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an underrecognised tragedy of AI slop isn't just that any piece of contemporary art could be AI, any news reel could be AI, it's that now just any video of something vaguely nice and whimsical happening in the world could be AI

this is about the trampoline bunnies

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you can differentiate me from weevilwizard via subtle variations in our proboscis

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Oh my god we actually did it.

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Me to the baby: “You have two bits of state now! Quiet, crying, laughing, or squealing delightedly. Before you only had one bit. Your information entropy is going up! Do you know what entropy is? That’s ok, nobody else does either.”

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Pay attention to the particulars of Mastercard's responses, because this a textbook example of how to create plausible deniability.

"Mastercard has not barred any legal transaction" is, technically, a true statement – because Mastercard is not the one processing the transactions in the first place. Mastercard does not deal directly with any merchant, and in fact typically refuses to communicate with merchants at all; there's always a payment processing service sitting in between Mastercard and the merchant, whether that's Stripe or Paypal or any of dozens of other service providers.

Consequently, there are two layers of service agreements in place: the agreement between Mastercard and the payment processing service, and the agreement between the payment processing service and the merchant. That second layer of service agreements, between the payment processing service and the merchant, is where all of these content restrictions are being imposed. Mastercard can thus truthfully claim that they aren't barring legal transactions.

Now, if you've been paying attention, you've probably already spotted the issue: if the content restrictions are being imposed upon the merchants by individual payment processing services and not by Mastercard, why do all of those payment processing services seem to have exactly the same content restrictions?

That's where the critical sleight of hand comes in: while Mastercard's own terms of service do not require payment processing services to bar transactions of particular types, their ToS does require payment processors to bar transactions which could be damaging to the Mastercard brand. What constitutes damage to the Mastercard brand is not defined; it means whatever Mastercard wants it to mean. The payment processing services are thus in a position where they can be held in breach of Mastercard's terms of service for basically any reason, which gives them a strong incentive not to test any boundaries.

And that's why Mastercard can truthfully say they have never barred any legal transaction: they're never the ones doing the blocking. The layer of payment processing services that sits between Mastercard and the merchants are enforcing those content restrictions, based on a series of unwritten handshake agreements between the payment processors and Mastercard regarding what does and does not constitute acceptable content – and because the particulars of those handshake agreements aren't in writing, Mastercard can assert that their terms of service do not compel payment processing services to bar any legal transaction and technically be telling the truth.

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I went to a punk concert today! My first-ever punk concert, but I think it was very authentic.

There's this paved walking/biking trail along the coast that spans for a few hundred miles, we walked 3 miles up and then back, and during the walk we passed through a homeless encampment. (Mostly RVs rather than tents, but the RVs did not all look mobile.) And right in the middle of the homeless encampment--and right on the trail--a punk band had set up! A drummer, bassist, guitarist (a woman!), all middle-aged (the drummer had chin-length silver hair with an undercut where the unshaved fuzz was almost all the way white), with a full drum set and amps and speakers, operating out of two cars at the edge of the encampment that looked cleaner and more mobile than the cars permanently parked there. They had a little donations bucket, and were selling t-shirts and maybe CDs. About four people in the audience looked like they were really there to listen to the concert--they were dressed punk and/or dancing to the music--and at least one person looked like he probably lived in the encampment* but was really into the music; maybe he'd invited them? (A couple other people from the encampment were also out and about, chatting with their neighbors and taking care of their dogs, but did not seem interested in the concert.) As we walked up, the bassist was screaming (pretty good, actually, he sounded like he had technique rather than just killing his throat) while the guitarist sang harmony.

Some man joined them right after we arrived, and took the guitarist's mic, and it was not clear to me if he was a random man from the crowd who they recognized and invited up, or if he was someone they'd pre-arranged to sing with that day--although on further consideration I suspect the latter, that this was a planned gig for him. He was the cleanest-dressed person there by far, wearing a bright red hawaiian shirt and khakis. (Probably related to being the cleanest-dressed person there, he was also the only black person there--the only person of color at all, other than incidental audience members like my friend and some other walkers passing through on the trail. I can easily imagine the thought process that would lead a black man playing a gig in a homeless encampment to make sure he is dressed nicely enough for a sit-down restaurant, even if he's singing about "punk problems!" and everyone else is in leather and safety pins.)

Not my genre, so I can't judge the quality too much. But when the man in the hawaiian shirt told them what song he wanted to sing first, and the drummer knew it and the others didn't, the drummer was able to sing something approximating the bass-line, and the bassist was able to do something with it that sounded reasonably good, and then the bassist taught it to the guitarist who was able to do a call-and-answer, all in under two minutes. By midway through the song, the guitarist and bassist were also managing to sing back-up in the chorus. So they really did seem like experienced musicians.

We stayed for 2 song before continuing our walk. My friend commented, after we left, that the middle of the afternoon in broad daylight was a surprising time for a punk concert. I was like, it's punk! They don't have to play by your rules!

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Practicing your good manners all the time is so that when you're in a bad situation, you can still fall back on highly-trained reflex and be polite.

For a random example that probably did not happen to me a couple hours ago, when you're about to pass out from a migraine and your head isn't even steady on your neck, and you order a burger and shake to fix it and drive over and barely make it without throwing up or dying...

You don't want to shamble like a zombie to a complete stranger and like make inarticulate grunts. You just won't get your food that way!

No, this is where reflex shines. Turn on the big friendly American smile that you've trained all your life to do for strangers, and say, "Hi! Online order for [R]!"

And then they hand you the sandwich and then they're like, "Just a sec, I have to get your milkshake from the kitchen." You don't snarl inarticulately, flail, and pass out on the floor in front of this poor woman working customer service at the one Halal burger place in town (immaculate veggie burgers, three choices of vegan patty, with entirely different toppings meant to compliment each patty type, like there was thought put into the veggie options at this fast food place). No, you keep that smile frozen, and when she comes back not 10 s later with your shake--already prepared and just waiting for you in the fridge--you can just say, "Thank you so much!"

Reflex has saved you. You were polite to the customer service rep and looked normal. You did not faint in a restaurant or need the police called on you. Now you have a burger and a shake to take the edge off the need to pass out, and can live another day.

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Had a convo with a coworker--hired at the same time and same level as me, although I've been promoted since then, and this coworker thought I should have been hired at my current level in the first place--yesterday about how the CEO plays favorites.

It's interesting how I, as the favorite, didn't really notice. Especially, I think, since my more senior lab partner (recently promoted to being sort of my boss?) is also a favorite, so we've had similar experiences.

A few days ago I happened to be leaving right as the CEO was turning off the lights, and he congratulated me on a result that we'd presented last week. I thought about saying my junior lab partner had done most of the work, but he pivoted quickly to technical applications and I followed that thread. Then when I got home and felt guilty I comforted myself that I had done the detailed experiment plan, I had done most of the setup, and I had given a couple rounds of feedback on the data analysis. So probably a solid 50% of the intellectual work and almost 20% of the time spent.

But now I realize I REALLY should have emphasized his contribution.

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undeniably some sort of

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Graphic design is my passion. I think I’ve made the best vaporwave infographic of the first Punic war ever

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not to enforce gender roles but a computer should NOT fucking have apps okay. if I wanted an app I'd go on my phone my laptop is for Programs. I mean this.

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Every single week I cycle through a different coffee shop in my town and ask the barista to make me their favorite drink in a medium. I have an entire spiel:

“All milk is fine, caffeinated and not caffinated i’m game, hot and iced both work, it can be coffee or tea or anything.”

It has yet to fail me. Every time I have tried a new drink I never would have thought to try and every one I’ve had has been amazing. The true delight I’ve seen in baristas faces pondering on what to make me and the joy they have when I like the drink always makes my day and I hope it makes theirs too. It’s the little things of kindness that can make someone’s day and I feel that it helps the world be kinder. Highly recommend doing this yourselves.

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The better places make their own cheez whiz.

I need to admit something to the US Tumblrinas. Philadelphia isn't a place to me. It's a cream cheese. You say "philadelphia" or "philly" and I immediately, and exclusively, think of the cream cheese. "Twelve people die in Philadelphia disaster" wow that must've been a Molasses Flood style event

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when i was 12 i babysat this girl for a few years and she would come to me and show me her art, drag me by my wrists and point at the pieces she’d made during the week. and she’d be like “do the voice” and i’d put on a sports-announcer olympics-style voice and be like “such form! this level of coloring! why i haven’t seen such perfection in crayola in a long time. and what is this? why jeff, now this is a true risk… it seems she’s made … a monochrome pink canvas…. i haven’t seen this attempted since winter 1932… and i gotta say, jeff, it’s absolutely splendid”  and she’d fall back giggling. at the end of every night she’d check with me: “did you really like it?” and i’d say yes and talk about something i noticed and tucked her in.

she was just accepted into 3 major art schools. she wrote me a letter. inside was a picture from when she was younger. monochrome pink. 

“thank you,” it said, “to somebody who saw the best in me.”