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Simplicator

@Simplicator@federate.social

Blog posts: https://www.dailykos.com/users/Simplify
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luckytran , to Random stuff
@luckytran@med-mastodon.com avatar

Republicans are trying to take away and criminalize the right to make decisions around our own health, whether that’s the right to wear a mask or the right to have an abortion. Unacceptable.

https://www.wral.com/amp/21433199/

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@luckytran This from right-wingers obsessed with stopping normal people from “shoving their agenda down our throats,” are literally shoving a deadly virus down people’s throats

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@luckytran Lookit these useful idiots for fascists:
“Batch and Grafstein each proposed amending the bill in ways they said would still give police the power that Republicans have said they want, to crack down on masked protesters, but to add back in legal protections for people who wear masks for public health reasons.”

Texan_Reverend , to Random stuff
@Texan_Reverend@kind.social avatar

Today, I was asked about effective air cleaners, because wildfires have already begun to flare in North America.

Extensive global testing has found that a DIY will outperform almost every commercial HEPA unit while costing less to run.

For the US & Canada, the best source of filters to build one is Costco: Filtrete 1900, 2200, or 2500 models with at least one 20-inch dimension.

These units also help mitigate allergens and infectious aerosols like and Influenza.

1/3

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@keithzg @Texan_Reverend My kingdom for a box fan rotor optimized for use

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@Texan_Reverend @keithzg Yup the whole reason box fans are so cheap is b/c they’re low-performance commodity items made by the million. It’s honestly amazing they’re as cheap as they are,
given the sizable electric motor. That said, if they just optimized the blade shape & otherwise used the same manufacturing processes…

dell , to Random stuff
@dell@journa.host avatar

An FBI email obtained by WIRED shows a Deputy Director encouraging warrantless wiretaps of "US persons."

Meanwhile, we've learned Intel Committee members are hosting a private party on the Hill called "FISA FEST" to celebrate extending a warrantless spy program.

By me & William Turton:

https://www.wired.com/story/fbi-section-702-us-person-queries-email/

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@dell Also shows how deeply unserious establishment Dems are about stopping fascism, approving this when it’s a coin toss whether Trump regains power

dangillmor , to Random stuff
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

Climate scientists are angry, helpless, and overwhelmed as they watch humanity accelerate toward the climate cliff that will likely destroy much of our civilization. But they have no choice other than continuing to fight, as long as they can.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2024/may/08/hopeless-and-broken-why-the-worlds-top-climate-scientists-are-in-despair

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@dangillmor I’m most sickened by the mass extinctions of wildlife. The mass suffering and death. Hundreds of millions of years of evolution, gone forever.

parismarx , to Random stuff
@parismarx@mastodon.online avatar

Meta lost $3.85 billion on the metaverse in the first quarter of 2024 alone. You know, that thing we all laughed about a couple years ago and next to no one actually uses.

It’s burned $45 billion on the metaverse since the end of 2020.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/24/metas-reality-labs-posts-3point85-billion-loss-in-first-quarter.html

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@parismarx
Thst’s more than $5 per capita

of the world

eff , to Random stuff
@eff@mastodon.social avatar

The reauthorized FISA 702 was a clear dereliction of Congress’ duty to oversee the intelligence community in order to protect all of the rest of us from its demonstrated overreach. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/04/us-senate-and-biden-administration-shamefully-renew-and-expand-fisa-section-702-0

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@eff On top of that, it also shows how the Democratic Party leadership is deeply unserious about protecting us from Republican fascism, since the Nov. election could go either way.

rbreich , to Random stuff
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Ginni Thomas was directly involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Yet Clarence Thomas didn't recuse himself from arguments today in a case about the January 6 insurrection.

How is this not a scandal of epic proportions?

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@rbreich B/c Dems in the House won’t file a privileged motion on impeachment. (& b/c of the corporate oligarch-owned press.)

davidho , to Random stuff
@davidho@mastodon.world avatar

How much would global CO₂ emissions change if we replaced all traffic lights with roundabouts?

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@davidho In these parts they put stop signs on them, sooooo stupid

indivisibleteam , to Random stuff
@indivisibleteam@mastodon.social avatar

Tick-tock, tick-tock! ⏳The deadline for filing your taxes is quickly approaching, but there's no need to panic. Direct File is available exclusively for residents in the 12 pilot states, offering a convenient and FREE solution to your tax-filing woes. Save $$$ and time at directfile.irs.gov

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@indivisibleteam Wish it didn’t require evil ID.me!

rbreich , to Random stuff
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

We’ve reached an absurd & dangerous point where most of Trump’s net worth will tied up in a publicly traded media company, “DJT.”

What foreign countries and funds will take shares in DJT, and what kind of leverage will that grant them? The media must report more on this threat!

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@rbreich Then there’s the e-commerce company:

arstechnica , to Random stuff
@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar

macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 released to fix the stuff that the 14.4 update broke

The 14.4 release introduced a number of problems the new update claims to fix.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/03/macos-sonoma-14-4-1-released-to-fix-the-stuff-that-the-14-4-update-broke/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@arstechnica Meanwhile iPhone Calendar local USB sync to Mac Calendar is still broken, since iOS 16.
A decade ago Apple tried to force everyone onto iCloud sync for this, but people raised a stink & they restored the functionality. Today, 🦗🦗🦗 🙁

GottaLaff , to Random stuff
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Via

"71 percent of the world’s population now lives in autocracies — up from 48 percent just a decade ago..." https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/18/global-democracy-russia-election-backslide-autocracy/

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@GottaLaff :(

arstechnica , to Random stuff
@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar

SpaceX building hundreds of spy satellites for US government, report says

Satellites to "track targets on the ground" for US intelligence, Reuters writes.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/03/spacex-building-hundreds-of-spy-satellites-for-us-government-report-says/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@arstechnica Just great. Also the quantity of spy satellites China has been launching is fairly terrifying.

ajsadauskas , to Fuck Cars
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

Are microplastics from car tyres contributing to heart disease?

"Add one more likely culprit to the long list of known cardiovascular risk factors including red meat, butter, smoking and stress: microplastics.

"In a study released Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, an international team of physicians and researchers showed that surgical patients who had a build-up of micro and nanoplastics in their arterial plaque had a 2.1 times greater risk of nonfatal heart attack, nonfatal stroke or death from any cause in the three years post surgery than those who did not."

https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-03-07/microplastics-may-be-risk-factor-for-cardiovascular-disease

The research is particularly noteworthy, given that one of the biggest sources of microplastic pollution is the synthetic rubber in car tyres: https://aus.social/@ajsadauskas/112015017609398126

So it's not just the sedentary lifestyles that car-dependent planning encourages that's causing health issues.

And it's not just exhaust fumes either.

There's also the health impacts of microplastics, including from car tyres.

Worth noting as well that internal documents from the big oil companies show that they knew since the 1970s that recycling wasn't going to solve the problem of plastic pollution. They promoted it anyway: https://aus.social/@ajsadauskas/112064312364853769

@fuck_cars

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@NarrativeBear @ajsadauskas What environmentalists really don’t want to talk about is that sustainability means slowing down, traveling less, more manual effort, fewer chemical conveniences. B/c it seems politically impossible.

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@NarrativeBear @ajsadauskas Meanwhile there’s an over-abundance of shovel-ready jobs cleaning up human impacts & restoring nature, just waiting for us to prioritize it over billionaires’ & $100M-aires’ insatiable greed & lust for power

mattblaze , to Random stuff
@mattblaze@federate.social avatar

Prediction: The state of the union will be described as "strong", and the president will end by calling upon god to bless the country.

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@mattblaze Indeed “The state of the union will be described as ‘strong’" despite the obvious fact that is a lie. We are still falling into Republican fascism & climate doom, due to white supremacism & greed. Would only our political leadership have the fortitude & lack of corruption to not lie to us.

eff , to Random stuff
@eff@mastodon.social avatar

"Just removing traditional identifiers such as name or SSN from a dataset isn't nearly enough,” EFF’s @legind told @theregister “In fact, unique IDs which are assigned to an individual may be more identifying than a person's name." https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/05/us_europe_capitalism/

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@eff @legind Has anyone looked at online anonymity as a concept distinct from privacy? Would there be anything to that? Being on the Internet like walking around in public but no one knows your identity (unless they personally know you)

ajsadauskas , (edited ) to DeGoogle Yourself
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

In an age of LLMs, is it time to reconsider human-edited web directories?

Back in the early-to-mid '90s, one of the main ways of finding anything on the web was to browse through a web directory.

These directories generally had a list of categories on their front page. News/Sport/Entertainment/Arts/Technology/Fashion/etc.

Each of those categories had subcategories, and sub-subcategories that you clicked through until you got to a list of websites. These lists were maintained by actual humans.

Typically, these directories also had a limited web search that would crawl through the pages of websites listed in the directory.

Lycos, Excite, and of course Yahoo all offered web directories of this sort.

(EDIT: I initially also mentioned AltaVista. It did offer a web directory by the late '90s, but this was something it tacked on much later.)

By the late '90s, the standard narrative goes, the web got too big to index websites manually.

Google promised the world its algorithms would weed out the spam automatically.

And for a time, it worked.

But then SEO and SEM became a multi-billion-dollar industry. The spambots proliferated. Google itself began promoting its own content and advertisers above search results.

And now with LLMs, the industrial-scale spamming of the web is likely to grow exponentially.

My question is, if a lot of the web is turning to crap, do we even want to search the entire web anymore?

Do we really want to search every single website on the web?

Or just those that aren't filled with LLM-generated SEO spam?

Or just those that don't feature 200 tracking scripts, and passive-aggressive privacy warnings, and paywalls, and popovers, and newsletters, and increasingly obnoxious banner ads, and dark patterns to prevent you cancelling your "free trial" subscription?

At some point, does it become more desirable to go back to search engines that only crawl pages on human-curated lists of trustworthy, quality websites?

And is it time to begin considering what a modern version of those early web directories might look like?

@degoogle

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@ajsadauskas @degoogle IOW,

TheConversationUS , to Random stuff
@TheConversationUS@newsie.social avatar

Who can be president? The Supreme Court ruled this morning that states don't get to decide – it needs to be Congress or we, the people.

A presidential historian points out all the provisions in the Constitution that limit the ability of voters to choose just anyone to be president:

https://theconversation.com/the-constitution-sets-some-limits-on-the-peoples-choices-for-president-but-the-supreme-court-rules-its-unconstitutional-for-state-governments-to-decide-on-trumps-qualifications-224718

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@TheConversationUS The Supreme Court is illegitimate to rule. What will it take to get people to act accordingly? Apparently there is nothing that will

dangillmor , to Random stuff
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

VP Harris would not have called for a Gaza ceasefire if BIden was not totally in favor.

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@dangillmor Harris wouldn’t have done it if Biden wasn’t feeling the public pressure.
Also means little while supplying arms & operational support & vetoing UN resolutions.

dangillmor , (edited ) to Random stuff
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

Meet "history’s latest example of someone trying to rise to power through hate" -- https://1ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Felections%2F2024%2F03%2F02%2Fmark-robinson-governor-candidate-north-carolina-offensive-comments%2F

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@dangillmor I mean, they’re not mistakes, so what’s to learn? They’re doing their owners’ bidding. If they were mistakes & the owner didn’t like them, they wouldn’t go on like this.

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@Baku @Nath The United States of America is the Florida of the Earth

anneapplebaum , to Random stuff
@anneapplebaum@journa.host avatar

Trump still doesn't understand how NATO works, he still thinks allies "owe us money" and he's now sending a signal to Russia to attack them while the crowd cheers. This is an invitation to Putin to broaden the war.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/11/donald-trump-says-he-would-encourage-russia-to-attack-nato-countries-who-dont-pay-bills

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@anneapplebaum He understands plenty about forming a :(

eff , to Random stuff
@eff@mastodon.social avatar

Most of you probably know about EFF’s cookie blocking Privacy Badger, but did you know EFF’s tech team also works on a bunch of other tools to keep you safe online? Check them out here: https://www.eff.org/pages/tools

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@eff Also looking for a plugin that erases cookies from all but a few whitelisted sites

golgaloth , to Random stuff
@golgaloth@writing.exchange avatar

It's Rorschach Nebula time!

What does the Carina Nebula look like to you? I'm going with Crab Man Dancing.

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@golgaloth With those two bright stars as eyes,
the face of Cthulhu

indivisibleteam , to Random stuff
@indivisibleteam@mastodon.social avatar

This is an alarming moment for our democracy, and we must be clear on what this is about: Governor Abbott is choosing to defy the federal government in order to unilaterally pursue a cruel and illegal policy of murder on our southern border, outside the checks and balances of our governing system. https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/texas-border-national-guard-supreme-court-ruling-rcna135745

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@indivisibleteam We need the Biden administration to confront & overcome this fascist Republican defiance w/overwhelming force. Yet Biden & Democratic leadership will not.

anneapplebaum , to Random stuff
@anneapplebaum@journa.host avatar

The definitive report from Protect Democracy:
How American democracy could be dismantled, and what you can do to stop it

https://www.authoritarianplaybook2025.org/

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@anneapplebaum Will check this out. Tho it would help if establishment Dems like Eric Holder who runs Protect Democracy stopped devoting a significant chunk of their energy to crushing the left

georgetakei , to Random stuff
@georgetakei@universeodon.com avatar

Sometimes when I’m having a particularly lousy day, I say “Computer, end program.” You know, just in case.

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@georgetakei Works as a prayer too, since in our current techno-capitalist dystopia, computers are pretty much our gods

chargrille , to Random stuff
@chargrille@progressives.social avatar

Does the Bush-era warmonger & Trump appointee who's leading Biden around by the nose (Brett McGurk) really think the world is going to be distracted from the evidence South Africa presented today at the of the genocidal intent of 's government against ?

Relying on a Trump appointee like McGurk has led Biden into shooting his 2024 campaign in the foot - and showed the world the worst face of America.

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@chargrille We never got the clean sweep of fascists out of gov’t that we needed from Biden :(

dangillmor , to Random stuff
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

(Updated with new link)

It's not surprising that China found a way to crack AirDrop to spy on users of iPhones.

What should be surprising -- but maybe isn't because of Apple's consistent bended-knee stance there -- is that Apple knew of the flaw and didn't fix it.

Apple's claims to care about user privacy/security are sometimes empty, or outright lies.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/01/10/apple-was-warned-of-airdrop-flaws-before-chinas-hack

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@dangillmor For example, until iOS 4 any ol’ app could access all calendar & contacts data.

golgaloth , to bookstodon group
@golgaloth@writing.exchange avatar

In Russia, book settles down with you.

@bookstodon

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@golgaloth @bookstodon In America, any writer can unburden the difficulties that they carry into a book. In Soviet Russia, a book is a difficult burden for you to carry.

davidho , to Random stuff
@davidho@mastodon.world avatar

Did anyone go to jail for the 737 MAX MCAS business?

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@davidho Also investors should’ve been cleaned out. :(

luckytran , to Random stuff
@luckytran@med-mastodon.com avatar

“Into the trash went more than 18 million masks, 22 million gowns, 500,000 gloves, and more. That’s not counting states that didn’t give the AP exact figures.”

Ugh. Such horrible mismanagement that they didn’t give more masks away for free to the public.

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-ppe-stockpiles-masks-50bf7739fc9d69f4b991a14daadecaba

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@wa7iut @luckytran It’s the elastic in the bands. So stupid not to come up with a process to send them back to the factory & re-band them

arstechnica , to Random stuff
@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar

A top-secret Chinese spy satellite just launched on a super-sized rocket

This satellite may carry a large telescope to continuously monitor the Indo-Pacific.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/12/a-top-secret-chinese-spy-satellite-just-launched-on-a-super-sized-rocket/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@arstechnica Not a fan of any of the military-industrial complex, incl. the USA’s, but given the totalitarian aspect of China’s gov’t, disturbing to see them put so much surveillance hardware in orbit

eff , to Random stuff
@eff@mastodon.social avatar

Every internet user should have the ability to privately communicate with the people that matter to them, in a secure fashion, using the tools and protocols of their choosing.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/12/without-interoperability-apple-customers-will-never-be-secure

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@eff & privately communicate with oneself: With iOS 16, Apple broke USB synch for calendars. So now the only options are iCloud or another cloud synch. Please join me in asking that Apple restore local synch

arstechnica , to Random stuff
@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar

Hubble back in service after gyro scare—NASA still studying reboost options

NASA is still evaluating Hubble servicing studies from SpaceX and other companies.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/12/hubble-back-in-service-after-gyro-scare-nasa-still-studying-reboost-options/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Simplicator ,
@Simplicator@federate.social avatar

@arstechnica Can’t NRO just grant NASA another chassis to use? How many spy telescope satellites have they launched since Hubble?

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