@mattblaze I guess that's much the same as NM. I was north of Albuquerque a few years ago and witnessed (to me) quite an impressive storm pass over the city. I got a few reasonable handheld shots, though I don't have them to hand to share.
The next morning we saw how much damage had been done - the ground, softened by heavy rain, had given up many of the city's trees in the face of unusually strong winds.
Gerard
@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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5d ago
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Apr 13, 2026
@rygorous yeah, it's ridiculous suggesting it's parmiggiano reggiano. It's obviously a really well aged cheddar.
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Mar 24, 2026
@cm @briankrebs oh no, not a government-control-of-the-internet gap?!!
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Mar 17, 2026
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Mar 03, 2026
@gme @briankrebs Correction: it looks like I was mistaken. I'm sure I have seen a video of a kinetic interceptor, but it looks like most of Ukraine current interceptors are explosive ... so, single use. 😏
They are an order of magnitude cheaper than the shaheds, though.
They are an order of magnitude cheaper than the shaheds, though.
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Mar 03, 2026
@gme @briankrebs yes, a lot of countries really should being following Ukraine's developments in drone defences more closely. As I understand it, they're using small, fast drones with hardened front edges that they just fly into the shaheds. I believe they're a lot cheaper than shaheds and I think they may even be reusable.
They're going through technological generations quite fast in that war, so things might change, but right now cheap and simple is cutting edge.
They're going through technological generations quite fast in that war, so things might change, but right now cheap and simple is cutting edge.
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Mar 01, 2026
@MicroSFF And that was when crows started living in houses ... 🙂
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 27, 2026
@codinghorror @pheonix until a few months later when they decide to add you back on one of their mailing lists.
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 27, 2026
@RupertReynolds @pheonix This too. Years ago I would tell smaller orgs if I started getting stuff on an address only they had, but it was dissappointingly ineffective.
I never got a "that's concerning, we'll look into it" response, always "it can't have come from us, it must be you." In most cases I think they were honest and it was a bad actor on staff or an outside intruder - most likely poor data handling and a single hacked device.
These days, it's:
1. Small-to-medium-sized orgs ignoring your "don't spam me" flag. I can't forgive this - there's no excuse for internal mailing services "accidentally" forgetting to filter mailing lists, nor for marketing folk to have direct access to PII.
2. Mostly larger orgs that have been hacked with data released or sold publically. That's a persistent risk so I'll sometimes accept this, depending how they handle it.
Unfortunately, the personal address I give to friends and family is longstanding and gets spread to a lot of personal devices, and I don't like to filter it, so I end up getting a load of spam on that one.
I never got a "that's concerning, we'll look into it" response, always "it can't have come from us, it must be you." In most cases I think they were honest and it was a bad actor on staff or an outside intruder - most likely poor data handling and a single hacked device.
These days, it's:
1. Small-to-medium-sized orgs ignoring your "don't spam me" flag. I can't forgive this - there's no excuse for internal mailing services "accidentally" forgetting to filter mailing lists, nor for marketing folk to have direct access to PII.
2. Mostly larger orgs that have been hacked with data released or sold publically. That's a persistent risk so I'll sometimes accept this, depending how they handle it.
Unfortunately, the personal address I give to friends and family is longstanding and gets spread to a lot of personal devices, and I don't like to filter it, so I end up getting a load of spam on that one.
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 26, 2026
@BenjaminHCCarr how about a nice game of chess?
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 22, 2026
@ollicle @evacide Yep. It's brilliant from a certain perspective. Horrifying, sinister, but with a certain genius.
The tech firms get to say "Oh, no, the horrible government is making us do this. Oh well. Now give us your identity documents."
The governments get to give the appearance of responding to (genuinely) grieving parents, and say "we're protecting the children" which is game over for any alternative voice. All the while receiving funding (directly or indirectly) from the tech firms that created the problem or the supposed solution, or their fellow travellers.
And parents get to believe their children's safety is taken care of.
The tech firms get to say "Oh, no, the horrible government is making us do this. Oh well. Now give us your identity documents."
The governments get to give the appearance of responding to (genuinely) grieving parents, and say "we're protecting the children" which is game over for any alternative voice. All the while receiving funding (directly or indirectly) from the tech firms that created the problem or the supposed solution, or their fellow travellers.
And parents get to believe their children's safety is taken care of.
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 21, 2026
@jupiter didn't realise there's a sudoers, but I did once see this fragment of my passwd file:
brain:x:65534:65534:Brain (best ignored):/:/sbin/nologin
brain:x:65534:65534:Brain (best ignored):/:/sbin/nologin
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 19, 2026
@alexanderdyas @djstreethawk @hypolite @mullvadnet
I would agree re HoL. I wouldn't want to see it become more politicised.
It probably would be a good thing if their was some jury-style representation, but I can't imagine how it could work practically.
Also, I recently heard Gove talk on this topic about the benefit of having professional politicians. I didn't really agree the point I thought he was making, but I do think there's a problem that practiced politicians are likely to be more effective than 'normal people' at pushing forward their agenda.
I would agree re HoL. I wouldn't want to see it become more politicised.
It probably would be a good thing if their was some jury-style representation, but I can't imagine how it could work practically.
Also, I recently heard Gove talk on this topic about the benefit of having professional politicians. I didn't really agree the point I thought he was making, but I do think there's a problem that practiced politicians are likely to be more effective than 'normal people' at pushing forward their agenda.
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 19, 2026
@alexanderdyas @djstreethawk @hypolite @mullvadnet
This is true. It's made me wonder if the obstructionism shown by Sir Humphrey in Yes, Minister was actually a feature, not a bug.
This is true. It's made me wonder if the obstructionism shown by Sir Humphrey in Yes, Minister was actually a feature, not a bug.
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 18, 2026
@alexanderdyas @djstreethawk @hypolite @mullvadnet
"... a non-partisan, expert organisation ...."
you mean... exactly what the civil service is supposed to be?
I've seen some other problematic law recently, and it got me to wondering if the problem might be that the civil service has been hollowed out through years of excessive cuts, and has simply lost the people with experience and expertise to properly advise governments.
There may also be an issue of governments bringing their own people in, either because they don't trust the civil service, or more concerningly, because of outside influence.
I fear it may be a combination of all the above.
"... a non-partisan, expert organisation ...."
you mean... exactly what the civil service is supposed to be?
I've seen some other problematic law recently, and it got me to wondering if the problem might be that the civil service has been hollowed out through years of excessive cuts, and has simply lost the people with experience and expertise to properly advise governments.
There may also be an issue of governments bringing their own people in, either because they don't trust the civil service, or more concerningly, because of outside influence.
I fear it may be a combination of all the above.
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 14, 2026
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 14, 2026
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 11, 2026
@pesasa @ISibboI @osm_tech
If its helpful (if you want to stuff something unpleasant down their throats), I believe @jwz has been making a 'json bomb' for (AIUI) pretty much this purpose:
https://mastodon.social/@jwz/116049057703097965
If its helpful (if you want to stuff something unpleasant down their throats), I believe @jwz has been making a 'json bomb' for (AIUI) pretty much this purpose:
https://mastodon.social/@jwz/116049057703097965
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 11, 2026
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 10, 2026
@froztbyte @Em0nM4stodon I don't disagree with you. I did say that I felt the message is starting to get through slowly. You mention people leaving discord; I also have decided to leave a community I'm part of on there, and communicated why I was doing so. But I don't think anyone else there took the same decision. And I know many people IRL who would think I'm being paranoid. So while the mass of people who "get it" is growing, I think it is still small and unlikely to turn the tanker just yet.
Note, I think it's a good start, but I think the problem now is not so much companies as it is government policy. The apps the companies built have been a vehicle for harm to children. Frightened and hurt parents are one of the most highly motivated lobbies out there, and between them and the tech companies, our governments have been persuaded to embed exactly what these companies want into national law. And it's only just happening now, so no government is going to reverse direction on it anytime soon. To change it is going to take a long time, and it's also going to require finding a solution that satisfies those campaigners for child safety. That's why I think it's going to be slow.
Note, I think it's a good start, but I think the problem now is not so much companies as it is government policy. The apps the companies built have been a vehicle for harm to children. Frightened and hurt parents are one of the most highly motivated lobbies out there, and between them and the tech companies, our governments have been persuaded to embed exactly what these companies want into national law. And it's only just happening now, so no government is going to reverse direction on it anytime soon. To change it is going to take a long time, and it's also going to require finding a solution that satisfies those campaigners for child safety. That's why I think it's going to be slow.
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Feb 09, 2026
@Em0nM4stodon I agree with you on the risk, but try telling an 'ordinary' person that and they'll think of you as conspiracy nut. I'm glad to see the message is starting to get through very slowly, but I doubt it's going to stop the current wave of ID 'verification'.
And it's not like there isn't a real risk to children in forums full of strangers. Until there's a social change with regards to that risk, I can't see there being any change of direction with regards to the other.
And it's not like there isn't a real risk to children in forums full of strangers. Until there's a social change with regards to that risk, I can't see there being any change of direction with regards to the other.
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Jan 23, 2026
@jasongorman unfortunately, and to borrow a phrase: "AI" coding assistants don't fire people, managers fire people.
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Jan 20, 2026
@woo @mattblaze you think thatcher invaded the Falklands?
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Jan 18, 2026
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Jan 18, 2026
@onpaperwings @Cadbury_Moose yes, a valid point, although I do have one tiny quibble: the typists may not have been unionised, and may have been referred to as "unskilled," but I'd argue that they actually were skilled, and probably wouldn't have kept their jobs if they weren't.
But yes, it obviously suited the management to call the new workers unskilled so they could be paid less. "Unskilled" is a word that more often indicates attitudes towards a group of people than it does the capabilities of those people.
But yes, it obviously suited the management to call the new workers unskilled so they could be paid less. "Unskilled" is a word that more often indicates attitudes towards a group of people than it does the capabilities of those people.
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@GerardThornley@hachyderm.io
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Jan 18, 2026
Thanks, @onpaperwings, for an interesting article. I've not read it yet, but look forward to doing so this evening. My dad worked in his father's printing shop around the era linotype came in, from whom I picked up an interest in both the technology and the output.
I think @Cadbury_Moose made a good observation, namely that the input could go onto tape, so the same page could be set multiple times from a given input.
For newsprint, that may not matter much (maybe certain articles, like obituaries, were pre-set?), but for books it must have been huge, given the alternatives: storing heavy metal plates or a time-consuming re-set.
But while mechanising the setting process reduced time to market, arguably the bigger change was the separation (by digitisation) of input and output, as I think there's a direct line to today's ability to type an article, hit publish and have it immediately transmitted to readers.
Of course, it's always been true that speed doesn't correlate well with quality, and humbly acknowledge that this comment probably lies in the wrong quadrant of that comparison. 😏
I think @Cadbury_Moose made a good observation, namely that the input could go onto tape, so the same page could be set multiple times from a given input.
For newsprint, that may not matter much (maybe certain articles, like obituaries, were pre-set?), but for books it must have been huge, given the alternatives: storing heavy metal plates or a time-consuming re-set.
But while mechanising the setting process reduced time to market, arguably the bigger change was the separation (by digitisation) of input and output, as I think there's a direct line to today's ability to type an article, hit publish and have it immediately transmitted to readers.
Of course, it's always been true that speed doesn't correlate well with quality, and humbly acknowledge that this comment probably lies in the wrong quadrant of that comparison. 😏
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