Ellen Ireland
@emireland.bsky.social
Public health specialist, but most people ask me "What's this plant?"
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
What a great headline
November 28, 2025 at 3:49 PM
What a great headline
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
Bluesky has nearly 40 million left-leaning users. Since many Democratic leaders & candidates are slow to build reach and engagement on Bluesky, my goal is to have 25k Iowa-focused followers by the end of '25 so I can amplify Democrats in 2026.
Everyone in #Iowa, please follow and share.
#VoteBlue
Everyone in #Iowa, please follow and share.
#VoteBlue
September 28, 2025 at 3:00 PM
I know that switching to paying cash for physical media isn't a realistic solution for everything, but consumers should start considering workarounds and solutions, because corporations do not and will not make things better. Airgaps & flashdrives.
That TF story you commissioned? Account banned.
That vore comic? Banned.
That custom puphood? Banned.
That latex catsuit? Banned.
That fursuit? Furries are called deviants and sexual so... Banned.
You went to a con? A furry one? Banned.
CALL YOUR PAYMENT PROVIDERS!
That vore comic? Banned.
That custom puphood? Banned.
That latex catsuit? Banned.
That fursuit? Furries are called deviants and sexual so... Banned.
You went to a con? A furry one? Banned.
CALL YOUR PAYMENT PROVIDERS!
PayPal user in the UK lost their account after buying adult ebooks “about monsters and milking,” “some dubcon stuff”
“My account got banned a couple of days ago for making purchases which violate the ToS. Upon querying w/ staff over the phone I've been told that it was ebooks that I've been buying”
“My account got banned a couple of days ago for making purchases which violate the ToS. Upon querying w/ staff over the phone I've been told that it was ebooks that I've been buying”
August 31, 2025 at 2:18 PM
I know that switching to paying cash for physical media isn't a realistic solution for everything, but consumers should start considering workarounds and solutions, because corporations do not and will not make things better. Airgaps & flashdrives.
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
#OpEd: The Tea app claims to make dating safer for straight women, but a copycat app for men shows the danger of allowing digital surveillance to stand in for "safety." Screenshots from TeaOnHer—already the second-most popular app in the Apple store—show it being used for misogyny and racism.
The Tea App Markets Itself As a Safe Whisper Network. It's Just More Digital Surveillance
The biggest red flag is that the Tea app seems to be an attempt to quick-fix on an individual level what is a structural problem — that is, misogyny — via surveillance culture.
tnvge.co
August 12, 2025 at 8:02 PM
#OpEd: The Tea app claims to make dating safer for straight women, but a copycat app for men shows the danger of allowing digital surveillance to stand in for "safety." Screenshots from TeaOnHer—already the second-most popular app in the Apple store—show it being used for misogyny and racism.
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
The CDC’s Publications on Demand office is closing, but you can order free materials until Friday, August 15.
Informational, fact-based materials are available here:
wwwn.cdc.gov/pubs/
Informational, fact-based materials are available here:
wwwn.cdc.gov/pubs/
August 12, 2025 at 10:07 PM
The CDC’s Publications on Demand office is closing, but you can order free materials until Friday, August 15.
Informational, fact-based materials are available here:
wwwn.cdc.gov/pubs/
Informational, fact-based materials are available here:
wwwn.cdc.gov/pubs/
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
Activating a national surveillance network to share with the police amidst a mass deportation push is comic book villainy.
Amazon Ring is re-pivoting back to surveillance, including introducing a new tool to let police request footage from Ring users again.
The reason they pivoted away was like...4 years of horrendously bad press, atrocious brand recognition, and hard pressure by activists around the country!
The reason they pivoted away was like...4 years of horrendously bad press, atrocious brand recognition, and hard pressure by activists around the country!
Amazon's Ring goes full founder mode, taking the company back to its crime-fighting roots
Ring founder Jamie Siminoff has returned to the Amazon doorbell business and is reinstating its crime-fighting mission while emphasizing AI efficiency
www.businessinsider.com
July 17, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Activating a national surveillance network to share with the police amidst a mass deportation push is comic book villainy.
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
Have just realized that the silly “Bezos wants to buy Vogue as a lavish wedding gift for his bride” story that’s been circulating is inaccurate - Bezos wants to buy Condé Nast which owns The New Yorker,Teen Vogue, Wired & Arts Technica because he is an oligarch who wants to crush all dissent.
July 15, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Have just realized that the silly “Bezos wants to buy Vogue as a lavish wedding gift for his bride” story that’s been circulating is inaccurate - Bezos wants to buy Condé Nast which owns The New Yorker,Teen Vogue, Wired & Arts Technica because he is an oligarch who wants to crush all dissent.
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
So… how can you protect yourself?
Customs and Border Protection has broad authority to search travelers’ devices when they cross into the United States. Here’s what you can do to protect your digital life while at the US border.
Customs and Border Protection has broad authority to search travelers’ devices when they cross into the United States. Here’s what you can do to protect your digital life while at the US border.
How to Protect Yourself From Phone Searches at the US Border
Customs and Border Protection has broad authority to search travelers’ devices when they cross into the United States. Here’s what you can do to protect your digital life while at the US border.
www.wired.com
July 3, 2025 at 5:30 PM
So… how can you protect yourself?
Customs and Border Protection has broad authority to search travelers’ devices when they cross into the United States. Here’s what you can do to protect your digital life while at the US border.
Customs and Border Protection has broad authority to search travelers’ devices when they cross into the United States. Here’s what you can do to protect your digital life while at the US border.
There are options other than using Spotify. If for some reason you really want to pay to stream music, I guess there's Tidal and others. Older article but still true. inthesetimes.com/article/spot...
How Spotify Is Quietly Supporting the Military-Industrial Complex
Unbeknownst to most users, Spotify has a secret endeavor—backing the efforts of war.
inthesetimes.com
July 3, 2025 at 4:16 PM
There are options other than using Spotify. If for some reason you really want to pay to stream music, I guess there's Tidal and others. Older article but still true. inthesetimes.com/article/spot...
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
Kevin Techau is suspending his campaign for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, citing insufficient fundraising. His exit leaves Democrats without a challenger to GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson, who has won three straight terms in the northeastern Iowa district.
July 1, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Kevin Techau is suspending his campaign for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, citing insufficient fundraising. His exit leaves Democrats without a challenger to GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson, who has won three straight terms in the northeastern Iowa district.
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
I feel like young David Cronenberg opened a drawer and was surprised by a very old potato at a formative age.
June 27, 2025 at 6:24 AM
I feel like young David Cronenberg opened a drawer and was surprised by a very old potato at a formative age.
I love the thing where a mystery/suspense show will have a theme song called "the midnight dance of the creepy dolls" and it is basically a minor key version of the Leave It To Beaver theme
June 18, 2025 at 12:55 PM
I love the thing where a mystery/suspense show will have a theme song called "the midnight dance of the creepy dolls" and it is basically a minor key version of the Leave It To Beaver theme
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
The Minnesota shooter apparently used data broker websites to find the home addresses of the people he shot and murdered.
Congress has had years to do something about data brokers and they've sided with the tech lobby over and over again.
Their inaction is deadly.
Congress has had years to do something about data brokers and they've sided with the tech lobby over and over again.
Their inaction is deadly.
June 16, 2025 at 10:56 PM
The Minnesota shooter apparently used data broker websites to find the home addresses of the people he shot and murdered.
Congress has had years to do something about data brokers and they've sided with the tech lobby over and over again.
Their inaction is deadly.
Congress has had years to do something about data brokers and they've sided with the tech lobby over and over again.
Their inaction is deadly.
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
Don't be shy.
Grab yourself a heapin' helpin' of free software. 🍴
Today's list of free software from OlderGeeks.com
Please share.
No ads - no crapware - no b.s. since 2008!
#computer #computers #tech
Grab yourself a heapin' helpin' of free software. 🍴
Today's list of free software from OlderGeeks.com
Please share.
No ads - no crapware - no b.s. since 2008!
#computer #computers #tech
June 6, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Don't be shy.
Grab yourself a heapin' helpin' of free software. 🍴
Today's list of free software from OlderGeeks.com
Please share.
No ads - no crapware - no b.s. since 2008!
#computer #computers #tech
Grab yourself a heapin' helpin' of free software. 🍴
Today's list of free software from OlderGeeks.com
Please share.
No ads - no crapware - no b.s. since 2008!
#computer #computers #tech
We talk about scientists in the US leaving the country. Many will leave science altogether, and many more will never become scientists. This is an old post I made about how grad school sucks.
June 4, 2025 at 10:14 PM
We talk about scientists in the US leaving the country. Many will leave science altogether, and many more will never become scientists. This is an old post I made about how grad school sucks.
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
tired: people AI-generating rando images of themselves as anime
WIRED: AI’s energy use already represents as much as 20 percent of global data-center power demand, new analysis has found
WIRED: AI’s energy use already represents as much as 20 percent of global data-center power demand, new analysis has found
AI Is Eating Data Center Power Demand—and It’s Only Getting Worse
A new analysis of AI hardware being produced and how it is being used attempts to estimate the vast amount of electricity being consumed by AI.
www.wired.com
May 22, 2025 at 7:25 PM
tired: people AI-generating rando images of themselves as anime
WIRED: AI’s energy use already represents as much as 20 percent of global data-center power demand, new analysis has found
WIRED: AI’s energy use already represents as much as 20 percent of global data-center power demand, new analysis has found
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
pitching my comic idea to DC: aquaman's new archnemesis is called Man Ray. no, not a half human half manta ray monster. Man Ray, the surrealist painter and photographer. he just challenges aquaman's preconceptions about formalism
May 23, 2025 at 3:23 PM
pitching my comic idea to DC: aquaman's new archnemesis is called Man Ray. no, not a half human half manta ray monster. Man Ray, the surrealist painter and photographer. he just challenges aquaman's preconceptions about formalism
Microsoft's Recall feature is now part of Windows 11. It does a screenshot every 3 seconds and feeds it into AI. They made it opt-in...for now. Please place your bets now for which update will switch it to opt-out!
Or get Steam or Mint or something, I don't know, I'm not your mom.
Or get Steam or Mint or something, I don't know, I'm not your mom.
May 16, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Microsoft's Recall feature is now part of Windows 11. It does a screenshot every 3 seconds and feeds it into AI. They made it opt-in...for now. Please place your bets now for which update will switch it to opt-out!
Or get Steam or Mint or something, I don't know, I'm not your mom.
Or get Steam or Mint or something, I don't know, I'm not your mom.
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
Time for another digital security PSA with guitar … here’s “All the Small Things” but it’s about scrubbing metadata from your photos before you post them 🤘
April 20, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Time for another digital security PSA with guitar … here’s “All the Small Things” but it’s about scrubbing metadata from your photos before you post them 🤘
Quick reminder that Google bought Fitbit a few years back, and was subject to a DOJ investigation as a result. At the time they said they would protect user privacy, but now they are forcing users to migrate from the Fitbit website to a Google account.
April 5, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Quick reminder that Google bought Fitbit a few years back, and was subject to a DOJ investigation as a result. At the time they said they would protect user privacy, but now they are forcing users to migrate from the Fitbit website to a Google account.
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
chatgpt has fully broken-through to every facet of the corporate environment. I'm spending a not-insignificant amount of my time every week now explaining to people that just because chatgpt told you that something was possible doesn't mean that it a) is or b) even exists
March 21, 2025 at 1:44 PM
chatgpt has fully broken-through to every facet of the corporate environment. I'm spending a not-insignificant amount of my time every week now explaining to people that just because chatgpt told you that something was possible doesn't mean that it a) is or b) even exists
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
Corey Doctorow: "Even by Amazon standards, this is extraordinarily sleazy: starting March 28, each Amazon Echo device will cease processing audio on-device and instead upload all the audio it captures to Amazon's cloud for processing, even if you have previously opted out of cloud-based processing"
Everything you say to your Echo will be sent to Amazon starting on March 28
Amazon is killing a privacy feature to bolster Alexa+, the new subscription assistant.
arstechnica.com
March 15, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Corey Doctorow: "Even by Amazon standards, this is extraordinarily sleazy: starting March 28, each Amazon Echo device will cease processing audio on-device and instead upload all the audio it captures to Amazon's cloud for processing, even if you have previously opted out of cloud-based processing"
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
Alright doomscroll friends, here's a thread to 📌 on safeguarding yourself.
First, a guide to protecting yourself from government surveillance as Donald Trump vows to go after his enemies and exploit America’s digital surveillance machine to do so.
First, a guide to protecting yourself from government surveillance as Donald Trump vows to go after his enemies and exploit America’s digital surveillance machine to do so.
The WIRED Guide to Protecting Yourself From Government Surveillance
Donald Trump has vowed to deport millions and jail his enemies. To carry out that agenda, his administration will exploit America’s digital surveillance machine. Here are some steps you can take to ev...
www.wired.com
March 13, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Alright doomscroll friends, here's a thread to 📌 on safeguarding yourself.
First, a guide to protecting yourself from government surveillance as Donald Trump vows to go after his enemies and exploit America’s digital surveillance machine to do so.
First, a guide to protecting yourself from government surveillance as Donald Trump vows to go after his enemies and exploit America’s digital surveillance machine to do so.
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
(Corporations didn’t actually invent space and planets, despite the patents the company had tried to file.)
March 12, 2025 at 3:37 AM
(Corporations didn’t actually invent space and planets, despite the patents the company had tried to file.)
Reposted by Ellen Ireland
Pinterest updated their terms of use and they're going to use all of the content you saved to train their AI.
Go to options > your privacy rights > disable GenAI
Please do it 🫠
Go to options > your privacy rights > disable GenAI
Please do it 🫠
March 7, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Pinterest updated their terms of use and they're going to use all of the content you saved to train their AI.
Go to options > your privacy rights > disable GenAI
Please do it 🫠
Go to options > your privacy rights > disable GenAI
Please do it 🫠