Nick @internic@social.cleverlibre.org

Can't stop thinking about the term "credibility deficit" from Glass Walls since I read it. An effect I've long known but a great naming of it.

When I did my first internship in tech I did more complex statistical modeling than the other interns. But I was told it wasn't "data science" because my background was psych.

That meant I never put "ML" on my resume even though I had learned many of those techniques. Years later realized everyone else had.

Phoenix is a sprawling city with a population of 1.6 million. The daily high temperature there has exceeded 43° C (110° F) for 25 consecutive days. For two weeks, the *low* temperature has exceeded 32° C (90° F).

So, Phoenix is a glimpse into the hellish future we are sleep-walking into.

Like any American city, Phoenix is addicted to cars. They've tried to make a lot of the highways concrete, which is whiter. But still, there's a lot of black asphalt. Now this asphalt routinely reaches 82° C (180° F), so it can burn the bottom of your feet - even when you're wearing shoes.

Outdoor jobs like construction work are no good when it gets this hot. So Phoenix is starting to try container storage housing, which can be built indoors in air-conditioned environments and then installed on site using a crane.

The mayor there says:

"Well, our priority is to get people into indoor shelter. Thanks to our partnership with the Biden administration, we now have hundreds of millions of dollars that we can put towards indoor, air-conditioned shelter. So that is our top priority."

Air conditioning. Lots of air conditioning! So lots of electricity. Last year 42% of the electric power in Arizona came from natural gas, 29% from nuclear power, 12% from coal, and 10% from solar, 5% from hydroelectric and 1% from wind.

I'm glad there's a lot of nuclear power. All of this comes from just one plant southwest of Phoenix, with three reactors and a capacity of 4 gigawatts. Imagine tripling this, and boosting solar too. This wouldn't save Arizona from global warming, but it would be a step in the right direction.

Multiple bright, young scientists I know have told me they will not be applying to jobs in TX & FL.

Faculty friends at institutions in these states have shared they are having trouble recruiting new students & concerned about what they could be accused of.

Having spent years working at UT Austin where I loved our weird & welcoming community, I’m deeply troubled watching things fall apart. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/25/texas-a-m-professor-opioids-dan-patrick/

As Biden dedicates a monument to Emmett Till, remember that his horrific 1955 lynching isn't ancient history.

Today 18 members of Congress are older than him & the white woman Carolyn Bryant who got him lynched just died this April—all without ever facing a lick of accountability.

Till's story is not ancient history—it's contemporary reality.

A defunded IRS means a tax evasion free-for-all for the ultra-rich.

The richest 1% already evade as much as $163 billion a year in taxes.

This is why the GOP relentlessly tries to gut IRS.

It’s all a ploy to help their wealthy mega-donors.

Just learned from the birdsite (h/t @bbrfnt) that Amer. Inst. Math's (AIM) new space has 9.7 ACH w/ outside air, and they're working on a high-quality remote/hybrid setup.

Can't tell you how excited I am to start to see developments like this! #CleanTheAir #AccessibilityMatters

“Weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen by more than 10% across the country, according to new data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, marking the largest percent increase in this key indicator of the virus since December.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-hospitalizations-rise-biggest-weekly-increase-since-december/

Thought I'd make my first post here one of my recent astro photos, which is also my profile header picture. This is the Rosette Nebula, also known as NGC 2237, which lies 5,000 light years from Earth.

#astrophotography
#astronomy

I haven't cut my hair since before COVID. It's time to donate it. Any recommendations for a place I can just mail the braids to? To be clear: the hair is absolutely fabulous.

#AskMeAbout

- #Astronomy
- #astrophysics
- #Galaxies
- #Cosmology

Jason Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town" video shows footage from riots in other countries and his fans are sending threats to the Tik Toker who found the real sources https://boingboing.net/2023/07/25/jason-aldeans-try-that-in-a-small-town-video-shows-footage-from-riots-in-other-countries-and-his-fans-are-sending-threats-to-the-tik-toker-who-found-the-real-sources.html

Happy birthday Rosalind Franklin!

Rosalind Franklin’s research was crucial to discovering DNA’s double helix structure. But she never received proper acknowledgement for her contribution.

James Watson & Francis Crick were awarded the credit & Nobel Prize, but their work was only possible bc they saw her unpublished data & X-ray diffraction images. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/science/rosalind-franklin-dna.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare #science #history #HistoryRemix

Welcome to Soviet Texas, where criticism of the government is illegal.

#Texas #TAMU #FreeSpeech

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/25/texas-a-m-professor-opioids-dan-patrick/

In your responses to anyone anywhere, I would ask you to remember there is a difference between "I see your struggle and I want to be helpful to you" and "You're doing it wrong and I want to be the one to say that to you" and also a difference in how they will be taken in by others. If you don't know the difference between the two (or don't care), perhaps it would be best for you not to say anything at all.

Researchers find deliberate backdoor in police radio encryption algorithm

Vendors knew all about it, but most customers were clueless.

https://arstechnica.com/security/2023/07/researchers-find-deliberate-backdoor-in-police-radio-encryption-algorithm/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Dear journalists:

By remaining on Elon Musk's platform you are -- knowingly or not -- directly supporting your enemy. He is systematically turning his platform into a showcase for people and entities that see democracy as an impediment to achieving what can accurately be understood as fascist goals.

Wrecking democracy means destroying freedom of expression -- the basis of what you do.

For your own sake, and for your honor, please leave.

When you and your partner get matching sleeve tats. #caturday

The latest Moderated Content podcast with @evelyndouek and I is up.

This includes a long discussion of safety issues with the Fediverse, how Meta might deal with them, and some potential solutions to get ready for the challenges without Meta effectively calling the cops on a huge number of instances.

Have a listen:

https://law.stanford.edu/podcasts/mc-weekly-update-why/

#Mozilla has published its position on the "Web Environment Integrity API" proposal put forward by the #Google #Chrome team.

First paragraph: "Mozilla opposes this proposal because it contradicts our principles and vision for the Web."

https://github.com/mozilla/standards-positions/issues/852#issuecomment-1648820747

In honour of the new season of #Futurama, I once again present to you my (holy shit a decade old) 'Futurama and Philosophy' chapter "Go Upgrade Yourself;" or "The Upgrading of Hermes Conrad":
http://afutureworththinkingabout.com/?p=5006