@sysop408@sfba.socialWife comes in while I'm working on my computer. I'm there looking very satisfied. She asks me what I'm smiling at.
"Oh, I lit this street portrait perfectly."
That's what counts as excitement around here. I love using speedlights and I'm just so happy when I nail the lighting in the wild.
#photography
@NFL@darktundra.xyzSeahawks working out timing of Terrion Arnold signing amid CB's legal situation https://www.nfl.com/news/seahawks-working-out-timing-of-terrion-arnold-signing-amid-cb-s-legal-situation
@cdarwin@c.imRE: https://c.im/@cdarwin/117128590684848046
Trump has exposed the venality and cupidity of corporate America,
while large swaths of the working middle class struggle to make ends meet.
As a result, Republicans appear likely to face some major defeats i…
@stefan@gardenstate.socialI would be more okay with the loss of physical game media if it came with promises of working with archivists or some group that could help perseve the games without needing to depend on pirates.
There really is no attempt to give any back while taking things away.
#videogames
@servelan@newsie.social"Fast-tracking SpaceX and other newly public companies into index funds benefits top executives and corporate insiders while putting ordinary retirement savers at risk."
How to Protect Working People’s Nest Eggs from SpaceX Scam - Inequality.org
https://inequality.org/article/protect-working-peoples-nest-eggs-from-spacex-scam/
@ubuntourist@mastodon.socialMOM’s Organic Market bans employees from wearing face masks while working;
The "customer experience" may become "sickness"
https://www.thebanner.com/community/public-health/moms-organic-market-face-mask-b…
@knurd42@social.linux.pizzaRE: https://fosstodon.org/@fedora/117294922462732334
Switched for Fedora 45 about a week ago, everything is working fine, there is just one minor thing with gnome-text-editor that I find kinda annoying:
Pressing Ctrl F while search is open does not foc…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialOpenAI researcher: top models are becoming so situationally aware humans "are losing the ability to evaluate them" while humans rely more on AI to lead research (Daniel Kokotajlo/@dkokotajlo)
https://x.com/dkokotajlo/status/2099600298855829616
@datascience@genomic.social{duckplyr} is a drop-in replacement for dplyr powered by DuckDB. Keep the familiar dplyr syntax while speeding up work with large datasets: #rstats
@cdarwin@c.imIt’s just not something you expect when you’re working on a regular Tuesday morning,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/14/belgian-student-strikes-gold-worth-9m-while-digging-sewers?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other…
@keithp@fosstodon.orgTwo more C23 math functions for picolibc, compoundn and pown. While doing this, I discovered that I'd used the wrong constant for Dekker's Split function for binary64 values. That took a while to find.
So far, my new 'math_two' environment is working out pretty well; it's pretty easy to write format-independent floating point code now.
@cdarwin@c.imSenate Majority Leader John Thune’s political action committee dropped a massive
$53.9 million investment into the Texas Senate race, according to a Federal Election Commission filingsubmitted Monday.
The investment from Texas PAC, a committee associated with Thune’s Senate Leadership Fund, divided the media spending push:
Nearly $27 million will be used to support Republican nominee Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general,
while $27 million is set to oppose Democratic …
@catsalad@infosec.exchangeImagine working on a computer all day when you can just do this
@ubuntourist@mastodon.socialMOM’s Organic Market bans employees from wearing face masks while working;
The "customer experience" may become "sickness"
https://www.thebanner.com/community/public-health/moms-organic-market-face-mask-b…
@philip@mastodon.mallegolhansen.com@… I’m working with a client right now that is *heavily* in the LLM kool aide. So much so that it’s impossible for me to avoid interacting with LLMs while performing my work.
I absolutely feel like a disgustingly gross person after I’m done with work.
@cyrevolt@mastodon.socialHey everyone, the unix.next #CfP is still open - submit a cool session!
https://pretalx.com/unix-next2026/cfp
I am working on a draft, boosting a few ideas I've been having for a while and teased …
@neverpanic@chaos.social#OpenSSL is working on its ticket backlog. With some funding from @…, the open issue count is now below 1000 for the first time in a long while!
@patrickquin@furry.engineerSubmitted my self-eval perf review yesterday. It's so different this year around, as it felt like I was reapplying for my job. More and more I am suspecting disclosing my disability was a mistake, as the new HR in town might be looking for pretexts to cull the herd based on LLM hype. My past handful of experiences of applying for jobs while working my current one, even for curiosity rather than putting my experience up for bid, did not go anywhere.
Yet in the coming months I might …
@Techmeme@techhub.socialSources: Anthropic has been working on a plan to allow secondary stock sales in its IPO while also considering lockup periods longer than the standard 180 days (The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/anthro…
@LaChasseuse@mastodon.scotIf you want a real nightmare, this article details how AI data centres big nuclear are working together in right wing America.
From an energy specialist publication.
https://www.powermag.co…
@lpryszcz@genomic.social"Conversations became focused on how to integrate AI into the software that the customers used. I was watching it spread like a virus throughout that organization, while I continued programming away as I had for the decades before, writing tests and building features, and largely enjoying the work.
...
I didn't, and I still don't, see the need for working faster. I really like what Cal Newport encourages in his book Slow Productivity: work at a natural pace."
@lightweight@mastodon.nzoss.nzRE: https://social.magnificent.nz/@magnificent/117012520877084702
Here's a little libre digital sovereign tech project a couple of us have been working on for a while...
@Defiance@sfba.socialCoo Coo Rockin Time (1990)
I remember this album from when I worked in a record store and not knowing this was a collaboration between lo-fi rocker R. Stevie Morre and David Fair from Half Japanese. I would just wonder what it sounded like and laugh at how no one ever bought it.
It’s a kooky rock’n’roll record with a variety of whimsical songs. Lots of sax going on in every song.
Anyway, I just listened to it again while working and it really reminds me of the mid-to-lat…
@tezoatlipoca@mas.toWhile I _am_ WFH, noone seems to be in the office or online at all. "Where the heck is everyone?".... "oh _riiiight_." Dang.
Oh well. Might actully get some stuff done.
#canadaday #longweekend #holiday
@penguin42@mastodon.org.ukRight, that's a bunch of #libreoffice patches merged for the big memory usage bug I've been working on for a while; the original one was using ~10G and is now under 2G, and the BIG one is down from 185G to 45G.
So I've closed the 10yr old bug that complained about the 10G case crashing; onto just doing stuff on the big one.
I've got some ideas left - not sure how fa…
@arXiv_csHC_bot@mastoxiv.pageThe Signal Rail: A Deterministic Motion Grammar for Communicating Conversational Agent State in Terminal Interfaces
Matteo Grella
https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.10689 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2608.10689 https://arxiv.org/html/2608.10689
arXiv:2608.10689v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Terminal interfaces to conversational agents report rich internal state (listening, thinking, executing tools, awaiting input, failing) almost entirely through text, while the motion channel beside it, the one peripheral vision monitors without reading, carries a single bit: alive. We present the Signal Rail, a one-row terminal status instrument that gives that channel a grammar. Four ideas govern it: spatial semantics (input, processing, and output zones, with direction as meaning), a motion grammar (one kinetic rule per state, never color alone), determinism (frames as a pure function of explicit inputs, golden-frame testable), and honesty (no invented progress or activity). We contribute a 45-section normative specification and a reference implementation inside a working full-duplex local voice agent driven by real signals.
toXiv_bot_toot
@hex@kolektiva.socialNow, I don't especially like the term "church" so I may use something else... like "coven." You can do what you want. But I happen to have already mapped out an example. (It is exactly that, just an example, so take if it's useful, change if you need, and don't stick to anything too closely.) Oh, this mapping also means that you would, for religious reasons, only be allowed to work under capitalism 4 days a week instead of 5.
Given the increases in productivity over the last 100 years, a 4 day work week is a completely reasonable expectation. If we have to annex Monday for the weekend by force of religion, so be it. It is rightfully ours anyway. If enough people try it, this will probably work. If it doesn't work, it just needs more people.
The Practice of Worship:
It is recommended to break down worship in to three sections: the functional, the communal, and the spiritual. It is also recommended to break these across multiple days. A common structure for some Christian churches is to take 10-15 minutes for announcements (Functional), an hour or two for services (Spiritual), followed by (Communal) coffee, tea, and cookies for an unspecified time up to two hours after. When starting or working with limited time a single compressed model like this may work, but it's not optimal.
- The Functional
The purpose of this section is to address the functional needs of the coven. Block out time (less than 90 minute blocks is recommended) to go through reports and updates from those involved in the Dispensary, Library, Works Committee (infrastructure), and Services Committee (providing services internally and, potentially, externally). Talk through any additional announcements, including those from other covens you may be federated with.
It is helpful to include unstructured communal time, such as shared meals, during or after functional meetings. As the federation grows, more time will be needed. It is recommended to break functional meetings, work parties, and such across multiple days. When a federation becomes sufficiently large, it is recommended to take every Monday, on top of Saturday and Sunday, as a third day of community and worship.
The scope of the functional spans 3 realms (which may be more-or-less fluid): the personal or family, the coven and federation, and humanity itself. It is up to each coven and individual to negotiate how to allocate the three days of the weekend once we have liberated Monday from the work week, but it is important to reserve it for one of these three. However, some people must work on weekends. Medical personnel, for example, cannot conform to a standard work week. While the work week should be universally restricted, which specific days are used will be up to the specific coven and their members.
A functional meeting can start with an agenda like the following:
Functional Invocation
Announcements
Report Backs
Dispensary
Inventory Check
What is low
What is empty
What is expiring
What is needed
Funds status
Library
Inventory Check and Items needing return
Library acquisition requests
Funds status and budget check
Works Committee
Upcoming projects
Subcommittee updates (Following the Works Committee agenda)
New committee formations
Funds status
Services Committee
New capabilities announcements
New needs requests
Subcommittee updates (Following the Works Committee agenda)
New committee formations
Funds status
Task Check
Breaking the Circle
This agenda is a suggestion for those who don't know where to start. It can be adapted or ignored as appropriate.
- The Spiritual
Spirituality is necessarily an undefined space. It is deeply personal. Each individual taking time to share their own personal spiritual experiences can help each connect with each other. This experience of connection can itself be a spiritual experience. It may also be useful to read esoteric, mystical, or philosophical texts together as type of "book club" and share thoughts. Others may draw from their own knowledge or traditions. This is something that must be defined together within a group.
- The Communal
The communal aspect of the practice of worship bind the coven and federation together. Within the community we find joy and release, connection and comfort. The coven is where we turn in times of need, and where we share our hopes and dreams.
@Adam@social.lein.usSomeone else other than me is using a Lenovo Yogabook 9i while working in the library today!! Love that dual screen laptop!
@rae@bne.socialAfter working in the NT in the lat 80s, early 90s, I thought I'd covered every crazy story about the local politicians. ( My favourites were the MP who punched another fan while at the footy, and the Mines and Energy minister drinking water from the Ranger tailings dam to prove uranium was safe.)
I didn't expect them to keep electing crazy people in the 21st century.
"NT minister claims Earth’s magnetic poles could flip if territory doesn’t use more groundwater"…
@cowboys@darktundra.xyzJordyn Brooks and the 1 Clue Everyone Missed https://insidethestar.com/jordyn-brooks-and-the-1-clue-everyone-missed
@cdarwin@c.imThe Trump administration is working directly with a powerful Venezuelan leader who is under investigation for an alleged political killing in Chile.
Diosdado Cabello remains the interior and justice minister, even though he is the target of U.S. drug trafficking charges and a $25 million bounty.
🔥Washington exploits the U.S. indictment to ensure Cabello’s cooperation,
while he shields himself with his power over Venezuela’s stability, former officials say.
@Techmeme@techhub.socialSources: initial foldable iPhone production is limited to only a "few hundred" units a day due to Apple's strict quality standards as it ramps up output (Nikkei Asia)
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/electro…
@raiders@darktundra.xyzKirk Cousins ready to lead and collaborate with Raiders quarterbacks https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/raiders/kirk-cousins-ready-to-lead-and-collaborate-with-raiders-quarterbacks-3856648/
@NFL@darktundra.xyzNext Woman Up: Gina Martinez Todd, Seattle Seahawks Managing Director of Partnership Development https://www.nfl.com/news/next-woman-up-gina-martinez-todd-seattle-seahawks-managing-director-of-partnership-development
@cdarwin@c.imGraham Platner privately told campaign staff on Wednesday night that he planned to officially file the paperwork removing himself from the ballot 💥on Monday,
two former Platner aides who were on the call told The Washington Post.
❌ That means Platner will wait until the deadline under state law to officially end his Senate campaign
-- a decision that will cause heartburn for Maine Democrats eager to move on from the candidate.
While officials plotted a path forward, …
@chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.cai didnt get a chance to take a picture of today's progress while it was still light!
look how cute the greenhouse is in the dark!! 🥰
working on the plastic sheeting tomorrow!
#greenhouse #poolpond #backyardproject
@NFL@darktundra.xyzRanking 2026 NFL payrolls: Which teams spend the most money on their rosters?
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ranking-2026-nfl-payrolls-which-teams-spend-the-most/…
@cdarwin@c.imWashington’s battleground 3rd District is a high priority for both parties.
The district went for President Trump in 2024 while reelecting moderate Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.
Gluesenkamp Perez, a centrist who was first elected narrowly in 2022 and has made a name for herself by sometimes breaking with her party,
successfully fended off primary challengers on Tuesday to advance to the November ballot.
Republican Braun, a retired Navy captain, won the other sp…
@cdarwin@c.imA bus driver knocked an explosive-laden drone out of the air,
potentially preventing an attack this week at a German airport that serves as a major NATO and cargo logistics hub,
a senior lawmaker said on Friday.
The man spotted the drone flying low while he was working at Leipzig/Halle airport late on Tuesday,
then kicked out at it in what Detlef Seif described as a courageous but dangerous act.
The drone, which prosecutors said was equipped with professional …
@pre@boing.worldSo the wave of spam-registrations I figured wouldn't really affect us here on the tiny server with registrations closed and clear instructions that only users who know us personally are welcome and we will check.
Turns out no. Our server has run out of email credits from sending lots of email-validation messages.
Hope everyone remembers their passwords, coz password-reset emails and notification emails and whatnot won't be going out for a little while.
All .jp addresses and about half of them bounced as not real email anyway.
Started 10am yesterday, not an hour gone by without some since.
Nothing even clicking those activation links I don't think, certainly nothing filling in the "So who do you know then?" form to create an account.
With email notifications not working, replies to moderation actions could be slower. Not that there's ever much really.
I've turned registration off entirely. Probably should be that way anyhow really here. If you want an account, ask someone who has one personally.
#spam #mastodon
@cdarwin@c.imTrump has a new scheme to suppress the California vote this November.
The threat is real
While many of us have been worried that we could see federal agents at polling places this November,
it appears the Trump administration has been working another angle when it comes to potentially suppressing the vote
— instilling enough fear that certain voters will simply be too afraid to show up.
By certain voters, I mean immigrant voters
— naturalized American ci…
@joe@toot.worksWhen I got home, my car was throwing an error that a speaker wasn’t working. I found a lot of leaves under the hood. I am guessing that something was nesting while the car was parked.
@cosmos4u@scicomm.xyzWorking webcasts of the #LunarEclipse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktP8-OX4Iug and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zIBswePr4I (while https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqDDrucjseM is currently clouded out).
@pixelpusher220@dmv.communityStanding in a Walmart, while a torrential downpour occurs...
And just dreading the day they manage to get 'demand' pricing working for umbrellas
@cdarwin@c.imInteresting Engineering
Heat-defying fabric reflects 88% of sunlight,
keeps skin 14°F cooler,
and repels water
The material is made of a metal-organic framework with zinc oxide nanoparticles.
https://interestingengineering.com/sci
@tiotasram@kolektiva.socialWish inspiration hadn't struck right at 1 a.m. when I have to teach tomorrow, but we'll see if I can get back to sleep now that I'm done with a draft of this story. Glad to have my first entry in my "incredulous young historians of the future" series actually written instead of just imagined. There are surely some typos ahead...
#SciFi #Writing #Technology #ShortStory
"The Age of Progress", a short story by Tiota Sram.
"Your assignment", said the teacher, "is to describe why the progressive vision of technology that gives us the name 'Age of Progress' today failed, and why it was actually a pessimistic view of technology. Your study guides have links to a few sources, but as usual you should synthesize information from at least two knowledge systems, and one of those shouldn't be family-based."
"Ugh", said Ye'xik, "this is gonna be tricky. Wasn't the whole problem with the Age of Progress that they were too optimistic about technology?"
"Well, they did talk a lot about the end of the world and extinction, and I did almost happen, right?" said Finan.
"Yeah, that's gotta count as pessimism, doesn't it?" Gedi chimed in.
"Well..." said Hallavia, with their usual deliberate tone, "I think it's not that simple, or at least it doesn't have to be."
The four of them were walking outside to have lunch, pondering the new assignment from this cycle's history and culture teacher. A brief silence fell as they pondered the Age of Progress.
"Maybe we should look at it through another history system?" offered Finan. "I mean, we've been learning about knowledge systems and lenses, and the 'Ages' lens of just one perspective with its own distortions, right?"
"My mab is working with my omeh on an oral history right now", said Gedi, "maybe I can use that as my second knowledge system? I'll see what they have to say about it!"
"We shouldn't all use the same knowledge systems though", said Ye'xik. "I think there's a bit of a thesis/antithesis thing going on here too? Like we were learning in ideas class?"
"Wait, I missed ideas last week", said Gedi, what's an antithesis?"
"It's just an opposite, really", said Ye'xik. "You take the thesis statement and construct any statement that contradicts it. The two form a pair, and then you can try to find a synthesis that combines both ideas."
"I didn't really get that part", Finan interrupted, "like, if they're contradictory, how could they be expressed together? Wouldn't you need to pick one that's true?... wait I guess maybe if you mixed different knowledge systems? But then would they really be contradictory?"
The group fell silent for a moment in thought.
Hallavi spoke up: "Incommensurate isn't the same as contradictory, I think. That's what it would be if you had two truths from different knowledge systems that didn't fit. Plus... not all knowledge systems have a concept of truth, or of contradiction?"
The group pondered this for a bit more.
"I think maybe there's lots of ways to be contradictory, even in a very logic-hungry knowledge system", said Gedi. "Then if your thesis and antithesis contradict in one way, you could find another sort out 'axis' in which they don't, and state your synthesis from there?"
"Oh, that makes sense", said Ye'xik.
"Anyways what were you saying about the Age of Progress, Ye'xik?" said Gedi.
"Wait", interrupted Hallavi, "Did that mashes sense to you, Finan?"
Finan had been silent, looking down at their feet, but replied "Oh yeah, thanks for checking Hallavi! I think I got the part about synthesis now, thanks Gedi. I was just thinking about optimism and pessimism more. Is that where you were going with this, Ye'xik?"
"Haha, yeah Finan, you got it", said Ye'xik. "Since optimism and pessimism can be opposites, does the teacher actually want us to form a synthesis of them?"
"Oh..." muttered Gedi, "that's a good idea."
"I think..." began Hallavi, pausing to collect their thoughts, "I think the teacher would have told us that, though. Obviously it's not a wrong way to approach this assignment because it incorporates pessimism, but teachers usually aren't too tricky. I think it's okay to be literal about the pessimism thing. And I think I have an idea..."
When Hallavi remained silent for a moment, Ye'xik opened their mouth to speak, but then looked at Hallavi and closed it again. Finan and Gedi were looking at Hallavi too. They pushed through the doors out to the meadow, and settled in their usual place to sit, pulling lunches out of their bags. Hallavi finally spoke up while the others were chewing: "The Age of Progress lasted from the Enlightenment to the Dim Times, and they believed that technology would always get better, no matter what. That's the progressive vision of technology our teacher was talking about. They thought it could solve any problem, and they wouldn't have to worry about weapons or extinctions or the climate or pollution or any of that stuff, because technology would eventually come up with a solution. They looked at the technology that solved problems like diseases or overcame engineering challenges and extrapolated too broadly, basically. That's the idea they had?"
The other three were all nodding their heads, knowing Hallavi needed room to think and put words together.
Hallavi continued: "So it seems like it's optimistic, because they thought it could do anything. But they were thinking about technology like I just talked about it: like an 'it' that could 'do'. That's not what we've been learning in our technology class. Invention is a social phenomenon, and technologies have both material and social bases, not to mention communities of practice and knowledge maintenance. So I think the idea of technological progress divorced from social participation is pessimistic, because it mythologizes technology in a way that makes it seem uncontrollable."
"Huh" said Gedi and Finan while at the same time Ye'xik said "mhmm".
Hallavi looked up shyly at the rest of them, but they were all looking back with admiration.
"I think you're right, Hallavi", said Ye'xik. "Or at least, that's probably what the teacher wanted us to puzzle out. Good thing they asked us to include two knowledge systems so we can each have our own perspectives to contribute, otherwise you'd go first and our presentations would all just be 'What Hallavi said'".
Hallavi blushed but Finan laughed "Hah! You're right and that Ye'xik."
Gedi was looking at their sandwich with some intensity. They looked at Hallavi then back at their sandwich. "It's like they thought they were strapped to an out-of-control rocket, when you put it that way", they said. "It must have been scary, really, to believe that technology was almost an entity, changing in an inevitable way. That word 'inevitable' really takes all the human agency out of it, doesn't it. And even though they kept saying that technology would inevitably solve problems, look at what the technologies they invented actually did!"
Finan shuddered. He added, "Really, it was their dominators who were saying it was inevitable wasn't it? Back then it wasn't like today where historians travel and sample all kinds of ideas, so the primary sources we're reading are almost all from dominators, right?"
Ye'xik responded "Yeah, I keep forgetting to account for that. It was such a weird and horrible time, it's kinda hard to believe everything we read and hear sometimes."
Gedi picked up the thread again "That makes it worse, right? All those dominators saying the stuff they're doing is inevitable, and lying to everyone's faces about it being progress and wonderful stuff, meanwhile two thirds of it is the most awful stuff there's ever been, I mean they could have literally killed everyone and ruined the whole planet, and they almost did."
"They did actually crush a lot of cultures beyond recognition so the survivors had to rebuild with only weak ties to their old traditions", said Hallavi with a quiet intensity.
They all were silent for a moment, pondering the horrors of a bygone age.
Finan broke the silence: "That's a terrible kind of pessimism, to believe that technologcal 'progress' is inevitable, at a time when most people are dominators somewhere in a hierarchy and the ones on top constantly talk about how technologies like medicines will 'save' the world while mostly inventing new technologies of violence. Everyone must have understood what they really meant based on the technologies they were actually developing and investing into. I think I still don't understand how the Age of Progress and the Dim Times could even happen".
"Yeah, and the pessimism is only part of our assignment", signed Ye'xik. "We still have to describe why the progressive vision failed, although I think maybe you just did a lot of that, Finan".
A gloom descended briefly, until Gedi said "Well, this assignment is supposed to take a week or two, right? Thanks to Hallavi we've already cracked the crux, I think, so we don't need to ruminate too much right this moment about ancient history, and we know things turned out okay in the end. Let's finish lunch and go climb a tree!"
@joe@toot.worksI'm riding around the northshore while listening to a podcast where they're talking about pulping unsold books and I'm remembering my days working at Barnes and Noble. We would try to sell a bunch of cheap paperbacks, and a lot of them wouldn't sell. Most book publishers will buy back unsold books but the cheap paperbacks weren't worth the shipping cost so we were told to tear the covers off, mail those back, and throw out the rest of the book.
@chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.caOfficially starting the Tim Horton’s Boycott today.
My daughter is working there, under protest (not given any opportunity not to wear the garb or not make the products, she’s a baker)
I wish JK would just go away.
No Iced Capps for me for a while. 😢
#timHortons #Canada #canpoli #TERF #LGBTQ2S #boycott
@pre@boing.worldBurnham's team have a plan of some sort coming in a book #ukpol #burnham #manchesterism #productiveState
