Published inPolitically Speaking·PinnedMember-onlyWe Don’t Talk About…AnythingBetter to ban it than talk about it — Forget “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” It's just a Disney tune. But here in the good old United States of America, we have embraced that Disney theme. We don’t talk about gay people, we don’t talk about climate change, and we certainly don’t talk about the real history of the…Society4 min readSociety4 min read
PinnedMember-onlyHow a Little Junior High Stole the Profits from a National Portrait ChainAn industry disruption that sparked, then fizzled for lack of school district courage — These days it seems teachers are always begging for money. As a classroom teacher, I was the biggest benefactor of my own program. My personal philosophy was: This is my career, and I’m not planning to spend my entire career just getting by with the school district’s miserly resources. My…Education13 min readEducation13 min read
PinnedMember-onlyThe Nuts & Bolts of Foolproof Sourdough BreadA simple guide to a healthy loaf of sourdough bread without the guesswork I’m not a baker by trade. I’m a retired teacher with plenty of time to work through the sourdough process. I’ve done so enough times that I can consistently produce a beautiful loaf of artisan, sourdough bread…Sourdough16 min readSourdough16 min read
8 hours agoSo, what exactly is happening here? I’d say there are a few things:So Wait, Now Most Of America Seemingly Doesn’t Like America?762Ted BauerHere's a few more:Here's a few more: Government disfunction. Do you really have any faith in our leaders to do anything other than look out for their own best interests? Hell no. -- Bullshit over the debt ceiling. Defaulting on debt should be viewed as total failure of our existing representatives. Default should…1 min read1 min read
9 hours ago…ymasters had their limits, though. To keep the money flowing, they demanded a theory of change that explained how the gains of working people could be stripped away. Same goes for Friedman’s most promising acolytes, whose belief in their cult leader’s vision require…Ideas Lying Around4824Cory DoctorowFriedman bastardized corporations by proclaiming their only goal was to maximize profit for the…Friedman bastardized corporations by proclaiming their only goal was to maximize profit for the shareholder. Corporation used to take a wider view of their mandate that included the prosperity of their workers. In generations past it was not unheard of to work for one employer for your entire life because…1 min read1 min read
9 hours agoditary poverty was no…lorious Years” — made it abundantly clear that no one wanted to go back to bending the knee to their social betters. Reinstating hereditary poverty was not a popular idea.Ideas Lying Around4824Cory DoctorowThe very concept of social betters, royalty, or racial superiority is disgusting.The very concept of social betters, royalty, or racial superiority is disgusting.1 min read1 min read
1 day ago…inator style robots that steal from grannies and kidnap children. But man, they make a great car. Do you seriously think that?So I’d be surprised if any commercial bots were anything but ethically aligned to semi-universal s…GJ, I was intimating basic goals of survival and utility mostly, but I agree that AGIs need ethics…11Paul Pallaghy, PhDNo, but at the same time, I don't want Elon Musk setting the prime directive.No, but at the same time, I don't want Elon Musk setting the prime directive. I'm not worried about overt evil, just a subtle evil to maintain the unbalanced status quo. -- Who gets input into the ethics of the AGI? Probably not a Gandhi or a Martin Luther King…1 min read1 min read
1 day agoIMHO that's not the reason people got paid well.1TYI'm not a Maggot either.I'm not a Maggot either. Why isn't fear of revolution working now? Hell, I could support a worker's revolt. A worker's universal strike. Instead, our population is divided over immigration, gun ownership/gun violence, abortion, white nationalism, and racism. But the sad fact is economically 90 percent of us are in…1 min read1 min read
1 day ago…front-runner for the nomination, stating, “For us, our job, despite his unique status, is the same. We have to hold him to account for his words and his actions. … I don’t think our mission as journalists is anything less than to cover the news. And he’s the ne…Why CNN’s Right To Hold Its Trump Town Hall1065Andy OstroySome accounting.Some accounting. They let him blather on with hardly an interruption. Trump loves to run roughshod over women, so CNN served up a woman to host the bullshit town hall.1 min read1 min read
1 day ago…GI could arguably, simply be little more than GPT-4 or 5 plus long and short-term memory and perhaps some training to make appropriate goals.AI Singularity realistically by 2029: year-by-year milestones10912Paul Pallaghy, PhDAnd what goals might those be. One the one hand I'd like to see:And what goals might those be. One the one hand I'd like to see: And end to inequality, poverty, homelessness. I like to see it trained with humility towards protecting our planetary home, safeguarding our air, water and land. -- But who will program in such lofty goals? The powers…1 min read1 min read
