Ben Tucker
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btucker.net
Ben Tucker
@btucker.net
250 followers 270 following 280 posts
Striving to be one of the *good* tech guys. Based in Chicago. Opinions my own.
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btucker.net
Here's what the SVG looks like on a white background.
svg of a pelican riding a bicycle on a white background
November 13, 2025 at 7:05 PM
btucker.net
Ha! This just reminded me of my experiment from March after OpenAI launched their new image generation model of having ChatGPT generate an image, then trace it to SVG. I just tried this again & it's still pretty similar: chatgpt.com/share/69161f...
Took two prompts still.
bsky.app/profile/btuc...
traced pelican riding a bicycle
November 13, 2025 at 7:00 PM
btucker.net
Great turnout today for the #50501 protest in Chicago
Painting saying STOP COMRADE TRAITOR TRUMP Protesters in Daley Plaza, Chicago Protesters in Daley Plaza, Chicago Protestor holding sign saying: WE ARENT GETTING PAID TO BE HERE. WE HATE YOU FOR FREE!
April 20, 2025 at 4:28 AM
btucker.net
Time to pack it up. It’s all a big game to gamble on.
Economic event contracts New event contracts for economic indicators are open for trading. Watch the prediction markets react in real time. Eligibility and restrictions apply.
April 10, 2025 at 6:55 PM
btucker.net
Surely these insider traders on the WH Signal chats will be held accountable, right?
Chart showing an earlier spike in buying before the public announcement of the Tariffs being put on hold
April 9, 2025 at 9:16 PM
btucker.net
Political cartoon from 1921: “high tariff tonic cures all the ills of man or beast”
April 2, 2025 at 9:16 PM
btucker.net
My prediction didn't pan out for the decade, but I still think it could happen.
Tweet: “I'm pretty sure Cory Booker will be POTUS within the next decade.”
April 2, 2025 at 12:26 AM
btucker.net
The hardest problem in AI appears to be releasing a product without sitting in front of shelving with random objects.

Google, OpenAI, Amazon, and Anthropic still haven't cracked that.
Google Employees in front of "AI Shelving" OpenAI Employees in front of "AI Shelving" Amazon employee in front of "AI Shelving" Anthropic Employee in front of "AI Shelving"
March 31, 2025 at 4:12 PM
btucker.net
Indeed. Veteran unemployment is up 42% year-over-year compared to non-vets unemployment which is up 5%.
In February 2025, the veteran unemployment rate was 4.0%, up from 3.8% the previous month and up from 2.8% the prior year. Also in February 2025, the comparable non-veteran unemployment rate was 4.0%, up from 3.9% the previous month and up from 3.8% the prior year.
March 30, 2025 at 2:50 PM
btucker.net
Default subreddits like r/pics are playing an important role in showing the general population what’s happening
Can someone explain why America is in El Salvador? What do their prisons have to do with America? Edit: Whoa, whoa... okay I get it: corruption, slavery, concentration camps outside the US, imprisonment without due process, that guys package in the background.... if I forgot something, sorry 4 Reply 1 4 11.8k No-Falcon-4996 • 1d Less regulations and oversight that American prisons would have. US can more easily disappear people in El Salvador. No pesky "human rights", ", lawyers, and constitution to adhere to 8.8k Cutegun • 1d Are they paying the El Salvadoran government to take these people? ... so basically they were trafficked. ... N 4.5k Narrow-Ad-4756 • 22h With zero due process. One dad soccer coach was shipped off for having the wrong tattoos. ... 个 2.6k jmac94wp • 22h Whaaaaat????? Holy crap. 736 aircooledJenkins • 22h https://www.theguardian.com/us- news/2025/mar/20/deported-because-of-his-tattoos-has-the-us-targeted-venezuelans-for-their-body-art •••. 983
March 28, 2025 at 5:35 PM
btucker.net
Tulsi Gabbard backing into the bushes
March 26, 2025 at 7:59 PM
btucker.net
I tried a slight twist on your benchmark and asked 4o to "Draw an image of a pelican on a bicycle then create an SVG to reproduce it." It proceeded to generate a pretty good image, then write python to trace it & create an SVG.
Original GPT-4o generated raster image of a pelican on a bicycle Code that traces the image Final SVG
March 25, 2025 at 9:23 PM
btucker.net
Someone needs to option this for a movie. The honeypot bit will make for quite the suspenseful crescendo.
March 17, 2025 at 7:45 PM
btucker.net
The CEO of Shopify:
Tweet showing Teslas on display at the white house with commentary from the CEO of Shopify saying “I enjoy this. Nature is healing.”
March 16, 2025 at 6:01 PM
btucker.net
A few more details:

System: Linux
Node Name: localhost
Release: 4.4.0
Version: #1 SMP Sun Jan 10 15:06:54 PST 2016
Machine: x86_64
Python Version: 3.11.8
Python Implementation: CPython
Python Compiler: Clang 9999.0.0 (c0192a008c4a2b8afdc2b63526c...)
Python Build: ('stable', 'redacted redacted')
import platform, os, sys, socket def system_info(): print(f"System: {platform.system()}") print(f"Node Name: {platform.node()}") print(f"Release: {platform.release()}") print(f"Version: {platform.version()}") print(f"Machine: {platform.machine()}") print(f"Processor: {platform.processor()}") def python_info(): print(f"Python Version: {platform.python_version()}") print(f"Python Implementation: {platform.python_implementation()}") print(f"Python Compiler: {platform.python_compiler()}") print(f"Python Build: {platform.python_build()}") def environment_info(): print(f"Platform: {sys.platform}") print(f"File System Encoding: {sys.getfilesystemencoding()}") print(f"Current Working Directory: {os.getcwd()}") print(f"User Home Directory: {os.path.expanduser('~')}") print(f"Environment Variables: {os.environ}") if __name__ == "__main__": print("System Information:") system_info() print("\nPython Information:") python_info() print("\nEnvironment Information:") environment_info() ---- System Information: System: Linux Node Name: localhost Release: 4.4.0 Version: #1 SMP Sun Jan 10 15:06:54 PST 2016 Machine: x86_64 Processor: Python Information: Python Version: 3.11.8 Python Implementation: CPython Python Compiler: Clang 9999.0.0 (c0192a008c4a2b8afdc2b63526c0483632d81c07) Python Build: ('stable', 'redacted redacted') Environment Information: Platform: linux File System Encoding: utf-8 Current Working Directory: /home/bard User Home Directory: ~ Environment Variables: environ({'MPLCONFIGDIR': '/tmp/matplotlib_config_dir'})
March 12, 2025 at 3:49 PM
btucker.net
Good to see some accountability systems are still functioning
A flight believed to be carrying former Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte is beginning its journey to the Hague via Dubai. Duterte was arrested in Manilla on an ICC arrest warrant on Tuesday morning.
March 11, 2025 at 3:28 PM
btucker.net
@warren.senate.gov does a masterful job in this short clip of explaining how tariffs create a permission structure for companies to increase prices.

Just like how many took advantage of COVID to do the same.
March 11, 2025 at 12:55 AM
btucker.net
14. Section 11206 reduces funds designated "for the procurement in Israel of defense articles and defense services, including research and development" from $725.3M to $450.3M
(1) in section 7041(d), ‘‘$450,300,000’’ for ‘‘$725,300,000’’; (d) ISRAEL.—Of the funds appropriated by this Act under the heading ‘‘Foreign Military Financing Program’’, not less than $3,300,000,000 shall be available for grants only for Israel which shall be disbursed within 30 days of enactment of this Act: Provided, That to the extent that the Government of Israel requests that funds be used for such purposes, grants made available for Israel under this heading shall, as agreed by the United States and Israel, be available for advanced weapons systems, of which not less than $725,300,000 shall be available for the procurement in Israel of defense articles and defense services, including research and development.
March 10, 2025 at 1:04 PM
btucker.net
13. Section 11205 removes the designation of $5M from "Economic Support Fund" for "War Crimes Accountability." And removes $50M for "democracy programs for Venezuela."
(r) WAR CRIMES ACCOUNTABILITY.—Of the funds appropriated by this Act under the heading ‘‘Economic Support Fund’’, not less than $5,000,000 shall be made available for the purposes authorized by section 2015 of Public Law 107–206, as amended by section 7073 of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023 (division K of Public Law 117– 328), including not less than $2,500,000 as a contribution to the Trust Fund for Victims. 1 SEC. 11205. Notwithstanding section 1101, the fol2 lowing provisions in title VII of division F of Public Law 3 118–47 shall not apply to funds appropriated by this 4 Act— 5 (1) section 7004(e); 6 (2) section 7034(r); and 7 (3) section 7045(l)(2). (l) VENEZUELA.— (1) Of the funds appropriated by this Act under the heading ‘‘Economic Support Fund’’, $50,000,000 should be made available for democracy programs for Venezuela. (2) Of the funds made available pursuant to paragraph (1) that are allocated for electoral-related activities, 50 percent may only be obligated after the Secretary of State determines and reports to the appropriate congressional committees that elections related to such activities— (A) allow for the diaspora from Venezuela to participate; (B) are open for credible, unobstructed international observation; and (C) allow for opposition candidates selected through credible and democratic processes to participate. (3) Funds shall be made available for assistance for communities in countries supporting or otherwise impacted by migrants from Venezuela: Provided, That such amounts are in addition to funds otherwise made available for assistance for such countries and are subject to the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations.
March 10, 2025 at 12:47 PM
btucker.net
There are R&D rescissions for other branches, too--just smaller:
Navy: -$51.4m
Air Force: -$408.9m
Space Force: -$111.6m
"Defense-Wide": -$31.8m
March 9, 2025 at 11:53 PM
btucker.net
I just played with this a bit more to try to find the edges.
- Execution happens via xhr POST to "www.google.com/.../data/batchexecute"
- No Network Access (inc no DNS)
- ~1500 max characters

Before I realized no network, I was trying to load pypi modules.
google AI Overview code editor/interpreter
March 7, 2025 at 8:25 PM
btucker.net
I feel that
Breaking News A robotic spacecraft that toppled after landing on the moon yesterday ran out of power and died.
March 7, 2025 at 7:21 PM
btucker.net
Speaking of code interpreters, I just got the new AI Overviews one for first time: www.google.com/search?q=fiz...
Google AI Overview showing a python code interpreter
March 6, 2025 at 2:48 PM
btucker.net
PSA: If you are on iOS & have an Apple One subscription then you have access to many paywalled articles. The easiest way to take advantage I've found:
1. follow the link from bluesky (etc) so it opens in Safari w/ paywall
2. tap the Share button at the bottom center of the screen
3. tap News
screenshot showing share icon highlighted screenshot showing "News" highlighted in sharing sheeting
March 4, 2025 at 10:08 PM
btucker.net
The vice signaling is so disappointing. How is it that so many of these guys seem less mature in their 40s than they did in their 20s & 30s?
February 18, 2025 at 1:34 AM