Greg Smith
@onshi.bsky.social
Library person by day, cat person by night. Views are my own (if that), not my employer's. Dang #otherGregs! @onshi@masto.ai
AI is to blame for this, isn’t it?
December 6, 2025 at 3:47 AM
AI is to blame for this, isn’t it?
Related: Spotify’s force-feeding AI playlist generator will seriously give you like 50 consecutive different versions of Toccata and Fugue in D minor if you let it…
December 2, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Related: Spotify’s force-feeding AI playlist generator will seriously give you like 50 consecutive different versions of Toccata and Fugue in D minor if you let it…
Explanations are seriously like “Nike is RTO5!”. Oh, yeah? That’s a company making good, successful decisions recently? That’s a company getting the best from a dynamic, innovative, dedicated workforce?
December 2, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Explanations are seriously like “Nike is RTO5!”. Oh, yeah? That’s a company making good, successful decisions recently? That’s a company getting the best from a dynamic, innovative, dedicated workforce?
The sold out “Limited Edition” iPhone grip was pitched very explicitly as an accessibility device, which I guess is good. I was going to post about the price but it’s even more expensive pre-ordered direct from Hikawa. Expect knock-offs promptly via AliExpress?
www.apple.com/shop/product...
www.apple.com/shop/product...
November 24, 2025 at 12:02 AM
The sold out “Limited Edition” iPhone grip was pitched very explicitly as an accessibility device, which I guess is good. I was going to post about the price but it’s even more expensive pre-ordered direct from Hikawa. Expect knock-offs promptly via AliExpress?
www.apple.com/shop/product...
www.apple.com/shop/product...
There’s also an offer to link your calendar, which leads to a basic explanation of the feature: Lyft scans your calendar for “events related to travel”. If you don’t want that, there’s no easy way to add a ride that you’ve booked yourself? You have pay for that convenience with your privacy.
November 21, 2025 at 2:39 AM
There’s also an offer to link your calendar, which leads to a basic explanation of the feature: Lyft scans your calendar for “events related to travel”. If you don’t want that, there’s no easy way to add a ride that you’ve booked yourself? You have pay for that convenience with your privacy.
If you try to enable the “Add events only” permission for calendars, Lyft still refuses to add your scheduled ride to your calendar. So it looks like this feature is really a gambit for full calendar access, endless marketing, data scraping, and privacy invasion. What the hell… bug or evil?
November 21, 2025 at 2:26 AM
If you try to enable the “Add events only” permission for calendars, Lyft still refuses to add your scheduled ride to your calendar. So it looks like this feature is really a gambit for full calendar access, endless marketing, data scraping, and privacy invasion. What the hell… bug or evil?
Thank GOD McCowan south of Eglinton will be saved from the scourge of… I’m sorry, retail stores? Please, no, not a little store or (gasp) even a plaza in the suburbs. It will be the end of us all…
November 13, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Thank GOD McCowan south of Eglinton will be saved from the scourge of… I’m sorry, retail stores? Please, no, not a little store or (gasp) even a plaza in the suburbs. It will be the end of us all…
I love when news orgs post the same info four times in a single skeet/card. I love when news orgs post the same info four times. I love when news orgs post the same info. I love it. Love it. Love.
November 7, 2025 at 3:11 PM
I love when news orgs post the same info four times in a single skeet/card. I love when news orgs post the same info four times. I love when news orgs post the same info. I love it. Love it. Love.
Maybe we can propose a compromise: Ontario’s municipal speed cameras can stay, but we update them with a special improvement (for maximum real-life law enforcement simulation) to… overlook… certain “special” license plates. 🤔
October 7, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Maybe we can propose a compromise: Ontario’s municipal speed cameras can stay, but we update them with a special improvement (for maximum real-life law enforcement simulation) to… overlook… certain “special” license plates. 🤔
Shopping for a fall jacket and I noticed something. I seem to remember these things coming in lots of bright/light colours, but right now they’re only available in “unmarked van stop resisting drab”. Maybe it’s just seasonal but oof.
September 27, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Shopping for a fall jacket and I noticed something. I seem to remember these things coming in lots of bright/light colours, but right now they’re only available in “unmarked van stop resisting drab”. Maybe it’s just seasonal but oof.
What if some meathead sees the little thing in the corner of my frames and thinks it’s a camera? Am I going to get my ass kicked some day because of Meta? Love to have to think about this.
September 18, 2025 at 6:46 PM
What if some meathead sees the little thing in the corner of my frames and thinks it’s a camera? Am I going to get my ass kicked some day because of Meta? Love to have to think about this.
No better time to save yourself some money and send a (tiny) signal while you do it
September 18, 2025 at 3:33 PM
No better time to save yourself some money and send a (tiny) signal while you do it
Random tip: if the ear pads on your favourite headphones start to break down, don’t throw them out! There’s a good chance you can score replacements that fit perfectly for less than $10 (I usually try AliExpress first but you may have other local options). You may get years of additional use.
September 14, 2025 at 4:47 AM
Random tip: if the ear pads on your favourite headphones start to break down, don’t throw them out! There’s a good chance you can score replacements that fit perfectly for less than $10 (I usually try AliExpress first but you may have other local options). You may get years of additional use.
September 1, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Plexamp, the mobile app from @plex.tv that provides a Spotify-style experience for your personal music library, is really hitting the spot tonight:
September 1, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Plexamp, the mobile app from @plex.tv that provides a Spotify-style experience for your personal music library, is really hitting the spot tonight:
I would assume the bright minds behind this operation are hoping some people take shots at a patrol and hands them causus belli. In other words, using NG as bait.
August 13, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I would assume the bright minds behind this operation are hoping some people take shots at a patrol and hands them causus belli. In other words, using NG as bait.
Twice already today YouTube has served us a crypto scam ad that uses an AI avatar of the Prime Minister to promise “$1000 a day” to “all Canadians”. Have seen the same using cabinet ministers. Seems like something that should be stopped, no? Or is it just the Wild West now?
August 9, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Twice already today YouTube has served us a crypto scam ad that uses an AI avatar of the Prime Minister to promise “$1000 a day” to “all Canadians”. Have seen the same using cabinet ministers. Seems like something that should be stopped, no? Or is it just the Wild West now?
Funny, I see a shortcut for “What’s my usage?” from the Telus app, but like many things about the Telus app… it doesn’t work
July 19, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Funny, I see a shortcut for “What’s my usage?” from the Telus app, but like many things about the Telus app… it doesn’t work
I haven’t really delved to deeply into Shortcuts in iOS, but a useful one occurred to me today: I can use our laundry card to trigger a pre-set timer to remind me when the load will be finished by tapping it on the back of the phone. But if I put the card and phone into the same pocket, it triggers!
July 19, 2025 at 5:27 PM
I haven’t really delved to deeply into Shortcuts in iOS, but a useful one occurred to me today: I can use our laundry card to trigger a pre-set timer to remind me when the load will be finished by tapping it on the back of the phone. But if I put the card and phone into the same pocket, it triggers!
Congratulations to all the “masks don’t work” disinformation-mongers for making sound advice to protect yourself from the known harms of wildfire smoke essentially useless. Virtually nobody here is heeding it, because nobody here has respirators, because they have been persuaded they are no good.
July 14, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Congratulations to all the “masks don’t work” disinformation-mongers for making sound advice to protect yourself from the known harms of wildfire smoke essentially useless. Virtually nobody here is heeding it, because nobody here has respirators, because they have been persuaded they are no good.
🎵 Just another apocalyptic Monday 🎶
July 14, 2025 at 11:01 AM
🎵 Just another apocalyptic Monday 🎶
On this subject, I saw a Canadian cannabis company giving away a Boston trip & Red Sox tickets recently… consider that 100% of those customers are already inadmissible to the United States (drug use) and a quick chat at the border about could get them a lifetime ban, indefinite detention, etc.?
July 5, 2025 at 3:47 PM
On this subject, I saw a Canadian cannabis company giving away a Boston trip & Red Sox tickets recently… consider that 100% of those customers are already inadmissible to the United States (drug use) and a quick chat at the border about could get them a lifetime ban, indefinite detention, etc.?