Notices by Sumana Harihareswara (brainwane@social.coop)

tomorrow I visit a fashion boutique in Manhattan because of a question my friend @naomikritzer asked about a strange pair of socks

https://bsky.app/profile/naomikritzer.bsky.social/post/3mnczpba6fc23

A month ago, a guy at a local Democratic club, who knows that I write about local politics but not for a media institution, asked if I'm a social media influencer

I said no

But (a) definitions???? & (b) tomorrow I plan to take photos, as I try on a scarily expensive garment, to later post online

"scarily" in that I recognize that I could commit a sitcom-esque series of pratfalls that would lead to me damaging merchandise and owing a fashion shop the equivalent of rent for a two-bedroom apartment not too far from the subway

People in @naomikritzer 's thread asked many questions about these socks and dug up listings, photos, and videos that answered some of them https://bsky.app/profile/naomikritzer.bsky.social/post/3mndbetrtmk24

I have now synthesized our research and remaining questions into the document pictured here

I have phoned the store and confirmed that they do indeed have the socks in stock so I can see them today. Staffer was going to check whether they have the color I want. I said I'm more interested in it "as a garment" and not any particular "colorway" (am proud of bringing in that last phrase)

Regardless, a different staffer has texted me to ask which color I am interested in; I have replied that I believe they have the orange in stock, which would work for me

(On the way to the appointment: mailing a couple auction items people won in May at the @OtherwiseAward fundraising auction. https://otherwiseaward.org/donate in case you want to drop a buck in there too. Donations help celebrate sf/f that explores gender. Not my gender performance explorations today.)

https://www.france24.com/en/culture/20260604-french-iranian-author-marjane-satrapi-author-of-persepolis-dies-at-56 I'm sad that Marjane Satrapi has died.

I have often come across the quote below. Before reposting it, I wanted to verify it. And I found out it's from a 2005 Salon interview https://www.salon.com/2005/04/24/satrapi_2/ -- during the time I worked at Salon! A neat coincidence for me.

This Saturday May 23rd, 8pm-9pm ET,
I host a comedy fundraising auction benefiting the Otherwise Award (celebrating scifi/fantasy that explores and expands our notions of gender). I'll make nerdy jokes. You can come and have fun without bidding on anything. It's online (Zoom/YouTube livestreams + Discord).

To attend, register for the feminist sf/f convention WisCon.Tickets are sliding scale, USD$0-$5-$25-$65. And you'll also get the chance to enjoy well-moderated panels, readings of new work, a curated fanvid show, and other sessions, May 22-25, many of which will include CART (real time captioning by a human). More info:

https://wiscon.net/2026/05/21/how-to-wiscon/

https://wandering.shop/@OtherwiseAward/116578650117826373

#WisCon #WisCon2026 #WisCon48

https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/03/transcript--mayor-mamdani-delivers-remarks-at-iftar-for-city-wor

Mamdani does a number of unusual and noteworthy things in this speech. Interesting in the history of the intersection of Islam and US politics.

@cwebber btw have you ever read the prompt & sample interactions for the "absolute mode" that goes zero-sycophancy?

https://www.metafilter.com/208658/People-Are-Losing-Loved-Ones-to-AI-Fueled-Spiritual-Fantasies#8719485

@cwebber I once talked with someone who had set up a Signal account while trying not to use any Android or iOS devices. I believe part of what they did was use some emulation, including the Android SDK. There's a step where one has to scan a QR code. To get around that: the SDK includes a sandbox for testing camera functionality, and lets the user "walk" around a little "room" -- and you can put specific images on the "wallpaper".

@cwebber 😬

When creating spam that uses generative AI to fake detailed knowledge of my business, consider structuring your process such that you don't actually send emails that include "Error: No response from OpenAI API." Just a free tip there for you.

Innovative and terrible product idea:

A mouth implant that automatically senses food/drink intake and releases flavors to optimize for your palate; it learns from your saliva production

Never again have to manually add salt to your food or sugar to your coffee, possibly in front of other people

Sensory sovereignty

Flavor cartridges are a subscription service; dentists sell/install/maintain, like Invisalign

We start off with sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami; version 2 includes capsaicin

inspired partly by watching a cook mention adding salt during cooking if desired - but how do you know you want to add salt till after you taste the finished product? What if we just fixed this at mouth time?

what if we marketed these as the taste equivalent of noise-cancelling headphones

If you work for IBM, Dell, HP, Cisco, Oracle, Microsoft, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Nvidia, Seagate, Intel, Motorola, Amazon Web Services, Western Digital, Esri, Broadcom (VMWare & Pivotal), Hitachi, Sony, Toshiba, or Samsung: here's what your work got sold to do, what your bosses knew, and when they knew it.

https://apnews.com/article/chinese-surveillance-silicon-valley-uyghurs-tech-xinjiang-8e000601dadb6aea230f18170ed54e88 by Dave Kang & @yaelwrites

Detailed findings: https://apnews.com/article/chinese-surveillance-silicon-valley-uyghurs-tech-xinjiang-a80904158b771a14d5a734947f28d71b

You can collectively organize with your colleagues to tell your employer: "we don't do that here." In the US, the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee gets you in touch with a workplace organizer:

https://workerorganizing.org/support/

"We support and train any non-union worker in any industry who wants power and agency at work."

Annals of hard-to-look-up band names:

https://www.sangerhall.com/calendar/2025/9/13/html-an-indie-rock-record-release-party

next week is a record release party for an indie rock group? or album? named "HTML"

SHE TRIED TO BRIBE KATIE HONAN ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!!!!

https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/08/20/winnie-greco-eric-adams-aide-attempted-cash-katie-honan-reporter/

In November 2024, the weekend just after the US Presidential election, I felt a need to meet some of my neighbors and find some people to be in solidarity with. So, spontaneously, I took a little camp chair and a folding table and a homemade sign to a spot in my neighborhood that would get a lot of foot traffic, and I started having some conversations.

What happened next:

http://harihareswara.net/posts/2025/you-can-just-show-up/

A little NYCpol/USpol; mostly about the texture of in-person organizing/outreach more generally.