andrewrgross

@andrewrgross@slrpnk.net

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Bluesky just verified ICE⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Personally, I do want a common communication platform for people I despise because I want to be able to keep tabs on their public announcements.

  I do not want to share close proximity to them on a network graph, or regularly engage with their supporters, though. So I agree that federation is crucial. But to be clear, it’s not because I want to ban them from a platform, it’s because I want managed distance and better moderation.

  I don’t mind Bluesky verifying them, but I’m glad that on Mastodon I don’t have to share the same giant server as them.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How do you build and cultivate revolutionary optimism, given what's happening in the US?⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Yes. It’s free and open-license. It’s free as in speech AND as in beer.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How do you build and cultivate revolutionary optimism, given what's happening in the US?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m a big fan of tabletop RPGs, and I like sci-fi, so a few years ago I moved from playing standard-issue cyberpunk to a solarpunk game instead.

  It was such a radicalizing experience that my friends and I eventually released it as a totally free game, along with a ready to run starter campaign. It’s called Fully Automated! Solarpunk RPG.

  If you’re a fan of TTRPGs and looking for fun, social way to get better at believing in a better world, go download it. It’s a blast, and really makes you want to go out and overthrow fascism.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I don't understand how Trump gets away with all his senial BS. How come everyone is telling him to piss off or use the constitution to shut him the hell up?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Respectfully, I think this is a naive myth.

  Ask yourself this: if Bernie won and began executing his agenda with the brash disregard for criticism of Trump, do you think he could do it and people would say the same things we say about Trump? Or do you think we would see the collective power of congress the supreme Court the state governments and the corporate world come down on him in 100 different ways?

  I think the more honest truth is that there are people with power who like what Trump is doing, and the people who don’t like what he’s doing don’t have power.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah, it’s wild how Palestine has become the global laboratory for surveillance and state violence tech and tactics.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  This article doesn’t really seem to validate it’s headline. I was eager to learn more about the methodology and how to better detect corporate content, but I was disappointed that they apparently just made the leap from the claim that 15% of popular subs host a non zero amount of corporate manipulation to the claim that this represents the fraction of total content.

  I’m not saying this to dispute how much of the total content is corporate bots. I’m just pointing this out because I actually care about the quality of statistical claims and data science, and I hate to see my ideological allies either misusing data because they’re dumb or because they don’t have a commitment to truth.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨At this point, what should we do about the ICE raids? If an ICE agent breaks in without a warrant or holds you at gunpoint, what do you do?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  The federal government is sending masked agents to brutalize and terrorize people is cities that are adversarial to their agenda.

  It’s bad.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Instead of everyone leaving NATO, could everyone else just kick the US out?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  I wrote a long answer and then accidentally hit the back button and don’t have the patience to retype it.

  The short version is that Vladimir Putin is responsible for the invasion of Ukraine. I don’t want any confusion about that.

  NATO’s influence was that the US has been advancing against Russia for decades even after their country collapsed, and it was obviously nakedly escalatory. Combined with the US is overall foreign policy, which has always been imperial, we’ve acted as though putting a gun to someone’s head and telling them to stay cool was an actual way of calming things rather than the exact opposite.

  I’m not saying that a version of NATO couldn’t have done what it claims to do. But that’s never been the version that has existed.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Brussels plots open source push to pry Europe off Big Tech⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Thank fucking God that they’re finally waking up. This is long overdue.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Instead of everyone leaving NATO, could everyone else just kick the US out?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  GoddlessCommie’s take is valid.

  Nato is the core organizing instrument of western imperialism. Nato is like Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense shield. It’s easy to look at it and say, ‘Well now could anyone object to a tool of defense??’ But if you know anyone about war then you know that establishing an unbreakable defensive capability is what allows an imperial army to slaughter their weaker targets with impunity.

  I’m not co-signing GodlessCommie’s point. But we gotta ask: did you like Vietnam? Iraq? Afghanistan? Korea? Venezuela? Nicaragua? Georgia? Libya? Ukraine? Gaza? Because arguably, all of this shit rests upon the conditions established by NATO and US imperialism. So… It’s not unreasonable to ask whether NATO has actually fostered peace or just fostered peace for the people who wage wars.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨we need more users⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  I think that if we want new folks, it would make a big difference is we organized the equivalent of a new member drive.

  Currently, look at a default front page for your home instance and ask how enticing it is to a total newbie. There might be some good stuff, but it’s foreign and overwhelming. You feel out of place.

  Now imagine if the first Friday of January had been “new subscriber day”. People on Reddit and Bluesky are taking about the fediverse and if it’s any good. And on Lemmy there’s a bunch of posts about finding the best instances and memes about being new on Lemmy. That’s a much more inviting beginner experience, and it makes it more likely for folks to come back the next day.

  I really think planning for bursts of new folks is the way to welcome people.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why is kissing?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  This. Put another way: mammals use our mouths for sensing and manipulating. Note that people naturally use their mouths and noses to kiss and smell babies and pets on places other than their mouths.

  If we instinctively use our mouths to kiss things, it’s natural that when two people want to do this at the same time they’re going to both do it to the other person’s mouth.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What is the champagne of champagne?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  For what it’s worth, I just asked my sommelier husband, and he independently answered Billiecart-Salmon, Runart, and Krug.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Bose open-sources its SoundTouch home theater smart speakers ahead of end-of-life⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I appreciate the distinction, but open source is always a spectrum, so I think the description is a reasonable application here.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How to vote?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  That’s true. I don’t think it’s generally a problem, but I do find it funny when you see someone politely correct someone else deep in a chain where no one else is reading, and the correction says “0”.

  To anyone who downvotes like that: you look like an insecure clown.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Can other countries impose sanctions on the US?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Corey Doctorow had a presentation this past week at the C3 hacker conference arguing that all our allies only agreed to be ruled by US tech hegemony in exchange for free trade agreements, and if they want a win-win solution to getting f’d, they should repeal their laws against jailbreaking US tech.

  Tech sovereignty is already (finally) an issue the rest of the world is waking up to. I hope they go much farther and faster.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Hacker Congress CCC talk by Cory Doctorow: 'A post-American, enshittification-resistant internet'⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  It’s pretty wild, because this is genuinely great politics and great policy. It’s weird that folks haven’t realized this and acted on it yet. Fingers crossed.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨US sanctions two ICC judges for rejecting Israel's appeal against Gaza investigation⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  This is nuts.

  I’m gonna set this next to “declaring opposition to fascism” an FBI flag for investigation on the shelf of ways to really say the quiet part out loud.

  It’s particularly wild to me because there’s no specific benefit to the US here. Sanctioning them clearly achieves nothing. They’re just going on the record as being opposed to the basic concept of war crimes prosecutions.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Everyone is so close to grasping your unique vision!⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Real

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Just spent the last 21 months in prison. What did I miss in the world of the Internet?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Wanna join my D&D group?

  My timezone is west coast.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨In comedy of errors, men accused of wiping gov databases turned to an AI tool⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  It would explain a lot

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Deloitte allegedly cited AI-generated research in a million-dollar report for a Canadian provincial government⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Whew.

  The thing about these incidents that I find most interesting is that they basically reveal a widely held suspicion among many people that these government contractors are over-crexentialed bullshit artists.

  This just shows what we’ve all suspected: they’ve been cutting corners, claiming underserved authority, and making up shit for years. But now some folks are checking and reporting on it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  He apparently had a whole seminar on how he assess who he thinks most resembles the antichrist , and I have no idea if this is some sort of thought exercise or is he’s being literal.

  The real added later of absurd irony is that if THE Jesus Christ returned to share his message of radically pious non violent service to the downtrodden, Theil would call him the antichrist and demand for him to be tortured to death again.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Art project about a cloud connected pan that has a moisture sensor in its handle and charges per wash. If the sensor breaks they sue you for breaking the digital lock.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  This clever.

  I think to complete the concept, it needs to have an absurd feature that is supposed to justify connectivity, and a way to stop it from functioning when commanded.

  How can a pan break? I guess the handle can fall off? So it has a solenoid that locks on the handle. The pan is sold as a subscription where they replace the pan part to keep it’s Teflon coating fresh. And if you need with it or use it more than 20x the handle falls off.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Memory Foam doesn't actually "Remember," it just deviates from the base and goes back. It's more like Forgetting Foam!⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  This is an excellent shower thought.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Memory Foam doesn't actually "Remember," it just deviates from the base and goes back. It's more like Forgetting Foam!⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I get that that’s the intended meaning, but op makes a good point.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Elon Musk’s Grok Goes Haywire, Boasts About Billionaire’s Pee-Drinking Skills and ‘Blowjob Prowess’⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I think this is the main story. I don’t think it’s new info, but it confirms the issue persists: this LLM is so heavily trained to fawn over Musk that it doesn’t exercise any application of context or attempt to find truth.

  Which is sad.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Sam Altman and husband reportedly working to genetically engineer babies from having hereditary disease⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  The other issue I have is that this is an example of a recurring issue in which the tech obsessed ultra wealthy declare their plan to solve a problem for which a very straightforward policy solution already exists.

  We don’t need tech to extend lives or feed the hungry. We just need to remove the paywalls to existing resources.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What if tRump is Secretly bisexual but forced to be deeply ashamed of it like the rest of his generation?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  It’s an amusing premise, but I think of you actually pay attention to the arc of his life and evening e said by the people who understand him (Mary Trump’s book is perhaps the best on this), it doesn’t bear out.

  By all evidence, Trump doesn’t really experience romantic attraction, and his sexual appetites have always been primarily for power and attention. He doesn’t really like getting sweaty. During the years he was a famous lothario, he widely faked this image despite having an enormous fear of STIs, especially HIV.

  He does seem to enjoy bodies, but almost always through the thrill of conquest: he likes taking something he considers a prize.

  Does he secretly long for cock? Has he suppressed urges under social pressure? Almost certainly not. He’s always revelled in being sexually deviant, and thrilled in violating social norms. It’s highly likely that he’s gotten sexual service from men or femboys, because that fits the profile. But suck a dick? No. Never.

  Not because it’s gay, but because it’s giving. This is a guy who has almost certainly never given oral service to anyone, man or woman.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Creation Entertainment have announced ENT cast members for STLV 2026⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Neat.

  I’ve been listening to the podcast Greatest Gen, where they’ve been doing a watch-through of Enterprise, and it’s fun to listen to. It sounds like a better show than the reputation gives it, but also really unbalanced in terms of cast attention.

  Is that universal on Star Trek? I feel like Data was the show mostly centered on Picard, Ricker, or Data, and then Troi and Geordi got to be in it through being associated to Riker and Data, and then Worf was almost always in the background. From the watch through on Greatest Gen, it seems like Trip Tucker was one of the three main characters, Phlox was a constant presence even if rarely the main character, and then Mayweather and Hoshi they joke are lucky if they get a line, and a few times per season they actually enter into the plot of an episode at all.