Michael Ekstrand
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md.ekstrandom.net
Michael Ekstrand
@md.ekstrandom.net
2K followers 880 following 2K posts
Info sci prof @ Drexel, trying to keep the machines (esp. RecSys & IR) from learning bigotry and discrimination. ADHDS9. Usually self-propelled. Opinions those of the Vulcan Science Academy. 🐰x2.
🏡 https://md.ekstrandom.net
🧪 https://inertial.science
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md.ekstrandom.net
nothing to see, just the AI "search assist" making up complete bullshit about trivially verifiable technical matters. Yet again.

(pyproject.toml has no 'constraints' option in any widely-supported specification, including both of the sources linked below. unfortunately.)
DuckDuckGo "search assist" informing me that "To specify dependency constraints in a pyproject.toml file, you can use the constraints key within the [project] table to define version limits for dependencies. This allows you to impose specific version requirements for packages that your project indirectly relies on, ensuring that secure or compatible versions are used.", sourced from packaging.python.org and python-poetry.org.
November 3, 2025 at 2:22 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
Sunday night, so just chilling with some symphonic power metal.
A black rabbit resting on a yellow blanket on a chair.
November 3, 2025 at 3:31 AM
md.ekstrandom.net
The cover of Keep Me Fed by The Warning Hurts 2B Human by P!nk The ArchAndroid by Janelle Monae Parts of Speech by Dessa
October 23, 2025 at 9:25 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
Pope summed up my whole-ass research agenda.
Screenshot: "Free access to information is a pillar that upholds the edifice of our societies, and for this reason, we are called to defend and guarantee it," he said. "Current events call for particular discernment and responsibility, and it is clear that the media has a crucial role in forming consciences and helping critical thinking". The pope also spoke about the challenges facing news media with the rise of AI. "Artificial intelligence is changing the way we receive information and communicate, but who directs it and for what purposes? We must be vigilant in order to ensure that technology does not replace human beings, and that the information and algorithms that govern it today are not in the hands of a few," he said. He nominated "transparency of sources of ownership, accountability, quality and objectivity" as key to news media.
October 10, 2025 at 1:08 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
It is not my finest plating work but it was a success.
A white plate containing green and white beans, mashed potatoes, and a white fish with brown glaze.
October 5, 2025 at 11:40 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
10 years ago, @drchole.bsky.social & I discussed “should Michael move to Boise?”, and I did, and we started the PIReT Ship.

7 years ago, we welcomed 800 friends to #RecSys2018 in Vancouver.

Super excited that this year she's program chair (w/ Marco de Gemmis) for #RecSys2025!
Sole and Marco introducing the RecSys 2025 program.
September 23, 2025 at 7:56 AM
md.ekstrandom.net
For comparison, my usual style + personal visual branding look a lot more like this.
A black title card for a talk entitled "Searching for Fairness", with clear colors on black, and a mostly-grayscale photo of a winter climber on a mountain holding a camera on the right third of the slide.
September 14, 2025 at 11:06 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
experimenting with a very different aesthetic than my usual, and we'll see if I actually go with this but I kinda like it.
A title card showing purple-pink cityscape under a pink sky, with the title "Where are the People?" in an Art Deco font, and the subtitle "Political, Ethical, and Humanist Foundations of Information Access" in a medium-formal script font below it.
September 14, 2025 at 11:05 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
this week's planning accompanied by both US land border neighbors: Saint Laurent Rye and The Warning: Live from Auditorio Nacional, CDMX.
A white record playing on a black turntable, with a light amber whisky and the liner resting on the dust cover. The liner is white with a cutout, showing the road case lyric booklet inside the liner.
August 25, 2025 at 12:39 AM
md.ekstrandom.net
is this anything?
A black and white photo of Johnny Cash in his older years, looking at the camera with a guitar on his hands. A caption in large white letters reads “HERE’S JOHNNY”.
August 13, 2025 at 12:48 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
Sure…
A bibliographic database entry for Pedagogy of the Oppressed, with a generated TLDR reading "A single, unpressurized, gravity/centrifugal, entirely internal lubricating system is described for can end seamers and similar apparatus."
August 2, 2025 at 11:30 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
It is also worth highlighting the dishonest sleight-of-hand here.

Nowhere in the first paragraph does it establish that anyone was excluded from consideration. Only that they sought to expand the applicant pool and consider more people. If his scholarship is this sloppy too…
In addition to orchestrating the discriminatory hiring scheme, Cornell created other racially filtered hiring pipelines, including a $16 million National Institutes of Health-funded initiative called the Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation program. or First. This program, the stated purpose of which is “enhancing compositional diversity,” required hiring committees to revise applicant lists repeatedly until they were diverse enough. If the applicant pool wasn’t diverse enough, the process was paused for “additional robust outreach.” Imagine if the races were reversed. Suppose a whistleblower uncovered internal emails showing that a university had run a secret search to ensure that qualified black applicants were excluded from consideration. Suppose the school selected only white candidates to produce a racially predetermined outcome. There would—rightfully—be national outrage. It would be a landmark civil-rights case. That’s exactly what Cornell did—except I’m white.
July 31, 2025 at 10:32 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
I have now watched Section 31, so I believe catching up on Strange New Worlds is all I have left to finish watching Star Trek.
A 4-panel meme of Bashir and Garak B: We're watching all the Star Trek? G: Yes, my dear Doctor. B: Even the bad Star Trek? G: Especially the bad Star Trek.
July 26, 2025 at 10:59 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
The customers we haven’t chased off can then enjoy Face/Off (1997) and The A-Team (2010).
Nicolas Cage and John Travolta talking through a wall. A tank falling with a parachute.
July 21, 2025 at 12:53 AM
md.ekstrandom.net
You’ve inherited a movie theater, what’s your first double feature?

Brazil (1985) and They Live (1988)
A picture of a woman with wings, flying out of an open drawer in a wall of filing drawers as far as they eye can see. A city street, with advertising signs all saying messages like “OBEY”, “CONSUME”, and “CONFORM” in black text on white background.
July 21, 2025 at 12:41 AM
md.ekstrandom.net
Tonight’s planning for a partial work week (still on vacay for a few days) accompanied by Beyond the Black and a Jura single-malt.
A white LP on a black turntable, with the album liner (“Beyond the Black”) resting on the dust cover, with an amber whisky.
July 14, 2025 at 12:51 AM
md.ekstrandom.net
yes, the Arch Linux wiki is my go-to source for understanding the software used in Red Hat.
A screenshot of "Search Assist", giving the answer "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 uses systemd-networkd to manage network configurations, allowing it to detect and configure network devices as they appear. This service is useful for both simple and complex network setups, including virtual machines and containers.", and citing the Arch Linux wiki and man7.org.
July 13, 2025 at 11:24 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
And this is evergreen.
A still from The Blues Brothers, showing Jake and Elwood in their car in the park by the bridge where the Illinois Nazis are marching, with the caption "I hate American Nazis".
July 13, 2025 at 3:56 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
I do not remember why I have this in my photo library but now it's your problem too.

Today is a good day to eat the bagel.
A photo of the klingon Gowron, holding a dagger with a chaotic grin on his face, and a googly eye in the middle of his forehead.
July 13, 2025 at 3:54 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
best show is best.
All 7 seasons of Deep Space 9 on DVD, the old colored box-per-season edition.
July 8, 2025 at 2:51 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
from my upcoming talk about why we do recommender systems and related topics.
A screenshot of a slide titled "Cultural Discovery?", with concert photos of The Warning and Jinjer.
June 25, 2025 at 12:31 AM
md.ekstrandom.net
Bugs Bunny in a tuxedo with the caption “I wish all Trump administration lawyers a very step on a LEGO.
June 21, 2025 at 12:39 AM
md.ekstrandom.net
Describe your favorite movie in the most misleading way possible (take 2):

Unlicensed maintenance worker fixes air conditioning for soon-to-be employee of the regional search engine.
Robert DeNiro in black clothing and hood with lighted goggles.
June 11, 2025 at 11:27 PM
md.ekstrandom.net
tonight’s productivity planning: Lagg Corriecravie (bottle is almost empty 😭, love this whisky) and My Chemical Romance.
A black turntable playing a gray record, atop which is a white Leichtturm notebook, a glass of amber whisky, and the liner for Welcome to the Black Parade.
June 9, 2025 at 12:28 AM
md.ekstrandom.net
have bunny
A black Rex rabbit, shedding on her back, eating a good pile of Romaine lettuce.
June 6, 2025 at 2:11 AM