#Love in the Decentralized Web

[nxlvb4]

Love in the Decentralized Web

It was the summer of 2035, and the world had changed in ways Olivia never imagined. The towering giants of the internet—Facebook, Google, Instagram—had begun to loosen their iron grip, giving way to a new era of decentralization. Users no longer had to rely on big tech to control their data or feed their content into a vacuum, hoping for a glimpse of visibility. The future, everyone said, was in…

[essential-randomness]

Enter the FujoVerse™

Starting 2024's content creation journey with a bang, it's time to outline the principles behind the FujoVerse™: an ambitious (but realistic) plan to turn the web back into a place of fun, joy, and connection, where people build and nurture their own communities and software. (You can also read the article on my blog)

The Journey

As those who follow my journey with @bobaboard or read my quarterly newsletter (linked in the article) know, the used-to-be-called BobaVerse™ is a collection of projects I've been working on since 2020 while pondering an important question: how do we "fix" the modern social web?

Obviously the joyless landscape that is the web of today is not something a single person can fix. Still, I loved and owed the internet too much to see it wither.

After countless hours of work, I found 3 pillars to work on: community, software ownership and technical education.

Jump in after the cut to learn more about how it all comes together!

Community

Community is where I started from, with good reason! While social networks might trick us into thinking of them as communities, they lack the characteristics that researchers identify as the necessary base for "true community": group identity, shared norms, and mutual concern.

Today, I'm even more convinced community is a fundamental piece of reclaiming the web as a place of joy. It's alienating, disempowering, and incredibly lonely to be surrounded by countless people without feeling true connection with most of them (or worse, feeling real danger).

Software Ownership and Collaboration

As I worked with niche communities "software ownership" also became increasingly important to me: if we cannot expect mainstream tech companies to cater to communities at the margins, it follows that these communities must be able to build and shape their own software themselves.

Plenty of people have already discussed how this challenge goes beyond the tech. Among many, "collaboration" is another sticking point for me: effective collaboration requires trust and psychological safety, both of which are in short supply these days (community helps here too, but it's still hard).

Education (Technical and Beyond)

As I worked more and more with volunteers and other collaborators, however, another important piece of the puzzle showed itself: the dire state of educational material for non-professional web developers. How can people change the web if they cannot learn how to *build* the web?

(And yes, learning HTML and CSS is absolutely important and REAL web development. But to collaborate on modern software you need so much more. Even further, people *yearn* for more, and struggle to find it. They want that power, and we should give it to them.)

Once again, technical aspects aren't the only ones that matter. Any large-scale effort needs many skills that society doesn't equip us with. If we want to change how the web looks, we must teach, teach, TEACH! If you've seen me put so much effort into streaming, this is why :)

And obviously, while I don't go into them in this article, open source software and decentralized protocols are core to "this whole thing".

The Future

All of this said, while I've been working on this for a few years, I've struggled to find the support I need to continue this work. To this end, this year I'm doing something I'm not used to: producing content, gaining visibility, and putting my work in front of the eyes of people that want to fight for the future of the web.

This has been a hard choice: producing content is hard and takes energy and focus away from all I've been doing. Still, I'm committed to doing what it takes, and (luckily) content and teaching go hand in hand. But the more each single person helps, the less I need to push for wide reach.

If you want to help (and read the behind the scenes of all I've been working on before everyone else), you can subscribe to my Patreon or to my self-hosted attempt at an alternative.

I deeply believe that in the long term all that we're building will result in self-sustaining projects that will carry this mission forward. After all, I'm building them together with people who understand the needs of the web in a way that no mainstream company can replicate.

Until we get there, every little bit of help (be it monetary support, boosting posts, pitching us to your friends, or kind words of encouragement and support) truly matters.

In exchange, I look forward to sharing more of the knowledge and insights I've accrued with you all :)

And once again, to read or share this post from the original blog, you can find it here.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Alilat - Day 44

Race: Entity

Arcana: Empress

Alignment: Light-Chaos

June 13th, 2024

A personal favorite kind of demon throughout the series has to be the ones that are completely alien- demons that look like they originated from a psychological study, or living beings that, by all means, look like they shouldn't be real. Demons of this kind are surprisingly few and far between, with most appearing as rather standard depictions of monsters or humanoid beings, but when the artists dip their toes into the strange, almost beyond this world, I fall in love with the designs the instant I lay my eyes on them. One of these, of course, is today's Demon of the Day, and a strange outcast even among the strangest demons throughout the series- the ill-known Mother Goddess of the Arabian Peninsula, Alilat.

Mostly known by one of her many names, al-Lat, Alilat is a relatively obscure goddess in the grand scheme of history. As a pre-islamic goddess worshipped in Arabia, a lot of history surrounding her is hard to parse, even down to the exact areas that her reign was present within, but the general consensus appears to be that she was mainly worshipped in several widespread cults throughout Arabia during its pre-islamic days. Another name of hers, Allat, has actually been the name of several goddesses throughout several different areas in history as well, making her story even more confusing to dig through. The tangled webs of tales and future conflations between her and other deities make her an incredibly confusing deity to sift through the facts about.

Our first recorded mention of Alilat actually comes in the form of a retelling from Greek scholar Herodotus, who, in his book 'Histories' wrote,

"They believe in no other gods except Dionysus and the Heavenly Aphrodite; and they say that they wear their hair as Dionysus does his, cutting it round the head and shaving the temples. They call Dionysus, Orotalt; and Aphrodite, Alilat."

I will admit to copying that passage from Wikipedia, but I'm not about to sift through a copy of such a massive transcript to search for a single line. Interestingly, this transcription by Herodotus actually has a conflict with how most other people drew comparisons- it was commonly believed, and still is today, that Alilat was actually the ancient Arabian's version of Athena. As a goddess of motherhood and fertility, as well as peace, she shares some similar traits to Athena in greek myth, as they also both share a trait as a goddess of war. Where this came from is described in several Safaitic inscriptions, as she used to be invoked by travelers through the region in order to guarantee peace, prosperity, and protection, while warriors at the time would invoke her name to ensure good loot and those attacked would invoke her for vengeance. As one of two principal deities, she seemed to be stuck working overtime a lot.

This is also proven by how scattered her inscriptions are throughout Africa- there are only few given, and most of them are in vastly different areas, giving light to the idea that her cult was widespread but decentralized. And yes, it was a cult, not a formalized religion, as her worship was incredibly sparse. She was revered by many names and even more traditions, including a northern Arabian tribe known as the Qedarites, the widespread peoples of the Nabataeans, and even those residing within the largest Parthian city of its time, Hatra. A lost city known as Iram of the Pillars was also a home of Alilat worship, with them having erected a temple that has now been buried beneath the sands- tragically, all that has been left was a few pillars and a crumbled statue of a lion, but accounts and some small inscriptions on the inside of the temple revealed that it originally had a gorgeous statue of Alilat inside, resembling none other than Athena.

Unfortunately, as time went on, the temple fell into disrepair, having been the target of an attack from Greek forces, then utterly demolished in the fourth century by Christian mobs. You can read more about it on the blog I linked above. However, in terms of Mythology, there's still a bit more to go. Al-Lat wasn't just the deity of a cult, but also appears in Islamic tradition as well, fulfilling a similar purpose to Ba'al in some respects as a false god, though one depicted far more sympathetically. In some retellings, she's not even that, and is instead a daughter of Allah, or even a consort of his in others. Alilat was also the subject of the infamous Satanic Verses incident, something that is beyond the scope of this post, but is an incredibly interesting (and kinda hilarious) rabbit hole to dig through.

In the Book of Idols, an encyclopedia on pre-islamic religion in Africa written by scholar Hisham ibn al-Kalbi, it's written that a group of the Quraysh would chant a set of verses celebrating al-Lat, al-'Uzza, and Manat, of which al-Lat is our subject of interest. A common translation purports the word used to refer to them as a collective, gharaniq, to mean "Most exalted females," but this is hotly debated. Again, see the Satanic Verses incident. Lastly, she is mentioned in the Quran, albeit rarely, and, again, as the subject of the Satanic Verses incident. This is starting to feel like the noodle incident of this post.

I wish I could've shown her uncensored design, but alas, I have no idea if it'd pass the 'Female presenting nipple' guideline, but take it from me when I say that Alilat has an amazing design. Combining her esoteric and hard to sort through lore with her role as a mother goddess was a great call, as it makes her both unique and almost unsettling, even in this series rife with body horror. Even the titties, which I normally see no real point in having on a lot of designs and just feel like gratuitous fanservice (cough cough LAMIA) serve a purpose, as what does a mother do but breastfeed? The idea to portray her almost like a piece of art on a bizarre, floating obelisk was such a cool concept, and it was done perfectly.

I also love how the imagery associated with Alilat on the stone itself resembles stone-age portraits of how a body would look, more specifically the Venus of Willendorf, a famous sculpture that is typically used to represent fertility, tying it all together. Given that this inscription was also carved into stone in Alilat's design, and it ties everything together. Not only does her design look unique even for the series, not only does it tie so many ideas together in neat little bows, not only is it glowing, but it's all also brought together in representing one of the most mysterious and interesting gods in history, and demons in the series.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

#15yrsago Mall cops in Norwich, England get police powers https://web.archive.org/web/20091220231959/http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/edp24/news/story.aspx

#15yrsago Kenyan bike-mechanic’s homemade tools https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEeyY09YzEY

#15yrsago Science fiction fandom is 80 today https://web.archive.org/web/20091214023834/http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=58405

#15yrsago English anti-terror cops ask nursery school workers to watch 4 year olds for signs of “radicalization” https://web.archive.org/web/20100106032907/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6952503.ece

#15yrsago Just look at this awesome EU banana curvature regulation. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1994R2257:20060217:EN:PDF

#15yrsago Anti-Olympic mural censored in Vancouver https://web.archive.org/web/20091214014017/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/vancouver-orders-removal-of-anti-olympic-mural/article1396541/

#15yrsago RIAA, MPAA and US Chamber of Commerce declare war on blind and disabled people https://web.archive.org/web/20091214062920/https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/blind_block/

#15yrsago Dr Peter Watts, Canadian science fiction writer, beaten and arrested at US border https://memex.craphound.com/2009/12/11/dr-peter-watts-canadian-science-fiction-writer-beaten-and-arrested-at-us-border/

#10yrsago Google News shuts down in Spain https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/12/google-news-shuts-shop-spain-thanks-ancillary-copyright-law

#10yrsago Calling out the doctors who abetted CIA torture https://kottke.org/14/12/medical-profession-aided-cia-torture

#10yrsago Lawquake! Judge rules that explaining jailbreaking isn’t illegal https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/12/pointing-users-drm-stripping-software-isnt-copyright-infringement-judge-rules

#10yrsago We know you love privacy, Judge Posner. We just wish you’d share. https://www.techdirt.com/2014/12/09/judge-posner-says-nsa-should-be-able-to-get-everything-that-privacy-is-overrated/

#10yrsago Furry convention evacuated after chlorine-gas attack https://www.themarysue.com/furry-con-terrorist-attack/

#5yrsago Twitter wants to develop an open, decentralized, federated social media standard…and then join it https://www.techdirt.com/2019/12/11/twitter-makes-bet-protocols-over-platforms/

#5yrsago The true nature of creativity: pilfering and recombining the work of your forebears (who, in turn, pilfered and recombined) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB1KE5dbOZo

#5yrsago South Carolina’s feudal magistrate system may take a modest step toward modernization https://www.propublica.org/article/we-investigated-magistrates-now-lawmakers-want-to-overhaul-the-system

#1yrago Daddy-Daughter Podcast 2023 https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/11/daddy-daughter-2023/#not-bye

[sodaliteskull]

Top 5 Things I Enjoy Writing About

I appreciate the tag @byjillianmaria! You can find hers over here!

This one's an open tag, but I'm also hitting up @noblebs, @noveldivergence, and @wintherlywords (no pressure though!)

*Hatsune Miku voice* ~Women~: I know this is the piss on the poor website, so upfront disclaimer about how this is not in reference to actual living, breathing, IRL people (HAVE WE ALL UNDERSTOOD THAT?!?), but I am fucking sick of men! "Male" has been the default gender, the default POV in stories for eons now, and I'm tired of it! Men bore me!!! I want to write about men the way misogynist men write about women - in that there is only one of them (if any at all!!!), and they're only there to advance the female character's story (by being fridged, most likely!!!)! I want to write about WOMEN!!!! I want to write about them being cunning and clever, as badasses and bastards, as both the princess and the knight!!! You know, like how women actually are in real life!!! Decentralize men? Honey, they're not even in my orbit!!! NO BOYS ALLOWED!!!! I'M EXHAUSTED!!!!!

Monsters as metaphors: Tale as old as time here, but I love it when a creature is actually a stand in for something a little more abstract. Vampires as a the fear of foreigners come to despoil our delicate Victorian sensibilities, Godzilla as the spectre of nuclear annihilation, werewolves as the visceral and horrifying changes girls go through when they enter puberty, that's some good shit!!! Any time I have some kind of monster in any of my stories, please know that it actually represents something else!

When a plan comes together: I love when people are in cahoots, when they get up to shenanigans, when games are afoot and capers are carried out! Heists? Delicious. When it looks like the antagonists have thwarted the protagonist's plans, but that was actually accounted for in the plans all along and they've actually fallen even deeper into the protagonist's web?! SUBLIME.

Hashtag Squad Goals: Having people grouped up for whatever arbitrary reason the plot demands is such a neat little way to get to play with a bunch of different dynamics all at once! These two are ride or die, but these two don't see eye to eye, and yet they're all the best of buds! How does that work?! I love getting to show the ins and outs of that!

Ancient Aliens: I don't mean the concept that all historical feats of engineering carried out by non-White™️ cultures were actually done by aliens (THAT concept makes me fucking furious!!!), but instead the theory of panspermia, of life originating elsewhere in the universe and being seeded across the stars. My favourite flavour of THAT is life originating on Earth, but then being brought elsewhere, with humans as basically food stock for some more advanced race! I was digging through my WIP pile the other day, and I realized that concept crops up A LOT for me!

[bawwsadface]

cohost is dead, long live tumblr (again)

in 2023 i took a liking to the independent blog platform cohost.org. it was a very cool, very principled website that offered a taste of the old internet with a splash of the posting-centric new net. it functioned very similar to tumblr, but attracted its own type of crowd. mostly millennials burnt out on the death march of the modern web. those of us old enough to have been on forums and been on irc and been in ancient aol chatrooms. those of us who remember a more decentralized internet. one that felt like a destination as opposed to an ever cancerous appendage of modern life.

cohost was cool. everybody on it was chill and we all used that space for different things. but all outlets were equally as expressive. it was a place to try new things, to do old things you hadn't done online in 10 or 15 years, to post like you used to pre-2010, and it was a place to find community. many of us migrated over there with a handful of friends and formed a comforting online space together. i know i very much enjoyed my time there.

and i used it to practice my skills writing. taking a crack at longer form blogs and formulating in-depth and involved writing projects for the future. i love the stuff i wrote on there, and it gave me the confidence to use that skill more often and on other ventures. i think i'm gonna start making youtube video essays. i think i was always destined to follow this path, glad my writing feels worth the effort of trying now.

cohost also made me realize that to have a decentralized web again, or to usher in a new age of the web that is untethered from algorithms and the prying hands of the devilish tech sector, you have to build your own communities. you have to work outside the major forces and try and grow an online coalition. or at least online spaces that aren't hostile. you have to build a website. you have to make a blog. you should start an rss feed. and you shouldn't use squarespace. it's time to learn html buddy. cuz the internet you want is not the one that gets venture capital funding. a better web is possible, but it's not going to be handed to us, we have to make it.

in the meantime tho, while i learn how to do all that, i'm coming back here. to the one social media site that will always have me back without judgment. at least for a little while. look forward to more writing. and thanks to those who still follow the blog and look at it all these years later. love yall.

[meeedeee]

"We will find or make another place, eventually. It won’t be exactly the same. It never really is. But we’ll gather again, and they’ll burn it down again, and we’ll start over again. Some of us will lose everything in the cracks between safe spaces. Some of us won’t. It’s impossible to predict who will be who. We just keep trying. Keep trying not to let each other fall. I’m exhausted but that doesn’t mean I get to stop.

Doesn’t mean we get to stop.

Don’t ever stop talking to each other. It’s what the internet is really and truly for. Talk to each other and listen to each other. But don’t ever stop connecting. Be a prodigy of the new world. Stand up for the truth no matter how often they take our voices away and try to replace the idea of reality with fucking insane Lovecraftian shit. Don’t give up, don’t let them have this world. Love things. Love people. Love the small and the weird and the new....

Geeks, though. Us weird geeks making communities in the ether? We love. We love so stupidly hard. We try to be happy. We get enthusiastic and devote ourselves to saving whales and trees and cancelled science fiction shows and each other. The energy we make in these spaces, the energy we make when we support and uplift and encourage and excite each other is something people like Musk can never understand or experience, which is why they keep smashing the windows in to try and get it, only to find the light they hungered for is already gone. Moved on, always a little beyond their reach....

Because that’s what we have to do. Be each other’s pen pals. Talk. Share. Welcome. Care. And just keep moving. Stay nimble. Maybe we have to roll the internet back a little and go back to blogs and decentralized groups and techy fiddling and real-life conventions and idealists with servers in their closets. Back to Diaryland and Minnesota and grandiose usernames and thoughts that take ever so much more than 280 characters to express. That’s okay. We can do that. We know how. We’re actually really good at it. Love things and love each other. We’re good at that, too. Protect the vulnerable. Make little things. Wear electric blue eyeshadow. Take a picture of your breakfast. Overthink Twin Peaks. Get angry. Do revolutions. Find out what Buffy character you are. Don’t get cynical. Don’t lose joy. Be us. Because us is what keeps the light on when the night comes closing in. Us doesn’t have a web address. We are wherever we gather. Mastodon, Substack, Patreon, Dreamwidth, AO3, Tumblr, Discord, even the ruins of Twitter, even Facebook and Instagram and Tiktok, god help us all. Even Diaryland."

[metaspacechain]

Play to Earn Reality Games & RPG Adventures Online

In the ever-evolving world of gaming, play to earn reality games are revolutionizing how players engage with digital experiences. With the rise of blockchain and the metaverse 3D games, gamers can now immerse themselves in virtual worlds while earning real-world rewards. If you love RPG games online, this new era of gaming offers endless opportunities to explore, battle, and trade within expansive metaverse environments.

The Rise of Play to Earn Reality Games

Traditional gaming has always been about entertainment, but now players can also monetize their skills. Play to earn reality games introduce economic incentives, allowing gamers to earn cryptocurrency or NFTs (non-fungible tokens) through gameplay. These games create digital ecosystems where every action—whether completing quests, trading items, or battling opponents—holds real-world value.

Metaspace, a leading name in metaverse reality games, offers innovative experiences where players can interact in a shared, persistent virtual universe. These games merge augmented reality (AR) and blockchain technology, creating a gaming environment that is both immersive and financially rewarding.

RPG Games Online: A New Dimension of Adventure

The role-playing game (RPG) genre has always been a fan favorite, allowing players to step into different characters and explore fantasy worlds. Now, free online RPG games are integrating Web3 technology, offering decentralized gaming where players have full ownership of in-game assets.

With the introduction of metaverse 3D games, RPGs have evolved into vast open-world experiences. Players can engage in epic battles, forge alliances, and even earn virtual currency while completing missions. This shift allows gamers to have a more interactive and rewarding experience, making online RPGs more engaging than ever before.

Web 3 Play to Earn Games: The Future of Digital Gaming

The transition from traditional gaming to Web3 is transforming how games operate. Unlike conventional models where developers control all in-game assets, Web 3 play to earn games and empower players by giving them true ownership. This means that weapons, characters, and other collectibles exist as NFTs that can be traded or sold in digital marketplaces.

Metaspace is at the forefront of this gaming revolution, offering high-quality metaverse reality games that combine action, strategy, and real-world value. Whether you prefer action-packed RPGs or interactive multiplayer games, Web3 ensures that every moment you spend in the game is both thrilling and profitable.

Conclusion

The gaming industry is undergoing a major transformation, with play to earn reality games leading the way. As technology advances, gamers can expect more immersive experiences in free online RPG games and interactive metaverse 3D games. With platforms like Metaspace pushing the boundaries, the future of gaming looks more exciting and rewarding than ever before. Are you ready to explore the metaverse and turn your gaming skills into earnings? Now is the time to step into the world of Web3 gaming!

[nuxthefirst]

Revolutionizing Industries with ADS-B Data and the Derad Network.

In the age of real-time data, few technologies have the transformative potential of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). This aviation surveillance system allows aircraft to broadcast precise details—position, altitude, velocity, and more—using satellite navigation like GPS. Traditionally a tool for air traffic control, ADS-B data is now finding applications far beyond the cockpit, thanks in part to innovative platforms like the Derad Network. By decentralizing ADS-B data collection through a global network of ground stations, Derad Network is making this rich dataset accessible to industries worldwide, from logistics to environmental research. Let’s dive into how ADS-B and Derad Network are reshaping the way we work, travel, and understand our skies.

What Are ADS-B and the Derad Network?

Before we explore the use cases, a quick primer: ADS-B is a system where aircraft automatically transmit their location and flight details to ground stations and other planes, offering a leap in accuracy over traditional radar. It’s automatic (no pilot input needed), dependent (relies on onboard navigation systems), and broadcast (openly shared with anyone equipped to receive it).

The Derad Network takes this a step further. Imagine a global web of community-operated ADS-B receivers—small ground stations set up by enthusiasts and professionals alike. Using blockchain technology, Derad incentivizes contributors with rewards while providing a marketplace for businesses, researchers, and governments to access this real-time data. This decentralized approach fills coverage gaps, reduces costs, and democratizes a resource once limited to big players. Now, let’s see how this duo is making waves across industries.

Aviation: Safer Skies, Smarter Flights

ADS-B’s roots lie in aviation, where it’s a game-changer for safety and efficiency. Air traffic controllers use its real-time precision to track planes more accurately than radar, especially in busy airspace. Airlines optimize routes, cutting fuel use and delays—think fewer circling patterns over airports. Pilots, equipped with ADS-B In, gain situational awareness, seeing nearby traffic on cockpit displays.

The Derad Network amplifies this by expanding coverage. Remote regions—think oceans or mountainous areas—often lack radar infrastructure. Derad’s decentralized stations fill these gaps, ensuring a seamless “gate-to-gate” view of flights worldwide. For smaller operators or regional airlines, this affordable access to comprehensive data levels the playing field, enhancing safety without breaking the bank.

Logistics and Supply Chain: Tracking the Goods

In logistics, timing is everything. ADS-B data lets companies monitor cargo flights in real time, providing exact locations and ETAs. A shipment delayed by weather? Logistics managers can reroute trucks or adjust warehouse schedules instantly. This precision reduces waste and boosts customer satisfaction.

Derad Network’s global reach shines here. Traditional ADS-B systems might miss flights over underserved areas, but Derad’s crowd-sourced network ensures visibility even in the most remote skies. Small logistics firms, previously reliant on patchy updates, can now tap into this data stream, making supply chains more resilient and responsive.

Travel and Tourism: Elevating the Passenger Experience

Ever tracked a loved one’s flight on an app? That’s ADS-B at work. Travel companies use it to offer passengers live updates, building trust with transparency. Airports leverage it for ground operations—think faster taxiing and fewer delays. When a storm hits, ADS-B helps reroute planes efficiently, minimizing chaos.

Derad Network enhances this by providing a richer dataset. Travel agencies can integrate its feeds to notify passengers of gate changes or delays in real time. Smaller airports, unable to afford radar, benefit from Derad’s low-cost coverage, improving service in emerging travel hubs. It’s a win for travelers and operators alike.

Security and Defense: Guarding the Skies

For governments and militaries, ADS-B is a powerful surveillance tool. It tracks aircraft in sensitive airspace, flagging unauthorized entries instantly. Real-time data means faster responses to potential threats—critical in an era of drones and geopolitical tension.

Derad Network’s decentralized model extends this reach without the need for costly radar networks. Stations in remote or allied regions provide data where traditional systems can’t, offering a cost-effective way to monitor vast areas. While security agencies must filter public ADS-B data for sensitive operations, Derad’s broad coverage still enhances situational awareness on a budget.

Research and Environmental Studies: Sky-High Insights

Researchers are tapping ADS-B to study everything from air traffic patterns to climate impact. Universities analyze flight paths to map noise pollution near airports, while environmentalists track aviation’s carbon footprint. This data drives policies for greener skies—like optimizing flight altitudes to cut emissions.

Derad Network’s open marketplace is a goldmine here. High-quality, real-time datasets are often expensive, but Derad offers them at accessible rates. A researcher in a developing nation can study local airspace without needing institutional funding, fostering global collaboration on pressing issues like sustainability.

Insurance: Smarter Risk, Faster Claims

Insurance firms use ADS-B to assess aviation risks—monitoring compliance with safety rules or analyzing flight patterns in accident-prone areas. Post-incident, it provides a detailed flight history, speeding up claims processing with hard evidence.

Derad Network ensures this data is comprehensive. Flights over oceans or rural zones, once poorly tracked, are now documented via its stations. Insurers get a fuller picture, setting fairer premiums and resolving disputes efficiently. It’s a quieter revolution, but one that saves time and money.

Technology and Innovation: Fueling the Future

Tech startups are buzzing around ADS-B. Apps like Flightradar24 thrive on its feeds, while drone companies use it to avoid manned aircraft. Derad Network’s blockchain backbone adds a twist—contributors earn rewards for hosting stations, scaling the network organically. This fuels innovation, from AI-driven traffic predictions to autonomous flight systems.

The decentralized model also sparks creativity. A coder in Brazil might build an app using Derad data, while a startup in Singapore develops analytics for urban air mobility. It’s a sandbox for the next big thing in tech.

Emergency Services: Lifesaving Precision

When disaster strikes—like a plane crash—ADS-B’s last-known-position data guides search and rescue teams. Over oceans or rugged terrain, where radar falters, this precision can mean the difference between life and death.

Derad Network’s coverage in these remote zones is invaluable. A station in the Pacific could pinpoint a downed flight, shaving hours off response times. For emergency services, this isn’t just data—it’s a lifeline.

Why Derad Network Matters

What sets Derad apart? It’s not just about ADS-B—it’s about access. Traditional systems rely on centralized, expensive infrastructure. Derad flips the script: anyone with a receiver can contribute, earning rewards while feeding a global pool. Businesses buy what they need from this marketplace, bypassing hefty investments. It’s scalable, inclusive, and forward-thinking—a model for the data-driven future.

The Sky’s the Limit

ADS-B data and the Derad Network are more than aviation tools—they’re catalysts for change across industries. From safer flights to greener policies, smarter logistics to faster rescues, this technology duo is rewriting how we interact with the skies. As Derad’s network grows, so do the possibilities. What’s next? Maybe it’s up to you—how would you use this data to shape tomorrow?

Have thoughts on ADS-B or Derad? Drop a comment below—I’d love to hear your take!

[aesthetinet]

Ghosts in the Digital

Hi again you internet mud-sloggers, it’s [Cor3!ander] with you in the trenches again, and I need to get straight to the point:

Do I hate the player, or do I hate the game? I have yet to decide after finishing Oliver Misraje’s article The Internet is a Graveyard, which discusses the different kinds of “ghosts” that proliferate in the Web3 era of the internet. Yet, we at Aesthetinet have to be good humanities writers and engage with texts we are challenged by, and now is my turn to carry the burden. So, I will prime you on phenomena such as HTTP ghosts, thanotechnology and ghost crypto, then propose how they might matter to you. Yet I will remain hesitant as I ruminate because I have not even figured out how they matter to me.

Misraje is a self described “hauntologist” who specializes in what he calls “ghosts” in the internet, which he presents in concise and accessible miniature case studies through his article, and provides limited opinions on them after. Now, there is a lot of them, so I have to run through them quickly to save for time. HTTP ghosts are pieces of content left up on the internet originally posted by people who are now dead; thanotechnology are programs and services that produce AI- or otherwise digitally-constructed simulacra of dead people; ghost crypto is literally memorial NFTs that are minted on the blockchain. You see the issue? There are so many sub-types of each phenomenon too, that they preclude a concise summary in this format, so I will instead try to put forth the implication they pose.

Luckily, Misraje spends the latter part of each case study talking about the implications and ethical issues of the proliferation of each kind of ghost, by sharing perspectives from other peoples’ experiences while keeping his criticism gentle. For example, he talks about how Project December, a thanotechnology powered by GPT-3 has been used to make AI text simulacra of deceased loved ones to help with grief. Okay, I remain open to reading this because he cites a real user who had a reportedly positive experience with it, but then he goes on to conclude that the user “Believes in the capacity for technologies like Project December to revolutionize the way people will grieve in the future”. This is where Misraje’s perspective and tone fail for me: that single sentence disregards generations of philosophy and literal grief, while we still have yet to seriously consider our relationship with AI in more mundane applications.

I wish I could talk more, because I legitimately appreciate Misraje’s article while I still have serious reservations about its position. To conclude, I think it is best I expand the point of his article and share how fictional narratives and aesthetics have handled the question of his digital “ghosts” before. I will cite one of my favourite media: director Mamoru Oshii’s animated film adaptation of the manga Ghost in the Shell, sharing the same name. The film by itself displays a cyberpunk-esque world where human consciousness are understood as “ghosts”, that can be hacked, invented, erased, transferred over the internet, bought and sold over and over. Memories have effectively become commodities as well as weapons for crimes such as corporate espionage and sabotage. The memory of digital things has already become a commodity with ghost crypto, as Misraje explains. Yet Oshii is much more of a challenger than Misraje, and frequently asks the viewer right in their face through his characters and scenes of what the worth of our human experience really is if it is reduced to bits.

Stay existential,

Aestheticaste

And the article, for your interest:

[aeroteaka]

Astroprisma Session 2: Traveling to the Middle Ring.

In case you want to see what happening previously? Let me hook you up with a fast travel.

So we're back at it again at the Astroprisma. The first session went well, even if combat took a bit to get through. I'm hoping this next time around won't be as thick. We will hope and see what happens to Dimos this time. Let's set the mood with some good vibes.

 Dimos was sitting on the floor of his ship, he had just freshly opened the crate that he had found on the Mercenaries ship. ((Rest in Peace for now Cinnamon.)) 

       “Soooo Oracle…do you have any idea what exactly it is I’m looking at?” In front of him was a hard light hologram of a cube. It had a cyan hue to it and seemed to float under its own power. There was a pause as Oracle processed the question. 

      ((Let’s go Oracle! What wonders do you have for us today? Rolling on the Oracle table. 6. So Yes And. Rolling again for her reason. 3. Change.))

“Yes captain. Due to the change and fluctuations of this device I am led to believe it is a Tesseract.” Dimos reached out, ‘touching’ it with his hands. In all actuality the device always stayed floating a half inch from his hand. He’d push it from one hand to the other, playing Pong with it as he was trying to figure out what a Tesseract was. 

       ((Okay so, something to note, Astroprisma is still being made. I am currently playing an Alpha copy of it. It’s playable in this state but it’s still missing a few things. In this particular case there isn’t anything that calls for a skill check. So there’s no Mind roll to see if Dimos knows what a Tesseract is. But there is a Challenge Roll. Which is typically used for Interactions and Events. I think this might count as an interaction in this case. So it’s Dimos and his Mind vs the World. Dimos has a total of 11 against the World's total of 10. I swear these dice rolls aren’t scripted. But Hades help me Dimos rolls a lot of 11’s.))

  “I think I’ve heard of those. They’re some kind of religious artifact for the Synth Arch.” He let it hover in his hands for a minute longer before putting it back in its crate. “Greeeeaaat some crazy robot cults holy item. Probably stolen from by some zealot…fuck that means I’m going to have to return it. Or hope upon hope they don’t think I stole it.”  

       “Captain, I would hate to break up your melancholy but…” 

       ((The Players got to make some rolls hang in their Dimos. So starting off we have upkeep. Dimos is at max health, so as we enter a new area we start a new cycle he regenerates 3 Energy. Putting him up to 17. Love that. We’re going to the Middle Ring which means we pop down to the Middle Ring roll chart. Please for the love of fuck d6 don’t get us into another combat. Rolling 1d6. 5. So that takes us to the Faction Event table. I’m starting to get the feeling that owning this as a physical game you’d want a lot of bookmarks or tabs cause there’s a lot of flipping around to do. We now roll 1d10 to decide which faction we meet. Rolling. 6. So we run into the Medusa Sector. A group of anonymous decentralized hackers, cyber terrorists, and web weavers that want to delve into the secrets of the Cybersphere. What's the Cybersphere? Great question, as far as I’ve read we don’t have much deep lore just yet. But given the vibes I’m imagining something between The Matrix, OZ from Summer Wars, and the Nightosphere from Adventure Time. So with all that in mind, what kind of neutral event are we going to have with the Medusa Sector. Rolling 1d6. 5. I feel like I should do a balance test or something with these dice.)) 

“It would appear we’re being hailed.” That was enough to peak Dimos’s interests. He quickly made his way to his pilot chair answering the hail. 

      “This is Captain Dimos of the Nereus. To what or whom do I owe the pleasure?” 

      ((Thank funk for the random tables to help make these decisions.))

The screen lit up showing casing someone with a lithe frame, hair that was tied up in a neat ponytail, their most distinguishing feature was a deep scar over one of their eyes. Dimos was guessing a acid scar of some kind. 

       “It’s by fortune and luck that we’ve crossed paths, Captain Dimos. I am Captain Gray of the Clio. You see, we have just claimed this vessel from a band of Space Pirates. The battle left both ships to damaged to travel. Thankfully they have a long range scanner which has led us to you, would you be willing to lend us a hand with some repairs?” Dimos sat back in his chair debating his options. ‘On the one hand, it could be a trap. They could try to gang up on me to take everything I’ve got…on the other hand I don’t know anyone in this star system and building some kind of network would do me wonders.’ 

      ((Let’s help Dimos out with this conundrum. If he succeeds in his Mind challenge he helps. If he fails, he flees. Rolling. Dimos gets a total of 5 against The Worlds roll of 5…a tie? I guess it’s a re-roll in this particular case. Rolling. Dimos gets a total of 10 while The World gets a 10 on the Dice. This is apparently a very hard decision to make. One more time. Rolling. Dimos nets himself a 10 total against The Worlds 1. Finally a result.)) 

“Well thankfully I myself happened across a junker which means I have plenty of spare parts. So assuming you can give me your word of safety I’d be happy to help Captain Gray.” Dimos smiled on the outside but he had a deep sinking feeling in his stomach agreeing to this. 

     “Of course, the members of the Medusa Sector will always repay kindness with kindness. You have nothing to worry about. Sending coordinates now, see you soon Captain Dimos.” With that the figure blips off his screen, Dimos slouches in his seat letting out a deep sigh. 

      “Captain? Are you alright?” Oracles voice buzzed from the speakers. 

      “Yeah I’m good Oracle. Just worried I’m making a mistake with this.” He sat up, starting to put in the coordinates that had been sent over.  

      “I wouldn’t worry too much Captain. Surely not everyone in this system is hostile. And one good deed deserves another. Positivity and Optimism forward.” In the back of Dimos’s mind he wanted to believe that. Maybe it was even true this time. 

      His travel took longer than he was expecting, ‘Gray wasn’t kidding about the range on those scanners. Hades help me what were those Pirates Packing?’ Floating in space were two ships, an A-1 Voyager and an Eclipse Warden. Upon approach Dimos was hailed again. Gray popped up on his monitor. 

      “Captain Dimos I presume? It’s wonderful to see you arrive. If you could assist us with the Voyager here it would be appreciated.” 

       “What about the Warden?” Dimos asked, he assumed they wanted him to try and fix both. 

       “We have a settlement not too far from here. The Voyager is by and large in better shape, our hope is to use it to tow the Warden back.” A idea flashed in his mind as he was preparing to exit his ship. 

       “I don’t suppose you’d want some company on the way back to the settlement? Traveling in numbers tends to be a healthy idea. Plus I’m new to this system and could use some extra repairs myself.” Dimos noticed Gray’s wide smile, showing more sharpened teeth then your average human. 

       “It would be our honor Captain Dimos. But order and operations first. If you could.” Gray waved his hand to indicate the general direction of where the damage was on their ship. Dimos nodded, 

“Right, right. Heading out now.” Dimos had a shiver run down his spine as he stepped into his airlock. “Oracle our comms are off with the crew of the Voyager and Warden right?” 

       ((This triggers the Oracle board. For the record, I only roll on the Oracle board when Dimos asks a Yes or No. Helps me come up with other interactions and story beats. That being said though, Rolling. 3, No but. Welp I can already tell this is going to be awkward. Now for the but, Rolling. 2, so Sacrifice? Oh I have a idea.)) 

“Negative captain, for the sake of building a better relationship and finding you allies I believe cutting communication might sacrifice your chances.” There was a pause from Dimos as he exited his airlock. He started towards the Voyager. 

      “So wait…that means they can-” Gray chimed in to cut him off. 

      “Yes Captain Dimos, we can still hear you.” There was a groan from Dimos, he could hear a soft chuckle from the other side of the comms. 

      “Skata, look, I didn’t mean anything by that, it's just I’ve had some bad experiences in the past, and literally not even a twenty hours ago was I hit randomly by that Hauler you see me tugging along.” Gray’s voice was calm and collected, once they stopped laughing. 

      “No, no, I completely understand Captain Dimos, one must take every precaution they can when they are out in the void of space. It’s why we’re so grateful for you lending us this hand.” 

      ((Speaking of, time for a Challenge Roll with Tech. Rolling. Dimos comes in with a 12 in total while The World gets a 7. This is only the second session, so I should be happy but I’m getting worried that I'm succeeding too many times too early. Am I burning all my good rolls?)) 

 Gray’s words seemed to help calm Dimos down, “I’m happy to help, the damage doesn’t look too bad. It’s more superficial than anything. But it’s enough to throw off your instruments. Best not to risk it. Just give me a bit of time and I’ll get you up and running.”  It took him, to his own surprise, a few minutes and a lot of swearing. But Dimos was able to get everything back into place so the Voyager could run. 

      “As an added bonus Captain Dimos, allow me to show my gratitude by giving you these.” The Voyager airlock opened, Dimos floated out to grab what was sent out. 

       ((For succeeding in repairing the ship Dimos receives a Antivirus Patch and a Adrenashot. Gains 1 Favor with the Medusa Sector)) 

      “Once you return to your ship and are ready. Shall we head to the Medusa Sectors Settlement?” Dimos caught a glimpse of Gray from their cockpits windows. They waved at him with that same toothy grin. Dimos waved back before making their way back to their own ship. ‘I know they mean well but why does it feel like they’re going to dissect me for some secret knowledge?’  

       And we will end Session 2 here. At this rate I’m starting to think I’m only going to get through one Hex per session. But that’s not a bad thing. This is really helping with my mental health so I can’t complain. If you’ve made it this far? Thank you so much for reading. I’m hoping this continues to be a fun experience for people. If there are any thoughts, questions, or ideas to make this more exciting let me know! Otherwise keep kicking ass, taking names, and being your awesome self! 

[lunarsilkscreen]

Web 3.0 (Is Garbage)

Web 2.0 introduced a lot of QoL things for devs and Hobbyists. And for the past decade or so; Web 3 has been Hyped as this thing that actually means something and is useable!

Even the Web 4 details are just rehashes of the Web 3 "Trends".

We haven't left Web2 yet. We're somewhere like... Web 2.46 or something. And the Hype and Buzzword chain from aspiring corporate interests makes it worse; because none of them know how the tech works.

Web 3 was a core concept coined in order to Key in on the Hype-Train created by Crypto and Cloud Services that are very unwieldy today.

I'd love to explain exactly why *cloud* hosting sucks; but as it Took me a PhD's worth of time just to understand it; it's too much to compile in a singular complaint.

The key word is "Decentralization" which creates a layer of "Virtualized Internet" on top of the main internet.

Which allows things like; Shared Processing between disjoined computers online, Shared and Obfuscated Hosting space (which adds a layer of security to data services)

But so far; the overall cost of Web 3 has not been recouped. Even taken advantage of by Wall Street and financial districts the world around.

And because of the Web 3 hype; they refused to learn Web 2, because these services are supposed to make it easier and reduce the need to learn technology.

Which created an environment of Digital Illiteracy; and more importantly; Digitally Illiterate financial Gurus who are assuming things can be used in ways they cannot.

If Web 4 actually means anything (and it doesn't) it's the addition of termed "AI Applications" and assistants that are nothing more than Chat Bots and Search Engines.

A Core Component introduced in like.... Web 2 and Web 2.2.

Those things aren't even new tech or upgrades to existing Web 2 developments; in-fact; they're still nearly entirely Web 2 tech given that buzzword.

Because Buzzwords help with funding from Digitally Illiterate sources.

Remember how right before Web 2; the Internet Bubble Crashed?

Yea. Same shtick.

It's hard to sit here and say "The entire Tech and Financial Sectors have lost their Collective fucking minds." Because that's always been the case.

"Hire some high school hacker, pay them minimum wage, and monetize whatever is created anyway possible!"

Please; High School Hackers...Please understand that you know more than your potential Employers in *so* many ways.

And the only way we can start ironing this out is by relying on professionals who aren't getting paid to speak-up; to do so.

The only way to *actually* get to Web 3 is by upgrading the internet; streamlining; simplification of these "new" Cloud Services; and Improving Digital Literacy.

There has never been an automated process in the history of Mankind that has been "Bug Free" because that would violate the laws of Thermodynamics.

And High School Hackers are a bit behind on their Physics homework.

[mebirius]

Save the Grizzly

This picture shows the landscape of a decentralized universe with pieces of WEB 3.0. I will not describe in detail what is depicted here, it is already clearly visible. This is the most honest picture in the world, there is no such thing anywhere else.

You will spend much more time studying this painting than you would on the world's most expensive or the world's largest painting. This art develops the imagination, unites people, makes them think and argue.

How many liters of beer can you drink while looking at the details in the picture? It is one of a kind, it is written in words, without paints, without brushes. And what colors are here! Have you noticed? This gentle and joyful feeling when watching is incomparable!

Of course, there are some nuances, for example, tourists making love in the middle of a camping site. I didn't expect this, honestly. They appeared so unexpectedly! And Elon Musk? He was drinking beer with a grizzly! A fearless man, worthy of admiration! Deadpool is afraid of grizzlies, and Elon drinks beer! Even Venom is standing on the sidelines, damn it!

There are very beautiful mountains in the background, and the sea beyond the mountains is the best thing I've seen. It's a pity, it's hidden by mountains, but believe me – it's beautiful!

Mosquitoes spoil the picture a little, but deep in the forest there is a large swamp, from where these mosquitoes come! And what a picturesque river! I have never seen such clear water, this water is very cold, there are a lot of fish in it.

The most difficult thing was to draw molecules and atoms. And the air. You know why.

Oh my God, it's so sad to sell this great creation, but art requires sacrifice, and I'm ready for it. With pain in my heart, I will give the painting to a true art connoisseur. Of course, I will give it for mere pennies, because 1,000 Ethereums for her is not a price at all.

That's it, I can't write anymore, tears are blurring my eyes, and my mouth is cramping with sobs! Goodbye, my love! Goodbye, my passion! I'll never be able to do anything like that again. Goodbye, we had a good time together, just like those tourists.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

Going to Defcon this weekend? I'm giving a keynote, "An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet's Enshittification and Throw it Into Reverse," on Saturday at 12:30pm, followed by a book signing at the No Starch Press booth at 2:30pm!

https://info.defcon.org/event/?id=50826

#10yrsago Lavabit competitor Silent Circle shuts down its secure email service, destroys servers https://silentcircle.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/to-our-customers/

#10yrsago Bikram “Yoga” Choudhury accused of rape, sexual harassment, racism, homophobia, and unsafe practices related to the color green https://jezebel.com/bikram-yoga-founder-hates-sluts-and-fatties-loves-talk-1068127138

#10yrsago More on the NSA’s weird, deceptive, indefensible definition of “targeted surveillance” https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/07/what-it-means-be-target-or-why-we-once-again-stopped-believing-government-and-once

#10yrsago Assault on Equestria: My Little Pony themed D&D game with a young kid! http://www.chippewavalleygeek.com/2013/07/assault-on-equestria.html

#10yrsago Court finds for man who rewrote the credit-card fine-print to give himself unlimited, interest-free credit https://consumerist.com/2013/08/09/man-tries-to-beat-bank-at-its-own-game-with-fine-print-that-gives-him-unlimited-credit/

#10yrsago NSA leak: US can spy on Americans, despite direct statements of President, Congress, top spooks https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/09/nsa-loophole-warrantless-searches-email-calls

#10yrsago Animatronic Hatbox Ghost https://insidethemagic.net/2013/08/haunted-mansion-hatbox-ghost-reanimated-at-2013-d23-expo-as-disney-imagineers-demonstrate-audio-animatronics/

#5yrsago My closing keynote from the second Decentralized Web Summit https://archive.org/details/decentralizedwebsummitmedia-2018-courtyard-2?start=475

#5yrsago Bad infrastructure means pacemakers can be compromised before they leave the factory https://www.wired.com/story/pacemaker-hack-malware-black-hat/

#5yrsago Florida’s prisons change tech providers, wipe out $11.2m worth of music purchased by prisoners https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/08/captive-audience-how-floridas-prisons-and-drm-made-113m-worth-prisoners-music

#5yrsago Kill sticky headers: a bookmarklet to get rid of the web’s static blobs https://alisdair.mcdiarmid.org/kill-sticky-headers/

#5yrsago Defective Comcast security exposes 26.5m customers’ partial Social Security Numbers and addresses https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nicolenguyen/a-comcast-security-flaw-exposed-millions-of-customers

#5yrsago State of Georgia goes to court to defend voting machines that recorded 243% voter turnouts https://www.mcclatchydc.com/latest-news/article216056560.html

#5yrsago Everybody hates their cable company, unless the company is Google, or the city, or a tiny mom-and-pop https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics-computers/telecom-services/best-and-worst-home-internet-providers-a2853390170/

#5yrsago What should go in an IoT safety-rating sticker? https://memex.craphound.com/2018/08/09/what-should-go-in-an-iot-safety-rating-sticker/

I'm kickstarting the audiobook for "The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation," a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and bring back the old, good internet. It's a DRM-free book, which means Audible won't carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

[citynewsglobe]

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[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

Good morning from Charlottesville, Virginia! ☕️

Another week, gone. Life seems to be flying by at an accelerated pace and I’m not fond of it.

I continue my React Native and TypeScript work, at work. I’m refactoring a bit of UI code to be shared in the project. It’s been a good experience. I’m definitely a fish out of water but making progress.

We’ll see what next week brings.

Hope you enjoy the links.

Alex Butler • UPI

Katie Ledecky left swimming rival Ariarne Titmus in her wicked wake, revving through the La Defense Arena pool waters toward a record ninth Olympic gold medal with another 800-meter freestyle victory Saturday in Paris.

YAY KATIE! 🇺🇸

Jay Famiglietti • The New York Times

The Central Valley of California supplies a quarter of the food on the nation’s dinner tables. But beneath this image of plenty and abundance, a crisis is brewing — an invisible one, under our feet — and it is not limited to California.

One quarter of the food on the nations table. That’s a big deal.

The big challenge moving forward is how do we get enough water to the Central Valley to continue to raise all those fruits and vegetables to feed everyone?

Yet again, we ignore climate change at our own peril.

Herb Sutter

That’s a great question. Cppreference is correct, and for all class types the answer is simple: The object is initialized on line 1 by having its default constructor called.

But (and you knew a “but” was coming), for a local object of a fundamental built-in type like int, the answer is… more elaborate. And that’s why Sam is asking, because Sam knows that the language has kind of loose about initializing such local objects, for historical reasons that made sense at the time.

Of course Mr. Sutter goes into great depth to explain how the declaration int a; is handled by the C++ compiler (how it’s supposed to be handled according to the standard.)

Remember C is a subset of C++. That was intentionally part of the goal at the time. To get folks to adopt C++ all the C code that had been written needed to continue working.

So, what does that mean for int a; in the question?

It means that declaration doesn’t really initialize a. It just gets whatever value is at that address. Let’s say there was a string represented by the memory now assigned to that declaration and the string began with the letter the ASCII letter ‘a’. Any guess what the value of ‘a’ would be? It would be 97.

In other words, ‘a’ is random.

Mike Masnick • Techdirt

I am excited to announce that I am joining the board of Bluesky, where I will be providing advice and guidance to the company to help it achieve its vision of a more open, more competitive, more decentralized online world.

This is surprising in a good way but I wish we didn’t have two competing decentralized protocols for the social web. It’s fine, I suppose, but having Blusky and Mastodon work with each other would be amazing. Threads still hasn’t delivered full integration with Mastodon, but Micro.blog has, WordPress has achieved some integration points, and Ghost is working on theirs. Tumblr would also be a nice addition but it’s now in a “keep the lights on” mode.

More Fediverse integration, not less.

Bradley Brownell • Jalopnik

Michael Andretti’s denied attempt to join the Formula 1 grid has been granted a DOJ investigation. American firm Liberty Media, which owns Formula 1 Group, denied Andretti Global’s entry to F1 earlier this year. The denial by F1, following a six-month review of the team’s application, which included a commitment from General Motors, claimed that it didn’t believe Andretti could field a competitive car in the series.

This has been a bit frustrating to watch. I would love to see another American company on the grid and I’d really love to see Guenther Steiner in charge of it! 😃

It would also put an American manufactured power unit on the grid from Cadillac. 👍🏼

Nadine Yousif and Michelle Fleury • BBC News

A US judge has ruled that Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly on online searches and related advertising.

This is going to ripple throughout the industry. Does Apple lose their $20 billion fee from Google to be the preferred search engine? I guess we’ll find out.

Stephen Moore

Every friend I have with a job that involves picking up something heavier than a laptop more than twice a week eventually finds a way to slip something like this into conversation: “Bro,1[1] you don’t work hard. I just worked a 4700-hour week digging a tunnel under Mordor with a screwdriver.”

They have a point. Mordor sucks, and it’s certainly more physically taxing to dig a tunnel than poke at a keyboard unless you’re an ant. But, for the sake of the argument, can we agree that stress and insanity are bad things? Awesome. Welcome to programming.

Programming is definitely part science part insanity. I spend my days agonizing over coding choices, bouncing between feeling kind of smart to feeling a complete idiot.

It’s just the way, at least for me. 😃

Hanaa' Tameez • Nieman Journalism Lab

MTV pulled down MTV News in June. After Deadspin was sold, many of its archives temporarily disappeared. This week, Flaming Hydra reported that The Awl’s archives are gone. And those examples are just from the past couple of months; in 2021, the authors of a Reynolds Journalism Institute report found that just 7 out of 24 newsrooms they interviewed were fully preserving their news content.

This is kind of sad, isn’t it? Journalists losing their work because a publication shuts down.

Then we had the recent kerfuffle with TUAW where someone purchased the site and content, ran it through and AI, and republished all the content under the original authors names with different profile pictures. That’s slimy.

It’s no wonder authors are backing up their own work. I certainly would and do. I have 23 years of blog posts.

Simon Willison

It’s amusing to see Apple using “please” in their prompts, and politely requesting of the model: “Do not hallucinate. Do not make up factual information.”

This is an interesting piece. Go read how Apple is approaching AI. I love their prompts including words like “please” and “do not hallucinate.” Classic! 🤣

Charlie Savage • The New York Times

A bipartisan American Bar Association task force is calling on lawyers across the country to do more to help protect democracy ahead of the 2024 election, warning in a statement to be delivered Friday at the group’s annual meeting in Chicago that the nation faces a serious threat in “rising authoritarianism.”

If Trump loses in November the country needs to be prepared for all kinds of slimy efforts to take the election for themselves.

I have no clue what they’re going to do, but it’s coming.

Nikita Shukla • earth.org

Generative AI has very quickly been adopted across various sectors. However, this has led to increased global electricity consumption that is only predicted to increase further as the technology expands, with many tech companies already at risk of defaulting on their net-zero commitments.

This is a new type of arms race between the big players. They have to do it but they’re not going to make money from it for a long time and oh by the way they’re going to strain the crap out of our power grid. Why? Shareholder value. So while your power is out and you’re baking in the heat of summer or the cold of winter they’ll be happily churning out their next iteration of a fancy pachinko game that isn’t really intelligent, it’s just a super fancy decision tree being jammed into everything because AI.

Each and every AI company should be regulated and be required to generate two times the power they consume, at no cost to the consumer, to offset their consumption. Darned digital vampires.

Stephanie Apstein • Sports Illustrated

U.S. Athletes Are Taking Full Advantage of Free Healthcare in Olympic Village

It’s amazing what a country can do for their citizenry, isn’t it? Healthcare for all, I say! Some things need to be done for the good of society. Healthy, educated, people are an amazing thing. It will allow us to invent and solve big problems. It’s good all around, in my opinion.