The Techno-Utopian Seasteaders Who Want to Colonize the Ocean. By Mark Yarm at the New York Times.
AI assisted search-based research actually works now. Simon Willison:
I’ve been throwing all kinds of questions at ChatGPT (in o3 or o4-mini mode) and getting back genuinely useful answers grounded in search results. I haven’t spotted a hallucination yet, and unlike prior systems I rarely find myself shouting “no, don’t search for that!" at the screen when I see what they’re doing.
Here's someone I saw while walking the dog
I’m trying out a new stealth photography trick, where I just hold my phone at my hip with the camera open and shoot a lot of images in burst mode, without bothering to aim precisely. Then I review the photos to see if any are good.
I like the way this one came out.
I’m not sure I feel right about posting a photo of a stranger publicly without their permission, but I’m doing it today.
Trump DOJ goon threatens Wikipedia — Latest in a trend of the right going after Wikipedia. Targeting Wikipedia is one of Project 2025’s explicit goals.
Trump pardons Nevada politician who paid for cosmetic surgery with funds to honor a slain officer
Trump pardoned Michele Fiore, a Nevada Republican who raised money to build a statue to honor a police officer killed in the line of duty, and used some of that money to pay personal costs, including plastic surgery.
Trump also pardoned Jan. 6 rioters who tried to murder police.
I hope the police remember these incidents when deciding whether to continue to support Republicans.
The theory and history of time travel — I’ll remind myself tomorrow to read this yesterday.
Shot from the hip! A street level view of 1970s New York – in pictures — Inspires me to take a lot more random, sloppy street photos and sort them out later.
Trump and his Repubican supporters are openly taking bribes, arresting judges whose actions they don’t like, building registries of Jews and autistic people, threatening to deport American citizens, some born here, putting people in concentration camps, dismantling America’s scientific and economic leadership, rewriting American history to erase Black contributions, and that’s just some damage done in their first three months. Gosh, I can’t wait to see what they get up to in May!
Here’s something I saw walking the dog this morning. The flowers are coming in at the park. The goslings are not far behind.
Responding to Trump, America’s allies are rushing to cut deals with China and remilitarizing, says Ian Welsh. “Even Japan, the most loyal of vassals, has noted that you can’t make a deal with Trump, because blackmailers always come back for more.” The outcome will be ugly for the U.S. and for Americans.
Rowling is playing edgelord from the comfort of a life so far removed from reality that the truth is just a speck in the distance. After years spent tarnishing her brand with rampant trans-exclusionary takes, she’s assured that her writing won’t define her legacy; her flagrant cowardice will.
— After J.K. Rowling’s transphobic gloating, it’s time to leave Harry Potter behind for good, by Coleman Spilde at Salon
The Very American Roots of Trumpism: Trump isn’t a freak or an outlier. He’s part of the long American tradition of illiberalism that includes Andrew Jackson, Jim Crow, Joseph McCarthy and Eisenhower’s Operation Wetback — Ezra Klein
‘Who’s our leader?’ In El Cajon, Rep. Sara Jacobs faces hundreds of residents eager to oppose Trump — San Diego Union-Tribune
While I was walking the dog a few days ago, a car rolled up next to us and a young man rolled down his window and shouted, “THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL DOG!”
Minnie has been insufferably vain ever since.