Michal Young
@michalyoung.bsky.social
Computer scientist, randonneur (long distance cyclist), flaming liberal.
Wet prairie along the Fern Ridge multi-use path.
April 3, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Wet prairie along the Fern Ridge multi-use path.
All grift, all the time.
March 10, 2025 at 9:52 PM
All grift, all the time.
The Apprentice "reality" TV series rebooted, as stupid as ever but with much higher stakes. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/u...
Rubio and Trump Officials Clash With Elon Musk in an Explosive Meeting (Gift Article)
Simmering anger at the billionaire’s unchecked power spilled out in a remarkable Cabinet Room meeting. The president quickly moved to rein in Mr. Musk.
www.nytimes.com
March 8, 2025 at 12:20 AM
The Apprentice "reality" TV series rebooted, as stupid as ever but with much higher stakes. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/u...
Reposted by Michal Young
In related news Trump bans all university math departments from researching homomorphisms, especially group homomorphisms because that is particularly disgusting.
Trump claimed the Biden administration spent $8 million "making mice transgender." The White House tried to back up this number with records of funding for research into cancer, asthma, and HIV, some of which used *transgenic* (genetically modified) mice.
Trump Decried Millions Spent 'Making Mice Transgender.' It Was Cancer and Asthma Research
President Trump falsely claimed that Biden spent $8 million on 'making mice transgender,' but the real research was for human health.
www.rollingstone.com
March 6, 2025 at 3:01 AM
In related news Trump bans all university math departments from researching homomorphisms, especially group homomorphisms because that is particularly disgusting.
Reposted by Michal Young
This made my day.
Who did this? I want to thank you!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
March 2, 2025 at 10:05 PM
This made my day.
With the doggy boys firing NOAA scientists who track hurricanes, maybe they can compensate by issuing sharpies to whoever is left.
March 2, 2025 at 11:49 PM
With the doggy boys firing NOAA scientists who track hurricanes, maybe they can compensate by issuing sharpies to whoever is left.
"Speaking truth to power." That's what Zelensky did today. Trump and Vance were pathetic bullies, unprepared for for an encounter with someone who would not grovel.
February 28, 2025 at 8:55 PM
"Speaking truth to power." That's what Zelensky did today. Trump and Vance were pathetic bullies, unprepared for for an encounter with someone who would not grovel.
I stuck it out for a while ... but today's announcement of editorial policies was a bridge too far.
February 26, 2025 at 10:06 PM
I stuck it out for a while ... but today's announcement of editorial policies was a bridge too far.
Meanwhile in Gaza ... wapo.st/4h1BWXY
Six babies die of hypothermia in Gaza cold snap, health officials say
The deaths highlighted the brutal humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian enclave despite a ceasefire, doctors said.
wapo.st
February 25, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Meanwhile in Gaza ... wapo.st/4h1BWXY
Reposted by Michal Young
Gregg is a former Marine and Forest Service ranger. He's saved the lives of hikers dangling off a cliff or going through cardiac arrest, and he's bravely fought forest fires to save small rural towns.
100% of his salary is paid by WA state.
Elon fired him. Share his story.
100% of his salary is paid by WA state.
Elon fired him. Share his story.
February 24, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Good analysis of data privacy in a guest essay in NYT. (I'm a computer scientist, not a sysadmin nor security professional, but I'm knowledgeable enough to vouch that this article is technically accurate.) www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/o...
Opinion | Here Are the Digital Clues to What Musk Is Really Up To (Gift Article)
What will DOGE do with access to personal data on almost all Americans?
www.nytimes.com
February 21, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Good analysis of data privacy in a guest essay in NYT. (I'm a computer scientist, not a sysadmin nor security professional, but I'm knowledgeable enough to vouch that this article is technically accurate.) www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/o...
I kind of get why duolingo does this, but it's still a silly way to introduce vocabulary.
February 20, 2025 at 5:17 AM
I kind of get why duolingo does this, but it's still a silly way to introduce vocabulary.
In a prior life I worked on Cobol systems with two-digit dates. I can't say whether the Social Security database uses 1875 as an "epoch" offset so that a default value of 0 reads as 150 years old, but I've seen lots of software that does similar things. Bump's analysis is good: wapo.st/4gKwnNv
Opinion | The tactical ignorance of Elon Musk
Musk’s claims of widespread fraud in the Social Security system merit skepticism.
wapo.st
February 20, 2025 at 2:13 AM
In a prior life I worked on Cobol systems with two-digit dates. I can't say whether the Social Security database uses 1875 as an "epoch" offset so that a default value of 0 reads as 150 years old, but I've seen lots of software that does similar things. Bump's analysis is good: wapo.st/4gKwnNv
The doge boys (that's pronounced "doggy boys", btw) apparently know as much about data graphics as they do about fiscal management.
not sure what's worse about the DOGE site: unsecured databases, leaking of classified information, or these chart crimes
February 17, 2025 at 3:50 AM
The doge boys (that's pronounced "doggy boys", btw) apparently know as much about data graphics as they do about fiscal management.
Reposted by Michal Young
To be clear: like Hitler, Tr•mp’s aim is not to govern through existing institutions but to overthrow them and rule by decree. Attaining this goal requires two things: first, to neutralize independent legislative powers and second, to domesticate the civil service at all levels, as far as possible.
February 16, 2025 at 6:50 PM
To be clear: like Hitler, Tr•mp’s aim is not to govern through existing institutions but to overthrow them and rule by decree. Attaining this goal requires two things: first, to neutralize independent legislative powers and second, to domesticate the civil service at all levels, as far as possible.
If you are involved in disability rights, you probably already know that the attack on DEI is an attack on "DEIA", including accessibility. Ramps, special ed, accessible documents, sign language interpreters ... all that. The Musks of the world don't like such obligations.
February 16, 2025 at 5:54 PM
If you are involved in disability rights, you probably already know that the attack on DEI is an attack on "DEIA", including accessibility. Ramps, special ed, accessible documents, sign language interpreters ... all that. The Musks of the world don't like such obligations.
Lead prosecutor resigns:
“If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion,” Scotten wrote. “But it was never going to be me.”
“If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion,” Scotten wrote. “But it was never going to be me.”
February 14, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Lead prosecutor resigns:
“If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion,” Scotten wrote. “But it was never going to be me.”
“If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion,” Scotten wrote. “But it was never going to be me.”
Reposted by Michal Young
February 13, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Michal Young
Prepare ahead. Donald Trump will die on a national holiday.
No, I don't know the date, but I know we'll make it a national holiday.
No, I don't know the date, but I know we'll make it a national holiday.
February 12, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Prepare ahead. Donald Trump will die on a national holiday.
No, I don't know the date, but I know we'll make it a national holiday.
No, I don't know the date, but I know we'll make it a national holiday.
I don't have definite information on the extent of Musk's ketamine use, although he has admitted using it. It's impossible to know if ketamine abuse is behind his mental deterioration, but it is certainly plausible.
February 12, 2025 at 1:55 AM
I don't have definite information on the extent of Musk's ketamine use, although he has admitted using it. It's impossible to know if ketamine abuse is behind his mental deterioration, but it is certainly plausible.
Reposted by Michal Young
Trump Names Himself Principal Ballerina of Kennedy Center Ballet
open.substack.com/pub/borowitz...
open.substack.com/pub/borowitz...
Trump Names Himself Principal Ballerina of Kennedy Center Ballet
Trump took to Truth Social to announce a purge of the company's ballerinas.
open.substack.com
February 10, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Trump Names Himself Principal Ballerina of Kennedy Center Ballet
open.substack.com/pub/borowitz...
open.substack.com/pub/borowitz...
Reposted by Michal Young
Reposted by Michal Young
FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States
FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States
WASHINGTON—Putting the nation on alert against what it has described as a “highly credible terrorist threat,” the FBI announced today that it has uncovered a plot by members of al-Qaeda to sit back an...
theonion.com
February 5, 2025 at 6:31 PM
FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States
An exception to shutting out refugees: Trump orders priority treatment for White South African landowners. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/u...
Trump Executive Order Halts Aid to South Africa, Claiming Mistreatment of Afrikaner Landowners (Gift Article)
The president ordered that all foreign assistance to South Africa be halted and said his administration would prioritize the resettling of white, “Afrikaner refugees” into the United States.
www.nytimes.com
February 9, 2025 at 2:25 AM
An exception to shutting out refugees: Trump orders priority treatment for White South African landowners. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/u...
Note that overhead rates for research grants to industry run higher than grants to universities ... typically over 100% (that is, half or less of the grant amount goes to direct costs). There are ways to lower that burden. This isn't it. wapo.st/3Q9DrIH
NIH cuts billions of dollars in biomedical funding, effective immediately
Researchers say it would hurt facilities that work on medical issues such as cancer research and heart disease. Elon Musk contends the old policy was ‘a ripoff.’
wapo.st
February 8, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Note that overhead rates for research grants to industry run higher than grants to universities ... typically over 100% (that is, half or less of the grant amount goes to direct costs). There are ways to lower that burden. This isn't it. wapo.st/3Q9DrIH