Been having a go at testing Free/Open Source apps for photography and image manipulation using old raw files from my Fuji X-T20 and boy-oh-boy-oh-boy do I hate them all with a passion. They're the UX equivalent of bashing your fingers with a mallet.
I don't have the imagination to think of a reasonable scenario of how somebody could make software whose UI is so diametrically and perfectly the opposite of usable, let alone good.
I linked to this earlier, but this is genuinely great: a new ways counting enormous quantities of data that will give you something statistically likely to be very close to the correct answer for potentially a vanishing fraction of the computation cost of the deterministically correct answer: https://www.quantamagazine.org/computer-scientists-invent-an-efficient-new-way-to-count-20240516/
The most ridiculous thing about cop procedural shows is when they ask where a person was, and what they were doing at a specific time the person always has perfect and immediate recall. I'd be desperately trying to remember what day of the week that was, and trying to open my phone calendar. If I was the cop, I'd immediately be suspicious of the person who remembered exactly where they were and what they were doing.
@RickiTarr Also at the top of the list: everyone talks to the cops. Invites them in, answers their questions. In the real world: stfu, insist on a warrant, call a lawyer, and most of all, STFU.
@HunkThunderzone@RickiTarr Right, or the local Auntie with the catering business, or the part-time magician who reluctantly but hilariously teams up with the investigative reporter, or... Yeah. Fuck off. Especially if I've been doing crimes.
For a long time I was critical of any would be post-Twitter than didn't federate from the start, because that seemed like the obvious essential way to bootstrap a critical mass.
But now, I'm starting to feel like there is gonna be some strength in the fact that Mastodon + the broader microblogging fediverse, Bluesky, and Threads are going to come together after developing separately.
@misc I'm deliberately on a server that blocks Threads, and I could see a similar block on Bluesky being implemented eventually.
To me, that's the power of federation: the ability to keep the fascists and their useful idiots OUT.
I don't understand the drive to connect everyone to everyone else on social media. Twitter is a nazi bar, Threads is Facebook in a cheap suit, and BlueSky is going to end up being just a mini-Twitter. What's good or useful about any of that?
"Break down the steps of training a model and it quickly becomes apparent why it's technically wrong to call this a copyright infringement. First, the act of making transient copies of works – even billions of works – is unequivocally fair use. Unless you think search engines and the Internet Archive shouldn't exist, then you should support scraping at scale."
We need some kind of term for arguing via false equivalence.
@nyquildotorg Doctorow is one of those people who just... bug me. I've quite often agreed with him, but still he just... doesn't sit right with me somehow.
I usually put it down to the fact that I'm an asshole, but then he writes something like this and my intuition is all "See? See? We fuckin' TOLD you that guy was no good!"
Please boost in the hopes of reaching someone who can answer:
Can someone direct me to a form and/or a person responsible for ensuring ADA compliance (not a defensive "cover your ass" thing, but actually caring about accessibility) at USDA?
Just trying to imagine if people a few hundred years ago had been here to witness, in the span of a few weeks, an eclipse, an earthquake, a supernova as bright as the North Star, and an unexpected appearance of the northern lights.
Okay, its a terrible picture and its not ironed cause its way too hot to iron. The pattern is straight, fabric is just bundled up under it.
#DeathByCrossStitch by #LongDogSamplers. Stitched on white 16ct aida fabric, using approx 370 metres of black DMC thread, 6 needles used. Final stitched area is - 55cm wide and 69cm high.
This was a labour of love, a challenge, a reward to myself, part of my #MentalHealth journey.
Here it is people. A PhD student describing details of what they've come to realize is the completely scientifically bankrupt methodologies their high-powered successful, well funded lab PI demands the lab members do. Everything this person says is basically commonplace in todays labs #science#openscience#statistics#bayesian
I can't speak for other countries but I have some experience of the US ORI and its main function seems to be to prevent the truth from interfering with funding. It is the place where integrity goes to die.
Your point about the self correcting nature of science is well taken, but what a waste of resources to have to correct deliberate malfeasance! Surely there are enough honest errors to be going on with?
The worst thing about having a birthday the day after Cinco de Mayo is that everybody is always like "Here's a present for both Cinco de Mayo AND your birthday."
@fkamiah17 He stood up for his wife, which is more moral courage than any of the rest of 'em have demonstrated. I respect that.
I can see how he's in a bad place: that kind of fame can only be endured if you have money, and if he tells his family to fuck off he'll still have the fame, but not enough money to deal with it. (Also, they're a vindictive bunch of bastards.)
The UK needs a sort of Witness Protection Program, but for royals who abdicate/renounce all claims. 😃