What's the best Pixelfed instance for someone like me? Based in Australia, prefer medium or small instance that is competently run, etc. Thanks for your tips!
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Take care of yourself, stay cool, and don’t be a numbnut. Check out HeatWatch for evidence-based ways to cool down. https://heatwatch.sydney.edu.au
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Menthol cigarette ban overturned by new U.S. Administration
For those who are wondering where menthol bans are coming from, they’ve been recommended by WHO in line with the Frakework Convention on Tobacco Control. I was hoping governments might tackle ma’assel as well - unlikely now. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-24/menthol-cigarette-ban-proposal-withdrawn-by-trump-administration
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Transitory
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I’ve been downloading things so I can delete my Facebook and Instagram accounts, and I checked into Bluesky for the first time in a few days. Everywhere I was beset by emotional outpourings of grief, outrage, and misery on every topic imaginable.
It’s not good, folks.
That’s why I’m so grateful for the norms here. That people balance their need to have a voice with considering others. Thank goodness for CWs. It’s not just about being nice, it makes it less hopeless than other platforms.
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Afternoon reading
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I just saw someone on Bluesky quote “skeeting” a response to them, rather than replying. I was immediately reminded of all the terrible brigading I saw on Twitter, and how all the same affordances for harassment exist on Bluesky. It’s only a matter of time before it becomes as terrible as x-the-everything-app.
Platform design really matters.
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"…we compared how ants or people tackle an identical geometrical puzzle. We find that when ants work in groups, their performances rise significantly. Groups of people do not show such improvement and, when their communication is restricted, even display deteriorated performances." https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2414274121
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David Lynch was a visionary in an era bereft of them: https://benhr.xyz/2025/01/17/david-lynch-was-a-visionary.html
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Actually its name is Frankenstein’s Monster’s coffee.
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An important example of how public knowledge is being controlled through intimidation, doxing and brigading.
Heritage Foundation plans to ‘identify and target’ Wikipedia editors https://forward.com/news/686797/heritage-foundation-wikipedia-antisemitism/
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I really enjoyed this post/newsletter on skibidi toilet and dialectic analysis https://etymology.substack.com/p/hegel-skibidi-toilet-and-language
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Trudeau hey
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Cam Wilson has taken over venerable Australian tech(ish) newsletter The Sizzle - Cam’s first issue is out today.
All the best to Anthony Agius for his non-retirement. https://thesizzle.beehiiv.com/p/us-spills-on-china-telecom-hack-crypto-s-big-2025-and-tech-in-aussie-election-firing-line
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Massive data breach at VW https://www.spiegel.de/international/business/we-know-where-you-parked-massive-data-breach-at-vw-raises-questions-about-vehicle-privacy-a-4b1cb926-2edb-42ea-92fb-5000cd378fc5
Owning a car shouldn’t involve corporate data kleptomania. If they didn’t compulsively spy on their vehicle users they wouldn’t have all this data to breach.
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Good news everyone! :brain4:
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/meta-ai-users-facebook-instagram-1235221430/
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An interesting post from DAIR https://www.dair-institute.org/blog/elders/
I was nodding along in parts:
“We reimagine a better internet, one that is truly inclusive and accessible to all. It is an internet that seamlessly adapts to the needs of every user regardless of their age, the languages they speak, or the type of interface they can use. An internet that reflects our histories, and not just those of hegemonic cultures; one that enables our elders to connect with the world, their community and loved ones.”
But I sometimes wonder what it would take to get tech people to realise that social problems, especially those of alienation, can never have tech solutions alone. In the very next paragraph:
“We are actively working to build and shape this technological future that we want. Lesan.ai is working on Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Machine Translation (MT) and Text to Speech (TTS) tools that can make the internet more accessible for our grandmothers regardless of the language they speak or their technical fluency.”
The real value of interdisciplinarity is that it forces one to speak with others who don’t suffer from the same epistemological brainrot.
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Michael Leunig, Australian cartoonist, dies aged 79
I hope those memorialising him remember his recent comments and attitudes as well as his earlier work. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/dec/19/michael-leunig-australian-cartoonist-dies-aged-79
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I’m dealing with generative A.I. use in assessment a lot at the moment. This is a good summary of the issues, but also describes the pressures and anxieties that students face as well as the structural drivers.
‘I received a first but it felt tainted and undeserved’: inside the university AI cheating crisis - The Observer https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/15/i-received-a-first-but-it-felt-tainted-and-undeserved-inside-the-university-ai-cheating-crisis
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“it could be the first assassination in the United States using a 3D printed weapon“ https://www.404media.co/unitedhealthcare-shooting-person-of-interest-had-3d-printed-glock/
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