Reposted by Greg Langmead
Let's cut out the middleman, okay? Just sell me the PSN trophies directly. Free me from this digital prison.
Sony has patented an AI gaming ghost that will play PlayStation games for you when you get stuck www.eurogamer.net/sony-has-pat...
January 7, 2026 at 2:17 AM
Let's cut out the middleman, okay? Just sell me the PSN trophies directly. Free me from this digital prison.
Reposted by Greg Langmead
Resuming this thread a year-and-a-half later (just like the Hunt was resumed after a break)
January 6, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Resuming this thread a year-and-a-half later (just like the Hunt was resumed after a break)
Reposted by Greg Langmead
With some people here seemingly confused about the Hunt for Gollum film that's about to start production, here an old thread talking about the source material...
1/ The expression “hunt for Gollum” is used in the Council of Elrond.
January 6, 2026 at 3:58 PM
With some people here seemingly confused about the Hunt for Gollum film that's about to start production, here an old thread talking about the source material...
Reposted by Greg Langmead
A reminder - before Trump, MAGA, Musk and Fox rewrote history - that this is what the entire country agreed had happened five years ago today:
January 6, 2026 at 12:40 PM
A reminder - before Trump, MAGA, Musk and Fox rewrote history - that this is what the entire country agreed had happened five years ago today:
Reposted by Greg Langmead
According to this reporting, the US broke the international system in the service of one faction of the Maduro regime.
www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
Exclusive: Venezuelan leaders offered U.S. a path to stay in power without Maduro
Delcy and Jorge Rodríguez used Doha backchannels to offer Washington a 'Cartel Light' plan for a managed Venezuela transition that keeps chavismo in power.
www.miamiherald.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:46 AM
According to this reporting, the US broke the international system in the service of one faction of the Maduro regime.
www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
Reposted by Greg Langmead
Check out my funtime project from the holiday break!
blog.zarfhome.com/2026/01/the-...
Will I continue on to Zork 3? Watch this space!
blog.zarfhome.com/2026/01/the-...
Will I continue on to Zork 3? Watch this space!
The Visible Zorker 2
Hey, remember the Visible Zorker last year? Meet the Visible Zorker 2: The Visible Wizard of Frobozz! It doesn't have a subtitle really. I just like saying
blog.zarfhome.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Check out my funtime project from the holiday break!
blog.zarfhome.com/2026/01/the-...
Will I continue on to Zork 3? Watch this space!
blog.zarfhome.com/2026/01/the-...
Will I continue on to Zork 3? Watch this space!
Android has a trail of roadkill apps that no longer work (Cardinal Quest 2, Dungeon Crawl SS, Endless Sky), and others that would work if the devs felt like special-casing all the graphics cards (Cataclysm DDA). So that's a ding against that cloying open-source wishcasting. I'm batting .600 at best!
January 4, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Android has a trail of roadkill apps that no longer work (Cardinal Quest 2, Dungeon Crawl SS, Endless Sky), and others that would work if the devs felt like special-casing all the graphics cards (Cataclysm DDA). So that's a ding against that cloying open-source wishcasting. I'm batting .600 at best!
Those Trump voters really did it this time.
January 3, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Those Trump voters really did it this time.
This is a good take (“GenAI is pushed in the poor while the rich are able to avoid it, increasing the divide”) because it identifies GenAI output (aka slop) as fundamentally _degrading_ (by design).
January 2, 2026 at 4:19 PM
This is a good take (“GenAI is pushed in the poor while the rich are able to avoid it, increasing the divide”) because it identifies GenAI output (aka slop) as fundamentally _degrading_ (by design).
Reposted by Greg Langmead
Just posted on Six Colors: My favorite things of 2025
My favorite things of 2025
The year is at an end, and as is tradition, I've compiled a list of my favorite stuff from the year gone by. This is...
sixcolors.com
December 30, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Just posted on Six Colors: My favorite things of 2025
Reposted by Greg Langmead
As 2025 comes to an end, which map did you hate the most? I’ll be sure to prioritise that kind of content next year.
December 29, 2025 at 7:29 PM
As 2025 comes to an end, which map did you hate the most? I’ll be sure to prioritise that kind of content next year.
Reposted by Greg Langmead
“Buy our home security package named after someone who was utterly destroyed by a back door break-in he didn’t see coming because he was focused solely on the front door.”
Sauron is appearing on the scene as concerns rise about crime among the most wealthy.
Sauron, the high-end home security startup for "super premium" customers, plucks a new CEO out of Sonos | TechCrunch
Sauron is appearing on the scene as concerns rise about crime among the most wealthy.
techcrunch.com
December 29, 2025 at 11:53 AM
“Buy our home security package named after someone who was utterly destroyed by a back door break-in he didn’t see coming because he was focused solely on the front door.”
Reposted by Greg Langmead
Actual mathematician quotes:
"It was my lot to plant the harpoon of algebraic topology into the body of the whale of algebraic geometry" - Solomon Lefschetz
"It was my fate to implant the electrode of arithmetic geometry in the pleasure center of algebraic topology." - Jack Morava
"It was my lot to plant the harpoon of algebraic topology into the body of the whale of algebraic geometry" - Solomon Lefschetz
"It was my fate to implant the electrode of arithmetic geometry in the pleasure center of algebraic topology." - Jack Morava
December 27, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Actual mathematician quotes:
"It was my lot to plant the harpoon of algebraic topology into the body of the whale of algebraic geometry" - Solomon Lefschetz
"It was my fate to implant the electrode of arithmetic geometry in the pleasure center of algebraic topology." - Jack Morava
"It was my lot to plant the harpoon of algebraic topology into the body of the whale of algebraic geometry" - Solomon Lefschetz
"It was my fate to implant the electrode of arithmetic geometry in the pleasure center of algebraic topology." - Jack Morava
"a heady mix of old-fashioned hucksterism, plutocratic megalomania and utopian ideology"
"[GenAI] is truly phenomenal but flawed in ways that encode the deformed character of its progenitors"
"inflated ego of an industry that thinks it is just one more datacentre away from computational divinity"
"[GenAI] is truly phenomenal but flawed in ways that encode the deformed character of its progenitors"
"inflated ego of an industry that thinks it is just one more datacentre away from computational divinity"
When the AI bubble bursts, humans will finally have their chance to take back control | Rafael Behr
The US economy is pumped up on tech-bro vanity. The inevitable correction should prompt a global conversation, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
www.theguardian.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:52 PM
"a heady mix of old-fashioned hucksterism, plutocratic megalomania and utopian ideology"
"[GenAI] is truly phenomenal but flawed in ways that encode the deformed character of its progenitors"
"inflated ego of an industry that thinks it is just one more datacentre away from computational divinity"
"[GenAI] is truly phenomenal but flawed in ways that encode the deformed character of its progenitors"
"inflated ego of an industry that thinks it is just one more datacentre away from computational divinity"
Reposted by Greg Langmead
This piece by Michael Drout is outstanding. I have felt the "great black wave of anguish" of losing a child he describes; the disappointment that there was no eucatastrophe, no miracle that awful morning. Yet we still find hope amid sorrow.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
#tolkien #lotr
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
#tolkien #lotr
Opinion | Why I Keep Returning to Middle-Earth
www.nytimes.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:05 AM
This piece by Michael Drout is outstanding. I have felt the "great black wave of anguish" of losing a child he describes; the disappointment that there was no eucatastrophe, no miracle that awful morning. Yet we still find hope amid sorrow.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
#tolkien #lotr
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
#tolkien #lotr
To those who smh at AI haters who don't know the latest fascinating technical advances:
1. If 2023 quality was overhyped, that's a permanent sin, not redeemable by increasing quality.
2. We're not having a fundamentally technical conversation.
3. You sound like gun nuts hating on libs.
1. If 2023 quality was overhyped, that's a permanent sin, not redeemable by increasing quality.
2. We're not having a fundamentally technical conversation.
3. You sound like gun nuts hating on libs.
December 23, 2025 at 2:02 PM
To those who smh at AI haters who don't know the latest fascinating technical advances:
1. If 2023 quality was overhyped, that's a permanent sin, not redeemable by increasing quality.
2. We're not having a fundamentally technical conversation.
3. You sound like gun nuts hating on libs.
1. If 2023 quality was overhyped, that's a permanent sin, not redeemable by increasing quality.
2. We're not having a fundamentally technical conversation.
3. You sound like gun nuts hating on libs.
Reposted by Greg Langmead
Real Nazis didn't wear masks when they asked for your papers.
December 21, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Real Nazis didn't wear masks when they asked for your papers.
Reposted by Greg Langmead
Ouch! The most accurate standard of time in the USA may have gone down!
Yup, a bunch of atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado seem to have lost power.
(1/n)
Yup, a bunch of atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado seem to have lost power.
(1/n)
![Dear colleagues,
In short, the atomic ensemble time scale at our Boulder campus has failed due to a prolonged utility power outage. One impact is that the Boulder Internet Time Services no longer have an accurate time reference. At time of writing the Boulder servers are still available due a standby power generator, but I will attempt to disable them to avoid disseminating incorrect time.
The affected servers are:
time-a-b.nist.gov
time-b-b.nist.gov
time-c-b.nist.gov
time-d-b.nist.gov
time-e-b.nist.gov
ntp-b.nist.gov (authenticated NTP)
No time to repair estimate is available until we regain staff access and
power. Efforts are currently focused on obtaining an alternate source of
power so the hydrogen maser clocks survive beyond their battery backups.
More details follow.
Due to prolonged high wind gusts there have been a combination of utility power line damage and preemptive utility shutdowns (in the interest of wildfire prevention) in the Boulder, CO area. NIST's campus lost utility power Wednesday (Dec. 17 2025) around 22:23 UTC. At time of writing utility power is still off to the campus. Facility operators anticipated needing to shutdown the heat-exchange infrastructure providing air cooling to many parts of the building, including some internal networking closets. [....]
At initial power loss, there was no immediate impact to the NIST atomic
time scale or distribution services because the projects are afforded
standby power generators. However, we now have strong evidence one of the crucial generators has failed. In the downstream path is the primary signal distribution chain, including to the Boulder Internet Time Service. Another campus building houses additional clocks backed up by a different power generator; if these survive it will allow us to re-align the primary time scale when site stability returns without making use of external clocks or reference signals.
Best wishes,
-Jeff Sherman](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fb5fjz7jxmbf3alhwh44ookd/bafkreicfacdabxxqyw77ujiuv2u6vow4vozmlmpgaeuemmxr422posq2ey@jpeg)
December 20, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Ouch! The most accurate standard of time in the USA may have gone down!
Yup, a bunch of atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado seem to have lost power.
(1/n)
Yup, a bunch of atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado seem to have lost power.
(1/n)
The Atlantic says not everyone we see in Epstein photos is guilty of the same crimes as he, or maybe of any. This is a perfect example of “a thing everyone knows already,” which is a shit topic for a piece of writing. cf: straw man.
https://apple.news/AR0VGfyRWRxiBMqeMR011nQ
https://apple.news/AR0VGfyRWRxiBMqeMR011nQ
December 19, 2025 at 10:51 PM
The Atlantic says not everyone we see in Epstein photos is guilty of the same crimes as he, or maybe of any. This is a perfect example of “a thing everyone knows already,” which is a shit topic for a piece of writing. cf: straw man.
https://apple.news/AR0VGfyRWRxiBMqeMR011nQ
https://apple.news/AR0VGfyRWRxiBMqeMR011nQ
I know plenty of people who have felt like David Brooks was on the level. I barely distinguish him from Douthat -- just another hierarchical theocrat. I'm the angry cynic, but right now it's looking like I'm right again, which, fuck.
December 19, 2025 at 12:34 PM
I know plenty of people who have felt like David Brooks was on the level. I barely distinguish him from Douthat -- just another hierarchical theocrat. I'm the angry cynic, but right now it's looking like I'm right again, which, fuck.
It's just like what Trump dumped on us all, and it has the same sentiment behind it. It separates us from each other, which is absolutely a goal. It's miserable to live with GenAI.
Funny animal videos no longer being trustworthy just fucking sucks all around. I love the wonder of animal behavior and what it says about the experience of being alive. It's because it happened in reality that it's so fun. It's not fun if it was just made up. There's no wonder there.
December 19, 2025 at 12:32 PM
It's just like what Trump dumped on us all, and it has the same sentiment behind it. It separates us from each other, which is absolutely a goal. It's miserable to live with GenAI.
Reposted by Greg Langmead
Funny animal videos no longer being trustworthy just fucking sucks all around. I love the wonder of animal behavior and what it says about the experience of being alive. It's because it happened in reality that it's so fun. It's not fun if it was just made up. There's no wonder there.
December 19, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Funny animal videos no longer being trustworthy just fucking sucks all around. I love the wonder of animal behavior and what it says about the experience of being alive. It's because it happened in reality that it's so fun. It's not fun if it was just made up. There's no wonder there.
“Be the dam against the slop.” How about a world without slop, please?
I see a lot of complaints about untested AI slop in pull requests. Submitting those is a dereliction of duty as a software engineer: Your job is to deliver code you have proven to work simonwillison.net/2025/Dec/18/...
Your job is to deliver code you have proven to work
In all of the debates about the value of AI-assistance in software development there’s one depressing anecdote that I keep on seeing: the junior engineer, empowered by some class of …
simonwillison.net
December 18, 2025 at 5:15 PM
“Be the dam against the slop.” How about a world without slop, please?
Reposted by Greg Langmead
If we are banning cell phones for kids we need to be talking about banning chatbots for boomers
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
December 17, 2025 at 4:38 PM
If we are banning cell phones for kids we need to be talking about banning chatbots for boomers
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
What a great point. I hate our cowboy strain.
"The notion that all elected officials have are their thoughts and prayers, regardless of by whom it is uttered, is a direct attack on the purpose of government itself."
snyder.substack.com/p/what-a-ter...
snyder.substack.com/p/what-a-ter...
What a terrible thing it is
Mass shootings as regime change
snyder.substack.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:08 PM
What a great point. I hate our cowboy strain.