Notices by Dave Rahardja (drahardja@sfba.social), page 5

I think Toyota was right all along.

It’s an unpopular opinion among EV purists, but I think hybrids will reduce a lot more carbon emissions than BEVs, for the simple reason that way more people can switch. Even without access to charging outlets, hybrids are far more efficient thanks to their regenerative braking. With access to outlets, they are as good as EVs within their electric range, which will account for most of the daily commutes of their owners, and all with far smaller batteries and better costs of ownership than BEVs.

The way to eliminate emissions due to personal transportation is not to put people in BEVs. It’s to *eliminate commutes* and massively invest in (electrified) public transportation.

#ev #bev #hybrids #phev #cars #transportation

“Hybrid vs. Electric Cars: Why Hybrids Make More Sense”

https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/hybrid-vs-electric-why-hybrids-make-more-sense/

Sometimes I wonder

Two more Cybertrucks showed up to a #carmeet yesterday. Same reaction: nobody cared.

#cars #cybertruck #tesla

As you know, I go to a ton of #carmeets. Well, #Cybertrucks have started showing up to a couple of morning meets the past two weekends.

And I noticed something interesting: *car people ignored them*. Nobody stopped their conversation to look. Nobody got on their knees to take photos. Nobody got their phones out to make reels. They just glanced at the truck, and went right back to talking with their pals. Absolutely zero interest.

It’s fascinating because the weirdest-looking, ostensibly most technologically interesting vehicle to have come out in decades shows up, and car enthusiasts treat it like it were a Kia Sedona. Every reviewer of the Cybertruck says they constantly get stopped by people wherever they go—well, apparently, this does not happen at car gatherings.

And it’s not about EVs, either. Bring a Rimac Nevera, and I guarantee you’ll get a crowd forming around your car. It’s the Cybertruck in particular.

#cybertruck #tesla #cars

@thomasfuchs Jeez, what the hell happened to VCF?

Did you read what they did to Jason Scott’s donation? http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/5587

@thomasfuchs Spoiler: it will always be five years away.

@kaia “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have”?

Every Elon tweet is a lesson on why mediocre men—I include myself in that group—should shut our mouths more often.

Here’s a clear example of how aggressive the #ai image processing has become on newer iPhones. This is a comparison between the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the iPhone 11 Pro Max, taking photos of distant text at equal magnification. Note how the 15 Pro Max’s image pipeline has hallucinated all the details.

Original video: https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=885196069752553

Techbros will keep attempting to invent ways for people to exchange information without relying on a network of human trust, and again and again, human trust will prove to be an essential part of a functioning system.

Systems that mainly attempt to replace human trust always work great until they don’t, then you fall off a lonely cliff from which no one can help you out.

Never bet against a network built on human trust and a shared sense of personal reputation, because that’s where all human collaboration eventually gets done, and because that’s where every hare-brained “don’t trust humans” network will eventually end up, lest they perish.

#FridayDevAdvice

#GitHub is under attack.

“The flow of the campaign is simple:

1. Cloning existing repos (for example: TwitterFollowBot, WhatsappBOT, discord-boost-tool, Twitch-Follow-Bot, and hundreds more)
2. Infecting them with malware loaders
3. Uploading them back to GitHub with identical names
4. Automatically forking each thousands of times
5. Covertly promoting them across the web via forums, Discord, etc.
”

“GitHub besieged by millions of malicious repositories in ongoing attack”

https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/02/github-besieged-by-millions-of-malicious-repositories-in-ongoing-attack/

Me: You can’t gentrify homelessness
Techbro: Hold my beer

Original post (now deleted): https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jared-boynton_today-marks-day-1-of-homelessness-for-me-activity-7166172593115377664-geVb

1. The image

Note the childlike simplicity of the image, the super basic smiling face. The finger pointing up at it. The open posture. The baby-like head. What part of the brain is this image stimulating? It looks like the kind of flip card used in psychological tests, right? Or something from a children's book. Why do you think that is? What emotions is this image designed to instantly trigger?

2. The message

Now note the subtlety of the message, layered over the image: I'm the adult. You're the child. Also note the cleverly toned-down passive-aggressive scolding, the peer pressure at the root of it. (You want to be an adult too, right? Don't you want to be a grown-up?)

3. Script-flipping

Note how it flips the script: "No matter what I do, I'll still be your friend" is flipped to "no matter what you do, I'll still be your friend." It's easy to miss. Take a second to appreciate the insidious cleverness of that technique.

(cont’d…)

Excellent post by Olivier Blanchard. #disinformation #propaganda #memes #psyops

Original Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/olivier.a.blanchard/posts/pfbid025pTHuFSx8ika9TxNNFU8YjZm5vWt9RVg6aqJKbAPwBtdMMXKzZaRrq4F45fF4d7Al

“How internet memes are used to manipulate your behaviors: An example.

Chances are that you have seen this meme floating around, especially around elections. It isn't what you think it is. It is not a friendly digital handshake. It isn't meant to help neighbors mend fences. It is a deliberate instrument of psychological manipulation.

I worked in Marketing for nearly two decades. I know this kind of device when I see it. Let me explain.

(cont’d…)

The purpose of this meme and others like it is to normalize malicious political views and suppress pushback, using guilt, confusion, and social pressure as subconscious levers of control. It is not designed to bring people together regardless of their political views. That is not its purpose.

Learn to spot when you're being manipulated by online memes.

PS: Whatever "side" you may be on, and whatever your politics may be, if you're sharing this meme, either you've been had, or your penchant for gaslighting is showing.

Despite how unsophisticated it looks, this is one of the best ones I've seen.”

(end)

4. Accountability avoidance

It makes you (the "child") feel guilty and "bad" for holding someone (the "adult") accountable for their harmful actions.

It also changes the subject from an objective harmful action (voting for a divisive, hate-filled, or antidemocratic agenda, for instance) to the subjective realm of "being friends" and the emotional safety that comes from preserving social bonds.

5. Tapping into the human operating system

If it wasn't already clear, beyond the deflection, it's also an authority play. It exploits hardwired adult-child archetypes AND people's need to belong and feel accepted by their peers.

Psychological manipulation: That's all this meme is about. (Or did you think it was designed by some random soccer mom somewhere?) This meme is deliberate. It was designed by people who know exactly what they are doing and how to achieve the response they want.

(cont’d…)

@thomasfuchs Dogs can detect gluten!?

@zeh I’m sure it can be explained by looking at the incentives at play. Beats me what they are, though.

@MaggieCi Not to mention their marketing department.

A friend of mine sent me these screencaps and I’m laughing so hard.

(Read alt text if image is hard to read)

#google #googleGemini #googleNaming