Tim Bray

Web geek and environmentalist with a camera at the bottom left corner of Canada. He/him.

These posts are coming from a member-owned cooperative: https://cosocial.info

My posts are searchable and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/

Location: Vancouver 🍁
Blog: https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@twbray
GitHub: https://github.com/timbray

Public Key

npub19ua0a9gu7ggm693nqm6knq3zutckcfde9p6ra7a8fu73xhvy3sgqz253cv

NIP-05 Address

timbray_at_cosocial.ca@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsz7wh7j5w0yydazcesdatfsg3w9utvykujsap7lwn570gntkzgcyqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsrqpcda

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub19ua0a9gu7ggm693nqm6knq3zutckcfde9p6ra7a8fu73xhvy3sgqz253cv

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Last Notes

2026-03-15 05:02:44 UTC

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I said "no" but then remembered having seen one in a past life. It was kind of hard to understand and I was left with the impression that it was *really important* to know who paid for the construction of the inventory.
Not that I’m cynical or anything.

2026-03-14 23:52:49 UTC

One of the more intriguing strands of Big Tech litigation: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/14/meta-and-google-trial-are-infinite-scroll-and-autoplay-creating-addicts

2026-03-14 18:39:26 UTC

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Exactly what the 5-year plan published last week said!

2026-03-14 18:32:02 UTC

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What did you migrate to? The thought of migrating my 27K photos is horrifying but I’ve also about had it with Adobe.

2026-03-14 18:28:52 UTC

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It was *so* expat. There was even the Beirut Softball League, teams included the AUB faculty, AUB students, local American High School, US Marines at the embassy, Japanese community, and "The Pilgrims", all the missionaries and other official Christians.

2026-03-14 17:48:35 UTC

Smart, sharp-edged writing about the scenario where your customers’ and shareholders’ interests are in direct conflict. #genai
https://petapixel.com/2026/03/14/adobe-ceo-shantanu-narayens-legacy-differs-dramatically-with-who-you-ask/

2026-03-14 16:11:26 UTC

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Anyhow, good luck!

2026-03-14 16:10:20 UTC

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I was an expat for 11 years, our family lived in Lebanon, my Dad was a professor at the American University of Beirut. I think the defining characteristic is that we, and all of Lebanon's tens of thousands of other expats, knew that one day we'd pull up stakes and head home. We were not really members of Lebanese society.

2026-03-13 22:57:15 UTC

I’ve been worrying that the AI bubble-pop will wreck the world economy, but hey there, quite likely War Oil Chaos and sketchy Private-Credit shenanigans will get there first.
Ha ha fucking ha.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-03-13/warning-that-it-s-2008-all-over-again-evening-briefing-americas

2026-03-13 16:35:42 UTC

RE: https://cosocial.ca/@evan/115580076628853324
This was posted 4 months ago, i.e. forever in LLM time. I would really like to see a fully-worked through analysis of the actual GHG cost of #GenAI in general and for coding applications specifically. Including, obviously, training, data centre infrastructure, silicon fabrication, etc.
The reason: I have trouble reconciling these numbers with the insane volumes of investment capital going into the space.
#note1sxe…39td

2026-03-12 18:09:15 UTC

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I idly wonder if the fact that Charlie has a huge Java-head audience (and of course a big Ruby one too), while I live almost entirely in Go these days, might explain part of the difference in our experience as to interaction quality on X vs elsewhere.

2026-03-12 02:58:58 UTC

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Is the wall really grey? It’s a lovely rich light blue shade to my eyes.

2026-03-12 02:57:40 UTC

Sony is trying something new: https://petapixel.com/2026/03/10/the-sony-xyn-immersive-display-feels-like-apple-vision-pro-without-googles/

2026-03-11 23:32:27 UTC

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KarlBode@masto.ai

2026-03-11 22:23:07 UTC

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Weird. My experience is different. Having said that, my posts are link-heavy and X hates that.
Whatever, to my eyes, someone being on X suggests they’re OK with what Elon is and does, and that makes my skin crawl.

2026-03-11 21:37:13 UTC

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I really suggest you drop X.

2026-01-05 22:00:05 UTC

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Also bear Plan C in mind: Download the source and build the sucker. Many (not all) OSS projects build easily on MacOS.

2025-10-22 04:51:24 UTC

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I trim all my pictures to max 1280x1280 and never had an issue. That size is *plenty* big enough for Fedi. Don't do much video.

2025-09-25 06:09:43 UTC

O rly? https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/spains-pm-says-he-will-send-warship-protect-gaza-aid-flotilla-2025-09-24/
mind: boggling
#palestine

2025-09-20 16:17:28 UTC

This is beautiful; pure poetry: https://obsidian.md/blog/less-is-safer/
(Obsidian’s dependency-management philosophy.)
I have a suggestion: If you have a project or repo that's getting popular, stop writing features for a few months and implement this instead.
#softwaredevelopment #softwareengineering #0dependencies

2025-09-17 17:46:06 UTC

Huh, spam from 1Password offering me “Early access to Comet, the new AI browser from Perplexity”. I’m perplexed all right, about why 1Password, an outfit I mostly like, is doing this. I want a serious relationship with my security-technology providers, not a spammy one that flirts with sketchy totally-unrelated products.
#genAI #1Password

2025-09-13 03:08:04 UTC

Cafe life.
(At Vancouver’s Purebread, which is a fine bakery.)
#Photography
https://media.cosocial.ca/media_attachments/files/115/194/782/190/644/346/original/383e6a3eceb3fe8b.jpg

2025-09-10 16:22:15 UTC

X-iting: Local Governments Are Stepping Away from Musk’s Platform:
https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/09/10/X-iting-Local-Governments/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial
About time!

2025-05-05 23:32:13 UTC

Well, fancy that… our family has now been bitten by the Trump tariff tax. We ordered a new stove, a Fisher & Paykel, which is made in Thailand. Obviously they'd load up a ship to LA with appliances, then truck 'em to wherever, including Canada. Except for there's now a 36% US tariff on Thailand. It was expected to arrive this month but now they don't know when. Either they figure out a way to ship direct to Canada or they eat the 36%. Or Trump backs down. *grumble*

2025-05-05 17:01:03 UTC

Had to happen eventually: https://archimago.blogspot.com/2025/05/psa-logitech-dropping-many-harmony.html

2025-05-02 15:51:26 UTC

A side effect of the Trump tariff circus is, I think, benefit to Mexican agricultural income. People here in Canada don’t want to buy US products but given our climate, a lot of our fresh produce needs to be imported. At the supermarket, I’m seeing lots of veggies and spuds and so on marked “Produce of Mexico”. Also some Morocco.
#USpol #tariffs

2025-05-01 07:39:01 UTC

Pretty persuasive.
Daring Fireball: Another Periodic Suggestion to Try, Just Try, Switching to Kagi for Search https://daringfireball.net/2025/04/try_switching_to_kagi

2025-04-29 04:58:05 UTC

Lib+NDP+G = 172 at the moment. If it holds we may avoid another election this year.
#cdnPoli

2025-04-28 16:55:02 UTC

I see Clemens Vasters is proposing a new schema language for JSON: https://json-structure.org
I think there is room in the ecosystem for such a thing, a lot of people including me broadly dislike JSON Schema in its current shape. No opinion about the quality of this new submission.

2025-04-16 17:56:13 UTC

TFW you leave a Discord server and instantly realize that you should have done so months ago.

2025-03-24 22:28:27 UTC

Obviously, what must have happened is that whoever was putting the Signal group together wanted to add some insider named Goldberg (not exactly a rare name), typed g-o-l-d-b and autocomplete did the rest… I’ve screwed up like that plenty of times when composing emails. With embarrassing results at least once I can recall.
[No, not defending the perps, in the slightest.]
#USpol

2025-03-23 19:39:38 UTC

Canadian election launched! Voting day is April 28. Whatever you think of Canadian politics, I think we can all agree that an election that’s launched, fought, and finished in only 36 days is a fine thing.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/livestory/canada-election-party-leaders-make-their-pitches-as-snap-campaign-kicks-off-9.6695126
#CDNpoli

2025-03-20 18:45:48 UTC

We have this map on a wall at our cabin. It’s glorious, highly recommended.
https://ewz74.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/mr/sh/SMJz09SDriOHWPmoyNAPoVypqJbc/VbWJdTZTIhBa

2025-03-13 02:38:07 UTC

Thought-provoking: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/mar/12/a-machine-shaped-hand-read-a-story-from-openais-new-creative-writing-model\
#genAI

2025-03-12 17:45:22 UTC

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[More on “Invisible Attackers”]: https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/202x/2024/07/30/Invisible-Attackers

2025-03-12 17:44:58 UTC

1/2 This is freaking huge. I think that among Mastodon’s shortcomings, “invisible attackers” is near the top of the list. If this works as I understand it, when someone is getting abused, moderators and allies will be able to see that abuse and (presumably) deal with it faster and more effectively.
https://social.growyourown.services/@FediTips/114149382005729304

2025-02-26 00:04:01 UTC

Gosh, look what @npub1dnd…hzjs posted exactly ten years ago: https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2015/02/a-different-cluetrain.html

2025-02-21 18:25:55 UTC

I already boosted this, but I want to add more emphasis. I think every Canadian citizen of the Fediverse ought to sign this petition to get the Government of Canada off Xitter: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-5359
Could anyone who has any Canadian followers please boost or just re-post it yourself? This matters.
#cnpoli #fediverse

2025-02-21 04:32:10 UTC

Just one mistake; mind you, leaving McDavid unmarked in the slot is the biggest mistake a hockey defence can make in 2025.
#HNOM

2025-02-17 17:02:09 UTC

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This addresses that question: :https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/202x/2024/11/15/Not-Bluesky

2025-02-16 23:29:16 UTC

Colleague asks me out of the blue “Do you have plans to get off GitHub?”
Me: “Uh, has Microsoft started enshittifying?”
“Well, they donated to Trump’s inaugural bribe pool, so what do you expect?”
“Uh…”
“And anyhow, enshittification is inevitable, no?”
“Uh…”
[No, I don’t have any plans. But learning about alternatives maybe isn’t crazy.]

2025-02-13 20:14:02 UTC

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Haha I not only remember, I blogged about it at the time: https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2004/12/08/DynamicJava

2025-02-06 22:34:52 UTC

Today’s doomscrolling relief: Heroic Lasagna: https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/202x/2025/01/02/Lasagna
Think I’m coming it a bit high? Read the recipe and try to tell me it’s not heroic.
#cooking

2025-02-05 04:17:37 UTC

These stories about US AID, if true, are making me sick. This is the kind of evil that will be written down in history books with weighty commentary advising the reader not to try to understand it, because it’s inexplicable and unforgivable.
#USpol

2025-02-04 03:50:42 UTC

As one does, I stuck my head into Fox News dot com to see how events are being played for Those People. 96-point headline: “Canada blinks. Trump triumph.” Which at one level is kind of maddening. But on the other hand, the MAGAts may decide they got all the juice they’re gonna out of the performative tariffs and turn their empty heads in another direction.
#uspol #cdnpoli

2025-02-03 19:20:23 UTC

Just sent my January-2025 invoice to Uncle Sam for my FTC-expert-witness gig. I mean, we’re not actually at war, right? And the US Treasury can still pay invoices, right? Right?

2025-01-27 23:13:59 UTC

[Reorganizing my (physical) desktop]… Where is your MacOS Dock?
[I actually don’t think left vs right is an issue, has more to do with where the window is, etc, but people would whine if I just polled bottom vs side; I think the interesting percentage is going to be Bottom vs Left+Right.]
#macos

2025-01-20 02:02:36 UTC

This week I’m in Saskatchewan helping out my 94-year old Mom while her support system is on vacation. I've been doing all the shopping/cooking/cleaning. This afternoon I was busy and when I went to the kitchen she'd set up dinner all by herself and put it in the oven. When it was ready I was watching football and she said “why don’t I bring the food in here?” and dinner was just fine.
So, here’s a toast to my mother Jean Bray, born in May 1930, still taking care of me sometimes.

2025-01-19 20:03:33 UTC

#Fediblock, obviously: https://mastodon.social.fraudulent.link/

2025-01-17 21:39:31 UTC

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Huh, good question. So long since I adopted Phanpy I can't even remember… I suggest we ask @npub1j2m…ngt0 , who is very responsive, and I think I've just done that. Feel free to reply to this if you want to say more on the subject and Chee Aun will see that too.

2025-01-17 02:48:26 UTC

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If it seemed that I thought it would be an improvement, I apologize. I think PP is loathsome and would be bad for the country. It's not puzzling why people are fed up with the Liberals, but it is puzzling why they seem to like what the Tories are peddling.

2025-01-17 00:37:40 UTC

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Fair enough, but it still seems like a lot of Canadians want to buy what PP is selling. (Not me!) We should be asking ourselves why.

2024-11-26 06:12:16 UTC

Hey @gruber I actually use a basic M1 Mini HDMI'd to the video setup as a media box, it’s got one of those cheapo 5T USB disks @jwz recommends plugged in, also a cheapo disk reader; it runs YouTube Music and Apple Music and Plex server, so with PlexAmp, it serves music/video to car & remote locations. Also for showing anything Web-accessible. Not obvious there’s a cheaper way to do all that stuff.

2024-11-23 00:27:44 UTC

NATIONAL STANDARDS.
(It's a Vancouver clothing brand.)
#photography #Vancouver
https://media.cosocial.ca/media_attachments/files/113/529/432/484/338/814/original/6a2aebe623a81843.jpg

2024-11-18 00:20:49 UTC

In which I ask: “Why not Bluesky?” - https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/202x/2024/11/15/Not-Bluesky

2024-09-05 16:13:50 UTC

I made a little badge you can use on your projects, and here are some words on why: https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/202x/2024/09/04/0dependencies
https://media.cosocial.ca/media_attachments/files/113/085/830/193/219/968/original/132cb9d593752636.jpg

2024-08-29 17:21:46 UTC

Probably OK to not agonize too much just now about the Section 230 rollback because it’ll be a long slow appeals slog to the Supreme Court almost certainly, but Matt Stoller has a decent backgrounder: https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/judges-rule-big-techs-free-ride-on?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=11524&post_id=148237911&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=wabr&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

2024-08-24 23:29:57 UTC

There's this Canadian sports streamer called TSN and I noticed they were advertising 4K broadcasts, so I'm checking out this CFL BC-OTT game and boy does it ever look sharp but I'm wary that I'm placebo-ing. Doesn't help that I never watch CFL. Is live 4K finally gonna become a thing?

2024-08-22 22:53:10 UTC

Tuesday evening my son was bicycling and hit by a car running a red light. Was thrown ~3m. Good news: No broken bones or head damage. Lacerations and big ugly cuts. Two of our four-person family have been hit by a motorist while cycling (my injuries were way worse, surgery & extended hospital stay). Now I’m curious on the car-hits-bike statistics, how often it happens.
[For Vancouverites: 10th Ave bikeway at Clark, car was going south.]
#biking #thewaroncars
https://media.cosocial.ca/media_attachments/files/113/008/128/055/167/121/original/22580dee057eeda8.jpg

2024-08-16 05:32:06 UTC

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Two things worth knowing:
1. The most popular anesthetic for this procedure is Fentanyl. When the nurse told me this (afterward) I freaked out a bit, after all it’s killing people every day in my hometown; it had never occurred to her that this might bother someone.
2. The cleanout PegLyte process is unpleasant and I have found it helpful to remember, toward the end of the process, that white wine is a clear fluid.

2024-08-15 19:03:30 UTC

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Fair enough, although lots of people pay for them, including our little family company, just so we can have enough data. Also quite a few high schools and universities. Never saw them in use at any of my BigCo jobs though. Also very good: The calendar.

2024-08-07 23:46:15 UTC

Have just migrated from Feedly to Newsblur. Minor application annoyances with Feedly and it seems to want to become an Enterprise Solution; I just want a feed reader. A bit of startup friction but now liking the experience. Recommended.
The feed ecosystem remains about the purest, lowest-friction Web experience imaginable.