Ewen McNeill
@ewenmcneill.bsky.social
Freelance IT consultant in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa.
Chaotic Lawful. They/Them.
I'm mostly using this account for reading rather than posting; my short form posts are on Mastodon -- https://cloudisland.nz/@ewenmcneill/
Chaotic Lawful. They/Them.
I'm mostly using this account for reading rather than posting; my short form posts are on Mastodon -- https://cloudisland.nz/@ewenmcneill/
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
I love taking photos of reflections, the dance of moving around to get just the right angle... This was taken a few years ago while wandering in Arches National Park.
Nikon D750, 24-70mm lens at 58mm, f8, ISO100, 1/50 second
Nikon D750, 24-70mm lens at 58mm, f8, ISO100, 1/50 second
December 7, 2025 at 4:23 PM
I love taking photos of reflections, the dance of moving around to get just the right angle... This was taken a few years ago while wandering in Arches National Park.
Nikon D750, 24-70mm lens at 58mm, f8, ISO100, 1/50 second
Nikon D750, 24-70mm lens at 58mm, f8, ISO100, 1/50 second
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
I spend so much time verifying everything now from art to cited sources to photos to historical references to citations to quotes to legal and medical information that it's really hard to fathom how much work AI has collectively added to the world, not reduced
Here's the reality this example illustrates:
It's not even just about people blindly trusting what ChatGPT tells them. LLMs are poisoning the entire information ecosystem. You can't even necessarily trust that the citations in a published paper are real (or a search engine's descriptions of them).
It's not even just about people blindly trusting what ChatGPT tells them. LLMs are poisoning the entire information ecosystem. You can't even necessarily trust that the citations in a published paper are real (or a search engine's descriptions of them).
December 7, 2025 at 2:58 AM
I spend so much time verifying everything now from art to cited sources to photos to historical references to citations to quotes to legal and medical information that it's really hard to fathom how much work AI has collectively added to the world, not reduced
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
Here is an ideal use of #bandcampfriday -- and organizers tell me they've already raised a lot through this initiative.
It comes at a key time, too, as many are assuming the g/cide is "over."
The live coding community is such a crucial model for openness, diversity, and giving back.
It comes at a key time, too, as many are assuming the g/cide is "over."
The live coding community is such a crucial model for openness, diversity, and giving back.
Compassion through algorithms: live coding Algorave giving to Palestinians - CDM Create Digital Music
They gathered for 24 hours in 70 live coding performances from around the world. Now Algorave has a 55-track album "full of really great music and noise from the live coding/algorithmic music communit...
cdm.link
December 5, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Here is an ideal use of #bandcampfriday -- and organizers tell me they've already raised a lot through this initiative.
It comes at a key time, too, as many are assuming the g/cide is "over."
The live coding community is such a crucial model for openness, diversity, and giving back.
It comes at a key time, too, as many are assuming the g/cide is "over."
The live coding community is such a crucial model for openness, diversity, and giving back.
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
At New Zealand's Kawaiican cybersecurity convention, organizers hacked together a way for attendees to track CO2 levels throughout the venue—even before they arrived. www.wired.com/story/this-h...
This Hacker Conference Installed a Literal Anti-Virus Monitoring System
At New Zealand's Kawaiican cybersecurity convention, organizers hacked together a way for attendees to track CO2 levels throughout the venue—even before they arrived.
www.wired.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:06 AM
At New Zealand's Kawaiican cybersecurity convention, organizers hacked together a way for attendees to track CO2 levels throughout the venue—even before they arrived. www.wired.com/story/this-h...
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
November 20, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
Dr. Siouxsie Wiles saved lives during the pandemic by educating the public about what was happening. During that time, she withstood relentless harassment from conspiracy theorists & went to court to force employers to protect people like her. Here's her story! 🧪 www.patreon.com/posts/142933...
This Scientist Saved Lives During COVID. Now She Needs Your Help | Rebecca Watson
Get more from Rebecca Watson on Patreon
www.patreon.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Dr. Siouxsie Wiles saved lives during the pandemic by educating the public about what was happening. During that time, she withstood relentless harassment from conspiracy theorists & went to court to force employers to protect people like her. Here's her story! 🧪 www.patreon.com/posts/142933...
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
The biggest moon of the year , shot with a 800mm lens yesterday evening above the Cunera Church in Rhenen, when it was rising behind a thin layer of clouds. The moon was about 8% bigger than normal because of its position to the earth.
November 7, 2025 at 8:45 PM
The biggest moon of the year , shot with a 800mm lens yesterday evening above the Cunera Church in Rhenen, when it was rising behind a thin layer of clouds. The moon was about 8% bigger than normal because of its position to the earth.
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
This is a really fascinating method to restore/improve on data that's on analog media.
At the basic level, stacking works by combining adding data from multiple identical sources (like various copies of the same record or laserdisc) and then simply dividing by the number of copies.
At the basic level, stacking works by combining adding data from multiple identical sources (like various copies of the same record or laserdisc) and then simply dividing by the number of copies.
For those Nerds interested in the stacking of laserdiscs - since its analog data we can improve it with stacking copies (similar to astrophotography techniques)
Here you can see it rejected 31 frames, also see some frames it got rid of and how it monitors via MSE (Mean Square Error)
Here you can see it rejected 31 frames, also see some frames it got rid of and how it monitors via MSE (Mean Square Error)
November 4, 2025 at 2:09 AM
This is a really fascinating method to restore/improve on data that's on analog media.
At the basic level, stacking works by combining adding data from multiple identical sources (like various copies of the same record or laserdisc) and then simply dividing by the number of copies.
At the basic level, stacking works by combining adding data from multiple identical sources (like various copies of the same record or laserdisc) and then simply dividing by the number of copies.
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
Exciting day today. Not only is it Halloween, but my crowdfunding campaign is also live! Please support me by making a pledge and/or sharing on all your socials and with your friends, family, and colleagues. Thanks to everyone offering rewards. You rock! www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/852...
Support Dr Siouxsie After She Supported Us! | PledgeMe
Support Dr Siouxsie to recover some of the money she spent fighting her legal case to protect employees experiencing online abuse
www.pledgeme.co.nz
October 30, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Exciting day today. Not only is it Halloween, but my crowdfunding campaign is also live! Please support me by making a pledge and/or sharing on all your socials and with your friends, family, and colleagues. Thanks to everyone offering rewards. You rock! www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/852...
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
thundergolfer.com/blog/aws-us-... I think is a much better outage summary than the one that AWS published. I understand the time pressure AWS was under to get something out, but I found the initial report to be quite baroque and hard to comprehend.
More Than DNS: The 14 hour AWS us-east-1 outage
A thorough review of a major cloud outage.
thundergolfer.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:24 AM
thundergolfer.com/blog/aws-us-... I think is a much better outage summary than the one that AWS published. I understand the time pressure AWS was under to get something out, but I found the initial report to be quite baroque and hard to comprehend.
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/NSF-...
🧵
🧵
The official home of the Python Programming Language
www.python.org
October 27, 2025 at 2:47 PM
TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/NSF-...
🧵
🧵
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
the former maintainers of Bundler and RubyGems have a proposal: we want to move Ruby forward andre.arko.net/2025/10/26/w...
We want to move Ruby forward
On September 9, without warning, Ruby Central kicked out the maintainers who have cared for Bundler and RubyGems for over a decade. Ruby Central made these changes against the established project poli...
andre.arko.net
October 26, 2025 at 4:45 AM
the former maintainers of Bundler and RubyGems have a proposal: we want to move Ruby forward andre.arko.net/2025/10/26/w...
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
Everyone tests in production. Some people just don’t know it yet
October 17, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Everyone tests in production. Some people just don’t know it yet
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
Another option to upgrade from Windows 10 is Windows 95.
It's 85 versions ahead, it will blow your mind how advanced it is.
It's 85 versions ahead, it will blow your mind how advanced it is.
October 14, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Another option to upgrade from Windows 10 is Windows 95.
It's 85 versions ahead, it will blow your mind how advanced it is.
It's 85 versions ahead, it will blow your mind how advanced it is.
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
Ruby Central said some really concerning things today. I don’t think they’re representing the situation accurately. andre.arko.net/2025/10/09/t...
The RubyGems “security incident”
Ruby Central posted an extremely concerning “Incident Response Timeline” today, in which they make a number of exaggerated or purely misleading claims. Here’s my effort to set the record straight.
Fir...
andre.arko.net
October 10, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Ruby Central said some really concerning things today. I don’t think they’re representing the situation accurately. andre.arko.net/2025/10/09/t...
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
I never doubted that André would have a calm, collected, and reasonable account of what happened. Ruby Central has eroded community trust and we should not let it erode our trust in each other.
The RubyGems “security incident”
Ruby Central posted an extremely concerning “Incident Response Timeline” today, in which they make a number of exaggerated or purely misleading claims. Here’s my effort to set the record straight. First, and most importantly: I was a primary operator of RubyGems.org, securely and successfully, for over ten years. Ruby Central does not accuse me of any harms or damages in their post, in fact stating “we have no evidence to indicate that any RubyGems.org data was copied or retained by unauthorized parties, including Mr. Arko.”
andre.arko.net
October 10, 2025 at 4:36 AM
I never doubted that André would have a calm, collected, and reasonable account of what happened. Ruby Central has eroded community trust and we should not let it erode our trust in each other.
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
Light & Shadow
I love the secret feature at Nine Elms London Underground station that reveals itself during a sunny day.
If you arrive at the perfect moment, the roundel logo is beautifully projected onto the floor.
So I took Dancer Andreya with me to interact with the scene.
I love the secret feature at Nine Elms London Underground station that reveals itself during a sunny day.
If you arrive at the perfect moment, the roundel logo is beautifully projected onto the floor.
So I took Dancer Andreya with me to interact with the scene.
October 6, 2025 at 6:54 AM
Light & Shadow
I love the secret feature at Nine Elms London Underground station that reveals itself during a sunny day.
If you arrive at the perfect moment, the roundel logo is beautifully projected onto the floor.
So I took Dancer Andreya with me to interact with the scene.
I love the secret feature at Nine Elms London Underground station that reveals itself during a sunny day.
If you arrive at the perfect moment, the roundel logo is beautifully projected onto the floor.
So I took Dancer Andreya with me to interact with the scene.
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
NEW from me:
In his 2nd term, Trump has pursued the largest trade war in modern US history—with 1 glaring omission. Computer imports are almost entirely exempt from tariffs
It's a special carveout that AI companies are now reliant on for their data center buildout🧵
www.apricitas.io/p/the-tariff...
In his 2nd term, Trump has pursued the largest trade war in modern US history—with 1 glaring omission. Computer imports are almost entirely exempt from tariffs
It's a special carveout that AI companies are now reliant on for their data center buildout🧵
www.apricitas.io/p/the-tariff...
The Tariff Exemption Behind the AI Boom
Data Centers get Tariff-Free Imports. Why Shouldn't we All?
www.apricitas.io
October 5, 2025 at 2:50 PM
NEW from me:
In his 2nd term, Trump has pursued the largest trade war in modern US history—with 1 glaring omission. Computer imports are almost entirely exempt from tariffs
It's a special carveout that AI companies are now reliant on for their data center buildout🧵
www.apricitas.io/p/the-tariff...
In his 2nd term, Trump has pursued the largest trade war in modern US history—with 1 glaring omission. Computer imports are almost entirely exempt from tariffs
It's a special carveout that AI companies are now reliant on for their data center buildout🧵
www.apricitas.io/p/the-tariff...
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
Discord customer service data breach leaks user info and scanned photo IDs
Discord customer service data breach leaks user info and scanned photo IDs
An “unauthorized party” may have accessed the names of users, the last four digits of credit card numbers, and more.
buff.ly
October 4, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Discord customer service data breach leaks user info and scanned photo IDs
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
Well this just made life a lot easier - ChatGPT hash cracking!
October 3, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Well this just made life a lot easier - ChatGPT hash cracking!
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
In the original set of photos, the brown buttonhole was done by Hedi Rochowanski, a bespoke tailor based in Vienna. The photos below were taken from Tutto Fatto a Mano. They show how such a buttonhole is made.
When done to the lapel, this adds a bit of flourish and demonstrates the tailor's skill.
When done to the lapel, this adds a bit of flourish and demonstrates the tailor's skill.
October 2, 2025 at 12:47 AM
In the original set of photos, the brown buttonhole was done by Hedi Rochowanski, a bespoke tailor based in Vienna. The photos below were taken from Tutto Fatto a Mano. They show how such a buttonhole is made.
When done to the lapel, this adds a bit of flourish and demonstrates the tailor's skill.
When done to the lapel, this adds a bit of flourish and demonstrates the tailor's skill.
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
the youtube vs yt-dlp arms race is hilarious, because of how lopsided it is.
on the one hand, you've got a company with the GDP of Denmark who has about a manhattan-project's worth of developers they can assign to this.
but on the other end, you've got every bored or annoyed javascript hacker.
on the one hand, you've got a company with the GDP of Denmark who has about a manhattan-project's worth of developers they can assign to this.
but on the other end, you've got every bored or annoyed javascript hacker.
October 1, 2025 at 12:02 AM
the youtube vs yt-dlp arms race is hilarious, because of how lopsided it is.
on the one hand, you've got a company with the GDP of Denmark who has about a manhattan-project's worth of developers they can assign to this.
but on the other end, you've got every bored or annoyed javascript hacker.
on the one hand, you've got a company with the GDP of Denmark who has about a manhattan-project's worth of developers they can assign to this.
but on the other end, you've got every bored or annoyed javascript hacker.
Reposted by Ewen McNeill
“Sidekiq withdrew its $250,000/year sponsorship for Ruby Central because they platformed DHH at RailsConf 2025”
joel.drapper.me/p/rubygems-t...
joel.drapper.me/p/rubygems-t...
Shopify, pulling strings at Ruby Central, forces Bundler and RubyGems takeover
Ruby Central recently took over a collection of open source projects from their maintainers without their consent.
joel.drapper.me
September 23, 2025 at 3:42 PM
“Sidekiq withdrew its $250,000/year sponsorship for Ruby Central because they platformed DHH at RailsConf 2025”
joel.drapper.me/p/rubygems-t...
joel.drapper.me/p/rubygems-t...