Tai Viinikka
@eastpole.bsky.social
Science, technology, energy, and the environment.
Writer and broadcaster.
Previously known as @viinikka on the bird site!
East Pole Productions
Writer and broadcaster.
Previously known as @viinikka on the bird site!
East Pole Productions
I'm trying not to get excited. When it finally opens, this is going to make our lives in North Toronto a lot easier and less car-centric.
November 28, 2025 at 10:14 PM
I'm trying not to get excited. When it finally opens, this is going to make our lives in North Toronto a lot easier and less car-centric.
Local people don't want to work there; they have to keep increasing wages and other less wholesome inducements.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yelabug...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yelabug...
Yelabuga drone factory - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 28, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Local people don't want to work there; they have to keep increasing wages and other less wholesome inducements.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yelabug...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yelabug...
Because once he's not SecDef any more it's a lot safer to investigate these actions.
November 28, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Because once he's not SecDef any more it's a lot safer to investigate these actions.
You are entirely correct. The point here is that a prosecutor wouldn't have to make a case about the legitimacy of the attack on the fishing boats. We'd all be happy to see Hegseth in prison *even if* it was only for firing on the survivors.
November 28, 2025 at 9:48 PM
You are entirely correct. The point here is that a prosecutor wouldn't have to make a case about the legitimacy of the attack on the fishing boats. We'd all be happy to see Hegseth in prison *even if* it was only for firing on the survivors.
It's good to have some clear lines. Clearly some people only have a few, but this is still a good one. (Republicans who oppose Trump sometimes remind me of the soldiers behind the 20 July 1944 attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Their reasons don't speak to us today the way the event does.)
November 28, 2025 at 9:42 PM
It's good to have some clear lines. Clearly some people only have a few, but this is still a good one. (Republicans who oppose Trump sometimes remind me of the soldiers behind the 20 July 1944 attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Their reasons don't speak to us today the way the event does.)
No edit button ^^^ obvs I mean "just an infection" not "just a virus." Cheers, I didn't mean to denigrate your idea. It's good to make possible connections and think new things!
November 28, 2025 at 9:14 PM
No edit button ^^^ obvs I mean "just an infection" not "just a virus." Cheers, I didn't mean to denigrate your idea. It's good to make possible connections and think new things!
Maybe there are other STIs amongst the human oncoviruses (link) but you have to remember that an STI is just a virus that doesn't spread very well. Conversely, some STIs are so widespread amongst humans that nearly every adult has/had them -- that's the HPV family.
www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-...
www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-...
Viruses that Can Lead to Cancer
Several viruses are linked with cancer in humans. Find out what we know about viruses and cancer risk here.
www.cancer.org
November 28, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Maybe there are other STIs amongst the human oncoviruses (link) but you have to remember that an STI is just a virus that doesn't spread very well. Conversely, some STIs are so widespread amongst humans that nearly every adult has/had them -- that's the HPV family.
www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-...
www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-...
This must be a very disappointing Thursday for you, Ms. McKenna.
November 28, 2025 at 3:00 AM
This must be a very disappointing Thursday for you, Ms. McKenna.
Apparently if we have to choose between agriculture feeding humans and oil and gas making bankers rich, Canada's representative government chooses bankers?
November 28, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Apparently if we have to choose between agriculture feeding humans and oil and gas making bankers rich, Canada's representative government chooses bankers?
Ice T
The Rheostatics
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir
Antibalas
The Rheostatics
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir
Antibalas
November 28, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Ice T
The Rheostatics
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir
Antibalas
The Rheostatics
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir
Antibalas
When I used to work in tech support, we would anticipate a call like this, to break up the monotony, and so that we could remind our customers that although an Internet company does seem very powerful, we do not control the moon.
November 28, 2025 at 12:11 AM
When I used to work in tech support, we would anticipate a call like this, to break up the monotony, and so that we could remind our customers that although an Internet company does seem very powerful, we do not control the moon.
Did you talk to the user of the day? I'm trying to estimate the amount of energy required for the moon to be in a noticeably wrong place. It's large. But to determine the power devoted to this purpose, I need to know the timeframe -- when the moon was most recently in the *right* place? :)
November 27, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Did you talk to the user of the day? I'm trying to estimate the amount of energy required for the moon to be in a noticeably wrong place. It's large. But to determine the power devoted to this purpose, I need to know the timeframe -- when the moon was most recently in the *right* place? :)
The other ones that are actually associated with HPV infection are oropharyngeal and esophageal cancer. :( Other associations are with smoking, alcohol, and betel nut chewing.
November 27, 2025 at 10:42 PM
The other ones that are actually associated with HPV infection are oropharyngeal and esophageal cancer. :( Other associations are with smoking, alcohol, and betel nut chewing.
OK, why suggest this? Seems unlikely in the case of breast cancer at least, because 5-10% are caused by mutation in specific tumour-supressor genes. These same genes also increase the risk of ovarian and prostate cancers.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRCA_mu...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRCA_mu...
BRCA mutation - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 27, 2025 at 10:34 PM
OK, why suggest this? Seems unlikely in the case of breast cancer at least, because 5-10% are caused by mutation in specific tumour-supressor genes. These same genes also increase the risk of ovarian and prostate cancers.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRCA_mu...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRCA_mu...
Wow! I guess he read the article saying he WAS NOT going to do this and didn't like the timeline that led to. Will we remember this statement when our persistent fossil fuel combustion has burned down the Boreal forest?
November 27, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Wow! I guess he read the article saying he WAS NOT going to do this and didn't like the timeline that led to. Will we remember this statement when our persistent fossil fuel combustion has burned down the Boreal forest?
Who am I kidding? We constantly assume a source that has completely misunderstood our own specific business is inexplicably reliable about everything else. :(
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Ma...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Ma...
Gell-Mann amnesia effect - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 26, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Who am I kidding? We constantly assume a source that has completely misunderstood our own specific business is inexplicably reliable about everything else. :(
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Ma...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Ma...
Your last sentence should be on everyone's mind. I won't know the AI's failure rate / hallucination tendencies if I ask it questions I actually need answered. I have to ask questions where I know the answers intimately and will spot the traps, if I want to know how well it works.
November 26, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Your last sentence should be on everyone's mind. I won't know the AI's failure rate / hallucination tendencies if I ask it questions I actually need answered. I have to ask questions where I know the answers intimately and will spot the traps, if I want to know how well it works.
I translate that into Canadian English as "the Czech Leader Most Easily Blackmailed by Putin" ... probably not what Babis was going for.
November 26, 2025 at 5:05 PM
I translate that into Canadian English as "the Czech Leader Most Easily Blackmailed by Putin" ... probably not what Babis was going for.
E.g. this is a real use; but it does not replace truck drivers or customer support agents, so it's hard to sell outside of a specific niche.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaFold
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaFold
AlphaFold - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 26, 2025 at 4:59 PM
E.g. this is a real use; but it does not replace truck drivers or customer support agents, so it's hard to sell outside of a specific niche.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaFold
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaFold
Silicon Valley is kind of in the business of selling their latest fad as the solution to every human need and desire, when really it's a bandsaw or a toothpick. :) But in the inevitable collapse, who ends up poorer?
November 26, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Silicon Valley is kind of in the business of selling their latest fad as the solution to every human need and desire, when really it's a bandsaw or a toothpick. :) But in the inevitable collapse, who ends up poorer?
So I can imagine the neural network giving good answers to "Please summarize the traffic on the highways in Toronto this morning," maybe. It does not seem like a reliable and correct response would come if I asked it whether these pants make my butt look too big. Let alone, "How do I make a pizza?"
November 26, 2025 at 4:49 PM
So I can imagine the neural network giving good answers to "Please summarize the traffic on the highways in Toronto this morning," maybe. It does not seem like a reliable and correct response would come if I asked it whether these pants make my butt look too big. Let alone, "How do I make a pizza?"