williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy
William Pietri
@williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy
110 followers 13 following 500 posts
Chicago-area writer, software developer, runner, and nerd wrangler. Very interested in online community and reducing the harm of tech. Creator of @sfships […] 🌉 bridged from https://sfba.social/@williampietri on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/
sfba.social
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Reposted by William Pietri
bob.feed.hella.cheap.ap.brid.gy
bob @bob.feed.hella.cheap.ap.brid.gy · 7h
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Reposted by William Pietri
taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy
Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 8h
@williampietri
On a similar note of modest heroism, my brother - an avid gardner - does "guerilla grafting" of fruit branches onto park trees.
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 7h
@taoish That's wonderful!
williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy
William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 14h
I can't fix the big things, but I can do something about the small ones.

A few days ago I went to the post office to ship something. I put it in one of the flat rate boxes and went to address it. Of the 6 pen-on-chain doodads they had, only one was left, and […]

[Original post on sfba.social]
A post office table with two round black discs where the pens used to be. A post office table with brand new pens.
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 1d
Fuck the entirety of this: https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/07/national-guard-arrives-in-chicago-area-despite-judge-urging-feds-to-hold-off/ #chicago
CHICAGO — The Texas National Guard has arrived in the Chicago area, according to a report. Tribune journalists spotted members of the Texas National Guard on Tuesday morning in the southwest suburbs, according to a report. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shared a picture on X of guardsmen getting on a plane Monday night. Local officials — including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson — have repeatedly said they do not want the National Guard deployed in the Chicago area. The city and state have sued the federal government to stop the Trump administration from deploying the troops in the area. U.S. District Judge April Perry, during a Monday hearing at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago, refused to immediately block the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops. Perry instead ordered Trump’s Justice Department to respond to the lawsuit in two days and scheduled a Thursday hearing before she rules on the state’s request for a temporary restraining order against the deployment. ## Know Your Rights * Know Your Rights As An Immigrant * What To Do If A Loved One Is Detained * Know Your Rights As A Protester * Recording, Reporting Immigration Agents * What To Do If You’re Unhoused * Nonprofits That Serve Immigrants * * * **Support Local News!** **Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, **an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Already subscribe? **Click here to gift a subscription** , or you can**support Block Club with atax-deductible donation.** **Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:** Listen OnApple PodcastsListen OnGoogle PodcastsListen OnSpotify The Most Chicago Thing That’s Ever Happened To Me Was _____ Episode play icon The Most Chicago Thing That’s Ever Happened To Me Was _____ Episode play icon Babe’s Giving Women’s Sports Fans In Chicago A Place To Call Home Episode play icon Private Fences Put Up Around A Public Park — And Neighbors Aren’t Happy Episode play icon “In Order To Win, You Have To Lose A Lot” — Meet The Man Building A Racket Sport Empire Episode play icon Meet The Voice Of The CTA — 27 Years And Counting Load More Search Results placeholder Previous Episode Show Episodes List Next Episode Show Podcast Information
blockclubchicago.org
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williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy
William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 1d
Is there a way under stock Android to play music through a Bluetooth speaker but keep notification sounds on my phone?

This seems like an obvious need for anybody in a room with other people, but 15 minutes of internet searching has not yielded a functioning answer.
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 2d
@alexisbushnell @sduk.bsky.social

Ooh, this is really good: https://mathstodon.xyz/@ijk/115329862475674509
Izzy Killeen (@[email protected])
What the fuck is going on at Bluesky? The answer is: a lot, and even as a user of it myself I didn't really get the whole picture. Luckily, I came across these explainers (CW: discussion of transphobia and Jesse Singal): First article: https://azhdarchid.com/delusions-of-a-protocol/ Second article: https://azhdarchid.com/jay-graber-confuses-the-gas-and-brake-pedals/ Jesus Christ.
mathstodon.xyz
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 2d
@alexisbushnell @sduk.bsky.social I thought this was helpful: https://sfba.social/@[email protected]/115311681347815711
SFBA.social
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 2d
@jsm @exchgr I don't think that's why. I think people put up with it because they vaguely felt like it was somebody else's problem, like the government, to deal with it. They were wrong. It's all of our jobs.
williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy
William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 2d
@jsm @exchgr In spirit I'm with you both, but one of the lessons I'm taking from this is that a powerful government is very dangerous in the wrong hands. I don't think increasing state power to suppress people would be a step forward. I think this has to get fixed at the level of non-state actors.
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 2d
Here's a great example of why I happily give @Defector my money. If you're wondering why Bari Weiss is suddenly running CBS news, read the first and last few paragraphs of this. And if you want to know the details of billionaire media consolidation, read the whole thing […]
Original post on sfba.social
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 3d
@jef Not all of them! Any blue state leaving now abandons the rest of us to a racist authoritarian regime. And historically those can never leave their neighbors alone, so the freedom may be short lived.
Reposted by William Pietri
afewbugs.social.coop.ap.brid.gy
Jules @afewbugs.social.coop.ap.brid.gy · 5d
I shouldn't need to say this, but I guess it's how social media works: just because someone doesn't post about something doesn't mean they don't care about it. If I posted to express my sadness at every atrocity, racist incident, horrific murder or terrorist attack that happened in the world I'd […]
Original post on social.coop
social.coop
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Reposted by William Pietri
enobacon.urbanists.social.ap.brid.gy
😀🚲 @enobacon.urbanists.social.ap.brid.gy · Aug 17
Damn I love nerds. It turns out, the rich don't move because of taxes 🤓 💸 dems quit basing policy on economic delusions challenge.

https://www.wweek.com/news/2025/08/06/county-commissioner-brings-expert-on-millionaire-migration-into-preschool-debate/
County Commissioner Brings Expert on Millionaire Migration Into Preschool Debate
Meghan Moyer, a self-proclaimed "nerd," wanted cold, hard data.
www.wweek.com
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 5d
@apzpins I feel that for sure. I've gotten to the point of grudging acceptance, but no further.
williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy
William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 5d
Who else has trouble maintaining expressions for photos and selfies? Despite years of trying, I'm totally unable to hold a photo smile.

The main way I cope is to say or at least think of something funny, but almost inevitably the picture taker will miss the narrow window when I look natural. If […]
Original post on sfba.social
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 6d
Thinking further about this, I have to wonder about overall capital allocation. We had quite a lot of tech innovation when VC investment was a small fraction of what is has been recently. Not sure the extra money helped, and one could reasonably argue that it made things worse.
Reposted by William Pietri
williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy
William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 7d
LLMs especially don't know anything about the law. 14/

https://www.404media.co/18-lawyers-caught-using-ai-explain-why-they-did-it/
18 Lawyers Caught Using AI Explain Why They Did It
Lawyers blame IT, family emergencies, their own poor judgment, their assistants, illness, and more.
www.404media.co
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 7d
LLMs especially don't know anything about the law. 14/

https://www.404media.co/18-lawyers-caught-using-ai-explain-why-they-did-it/
18 Lawyers Caught Using AI Explain Why They Did It
Lawyers blame IT, family emergencies, their own poor judgment, their assistants, illness, and more.
www.404media.co
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 7d
Per the National Venture Capital Association, VC fundraising was down significantly the last couple of years. I wonder if that explains some of the frantic tone of the AI bubble. Those who raised during the boom years need to put that money to work. And everybody […]

[Original post on sfba.social]
Graph of US VC fundraising by year. It shows a substantial peak in 2021 and 2022 followed by a rapid fall in 2023 and 2024.
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 7d
@soaproot I too am excited about electrification. I think the business community would be much more excited about it if they weren't chasing mediocre sci-fi dreams.

My personal bet is that decentralized social networks will stay niche because they aren't monetizable except at massive scale […]
Original post on sfba.social
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 7d
Oh, what a loss for us all. Tonight I'll pour one out for Jane Goodall. She and the primatologists who followed after deeply influenced how I see myself and you. The great apes are our close cousins, and to ignore that is to needlessly render ourselves inexplicable […]
Original post on sfba.social
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 7d
I saw somebody trying to blame the AI bubble on conspiracy, but I think that's unnecessary.

We can entirely explain this bubble the same way we can explain the blockchain and metaverse bubbles. We lived through two back-to-back revolutions in technology: the Internet and the smartphone. Many […]
Original post on sfba.social
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 8d
LLMs don't actually know anything. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250926-the-perils-of-letting-ai-plan-your-next-trip
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William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 9d
I feel like this must exist, but I can't find it; a digital picture frame with a decent API. Ideally, a local (that is, non-cloud) one. Anybody have anything like that?