Daniel, Probably an Autumn Cat

Daniel, Probably an Autumn Cat

@d3macdon.bsky.social

Wheel of Time, baseball, physics, Oxford commas, and other nerdy things keep me sane. Not that sane. Very fond of cats. Nuclear energy "professional".

250 followers376 following2.2K posts

I wish there was more nuance in the AI discussions. Something can be very useful, problematic, dangerous, and complex all at the same time. It's not particularly useful in my job and I find it's addition to everything frustrating/cringy, but it is an absurdly powerful tool.

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We are maybe a year or two away from saying "we need to bulldoze all AI" having the same cultural and societal weight as saying we need to abolish electricity. I'd personally like to actually try to mitigate the problems.

I wish there was more nuance in the AI discussions. Something can be very useful, problematic, dangerous, and complex all at the same time. It's not particularly useful in my job and I find it's addition to everything frustrating/cringy, but it is an absurdly powerful tool.

All that to say, without getting into the weeds, we need real regulations for all of this and calling for abolishment won't help us get that. It will just make regular folks who see it as borderline magic think you are crazy.

Bester remains my favourite sci-Fi villain. RIP.

Jesse Thorn@jessethorn.bsky.social

My pal Danielle Koenig shared that her father Walter Koenig passed away last night at age 90. A performer whose kindness and warmth shone through the screen. He will be well remembered.

The magic the gathering Star Trek set is a collection of the most uncanny and unappealing art I've ever seen. No disrespect to the artists intended here, but it's a burning example of why drawings of real people and hyper realistic art should stay far far away from a fantasy card game...

The Alberta vote last night does nothing to solve the issue that the provincial government is corrupt and insane. However, I'd like to take today to not think about that too hard and instead wish a hearty 'get fucked you stupid dipshits' to the separatists and the lowly 25%.

It everyone's favourite weekend. The annual "parents are visiting at the time most convenient to them with no regard for what a toddler needs or wants". Don't worry, they are sure to bring a bunch of cloths that are too small for either kid and whatever colourful toy was in season at giant Tiger.

I can't tell if the senator fails to understand how taxes work or fails to understand that wine drinkers will just buy a different bottle. Maybe do something about the fascists my guy...

Sen. Adam Schiff@schiff.senate.gov

Without American wine on Canadian shelves, Canadians are also missing out on tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue they would obtain from selling our wine.

I'm old and yelling at clouds but... Halloween decorations - very late Sept to end of Oct. "Pumpkin spice" season - October and November. Christmas decorations - November and December. "Candycane season" - December and January.

Watching the bike lane nonsense in Ontario has unfortunately solidified my belief that most people are simply too stupid for us to have nice things. Probably always been the case, but it's sad how easily selfish narcissists can drum up support for policies that will hurt those who support it.

I am not optimistic that we will get a high speed train, and it's depressing to watch every institution around crumble into nonexistence because no one understands how money works or is willing to prevent a few dipshits from hoarding it.

Funny etc. but the satanic prayer kicks ass! "Let us reason our solutions with agnosticism in all things, holding fast only to that which is demonstrably true... "

"...Let us stand firm against any and all arbitrary authority that threatens the personal sovereignty of one or all. That which will not bend must break. And that which can be destroyed by truth should never be spared its demise."

It goes without saying that anyone who participates in this should rot in jail and/or hell for the rest of their lives and/or eternity.

Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social

WASHINGTON (AP) - Pentagon says the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed in December.

Just because I've already been asked about this more than once offline... This is dumb as shit and has no health benefit, but it's not particularly radioactive. It is however chalk full of toxic heavy metals...

Lindsay Beyerstein@beyerstein.bsky.social

I can think of no better illustration of this point that "holistic influencer" gulping from a ceramic vat with a radioactive glaze because the Rothschilds supposedly tried to take them away from us.

There is no room in society for people who carry out, support, accept, or even tolerate such barbaric horrors. Disgusting.

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social

UPDATE: At a call with the federal court tonight, "the state [of Tennessee] represented that medical personnel have begun to administer medical care as requested in the motion."

I do enjoy all of the jokes about how the grumpy barista makes better coffee, but that misses the primary point that 99% of all "bad service" complaints are actually complaining about the staff not tolerating being treated like shit.

Job interview discourse always makes me laugh. All I can think of is seeing all the terrible advice the teenage lifeguards I interviewed got for how to dress. Poor kids. I'm wearing a red T-shirt work gave me and swimming shorts. You don't need to wear a tie...

It is quite unsettling to have an elderly lunatic in charge, but I'm desperately sick of seeing "it's essential to build a 600ft statue that shoots down aircraft at random" reported in the media instead of something like "the narcissist is losing his marbles and making shit up again".

This is an example of why we never have nice things, and probably won't until everyone is long dead.

Toronto Star@thestar.com

#Breaking: The federal government will allow private ownership of four major airports — including Toronto’s Pearson, Canada’s busiest — in a move that breaks with a decades-long arrangement that saw them run by non-profits on government-owned land.

Not my usual jam, but I actually saw Macklemore live at echo beach in 2013. I was in town to see Ben Howard the night before so sure. Fun show. He was a silly guy and I couldn't tell at the time if he was genuine or not. Golden retriever kind of vibes. Anyway, happy to see he really is a good guy.

No one dressed like this in my tiny small town pre modern social media. However, I vividly remember going to a school event in Hamilton and seeing "cool kids" dressed up in their purple camo jackets and bright orange pants and feeling like one would witnessing aliens land on parliament hill.

ℳatt@matttomic.bsky.social

Not to alarm anyone but I was just served an ad for Modrobes, which have apparently been revived in all their hot-orange fuzzy cargo-pocketed glory

I'm not old enough to have seen any of them in theaters (until generation), but the refit Enterprise used for the motion picture through search for Spock is the best Enterprise. Probably my favourite sci-Fi ship, maybe second to the Omega class destroyer in B5 or Sovereign in Mass Effect.

Few things... I've never even heard of most of the shit brands of whiskey we apparently export to the USA. More importantly, if your honest reaction to the president arbitrarily escalating a trade war with an ally is "har har, I won't miss that product" then you are an unhelpful moron.

This is so disingenuous... Folks aren't upset about data centre because of a warehouse of computers. People resent the free ride the companies have received to avoid regulations, all levels of taxes, copyright laws, etc.

The Economist@economist.com

There is a respectable argument for slowing down AI research, but it rests on the danger to all humanity of the technology being abused or going rogue—not the local harms of data centres

Assuming this ever gets finished I am counting on every resident and visitor of the USA to make this look like the Berlin Wall within the year. If I can see masonry through the graffiti I'll be disappointed.

Matt Novak@paleofuture.bsky.social

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum says they're starting excavation work on Trump's arch

For a high school project I made fake packaging for sand paper called Colonel Red Ass' toilet paper for men. I'm very distraught to learn that dude wipes are real.

Danny@middaughsome.bsky.social

New from Dude Wipes, Mantiply Toilet paper. TP made for men!