Notices by Matt Blaze (mattblaze@federate.social)

Wait till they find out about homomorphic encryption. https://med-mastodon.com/@luckytran/114112372213235940

@GottaLaff Aside from being embarrassing and stupid, they'd also need to amend 31 US § 5114(b). https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/5114

Midtown, NYC, 2022

All the pixels, none of the high rents, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/51893928686

#photography

I don't want to advocate for a foreign invasion of the US, but if we were to happen to leave the door to Canada unlocked one night and they snuck in and annexed us, I feel like I could live with that.

@kims Wait, were they afraid Gore might cut himself?

I boosted this story already, but a couple comments.

- It seems to have happened on January 25th, which was only five days after the new administration came in. This makes it hard to say whether this indicates a formal change in policy, an informal "taking off of the gloves", or a one-off mishap.

- A big question is why, if the agent was suspicious, this person was taken into custody and not simply refused entry.

- Borders are scary liminal spaces, legally speaking.

https://www.kpbs.org/news/border-immigration/2025/02/28/german-tourist-held-indefinitely-in-san-diego-area-immigrant-detention-facility

Block button getting an unexpected workout today.

Today I've been told that I shouldn't
- Post about politics
- Post about things that aren't politics
- Post photos of things that either are or aren't related to politics
- Tell jokes

That doesn't leave me with much to work with.

@cigitalgem I have a really great block button, and I'm happy to share.

@cigitalgem They should really give these buttons to everyone!

@paul_ipv6 @jb @briankrebs I'm now seeing normal responses (with nih.gov, pubmed, etc all loading successfully for me). This wasn't true an hour ago.

Never attribute to malice that which can be attributed to both malice AND stupidity.

@kims I don't ski, and I would still find that withering.

Little Boxes, San Francisco, CA, 2024.

All the pixels, on the hillside, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/54062971395

#photography

It was like watching whatever remained of our country’s stature on the world stage self-immolate before our eyes.

I’ve become almost used to being shocked and ashamed for my country, but Trump’s disgusting treatment of Zelensky today was simply beyond belief.

I cry for Ukraine, and for us, too.

Code Lines, Union Pacific Railroad, Harvard, CA, 2010.

All of the pixels, none of the rattlesnakes, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/4612902834

#photography

Captured with a DSLR and 24mm shifting lens (vertically shifted just a bit) on a hot day in the Mojave desert.

This is a simple composition, characteristic of the early 20th century Precisionist school. There's little in the frame that isn't essential. The pylons, wires, and tracks all converge at a vanishing point at the edge of the frame, suggesting, but not showing, a more expansive network of wires, tracks, and, for better or worse, human dominance over nature.

Telegraph poles like these, with multiple "code lines", were once a common feature along American railroads. They are distinguishable from ordinary power or telephone lines by their multitude of cables, often occupying several crossarms. They typically carried a power bus plus individual lines for the signals along the route, with more efficient encodings used as technology improved.

They've been mostly supplanted by more modern SCADA systems that don't require so many individual wires.

@GottaLaff Every time her name comes up I'm reminded of my mild irritation that the crime that got her locked up was defrauding investors, rather than doing bogus medical tests.

West Trenton (Ewing), NJ, 2015.

All the pixels, no ticket required, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/21010463488

#photography