Floyd Mann
@cornycornguy.bsky.social
Vancouver, BC. US/CA. Books, bikes, bread, code.
Outstanding journalism here.
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
A year-long investigation reveals how mothers lost children after being radicalised by uplifting podcast tales of births without midwives or doctors
As Esau Lopez was asphyxiated for the first 17 minutes of his life on Earth, the atmosphere in the room remained serene, even ecstatic. Acoustic music crooned from a speaker in a modest two-bedroom apartment in a suburb of Pennsylvania. “You are a queen,” murmured one of three friends in the room.
Only Esau’s mother, Gabrielle Lopez, felt something was wrong. She was pushing hard, but her son would not be born. “Can you help [him] out?” she asked, as Esau crowned. “Baby is coming,” the friend replied. Four minutes later, Lopez asked again, “Can you grab [him]?” Another friend murmured, “Baby is safe.” Six minutes passed. Again, Lopez asked, “Can you grab [him]?” Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Outstanding journalism here.
Reposted by Floyd Mann
you get a twofer here, with a fantastic initial thread by @klonick.bsky.social & then a theory-in-response from @mmasnick.bsky.social. read 'em both 👇
This is, of course, a fascinating thread from Kate asking why Google is effectively cannibalizing its own market for both digital ads on third party properties and search ads, by effectively taking away the incentive to click through to third party sites. I have a theory as to why they're doing it.
So this ad revenue metric is indicative of such a fascinating and weird set of business decisions by Google to inexplicably kill of SEO-- and I honestly don't get how they think this is going to pay off for them in the long run.
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November 19, 2025 at 4:33 AM
you get a twofer here, with a fantastic initial thread by @klonick.bsky.social & then a theory-in-response from @mmasnick.bsky.social. read 'em both 👇
Great thread on my #1 concern w/ AI. Once it was a struggle to find validation for odd beliefs. Social media made it easier than ever for someone to find support for even one's most delusional beliefs, but AI completely removes that friction. It will never tell you you've lost touch w/ reality.
Bellingcat’s contact email has always been a magnet for people with fairly unusual views; paranoid delusions, sprawling conspiracies, the works. But recently, the pattern has shifted, we’re seeing more and more emails clearly written with ChatGPT.
November 19, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Great thread on my #1 concern w/ AI. Once it was a struggle to find validation for odd beliefs. Social media made it easier than ever for someone to find support for even one's most delusional beliefs, but AI completely removes that friction. It will never tell you you've lost touch w/ reality.
Reposted by Floyd Mann
We’re watching a shift where AI simulates the cohesion and reinforcement that used to require an entire online community. A single person can now build a complete parallel reality with nothing more than a prompt window. Which seems bad.
November 19, 2025 at 2:25 PM
We’re watching a shift where AI simulates the cohesion and reinforcement that used to require an entire online community. A single person can now build a complete parallel reality with nothing more than a prompt window. Which seems bad.
Reposted by Floyd Mann
The content is still obviously delusional to anyone reading it. It’s just organised crazy. But the real danger is the internal effect on the user. The AI provides coherence and validation, stabilising the narrative they’re caught in.
November 19, 2025 at 2:24 PM
The content is still obviously delusional to anyone reading it. It’s just organised crazy. But the real danger is the internal effect on the user. The AI provides coherence and validation, stabilising the narrative they’re caught in.
Reposted by Floyd Mann
Previously, these belief systems tended to collapse under their own weight. Contradictions and memory gaps made them hard to sustain. Now the AI removes that friction, it produces timelines, summaries, and "forensic" explanations on demand.
November 19, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Previously, these belief systems tended to collapse under their own weight. Contradictions and memory gaps made them hard to sustain. Now the AI removes that friction, it produces timelines, summaries, and "forensic" explanations on demand.
Reposted by Floyd Mann
LLMs give people with delusional belief systems a way to organise those beliefs. The model fills in gaps, supplies connective tissue, and wraps the madness in formal language.
It doesn't make the claims more credible to us, it just tidies them up.
It doesn't make the claims more credible to us, it just tidies them up.
November 19, 2025 at 2:22 PM
LLMs give people with delusional belief systems a way to organise those beliefs. The model fills in gaps, supplies connective tissue, and wraps the madness in formal language.
It doesn't make the claims more credible to us, it just tidies them up.
It doesn't make the claims more credible to us, it just tidies them up.
Reposted by Floyd Mann
Summing things up: what it means to be a democracy insider the EU versus being a satellite state of Putin's Russia. This explains why Ukrainians have no equivocation about whether they want to be in Europe and NATO or part of Russia.
November 4, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Summing things up: what it means to be a democracy insider the EU versus being a satellite state of Putin's Russia. This explains why Ukrainians have no equivocation about whether they want to be in Europe and NATO or part of Russia.
Reposted by Floyd Mann
We live in the greatest country.
At Yonge & Dundas Jays fans are obeying the pedestrian scramble, as is the custom & returning to sidewalk each light cycle.
October 21, 2025 at 4:42 AM
We live in the greatest country.
Reposted by Floyd Mann
If U.S. states have any degree of sovereignty, if there’s any states’ rights at all, it is the right not to be invaded by the armed forces of another U.S. state.
October 6, 2025 at 12:36 PM
If U.S. states have any degree of sovereignty, if there’s any states’ rights at all, it is the right not to be invaded by the armed forces of another U.S. state.
Reposted by Floyd Mann
Exceptional Doctorow piece on the solar rollout, why it's unstoppable, & why many old downsides of solar aren't factors anymore. The entire material mining needed 4 a global solar transition = only 17% of the fossil fuel mining we do every year! & then we're done! doctorow.medium.com/https-plural...
Decarbonization at a distance
A post-American century that runs on sunshine.
doctorow.medium.com
October 3, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Exceptional Doctorow piece on the solar rollout, why it's unstoppable, & why many old downsides of solar aren't factors anymore. The entire material mining needed 4 a global solar transition = only 17% of the fossil fuel mining we do every year! & then we're done! doctorow.medium.com/https-plural...
Reposted by Floyd Mann
'Social collapse is the kind of thing that you can convince yourself sounds fun so long as you're confident that your privilege will isolate you from all of the bad parts.'
On Trump's enduring appeal to people who have no real problems and let their comfortable, empty lives drive them to obsess over petty annoyances and call it their politics.
THE POLITICS OF BOREDOM | Gin and Tacos
Get more from Gin and Tacos on Patreon
www.patreon.com
July 31, 2025 at 7:02 PM
'Social collapse is the kind of thing that you can convince yourself sounds fun so long as you're confident that your privilege will isolate you from all of the bad parts.'
Reposted by Floyd Mann
New post where @lausterna.bsky.social and I (again) tie our housing problems to a shortage of housing, with doubling up being the link. And we call for tracking doubling up directly as a measure of housing hardship to avoid some of the pitfalls with our standard affordability metrics.
Housing is a housing problem – Mountain Doodles
The main housing problem in Canada is that there is not enough of it. A call for elevating household formation and doubling up to a primary metric to monitor housing.
doodles.mountainmath.ca
July 7, 2025 at 3:15 AM
New post where @lausterna.bsky.social and I (again) tie our housing problems to a shortage of housing, with doubling up being the link. And we call for tracking doubling up directly as a measure of housing hardship to avoid some of the pitfalls with our standard affordability metrics.
Reposted by Floyd Mann
Glad this passed.
Your regular reminder that housing is good, actually. People derive tremendous value from living in housing. We should allow more of it in more places. And make sure everyone has access to it.
Your regular reminder that housing is good, actually. People derive tremendous value from living in housing. We should allow more of it in more places. And make sure everyone has access to it.
Final Vancouver City Council vote on the exceptionally long Commercial Broadway CD re-zoning (just the most recent application here: www.shapeyourcity.ca/1780-e-broad... )
ABC approved
OneCity still eloquently pro-housing
COPE opposed (sigh)
Greens abstain (sigh)
ABC approved
OneCity still eloquently pro-housing
COPE opposed (sigh)
Greens abstain (sigh)
June 11, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Glad this passed.
Your regular reminder that housing is good, actually. People derive tremendous value from living in housing. We should allow more of it in more places. And make sure everyone has access to it.
Your regular reminder that housing is good, actually. People derive tremendous value from living in housing. We should allow more of it in more places. And make sure everyone has access to it.
"Foucault's Pendulum" becoming a reality.
People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies
Marriages and families are falling apart as people are sucked into fantasy worlds of spiritual prophecy by AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT
www.rollingstone.com
May 5, 2025 at 6:21 PM
"Foucault's Pendulum" becoming a reality.
I am 10 years old because I laughed out loud at this today.
![The Pick Operating System, also known as the Pick System or simply Pick,[1] is a demand-paged, multi-user, virtual memory, time-sharing computer operating system based around a MultiValue database. Pick is used primarily for business data processing. It is named after one of its developers, Dick Pick.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:zz72bnqugj32zjx54jmmra7i/bafkreiefkvhzit7v4iq3vvwk6y4ywwpwjl3o3rdxpgwjyti4ofvjar5g5a@jpeg)
May 2, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I am 10 years old because I laughed out loud at this today.
Reposted by Floyd Mann
Every Canadian Election I approach all the different party leaders and see if they will do an interview / Hip Flip. Here's a clip of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Check out the *FULL* interview at youtu.be/TZmh_PNMImE Doot doo !
April 10, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Every Canadian Election I approach all the different party leaders and see if they will do an interview / Hip Flip. Here's a clip of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Check out the *FULL* interview at youtu.be/TZmh_PNMImE Doot doo !
Reposted by Floyd Mann
me this morning www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/o...
April 9, 2025 at 1:16 PM
me this morning www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/o...
Reposted by Floyd Mann
“The arrests will continue. The memes will continue.” www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
The Gleeful Cruelty of the White House X Account
Welcome to the 4chan administration.
www.theatlantic.com
March 30, 2025 at 1:31 PM
“The arrests will continue. The memes will continue.” www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Reposted by Floyd Mann
when you don't give a shit about the consequences of breaking a promise then sure go for it. people need to understand: it's not the technology, it's not the software, it's _people making decisions_
you can totally "do a rewrite" in 3 mo if you don't care if it doesn't work for a bunch of people
you can totally "do a rewrite" in 3 mo if you don't care if it doesn't work for a bunch of people
March 29, 2025 at 4:37 AM
when you don't give a shit about the consequences of breaking a promise then sure go for it. people need to understand: it's not the technology, it's not the software, it's _people making decisions_
you can totally "do a rewrite" in 3 mo if you don't care if it doesn't work for a bunch of people
you can totally "do a rewrite" in 3 mo if you don't care if it doesn't work for a bunch of people
Reposted by Floyd Mann
it's not necessarily the cobol, it's the decades of accretion of bureaucratic rules without enough careful maintenance and documentation, decades of learning edge cases and where reality doesn't fit your assumed model
but sure you can do it in 3 months gfi
but sure you can do it in 3 months gfi
March 29, 2025 at 4:29 AM
it's not necessarily the cobol, it's the decades of accretion of bureaucratic rules without enough careful maintenance and documentation, decades of learning edge cases and where reality doesn't fit your assumed model
but sure you can do it in 3 months gfi
but sure you can do it in 3 months gfi
This is very good.
March 23, 2025 at 4:09 AM
This is very good.
Reposted by Floyd Mann
Reposted by Floyd Mann
Got mad, did another thing www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Trump's Threat To Take Over Canada Is a Scandal
Trump keeps threatening to annex Canada. Americans would never accept such talk from another country.
www.rollingstone.com
March 8, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Got mad, did another thing www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Floyd Mann
Trump's cutting of Ukraine's access to intelligence feeds is already inflcting a catastrophic loss of life at the front.
And today, North Koreans are pouring over the border for the first time.
Americans will never be forgiven for this.
eutoday.net/us-intellige...
And today, North Koreans are pouring over the border for the first time.
Americans will never be forgiven for this.
eutoday.net/us-intellige...
US Intelligence Ban Leads to Heavy Ukrainian Losses - https://eutoday.net
Reports indicate that the halt in intelligence support has resulted in heavy casualties among Ukrainian troops and has impacted their ability to conduct
eutoday.net
March 8, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Trump's cutting of Ukraine's access to intelligence feeds is already inflcting a catastrophic loss of life at the front.
And today, North Koreans are pouring over the border for the first time.
Americans will never be forgiven for this.
eutoday.net/us-intellige...
And today, North Koreans are pouring over the border for the first time.
Americans will never be forgiven for this.
eutoday.net/us-intellige...