Dan Lyke 01:14:53+0000 (2026-10-21)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

Well... The CVS test says negative for Covid and flu A/B, but whatever I've got still sucks.

Dan Lyke 21:45:24+0000 (2026-10-20)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

After seeing the Musk documentary, Charlene forwarded me this interview with Ashley St. James, and I'm appreciating her introspection and attempts to make amends for her previous career. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG-pL7aZoeY

Dan Lyke 23:51:53+0000 (2026-10-19)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

Thought: computer games are interfaces that make it deliberately difficult to achieve your goals. If software is developed by people who enjoy computer games, that explains a lot about modern user interfaces. And libraries. And package managers.

Dan Lyke 17:43:45+0000 (2026-10-19)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

I don't know how I managed to go 27 years without seeing "the Straight story", but we watched it last night and damn I want more films like that (I'm reminded of "Spring Forward", in the same vein).

Dan Lyke 14:35:06+0000 (2026-10-19)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

Reading a toot on "the great filter", and wondering if a big ol' Kessler Event that caused us to focus on terrestrial issues for a century or many is *actually* humanity's best path towards becoming starfaring...

Dan Lyke 02:01:03+0000 (2026-10-19)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

Charlene's Google Pixel 7 phone is showing playback status of podcasts I'm listening to on my phone. I'm trying to figure out how to make this not happen, and... Android is *deeply* unserious as a software product.

Dan Lyke 00:14:57+0000 (2026-10-19)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

Member of a gay throuple posting about a "swimming with the otters" birthday gift and I have never been more surprised to see pictures of actual animals...

Dan Lyke 08:28:17+0000 (2026-10-17)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

Just got home from seeing Alex Gibney 's film "Musk". I don't think there's a lot new there if you've been paying attention, but it was good to have it collected in one place.

Dan Lyke 16:54:26+0000 (2026-10-16)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2282,-122.631)

Election season thesis: "small town" people aren't conscious of it, but understand that keeping a city from growing means making it unpleasant enough that more people don't want to move there.

Dan Lyke 16:42:35+0000 (2026-10-15)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

If you're in the Petaluma area, I'm looking forward to Monday October 26, 2026 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM PDT at the Polly Klaas Center, where noted writer and urbanist Karl Elefante will be speaking. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/urbanchat/2446444

Dan Lyke 16:16:47+0000 (2026-10-15)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

Yes. Jennie Breeden gets it... https://thedevilspanties.com/archives/17228

Dan Lyke 07:00:49+0000 (2026-10-15)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

Went over to Berkeley to see "The Work in Progress", with conversation between Heather Lofthouse and Robert Reich afterwards. And it was, frankly, very dispiriting. I don't know if I can muster any more of those sorts of conversations. And I don't see a path forward in that way.

Dan Lyke 05:33:34+0000 (2026-10-14)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

Yay! Voted.

Dan Lyke 23:35:41+0000 (2026-10-13)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

Now *this* is how you do a political ad: https://bsky.app/profile/greenb3ar.bsky.social/post/3mxptc3s6zk2a (would love to find a better link for that video, the ad is for https://shakeup-la.com , the LA chapter of the DSA)

Dan Lyke 21:02:38+0000 (2026-10-13)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

Okay, lazyweb, my voice teacher and I need a break from "Moody's Mood for Love". Suggestions for vocally difficult, musically interesting songs? Moody's has been good for definition in long runs (great fun asking Logic to analyze notes and looking at each one sharp or flat), and timing.

Dan Lyke 01:31:41+0000 (2026-10-13)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2365,-122.643)

A trip down memory lane trying to find a hobby shop of my childhood lead to finding mention of my dad leading a design of a sulfur hexafluoride gas-insulated transformer. And a neat history of an industry now gone. https://ethw.org/Archives:Transformers_at_Pittsfield,_part_1

Dan Lyke 21:36:53+0000 (2026-10-12)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2365,-122.643)

And just like that I have a new comic to put on my regular rotation: https://www.freecheesecomix.com/comics/return-on-investment/

Dan Lyke 04:06:48+0000 (2026-10-12)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

Another amazing episode of Trump Con Law, and I learned about Bird v. Holbrook (1825). https://trumpconlaw.com/99-a-certain-dangerous-engine

Dan Lyke 23:21:09+0000 (2026-10-11)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

Bonus on the video rental issue: helping an elderly friend buy with PayPal today. Both email and SMS asadditional factors, email then used a second email and SMS as a factor. At least I hadn't left my phone and laptop charging on the other end of the house, unlike the TV streaming issue last night.

Dan Lyke 23:15:41+0000 (2026-10-11)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

Reading the prospectus on an ETF that has way more Nvidia exposure than I'm comfortable with. Pondering how to get a mix of "good" tech stocks that aren't deep in "AI". If there are any.

Dan Lyke 22:42:05+0000 (2026-10-11)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

Friend's Tesla FSD was doing so well until it turned in front of a fire truck with its lights and sirens going. I mean, I also blame him for not being fast on stomping on the brake, but... "Moral crumple zones" are also a thing, and he is deep in the "AI" delusion.

Dan Lyke 16:53:48+0000 (2026-10-11)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

Thank you for trying to rent a streaming video. From your TV, we've sent an email that leads to a web page which tells you to go check your phone for a code, which... I am frankly surprised that I didn't have to then go down to 7-11 and buy a money transfer to send to Venezuela or something.

Dan Lyke 16:37:36+0000 (2026-10-11)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

Bill Amend's Foxtrot: ChessGPT this morning fucking nails it. https://foxtrot.com/2026/10/11/chessgpt/

Dan Lyke 16:15:09+0000 (2026-10-11)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

After a long day hanging out at Petaluma Pride in the Petaluma Urban Chat booth, came home and crashed out to "Boys Go To Jupiter", an extremely low budget animated film that... reminded me a *lot* of "Repo Man" thematically. Very weird, but maybe just right for the evening.

Dan Lyke 19:31:59+0000 (2026-10-10)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

I'm swamped in political text messages. At this point I've known who I'm going to be voting for for several weeks, and it's unlikely that yet another annoyance is gonna get me to change anything. So do text messages do anything? Maybe increase turnout by a quarter of a percent. No indication who those people voted for. Which raises the question: what are political consultants trying to accomplish? https://news.northeastern.edu/2026/08/11/text-messages-get-out-the-vote/

Dan Lyke 23:50:58+0000 (2026-10-09)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2365,-122.643)

Phishing attempt email from "Docusing", and from now on I'm gonna insist that all invoices be delivered in musical form.

Dan Lyke 20:45:33+0000 (2026-10-09)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2365,-122.643)

Typoed "is:unrad" into my Gmail search box, and was disappointed that it did not in fact give me a list of totally lame emails.

Dan Lyke 15:50:58+0000 (2026-10-09)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

I missed this despite doing regular donations to their partner publication here in Sonoma. Pacific Sun on the Nike missile batteries, and if you haven'[t gone down to visit the restored one, I recommend doing so before the docents who served on actual Nike sites all die. https://pacificsun.com/project-nike-remembering-marin-nuclear-missile-base/ Via https://bsky.app/profile/jef.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mxftr4intcs2

Dan Lyke 23:50:14+0000 (2026-10-08)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

Wow. Microsoft has laid off all of their proofreaders... https://youtu.be/K6QJp1edjmU?si=To6VLJ3eU8inWzZq&t=789 Screencap at https://wandering.shop/@cstross/117406958304798773

Dan Lyke 19:34:43+0000 (2026-10-08)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

The feeling of logging on to Meet two minutes early so Google and Chrome can sort out their identity shit in a different way *this* time...

Dan Lyke 00:29:19+0000 (2026-10-08)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

QFT: "The hard problem in AI is where you hide the human." David Gerard on Anthropic's Mythos hacking claims. https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/10/07/mythos-not-the-magical-ai-hacking-tool-after-all/

Dan Lyke 19:02:34+0000 (2026-10-07)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2249,-122.628)

Geez. Just had to sign into Chrome 3 times and go to Meet twice to get in to a chat.

Dan Lyke 21:21:07+0000 (2026-10-06)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

Current listening/mood: Amy Ray - Didn't Know A Damned Thing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alGmuzNvsXk

Dan Lyke 01:56:49+0000 (2026-10-06)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2365,-122.643)

Our household political giving this year is four figures. I consider myself progressive/liberal. I believe in restorative justice. But if your platform suggests the death penalty for political SMS spam begging for more donations, sign me the fuck up.

Dan Lyke 21:48:09+0000 (2026-10-05)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2366,-122.643)

So, anyway... $ apfel "What’s the frequency Kenneth?" Kenneth is the name of the character from the animated TV series "The Simpsons." His frequency is 1000 Hz, which corresponds to the frequency of a middle C note on the piano.

Dan Lyke 20:47:55+0000 (2026-10-05)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2365,-122.643)

For work reasons I'm screwing around with Apple Intelligence, which led to fact checking a complete non-sequitur answer. Anyway, "What's New Pussycat?" lost the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1966 to "The Shadow of Your Smile". Which says something about awards and longevity...

Dan Lyke 18:05:01+0000 (2026-10-04)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

As the designated tech support person for a number of less tech savvy folks: Jesus Christ, Google, fix your shit. (Suggestions that Apple may be any better will be laughed at.)

Dan Lyke 01:56:49+0000 (2026-10-04)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

Look, I get the "LLMs are not alive" argument, so, yeah, on the one hand we can't torture AI, on the other hand if you find a kid systematically dismembering stuffed animals, maybe ya wanna check in and see if the home life is okay... https://www.404media.co/someone-torturing-llms-in-a-robot-prison-has-triggered-the-dumbest-debate-in-ai-yet/

Dan Lyke 01:55:14+0000 (2026-10-04)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/0) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

Look, I get the "LLMs are not alive" argument, so, yeah, on the one hand we can't torture AI, on the other hand if you find a kit systematically dismembering stuffed animals, maybe ya wanna check in and see if the home life is okay... https://www.404media.co/someone-torturing-llms-in-a-robot-prison-has-triggered-the-dumbest-debate-in-ai-yet/

Dan Lyke 00:11:03+0000 (2026-10-04)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.3407,-123.05)

For all the times we've been through Bodega Bay, this is the first time we've been to the Nicholas Green Children's Bell Tower. Stopped in at Ren Brown's gallery and asked him how we could avoid the heat back at home for a little longer...

Dan Lyke 22:46:35+0000 (2026-10-03)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.3381,-123.048)

The thing about California beaches is that I'm always surprised by the size of the mussels...

Dan Lyke 22:56:51+0000 (2026-10-02)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2365,-122.643)

Some of y'all advocate for touching grass, some for smoking grass, I'm over here pushing for ripping up grass and replacing it with native low water landscaping, and edibles.

Dan Lyke 21:11:18+0000 (2026-10-02)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2365,-122.643)

The thing about whining about Signal user names on social media is that I now know that Apple's cmd-ctrl-space unicode search gives me the same icon for "radish" as for "turnip"... 🫜

Dan Lyke 19:31:18+0000 (2026-10-02)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2365,-122.643)

If the Eric Lucan signs next to John Hanania and Alan LaPierre signs weren't enough, the news that he's trying to distance himself from the cryptobros pouring hundreds of thousands into his race against Jackie Elward seals it. Go Jackie!

Dan Lyke 19:25:20+0000 (2026-10-02)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2365,-122.643)

Friend used voice transcription to describe his shakshouka recipe to Facebook, posted about his "sex shoe shop", and... Yeah, I'm putting that on the list of things to cook.

Dan Lyke 18:42:14+0000 (2026-10-02)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2365,-122.643)

Ah, I see that the LLM-as-intelligence discussion has gotten to the '90s "can we have non-consensual fantasies in fiction and what does that say about the consumers?" level of discourse.

Dan Lyke 03:07:05+0000 (2026-10-01)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

A lot of you are scoffing at Meta's claim that $4B in Zuckerberg compensation and a bunch of data center build outs qualify for a "research tax credit", but seeing how far you can push the bullshit before people resort to violence is, legitimately, research... https://itep.org/metas-outlandish-tax-breaks-for-ai-data-centers/

Dan Lyke 01:54:22+0000 (2026-10-01)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2365,-122.643)

Discussion in the office about an Anthropic rep pushing the idea of referring to the LLM as a teammate rather than a tool. Which... uh... I think I've identified the "tool".

Dan Lyke 02:14:09+0000 (2026-09-28)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.225,-122.628)

Went down to Golden Gate Park today for Forever Grateful, which turned out to be a surprisingly impactful multimedia experience. https://haightstreetart.org/pages/forevergrateful

Dan Lyke 04:19:54+0000 (2026-09-27)— twitter (1/0) facebook (0/0) flutterby (1/1) — Lat,Lon: (38.2251,-122.627)

I'm reading Conor Dougherty's book "Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America". One of the stories he tells is of a development near a BART station in Lafayette, California getting scaled back from dense multifamily to single family detached homes. There is lots of drama, and I don't want to spoil the punchline, but the epilogue is of Steven Falk, the City Manager, resigning rather than holding on for a few weeks to take advantage of a half-million dollar termination bonus. His resignation letter is well worth reading, especially for those of us who are looking at how other towns, like Petaluma, are fighting growth and celebrating freeway widenings. https://www.lovelafayette.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=5499