epw
@epw.better.boston.ap.brid.gy
Not just a lurker!
Putting these here doesn't prove anything about my actions, but at least it might annoy some of the people I want to annoy: Black Lives Matter […]
[bridged from https://better.boston/@epw on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]
Putting these here doesn't prove anything about my actions, but at least it might annoy some of the people I want to annoy: Black Lives Matter […]
[bridged from https://better.boston/@epw on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]
Reposted by epw
My wife doesn't want me to make a fountain out of mercury
I was starting to come up with a great plan! Estimating about 30 liters, which is about 400kg, which our floors could handle, and the price would be comparable to a bathroom remodel
I was starting to come up with a great plan! Estimating about 30 liters, which is about 400kg, which our floors could handle, and the price would be comparable to a bathroom remodel
February 9, 2026 at 4:08 AM
My wife doesn't want me to make a fountain out of mercury
I was starting to come up with a great plan! Estimating about 30 liters, which is about 400kg, which our floors could handle, and the price would be comparable to a bathroom remodel
I was starting to come up with a great plan! Estimating about 30 liters, which is about 400kg, which our floors could handle, and the price would be comparable to a bathroom remodel
Reposted by epw
Worth noting, perhaps, that we’ve been doing this for a year now.
I remain optimistic, but goddamn I’m exhausted.
bsky.app/profile/some...
9/9
I remain optimistic, but goddamn I’m exhausted.
bsky.app/profile/some...
9/9
The protest downtown today was well attended. Big thanks to everybody who showed up on a chilly day.
1/?
1/?
February 4, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Worth noting, perhaps, that we’ve been doing this for a year now.
I remain optimistic, but goddamn I’m exhausted.
bsky.app/profile/some...
9/9
I remain optimistic, but goddamn I’m exhausted.
bsky.app/profile/some...
9/9
Reposted by epw
today i'm back to reading this paper by @grimalkina about contest cultures and brilliance traps in software and I'm going to try to live tweet some notes because reading papers is hard
https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/2gej5_v2
(1/?)
https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/2gej5_v2
(1/?)
OSF
osf.io
January 28, 2026 at 7:34 PM
today i'm back to reading this paper by @grimalkina about contest cultures and brilliance traps in software and I'm going to try to live tweet some notes because reading papers is hard
https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/2gej5_v2
(1/?)
https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/2gej5_v2
(1/?)
Reposted by epw
I'm #colorblind and I use https://xkcd.com/color/rgb/ frequently.
Randall 'xkcd' Monroe did a survey of over 100,000 readers where he showed them random rgb colors and said "what would you call this?" and afterwards he did his best to sort the results into the most popular color names and the […]
Randall 'xkcd' Monroe did a survey of over 100,000 readers where he showed them random rgb colors and said "what would you call this?" and afterwards he did his best to sort the results into the most popular color names and the […]
Original post on bark.lgbt
bark.lgbt
January 27, 2026 at 4:53 PM
I'm #colorblind and I use https://xkcd.com/color/rgb/ frequently.
Randall 'xkcd' Monroe did a survey of over 100,000 readers where he showed them random rgb colors and said "what would you call this?" and afterwards he did his best to sort the results into the most popular color names and the […]
Randall 'xkcd' Monroe did a survey of over 100,000 readers where he showed them random rgb colors and said "what would you call this?" and afterwards he did his best to sort the results into the most popular color names and the […]
Reposted by epw
Dr. Gladys West,
the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology,
has died. She passed away Saturday, surrounded by her loving family. She was 95.
Born into poverty on a Virginia farm during the Jim Crow era, West grew up in a segregated South where […]
the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology,
has died. She passed away Saturday, surrounded by her loving family. She was 95.
Born into poverty on a Virginia farm during the Jim Crow era, West grew up in a segregated South where […]
Original post on c.im
c.im
January 20, 2026 at 1:00 AM
Dr. Gladys West,
the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology,
has died. She passed away Saturday, surrounded by her loving family. She was 95.
Born into poverty on a Virginia farm during the Jim Crow era, West grew up in a segregated South where […]
the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology,
has died. She passed away Saturday, surrounded by her loving family. She was 95.
Born into poverty on a Virginia farm during the Jim Crow era, West grew up in a segregated South where […]
Reposted by epw
For #genuary18, the prompt is an unexpected path that follows a very simple rule. My "simple" rule returns to the concept of "odious numbers": if ⌈x⋅y⌉ is odious, turn 60 degrees counterclockwise. Otherwise, turn 60 degrees clockwise. Here, three paths with […]
[Original post on universeodon.com]
[Original post on universeodon.com]
January 18, 2026 at 3:23 PM
For #genuary18, the prompt is an unexpected path that follows a very simple rule. My "simple" rule returns to the concept of "odious numbers": if ⌈x⋅y⌉ is odious, turn 60 degrees counterclockwise. Otherwise, turn 60 degrees clockwise. Here, three paths with […]
[Original post on universeodon.com]
[Original post on universeodon.com]
Reposted by epw
What are you looking for in social media? (2/N)
It's not just a rhetorical question, I really am curious!
You can respond with a reply to this post, via the pol.is conversation here, or -- if you're on fedi -- in the polls below.
It's not just a rhetorical question, I really am curious!
You can respond with a reply to this post, via the pol.is conversation here, or -- if you're on fedi -- in the polls below.
Polis
pol.is
January 1, 2026 at 11:55 PM
What are you looking for in social media? (2/N)
It's not just a rhetorical question, I really am curious!
You can respond with a reply to this post, via the pol.is conversation here, or -- if you're on fedi -- in the polls below.
It's not just a rhetorical question, I really am curious!
You can respond with a reply to this post, via the pol.is conversation here, or -- if you're on fedi -- in the polls below.
Reposted by epw
Reasons for optimism at the turn of the year: reflections on the fediverses, the ATmosphere, and whatever comes next
https://privacy.thenexus.today/reasons-for-optimism-at-the-turn-of-the-year/
#fediverse #activitypub #atmosphere
https://privacy.thenexus.today/reasons-for-optimism-at-the-turn-of-the-year/
#fediverse #activitypub #atmosphere
Reasons for optimism at the turn of the year: reflections on the fediverses, the ATmosphere, and whatever comes next
There really is a lot of exciting stuff happening!
privacy.thenexus.today
January 1, 2026 at 7:32 AM
Reasons for optimism at the turn of the year: reflections on the fediverses, the ATmosphere, and whatever comes next
https://privacy.thenexus.today/reasons-for-optimism-at-the-turn-of-the-year/
#fediverse #activitypub #atmosphere
https://privacy.thenexus.today/reasons-for-optimism-at-the-turn-of-the-year/
#fediverse #activitypub #atmosphere
Reposted by epw
Lately I have noticed that when you purchase a ticket you don’t get a static PDF/PNG anymore.
Increasingly often, you get a .pkpass file, which is supposed to be opened in wallet apps (like Google Wallet or any 3rd-party).
Since I don’t like to share information about the events I attend with […]
Increasingly often, you get a .pkpass file, which is supposed to be opened in wallet apps (like Google Wallet or any 3rd-party).
Since I don’t like to share information about the events I attend with […]
Original post on manganiello.eu
manganiello.eu
December 24, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Lately I have noticed that when you purchase a ticket you don’t get a static PDF/PNG anymore.
Increasingly often, you get a .pkpass file, which is supposed to be opened in wallet apps (like Google Wallet or any 3rd-party).
Since I don’t like to share information about the events I attend with […]
Increasingly often, you get a .pkpass file, which is supposed to be opened in wallet apps (like Google Wallet or any 3rd-party).
Since I don’t like to share information about the events I attend with […]
Reposted by epw
Happy holidays, fediverse!
I got you a megathrust earthquake, soil liquefaction, spine-tingling papers about the way our networks confound knowledge, and a PDF in a pear tree. It's my wrap on a year of trying to make sense of how we make sense of what's happening to us […]
I got you a megathrust earthquake, soil liquefaction, spine-tingling papers about the way our networks confound knowledge, and a PDF in a pear tree. It's my wrap on a year of trying to make sense of how we make sense of what's happening to us […]
Original post on mas.to
mas.to
December 23, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Happy holidays, fediverse!
I got you a megathrust earthquake, soil liquefaction, spine-tingling papers about the way our networks confound knowledge, and a PDF in a pear tree. It's my wrap on a year of trying to make sense of how we make sense of what's happening to us […]
I got you a megathrust earthquake, soil liquefaction, spine-tingling papers about the way our networks confound knowledge, and a PDF in a pear tree. It's my wrap on a year of trying to make sense of how we make sense of what's happening to us […]
Reposted by epw
I find myself out walking around Union Square this morning, and I’m thinking about the vacancy rate in our ground floor commercial space.
Let’s just see what’s available.
First up, the former home of the SMC and MAPS. Just sitting there.
1/?
Let’s just see what’s available.
First up, the former home of the SMC and MAPS. Just sitting there.
1/?
December 21, 2025 at 4:02 PM
I find myself out walking around Union Square this morning, and I’m thinking about the vacancy rate in our ground floor commercial space.
Let’s just see what’s available.
First up, the former home of the SMC and MAPS. Just sitting there.
1/?
Let’s just see what’s available.
First up, the former home of the SMC and MAPS. Just sitting there.
1/?
Reposted by epw
It has problems that mean it doesn't scale to the needs of the Web writ-large, but I want to take a moment to appreciate the security/auth model for Gemini¹:
• All servers use self-signed certificates, and clients use Trust on First Use (TOFU).
• Clients can create any number of client […]
• All servers use self-signed certificates, and clients use Trust on First Use (TOFU).
• Clients can create any number of client […]
Original post on wandering.shop
wandering.shop
December 17, 2025 at 8:19 PM
It has problems that mean it doesn't scale to the needs of the Web writ-large, but I want to take a moment to appreciate the security/auth model for Gemini¹:
• All servers use self-signed certificates, and clients use Trust on First Use (TOFU).
• Clients can create any number of client […]
• All servers use self-signed certificates, and clients use Trust on First Use (TOFU).
• Clients can create any number of client […]
Reposted by epw
Thinking about how English dropped much of the _informal_ grammar and word forms and left only formal forms. Like, modern English would sound extremely formal to Shakespeare; and older English words like “thee” and “thou” only sound fancy to modern speakers because they're rare and archaic
December 17, 2025 at 5:52 AM
Thinking about how English dropped much of the _informal_ grammar and word forms and left only formal forms. Like, modern English would sound extremely formal to Shakespeare; and older English words like “thee” and “thou” only sound fancy to modern speakers because they're rare and archaic
Just so I've written it down somewhere: I realized I could simplify sharing #ssh configs across my desktop, laptop, server, and phone, by using the `Include config.d/*` directive in ~/.ssh/config, and making ~/.ssh/config.d/ by a symlink to a subdirectory in my #syncthing setup.
Much easier […]
Much easier […]
Original post on better.boston
better.boston
December 16, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Just so I've written it down somewhere: I realized I could simplify sharing #ssh configs across my desktop, laptop, server, and phone, by using the `Include config.d/*` directive in ~/.ssh/config, and making ~/.ssh/config.d/ by a symlink to a subdirectory in my #syncthing setup.
Much easier […]
Much easier […]
Reposted by epw
I think that schools should take on this role.
You could have a server for a school with mastodon, but not connected to the rest of the fedi, you could network with similar schools. Just like at the school dance the teachers are around so there are limits to how it's used.
Teens could post […]
You could have a server for a school with mastodon, but not connected to the rest of the fedi, you could network with similar schools. Just like at the school dance the teachers are around so there are limits to how it's used.
Teens could post […]
Original post on sauropods.win
sauropods.win
December 14, 2025 at 1:54 PM
I think that schools should take on this role.
You could have a server for a school with mastodon, but not connected to the rest of the fedi, you could network with similar schools. Just like at the school dance the teachers are around so there are limits to how it's used.
Teens could post […]
You could have a server for a school with mastodon, but not connected to the rest of the fedi, you could network with similar schools. Just like at the school dance the teachers are around so there are limits to how it's used.
Teens could post […]
Reposted by epw
New Yorker magazine should have a diaresis over one of the zeros in its 100-year anniversary logo.
December 14, 2025 at 1:07 PM
New Yorker magazine should have a diaresis over one of the zeros in its 100-year anniversary logo.
Reposted by epw
I have discovered that teaching programming goes much better with my fifth grade students if I take the time to teach them about all the symbols I think of as "normal" that are totally new to them.
"These are square brackets, you'll find them over the 'enter' key we use them for lists. In […]
"These are square brackets, you'll find them over the 'enter' key we use them for lists. In […]
Original post on sauropods.win
sauropods.win
December 13, 2025 at 12:31 PM
I have discovered that teaching programming goes much better with my fifth grade students if I take the time to teach them about all the symbols I think of as "normal" that are totally new to them.
"These are square brackets, you'll find them over the 'enter' key we use them for lists. In […]
"These are square brackets, you'll find them over the 'enter' key we use them for lists. In […]
Reposted by epw
community action at a distance
November 29, 2025 at 11:09 PM
community action at a distance
Reposted by epw
Discussion I am having with friends that I thought I would bring to the broader internet: What would you consider the most iconic leitmotifs of 21st century film and tv?
(this discussion inspired by watching Pirates of the Caribbean last night)
(this discussion inspired by watching Pirates of the Caribbean last night)
November 21, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Discussion I am having with friends that I thought I would bring to the broader internet: What would you consider the most iconic leitmotifs of 21st century film and tv?
(this discussion inspired by watching Pirates of the Caribbean last night)
(this discussion inspired by watching Pirates of the Caribbean last night)
Reposted by epw
Try my new file format, OCSV: Oxford Comma Separated Values
November 1, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Try my new file format, OCSV: Oxford Comma Separated Values
Reposted by epw
It's done! #chatcontrol is officially of the table after the danish EU council presidency drops it for good. It's a small but important victory!
Thanks again to @chatcontrol for coordinating grassroots interventions, and everyone else, especially on the fediverse, for joining efforts to […]
Thanks again to @chatcontrol for coordinating grassroots interventions, and everyone else, especially on the fediverse, for joining efforts to […]
Original post on chaos.social
chaos.social
October 31, 2025 at 8:51 AM
It's done! #chatcontrol is officially of the table after the danish EU council presidency drops it for good. It's a small but important victory!
Thanks again to @chatcontrol for coordinating grassroots interventions, and everyone else, especially on the fediverse, for joining efforts to […]
Thanks again to @chatcontrol for coordinating grassroots interventions, and everyone else, especially on the fediverse, for joining efforts to […]