Curious, Confused, Coding Connor

Mundus sine Caesaribus

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31 Mar 2025

I’m intrigued by the idea that old codebases can be better than newer codebases b/c of decades of work squashing bugs. I kinda imagine like old growth forest vs a new garden. The old ecosystem is mature and complicated and tangled. It works (maybe better?) but it appears messier than new code.

Clive Thompson@clivethompson.bsky.social

So, the DOGE kids intend to rewrite the social-security administration's COBOL code-base! and they want to do it ... ... in *a few months* I did a huge dive into COBOL a few years ago (www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/magazi...) ... ... so let me explain why DOGE is *way* over its skis here 1/9

I’m a big fan of thoughtful takes on how LLM’s are influencing coding. My fav section title here: “LLMs Amplify Existing Expertise”. My take: having coding expertise allows you to develop this new human-in-the-loop LLM coding skillset. Coding with LLM’s is a skill you have to develop.

Simon Willison@simonwillison.net

Here's the table of contents for my lengthy new piece on how I use LLMs to help me write code simonwillison.net/2025/Mar/11/...

At some point will LLM’s be so normalized that people learn “LLM-native” coding skills without prior coding experience? I bet so. I’m curious what it’ll look like. For now, knowing how to code already is just a massive head start to learning how to effectively do human-in-the-loop LLM coding.

What. The. Actual. Fuck?!???!!

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This seems like a good time to reflect a little on Judith Butlers writings about nonviolence. Part of her analysis involves questioning who gets to define violence, and when states use this semantic power as a form of oppression. lithub.com/judith-butle...

“I think society starts to reflect the structure of its dominant form of communication and so you need communications infrastructure that is democratic” - @jay.bsky.team 👏👏👏

SXSW@sxsw.com

@bsky.app CEO @jay.bsky.team details how the platform utilizes open networks to allow users to craft their own social media experience while maintaining their personal privacy.

Great thread about how lack of social-media scheduler support for @bsky.app is an obstacle for larger orgs to move here. Hopefully this will continue to change as the Bluesky community grows

Ashton Pittman@ashtonpittman.bsky.social

I've seen several people ask why it took so long for us to leave X (most news orgs still haven't left, mind you). So, just to be transparent, I'll explain: We knew we'd likely need an exit plan. We set up Bluesky, Threads and Mastodon accounts in 2023. But there was a problem. 1/

I know @mcuban.bsky.social loves @bsky.app. It’s time for him to fully fund @freeourfeeds.com and take a massive step towards securing bluesky’s future as a better social media.

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@mcuban.bsky.social Wealth is power, and I’m skeptical of the amount of power billionaires have. We’ve seen billionaires become a threat to democracy. We’ve seen billionaires move towards becoming oligarchs. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t individually use your wealth + power for good

As a billionaire, the best things you can do are: (1) redistribute your wealth in a way that you cede control and give power back to the people, and (2) use your platform to deconstruct myths that billionaires are uniquely talented + smart (sorry if that hurts your ego, but look at Elon - it’s true)

I know @mcuban.bsky.social loves @bsky.app. It’s time for him to fully fund @freeourfeeds.com and take a massive step towards securing bluesky’s future as a better social media.

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And many smaller utility companies are great examples of co-op’s that serve their communities better than massive utility conglomerates.

Alternative business models not only exist, but can also function successfully within capitalism and help improve our systems from the inside-out

I know @mcuban.bsky.social loves @bsky.app. It’s time for him to fully fund @freeourfeeds.com and take a massive step towards securing bluesky’s future as a better social media.

There are successful examples of tech nonprofits running at least partially revenue based business models (#enveritas and @watttime.org come to mind)

Oh, and #communitytechalliance as well!

I know @mcuban.bsky.social loves @bsky.app. It’s time for him to fully fund @freeourfeeds.com and take a massive step towards securing bluesky’s future as a better social media.

And while you’re at it, why not just buy out the @bsky.app investors and turn Bluesky isn’t either a tech non profit or a co-op?

mashable.comBluesky CEO: imagine a 'world without Caesars'Jay Graber dunks on Mark Zuckerberg without mentioning his name.

Well worth watching the full talk!

Jay 🦋@jay.bsky.team

the feminine urge to

💯💯💯

Ben Lorber@benlorber8.bsky.social

Right now there is clear, overwhelming opposition to Mahmoud Khalil’s abduction across the moderate, liberal, progressive & left spectrum. This kind of loud unity is what authoritarians are afraid of. To keep it up we need every institution & public leader to join the chorus.

techandsocialcohesion.substack.comYes, we can have better algorithmsA new report from recommender system experts highlights practical alternatives to addictive and engagement-driven feeds

7 Mar 2025

Shout it from the rooftops! Algorithms can be better! #holdtechaccountable

Council on Tech and Social Cohesion@socialcohesiontech.bsky.social

Algorithms don’t have to be the way they are. The @knightgtown.bsky.social report proves platforms could build feeds that serve users, not just engagement. Transparency, accountability, and user control can create better algorithms—if we demand them techandsocialcohesion.substack.com/p/yes-we-can...

fasterskier.comIn Norway, a Fossil Fuel Feud at a Celebration of the National Sport – FasterSkierThis article was made possible through the generous support of our voluntary subscribers. If you would like to see more articles like this one, please support FasterSkier with a voluntary subscription.

5 Mar 2025

A little microcosm of sports washing... What happens when an oil company sponsors a ski race while burning oil is ultimately jeopardising the future of skiing? Is disrupting the event effective or does it just piss people off? fasterskier.com/2025/03/in-n...

28 Feb 2025

Good recap thread 🧵 on one of the problems with the Discover feed. When a post makes it to Discover, people who don’t know you / your brand engage, and the quality of the engagement predictably falls.

ghost malone ergo propter bones@proptermalone.bsky.social

I’m a broken record on this so let me define the problem. the Discover feed means that for a subset of posts a significant fraction of your audience is people to whom you are a total stranger, many of whom are new here.

terrytao.wordpress.comEpistemic logic, temporal epistemic logic, and the blue-eyed islander puzzle lower boundI recently reposted my favourite logic puzzle, namely the blue-eyed islander puzzle. I am fond of this puzzle because in order to properly understand the correct solution (and to properly understan…

26 Feb 2025

I like this as an example of how a lot of curious people are using (and benefiting from?) LLMs. There are a lot of reasons to be skeptical that LLMs are overall good for human well-being, but I’m gently inclined to think this doesn’t fall in that category. I’d love to hear perspectives!

dan@danabra.mov

very cool (old) post by @teorth.bsky.social. when i tried to read it a few years ago, i didn’t understand much at all. this time, thanks to some basic familiarity with logic (and thanks to Claude’s help unpacking a few examples), i feel like i decently grasp the first section (Zeroth-order logic)

wapo.stInvasive frisks, suicide attempts: Three migrants describe Guantánamo detentionThree migrants sent to Guantánamo said they were denied calls to loved ones, subjected to humiliating strip searches and left in isolation for prolonged periods.

At least we gave them a Bible! Then Jesus said unto the stranger, "are you here legally?" Then Jesus said unto the hungry, "my taxes better not be paying for these loaves and fishes." Then Jesus said unto the poor, "this is your own fault."

The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com

Three migrants sent to Guantánamo said they were denied calls to loved ones, subjected to humiliating strip searches and left in isolation for prolonged periods.

This hit me hard. The image of my government sending migrants to Guantanamo with only a blanket, a 3/4” foam sleeping pad, and a Bible is anathema to everything Jesus stood for. I know there are good Christians out there. But Christian Nationalism is poison.

rollingstone.comBernie Sanders on Battling a Government 'Of, By, and For' the BillionairesAn exclusive interview with Bernie Sanders as he launched his ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour, countering billionaire power and Trump tax cuts in Omaha.

“I talk about 60 percent of people living paycheck to paycheck, a health care system which is broken, a child care system which is broken, a horrific housing crisis of working people who are paying 50 or 60 percent of income on rent. […] Where were the Democrats? Where were they?”

Rolling Stone@rollingstone.com

“There is something profoundly wrong when we have a president moving us to an authoritarian type of society, capturing more power for himself, acting in an unconstitutional way virtually every day.” Exclusive interview ⤵️

The success of authoritarianism and oligarchy in our country doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s also a damning indictment of the liberal elite. Democrats beholden to billionaire $$$ will not be capable of defeating Trump. For that, we need the power of the people united.

If you rely on your income to live - whether you’re a teacher, or a civil servant, or a nurse, or a coder or a lawyer - then you are working class. Trying to ride the coattails of oligarchs while others suffer is not a fulfilling life. We are capable of collaboration and abundance for all.

Bluesky is exciting because of the potential to craft a new human-focused social media. I hadn’t thought of this idea before, but it is exciting to be on a platform where ideas like this have a chance of becoming reality. (1/)

Osbert Lancaster@osbert.org

I’m getting increasingly annoyed by my feeds being dominated by US posts. Some is fine, but it drowns out European, UK, Scottish and local posts. This is important as we need to build connections, community and resilience locally. @bsky.app could help by enabling geographical filtering.

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Work is exhausting, especially in western capitalism where value extraction and growth are required. So we need easily accessible digital spaces. Sometimes that’s all we have energy for. We also need our digital spaces to draw us into community. We failed with legacy social media. (3/)

I’m drawn to @bsky.app because custom feeds offer the ability to experiment with building a better social media. While custom feeds are pretty technical currently, there’s every reason to hope they’ll become more accessible in the future. Algorithm choice and algorithm control are critical. (End)

Osbert Lancaster@osbert.org

newpublic.orgLocal Lab | New_ PublicHelping local communities create flourishing digital spaces

The best digital spaces need to value human connections and human communities. Orgs like @newpublic.substack.com are imagining what local digital spaces might look like. newpublic.org/local (2/)

This is the single best breakdown of DOGE I’ve heard yet. @wired.com and @techwontsave.us knock it out of the park, but I wish I hadn’t listened before bed as these days the truth gives me nightmares.

Tech Won’t Save Us@techwontsave.us

Over the past few weeks, Elon Musk’s DOGE has infiltrated the US government and begun dismantling pieces of it. This week @makenakelly.bsky.social joins @parismarx.com to discuss the threat DOGE poses to government services and everyone who depends on them. Full ep: techwontsave.us/episode/264_...

Sci Fi has a rich history of being subversive, and Andor continues that heritage. I’m kinda shocked it made it past corporate for-profit sanitization, but I also find hope that this type of messaging is available in mainstream media. Long live the Star Wars rebels!

Jessie Gender@jessiegender.bsky.social

Andor just keeps being too real.

This type of “social stunt” is genuine activism. Attention matters. Grabbing attention in funny and creative ways is an act of resistance.

WIRED@wired.com

On Monday morning, TV sets at the headquarters of the Department of Housing and Urban Development played the seemingly AI-generated video on loop, along with the words “LONG LIVE THE REAL KING.” Read the full article: www.wired.com/story/trump-...

youtube.comAlgorithms are breaking how we thinkYouTube video by Technology Connections

We are subservient to for-profit algorithms that do not have our well-being in mind. We need algorithm transparency, and algorithm choice. Our feeds shouldn’t maximize for engagement, they should maximize for well-being.

Technology Connections@techconnectify.bsky.social

Surely this new video won't make me seem like a crank. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEJp...