Jason Byrne
@geekwithsoul.bsky.social
I coalesce the vapors of human experience into a viable and meaningful comprehension.…
Also on Mastodon at https://c.im/@geekwithsoul
Archive of @geekwithsoul on Twitter is at @geekwithsoul-old.bsky.social
Also on Mastodon at https://c.im/@geekwithsoul
Archive of @geekwithsoul on Twitter is at @geekwithsoul-old.bsky.social
Pinned
"Billions of phones run on code looked after by a handful of people. We counted them from the code itself."
There's always a piece of code, a server, or *something* that someone manages altruistically that could turn out badly for everyone if things go sideways. 😄
There's always a piece of code, a server, or *something* that someone manages altruistically that could turn out badly for everyone if things go sideways. 😄
The people holding up the internet
Four billion phones ask one text file what time it is. One lecturer keeps it in his spare time. We counted the rest.
sheets.works
October 9, 2026 at 6:00 AM
"Billions of phones run on code looked after by a handful of people. We counted them from the code itself."
There's always a piece of code, a server, or *something* that someone manages altruistically that could turn out badly for everyone if things go sideways. 😄
There's always a piece of code, a server, or *something* that someone manages altruistically that could turn out badly for everyone if things go sideways. 😄
Reposted by Jason Byrne
When I started writing about Supreme Court expansion, you couldn’t get the question *asked* in a poll.
The first time I saw it actually polled, it was 8%.
Now, we here.
The first time I saw it actually polled, it was 8%.
Now, we here.
Kind of a buried lede in the results of this Supreme Court approval rating poll from Marquette: Overall support for Supreme Court expansion, which even Democratic politicians were dismissing as "radical" just a few years ago, is now at 53 percent today.marquette.edu/2026/09/marq...
October 9, 2026 at 3:33 AM
When I started writing about Supreme Court expansion, you couldn’t get the question *asked* in a poll.
The first time I saw it actually polled, it was 8%.
Now, we here.
The first time I saw it actually polled, it was 8%.
Now, we here.
I miss the old days where a story like this about someone's intrusive thoughts getting the best of them and everything turning out okay would make national news.
I don't want news sources ignoring the big stories, I just want a world with fewer big stories to tell.
I don't want news sources ignoring the big stories, I just want a world with fewer big stories to tell.
Delta passenger steals and crashes tug at John Wayne Airport - AeroTime
A Delta passenger bound for Seattle was arrested after stealing a tug, crashing it on the tarmac at John Wayne Airport and attempting to steal a lavatory truck.
www.aerotime.aero
October 9, 2026 at 4:19 AM
I miss the old days where a story like this about someone's intrusive thoughts getting the best of them and everything turning out okay would make national news.
I don't want news sources ignoring the big stories, I just want a world with fewer big stories to tell.
I don't want news sources ignoring the big stories, I just want a world with fewer big stories to tell.
Reposted by Jason Byrne
Man who won’t give his employees piss breaks claims many piss breaks on the horizon
October 8, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Man who won’t give his employees piss breaks claims many piss breaks on the horizon
Reposted by Jason Byrne
"Create a world that caters in every respect to my desires, impulses, squicks and revulsions" is the mentality of a TODDLER.
Experiencing the realities of others is how we advance to level 102 of being a human. Reject infinite customization. It's bad for us.
Experiencing the realities of others is how we advance to level 102 of being a human. Reject infinite customization. It's bad for us.
I genuinely mean this. I cannot imagine a more bleak dystopian notion than the idea of all art being turned into slop designed to coddle my exact perceived intentions.
The point of literature, film, music, and art is to be exposed to the interior lives of others. Who are these people.
The point of literature, film, music, and art is to be exposed to the interior lives of others. Who are these people.
maybe i'm old fashion but the coolest thing about video games is being taken to new worlds that i hadn't thought up and experiencing something exciting that the artists behind the game want to show me
October 9, 2026 at 3:23 AM
"Create a world that caters in every respect to my desires, impulses, squicks and revulsions" is the mentality of a TODDLER.
Experiencing the realities of others is how we advance to level 102 of being a human. Reject infinite customization. It's bad for us.
Experiencing the realities of others is how we advance to level 102 of being a human. Reject infinite customization. It's bad for us.
Reposted by Jason Byrne
WTF. Even I am just seeing this now.
This would sink a presidency in any other era. I would bet most Americans will never hear it even happened.
Trump bought over $1 million in SpaceX debt days before unveiling space policy
The purchase, revealed in his latest financial disclosure, involved a firm directly affected by his administration’s actions — and led by presidential ally Elon Musk.
wapo.st
October 9, 2026 at 3:43 AM
WTF. Even I am just seeing this now.
My first paid job was running dBase and WordStar on one of these to record contributions and print financial filings and campaign thank you letters for a local county campaign in 1983. On my breaks I played Zork. I was not quite 13 and I don't think I ever had a better job 🤣
October 9, 2026 at 1:55 AM
My first paid job was running dBase and WordStar on one of these to record contributions and print financial filings and campaign thank you letters for a local county campaign in 1983. On my breaks I played Zork. I was not quite 13 and I don't think I ever had a better job 🤣
Reposted by Jason Byrne
It is important to understand that every single Republican on a ballot next month is completely fine with this.
October 8, 2026 at 9:36 PM
It is important to understand that every single Republican on a ballot next month is completely fine with this.
So Ancestry's latest DNA Origins update finally rolled out, and for like the first time ever, it pretty much exactly matches with my pretty extensive tree. I do love that where possible they dropped country-specific stuff and focus on regions. Also, I continue to have the most vanilla DNA 😆
October 8, 2026 at 6:49 PM
So Ancestry's latest DNA Origins update finally rolled out, and for like the first time ever, it pretty much exactly matches with my pretty extensive tree. I do love that where possible they dropped country-specific stuff and focus on regions. Also, I continue to have the most vanilla DNA 😆
"In simpler terms, the coffee maker was generating so much traffic that it overwhelmed part of the home Wi-Fi setup."
At least it wasn't 1TB across the router, but I do wonder how many folks have an IoT device like this and are experiencing screwy WiFi issues and not realizing the cause?
At least it wasn't 1TB across the router, but I do wonder how many folks have an IoT device like this and are experiencing screwy WiFi issues and not realizing the cause?
Man discovers his parents’ coffee machine used 1TB of data in 10 days - Dexerto
The man said they discovered that their parents’ coffee maker had generated far more traffic than they expected.
www.dexerto.com
October 7, 2026 at 11:54 PM
"In simpler terms, the coffee maker was generating so much traffic that it overwhelmed part of the home Wi-Fi setup."
At least it wasn't 1TB across the router, but I do wonder how many folks have an IoT device like this and are experiencing screwy WiFi issues and not realizing the cause?
At least it wasn't 1TB across the router, but I do wonder how many folks have an IoT device like this and are experiencing screwy WiFi issues and not realizing the cause?
Reposted by Jason Byrne
Well done to the person in charge of Surface for doing a presentation where Surface wasn’t spelled correctly.
October 7, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Well done to the person in charge of Surface for doing a presentation where Surface wasn’t spelled correctly.
In my continued wanderings through vintage car listings, I came across this - what I regard as the finest window crank I've ever seen on a car (it's a '53 VW Beetle) I swear there's more design intent with this one part than most car companies can muster across their entire inventories these days. 😍
October 7, 2026 at 11:23 PM
In my continued wanderings through vintage car listings, I came across this - what I regard as the finest window crank I've ever seen on a car (it's a '53 VW Beetle) I swear there's more design intent with this one part than most car companies can muster across their entire inventories these days. 😍
Reposted by Jason Byrne
Rest in peace, Margaret Hamilton.
Margaret Hamilton, computing pioneer who led software development for the Apollo program, dies at 90
Margaret H. Hamilton, a profoundly influential computer scientist best known for leading the software engineering team at MIT’s Instrumentation Lab during NASA’s Apollo program, died at age 90.
news.mit.edu
October 7, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Rest in peace, Margaret Hamilton.
Reposted by Jason Byrne
I feel bad that all these "make your game with AI" scams are going to redirect a lot of people who could easily be headed down the path of making their game for real, and instead are going to get bogged down in garbage immediately.
October 7, 2026 at 4:47 PM
I feel bad that all these "make your game with AI" scams are going to redirect a lot of people who could easily be headed down the path of making their game for real, and instead are going to get bogged down in garbage immediately.
"We’re calling leadership to voluntarily recognize our union by October 13th, and you can sign our petition to show your support for our efforts."
I think this is a charisma check? Anyway, go sign the petition!
I think this is a charisma check? Anyway, go sign the petition!
Dungeons & Dragons and Studio X Join United Wizards of the Coast - CWA
Today, October 6, 2026, the designers, artists, writers, producers, and workers behind Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Duel Masters, D&D Beyond, and countless other games are uniting in soli...
unitedwizardsofthecoast.com
October 6, 2026 at 11:29 PM
"We’re calling leadership to voluntarily recognize our union by October 13th, and you can sign our petition to show your support for our efforts."
I think this is a charisma check? Anyway, go sign the petition!
I think this is a charisma check? Anyway, go sign the petition!
Reposted by Jason Byrne
There is a bleak sort of pleasure in telling people who bring up AI in casual conversation, “Actually, I’m one of the authors AI stole from. Not an exaggeration. The judge ordered them to send me a check.” It hits them different when it’s a real person saying it.
October 5, 2026 at 5:47 PM
There is a bleak sort of pleasure in telling people who bring up AI in casual conversation, “Actually, I’m one of the authors AI stole from. Not an exaggeration. The judge ordered them to send me a check.” It hits them different when it’s a real person saying it.
When the bubble pops and these clanker-wankers come, hat in hand, asking to bailed out, we do need to reminded them that they'll just need to "accept some bad things happening".
Sam Altman to Decoded: ‘The world should accept some bad things happening’ for the benefits of AI
The OpenAI CEO sought to distinguish his policy stance from rival developer Anthropic.
www.politico.com
October 5, 2026 at 6:41 PM
When the bubble pops and these clanker-wankers come, hat in hand, asking to bailed out, we do need to reminded them that they'll just need to "accept some bad things happening".
Reposted by Jason Byrne
The problem with this entire “talking across difference” approach to politics is that it assumes a shared consensus about democracy that no longer exists b/w the 2 main 🇺🇸 political parties. You don’t need to have lunch with people who don’t believe in free elections, equal rights, & the rule of law.
October 4, 2026 at 2:58 PM
The problem with this entire “talking across difference” approach to politics is that it assumes a shared consensus about democracy that no longer exists b/w the 2 main 🇺🇸 political parties. You don’t need to have lunch with people who don’t believe in free elections, equal rights, & the rule of law.
Reposted by Jason Byrne
The rise in dengue in the US was predicted a quarter century ago by #climate scientists in the first US National Climate Assessment.
This article doesn't mention climate change.
thehill.com/policy/healt...
This article doesn't mention climate change.
thehill.com/policy/healt...
Florida’s dengue outbreak reportedly largest US has seen in decades
A dengue fever outbreak in the state of Florida appears to have grown to the largest in the continental U.S. in decades, totaling 252 reported cases this year in the Sunshine State according to an …
thehill.com
October 4, 2026 at 3:12 PM
The rise in dengue in the US was predicted a quarter century ago by #climate scientists in the first US National Climate Assessment.
This article doesn't mention climate change.
thehill.com/policy/healt...
This article doesn't mention climate change.
thehill.com/policy/healt...
"In the Netherlands alone, AI data centers consumed 5,100 gigawatt-hours of electricity in 2024…Fewer than one in four of those facilities has publicly available consumption data."
With this the case in a more regulatory-robust EU, imagine what it's like in the USA
With this the case in a more regulatory-robust EU, imagine what it's like in the USA
Data Centers Are Hiding How Much Water and Power They Consume
Europe's data centers must report energy and water use by law, yet fewer than one in four facilities have any public figures available.
www.gadgetreview.com
October 3, 2026 at 7:55 PM
"In the Netherlands alone, AI data centers consumed 5,100 gigawatt-hours of electricity in 2024…Fewer than one in four of those facilities has publicly available consumption data."
With this the case in a more regulatory-robust EU, imagine what it's like in the USA
With this the case in a more regulatory-robust EU, imagine what it's like in the USA
Reposted by Jason Byrne
I have never heard of any newsrooms with alarming practices like those described in this thread. If you have, I’d like to hear from you. Contact in bio.
Earlier this week, I agreed to interviews with two USA Today journalists. They wrote fantastic articles about the Cornell case that I'm proud to have been a part of.
What I did not know is that their employer considers interviews to proprietary and opens up recordings to be used by any journalist.
What I did not know is that their employer considers interviews to proprietary and opens up recordings to be used by any journalist.
October 3, 2026 at 2:21 AM
I have never heard of any newsrooms with alarming practices like those described in this thread. If you have, I’d like to hear from you. Contact in bio.
I think we're often uncomfortable shaming people now because in the past people were shamed for really stupid reasons (which to be clear, yes, we still do). But SA, DV, MAGA, etc - these are definitely things it should be considered appropriate to shame folks for. A YouTuber, a musician, an athlete…
October 3, 2026 at 2:27 AM
I think we're often uncomfortable shaming people now because in the past people were shamed for really stupid reasons (which to be clear, yes, we still do). But SA, DV, MAGA, etc - these are definitely things it should be considered appropriate to shame folks for. A YouTuber, a musician, an athlete…
Reposted by Jason Byrne
And sometimes the Ozymandias references just write themselves.
A studio promising “art so epic it will raise the birthrate” gifted a huge bronze Prometheus to Musk’s Starbase.
Elon's fans erect 50-foot statue outside his company town
A studio promising "art so epic it will raise the birthrate" gifted a huge bronze Prometheus to Musk's Starbase.
www.motherjones.com
October 2, 2026 at 11:22 PM
And sometimes the Ozymandias references just write themselves.
Reposted by Jason Byrne
Reality is just a simulation optimized to generate easy caption competition photos
Hegseth hosts his first Project Meridian meeting with Musk, Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich.
They’re looking at ways to use tech to boost Hegseth’s agenda, most likely using AI for surveillance and weapons.
They’re looking at ways to use tech to boost Hegseth’s agenda, most likely using AI for surveillance and weapons.
October 2, 2026 at 4:00 AM
Reality is just a simulation optimized to generate easy caption competition photos
Reposted by Jason Byrne
As promised, PBS has just re-posted, streaming for all, my Emmy-nominated film "The First Attack Ads: Hollywood vs. Upton Sinclair" in time for the midterms--and the 2026 efforts to destroy lefty candidates. 26 minutes: www.pbs.org/video/the-fi... www.pbs.org/video/the-fi...
The First Attack Ads: Hollywood vs. Upton Sinclair
The California campaign that gave birth to the political attack ad.
www.pbs.org
October 1, 2026 at 11:23 PM
As promised, PBS has just re-posted, streaming for all, my Emmy-nominated film "The First Attack Ads: Hollywood vs. Upton Sinclair" in time for the midterms--and the 2026 efforts to destroy lefty candidates. 26 minutes: www.pbs.org/video/the-fi... www.pbs.org/video/the-fi...