Thoughts

Short thoughts, notes, links, and musings by . RSS

Update on the arm I bought to hold my e-reader for me: have just discovered this enables me to knit (simple patterns) while I read

Last night I finished The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and half a sock

A half-knit sock (cuff-down) using yarn that pools into black and white stripes, intermixed with browns and yellows

“We just launched a 16TB archive of every dataset that has been available on data.gov since November. This will be updated day by day as new datasets appear. It can be freely copied, and we're sharing the code behind it to help others make their own archives of data they depend on.” Harvard Library Innovation Lab (via BlueSky)

"Announcing the Data.gov Archive".
in Harvard Library Innovation Lab.
Today we released our archive of data.gov on Source Cooperative. The 16TB collection includes over 311,000 datasets harvested during 2024 and 2025, a complete archive of federal public datasets linked by data.gov. It will be updated daily as new datasets are added to data.gov. This is the first release in our new data vault project to preserve and authenticate vital public datasets for academic research, policymaking, and public use. We’ve built this project on our long-standing commitment to preserving government records and making public information available to everyone. Libraries play an essential role in safeguarding the integrity of digital information. By preserving detailed metadata and establishing digital signatures for authenticity and provenance, we make it easier for researchers and the public to cite and access the information they need over time.

was pretty jazzed to hear bookshop.org started selling e-books, but that DRM is a bummer 😞

kind of sucks that the best way to "buy" digital books at the moment is typically to pirate the book, then buy some shitty DRM-locked e-book you never open

even doing that i feel gross, like i'm encouraging these publishers to keep selling e-books this way

White women are about to be the latest to learn that when you support fascists because "they'll go after other people and improve things for me", "other people" always shifts to include you eventually

(Tweet by Trump's new Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs)

Tweet by Darren J. Beattie on October 4, 2024: "Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work. Unfortunately, our entire national ideology is predicated on coddling the feelings of women and minorities, and demoralizing competent white men."

White men who think you won't be next on the chopping block: I guarantee you have a lot more in common with the "other people" than you have with the people in power.

Beattie was fired from his position as a speechwriter under Trump's previous administration when a past appearance on a white nationalist panel came to light. This time around that same thing probably strengthened his application.

An unelected billionaire storming into US agencies, installing his unqualified and unapproved lackeys, purging civil servants, seizing access to sensitive data and payments, unilaterally eliminating federal agencies: fine

Identifying the lackeys: illegal

FearNonelnc @RayInsideOut. Here's a list of techies on the ground helping Musk gaining and using access to the US Treasury payment system. Akash Bobba Edward Coristine Luke Farritor Gautier Cole Killian Gavin Kliger Ethan Shaotran Elon Musk @elonmusk. You have committed a crime.
Same reply by Musk, but showing the original post was removed as a violation of Twitter rules

I guess it's only okay when Elon does it.

Tweet by Elon Musk So many fake jobs Quoted tweet: ~~datahazard~~ @fentasyl. Nov 19, 2024 I don't think the US Taxpayer should pay for the employment of a "Director of Climate Diversification (she/her)" at the US International Development Finance Corporation. Screenshotted document identifying the name and location of a Director, Climate, Diversification
Tweet by Elon Musk But maybe her advice is amazing 🤣🤣 Quoted tweet: ~~datahazard~~ @fentasyl. Nov 19, 2024 Nancy Pelosi's niece should not be paid $181,648.00 by the US Taxpayer to be the "Climate Advisor" at HUD. Screenshotted document showing the names and locations of several climate-related advisors
Tweet by Elon Musk @elonmusk There should be no need for FOIA requests. All government data should be default public for maximum transparency.

After years of the crypto industry claiming to fight for liberty, privacy, and free and open information and tech, I'm very excited for our new "pro-crypto Congress" to get to work protecting access to medical care (including reproductive and gender-affirming care), data privacy, press freedom, freedom of expression, net neutrality, and the right to private and secure communications.

I assume they will also quickly and vocally oppose mass detentions, mass surveillance, book banning and related censorship, attempts to roll back human rights, and attempts to target and retaliate against individuals and organizations based on ideological disagreements.

Any second now!

Crypto executive order establishes a digital assets working group to recommend regulatory changes and "evaluate the potential creation" of a digital asset stockpile, prohibits the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), and revokes Biden's crypto EO.

My immediate thoughts: this is mostly symbolic. The revocation of the previous EO doesn't do much (because the prev EO didn't do much), and although a lot of people have blustered about banning the creation of a CBDC, no US entity ever really pursued creating one.

Regarding the stockpile, I suspect bitcoiners are going to be upset that it is now a "digital asset" stockpile and not a bitcoin stockpile. Furthermore, echoes Trump's original idea of establishing such a stockpile by merely not selling off cryptos seized by law enforcement.

The people who were most excited about a bitcoin stockpile were mostly looking at the proposals by RFK Jr., Sen. Lummis, etc. who had proposed going out and buying a bunch of BTC for a "strategic reserve" (thus pumping the BTC price), and this does not look like that.

The most meaningful portion of this will likely be the regulatory changes to come, though those were pretty clearly coming regardless of any EO.