Curmudgeon @Curmudgeon@qoto.org

Though our inability to search Mastodon for words is occasionally momentarily vexing, I concede my inability to seek out things to anger me is better for my well-being.

DeSantis could seize the newspapers and broadcast stations, send university professors and librarians to relocation camps, and restrict voting to white Christian men, and Patricia Mazzei and the New York Times would continue to laud his political smarts. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/05/us/ron-desantis-florida-legislature.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

So my husband taught his parents’ dog how to walk their other dog and I thought you needed to know.

AUDIO of the F-16 pilots that shot down the UFO over Lake Huron:

“In the targeting pod, I can’t tell if it’s metallic or what, but I can see like lines coming down below it, but I can’t see anything below it,” one pilot says.

“You can definitely see strings below but don’t see anything hanging below.”

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/listen-to-f-16-pilots-intercept-the-octagon-object-over-lake-huron

I was wondering how things were going over at twitter after Musk's tantrum about his low engagement numbers.

I went over there to take a look today.

Three of the first five posts were from his account. The other two were ads.

The thing is, gentle readers, I DON'T FOLLOW HIM.

The Washington Post now flags journalists' profiles as verified on Mastodon.

It's not about trusting AI but trusting humans that use AI.

"How to Practice 'Productive Procrastination'"

An essay in which I meditate on the idea of inventor Saul Griffith ...

... which is:

Pick some side "learning projects" -- little things you want to do that require you to pick up a new skill

Then when you can't face work ...

... do one of your side projects for a bit

It's -- worked for me? My essay on it: https://clivethompson.medium.com/how-to-practice-productive-procrastination-e2522247bd07

(If you're not a Medium subscriber, here's a "friend" link: https://clivethompson.medium.com/how-to-practice-productive-procrastination-e2522247bd07?sk=c43f6ca1b4b098052e77175cb834a758)

One for all, all for one.. 😊

This is from Florida’s education commissioner, depressingly. Reflect for a moment on the incredible degree of intellectual insecurity it reveals.

Hello everyone, it's time we start officially posting on Mastodon, so here is our #Introduction -- we are the #Chandra Director's Office, responsible for updating you on all of the goings-on at the #ChandraXray Center operating NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. From newsletters and workshops to proposals and peer review, we are here to keep you in the loop with what is going on in Cambridge and in orbit. #Astrodon #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Space #Science #Satellite #NASA #XRaysAreTheBestRays

I'm now ChatGPT-pilled.

Haha I thought the Javice / JP Morgan complaint got boring after the NYC-area Data Science Professor part, but I should have kept going. Page 41 contains this Data Wrangling gem.

How do you explain this gap in your resume?

“That’s when I carried you”

It’s not often a US president calls a newly elected state senator. But @AaronRouseVaBch (a former @NFL player) got a call today from @JoeBiden to congratulate him on flipping a seat in #Virginia.

A clip from an interview with one of the original SimCity designers, on how the game would have fallen apart if parking lots in the game were their actual sizes in modern cities.

Boost this toot if you're planning on sticking around Mastodon whether or not it becomes more popular than the birdsite.

I was looking for a way to contact the New York Times to plead that they not show me the "Read it in our app" lure (after having just closed one yet again), and then there it was on the contact page itself. Please #nytimes stop. Over and over again, I have to shut this even when signed in.

"Aye, the sirens," says the lighthouse keeper, picking a bit of tobacco from his beard. "Some nights, when the wind is just so, I swear I can hear 'em singing." "What do they sing?" I prod him. A faraway look in his eyes, he says in a voice barely above a whisper, "Tubthumping."