Mark Roy Long
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markroylong.bsky.social
Mark Roy Long
@markroylong.bsky.social
@thewacoinsider.bsky.social by night | Wolfram by day | Once taught English, then published other people’s books, then taught English again | Now writing articles that don’t flinch
New podcast episode about decade-long feud over a parking lot across the street from Pinewood turned into a story about how neighborhoods change—and what it costs to make peace.

🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/25I7...
October 11, 2025 at 4:15 PM
New words about The Mexican Standoff show at Texas Music Cafe in Waco on Friday night—trust me, I'll be there in the front row for this sonic knife fight!
✍️ www.instagram.com/p/DO_Jj1TEfnd/
September 24, 2025 at 8:46 PM
The best fries in Waco started out out as a Korean pancake recipe—get the full story on the latest episode of Your Waco Weekend: open.spotify.com/episode/2R3A...
Kitok Restaurant
open.spotify.com
September 19, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Metalcore rule: the harder the name is to read, the harder they thrash. If you know, you know. If not? Squint harder, dad.
Full breakdown on insta: www.instagram.com/p/DJaBGNuNx9k/
#wacosoundcheck
May 8, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Never was a big UK new wave guy, but Terry Chambers’ EXTC show at Texas Music Café this Friday night caught my eye. Offbeat band. Perfect venue. Wrote some words about it.

#wacosoundcheck
EXTC & The Listening Room of Misfit Toys
Terry Chambers—best known for keeping time in XTC, the cult new wave heroes of the late ’70s—brings EXTC, his project, to Texas Music Café.
wacoinsider.com
May 5, 2025 at 9:16 PM
A new piece for @thewacoinsider.bsky.social about the annual Pinewood Block Party in Waco on Saturday, featuring eight different musical acts.

Here's the rundown on The Texas Gentlemen, Kelley Mickwee, Phil Hollie, and the other performers.

#wacosoundcheck
5th Annual Pinewood Block Party: Joyful Sounds in Waco’s Uptown » Waco Insider
At the corner of Austin Avenue and 23rd Street, Pinewood’s coffee bar and public house face each other across a courtyard strung with lights and built around a single old…
wacoinsider.com
April 29, 2025 at 7:53 PM
A second line hits Bridge Street Plaza in East Waco on Wednesday night. King Cabbage Brass Band brings the heat—real brass, real lungs, real sweat.

Get your need-to-know:

www.instagram.com/p/DJCDctJx_Be/

#wacosoundcheck
April 29, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Mark Roy Long
25 years ago today in 2000, Medeski Martin & Wood – John Medeski, Billy Martin & Chris Wood – released their intrepid live acoustic album “Tonic" which featured the trio’s own originals alongside covers of Lee Morgan, Bud Powell, John Coltrane & Jimi Hendrix. Listen: bluenote.lnk.to/MMW-Tonic
April 25, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Wrote about Papa Joe’s Texas Saloon, a roadhouse just south of Waco, where legend has it Billy Joe Shaver once shot a man in the parking lot after asking, “Where do you want it?”

It’s also where my fiancée and I are getting married this fall.

www.instagram.com/p/DI3n2I5xIgp/
April 25, 2025 at 1:44 PM
New piece on @thewacoinsider.bsky.social about @clairestamant.bsky.social, who spent a decade in the true-crime machine—48 Hours, 60 Minutes, CBS News—and walked away to tell the stories that didn’t air.
The Quiet Damage Killers Leave Behind » Waco Insider
“The smallest thing could send my heart racing. A bright yellow ribbon, peeking out from my son’s knapsack, put images of crime scene tape in my head. As I loaded…
wacoinsider.com
April 21, 2025 at 10:26 PM
The rhinestones may be packed up, but the gospel according to Tori Martin last night at Waco's Texas Music Cafe still echoes loud and clear.

Missed the show? Catch the story behind the sequins and steel.

#torimartin #wacoinsider #wacotx #wacosoundcheck
Sequins, Steel & Storytelling: Tori Martin Takes the Wheel » Waco Insider
Tori Martin plays Texas Music Cafe in downtown Waco on Saturday, April 19, for a night of country music that blends old and new sounds.
bit.ly
April 21, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Wolfram released a new product today—Notebook Assistant—which is an AI-powered code writing helper. But what's REALLY exciting is that my cats Squally Beans and Eastwood make an appearance in CEO Stephen Wolfram's blog post about it!

writings.stephenwolfram.com/2024/12/usef...
December 9, 2024 at 7:53 PM
Reposted by Mark Roy Long
Just a reminder that there’s an app available for your TV called PBS RETRO where you can watch all sorts of wonderful old pbs shows like Mr. Rogers and Reading Rainbow, you know, in case you might need that sort of energy right now
November 26, 2024 at 1:22 PM
The split-second choices we make on the road can define us: Brake? Swerve? Speed up? When the driver is an algorithm, however, what happens when AI decides who lives—and dies? It's time to confront the ethics of the inevitable.

aiyiyi.substack.com/i/150555432/...
November 23, 2024 at 6:25 PM
Reposted by Mark Roy Long
Reposted by Mark Roy Long
Bluesky’s stance on AI and user data is a breath of fresh air. In a world where #GenAI analyses every bit of our data, it’s reassuring to see a platform respecting user content. It’s the least we, as the users, should expect, and I hope Bluesky keeps it up! #TechEthics #DataPrivacy
bsky.app Bluesky @bsky.app · Nov 15
Another day at Bluesky, and it looks like growth is not slowing down! Welcome!

We’d like to take a moment to share our stance on AI and user data:
November 15, 2024 at 11:18 PM
Imagine a world where every move you make is logged, analyzed, and sold, thanks to AI. Now stop imagining—it’s here. Can privacy make a comeback?

Learn more in this week's AI YI YI! newsletter.

aiyiyi.substack.com/p/ai-ethics-...

#DataPrivacy #TechEthics #SurveillanceCapitalism #Aiethics #ai
AI Ethics, Part 3
Privacy & Surveillance
aiyiyi.substack.com
November 21, 2024 at 11:20 AM
Every step you take, every move you make, AI is watching you. This week's AI Yi Yi! dives into the trade-offs between safety and surveillance.

Subscribe now to have our latest newsletter delivered to your email inbox: aiyiyi.substack.com/p/subscribe

#AIethics #BigBrother #TechTransparency #AIart
November 19, 2024 at 9:20 PM
After a day of recharging by watching Silo S2E1, the first five episodes of The Day of the Jackal & UT versus Arkansas, time to catch up with this week's Rare on the Air show from the WWOZ archives while working on the next in the AYY! series on AI ethics, focusing on privacy & surveillance basics.
November 17, 2024 at 12:40 PM
My own obligatory cat photo.

#cats
November 14, 2024 at 2:11 PM
Reposted by Mark Roy Long
One of the biggest problems of AI in education: before using AI to learn, you need to have already learned... what your'e... learning... leonfurze.com/2024/09/18/e... #artificialintelligence #aieducation
Expertise Not Included: One of the Biggest Problems with AI in Education
The debate about the effectiveness of AI chatbots in education continues amidst rapid AI advancements. Despite the broad knowledge and potential of AI systems, learners need expertise to effectivel…
leonfurze.com
November 13, 2024 at 4:11 AM
Reposted by Mark Roy Long
COP29: AI’s double-edged climate sword will be high on the agenda. #COP29 ⬇️

www.euronews.com/next/2024/11...
COP29: Technology and AI will be high on the agenda
"The question is how we bring back the kind of longer-term thinking into this while people are racing to build the best AI,” the UN’s ITU deputy-secretary general told Euronews Next.
www.euronews.com
November 13, 2024 at 12:56 PM
The 1956 movie ‘Giant’ had big hats, fast cars, and even bigger biases. Today? Bias hides in job ads with words like “dominant” and “nurturing.” Gender Decoder is here to flag the language that holds us back and drive change.

Read more about it here:

aiyiyi.substack.com/p/ai-ethics-...

#aiethics
November 13, 2024 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Mark Roy Long
While sentience in AI models is an extremely controversial and contentious topic, a new job listing/hire by Anthropic could signal a shift toward AI companies examining ethical questions about the consciousness and rights of AI systems.
Anthropic hires its first “AI welfare” researcher
Anthropic’s new hire is preparing for a future where advanced AI models may experience suffering.
arstechnica.com
November 12, 2024 at 2:53 PM