Budsofstone @budsofstone@computerfairi.es

The Mandela Effect, or as I like to call it, "White Americans typically don't pay attention to African politics."

Folks remembering #AaronSwartz today - remember that he was moving publicly-funded research out from behind a paywall.

Then remember the only reason the case went forward is because federal prosecutors, specifically Carmen Ortiz and Stephen Heymann, wanted to make an example of him.

“Theft is theft, and it doesn’t matter if you use a crowbar or a computer” were Heymann’s words at the time.

Notice how federal prosecutors aren’t bullying Sam Altman for the wholesale theft of content network-wide, to build a machine that spews bullshit and further destroys our ability to determine the truth?

It’s because he’s doing it for private profit, while Aaron worked for the public good.

Never let yourself be tricked into believing the legal system is a justice system.

Dudes I wanna go to the organizing meeting this afternoon but I do not wanna take a hour bus one way in the cold snow just to be in a room of mostly unmasked white leftists who refuse to do anything actually radical

When someone says you're biased against them because you object to their stated goal of removing you from society, they're not actually asking for fairness – they're demanding complicity.

Oh, dear. Here we go.

I get it, a woman boxer from Algeria gets smeared as being trans. That her elevated testosterone gives her an advantage. You know what really pisses me off when I see people rushing to her defense, even from within trans circles? That it's "she isn't even trans! See how anti trans sentiment hurts even cis women!"

It wouldn't even matter if she was. It wouldn't matter if pure testosterone dropped from her ears. It wouldn't matter if that gave her an advantage.

Why? Because this isn't the Kid's Participation Trophy League where everybody ends up on the podium at the end of the day. This is the Olympic Games, where top athletes compete. They are meant to be the most extraordinary athletes of each country.

Remember Phelps, who is genetically uniquely suited to be a swimmer, and had several proven biological advantages over his competitors? Did we give a shit? No, he was even hailed as extraordinary athlete for it.
Basketball players aren't disqualified for being taller than average, they are picked for it. In every discipline, the athletes with a biological advantage for it are encouraged, selected, specifically promoted to build on that.

Except women. Except if your melanin makes you different than ham pink. Except if in your past what a doctor jotted down at a glance didn't align with who you are.

This is the Olympic Games, not the Average Everyone Games. So flattening the defense of an Algerian boxer to "but she isn't trans" really sits badly with me, because what you're telling me is, being successful while trans needs further justification. That you see a trans person as lesser than a cis person, and being cis means you're beyond suspicion while being trans carries a burden of proof. You're telling me that you see us as being different from what we say we are - a man in a dress, a lesbian playing at being a man, someone who needs to pick a side already.

If you want to be around "more colourful queers" beyond gay and lesbian stereotypes (nothing wrong with those per se), you'll have to get rid of a looooooot of normative thinking.

You'll have to get used to trans people who don't stealth.
You'll have to get used to nonbinary people without expecting either an androgynous girl light, or a bearded guy light in a dress.
You'll have to get used to asexual people who will fuck your brains out.
You'll have to get used to aromantics who will perform the gestures like they were written by Shakespeare.
You'll have to get used to neopronouns.
You'll have to get used to a lot, because gender, sexuality, attraction, and relationships are a wild, wild cosmos.

And I'm not hopeful, since you seem to lose your mind already when finding out that a bi person stays bi when being in a monoamorous relationship with someone, and hasn't "decided for one side".

I accidentally found a local supplier of open-source scientific hardware - automated optical microscope, bioreactor, colorimeter. Nice! https://labcrafter.co.uk/

I kind of wanna do some biology now...

Get Tested!!

Coyotes on Telegraph Hill seemed very used to seeing people.

I'm not used to seeing coyotes, though.

#Coyote #SanFrancisco

Pedestrians in Madrid.

#photography #Birds #madrid

Have you already deleted or are planning to delete your Threads/Instagram/Facebook/WhatsApp account in light of recent policy changes?

I have zero respect for anyone who maintains a presence on facebook.

I do not care about whatever excuses they have.

lmao fuck you, dude

Recently, Altbot has been targeted by DDoS attacks. While the motive is unclear, it seems tied to a misguided belief that the bot’s alt-text generation is harmful to the environment. Let me set the record straight.

Altbot uses Gemini-1.5-flash, a specifically low-power AI model. Processing a single alt-text request consumes around 0.0005 kWh, meaning that in the 4 months since I created Altbot—and tens of thousands of alt-text entries generated—it has consumed roughly 10 kWh in total. That’s about the same energy as running a single LED light bulb nonstop for 41 days or driving an electric car just 40 miles.

These DDoS attacks, however, have already consumed more electricity and computing power than Altbot has across its entire existence... in a matter of hours. This means the attacks have caused more environmental harm than the very thing they seem to be protesting.

Altbot exists to improve accessibility on Mastodon, not to harm the environment. Accessibility and sustainability can coexist, and I’m committed to keeping Altbot energy-efficient and purposeful.

If there are concerns, I encourage constructive dialogue—not destructive actions that undermine both inclusivity and sustainability.

Thank you to everyone supporting Altbot’s mission of making the Fediverse more accessible for all.