arkottke @arkottke@qoto.org

A good deep-dive (written pre-launch) on how the largest rocket in history was launched from a dirt-cheap site that would be substandard everywhere else in the world, including Russia and China.

This was a massive regulatory failure, everything from knowingly relying on bad data to outright evasion of review by omitting critical infrastructure.

There should be accountability.
https://blog.esghound.com/p/spacexs-texas-rocket-is-going-to

Trash pickup day 1,367. This was a 45 minute pickup. #EarthCleanUp

I am starting to get close to the end of the semester here in San Jose. I'm going to begin targeting areas that only I know how to get.

Today's bucket yielded lots of 15-40 year old trash. It is important I get this litter out before I leave San Jose permanently. If I don't this litter may be here forever. Only I know where I've cleaned and haven't cleaned.

Happy #EarthDay !
Make sure to enjoy the great outdoors whenever you can.

Giggle….

I want to tell parents of trans kids under attack in the red states something:

This is simply horrifying. Like you, we can't understand how any politicians could stoop so low as to attack the most vulnerable among us.

You are strong, and we will fight for and beside you. And though we may lose these initial battles, your love and strength will help win this in the end. I know that to be true.

Stay tuned here for news on this next week!

I’ve decided based on the warm reception I’ve got from Mastodon that I’ll be posting the news here first.

This visual deep dive into one of the largest AI language datasets is nonstop fascinating, jaw-dropping, and troubling, and anyone who is remotely interested in how LLMs really work, their biases, or intellectual property should read it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2023/ai-chatbot-learning/

Please do follow @timkmak's amazing in-depth reports from Ukraine. I followed him on Twitter while I was there and gained so much from his on-the-ground accounts of the Ukrainian people's courage and struggles.

(Bonus feature: dogs of war. Other bonus feature: the perils of being a pho and sriracha addict in an Eastern European war zone.)

https://mastodon.scot/@timkmak@journa.host/110169741631089512

Since so many appreciated our #FollowFriday picks today, we're sharing a second round of #tech writers:

@AnneCronin — Bloomberg

@b_fung — CNN

@clive — New York Times Magazine, Wired, Smithsonian

@corbin — How-To Geek

@cfarivar — Forbes

@joshuatopolsky — What Future

@klillington — Irish Times

@mmasnick — TechDirt

@skrishna — PBS

@firstadopter — Barron’s

@gruber — Daring Fireball

@ryansingel — Outpost.pub

@HilliTech — AppleInsider

@willknight — Wired

Slowly but surely journalists are finding their way to the Fediverse. These tech & digital media reporters are already active on Mastodon:

@couts — Wired

@caseynewton — Platformer

@mimsical — WSJ

@pierce — The Verge

@drewharwell — Washington Post

@harrymccracken — Fast Company

@jank0 — Lowpass

@joannastern — WSJ

@jr — Computerworld

@mathewi — Columbia Journalism Review

@stshank — CNET

@taylorlorenz — Washington Post

@willoremus — Washington Post

#FollowFriday #Journalists #Tech

Did you know: Nearly 80% of the trees along Seattle streets are the maintenance responsibility of adjacent homeowners — something homeowners often don’t realize until a problem with a tree arises? https://crosscut.com/environment/2023/04/you-might-be-responsible-seattle-street-tree-and-not-know-it

#trees #urbanism #climatecrisis #forests #stewardship

You folks were super enthusiastic about my posting more on Mastodon, so let's try this.

RT/boost and let's see if there's interest in a regular #Ukraine thread!

Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands.

For the last year, I've been tracking a notorious Russian unit known for its role in killing 100s of civilians.

This past month we published how we found them.

I am slowly losing it. I beg, I plead: there is no need to do things like "Elno" and "Eloon" or El*n. Just use "Elon" so that those of us who don't want to see that can have actual, workable filters. There is no full-text search, so using "Elon" will not result in trolls being able to find your post just by putting "Elon" in the search. Mastodon searches only on hashtags This isn't Twitter. #FediTips