Notices by Anne Deschaine (aehdeschaine@zirk.us)

@valhalla @kissane True, but it wouldn't be hard to find the same sorts of points to argue now just reading that article! 😏 Even in those episodes, the ultimate conclusion often relied on one person's willingness to take the next step. AI aside, we're still questioning what/who is sentient.

But anyway, mostly it makes me think about the AIs in Trek and wonder how started. Every Trek-like thing introduced today seems to have the most horrifying origin/growth story, and that is damn depressing.

@kissane I often think these days of all the Star Trek episodes I've seen involving AI beings, and how I completely accepted, even empathized with and rooted for, them. But when I read something like this, it gives me a totally different feeling, and I argue myself into a corner trying to articulate why. But then, I suppose most of the novel things I used to like in Trek have a darker underbelly in real life 😕

A thoughtful piece about Ursula K. Le Guin's activism and complicated feelings, written by Julie Phillips and published on Literary Hub. I do enjoy the little glimpses into the history of my area, too.

https://lithub.com/the-way-of-water-on-the-quiet-power-of-ursula-k-le-guins-activism/

#UrsulaKLeGuin

Need a last-minute gift for the calligraphy-curious in your life? Want a calligraphic start to your new year?

Registration is open for the Portland Society for Calligraphy's first 2025 workshop! Explore delicate Roman letterforms in Suzie Beringer's The Unconventional Pointed Pen.

Zoom, January 11–12, 9:00–4:00 PST, $70 members/$100 non-members

Register, more info, questions at: https://www.portlandsocietyforcalligraphy.org/events/#!event/2025/1/11/the-unconventional-pointed-pen-with-suzie-beringer

#calligraphy #lettering #typography #art #graphicDesign #handwriting

Did you get pens and ink for Christmas? Resolving to try something creative in 2025? Come join my local calligraphy guild's workshop in January!

The Unconventional Pointed Pen with Suzie Beringer

Zoom, January 11–12, 9:00–4:00 PST $70 members/$100 non-members

Register, more info, questions: https://www.portlandsocietyforcalligraphy.org/events/#!event/2025/1/11/the-unconventional-pointed-pen-with-suzie-beringer

Our guild is local, but our members are global! Share at will!

#calligraphy #typography #graphicDesign #lettering #handwriting #art #resolutions2025

Too snowy to go out? Want something to do next weekend? Spaces still available in my local calligraphy guild's workshop!

The Unconventional Pointed Pen with Suzie Beringer

Zoom, January 11–12, 9:00–4:00 PST $70 members/$100 non-members

Register, more info, questions: https://www.portlandsocietyforcalligraphy.org/events/#!event/2025/1/11/the-unconventional-pointed-pen-with-suzie-beringer

Our guild is local, but our members are global! Share at will!

#calligraphy #typography #lettering #handwriting #graphicDesign #art #PDX

My husband keeps a list of "mental health webcams" (as in, live cameras at national parks, nature reserves, watching animal nests, etc.) to check when he needs a break during his workday. It's a very him thing, and I love it.

But I was clued in to a couple of feeds that I've now pinned to check on, and I think I want more.

So, what is your favorite scenic live webcam?

Nature is good, but I'm open to built spaces, too. Non-US would be especially good.

#AskFedi #webcam

@fifilamoura @skinnylatte I'd agree. And I've actually really enjoyed learning about traditional Nordic cuisine! Not a fan of the fermented fish, but the broader preservation practices are fascinating, and the "Nordic diet" counterpart of Mediterranean is really interesting, too. And spice DOES have a long history in the cuisine, but in specific places.

I admit the most flavorful explorations I've done have been in mostly-warmer cuisines. But living in the PNW's growing season really helps!

@fifilamoura @skinnylatte It is interesting that, the more I explore, say Chinese or Mediterranean or Middle Eastern food, the less I crave the few "traditional" foods from childhood. I always want to find a jazzier version, and the craving becomes nostalgia but not culinary appreciation...

@fifilamoura @skinnylatte The cool thing is, you can grow into one if you're willing and able! One of my closest early adulthood friends back home (Midwest) was Tai Dam and had a huge family. I got invited to a number of occasions, and I swore I would try ANYTHING at least once before asking what it was. That, plus how she was a big foodie, as well as cooking my own stuff and reading about food cultures, including my ancestral ones, meant that I slowly expanded my palate. It can happen!

@fifilamoura @skinnylatte I'm still not sure I can claim a long-standing family food culture (Midwestern Scandinavian-American comes closest, maybe, with adopted French from my husband), but I'm building one my son can claim. And he's willing to try all kinds of foods of other food cultures, and I can't complain about that

@skinnylatte @Jackiemauro @lzg It's so funny, because it's not like you won't use the more-useful bike in said apocalypse! Until that time, or actual change happens, car reality is car reality.

I had to mute a number of people from Amsterdam pretty early on here... Shouting from a very bike-friendly country doesn't improve my country's transit situation 🤷♀️

@Jackiemauro @lzg This says it so succinctly. I've had to mute some phrases on here that I *am value-aligned with* because it was the only way to keep the insufferable evangelists from becoming overwhelming. Not great.

You know what's hilarious? I boosted this article, which I enjoyed very much, earlier today. However, I have not yet found a clean way to save it in an offline format.

It has dynamic illustrations as you scroll, and citations that only appear when you hover over their associated links, and none of my usual tricks get me the whole thing in a format I can either save (yes, yes, I know, PDF) or save to print. Certainly managed to demonstrate irony, at least.

https://lil.law.harvard.edu/century-scale-storage/

I am very overdue to revive my blog/website. Moving beyond my current self-hosted WordPress site is an option. But I'm also curious about ways to connect my site to the fediverse. I know Micro.blog can do so, and I know of at least one WordPress plugin.

Are there other ways to connect a blog/website to fedi?

#blogging #FediTips #AskFedi

@marews I wish it wasn't such a depressing one!

Been thinking a lot about how unfriendly my neighborhood (okay, the increasingly pricey single-family homes further into my neighborhood) feels the more Ring cameras go in.

Now I'm thinking about how "obey in advance" is such a moot point when it comes to consumer security technology. People ate that up and now the residential areas in which we should be building resilience with neighbors have a ready-made authoritarian surveillance net instead.

#USpol

I am no infosec or other security expert, but I've always hated visiting homes with smart assistant devices. At this point, I would honestly be tempted to tell friends and family that I won't step foot inside if those are present.

I know this is an ironic statement since I do own a smartphone. I don't know how far I can draw the line. But I figure starting with the Alexas is better than nothing.

#USpol

It has been raining for hours. The local water crew has been out clearing leaves from drains along our hilly, curving, sidewalk-less street.

Guess what the landscape crew across the street is desperately trying to blow around and off their property?

🤬

I think I need to reach out to someone. The building owner? The water crew? The city?

The complicated part is that most of the landscaping crews around here are Hispanic/Latino, and I obviously don't know anyone's personal status. I want them to stop clogging drains and making our street shoulder unsafe to walk. I don't want them to be in trouble.

I've never tried to thread a needle like this. May need to do some research.

Maybe just asking the building owner to ask them to bag the leaves would be sufficient...