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RichardJR

@electricbluesfan.bsky.social

1.9K followers 1.5K following 35K posts

Proud grandfather to four amazing grandchildren. Interests: history, politics, space science, electric guitar blues, environmental science, computing science, philosophy, heart-healthy recipes, vinyl recordings. 313 ppm Ad astra per aspera!

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RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 9d

Danielle Smith taking $14 million of our taxpayer dollars to flog her delusional pipeline pipedream.

ZERO Private Funding Interest!

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · Jul 21

1/31 🚨 TAXPAYER ALERT: WE COULD SOON FACE A FINANCIAL PIPELINE DISASTER 🚨

$1.3B LOST on Keystone XL. $34B on Trans Mountain with $5-18B taxpayer losses projected.

This isn't bad luck. It's systematic failure.

Alberta wants more pipelines 🧐

Analysis by RichardJR.
#TaxpayerRisk #Pipelines #ABppli

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RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 34m

7/7
With vaccination rates steadily declining, experts say the population has less vaccine-induced immunity. Meaning, people "would benefit even more from getting vaccinated this year" to prevent severe outcomes.

Sara Novak for Scientific American
www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-...

Annual COVID Vaccines Save Lives, New Study Shows

A new study shows that receiving an updated COVID vaccine reduced people’s risk of severe disease and death in all age groups, regardless of immunity from prior infection or vaccination

www.scientificamerican.com

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 36m

6/7
While the study is about last year's vaccine, experts say the findings are relevant for this season's 2025-2026 shots.

Since this year's circulating variants are similar to last year's, it's expected that the current vaccines will offer a similar high level of protection against severe disease.

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 37m

5/7
This finding is particularly relevant given the CDC's latest recommendations.

The CDC recommended this year's shot for adults 65+ and those with underlying conditions, but left it as a "shared clinical decision" for younger, healthy people, a stance this new data challenges.

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 38m

4/7
The new research "calls into question the idea that younger individuals and those without risk factors don’t need the vaccine," says one medical director.

The data showed that while the shot is most effective for older people, it was also clearly "protective in those without risk factors."

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 39m

3/7
An expert says the results are in line with previous years: "The vaccine is efficacious, particularly against severe disease."

While protection against symptomatic infection has waned over time, this is expected as more of the population builds some form of prior immunity.

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 40m

2/7
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at the effectiveness of last season's 2024-2025 mRNA vaccines. The results were clear.

Vaccination reduced the risk of:

👉 Emergency department visits by 29%,

👉 Hospitalizations by 39%,

👉 Death by a staggering 64%.
#Science

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 42m

1/7
💉COVID VACCINES SLASH RISK OF SEVERE DISEASE & DEATH 💉

Getting an updated #COVID shot significantly protects people of all ages, even if you've had multiple previous #infections and #vaccinations.

Sara Novak Scientific American
#Covid19 #Vaccines #PublicHealth

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 49m

8/8
The platforms that thrive will be the ones that learn to support, protect, and monetize creativity, empowering users to make the TV and movies they always wished existed.

Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American
www.scientificamerican.com/article/open...

Want to See Marilyn Monroe in Game of Thrones? AI Could Make It Soon

Despite early, and familiar, copyright growing pains, Sora may be the prelude to AI-generated on-demand TV and movies

www.scientificamerican.com

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 50m

7/8
The potential is there. Users are already creating mini-episodes of their own original sci-fi series.

The author predicts a future where platforms like Sora, or similar ones from Disney or Netflix, will allow users to create and share their own spin-offs, prequels, and original shows on demand.

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 51m

6/8
OpenAI's Sam #Altman has already said they're working on giving rights holders more control and finding ways to monetize the platform.

The key to long-term success, the author argues, will be supporting human creativity, not just generating novelty clips.
#Copyright

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 52m

5/8
We've seen this movie before. "Early #YouTube was an #infringement engine."

Platforms like YouTube, #Twitch, and #TikTok all went through a chaotic "smorgasbord of slop" phase before evolving to regulate copyrighted material and reward original creators. #Sora will need to do the same.

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 54m

4/8
The app's launch was immediately met with a wave of #copyright complaints and criticism of #AI "slop."

Users generated everything from surreal memes to unauthorized mash-ups, like Rick and Morty cooking meth from Breaking Bad, forcing #OpenAI to quickly implement new #restrictions.

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 55m

3/8
Sora 2 isn't just a tool; it's a social app with a TikTok-style feed of AI clips.

It also has a "cameo" feature, allowing you to authorize your likeness for friends to use in their own AI-generated skits (a feature you can also revoke if you get tired of seeing yourself fleeing police).

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 56m

2/8
The author tested #Sora 2 with a simple prompt: a woman who looks like Marilyn Monroe as a dragon-riding Targaryen.

The app not only generated a stunning video, but it also invented a surprisingly witty script for her, showcasing its remarkable interpretive and creative powers.
#GenerativeAI

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 57m

1/8
🤖 AI GENERATED TV & MOVIES 🤖

OpenAI's newly released #Sora 2 is more than just a video generator—it's a social app that hints at a future of on-demand, #AI-generated #TV, complete with long-dead celebrities in your favourite shows.

Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American
#AI #Sora2 #FutureTech

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 1h

8/8
A cornerstone of the federal climate plan is now a bargaining chip. The government's path forward on energy and climate is now tied to complex, high-stakes negotiations with both an adversarial province and the U.S.

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

'It depends': Carney shifts stance on maintaining emissions cap | CBC News

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday the fate of the emissions cap on oil and gas producers depends on other efforts to lower emissions, suggesting his government might be open to scrapping the poli...

www.cbc.ca

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 1h

7/8
This all comes just days after Carney pitched the revival of a different pipeline—Keystone XL—to Trump.

Critics point out that even if KXL is revived, it faces the same problem: "It doesn't matter if you can build a pipeline if you can't put anything through it" due to the emissions cap.

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 1h

6/8
The negotiations are complicated by a fierce interprovincial dispute.

B.C. Premier David #Eby has slammed Smith's #pipeline pitch as "fictional" and a threat to other resource projects. In response, #Smith called Eby's opposition "un-Canadian and unconstitutional."
#BCpoli #ABpoli #CDNpoli

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 1h

5/8
#Smith and industry leaders have been adamant that no new #pipeline project is viable as long as the federal #EmissionsCap and the B.C. #TankerBan remain in place.

Carney's new flexibility on the cap appears to be a direct signal that he is serious about making a deal with #Alberta.

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 1h

4/8
Carney's comments come as he is in "constructive discussions" with Alberta Premier #DanielleSmith on a potential "grand bargain."

This deal would link Alberta's desire for a #pipeline to the B.C. coast with the completion of the #PathwaysAlliance #CarbonCapture project.
#AbLeg #AbPoli #CDNpoli

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 1h

3/8
"What this government is interested in is results, not objectives," Carney added, emphasizing his goal is to lower emissions from the energy sector to make its products more competitive.

The oil and gas sector is the country's largest source of emissions.

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 1h

2/8
This is a notable shift. As recently as March, Carney told reporters he would keep the emissions cap in place.

On Friday, when asked if he would consider dropping the cap and the B.C. coast #TankerBan, his one-word answer was "it depends."
#Energy #OOTT

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 1h

1/8
🇨🇦 CARNEY'S SHIFT ON MAINTAINING OIL & GAS EMISSIONS CAP 🇨🇦

Prime Minister Mark #Carney says the fate of the federal #EmissionsCap now "depends" on other efforts to lower emissions, suggesting his government is open to scrapping the policy.

Nick Murray, Canadian Press
#CdnPoli #Climate #Oil&Gas

RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 11h

9/9
OECD's report provides a damning, third-party confirmation of the crisis in Alberta's schools.

The concerns driving teachers to the picket lines are not just local grievances, but world-leading failures in supporting the profession.

Alberta Teachers' Association
teachers.ab.ca/news/teachin...

Teaching on empty: Alberta teachers among the world’s most stressed and overextended, OECD report | Alberta Teachers' Association

teachers.ab.ca

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RichardJR @electricbluesfan.bsky.social · 11h

8/9
"The results of this survey are an international embarrassment for the Government of Alberta," says #ATA president Jason #Schilling.

The data validates the very issues at the heart of the current province-wide #teachers' #strike: unsustainable #workloads and a lack of #resources & #support.

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