A list of laws, theories, principles and patterns that software developers might find useful, including the 1% Rule and “institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution”. [hacker-laws.com]

Brown pelicans dive bomb the anchovy buffet, Monterey Bay.

Good evening twilight, Monterey Bay. 🌅

What also baffles me is that Democratic Party is ~30 points underwater in favorability & Zohran Mamdani is ~16 points above water in favorability. The Dem Party establishment, who is responsible for the abysmal rating, is too arrogant to support the guy ~50 points ahead of them. Incredible.

The alumni of this program are a who’s-who across silicon valley. Suspect there aren’t many law students following me here but if there is one in your life who is interested in tech law, they should apply.

Every single day of this administration, I have thought of my late professor Joe Nye and his work on soft power. Every single day of this administration, Trump finds a new way to hemorrhage soft power from a country that once had more to spare than any in the world.

Sunset over the Santa Cruz Mountains tonight

Looked at my data collections for state-backed activity. If the report were a picture:

I hate that the word "poaching" is commonly used to describe workers moving jobs to ensure they're getting paid the market rate for their services. It's corporate speak for "paying workers better than us," another garbage framing by Big Tech that we shouldn't accept. Worker mobility is a good thing.

Mandatory reading today from @rawsignal.ca: mailchi.mp/rawsignal/ho... It is offensive how good @johnathan.bsky.social and @shappy.bsky.social are at nailing the workplace issues around AI.

I want to talk about my friend. I met him at a summer camp for nerds when I was 12, pre-transition. We hit it off immediately, became SUPER close, and our parents would drive us back and forth for sleepovers for the next five years. He was the first trans person I met. He transitioned in the 90s.

2/ It was bad enough they cut all the tax incentives for wind and solar energy - they added a NEW TAX on these projects to make sure America never builds any new renewables. Remember, Trump promised the oil industry provisions like this in exchange for a $1B campaign donation.

4/ A new tax break for coal companies! So the tax incentives for wind and solar are GONE, and the coal industry is getting NEW tax incentives. It's official policy now to to not just deny global warming exists - but to actively make it WORSE.

Dress it up in progressive language but you're cheating yourself by not doing the work. This is the worst thing about AI: millions of students refusing to learn, taking zero interest in the world around them, empty in mind and heart. Your punishment is the person you will become.

In the spring of 2008, I feared America was on the verge of war with Iran — and, believing that it’s good style to get to know people before you bomb them, I made “Rick Steves’ Iran,” a one-hour special that could (and would) only debut on PBS. Sadly, this special has become pertinent again today.

Not taking anything away from Senator Padilla because he was treated atrociously But I JUST want to remind everyone that the Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, a Black woman, was just indicted for just asking questions at an ICE detention center in her state Keep that same energy of support for her

Rubber pellets are meant to be ricocheted off the ground. When fired directly at people’s faces, they aren’t “less lethal.” The press is abusing this term & it’s failing to address the fact that cops are incorrectly handling crowd control weapons to intentionally cause physical injury.

Something feels extra special about fixing vulnerabilities that don't absolutely *have* to be fixed.

Many years ago, "ten fucking days" was a bit of a boast. Mozilla, with good people like Dan Veditz and Mike Shaver, has contributed substantially to industry-wide security improvements for more than a quarter century. We all owe Dan, Mike, and many others thanks for making the internet more secure.

We just published @firefox.com updates to fix the exploits used at the Pwn2Own contest yesterday and today. Both contestants achieved RCE in our content process but did not escape the sandbox. blog.mozilla.org/security/202...

OSU Open Source Lab was a tremendous help to @mozilla.org in the early post-Netscape days, hosting a mirror of our downloads and an enthusiastic student community, many of whom became early employees. OSU students created the @firefox.com crop circle firefoxcropcircle.com/circle/

\o/ I just got my Firefox Nightly update to version 140!! Who doesn't celebrate big round numbers :D I've been using Mozilla's "nightly builds" as my primary connection to the internet for a continuous 26 years, 7 months, and 21 days. This year I'll hit 20,000 Mozilla browser updates 😲

My napkin math says we spent about as much in 2015-2025 on AI as we did in 1998-2008 on the broadband, fiber, and cellular network build out that gave us the modern internet. One added trillions to the economy in that same decade. The other is still a financial black hole. What a terrible waste.

Nothing says "come boost our falling international tourism numbers" as well as arresting judges.

First they came for the due process And I did not speak out Because I was an idiot who didn't understand how anything works. Then they came for absolutely anyone they want And I did not speak out Because I was in jail

My son works for this company here in the U.K. It was playing the video game ‘Deus Ex’ that set him on the path to becoming a Biomechanical Engineer. Sometimes, it’s nice to highlight the good things that video games can do. And also remind myself just how proud of him I am.

SignalGate Is Bad; But OPSEC Isn’t Even the Worst Part Of It talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/signa...

There's a way to find out how your data was used by DOGE. FOIA REQUEST. www.newsweek.com/doge-foia-re...

Oh. My. Wow. This image here, THIS STUNNING PHOTO, was taken by Blue Ghost on the Moon. Because while we saw a lunar eclipse on Earth, the Moon saw a solar eclipse at the same time. That's us, Earth, eclipsing the Sun. And it just gives me goosebumps to see like this!!

People are losing the spirit of the Ides of March. It's not about just stabbing. It's about coming together to stab in groups

All dragons are strange, but some are much, much stranger - and much older - than people realise. The oldest dragons have been here long before we existed. They are so old that, over the millennia, flesh and bone have become rock and earth. (1/5)

The US is no longer safe for foreign nationals. Do not come here. You risk being arbitrarily detained, tortured, and put into solitary confinement without due process.

The lovely ladies of Zambra performing a traditional Shaker song (details in the YouTube description) www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQP1...

I strongly suspect shutting down USDS and 18F was about securing the Doggie-boyz digital coup, since USDS and 18F were supporting everyone else with, amongst other things, protocols and procedures designed to block insider attacks.

Today's newsletter is about that Washington Post story about the woman who bought Trump's "free IVF" lie from yesterday: www.readtpa.com/p/when-headl...

TIL about the "Norway problem "

*This is getting really annoying and complicated, so how about if there's some neat, cheap, one-click Chinese AI shortcut for "removing all the American AI"

I can’t say more firmly to you: If you are facing a threat of being fired or resign, you stay until fired. If you don’t, you have the worst employment case and will have difficulty finding a lawyer. The former is wrongful termination the latter is constructive discharge. Get fired. No shame.

Home hardening applies to both new construction and retrofitting older homes. Take action today to protect your home and loved ones. Learn more about fire-resistant building materials and retrofitting options at readyforwildfire.org. #WildfirePrevention #HomeHardening #DefensibleSpace

I joined @neildegrassetyson.com on the Startalk podcast to talk about Los Angeles #wildfire disasters, what's familiar versus what's truly unprecedented, how wildfire conditions are changing, and the impossibility of fighting a blizzard-like ember storm. www.youtube.com/watc...

After becoming increasingly enmeshed in the wildfire world, you start to notice things about the way we've systematically altered our relationship with the natural environment in a way that has increased the risk of destructive fires. And then you stop being able to unsee them.

Always a good rule

“Because the Democrats tend to be inept and incompetent in explaining reality to people, Rep. Jerry Nadler released the report on New Year’s Eve where it basically got zero attention.” JFC. I follow this issue obsessively and I didn’t even see this until now. www.techdirt.com/2025/01/10/c...

A gentle reminder that you should always resist the temptation to tag a creative person into a negative review of their work. It doesn't matter what your intentions are, it's kind of an asshole maneuver. You are free to say whatever you like, of course. Making it their problem, however, is not kind.

I don't know the game/review Shepherd is talking about, but the statement is generally true.

JUST CLOSE THE OFFICE BETWEEN CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS. HALF THE PEOPLE AREN'T WORKING AND THE REST OF US DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THEIR SHIT. MY WHOLE MORNING HAS BEEN ANSWERING EMAILS SAYING "YEAH, I CAN'T DO THAT, YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE REAL PERSON IS BACK." FUCK ME