Lou Katz @lou@entropyservice.com

"The city’s primary local news source, The Richmond Standard, didn’t cover the flare. Nor had it reported on a 2021 #Chevron refinery pipeline rupture that dumped nearly 800 gallons of diesel fuel into San Francisco Bay. hen it comes to writing about Chevron, The Richmond Standard consistently toes the company line. And there’s a reason for that: Chevron owns The Richmond Standard." https://www.kqed.org/news/11981095/chevron-owns-this-citys-news-site-many-stories-arent-told

Stupid infighting on the #Oakland Police Commission may lead to a significant reduction in the #oversight body's powers. Reminder: if you take a public service position, remember that your petty BS doesn't just affect you. It can have long-term ramifications on the public interest. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/03/30/oakland-sheng-thao-police-commission-ballot-election/?

You guys, none of you are considering the value of a social media company which has the competitive advantage of allowing you to funnel vast quantities of money to a corrupt politician who might become the most powerful person in the world.

It is kind of like why Bitcoin has any value whatsoever.

Unregulated crime is the selling point here.

#uspol #politics #uspolitics

Texas governor over-rules City of #Memphis pretextual #trafficstop restrictions despite a direct appeal from the family of #TyreNichols to leave them in place. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/tennessee-gov-lee-signs-bill-to-undo-memphis-traffic-stop-reforms-after-tyre-nichols-death

Texas governor over-rules City of #Memphis pretextual #trafficstop restrictions despite a direct appeal from the family of #TyreNichols to leave them in place. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/tennessee-gov-lee-signs-bill-to-undo-memphis-traffic-stop-reforms-after-tyre-nichols-death

New federal regulations require federal agencies to disclose #AI systems they use, and perform risk assessments on all of them. https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/28/tech/vp-kamala-harris-agencies-ai-technology/index.html

He's right. "Originalism" is about stringing together a collection of words to support a predetermined outcome. There's no need for fidelity to facts, reliable description of source material, nor even logical consistency. It's one of the few tasks large language models could do.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/conservative-us-judge-says-ai-could-strengthen-originalist-movement-2024-04-01/

Today marks the 11th anniversary of putting in my resignation at my last day job and doing OSH Park full time.

You would not believe how difficult it is to resign on April 1st.

Trump has proposed a 10% tariff on all imported goods and a 60% or more tariff on Chinese imports.

No matter what he says, tariffs aren't paid by the other country. They're paid by you.

A new analysis predicts his plan would cost the average family about $1,500 extra per year.

“When drivers fail to yield for pedestrians, it’s not because they can’t see them, it’s because they don’t care.” Kudos to @VisionZeroYVR for this brilliant intervention. https://momentummag.com/vision-zero-campaign-bricks-vancouver/ #TheWarOnCars

Doctor Says IDF ‘Executed’ Medical Staff ‘Point Blank’ In Al-Shifa Hospital Operation https://www.mediaite.com/uk/doctor-says-idf-executed-medical-staff-point-blank-in-al-shifa-hospital-operation/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Everyone said get a Brother printer so I bought a 3-in-1 scanner and printer. There seems to be something wrong with it though. I plugged it into a Linux laptop, opened a document, pressed print, selected the printer, and it printed. Then I opened simple-scan, pressed scan, and it scanned.

This isn't how printers and scanners are supposed to work. Where do I install the drivers that don't work properly etc? This was no fun. I demand a refund.

Your April Fools' Day Reminder that trickle-down economics is the greatest trick of all. It's nothing more than a cruel hoax designed to enrich corporations and the super-rich at your expense. Don't fall for it.

Widely available, competitively priced and independent car repair is being threatened by software DRM, and new types of diagnostics and parts calibration that can only be done by dealers:

https://www.404media.co/the-car-repair-apocalypse-could-soon-be-upon-us/

From the book: “Science Abridged Beyond the Point of Usefulness” by @ZachWeinersmith

#xz

Was the first person to claim that something "is the best thing since sliced bread" being serious, or sarcastic?
I don't think sliced bread is all that great. I prefer to slice it as needed, provided that I have a suitable knife.

@jbqueru @timbray I won't posit a "solution" at this time, but the core principles of "open source" come from a different time where for all practical purposes the attack vectors (and potential consequences) simply didn't exist. This is going to take more than technical changes alone to fix; the foundational "philosophy" in some ways of open source is unfortunately implicated.

Concerning the xz affair, I am struggling on how to explain this to a normal person. The best approach so far:

This is as if an attacker succeeded in manipulating the manufacturer of a small part that is built into every car worldwide. Every car that would have been built in the future, the attacker could crash upon pressing a button.

And we noticed only because a car fanatic took a prototype to the racetrack and noticed that when he drives it backward through with hand brakes applied, the lap time would be half a second off.