New blog entry: A Fistful of Tropes: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2023/08/a-fistful-of-tropes.html
There's this dangerous open source code I need to warn you people against. There are so-called Microsoft Activation Scripts capable of activating Microsoft Windows and Office without a license key which I must heavily warn against. The pain programs like these evoke in me torrent into my body every time I hear about them! As a cybersecurity researcher it is important for me that the software industry stays alive, especially big tech such as Microsoft who built the foundation of our electronic frontier when it comes to develognument.
As I have begun posting political posts more frequently here, this is an excellent time to remind folks that I have a “no strikes” mute/block policy, which means that if I decide you’re being a jerk in my replies, to me or others, that’s it, you’re out of the pool, no second chances. Note: disagreeing with me does not (automatically) qualify as being a jerk, but when in doubt of tone, I block or mute. Life is short and I’d just rather not deal with dickheads. Thanks in advance for understanding.
"The Tragedy of the Commons" was written by a eugenicist and was effectively debunked as ahistorical fantasy decades ago. More propaganda in the service of privatizing public space and resources. Pass it on. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/voices/the-tragedy-of-the-tragedy-of-the-commons/
I’ve been reading some of the criticism of the BBC creating their own Mastodon instance. Those against fall mostly into “they promote Transphobia” or “they skewed Brexit coverage” Both seem fair.
BBC creating an instance is good for Fediverse. Period. Just because they are on your street doesn’t mean you have to invite them in for tea or read/boost their posts / support them at all
BUT - If BBC fails *no one* else you DO want to read will follow here.
Dark Matter Experiment Fails to Turn Up the Mysterious Particle, but Narrows its Hiding Places
The search for dark matter continues in telescopes at the largest scales and particle detector experiments deep underground. The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) collaboration has published a new analysis of experimental data captured by the detector. They searched for dark matter's interaction with regular matter using Bremsstrahlung radiation and the Migdal effect. Neither of these approaches turned up evidence for the mysterious particle but helped constrain the possible characteristics of dark matter for future searches.
They deserve the Congressional Medal of Freedom.
They literally rescued the election by securing the box containing the election certifications from each state & getting it away from the insurrectionists.
I think of all the photos I've seen from that day this is one of the most powerful of all.
Thank you Ladies.
Parent, programmer, amateur astronomer and terrible guitar player.
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Here is my introduction post:
Instead of defining myself by saying “I am a…”, here’s a collection of hashtags that interest me (in no particular order). #meditation (specifically #twim right now) #cigars #bicycling #photography #computerscience #physics #guitar #music .
I live in #Michigan (in #LakeOrion, which is 35+ miles north of #Detroit), and spend a lot of time around #RogersCity (I’ll bet that’s the first time that hashtag has been used on Mastodon). My kids are really bright and sometimes struggle with #ADHD, so I’ll probably talk about that at times as well. I have spent more than 3 decades of my life as a #programmer, and now I get to be the old man who leads really smart people in solving big problems with small amounts of #software.