@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

JMarkOckerbloom

@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social

A Philadelphian with professional interests in libraries, technology, copyright, and culture, and nonprofessional interests that include singing, reading, hiking, biking. Also other personal interests that you might pick up from my posts over time.

He, him, his. Lent, Easter, Pentecost. Vote, help others vote, vote out vote suppressors.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

JMarkOckerbloom, to random
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

If you've updated Firefox to version 126, check your privacy settings. They now collect more data on searches by default. https://blog.mozilla.org/en/products/firefox/firefox-search-update/

They say they don't collect precise data and anonymize what they do collect, but it's easy for attempts to do that not to be as secure as intended. That's one reason I urge analytics collection to be made opt-in (FF's isn't) instead of opt-out.

FF appears to still be honoring my earlier "don't send data" toggle. Check yours: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/share-data-mozilla-help-improve-firefox

arstechnica, to random
@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar

Sony Music opts out of AI training for its entire catalog

Music group contacts more than 700 companies to prohibit use of content

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/05/sony-music-opts-out-of-ai-training-for-its-entire-catalog/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@arstechnica Not surprisingly, the details of the story make it clear that Sony's not opposed in principle, but that they want to make sure they get what they'd consider a suitable cut of any revenues.

dangillmor, (edited ) to random
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

Does anyone know of a way to buy an EV that doesn't relentlessly spy on the driver/passengers and send the data to whoever the carmaker feels like selling it to?

Related: Does anyone know of a service in the Bay Area that will disable all the surveillance that was, without my knowledge or permission, built into a 2008 Prius?

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@dangillmor I have a 2012 Prius. As far as I know, it has no way on its own to send data back to the carmaker, if I don't pair up my cell phone with it. (I apparently can tie it to my phone with an application they call "Entune", but if I don't do that it has no communication channel out as far as I know. Do you know differently?)

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@dangillmor Do you know what data is collected on Priuses of that era (that's either sent out if enabled, or retained long term)? IIRC, many car computers have a "black box" feature for recent events (so e.g. after a collision it's possible to get data on speed, braking, etc. just before the crash). That in itself seems reasonable; I don' t know if that data was kept long-term or transmitted in models around 2010. I don't have my owner's manual in front of me, though; that might say more.

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@dangillmor Yes, that''s my understanding. What I don't know is whether Toyotas of that era did any more than that. (I'm well aware that cars being sold now collect and share data way too much. I don't know what more than EDR data was collected then, with the intent of providing it to others outside contexts like accident investigations.)

JMarkOckerbloom, to random
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

The full list of 2024 #PulitzerPrize winners and finalists has now been posted: https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year Along with awards in the usual prize categories, two special citations were also awarded, one for late writer and critic Greg Tate, and one generally for journalists and media workers covering the war in #Gaza.

JMarkOckerbloom, to random
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

54 years ago today, on May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guard troops fired on demonstrating students at Kent State University, killing 4 of them and wounding 9 others.

11 days later, police fired on students at Jackson State College in Mississippi, killing 2 students and injuring 12 others.

Among the many reports and studies following the killings (for which no one was convicted) was the 1970 Report of the President's Commission on Campus Unrest. You can read it here: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED083899

mbonsma, to random
@mbonsma@mastodon.social avatar

We've been back in Toronto for a year and I still can't believe both this and the subway are within 10 minutes from my home.

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@mbonsma One of the things I really love about where we live, in northwest Philadelphia, is having a train station within a block from us and a trail into Wissahickon Park (with streams and woods not unlike the ones shown in your picture) within two blocks.

mattblaze, to photography
@mattblaze@federate.social avatar

CARTWHEEL Tower, Fort Reno, Washington, DC, 2020.

All the classified pixels at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/49576247768

#photography

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@mattblaze Is CORKSCREW the site on the high point of Quirauk Mountain, or is that a different one? The Quirauk Mountain site is still closed off to hikers, with prominent signs and cameras at the gate just south of High Rock. I've heard of some peak-baggers being allowed up after they called ahead and got an escort, but it seemed too much trouble to arrange when I hiked in that area.

Edent, (edited ) to random
@Edent@mastodon.social avatar

You receive a call on your phone.
The caller says they're from your bank and they're calling about a suspected fraud.

"Oh yeah," you think. Obvious scam, right?

The caller says "I'll send you an in-app notification to prove I'm calling from your bank."

Your phone buzzes. You tap the notification This is what you see.

Still think it is a scam?
1/3

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@Edent I'd think that knowing this, the message should say "Did you call Chase?" (maybe with a note that if it appears that Chase called you, you should hang up and dial their number). That might not stop everyone from pressing Yes anyway and confirming, but it might stop some of the scams from succeeding.

platypus, to random
@platypus@glammr.us avatar

"For the fiscal year ending June 2023, OCLC revenue totaled nearly $225 million, up from $220 million in the previous fiscal year." oh cool https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2024/05/01/2024-library-systems-report/

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@platypus @dsalo Presumably they are expenses, though I don't know if or how they'd appear on something like a form 990. The most recent 990 available from them is for the fiscal year ending June 2022 (the same month they filed suit against Clarivate, though I don't know if there were significant expenses related to that suit in the fiscal year.). They usually file their 990s in mid-May (so the next one's probably going in very soon), but I don't know how soon they go public after they're filed.

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

Again for people (racists), complaining about falling birth rates:

The birth rate for women over 40 is not falling. The birth rate for women over 30 is not falling.

What's happening, is girls 15 to 17 are having fewer babies. Kids are having fewer kids.

Also, this is an interesting way of saying that "Teen pregnancy is down, due to sex education and contraception."

In 1991 25% of 15 year olds gave birth before they turned 21. That's bad. Now it's 6%. That's better.

https://npr.org/2023/01/08/1147737247/teen-pregnancy-rates-have-declined-significantly

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@mekkaokereke While I don't consider either birth or immigration rates to be in "crisis", and I'm glad teen pregnancy is down, the vast majority of births in the US involve neither teens nor folks over 40.

Looking at the CDC report, the highest birth rates are for 25-35 (with 20-24 & 35-39 about half theirs) https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/vsrr035.pdf and compared to 2006 (a reference year in another table I found: https://usafacts.org/articles/how-have-us-fertility-and-birth-rates-changed-over-time/ ) all those are down (some by a lot) except 35-39, which is about the same.

JMarkOckerbloom, to random
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

PA's primary election is today. Attorney General is the highest-profile realistically contested primary. Spotlight PA's profiles of the candidates: https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2024/03/pennsylvania-election-2024-attorney-general-primary-candidates/ There are also contested Democratic primaries for auditor general https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2024/03/pennsylvania-election-2024-auditor-general-candidates-tim-defoor-malcolm-kenyatta-mark-pinsley/ and state treasurer https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2024/03/pennsylvania-election-2024-treasurer-primary-candidates-stacy-garrity-ryan-bizzarro-erin-mcclelland/

Some areas may also have contested primaries for other offices, or things you can vote on even if not registered in a major party, such as this Philly ballot question: https://seventy.org/2024-voter-guide/2024-primary-ballot-question-philadelphia

JMarkOckerbloom, to random
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

For anyone who knows someone who consumes raw milk (which I see signs advertising in parts of rural Pennsylvania) this is an especially bad time to do it. A strain of bird flu is spreading among cows, and is suspected to be propagated via contaminated milking equipment: https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/04/concern-grows-as-bird-flu-spreads-further-in-us-cows-32-herds-in-8-states/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social When it's propagated to humans (which appears to be possible via unpasteurized milk), the case fatality rate of H5N1 is "extraordinarily high", possibly above 50%: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/18/risk-bird-flu-spreading-humans-enormous-concern-who

kissane, to random
@kissane@mas.to avatar

Some of the responses to yesterday’s post made a rusty gear start clunking in my brain and oof, understanding aspects of FOSS culture as fandom makes a lot of things make sense.

https://mas.to/@kissane/112288128849621639

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@dsalo @kissane I'm seeing this thread in my timeline at the same time as I'm seeing another thread of "why don't we researchers just all post PDFs on our own websites and review them ourselves instead of using money-grubbing journals?" Different social stratum, much the same energy.

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@dsalo @kissane Fandom is an interesting comparison. Though there's a bit more of a separation there of roles of fans (whose activities are understood as hobbies separate from the need to make a living) and of professional authors/creators (who are understood to need to make a living to keep producing the content fans enjoy.). Some people are in both camps, but even there their roles are usually distinct.

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@kissane @dsalo This book I'm adding today to my open access collection may be of interest for cross-cultural studies of gift and volunteer cultures, focusing particularly on the gendered aspects (which also figure in the communities we've been discussing): Women, Philanthropy, and Civil Society edited by Kathleen D. McCarthy (Indiana University Press, c2001). Description, contents, and downloads here: https://www.fulcrum.org/concern/monographs/nv935552c

JMarkOckerbloom, to random
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

I don't know personally how sound this insider critique of NPR is, but it has one of the best descriptions of centrist bias I've seen in a while: "an editorial fixation on finding the exact middle point of the elite political and social thought, planting a flag there, and calling it objectivity." https://slate.com/business/2024/04/npr-diversity-public-broadcasting-radio.html

(Any 1-dimensional definition of news "bias" that doesn't let you identify centrist bias is fundamentally flawed. And I've seen multiple media-rating systems with that flaw.)

JMarkOckerbloom, to random
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

"I am not affiliated in any way with Anna's Archive and had no involvement in the alleged hacking and/or scraping of data from WorldCat.org that was allegedly orchestrated and carried out by Anna's Archive. I have never viewed or accessed OCLC data through Anna's Archive." Maria Matienzo's reply to OCLC lawsuit: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ohsd.287709/gov.uscourts.ohsd.287709.21.1.pdf. (The full motion to dismiss is not yet on CourtListener.) https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ohsd.287709/gov.uscourts.ohsd.287709.21.1.pdf

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

"OCLC does not allege that it traced any of the attacks to Ms. Matienzo, that OCLC discovered any shred of evidence demonstrating Ms. Matienzo’s alleged ties to Anna’s Archive, or that Ms. Matienzo herself committed any wrongful act against OCLC.... While Ms. Matienzo intends to seek separate redress for OCLC carelessly naming her in
this matter in the future, at this time, she simply seeks dismissal from this action..." Torrentfreak's full copy of the motion to dismiss: https://torrentfreak.com/images/anna-dismiss-1.pdf

jessamyn, to earthquake
@jessamyn@glammr.us avatar

Felt that NJ up here in Vermont.

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/at00sbh3yv/executive

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@jessamyn So, Vermont got a big snowstorm, then an earthquake, and soon the sun will be blotted out? Quite the week for you all.

JMarkOckerbloom, to earthquake
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

Felt a prolonged shaking in my house in Mt Airy, Philadelphia for at least half a minute. Probably nothing to to west coaster, but it was the most noticeable #earthquake I've ever experienced living on the east coast.

dangillmor, (edited ) to random
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

Until the fediverse (Mastodon in particular) comes up with a workable "Share to Mastodon" (or the like) button like the ubiquitous Twitter, Facebook, etc. buttons, this place will be lacking a vital capability.

Update: The comments below indicate that there's a lot of progress in this area already.

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@dangillmor This just crossed my timeline just before I saw your post. Might fit the bill: https://werd.io/2024/share-openly

ntnsndr, to random
@ntnsndr@social.coop avatar

Out today! A long-coming research article with Cassandra Dana on sex and crypto-money.

"Perverse attraction: Idolatry, pornography, and the making of infrastructure," just out at Zygon https://www.zygonjournal.org/article/id/11013/

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@ntnsndr Glad to see (and also glad that the full run of Zygon back to 1966 is free to read online! I cataloged it a few weeks ago.)

PhilGastwirth, to random
@PhilGastwirth@worldkey.io avatar

Waking up to the news of this bridge collapse in Baltimore. So tragic. Maybe bridge columns should have huge metal beams in front of them like how stores have those poles in front to prevent cars going through the store.

JMarkOckerbloom,
@JMarkOckerbloom@mastodon.social avatar

@Neferure @skyfaller @vees @PhilGastwirth I don't know offhand what pier protections the Key Bridge had, if any, though most big river/bay bridges I've been able to look down from did have some sort of buffer around the piers. (You generally need one when building them, at the very least.) It's not clear if any I've seen would hold up to a direct hit from a big cargo ship, given their huge mass & momentum when moving. (They could protect against more glancing or incidental blows, though.)

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • anitta
  • khanakhh
  • mdbf
  • InstantRegret
  • Durango
  • Youngstown
  • rosin
  • slotface
  • thenastyranch
  • osvaldo12
  • ngwrru68w68
  • kavyap
  • cisconetworking
  • DreamBathrooms
  • megavids
  • magazineikmin
  • cubers
  • vwfavf
  • modclub
  • everett
  • ethstaker
  • normalnudes
  • tacticalgear
  • tester
  • provamag3
  • GTA5RPClips
  • Leos
  • JUstTest
  • All magazines
    •