Rob Williamson
@eswag.dju.social.ap.brid.gy
I program #SpringBoot web services and have now managed to avoid managing people. I used to program dev tools & before that, program mobile phones.
Once ran the same early […]
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://dju.social/@eswag, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
Once ran the same early […]
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://dju.social/@eswag, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
[EU politics GDPR]
It's so fucking tiresome. This might actually be a use case for appropriately contexted llm.
LLM did you do a fuckery again?
EU Commissioner er, no?
LLM what is this? https://www.brusselstimes.com/1835654/secret-eu-plans-to-allow-big-tech-to-train-ai-with-our-personal-data […]
It's so fucking tiresome. This might actually be a use case for appropriately contexted llm.
LLM did you do a fuckery again?
EU Commissioner er, no?
LLM what is this? https://www.brusselstimes.com/1835654/secret-eu-plans-to-allow-big-tech-to-train-ai-with-our-personal-data […]
Original post on dju.social
dju.social
November 14, 2025 at 10:37 PM
[EU politics GDPR]
It's so fucking tiresome. This might actually be a use case for appropriately contexted llm.
LLM did you do a fuckery again?
EU Commissioner er, no?
LLM what is this? https://www.brusselstimes.com/1835654/secret-eu-plans-to-allow-big-tech-to-train-ai-with-our-personal-data […]
It's so fucking tiresome. This might actually be a use case for appropriately contexted llm.
LLM did you do a fuckery again?
EU Commissioner er, no?
LLM what is this? https://www.brusselstimes.com/1835654/secret-eu-plans-to-allow-big-tech-to-train-ai-with-our-personal-data […]
Reposted by Rob Williamson
Govt greenlights EUR 100 mln French grant to rebuild infrastructure in 2026-2027 #Ukraine
Govt greenlights EUR 100 mln French grant to rebuild infrastructure in 2026-2027
en.interfax.com.ua
November 14, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Govt greenlights EUR 100 mln French grant to rebuild infrastructure in 2026-2027 #Ukraine
Reposted by Rob Williamson
Wild graphic on front page of WSJ.
November 14, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Wild graphic on front page of WSJ.
Reposted by Rob Williamson
Good Law Project we’re in court this week holding the EHRC to account over their flawed approach to policy on the spaces trans people can access and now they want OUR help to tackle BBC transphobia.
https://us11.campaign-archive.com/?e=e00287e0db&u=f1c42fae5214b3ee59aab75ab&id=c77e09859c
https://us11.campaign-archive.com/?e=e00287e0db&u=f1c42fae5214b3ee59aab75ab&id=c77e09859c
November 14, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Good Law Project we’re in court this week holding the EHRC to account over their flawed approach to policy on the spaces trans people can access and now they want OUR help to tackle BBC transphobia.
https://us11.campaign-archive.com/?e=e00287e0db&u=f1c42fae5214b3ee59aab75ab&id=c77e09859c
https://us11.campaign-archive.com/?e=e00287e0db&u=f1c42fae5214b3ee59aab75ab&id=c77e09859c
Reposted by Rob Williamson
I guess it required a study to confirm that being a lame racist zealot with a head full of cottage cheese is bad for business
Elon Musk's "polarizing and partisan actions" hurt Tesla sales, Yale study finds
Elon Musk's partisan stances and foray into politics in recent years have dented the electric vehicle maker's business, Yale researchers say.
www.cbsnews.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:51 PM
I guess it required a study to confirm that being a lame racist zealot with a head full of cottage cheese is bad for business
Reposted by Rob Williamson
As of now, all 76 replies on Mozilla's AI feature announcement on its own forum are "don't do this" (the majority) or at the very least "don't force users into it": https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/building-ai-the-firefox-way-shaping-what-s-next-together/td-p/109922
The response at […]
The response at […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 14, 2025 at 2:59 PM
As of now, all 76 replies on Mozilla's AI feature announcement on its own forum are "don't do this" (the majority) or at the very least "don't force users into it": https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/building-ai-the-firefox-way-shaping-what-s-next-together/td-p/109922
The response at […]
The response at […]
Reposted by Rob Williamson
Motion to replace “go viral” with “go mycelial”
November 14, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Motion to replace “go viral” with “go mycelial”
Reposted by Rob Williamson
RE: https://mstdn.social/@iryna/115548474029660158
Coming soon to a European city near you!
#UkraineWar
Coming soon to a European city near you!
#UkraineWar
mstdn.social
November 14, 2025 at 3:46 PM
RE: https://mstdn.social/@iryna/115548474029660158
Coming soon to a European city near you!
#UkraineWar
Coming soon to a European city near you!
#UkraineWar
Reposted by Rob Williamson
I’ve been testing a theory: many people who are high on #ai and #LLMs are just new to automation and don’t realize you can automate processes with simple programming, if/then conditions, and API calls with zero AI involved.
So far it’s been working!
Whenever I’ve been asked to make an AI flow […]
So far it’s been working!
Whenever I’ve been asked to make an AI flow […]
Original post on hachyderm.io
hachyderm.io
November 14, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by Rob Williamson
Deutsche Telekom in the 90s: let's lobby HARD to get everyone to use copper lines instead of fiber.
Experts back then: you will regret this, it will be expensive to do fiber later. You will basically pay twice.
Deutsche Telekom now: Oh noes, we now have to put fiber everywhere. That's expensive […]
Experts back then: you will regret this, it will be expensive to do fiber later. You will basically pay twice.
Deutsche Telekom now: Oh noes, we now have to put fiber everywhere. That's expensive […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 14, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Deutsche Telekom in the 90s: let's lobby HARD to get everyone to use copper lines instead of fiber.
Experts back then: you will regret this, it will be expensive to do fiber later. You will basically pay twice.
Deutsche Telekom now: Oh noes, we now have to put fiber everywhere. That's expensive […]
Experts back then: you will regret this, it will be expensive to do fiber later. You will basically pay twice.
Deutsche Telekom now: Oh noes, we now have to put fiber everywhere. That's expensive […]
Reposted by Rob Williamson
I don’t think Zack Polanski or the Greens are perfect - far from it. But the smug, patronising attitude towards them from the so-called 'elite', including the media, is infuriating.
You’d think by now they’d realise people are sick of the “serious […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
You’d think by now they’d realise people are sick of the “serious […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
November 13, 2025 at 7:09 PM
I don’t think Zack Polanski or the Greens are perfect - far from it. But the smug, patronising attitude towards them from the so-called 'elite', including the media, is infuriating.
You’d think by now they’d realise people are sick of the “serious […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
You’d think by now they’d realise people are sick of the “serious […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
Reposted by Rob Williamson
[Workity Work! Nearing the end of the pool scrubbing report]
So I reimplemented a critical piece of That R Code in Python back in May or July. Wrote a brief memo on it and set it aside because of priorities. Recently it's become relevant for a different project so I spent the past three weeks […]
So I reimplemented a critical piece of That R Code in Python back in May or July. Wrote a brief memo on it and set it aside because of priorities. Recently it's become relevant for a different project so I spent the past three weeks […]
Original post on oldbytes.space
oldbytes.space
November 14, 2025 at 6:54 AM
[Workity Work! Nearing the end of the pool scrubbing report]
So I reimplemented a critical piece of That R Code in Python back in May or July. Wrote a brief memo on it and set it aside because of priorities. Recently it's become relevant for a different project so I spent the past three weeks […]
So I reimplemented a critical piece of That R Code in Python back in May or July. Wrote a brief memo on it and set it aside because of priorities. Recently it's become relevant for a different project so I spent the past three weeks […]
Reposted by Rob Williamson
Okay, but hear me out, what if we produce an entire generation of students who are *all* the ones who did nothing in the group project?
November 13, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Okay, but hear me out, what if we produce an entire generation of students who are *all* the ones who did nothing in the group project?
Reposted by Rob Williamson
If only our society took major crimes by rich people as seriously as minor crimes by poor people. Ideally more seriously. But as seriously would be a big improvement.
November 13, 2025 at 5:56 AM
If only our society took major crimes by rich people as seriously as minor crimes by poor people. Ideally more seriously. But as seriously would be a big improvement.
Reposted by Rob Williamson
Have I mentioned how much I like Nicole Mortillaro? Great article, includes quotes from @JohnBarentine (there were various good reasons why she didn't interview me for this one, but fortunately a lot of other astronomers besides me are really worried about Reflect Orbital's thoughtless plan) […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Have I mentioned how much I like Nicole Mortillaro? Great article, includes quotes from @JohnBarentine (there were various good reasons why she didn't interview me for this one, but fortunately a lot of other astronomers besides me are really worried about Reflect Orbital's thoughtless plan) […]
Reposted by Rob Williamson
Adding to this Reflect Orbital thread: @startswithabang wrote a thorough analysis of all the ways that Reflect Orbital is a terrible idea. Have a read! https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/true-cost-solar-power-night-reflect-orbital/
The true cost of "solar power at night" with Reflect Orbital
Solar power has the disadvantage that there's no Sun at night. Satellite startup Reflect Orbital wants to change that, but at what cost?
bigthink.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Adding to this Reflect Orbital thread: @startswithabang wrote a thorough analysis of all the ways that Reflect Orbital is a terrible idea. Have a read! https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/true-cost-solar-power-night-reflect-orbital/
Reposted by Rob Williamson
This article by two astronomers details many of the points I just talked about and more, and just came out in The Conversation Australia, perfect timing: https://theconversation.com/a-us-startup-plans-to-deliver-sunlight-on-demand-after-dark-can-it-work-and-would-we-want-it-to-264323
A US startup plans to deliver ‘sunlight on demand’ after dark. Can it work – and would we want it to?
Satellites beaming sunlight down to Earth sound like science fiction – and they have astronomers very worried.
theconversation.com
October 9, 2025 at 8:59 PM
This article by two astronomers details many of the points I just talked about and more, and just came out in The Conversation Australia, perfect timing: https://theconversation.com/a-us-startup-plans-to-deliver-sunlight-on-demand-after-dark-can-it-work-and-would-we-want-it-to-264323
Reposted by Rob Williamson
What can you do? The FCC never opened up a comment period on RO's filing for launch, so there's no official way to protest. They may open it up later? Absolutely no info on that.
DarkSky International is working on a petition to be delivered to RO's misguided investors, I will share that as […]
DarkSky International is working on a petition to be delivered to RO's misguided investors, I will share that as […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
October 9, 2025 at 5:36 PM
What can you do? The FCC never opened up a comment period on RO's filing for launch, so there's no official way to protest. They may open it up later? Absolutely no info on that.
DarkSky International is working on a petition to be delivered to RO's misguided investors, I will share that as […]
DarkSky International is working on a petition to be delivered to RO's misguided investors, I will share that as […]
Reposted by Rob Williamson
There are already solutions right here on Earth to many of the problems “sunlight as a
service” purports to solve. This approach is simply a reckless and inefficient use of
Earth orbit, a precious and finite resource.
This list of facts was developed by me and a bunch of very concerned […]
service” purports to solve. This approach is simply a reckless and inefficient use of
Earth orbit, a precious and finite resource.
This list of facts was developed by me and a bunch of very concerned […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
October 9, 2025 at 5:33 PM
There are already solutions right here on Earth to many of the problems “sunlight as a
service” purports to solve. This approach is simply a reckless and inefficient use of
Earth orbit, a precious and finite resource.
This list of facts was developed by me and a bunch of very concerned […]
service” purports to solve. This approach is simply a reckless and inefficient use of
Earth orbit, a precious and finite resource.
This list of facts was developed by me and a bunch of very concerned […]
Reposted by Rob Williamson
Large reflector cross-sections also mean a much higher collision risk from micrometeorites and non-trackable orbital debris. Using typical rates https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027311772030644X at 625km altitude (the orbit RO proposes to use), such reflectors could expect […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
October 9, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Large reflector cross-sections also mean a much higher collision risk from micrometeorites and non-trackable orbital debris. Using typical rates https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027311772030644X at 625km altitude (the orbit RO proposes to use), such reflectors could expect […]
Reposted by Rob Williamson
The costs to orbital safety:
“Sunlight as a service” requires huge mirrors in orbit, which would increase the likelihood of collisions between satellites.
Loss of control could lead to tumbling, causing erratic, bright flashes in the sky.
“Sunlight as a service” requires huge mirrors in orbit, which would increase the likelihood of collisions between satellites.
Loss of control could lead to tumbling, causing erratic, bright flashes in the sky.
October 9, 2025 at 5:30 PM
The costs to orbital safety:
“Sunlight as a service” requires huge mirrors in orbit, which would increase the likelihood of collisions between satellites.
Loss of control could lead to tumbling, causing erratic, bright flashes in the sky.
“Sunlight as a service” requires huge mirrors in orbit, which would increase the likelihood of collisions between satellites.
Loss of control could lead to tumbling, causing erratic, bright flashes in the sky.
Reposted by Rob Williamson
The costs to ecology:
These are too numerous to even try to list.
All life on Earth – including humans, migrating birds, pollinating insects, plankton in the oceans – depends on the natural day-night cycle of light and darkness. Many hundreds of scientific studies document the importance to […]
These are too numerous to even try to list.
All life on Earth – including humans, migrating birds, pollinating insects, plankton in the oceans – depends on the natural day-night cycle of light and darkness. Many hundreds of scientific studies document the importance to […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
October 9, 2025 at 5:29 PM
The costs to ecology:
These are too numerous to even try to list.
All life on Earth – including humans, migrating birds, pollinating insects, plankton in the oceans – depends on the natural day-night cycle of light and darkness. Many hundreds of scientific studies document the importance to […]
These are too numerous to even try to list.
All life on Earth – including humans, migrating birds, pollinating insects, plankton in the oceans – depends on the natural day-night cycle of light and darkness. Many hundreds of scientific studies document the importance to […]
Reposted by Rob Williamson
Similar to astronomical observing with a full moon in the sky, it would restrict observations to only the very brightest handful of stars and planets. This would cause the vast majority of astronomy research to be impossible while one or more of these satellites is above the horizon.
Directly […]
Directly […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
October 9, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Similar to astronomical observing with a full moon in the sky, it would restrict observations to only the very brightest handful of stars and planets. This would cause the vast majority of astronomy research to be impossible while one or more of these satellites is above the horizon.
Directly […]
Directly […]
Reposted by Rob Williamson
The costs to astronomy:
Have you noticed how bright the sky is the last few nights with the very bright nearly-full moon? Now imagine a point source 4x brighter, and moving across the sky. That's what they want to do
Astronomy requires dark skies to see faint celestial objects. Due to […]
Have you noticed how bright the sky is the last few nights with the very bright nearly-full moon? Now imagine a point source 4x brighter, and moving across the sky. That's what they want to do
Astronomy requires dark skies to see faint celestial objects. Due to […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
October 9, 2025 at 5:28 PM
The costs to astronomy:
Have you noticed how bright the sky is the last few nights with the very bright nearly-full moon? Now imagine a point source 4x brighter, and moving across the sky. That's what they want to do
Astronomy requires dark skies to see faint celestial objects. Due to […]
Have you noticed how bright the sky is the last few nights with the very bright nearly-full moon? Now imagine a point source 4x brighter, and moving across the sky. That's what they want to do
Astronomy requires dark skies to see faint celestial objects. Due to […]