i think when the AI bubble pops, which I place as some time next year at the latest - and you can hear the screeching noises in 2026 - the current recession signs will turn into a full Great Depression 2, so those surviving companies will also be doing not so great

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

#SmolFedi is a lightweight, no-JavaScript Fediverse web client written in PHP.

v1.2.7 is available

• Add thread indentation and goto parent link
• Better page style
• Add profile banner ratio in prefs
• Add missing translation in aria
• Add RSS feeds discovery for profiles and tags
• Add instance info page
• Stay on profile and post pages when switching account

Source/download

Demo instance

#smolweb #fediverse #nojs

Boosted by kornel ("Kornel"):
FabMusacchio ("Fabrizio Musacchio") wrote:

#Deepfakes are everywhere, but #DigitalForensics investigators are fighting back:

🌍 https://scim.ag/42dMPBg

Boosted by kornel ("Kornel"):
webstandards_dev ("Web Standards") wrote:

Using safe-area-inset to build mobile-safe layouts. Modern phones have notches, cutouts, and floating buttons that overlap your UI unless you account for them. The Polypane blog walks through env(safe-area-inset-*), why you need viewport-fit=cover in the , combining insets with calc() for extra spacing, and the new safe-area-max-inset-* values that stay stable even when the address bar hides on scroll. #css #layout

https://polypane.app/blog/using-safe-area-inset-to-build-mobile-safe-layouts/