ceoln @ceoln@qoto.org

i think it's weird that HBO changed their name to be the same as Netflix's failed PS3 app

Overnight, Microsoft announced "Windows Copilot" - which integrates ChatGPT-like features across the entirety of the operating system used by hundreds of millions of PCs.

Rolling out before the end of the year.

So yeah, that's pretty huge.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/23/23732454/microsoft-ai-windows-11-copilot-build

I have been refusing to upgrade Windows 10->11 without having any specific one thing to point to to justify this decision and I feel, at this moment, that I have been totally vindicated https://mastodon.social/@mpesce@arvr.social/110420390278715544

Time for the #VisualWritingPrompt for 05/23/23!

Write a 480-ish character #SciFi story about this AI generated image.

#WritingCommunity #Midjourney #WritingPrompt #SecretSciFiNetwork

@ewdocparris
Greetings, I am Dr. Tao’pan, I’ll be facilitating your session. Before we start, I know you can’t talk; it must be frustrating. The Areux jelly injection anesthetized your vocal cords; you see, I’m a V'engian and our species has very sensitive hearing. I find human screaming intolerable. Oh yes, I neglected to tell you, this is a torture session. Be assured, all my instruments are sterilized. One procedural point, there won’t be any questions; this is a purely esthetic exercise.

The least plausible thing to me in any fantasy media is when some quest-dispensy type tells a hero, "You must take the McGuffin to the land called Bro-whatte, to the ruin of Th'hell beyond the Lake of Incomprens, & place it on the altar of Anot'rethgn before the Feast of Whassit," and the hero nods and sets off.

Never even a pause for, "Uh, hold up, I gotta write that down. Can you -- sorry, is that one L or two in Th'hell? Remind me when Whassit is? Should I pack a coat?"

THEY ALWAYS JUST GO.

Self-described “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk will have a formal role in the presidential announcement of Ron DeSantis, who has launched an aggressive crackdown on free speech in Florida K-12 schools, universities, and private businesses

Some hospitals refusing to mask anymore because they claim people are likely to get #COVID elsewhere anyway. That's a dereliction of duty. Regardless of what is happening elsewhere, no one should ever have to risk their health while seeking medical care. Do no harm.

Our latest investigation into the death of Colombian protester Lucas Villa, in partnership with CLIP & Cerosetenta, has been the subject of conversations in Colombian media. If you missed it you can read the article published on the second anniversary of Lucas’ death here:
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/05/04/lucas-villa-cell-phone-data-gives-new-insight-into-investigation-of-colombian-protestors-killing/

After a short hiatus, this week our twitch stream is back and better than ever with a new look and feel! Join us on Wednesday, 4:30pm CEST, to learn about the latest open source research and tools and to compete in our weekly Geoguessr games! https://www.twitch.tv/bellingcat_live

Anyway, there's ten of my favorites.

THERE ARE SO MANY MORE TO READ.

If you want to master geekery, you need to read narrative history, because narrative history is about change, and, in spite of what your org your school and your trade tells you, the central act of being a geek isn't *finishing* things, it's *changing* things.

The more you grasp how change really works, the stronger a geek you will be.

Aight, bedtime's a-coming. We shall have a nightcap and a ramble.

The other day I said this:

https://mastodon.social/@GeePawHill/110410264628807902

Of course, someone asked me immediately for recommendations. *What* narrative history should they read?

The answer in general: anything that looks interesting and isn't about our stupid geekery trade.

One answer in specific:

<hits his neat rye, puffs hard on the cigarette, looks off in the distance>

Here's ten titles, authors, and one-liners. No links, you're a grownup.

My fellow cis Americans, I want you to look at this map. Really look at it. And I want you to imagine what it would feel like if those red states were threatening you and your family. Because, ultimately, they are.

This is what creeping fascism looks like. It will harm ALL OF US. And it will take all of us, together, to fight it.

We don't sacrifice people. We stand with our trans siblings. When their rights are threatened, all our rights are threatened.

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/may-anti-trans-legislative-risk-map

🏳️‍⚧️

Miranda's New Cardigan #midjourney #AIArt

I'm kind of at a loss for how to explain this in words, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

I'm starting to realize that I think my brain and emotions have a different gender identity than my body.

Or more accurately, my brain/heart/soul seem to be strongly agender, but my body is very insistently female.

This is not at all dysphoric, dissonant, or incongruent. In fact I'm so at peace with this situation - especially compared to the decades I spent having to pretend to be male - that I barely even noticed it.

Does any of this make sense to anyone? Anybody out there know what to call this?