Author's archive
QOTD 0
Rex Stout, in the voice of Nero Wolfe:
Courtesy is one’s own affair, but decency is a debt to life.
Stout, Rex, Too Many Cooks (New York: Bantam, 2009), p. 61.
The Monster Next Door 0
I have resisted the temptation of join NextDoor. I had a sneaking feeling that it could lead to no good, because years of experience and observation have taught me that “social” media isn’t.
As evidence, I offer one person’s story.
I Get Mail 0
Today I received the notice to pay the annual registration fee for my 2003 GMC Sonoma pick-up truck.
I also received the return receipt from the certified letter that I sent to the DMV containing the appropriate form from my car registration document to notify the DMV that I no longer owned said truck. I have a new(er) car.
I’m hanging on to the former until I’m certain the latter has been properly processed.
Afterthought:
I think I shall name my car “Whitey.”
Whitey Ford.
A Tune for the Times 0
Warning: Of questionable taste.
Maskless Marauders 0
Marauders who fly the fiendly skies.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
Bryan Greenspun, publisher of the Las Vegas Sun, remembers a chance encounter:
They happily explained that the law did not find them to be publishers in the traditional sense. Since they did not ”curate” the information — meaning no humans made decisions about what to publish on their sites — they could not be held responsible for truth, falsity, defamation, lying, incitement and a whole host of other proscriptions that applied to traditional publishers.
I told them I didn’t agree; the way they disseminated information and news to their users was no different that what we did for our readers. And, I asked them, if you are not responsible, who is? They laughed as in they didn’t care.
More memories at the link.
Plus, here’s some more thoughts about the algorithm.
Vaccine Nation 0
Twits on twitter. fomenting fabrications.
All the News That Fits 0
John Oliver reacts to the news that AT&T is the primary funder for the far right One America Network.
Video via C&L, which has commentary.
Aside:
The company that now calls itself “At&T” can change it name as often as it wants to (remember Cingular?), but it’s still Southwestern Bell, arguably one of the worst of the “Baby Bells.”
Facebook Frolics 0
Writing for the EFF, Katherine Trendacosta argues that Facebook, like Crabby Appleton, is rotten to the core. A nugget:
Ms. Haugen told Congress that she thinks Facebook should be reformed, not broken up. But Facebook’s broken system is fueled by a growth-at-any-cost model. The number of Facebook users and the increasing depth of the data it gathers about them is its biggest selling point. In other words, Facebook’s badness is inextricably tied to its bigness.