lauren

lauren, 10 hours ago to random

Fun Fact: In the iconic opening of the classic 1960s series "The Prisoner", we see Patrick McGoohan's unnamed character's ID card being marked with an "X" composed of many individual "X" characters on an old-style typewriter. There is, however, a problem. The ID card is struck repeatedly by the typebar directly in the center of the carriage. However, that is not where the character "X" is located, and upon close inspection we can easily see that his ID card would actually have been emblazoned with an "X" composed entirely of the letter "H". So now you know.

lauren, 13 hours ago to random

CNN and ABC have announced that they will make the feeds of the 1st and 2nd presidential debates available for simulcast by other networks.

jeffjarvis, 13 hours ago to random

Good.
CNN Says It Will Make Presidential Debate Available For Simulcast On Other Networks https://deadline.com/2024/05/trump-biden-debate-cnn-1235921669/ via @deadline

lauren, 13 hours ago to random

OpenAI researcher resigns, claiming safety has taken ‘a backseat to shiny products’ - https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/17/24159095/openai-jan-leike-superalignment-sam-altman-ai-safety

lauren, 14 hours ago to random

This is pretty nasty. I'm still trying to understand the scope of this but it may be very serious. - Deleted photos of former owners reappearing on sold iPads (and probably iPhones) - https://www.phonearena.com/news/Deleted-photos-of-former-owners-reappearing-on-sold-iPads-and-probably-iPhones_id158441

sugar, 14 hours ago to random

actual question my friend (also looking for work) is getting when they apply to work at a local cofe shop

lauren, 15 hours ago to random

Actor Dabney Coleman, who was perhaps known best for playing characters who were serious jerks, has died at 92. Peace.

lauren, 15 hours ago to random

Supreme Court Justice Alito claims that the upside-down American flag flown at his house in January 2021 had nothing to do with it being a symbol of the Jan 6 insurrection, but was actually placed that way by his wife because she was upset about obscene neighborhood signs.

Of course, everyone knows that the common reaction to obscene signs is to fly the U.S. flag upside-down. Similarly, it is the standard symbol for running out of cookie-dough ice cream, annoying skin rashes, and clogged toilets.

lauren, 18 hours ago to random

I think I may have finally nabbed a pernicious "cron" problem. Jeez that stuff is still crufty as hell even after almost a half century.

lauren, 19 hours ago to random

Slack users horrified to discover messages used for AI training - https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/05/slack-defends-default-opt-in-for-ai-training-on-chats-amid-user-outrage/

lauren, 20 hours ago to random

It's all been downhill since they demoted Pluto from planetary status. Think about it.

lauren, 20 hours ago to random

The vast potential of AI for positive purposes should be bringing out the best of Big Tech. Instead, their deep and desperate greed is bringing out the worst of AI instead.

lauren, 23 hours ago to random

"Dear Donald. Please testify at your NYC trial! Show those libtards that you're the greatest and did nothing wrong! You'll steamroll over the crooked justice system. With your intelligence and great speaking skills and wonderful vocabulary, plus the fact that you know more about everything than anyone else in the world, you'll put them all to shame. Hoping to hear that you'll be testifying! Sincerely, your MAGA friend! Make America Great Again!"

lauren, 23 hours ago to mastodon

Got an email today from a very smart computer science professor who is totally flummoxed by the #Mastodon signup flow. He tried to follow it based on what Mastodon tells him (the standard verbiage) at my site after reading one of my posts via a URL, and despite creating several accounts at other sites doesn't understand how to use any of it. This is a smart guy. The onboarding and basic explanations situation is still a mess.

lauren, 23 hours ago to random

New WiFi Vulnerability: The SSID Confusion Attack -
Interestingly, this vulnerability appears to not affect the widely used WPA2 protocol, but does affect WPA3 (much newer and so far less deployed) and various others. -
https://www.top10vpn.com/research/wifi-vulnerability-ssid/

lauren, 23 hours ago to random

Cable companies' next project: Ruining streaming too! - https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/comcast-hemorrhaging-subscribers-to-bundle-apple-tv-netflix-peacock-cable/

lauren, 23 hours ago to random

Robert Dennard, inventor of DRAM at IBM which is the basis of all modern computer memory, has died at 91. Peace.

ernie, 1 day ago to random

Tip: If you want a suck-free Google experience, set this parameter as your default search engine.

https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14

lauren, 1 day ago (edited 15 hours ago) to mastodon

Going way, way back to the earliest days of folks having ways to listen to audio files on the Internet, I used to do various "audio reports" for periods on and off over the years. These would probably be called podcasts today. I eventually stopped, since they seemed to be more effort than they were worth for the relatively tiny number of people who bothered listening to them.

But technology has changed of course, and posting short audio reports here on #Mastodon may be more or less practical. Worth the effort though? I dunno. What do you think?

WolfIsMe, 1 day ago to random

Why, why WHY do we insist on using inches/miles/fahrenheit in the USA? Why can't we join the rest of the civilized world?

Anyone who thinks we shouldn't go metric should have to declare their height in cubits/rods and swear off electricity.

lauren, 1 day ago to random

MAGA monsters in NC Senate vote to ban masks in public, even for cancer patients and other immune compromised persons.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/05/16/north-carolina-mask-ban-bill-passes-state-senate/73716924007/