Ross Grady
@rossgrady.dood.net.ap.brid.gy
I live in #DurhamNC & I spend a lot of time thinking about #synthdiy / #eurorack -- my dayjob is in tech because I'm a walking stereotype.
I'm leftist, anti-fascist […]
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://dood.net/users/rossgrady, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
I'm leftist, anti-fascist […]
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://dood.net/users/rossgrady, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
Reposted by Ross Grady
First thought when I saw this pic: Hey, that's how we Chinese deal with vampires!
Two: inevitable cat abuse comments incoming
Two: inevitable cat abuse comments incoming
December 26, 2025 at 12:12 PM
First thought when I saw this pic: Hey, that's how we Chinese deal with vampires!
Two: inevitable cat abuse comments incoming
Two: inevitable cat abuse comments incoming
On the one hand, I love all the Cyberdeck looking things that people make and show off. OTOH, a lot of them seem to go for the “full-size clicky keyboard, tiny display” form-factor (very retro, much aesthetic) and my 55-year-old eyes are like “nope, couldn’t read that, not in a million years.”
December 25, 2025 at 3:52 PM
On the one hand, I love all the Cyberdeck looking things that people make and show off. OTOH, a lot of them seem to go for the “full-size clicky keyboard, tiny display” form-factor (very retro, much aesthetic) and my 55-year-old eyes are like “nope, couldn’t read that, not in a million years.”
Watched the latest Knives Out (Wake Up Dead Man, for those of you playing along at home) and I'm going to save you a click by posting my one-sentence Letterboxd review here:
Like a special movie-length episode of Scooby Doo made by and for Catholic children.
Like a special movie-length episode of Scooby Doo made by and for Catholic children.
December 25, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Watched the latest Knives Out (Wake Up Dead Man, for those of you playing along at home) and I'm going to save you a click by posting my one-sentence Letterboxd review here:
Like a special movie-length episode of Scooby Doo made by and for Catholic children.
Like a special movie-length episode of Scooby Doo made by and for Catholic children.
On the one hand, leaving the rear steer working is rad. OTOH, it also seems hella dangerous. Either way: bravo.
https://youtu.be/NJ-N-x-efZo
https://youtu.be/NJ-N-x-efZo
December 25, 2025 at 2:27 PM
On the one hand, leaving the rear steer working is rad. OTOH, it also seems hella dangerous. Either way: bravo.
https://youtu.be/NJ-N-x-efZo
https://youtu.be/NJ-N-x-efZo
A thing I am doing a little bit over this break is playing around with https://strudel.cc — if you have a browser with working JavaScript, and some means of audio output, you probably can too. I’m not gonna be playing at any algoraves anytime soon, but it’s pretty easy to pick up, especially via […]
Original post on dood.net
dood.net
December 24, 2025 at 4:05 PM
A thing I am doing a little bit over this break is playing around with https://strudel.cc — if you have a browser with working JavaScript, and some means of audio output, you probably can too. I’m not gonna be playing at any algoraves anytime soon, but it’s pretty easy to pick up, especially via […]
December 24, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Reposted by Ross Grady
spotify calling anna's archive "anti-copyright extremists" is extra lulzy considering that spotify built their initial library on pirated mp3s. https://gizmodo.com/early-spotify-was-built-on-pirated-mp3-files-new-book-1795109991
Spotify has been the biggest music streaming service to find a business model that users can accept, and music labels can endure. In its early days, the company positioned itself as “a viable alternative to music piracy.” But allegedly, the company’s beta was filled with pirated MP3 files.
Rasmus Fleischer is researcher and historian from Sweden who has a particular interest in copyright issues. His early fascination with intellectual property led him to join Sweden’s Piratbyrån (piracy bureau), an advocacy group focused on the free sharing of information. Along with other members of the group, he went on to help launch the popular torrenting site The Pirate Bay. So, when Spotify was in its nascent days, Fleischer and his colleagues took a keen interest in the service.
Fleischer has moved on from The Pirate Bay and is currently collaborating with several other authors on a book about Spotify that should be out in 2018. In a recent interview with the Swedish publication DiGITAL, Fleischer previews some of the info that will be included in Spotify Teardown – Inside the Black Box of Streaming Music. Spotify’s early use of pirated music is certainly the juiciest anecdote and his story of how he was initially tipped off to that practice is pretty funny.
According to Torrent Freak:
> Rumors that early versions of Spotify used ‘pirate’ MP3s have been floating around the Internet for years. People who had access to the service in the beginning later reported downloading tracks that contained ‘Scene’ labeling, tags, and formats, which are the tell-tale signs that content hadn’t been obtained officially.
The Spotify beta launched overseas back in 2008. Around that time, Fleischer was in a band and they decided to distribute their album exclusively through The Pirate Bay. Soon after releasing the torrent to his own album, Fleischer discovered that it was available for streaming on Spotify. “I thought that was funny. So I emailed Spotify and asked how they obtained it,” he says. “They said that ‘now, during the test period, we will use music that we find’.”
For Fleischer, this story is an enlightening example of how important pirate culture was to the birth of Spotify. In the midst of their efforts to sell the service to the public, the industry, and politicians, the developers simply “distributed mp3 files that the employees happened to have on their hard drives.” Fleischer isn’t trying to take shots at Spotify, he’s just attempting to map out the history of an important time in technology. He sees the pirate culture that rose in the early aughts as a transformative moment and he feels The Pirate Bay “helped catalyze so-called ‘new business models’.” According to him, it’s no coincidence that Spotify was formed in 2006, the same year that The Pirate Bay was raided and temporarily shut down.
It’s easy to forget that a lot of tech titans got there start in illegal piracy. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s first venture was a failed peer-to-peer network called Scour. Before making billions with Facebook, Sean Parker was a founder of Napster. And Spotify CEO Daniel Ek was the CEO of uTorrent before going off to found his own company. It was kinder, gentler time of tech mavens breaking laws. These days, people like Kalanick have to do some real damage to disrupt.
[DiGITAL via Torrent Freak]
gizmodo.com
December 23, 2025 at 8:14 PM
spotify calling anna's archive "anti-copyright extremists" is extra lulzy considering that spotify built their initial library on pirated mp3s. https://gizmodo.com/early-spotify-was-built-on-pirated-mp3-files-new-book-1795109991
Reposted by Ross Grady
RE: https://mastodon.art/@herrkaschke/115769581316832533
I'm all for this, but I think the idea of calling it an archive of the world's music is pretty disingenuous. These are 160k MP3 files at best, which is not remotely archive quality for audio (though I guess better than nothing).
This […]
I'm all for this, but I think the idea of calling it an archive of the world's music is pretty disingenuous. These are 160k MP3 files at best, which is not remotely archive quality for audio (though I guess better than nothing).
This […]
Original post on io.waxandleather.com
io.waxandleather.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:05 PM
RE: https://mastodon.art/@herrkaschke/115769581316832533
I'm all for this, but I think the idea of calling it an archive of the world's music is pretty disingenuous. These are 160k MP3 files at best, which is not remotely archive quality for audio (though I guess better than nothing).
This […]
I'm all for this, but I think the idea of calling it an archive of the world's music is pretty disingenuous. These are 160k MP3 files at best, which is not remotely archive quality for audio (though I guess better than nothing).
This […]
Reposted by Ross Grady
I didn't sleep well last night so had way way way too much caffeine to compensate and that usually leads me to strange thoughts. Today's strange thought: I see parallels between what cell phones did to telephone service audio quality and what Cloudflare is doing to internet availability.
My […]
My […]
Original post on infosec.exchange
infosec.exchange
December 23, 2025 at 3:22 PM
I didn't sleep well last night so had way way way too much caffeine to compensate and that usually leads me to strange thoughts. Today's strange thought: I see parallels between what cell phones did to telephone service audio quality and what Cloudflare is doing to internet availability.
My […]
My […]
Reposted by Ross Grady
The distance between #dublin and #london is 464 miles, #asthecrowflies.
But as #gretathunberg learnt today, it's about a million miles in politics.
In Dublin, #presidentconnolly regards the #genocide in #gaza as a horror. But in London, the #cityoflondonpolice […]
[Original post on mastodon.ie]
But as #gretathunberg learnt today, it's about a million miles in politics.
In Dublin, #presidentconnolly regards the #genocide in #gaza as a horror. But in London, the #cityoflondonpolice […]
[Original post on mastodon.ie]
December 23, 2025 at 1:39 PM
The distance between #dublin and #london is 464 miles, #asthecrowflies.
But as #gretathunberg learnt today, it's about a million miles in politics.
In Dublin, #presidentconnolly regards the #genocide in #gaza as a horror. But in London, the #cityoflondonpolice […]
[Original post on mastodon.ie]
But as #gretathunberg learnt today, it's about a million miles in politics.
In Dublin, #presidentconnolly regards the #genocide in #gaza as a horror. But in London, the #cityoflondonpolice […]
[Original post on mastodon.ie]
Wild one tonight
December 22, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Wild one tonight
Reposted by Ross Grady
SCOOP: Flock left at least 60 of its AI-powered, people-tracking surveillance cameras exposed and livestreaming to the open internet. We tracked ourselves. The exposure highlights the power of these cameras and types of things they're tracking. Not just cars. […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
December 22, 2025 at 4:11 PM
SCOOP: Flock left at least 60 of its AI-powered, people-tracking surveillance cameras exposed and livestreaming to the open internet. We tracked ourselves. The exposure highlights the power of these cameras and types of things they're tracking. Not just cars. […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
Amazing moire action on the LA Times streaming site right now.
December 22, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Amazing moire action on the LA Times streaming site right now.
Reposted by Ross Grady
‘How did you know you were autistic’
‘I photocopied every bus pass I ever had and made a zine out of it because I really like buses’
‘I photocopied every bus pass I ever had and made a zine out of it because I really like buses’
December 22, 2025 at 4:56 AM
‘How did you know you were autistic’
‘I photocopied every bus pass I ever had and made a zine out of it because I really like buses’
‘I photocopied every bus pass I ever had and made a zine out of it because I really like buses’
Matt Damon as Odysseus and not Oscar Isaac is a personal affront. You are dead to me, Christopher Nolan.
December 22, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Matt Damon as Odysseus and not Oscar Isaac is a personal affront. You are dead to me, Christopher Nolan.
I have definitely not learned even 25% of what there is to know about KiCad, but I learned enough to do this layout today.
I don't usually put component values on my PCBs but this one is gonna wind up as a kit (if it works :) )
I don't usually put component values on my PCBs but this one is gonna wind up as a kit (if it works :) )
December 22, 2025 at 5:09 AM
I have definitely not learned even 25% of what there is to know about KiCad, but I learned enough to do this layout today.
I don't usually put component values on my PCBs but this one is gonna wind up as a kit (if it works :) )
I don't usually put component values on my PCBs but this one is gonna wind up as a kit (if it works :) )
Reposted by Ross Grady
This jasmine rice jacket is making me remember how I used to travel around on Indian railways with a jasmine rice bag to line my sleeping berth (my dad’s idea), so very often I woke up with ‘Thai hom mali rice’ imprinted on my body
December 21, 2025 at 10:06 PM
This jasmine rice jacket is making me remember how I used to travel around on Indian railways with a jasmine rice bag to line my sleeping berth (my dad’s idea), so very often I woke up with ‘Thai hom mali rice’ imprinted on my body
Quick weekend project: The Minimum Viable Drum Machine.
The initial goal was a small-ish PCB w/ a mix of SMD and through-hole components to use in kits for ppl at my local makerspace who want to learn the ins & outs of SMD soldering, especially with the homemade […]
[Original post on dood.net]
The initial goal was a small-ish PCB w/ a mix of SMD and through-hole components to use in kits for ppl at my local makerspace who want to learn the ins & outs of SMD soldering, especially with the homemade […]
[Original post on dood.net]
December 21, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Quick weekend project: The Minimum Viable Drum Machine.
The initial goal was a small-ish PCB w/ a mix of SMD and through-hole components to use in kits for ppl at my local makerspace who want to learn the ins & outs of SMD soldering, especially with the homemade […]
[Original post on dood.net]
The initial goal was a small-ish PCB w/ a mix of SMD and through-hole components to use in kits for ppl at my local makerspace who want to learn the ins & outs of SMD soldering, especially with the homemade […]
[Original post on dood.net]
Reposted by Ross Grady
RE: https://journa.host/@w7voa/115755787278023048
The electric brain ya'll were training to drive the cars ate up all energy and now the cars have no network and can't charge?
* I realize this outage isn't directly related to data centers... but we are almost there.
The electric brain ya'll were training to drive the cars ate up all energy and now the cars have no network and can't charge?
* I realize this outage isn't directly related to data centers... but we are almost there.
SF power outage stalls Waymo fleet. https://missionlocal.org/2025/12/sf-waymo-halts-service-blackout/
PG&E outage leaves 1/3 of San Francisco without power
#### Love what you read? Love that it was free?
**Mission Local will never have a paywall.** All our articles are free for everyone, always. Help us keep it that way — donate to our **end-of-year fundraiser** to make _Mission Local_**free for your neighbors**.
Donate today!
Waymo said Saturday that it was stopping service across San Francisco after numerous online videos showed its autonomous vehicles snarling traffic during the citywide blackout.
“We have temporarily suspended our ride-hailing services given the broad power outage in San Francisco,” wrote Suzanne Philion, a company spokesperson, a little after 7 p.m. “We are focused on keeping our riders safe and ensuring emergency personnel have the clear access they need to do their work.”
About a third of San Francisco lost electricity throughout the day Saturday after rolling Pacific Gas & Electric Co. blackouts hit some 125,000 homes and businesses. It was not clear when the power would be restore, but the utility said it was “possible” it would happen later Saturday.
Want the latest on the Mission and San Francisco? Sign up for our **free daily newsletter** below.
Sign up
Traffic lights across the city were down, seemingly halting Waymos in their tracks. Riders and pedestrians posted videos of Waymos stuck at intersections with long lines of drivers behind them.
> Power outage took out the waymos RIP pic.twitter.com/DPte8oOGku
>
> — Vincent Woo (@fulligin) December 21, 2025
> The power outage in San Francisco has caused Waymo’s self-driving cars to come to a halt, leading to traffic disruptions across the city. https://t.co/8vPCrKF9ze pic.twitter.com/kXjOJ3UN4c
>
> — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 21, 2025
Many of the videos and images showed Waymos stuck one behind the other, with human drivers passing them by.
> 6 Waymo’s parked at a broken traffic light blocking the roads. Seems like they were not trained for a power outage pic.twitter.com/9fBkoxgKwe
>
> — Walden (@walden_yan) December 21, 2025
> Power out in SF and the @Waymo’s are causing a MASSIVE jam in North Beach 🤣 pic.twitter.com/fuvhprlyma
>
> — Iago Maciel (@_iagomaciel) December 21, 2025
Groups of two, three, as many as five Waymos were stuck at different corners across the city, blinking red lights in the rain.
> San Francisco, CA (DEC.20.2025)
> It’s official. This is the 1,000th posted video from the Sunset Project™️.
> Just over 20m views on X to date.
>
> This afternoon’s flurry of frozen Waymo’s across the city of San Francisco causing a historic traffic meltdown has brought about the… https://t.co/DLrvTVLKQD pic.twitter.com/SHxvg2yLQ2
>
> — No Safe Words (@Cyber_Trailer) December 21, 2025
> Oh what a surprise, another traffic jam from a confused @waymo that can’t handle the power outage. Also cellular service has been pretty spotty so maybe their remote driver backups are having trouble controlling them? pic.twitter.com/BHjk3JjOzp
>
> — Roger (@OkGoDoIt) December 21, 2025
#### Keep Mission Local free by making a tax-deductible donation today!
We have a **big year-end goal:** $300,000 by Dec. 31.
It's more important than ever that _everyone_ has access to news that reports, explains and keeps them informed. Paywalls don’t serve anyone.
_Your support makes it possible_ for Mission Local’s content to be **forever free — for everyone**.
Donate
## Latest News
### PG&E outage leaves 1/3 of San Francisco without power
### Sprawling new seascape mural decorates S.F. waterfront
### Hundreds of asylum-seekers may be sent to Honduras, Ecuador, Uganda following S.F. immigration ruling
## Follow Us
* X
* Instagram
* YouTube
* LinkedIn
* Mastodon
missionlocal.org
December 21, 2025 at 5:06 AM
RE: https://journa.host/@w7voa/115755787278023048
The electric brain ya'll were training to drive the cars ate up all energy and now the cars have no network and can't charge?
* I realize this outage isn't directly related to data centers... but we are almost there.
The electric brain ya'll were training to drive the cars ate up all energy and now the cars have no network and can't charge?
* I realize this outage isn't directly related to data centers... but we are almost there.
Reposted by Ross Grady
SF’s is having a massive power outage. We ended up having to drive across SF to find a laundromat to dry our soaking wet laundry. Here’s my two observations: every third block is a traffic jam caused by a confused Waymo that doesn’t know how to handle these intersections with no power. Why are […]
Original post on sfba.social
sfba.social
December 21, 2025 at 3:10 AM
SF’s is having a massive power outage. We ended up having to drive across SF to find a laundromat to dry our soaking wet laundry. Here’s my two observations: every third block is a traffic jam caused by a confused Waymo that doesn’t know how to handle these intersections with no power. Why are […]
Reposted by Ross Grady
"Four Waymos blocking traffic in all directions" 12/20/25 1939PT #sanfrancisco
December 21, 2025 at 3:39 AM
"Four Waymos blocking traffic in all directions" 12/20/25 1939PT #sanfrancisco
Reposted by Ross Grady
HEY, #seattle folk (and or local #retrocomputing folk)
Want a 45U server rack?
It's FREE!
But you have to come get it from my workshop in Everett
Seriously this thing is taking up a big chunk of space and I want it *gone*
If nobody takes it by […]
[Original post on social.restless.systems]
Want a 45U server rack?
It's FREE!
But you have to come get it from my workshop in Everett
Seriously this thing is taking up a big chunk of space and I want it *gone*
If nobody takes it by […]
[Original post on social.restless.systems]
December 20, 2025 at 8:39 PM
HEY, #seattle folk (and or local #retrocomputing folk)
Want a 45U server rack?
It's FREE!
But you have to come get it from my workshop in Everett
Seriously this thing is taking up a big chunk of space and I want it *gone*
If nobody takes it by […]
[Original post on social.restless.systems]
Want a 45U server rack?
It's FREE!
But you have to come get it from my workshop in Everett
Seriously this thing is taking up a big chunk of space and I want it *gone*
If nobody takes it by […]
[Original post on social.restless.systems]
Anybody talking about the #panthers "come-from-behind" victory last night without first mentioning the classic Florida shitheel trip by Evan Rodrigues on Seth #jarvis, throwing Jarvis into the goalpost, leaving him seriously injured & out for multiple games, can eat shit. #nhl
December 20, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Reposted by Ross Grady
A teacher needs to know their students to be effective. This puts an upper limit on the number of students one teacher can teach at once. Something like 150 students. I need to know their names, and when I see that name a little about who that is.
Further, a student should have at least 4 or 5 […]
Further, a student should have at least 4 or 5 […]
Original post on sauropods.win
sauropods.win
December 20, 2025 at 1:13 PM
A teacher needs to know their students to be effective. This puts an upper limit on the number of students one teacher can teach at once. Something like 150 students. I need to know their names, and when I see that name a little about who that is.
Further, a student should have at least 4 or 5 […]
Further, a student should have at least 4 or 5 […]
Bill Clinton is, was, and will always be a creep. The only way he has survived in public life for as long as he has is because he won elections, and because he was attacked by Republicans, which is still a top-tier way to score points with establishment Democrats.
December 20, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Bill Clinton is, was, and will always be a creep. The only way he has survived in public life for as long as he has is because he won elections, and because he was attacked by Republicans, which is still a top-tier way to score points with establishment Democrats.