Brian Kidney
@briankidney.ca
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Linus Torvalds being unfathomably based
November 17, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Linus Torvalds being unfathomably based
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Thinking only of Rosalind Franklin today, and what was stolen from her (and so many other female scientists alongside her).
Rosalind Franklin and the damage of gender harassment
Spurred by a recent report on sexual harassment in academia, our columnist revisits a historical case and reflects on what has changed—and what hasn’t
www.science.org
November 7, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Thinking only of Rosalind Franklin today, and what was stolen from her (and so many other female scientists alongside her).
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Just need everyone to Google the name "Rosalind Franklin" at this moment.
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
DNA scientist James Watson has a remarkably long history of sexist, racist public comments
“People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,” he said in 2003. “I think it would be great.”
www.vox.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Just need everyone to Google the name "Rosalind Franklin" at this moment.
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Saw Watson give a lecture in 2001 and he managed to spend an astonishing proportion of it complaining about women
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
DNA scientist James Watson has a remarkably long history of sexist, racist public comments
“People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,” he said in 2003. “I think it would be great.”
www.vox.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Saw Watson give a lecture in 2001 and he managed to spend an astonishing proportion of it complaining about women
When is it ok to kill people? When you can pay billions to make it all go away of course. There is no justice in corporate negligence.
As part of a deal to dismiss the case, Boeing agreed to pay or invest an additional $1.1 billion in fines, compensation for the crash victims' families, and internal safety and quality measures. n.pr/4nHaB0I
Boeing won't face criminal charge over 737 Max crashes that killed hundreds of people
As part of a deal to dismiss the case, Boeing agreed to pay or invest an additional $1.1 billion in fines, compensation for the crash victims' families, and internal safety and quality measures.
n.pr
November 7, 2025 at 12:16 PM
When is it ok to kill people? When you can pay billions to make it all go away of course. There is no justice in corporate negligence.
@gavinverhey.bsky.social I know you are not resp, but maybe you have the ear of someone who is. The current situation with SL is driving me (and prob others) away from MTG. Today's drop is the kind of lair any player would want, but it is gone before I finish work. Manufactured scarcity sucks.
November 3, 2025 at 7:25 PM
@gavinverhey.bsky.social I know you are not resp, but maybe you have the ear of someone who is. The current situation with SL is driving me (and prob others) away from MTG. Today's drop is the kind of lair any player would want, but it is gone before I finish work. Manufactured scarcity sucks.
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Updating my LEGO White House
October 23, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Updating my LEGO White House
Reposted by Brian Kidney
This is just podcasters shuffling the same $5 between them via Patreon except that someone shoved the decimal point about a dozen places to the right
Another depiction if the circularity of capital flows between OpenAI, Microsoft, Nvidia, CoreWeave, AMD, and Oracle.
October 22, 2025 at 1:47 PM
This is just podcasters shuffling the same $5 between them via Patreon except that someone shoved the decimal point about a dozen places to the right
This is definitely an interesting way to kick off cybersecurity month. Not the one I would have chosen.
The U.S. military is reducing the frequency of its mandatory cybersecurity training, per a new memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. media.defense.gov/2025/Sep/30/... (h/t www.meritalk.com/articles/pen...)
October 8, 2025 at 4:26 PM
This is definitely an interesting way to kick off cybersecurity month. Not the one I would have chosen.
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Hypothetical: People would appreciate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth more if devices made a characteristic screeching sound on connection.
Imagine being able to diagnose why your headphones weren't pairing just through the tone of a failed connection...
Dial-up modems had the right idea.
Imagine being able to diagnose why your headphones weren't pairing just through the tone of a failed connection...
Dial-up modems had the right idea.
October 3, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Hypothetical: People would appreciate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth more if devices made a characteristic screeching sound on connection.
Imagine being able to diagnose why your headphones weren't pairing just through the tone of a failed connection...
Dial-up modems had the right idea.
Imagine being able to diagnose why your headphones weren't pairing just through the tone of a failed connection...
Dial-up modems had the right idea.
@sergeyager.bsky.social Do you have any coffee suggestions for Manhattan? Traveling there with the family in a couple weeks and my wife and I were wondering if you had found the good spots?
September 27, 2025 at 10:04 PM
@sergeyager.bsky.social Do you have any coffee suggestions for Manhattan? Traveling there with the family in a couple weeks and my wife and I were wondering if you had found the good spots?
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Reposted by Brian Kidney
I think the toilet is my favorite part of this weird AI.
August 4, 2025 at 12:17 AM
I think the toilet is my favorite part of this weird AI.
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Every TERF is like 'birds and bees, it's easy, folks' and (almost) every scientist actually working on questions of sex is like 'oof guys, what can I tell you, I have been working on this question for 52 years, and frankly, I know less and less every year' theconversation.com/world-athlet...
World Athletics’ mandatory genetic test for women athletes is misguided. I should know – I discovered the relevant gene in 1990
World Athletics says its genetic test for women ensures ‘the integrity of women’s sport’ – but science does not support this overly simplistic idea.
theconversation.com
August 4, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Every TERF is like 'birds and bees, it's easy, folks' and (almost) every scientist actually working on questions of sex is like 'oof guys, what can I tell you, I have been working on this question for 52 years, and frankly, I know less and less every year' theconversation.com/world-athlet...
Reposted by Brian Kidney
🤔
We ran a randomized controlled trial to see how much AI coding tools speed up experienced open-source developers.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
July 11, 2025 at 7:24 PM
🤔
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Amazing: MIT researchers revealed how ChatGPT etc are destroying our brains and booby-trapped the report to expose those who want to use AI to ostensibly summarize the results.
t.co/JXeTALBPds
t.co/JXeTALBPds
June 19, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Amazing: MIT researchers revealed how ChatGPT etc are destroying our brains and booby-trapped the report to expose those who want to use AI to ostensibly summarize the results.
t.co/JXeTALBPds
t.co/JXeTALBPds
Reposted by Brian Kidney
There’s something extra disturbing about these stories because it’s never that the other students are upset or express outrage. The other kids know and agree and cheer, and then it’s the responsible adults that take it upon themselves to say “you promised not to bring up the murdered children”
“As a commitment to truth and reconciliation, I must acknowledge colonial and genocidal atrocities today, including the massacre of more than 17,000 Palestinian children in Gaza.”
That’s what an Ottawa high school Valedictorian said to cheers.
She was told not to come to school the next day.
That’s what an Ottawa high school Valedictorian said to cheers.
She was told not to come to school the next day.
June 17, 2025 at 2:39 PM
There’s something extra disturbing about these stories because it’s never that the other students are upset or express outrage. The other kids know and agree and cheer, and then it’s the responsible adults that take it upon themselves to say “you promised not to bring up the murdered children”
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Use Signal. We promise, no AI clutter, and no surveillance ads, whatever the rest of the industry does. <3
June 16, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Use Signal. We promise, no AI clutter, and no surveillance ads, whatever the rest of the industry does. <3
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Your reputation is the best resume.
June 11, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Your reputation is the best resume.
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Y'all, I found it: The single greatest post EVER
November 23, 2024 at 6:16 PM
Y'all, I found it: The single greatest post EVER
Reposted by Brian Kidney
AI applying a specialist algorithm to a selected dataset, designed for a specific, technical purpose, with the results validated and the system refined by human experts. Doesn't require the wholesale theft of creators' copyright intellectual property at any stage.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
New AI test can predict which men will benefit from prostate cancer drug
Artificial intelligence tool determines best candidates to take abiraterone, which can halve risk of death from disease
www.theguardian.com
May 30, 2025 at 7:31 AM
AI applying a specialist algorithm to a selected dataset, designed for a specific, technical purpose, with the results validated and the system refined by human experts. Doesn't require the wholesale theft of creators' copyright intellectual property at any stage.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Reposted by Brian Kidney
Not sure we realize the role education played in vaccination and pandemic outcomes. Canada's high education level helped us weather vax disinformation.
"education was the strongest area-level predictor of vaccination and booster uptake after controlling for age"
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
"education was the strongest area-level predictor of vaccination and booster uptake after controlling for age"
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
A Canadian multi-province study of COVID-19 vaccine coverage along area-level social determinants in 2021
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
May 25, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Not sure we realize the role education played in vaccination and pandemic outcomes. Canada's high education level helped us weather vax disinformation.
"education was the strongest area-level predictor of vaccination and booster uptake after controlling for age"
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
"education was the strongest area-level predictor of vaccination and booster uptake after controlling for age"
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Reposted by Brian Kidney
I get that every outlet is struggling and clicks equals ad revenue which helps but goddamn we really, really need to stop doing these kinds of articles. Please.
If you load this page it contacts 82 IP addresses executing 256 separate HTTP transactions to download 18MB of data writing 64 cookies to your device to tell you “no”
May 25, 2025 at 7:34 PM
I get that every outlet is struggling and clicks equals ad revenue which helps but goddamn we really, really need to stop doing these kinds of articles. Please.
Reposted by Brian Kidney
This is the hardest I’ve ever been owned online
May 16, 2025 at 1:46 AM
This is the hardest I’ve ever been owned online