Lauren Weinstein

https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/@lauren

< Tech Systems & Policy Analysis: Internet, Privacy, plus his other sundry topics >
Los Angeles - lauren.vortex.com

Lauren's Blog: https://lauren.vortex.com

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npub1lq68asmanu3etxax9hvrj8au4h585lq8zgzujmufqsewtsz85mkskknf7e

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lauren_at_mastodon.laurenweinstein.org@momostr.pink

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nprofile1qqs0sdr7cd7e7gu4nwnzmkper772m6r60sr3ypwfd7ysgvh9cpr6dmgpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsn5pg4g

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Last Notes

2026-04-09 15:54:30 UTC

CNN declared Michael J. Fox dead. He insists he's not.

2026-03-13 03:05:51 UTC

Fun Fact: The religious musical film "Godspell" (1973), has a variety of unique elements. The set piece is surely the troupe dancing and singing on the top of one of the almost finished World Trade Center towers quite close to the edge with a very low barrier. Over time there will be fewer and fewer people who can honestly say they've been up in one of those towers, as I was, but that's another story. A key aspect of the film is that when the troupe is called out of their normal NY city lives by the Jesus character, they spend the rest of the film in what appears to be a deserted NYC. This is nicely done, right through to the end when the troupe turns a corner and we see normal activity again. It's not quite perfect -- on close inspection a blurry and jerky figure can be seen moving on the sidewalk across the street before the troupe turns that final corner and vanishes, no doubt a random pedestrian, with the blurriness and motion jerkiness providing a clue as to how that shot was made. A unique and interesting film, which was overshadowed by "Jesus Christ Superstar" which was released a few months later. One song in Godspell, "Day by Day" (a hymn arranged in a contemporary fashion) became a breakthrough mainstream hit in 1972 when the original musical play became a hit.

2026-01-04 00:20:30 UTC

Legal experts say Trump ranting about taking Venezuela oil and running the country" undermine case against Maduro in U.S. courts

2025-08-06 16:58:57 UTC

You're welcome to call me "stupid" in a reply to one of my posts, but you stand a high probability of being blocked for doing so. Que sera sera.

2025-07-04 03:02:22 UTC

Now that Trump's senility is rapidly deepening, his well known racism, antisemitism, and other hatreds are slipping out in his speech more and more often. This is only the beginning.

2025-06-05 19:51:52 UTC

Where were all the psychics who should have predicted this intense Musk/Trump war bursting out today?

2025-05-06 18:07:08 UTC

Especially whenever you see and hear Trump in a public setting next to a normal human being, it's so dramatically obvious what a totally senile, illiterate, evil clown he is.

2025-05-06 15:17:21 UTC

Useless Fun Fact: Years ago, I recorded an interview for CBS News at an old building basically in the shadow of the Hollywood sign. There was a plaque outside indicating it was where Bob Clampett had worked, and I was told that the big empty room where they conducted the interview was where "Beanie and Cecil" was animated. Sidenote: the thing that most Hollywood film studios I've been in most remind me of -- for a bunch of reasons -- is military bases. Lots of old hardware, gray paint, big empty spaces, high walls, etc.

2025-05-06 14:57:09 UTC

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I like a couple of his recordings. There's a YT video of him recording "It Was a Very Good Year" that is pretty amazing. As far as I can tell it was the take used for the published record, and his technique was astounding. What really struck me was that he didn't use a pop filter. But when he got to plosives, he'd very quickly turn his head a bit off axis to the mic so they wouldn't pop. Jeez.

2025-05-06 14:48:49 UTC

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No Frankie Sinatra? Your daughter will be upset.

2025-05-05 01:38:43 UTC

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You're mistaken. He's mentally ill, senile. He's surrounded by people are not mentally ill, merely evil and leveraging his illness for their own purposes.

2025-05-05 00:57:52 UTC

SENILE FASCISM: Trump says he's ordering rebuilding and reopening of Alcatraz as an operating prison

2025-05-04 04:17:36 UTC

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There are still some fundamental permissions that are always granted, and the permissions models have changed significantly in major ways as Android versions have changed over time.

2025-05-04 03:05:44 UTC

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My side shows it as a reply to @npub1a4g…89dz as part of a bunch of Google AI threads this afternoon. In particular, it was related to the "Our Man Flint" thread and Google AI claiming humans have 10 fingers on each hand and foot.

2025-05-04 02:59:15 UTC

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The reply was specifically agreeing with that follower that the Google AI responses I noted in detail were moronic. That you cannot (apparently) see the earlier parts of the thread where that discussion took place is unfortunately a fundamental design failure in the current #Mastodon implementation.

2025-05-04 02:55:47 UTC

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Tedious? Probably half a dozen over more than 2 years? That's tedious? And it's not shaming, it's illuminating my policies here. And you're ... upset? ... about my saying that AI is more moronic than Trump? Look it up -- "moronic" is not an obscenity, and it clearly applies to both. Or better yet, feel free to unfollow.

2025-05-04 00:58:02 UTC

@npub1a4g…89dz More of a moron than Trump.

2025-05-03 18:58:39 UTC

A reminder: The reason so many firms on their websites constantly urge you to install and use their apps instead of their websites is that the apps typically give them access to VASTLY more data about you and your activities. Don't fall for it.

2025-05-03 15:29:10 UTC

White House posts disgusting and disrespectful photo of Trump as Pope on official White House X account after Trump posted it on Truth Social

2025-05-03 14:25:42 UTC

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Sidenote: I met Jack.

2025-05-03 14:25:20 UTC

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Jack Benny on Line 1 !

2025-05-03 14:22:37 UTC

1) Big Tech rams AI down every users' throat in every app, and often provides no effective way to disable it, no matter how much users hate it and are force fed misinformation by it.
2) Big Tech proclaims billions of daily AI users!
3) Billionaire Big Tech CEO's salute their fascist alliance with Trump and how easily their users -- "the little people" -- can be manipulated.
4) The ghosts of Hitler, Stalin, and innumerable other past despots and dictators nod and smile.

2025-05-02 18:35:46 UTC

HORRIBLE: Putting millions of vulnerable persons at risk, Brain Worm Moron RFK, Jr. orders that annual vaccine variants (not just new vaccines) undergo useless and delaying placebo testing

2025-05-02 17:14:51 UTC

Apparently I've made 30K #Mastodon posts since 11/22. To paraphrase G'Kar, that's both terrifying and reassuring.

2025-05-02 17:01:17 UTC

Herb Alpert at 90, just a few days ago. Fun Fact: When he released his first album "Whipped Cream and Other Delights" in 1965, he (at least initially) did not like the cover photo, which became incredibly iconic (yeah, I have this original vinyl album). Even more interesting is that at the time despite the nomenclature "Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass", there actually was no such group. After the smash success of the album, he rushed to form one, calling on the talents of L.A. session musicians (e.g. "The Wrecking Crew") who were (largely unknown to the public at the time) performing the music for an array of pop singers and classic tracks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkrBmu8eYaM
https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/439/305/616/524/050/original/f282d5f04cf1e780.jpg

2025-05-02 14:29:42 UTC

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Only showing the products shipped domestically from U.S. warehouses.

2025-05-02 04:25:16 UTC

Temu blocks U.S. shoppers from seeing any products that would be shipped from China

2025-05-01 16:38:32 UTC

***** Don't use Google's AI-based Search Features *****
Personally (and apparently this is a rather widespread view) I NEVER trust #Google Search AI Overview answers and I recommend you do the same. And don't use Google's AI Search Mode they're now pushing. NEVER.
As Google forces Google Home/Assistant users to Gemini AI from Assistant (Assistant almost always tells you the source of any nontrivial answer so you can judge its veracity), the same will hold true there.
It's impractical to gather rigorous statistics but I find that around a half to three quarters of all AI Overview answers are either totally or partially incorrect. In my view, this "poisons" the well sufficiently that trusting any Google AI-generated answers is a fool's errand, and for some searches, a dangerous one.
It is not practical to take the time (as Google suggests you do!) to VERIFY every AI answer for accuracy. The associated links (when present) typically lead to pages where it is not possible to evaluate how the information on the pages actually relates to the provided answer.
Perhaps most importantly, Google refuses to take any responsibility for its AI answers, and basically tells you that you should assume they are garbage and it's up to you to figure out whether they're accurate or not. No thanks, Sundar.
I've seen far too many totally wrong answers from Google's AI systems relating to medical and other critical issues to ever be willing to trust ANYTHING that comes from those systems going forward under current circumstances.
If Google took full responsibility for those answers, this calculus might change. But there's no indication that Google plans to do this.
Save yourself a lot of potential grief. Pretend that Google's AI Overview answers and AI Search Modes do not exist. DO NOT USE THEM. IGNORE THEM.
If Google ever decides that "Don't be evil" matters again, we might be able to reevaluate this situation. For now, in this respect, Google Just Doesn't Care. -L

2025-05-01 15:18:51 UTC

BREAKING: REPORT: National security adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong are being kicked out of the administration

2025-05-01 15:16:57 UTC

Reportedly for some period of time many, many years ago the administrative password for the IBM 360/91 APL subsystem at UCLA CCN was: 314159. I never confirmed this though.

2025-04-29 04:01:08 UTC

It was a hell of a lot more fun growing up when there weren't cameras everywhere.

2025-04-28 16:03:46 UTC

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Looks OK here.

2025-04-16 23:26:59 UTC

In enormously evil fascist move, Trump, continuing to spout his FAKE upset about antisemitism (he is as antisemitic as they come) calls on IRS to take away Harvard's tax exempt status
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/16/politics/irs-harvard-tax-exempt-status/index.html
https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/350/227/424/458/677/original/043d5c9f361cf7b1.png

2025-04-15 22:14:22 UTC

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In my case, a very large manual typewriter in a Junior High typing class. I still consider this the single most useful class I ever took in my entire educational career. At the time I wanted to learn touch typing for writing term papers and such. I never imagined I'd spend my entire career at a keyboard.

2025-04-03 17:38:32 UTC

I started to write a longish post with more details of my thinking about this matter, but I won't bother. Bottom line, while this was definitely not on my bingo card at this stage of my life, I'm being frequently asked to establish a regular podcast (this would be an audio podcast) to address on a continuing basis the many ways in which technology, politics, and basic freedoms now interact, often in ways unimaginable when I began my tech career so many years ago. I have resisted but am now considering it, given current events. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

2025-04-01 16:04:18 UTC

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It's an academic discussion. There is no practical way to broadly apply such a prohibition in the 3D printer space, since the units can be constructed from commodity parts and open source firmware/software. Targeting a particular manufacturer (like Creality) will drive that segment of the users elsewhere.

2025-04-01 15:31:35 UTC

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Or Gemini? But I don't think this is an effective approach, and only puts more innocent people at risk from misinformation that they don't recognize as such.

2025-04-01 15:22:23 UTC

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Adding more misinformation to the AI trash heap seems counterproductive, even at such a small scale.

2025-04-01 04:58:58 UTC

3D printer manufacturers under pressure to use monitoring and AI to prevent printing of gun parts

2025-03-30 02:29:31 UTC

[SENILE] In interview with NBC, Trump says he has no idea what Signal is, doesn't care what it is, and that the controversy is a witch hunt.

2025-03-28 15:30:39 UTC

Musk plans to convert the Social Security codebase from COBOL to a modern language -- over just a few months! -- an insane plan that risks total collapse of the system
https://www.wired.com/story/doge-rebuild-social-security-administration-cobol-benefits/
https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/240/770/616/285/471/original/9f37e7a40935fa5b.png

2025-03-27 20:32:35 UTC

GOP wants to terminate TSA, turn airport security over to private firms

2025-03-23 17:57:35 UTC

Word is that #Apple may be adding AI to their watches. So soon you may not even be able to get the correct time from them.

2025-03-23 15:57:58 UTC

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They know the temperature and humidity in my garage. Big F*cking Deal. I've worked in the privacy field for many decades -- choose your battles carefully.

2025-03-23 00:57:13 UTC

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He wants to be knighted.

2025-03-22 23:35:14 UTC

[No, I'm not joking] Trump says he'd like U.S. to join the British Commenwealth
https://www.newsweek.com/nigel-farage-reacts-trump-united-states-join-british-commonwealth-2049086
https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/208/702/219/362/873/original/9752a004150bec22.png

2025-03-20 19:20:52 UTC

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Concrete slab. Fair amount of (relatively minor) cracking from over the years. No obvious stains, but can't see the entire surface due to (as is typical) lots of stuff stored in there. I have a hydrometer in there but haven't noticed drastic changes at least in the air. This time of year the temperature changes day/night aren't anywhere near dramatic as they will be soon when spring/summer hits my corner of L.A.

2025-03-20 19:10:01 UTC

The mystery of the vanishing (and returning) odor!
OK gang, this one has me stumped. For the past several days I've been fighting a rather nasty garage odor that started suddenly and has me puzzled. It's very strong, smells like acetone, turpentine, or some other chemical, and is quite nasty.
First step was to remove anything obvious like cans of paint and the like, or anything else obviously chemical. No change. Tested for gas with a little meter (nifty gadget) of course (though it doesn't smell like gas, but never hurts to check) zero.
Now, here comes that really puzzling part. The odor lessons and seems to vanish entirely as the day progresses. By mid afternoon you really can't smell it at all. In evening it starts coming back, by morning it's back to nasty full strength.
I've see various discussions on this with research. Mold in walls (had rain, leaks, earthquakes lately)? Maybe, but the reduced odor during the day doesn't seem to fit. Sewage? It doesn't remind me of a classic sewage smell, and there is a washer hooked to a drain in the garage. But the odor doesn't seem more intense there, the drain is pretty well blocked by the washer outlet pipe, and whether or not the odor disappears during the day does not seem to relate to the washer being used or not. Still, seems like a possibility. I've had problems with drain clogging and sluggishness for years.
Other suggestions I've seen appear to be much lower probability.
Lots of clues -- especially the day/night variation -- but yeah, stumped right now.
Any ideas? Thanks very much! -L

2025-03-18 23:56:24 UTC

Trump fires Democratic FTC commissioners, in violation of 1935 Supreme Court decision
https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/18/trump-fires-ftc-commissioners-setting-up-a-legal-battle/
https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/186/136/600/847/497/original/13a9e61c0957b424.png

2025-03-18 20:17:16 UTC

Judge rules DOGE's USAID dismantling likely violates the Constitution

2025-03-18 19:42:52 UTC

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This isn't the situation where you are or aren't standing up to bullies. You know my stance on bullies. Rather, it's a matter of whether or not you want to risk ending up in shackles in a detention center when you attempt to reenter the country. That outcome will not hinder the bullies in the least. Maybe G -- given Sundar's smoochy relationship with Trump -- would be able to help. Maybe not. Anyway, even as a native born American with American parents I would not travel internationally at this point, for any reason.

2025-03-18 18:33:53 UTC

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Seriously, international travel at this point is extremely risky. Personally, I would not travel internationally at this time under ANY circumstances.

2025-03-17 04:04:59 UTC

Have you seen photos of the Oval Office lately? Trump has filled it with all sorts of gold crap. Looks like a bordello at Ft. Knox.

2025-03-17 03:32:12 UTC

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Exactly. I was sitting on the edge my bed watching YouTube, and felt it (more heard it as rattling) and just kind of had that "oh don't bother me with this stuff again" feeling and said to myself "probably an upper 3 or something."

2025-03-17 03:30:23 UTC

Having lived my entire life in L.A., I will admit that we can be relatively blase about earthquakes unless the magnitude pushes up into the red zone.

2025-03-17 03:19:39 UTC

Yet another quake in my corner of L.A. just now. Definitely have entered a more active seismic period. Data should arrive shortly ... about 3.9. near Malibu.

2025-03-17 01:46:53 UTC

When a #YouTube creator you've been watching for years but who never appeared on camera one day shows their face in a video and you say to yourself "Man I wish they hadn't done that."

2025-03-17 01:29:54 UTC

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What utter B.S.

2025-03-17 01:22:42 UTC

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Ha. Democratic leaders will want to play all nicey nice and let us all be steamrolled flat again, assuming there are future elections and they ever regain the executive. Milquetoast losers.

2025-03-15 03:16:10 UTC

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I get them occasionally lately but not at that kind of volume.

2025-03-15 03:14:32 UTC

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What that's really talking about is the hysteresis of the thermostat I would think.

2025-03-15 03:06:48 UTC

Been asked a question about small under sink water heaters. These I have never dealt with. Issue is bathroom far from water heater, where it can take minutes of wasted water to get any hot water at the sink. Researching this some, I see that there are tank type (which I assume will be less energy efficient since they'll be using power to keep the water hot, even if the tank is only a couple of gallons), and tankless, which appear to be out of scope due to power requirements. Tank type apparently can plug easily into an existing 20 amp circuit with watts to spare, tankless far more likely to pull too much power on existing circuits. I've also seen systems that run water as its heating back through the cold water line, but I've also seen discussion of this wearing out pipes. Ugh. So tankless units (presumably rated so that they can tolerate hot water from the main tank on their input?) seem more sensible as a suggestion, but any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

2025-03-14 20:12:20 UTC

Anyone else seeing the repetitive "Fediverse Chick" PMs?

2025-03-14 17:15:24 UTC

If #Google hasn't actually become evil, it's certainly trying to APPEAR to be evil.

2025-03-14 16:35:57 UTC

***** ALERT *****
California PUC announces meetings: AT&T and its cronies are trying again to end landline service in California
They're all at it again. Same old garbage arguments. And of course, the notices from AT&T are described in ways that almost nobody would know this is about landlines (they frame it all as "Carrier of Last Resort"). SO HERE WE GO AGAIN. Hearings are in April and May.
Note that the base link to get to the CPUC proceeding, from which you can view the various filings in the Documents and other sections, is:
https://apps.cpuc.ca.gov/p/R2406012
Notice of public hearings in Rulemaking 24-06-012
regarding the CPUC proceeding to update its Carrier of Last Resort rules
Where and when will these Public Participation Hearings be held?
In-Person Public Participation Hearing,
April 9, 2025, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. sessions City of Vista (San Diego County)
City Council Chambers
200 Civic Center Drive
Vista, CA 92084
In-Person Public Participation Hearing,
April 10, 2025, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. sessions City of Walnut (Los Angeles County)
City Council Chambers
21201 La Puente Road
Walnut, CA 91789
In-Person Public Participation Hearing,
April 15, 2025, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. sessions City of Bakersfield (Kern County)
City Council Chambers
1501 Truxtun Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93301
In-Person Public Participation Hearing,
April 17, 2025, 2 p.m. session https://adminmonitor.com/ca/cpuc/hearing
Toll-free phone number: 1-800-857-1917;
code: 6032788#
In-Person Public Participation Hearing,
April 23, 2025, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. sessions City of Roseville (Placer County)
City Council Chambers
311 Vernon Street
Roseville, CA 95678
In-Person Public Participation Hearing,
April 30, 2025, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. sessions City of Santa Rosa (Sonoma County)
City Council Chambers
100 Santa Rosa Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Remote Public Participation Hearing,
May 5, 2025, 6 p.m. session https://adminmonitor.com/ca/cpuc/hearing
Toll-free phone number: 1-800-857-1917;
code: 6032788#
Remote Public Participation Hearing,
May 13, 2025, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. sessions https://adminmonitor.com/ca/cpuc/hearing
Toll-free phone number: 1-800-857-1917;
code: 6032788#
Why am I receiving this notice?
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) wants to hear from you. In-person and virtual public forums have been scheduled to hear your comments, concerns and opinions regarding the CPUC’s proceeding to update its Carrier of Last Resort rules. Your thoughts will help inform the CPUC’s decision. You can attend the in-person forums or, for the remote forums, watch a livestream of the hearings or participate via telephone. You can also submit comments by mail or post them on the CPUC’s public comment portal.
How does this process work?
This rulemaking is assigned to a CPUC Administrative Law Judge and a Commissioner, who will consider proposals and evidence presented during formal processes, and then issue a proposed decision. Any CPUC Commissioner may sponsor an alternate decision with a different outcome. The proposed decision, and any alternate decisions, will be discussed and voted upon by the CPUC Commissioners at a public CPUC Voting Meeting. Parties involved in the rulemaking include the Public Advocates Office. The Public Advocates Office is an independent consumer advocate within the CPUC that represents customers to help them obtain the lowest possible rates consistent with reliable and safe service levels. Find out more here: 1-415-703-1584, email PublicAdvocatesOffice@cpuc.ca.gov or visit PublicAdvocates.cpuc.ca.gov.
Contact the CPUC:
Please visit apps.cpuc.ca.gov/p/R2406012 to submit a public comment about this rulemaking to the CPUC. You may also mail written comments to the CPUC’s Public Advisor’s address below. For more information on participating in the public hearing, submitting comments, to request special assistance, or to request a non-English or Spanish language interpreter, please contact the CPUC’s Public Advisor’s Office at least five days prior to the hearings.
CPUC Public Advisor’s Office
505 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: 1-866-849-8390 (toll-free) or 1-415-703-2074
Email: Public.Advisor@cpuc.ca.gov
Please reference Rulemaking 24-06-12 in any communications you have with the CPUC regarding this matter.

2025-03-14 15:22:42 UTC

Any Senate Democrat who votes for Trump CR should be primaried out of the Senate -- their career should be OVER

2025-03-14 04:55:50 UTC

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Uh, I've lived in L.A. my entire life. However, I have visited Boston. So I've seen far worse than L.A.

2025-03-14 04:51:45 UTC

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Actions and reactions have consequences.

2025-03-14 01:38:02 UTC

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Passengers in robotaxis are sitting ducks -- targets for protesters and criminals, who can easily block/disable the vehicles and act against the occupants with impunity long before control centers can get authorities there. This has already occurred even with the relatively small deployments now. With expansion, robotaxis will become an immense target of opportunity, and there is no practical fix.

2025-03-14 00:53:21 UTC

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There are privacy and governmental control nightmares. They serve NO useful purpose that cannot be fulfilled by human drivers who could provide far better services to riders. They subject riders to harassment and worse without ways to escape. They should be outlawed except in narrowly defined circumstances.

2025-03-14 00:42:27 UTC

We didn't ask for robotaxis, and we do not need them.

2025-03-13 21:55:51 UTC

The chill that runs down your spine when you receive an email from any large firm you deal with that begins with:
"Great News!"

2025-03-13 16:08:05 UTC

***** MAJOR ALERT regarding Social Security and DOGE *****
Please forward widely!
MAJOR ALERT: Changes announced by DOGE to the Social Security Administration will inevitably result in many seniors not receiving their payments as expected.
For anyone who isn't computer literate, comfortable using computers, or otherwise does not access their Social Security accounts online, changes announced by Elon Musk's DOGE to SSA support could be devastating.
Originally, it was reported that DOGE planned to shut down or vastly curtail virtually all SSA phone support services -- generally considered to be among the best staffed and most helpful of federal government call centers.
After that report leaked, it was announced that instead of a major close down of phone support, it would henceforth not be possible to change direct deposit payment information by phone, instead requiring use of the Internet with two-factor authentication, or a physical visit to an SSA office.
This alone will be a disaster for many seniors and other Social Security beneficiaries.
SSA (under DOGE control) claims that 40% of SS deposit fraud is conducted via changes made by phone. Perhaps that figure is accurate. But there are many reasons to doubt any figures that relate to anything DOGE does. Reports indicate that their claims of savings across the federal government are vastly less than they are claiming, and Trump/Musk continue to claim that accounts associated with long dead persons are still receiving SS payments -- a claim that has been totally discredited.
But the bottom line is even simpler. People who aren't using computers to access their SSA accounts are going to be the very same people who will be most at risk of not receiving payments after these DOGE changes, since their only alternative to update their information after changes or problems with their checking accounts or other deposit accounts would be physically going in to SSA offices.
Many SSA recipients are infirm and with limited (if any) mobility -- traveling to SSA offices would be impossible for them. Meanwhile, DOGE is CLOSING nearly 50 SSA offices, making reaching SSA offices physically even more difficult.
I haven't seen specific discussion regarding any changes related to SS recipients who choose to receive their payments by physical checks, but in any case this would seem to be an impractical and not timely fallback for direct deposit users affected by these DOGE changes, given the likely delays and other DOGE impacts on SSA, even assuming switching to physical checks could be done by phone.
This is a DISASTER in the making. Many SS recipients depend on these payments every month to even minimally survive. Trump/Musk/DOGE is putting these persons lives at risk.
This must be stopped.
L

2025-03-12 21:48:00 UTC

Currently free (probably U.S. only) on #YouTube Movies & TV is the remarkable 1955 film "Night of the Hunter", starring Robert Mitchum, Shelly Winters, and Lillian Gish -- and a host of others. It tells the story of a Depression era traveling "preacher" who is actually a serial killer -- with H A T E tattooed on the fingers of one hand and L O V E on the fingers of the other. It was a critical and financial failure, and was the only film credited to famed actor Charles Laughton as director. From the opening credits onward, it is obviously not a conventional film of the time, and it is heavily influenced by German expressionism. Largely seen from the point of view of two siblings being chased by Mitchum's character, it stunningly (other than a couple of establishing shots taken back East) was entirely shot here in L.A., mostly in sound stages including the crucial river scenes. It is often described as a Horror Fairy Tale, and over the years has become one of the most acclaimed film masterpieces of all time. I recommend it VERY highly. I can pretty much assure you that you've never seen any other film like it before! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kgZd8jeVyQ
https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/151/652/925/523/664/original/7a42c6409531a023.jpg

2025-03-12 16:11:57 UTC

Report: As they pour money into garbage AI, #Google laying off another 40K workers, including crucial areas like customer "support" and Trust & Safety.

2025-03-11 21:16:06 UTC

I've noticed a few (just a few) unsubs lately from my lists from longtime .gov subscribers. I speculate that there is concern over emails that could be characterized as not supporting Musk/Trump Administration policies showing up in those government mailboxes. Very USSR type fears.

2025-03-11 17:54:30 UTC

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As we know, the G search ranking algorithms are ... complex. However, my sense is that it would be a mistake at this time to overthink what's going on. It's obvious that AI results (whether "Overviews" or in some other form, and largely irrespective of how inaccurate they are in full or part) are disincentivizing users en masse from clicking beyond the AI answer. This is reality, not merely perception, and this reality is going to affect the regulatory view of Google and other firms in major ways going forward, since Google et al. are increasingly being viewed as essentially website vampires.

2025-03-11 17:43:26 UTC

Report shows AI search and AI chatbots are destroying the sites they feed on, with abysmal click-through rates (91% to 96% fewer than
traditional search)
As AI scraping surges, AI search traffic fails to follow: Report
https://searchengineland.com/ai-scraping-ai-search-traffic-report-453160
https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/145/033/804/482/223/original/293691e2f389669e.png

2025-03-10 22:56:56 UTC

Trump cancels today's appearances, White House references "animal spirits" in release regarding stock market fall.

2025-03-10 18:25:36 UTC

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Two words: Virtual Ink.

2025-03-10 16:47:58 UTC

Tesla's problem is that it is inextricably entwined with Musk (and now with his Nazi salute). This is unique among auto manufacturers globally. Most people could never name offhand the CEO of ANY other auto firm, but pretty much EVERYONE knows who runs Tesla. There is no escape for Tesla.

2025-03-10 15:43:44 UTC

Top WashPost columnist -- there for 40 years -- resigns, saying Bezos killed her column critical of him
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/10/nx-s1-5323136/washington-post-editor-ruth-marcus-resigns
https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/138/899/714/221/133/original/e96795482a6a4fdf.png

2025-03-09 20:04:16 UTC

Earthquake in my corner of L.A. STANDBY. Stronger than the recent one.

2025-03-09 17:56:40 UTC

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This is why I moved to docker when moving from 3.X to 4.X. -- it was becoming very chaotic to try match the dependencies for Ruby, etc. without messing up other stuff, and in some cases even getting the dependencies running at the current versions was difficult or impossible. By switching to the docker version all those problems were nullified. Of course docker doesn't always have all the dependencies needed (I have some apps in similar situations where I've had to use flatpaks), but for Mastodon the docker versions have been OK for 4.x so far, even with my local mods.

2025-03-09 16:11:54 UTC

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I don't like the term "backdoor" for these kinds of situations, absent some nefarious intent demonstrated.

2025-03-09 16:10:29 UTC

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When I bumped to the latest version a few days ago, I realized my notes were woefully inadequate for the process, and this time tried to document more carefully. I'm currently using a docker build with local mods, so there are far too many steps and it's always a race between when the build will finish vs. the heat death of the universe.

2025-03-09 15:59:37 UTC

Undocumented commands reportedly found in ubiquitous ESP32 chip, creating concerns about new attack vectors.
And yeah, these babies are everywhere! -L
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/undocumented-commands-found-in-bluetooth-chip-used-by-a-billion-devices/
https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/133/299/970/068/943/original/2479b4493c79abf9.png

2025-03-07 16:21:41 UTC

Blame the neutrinos.

2025-03-03 22:00:22 UTC

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In a 1960 edition of BTL, the human factors work that was used to determine the ordering and positioning of touch tone buttons was detailed:
https://www.vcalc.net/Documents/touchtone_hf.pdf

2025-03-03 21:53:49 UTC

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Interesting theory, but that was not a major concern at the time.

2025-03-03 21:26:49 UTC

It's amazing how many people have never noticed that a telephone keypad and a calculator keyboard have the rows of numbers reversed (123 on top for phones, 789 on top for calculators). But can you guess why?

2025-03-03 17:29:32 UTC

Last night's Academy Awards were the most uninteresting and downright boring in my memory.

2025-03-03 06:22:10 UTC

Updated quake map. The red box is the one that just occurred felt here a few minutes ago. The others are almost all just tiny tremors that are basically happening all the time and are far too small to be felt.
https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/097/057/084/585/256/original/d96843bb2dc94d51.png

2025-03-02 16:13:12 UTC

SEC says Memecoins are not security and that it won't regulate them, setting up millions of Americans to lose their life savings

2025-03-02 04:36:46 UTC

The classic "The Blues Brothers" (1980) just popped up officially on #YouTube Movies & TV for the first time that I'm aware of anyway. Judging from the relatively limited number of comments, it probably hasn't been up more than a day or so, if that. Free for now. Probably only available in the U.S. A close friend of mine was one of the extras in the performance crowd scene.

2025-02-25 20:49:27 UTC

[Probably includes all the trolling relies] White House claims a
million federal workers (about 1/3) replied to DOGE email demand.

2025-02-24 15:44:47 UTC

Fun Fact about the 60s TV classic "Bewitched". The recurring role of bumbling but goodhearted Aunt Clara was played by venerable actress Marion Lorne. A recurring gag in the series was that she collected doorknobs, especially ornate ones. So sometimes after her character was somewhere, a nearby doorknob would mysteriously vanish. In fact, Lorne DID collect doorknobs, and various of the doorknobs used as props in the series were from her personal collection.

2025-02-24 15:36:36 UTC

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It is generally understood that both "Bell, Book and Candle" and the 1942 film "I Married a Witch" (how much more explicit can you get?) contributed in different ways to Sol's creation of "Bewitched". The latter was more directly on point, the former more comedic.

2025-02-24 04:09:12 UTC

While the classic 60s sitcom "Bewitched" generally tried to play down the more satanic aspects of its premise, sometimes surprises did sneak into the scripts. In one episode, the witch Samantha is looking through a book of spells to find the solution to one of their usual problematic situations.
Finally she finds the correct incantation. She tells her mortal husband: "It's all there in red and white."
He starts to reply, "Just because it's written in some crazy ... red and white?"
"It's thicker than ink," she replies.

2025-02-23 21:03:00 UTC

At some point, federal workers are going to rebel en masse and everything is going to grind to a halt, because it's increasingly obvious that the Musk administration (in concert with "on his knees" slave boy Trump and the DOGE "Big Balls" boys team) are out to screw every federal worker who doesn't proclaim fealty to der Fuhrer and his storm troopers -- and eventually screw all of them as well.