Last Paris pics
Nov. 6th, 2025 12:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cmcmckThe building which houses the Musée Jacquemart André is rather fine in its own right!
This is the garden:
( Here be pics!. )
This is the garden:
( Here be pics!. )
cmcmckReading Wednesday
Nov. 5th, 2025 06:55 amsabotabby Any day that starts with Cheney dying and ends with Mandami getting elected as New York mayor, even with the forces of both wings of the Party allied against him, is a pretty good day.
But onto the books.
Just finished: Nothing.
Currently reading: Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. Okay "academia is hell" is a cheap premise but 1) it's true, and 2) she does it splendidly, and I am devouring this book. It's so good. I love Alice. She's awful and such a fuckup and makes the wrong decision at every turn and I'm here for it. As I'm reading I just want to screenshot every page and text it to my academic friends.
I'm about 3/4 through and if Kuang lands the ending, this is going to be one of the best things I've read this year.
But onto the books.
Just finished: Nothing.
Currently reading: Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. Okay "academia is hell" is a cheap premise but 1) it's true, and 2) she does it splendidly, and I am devouring this book. It's so good. I love Alice. She's awful and such a fuckup and makes the wrong decision at every turn and I'm here for it. As I'm reading I just want to screenshot every page and text it to my academic friends.
I'm about 3/4 through and if Kuang lands the ending, this is going to be one of the best things I've read this year.
holiday shopping guide
Nov. 5th, 2025 01:17 amarchersangelnot just for the holidays, but for any gift giving occasion.
edwardrhamiliton.com the place for books. some of the books are slightly damaged & if you don't mind that these are good bargains. i've bought from them for years and really like this company. most of their orders ship within 48 hours of them getting your order so i wouldn't do last-minute stuff with them. (it's been several years since i've bought from them.)
sock dreams the place for socks & stockings. i've never used them, but heard many good things. if you, or someone on your list, likes unique socks and/or stockings this is the place to shop. (have not bought from here)
humon on deviantart (i think she deleted her account) who does scandinavia and the world has some merchandise now. (never got anything from here.)
the guy who does rejected princesses now has a RP book with a bunch of new entries. (never bought from here.)
adagio tea sells loose-leaf teas & tea paraphernalia. they have all kinds; black, decaf, green, etc. & even fandom blends! (it's better to search for the one you're interested in, than to look through their list) there could be more than one for what you're interested in. for example; there are a couple for daniel jackson of SG-1, so read the flavor description to see if it's something you might like. they sell sample tins that make about 5 cups (except for some which are 10 or the ice tea, which is 6 pouches that make 40oz), so you can try it before committing to a larger amount.
they even tell you at what temperature & how long to steep the teas for.
make sure you read the whole page for the tea you're interested in, as some are higher in caffeine than others. (never got anything from them)
uncommon goods "If you're on the hunt for quirky, unusual gifts that are guaranteed crowd-pleasers, you've come to the right spot." gifts for men, women (both have subcategories like dad, mom, husband, wife & so on) geeks, the home & kids, plus many things can be personalized. (never ordered from them.)
snag tights similar to sock dreams, but 80% tights/pantyhose. the rest is leggings, shorts that prevent chafing, underwear, shirts, with some socks & clothes. for their tights/pantyhose they have 2 size guides; one for if you have a prominent stomach and/or butt & or for if you have a flat stomach and/or butt. they say they've tested their tights/pantyhose on sizes 1 to 34 and they show women of varrious body types, so you can get an idea of how things will look on.(never got anything from them)
thigh society anti-chafe shorts (not shapewear) that can be used for working out, sleepwear, under a dress/skirt for modesty or loungewear. they have sheer, semi-sheer & mostly opaque styles that can be worn as underwear or over it. they come in 3 leg lengths (5, 7 & 9 inch. 1 has 12, 17, & 21 inch options), sizes XS/S to 5/6XL & several colors. there's even a style that has a pocket. (never got from them)
peter pauper press notebooks, journals, stationary, planners, stickers, pens, pencils, & organizers; including ones for what your wishes are after you pass on, wedding planning, baby's first years, your travel plans, tracking exercise, what you eat & more. (never bought from them)
RIP Dick Cheney, 84
Nov. 4th, 2025 08:56 amthewayneOr should that be good riddance to bad rubbish? Depends on your voting preferences perhaps. Well, mine are fairly well known.
He died from "...complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease." He had already had one heart transplant in 2012 after a long history of cardiovascular disease.
Aside from masterminding the 2003 war in Iraq with no solid basis in facts, Cheney served as an aide to Richard Nixon, stayed as deputy White House chief of staff under Gerald Ford, then Secretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush with a unanimous Senate vote of 92-0. He also served six terms as a House member rising to become minority party whip.
I will say some good things about him, surprisingly:
-He softened his views on LGBTQ issues when one of his daughters came out
-He voted for Harris in the 2024 election
-He absolutely loathed our current president, stating “In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney said.
“He is a coward. A real man wouldn’t lie to his supporters. He lost his election, and he lost big. I know it. He knows it, and deep down, I think most Republicans know.”
Amusingly, starting yesterday the Doonesbury reruns on the Washington Post web site began the series of a Walden reunion where the returning grads are dividing themselves in the tent between pro- and anti- Bush supporters. Rather ironic timing.
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/04/politics/dick-cheney-death-obit
He died from "...complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease." He had already had one heart transplant in 2012 after a long history of cardiovascular disease.
Aside from masterminding the 2003 war in Iraq with no solid basis in facts, Cheney served as an aide to Richard Nixon, stayed as deputy White House chief of staff under Gerald Ford, then Secretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush with a unanimous Senate vote of 92-0. He also served six terms as a House member rising to become minority party whip.
I will say some good things about him, surprisingly:
-He softened his views on LGBTQ issues when one of his daughters came out
-He voted for Harris in the 2024 election
-He absolutely loathed our current president, stating “In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney said.
“He is a coward. A real man wouldn’t lie to his supporters. He lost his election, and he lost big. I know it. He knows it, and deep down, I think most Republicans know.”
Amusingly, starting yesterday the Doonesbury reruns on the Washington Post web site began the series of a Walden reunion where the returning grads are dividing themselves in the tent between pro- and anti- Bush supporters. Rather ironic timing.
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/04/politics/dick-cheney-death-obit
GoFundMe created 14,000,000 donation pages for non-profit groups - without telling them
Nov. 4th, 2025 07:37 amthewayneOn the surface, this seems like a nice thing, right? The non-profit gets a fund-raising page for free!
Oh, there are many things wrong with this.
This is completely a ploy by GFM. They built the pages with old information, so potential donors are reading outdated and potentially inaccurate info about the non-profit group. No bueno at all. Apparently the information was scraped mainly from the IRS' publicly-available 501C3 information, and because the IRS is such a well-funded department of the government, the information is not up-to-date.
But the big deal?
GFM takes a slice of every transaction. Every single donation processed through Go Fund Me has a transaction fee of 2.2%. And a suggested tip to GFM of 14.5%, just because of how nice they were to set up these pages for people for free. Without asking or telling them. Oh, and there's an additional $0.30 taken.
So if I give $20 to a non-profit through GFM, there's going to be a $0.22 transaction fee, the automatic $0.30 automatic whateveritis, and let's say I click the tip for GFM because I think that's sweet. That tip is $2.90 at 14.5%. That's $3.42 that I just gave GFM, and $16.58 that went to the charity. The charity got 82.9% of what I wanted to give them. And it might be reduced slightly further from credit card or other processing fees.
Oh, and when a Bay-area TV news team went investigating this, they found the tip slider was set to 16.5% for some non-profits.
Whereas if I went and gave that $20 to them directly, they'd get $20, less any possible credit card or other processing fees, though it's possible that those fees are waived for registered 501(c)3s. Guaranteed higher percentage as you're not going to have people tipping that 14-16.5% to GFM!
THIS is the big problem. GoFundMe is skimming 2.2-17%+ of the donations to these non-profits, converting them straight into corporate profits! And their effort in this? Bot scraping a couple of web sites then programmatically setting up web pages, plus minimal work possibly tweaking these pages, plus hosting.
I'm really in the wrong line of work. Alas, I have morals.
Really, it's very much like Humble Bundle book purchases. Every purchase is split between HB, the publisher, and a charity. That's pretty cool. But the amount that goes to the charity isn't that big. You can adjust the sliders manually if you pay attention, so I divvy it up into as close of thirds as I can.
https://abc7news.com/post/gofundme-created-14-million-donation-pages-nonprofits-bay-area-organizations-had-no-clue/18013410/
https://slashdot.org/story/25/11/02/1728231/gofundme-created-14-million-donation-pages-for-nonprofits-without-their-consent
Oh, there are many things wrong with this.
This is completely a ploy by GFM. They built the pages with old information, so potential donors are reading outdated and potentially inaccurate info about the non-profit group. No bueno at all. Apparently the information was scraped mainly from the IRS' publicly-available 501C3 information, and because the IRS is such a well-funded department of the government, the information is not up-to-date.
But the big deal?
GFM takes a slice of every transaction. Every single donation processed through Go Fund Me has a transaction fee of 2.2%. And a suggested tip to GFM of 14.5%, just because of how nice they were to set up these pages for people for free. Without asking or telling them. Oh, and there's an additional $0.30 taken.
So if I give $20 to a non-profit through GFM, there's going to be a $0.22 transaction fee, the automatic $0.30 automatic whateveritis, and let's say I click the tip for GFM because I think that's sweet. That tip is $2.90 at 14.5%. That's $3.42 that I just gave GFM, and $16.58 that went to the charity. The charity got 82.9% of what I wanted to give them. And it might be reduced slightly further from credit card or other processing fees.
Oh, and when a Bay-area TV news team went investigating this, they found the tip slider was set to 16.5% for some non-profits.
Whereas if I went and gave that $20 to them directly, they'd get $20, less any possible credit card or other processing fees, though it's possible that those fees are waived for registered 501(c)3s. Guaranteed higher percentage as you're not going to have people tipping that 14-16.5% to GFM!
THIS is the big problem. GoFundMe is skimming 2.2-17%+ of the donations to these non-profits, converting them straight into corporate profits! And their effort in this? Bot scraping a couple of web sites then programmatically setting up web pages, plus minimal work possibly tweaking these pages, plus hosting.
I'm really in the wrong line of work. Alas, I have morals.
Really, it's very much like Humble Bundle book purchases. Every purchase is split between HB, the publisher, and a charity. That's pretty cool. But the amount that goes to the charity isn't that big. You can adjust the sliders manually if you pay attention, so I divvy it up into as close of thirds as I can.
https://abc7news.com/post/gofundme-created-14-million-donation-pages-nonprofits-bay-area-organizations-had-no-clue/18013410/
https://slashdot.org/story/25/11/02/1728231/gofundme-created-14-million-donation-pages-for-nonprofits-without-their-consent
Paris Notre Dame
Nov. 3rd, 2025 09:02 pmcmcmckWe hadn't been in Paris since before the lurgi so hadn't seen Notre Dame since before the fire.
The internal restoration is now complete although there's still work going on outside.
( More pics! )
The internal restoration is now complete although there's still work going on outside.
( More pics! )
Review/Essay: Born with Teeth (Wyndham's Theatre)
Nov. 3rd, 2025 06:46 pmgrondficI began this as a review, but it got longer and longer and turned into a detailed appraisal. I've decided to post it anyway, but must warn for plot-SPOILERS. It's really one of the best, and sexiest, and most important new plays I've seen so far this year. So - without more ado -
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Strasbourg weir
Nov. 2nd, 2025 09:35 amcmcmckThere's a stretch of the river that has a powerful weir that once fed a watermill.
The old mill building is still there.
Weir to the left and lock gate in the middle:
( More pics! )
The old mill building is still there.
Weir to the left and lock gate in the middle:
( More pics! )
New (to me) product: New Organic's Chai Finishing Sugar!
Nov. 1st, 2025 01:14 pmthewayneTuesday, my wife and I were in Las Cruces for stuff and visited Sprouts as we don't get over there very often. Cruised past a display of interesting stuff and saw this interesting product. And procured it.
it has a very interesting flavor profile, for our purposes it will probably go well in my Burmese Coconut Cake (from Milk Street) and with an icing for it. Very reminiscent of what you'd expect of a chai-blended sugar.
But the ingredients of this "chai" sugar kinda blew me away: it contains no chai!
Herein are the ingredients: organic cane sugar, organic cinnamon, organic ginger, organic cardamom, organic clove, organic black pepper, organic sunflower oil, organic allsipice.
No chai.
So it's Chai-FLAVOR Finishing Sugar!
Still, kind of a fun accessory. Too expensive as a primary cooking component, but a decent add-in.
it has a very interesting flavor profile, for our purposes it will probably go well in my Burmese Coconut Cake (from Milk Street) and with an icing for it. Very reminiscent of what you'd expect of a chai-blended sugar.
But the ingredients of this "chai" sugar kinda blew me away: it contains no chai!
Herein are the ingredients: organic cane sugar, organic cinnamon, organic ginger, organic cardamom, organic clove, organic black pepper, organic sunflower oil, organic allsipice.
No chai.
So it's Chai-FLAVOR Finishing Sugar!
Still, kind of a fun accessory. Too expensive as a primary cooking component, but a decent add-in.
the "fall back" thing
Oct. 31st, 2025 07:46 pmarchersangelthis is the post where i complain remind you that sunday is the day clocks go back one hour.
most things do it automatically, but stuff like ovens (the basic ones not connected to the internet) & microwaves won't.
also check the settings of any blogs, websites, or forums you belong to. some may have a thing to check/uncheck for daylight saving time. it's likely under the display setting.
i will spare you all a rant about about the uselessness of the whole concept. google stuff if you want to learn more.
most things do it automatically, but stuff like ovens (the basic ones not connected to the internet) & microwaves won't.
also check the settings of any blogs, websites, or forums you belong to. some may have a thing to check/uncheck for daylight saving time. it's likely under the display setting.
i will spare you all a rant about about the uselessness of the whole concept. google stuff if you want to learn more.
The demolition of the White House East Wing? ASBESTOS!!!
Oct. 31st, 2025 10:16 amthewayneRenovations in the early 1900s and 1940s probably introduced a large amount of asbestos insulation in the walls and around the plumbing in the building, which means any renovation or demolition of the building needed to have a thorough inspection and abatement plan in place before any work or demolition could be done.
And we all know that didn't happen. There's no way in hell that with the speed in which that building came down that any sort of plan or abatement could have been done. Which means all of the construction workers, White House workers, Secret Service, WH security, press, visitors, protestors, anyone walking near the area - all have been potentially exposed to asbestos.
Also, when asbestos is removed from building renovations, it has to be specially packaged for disposal, including the special handling outerwear that the workers wear. Which means the landfill that the East Wing now occupies is now a haz mat dump and probably thoroughly contaminated with free-floating asbestos. Every time more rubble gets dumped on top of the East Wing debris, the physical impact hitting the lower layers of WH debris is stirring things up and more asbestos gets pumped into the air.
https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/10/trumps-swift-demolition-of-east-wing-may-have-launched-asbestos-plumes/
Oh - and another thing? #47 also just disbanded the commission in charge of regulating and approving changes to historic buildings and monuments throughout the DC area, which would have been in charge of any renovations to the White House East Wing.
And we all know that didn't happen. There's no way in hell that with the speed in which that building came down that any sort of plan or abatement could have been done. Which means all of the construction workers, White House workers, Secret Service, WH security, press, visitors, protestors, anyone walking near the area - all have been potentially exposed to asbestos.
Also, when asbestos is removed from building renovations, it has to be specially packaged for disposal, including the special handling outerwear that the workers wear. Which means the landfill that the East Wing now occupies is now a haz mat dump and probably thoroughly contaminated with free-floating asbestos. Every time more rubble gets dumped on top of the East Wing debris, the physical impact hitting the lower layers of WH debris is stirring things up and more asbestos gets pumped into the air.
https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/10/trumps-swift-demolition-of-east-wing-may-have-launched-asbestos-plumes/
Oh - and another thing? #47 also just disbanded the commission in charge of regulating and approving changes to historic buildings and monuments throughout the DC area, which would have been in charge of any renovations to the White House East Wing.
podcast friday
Oct. 31st, 2025 07:17 amsabotabbyHAPPY SPOOOOKY DAY and blessed Samhain if that's your thing.
This week's podcast episode sure is spooooooky! It's It Could Happen Here's "Occulture, William S. Burroughs, and Generative AI," and the moment that title popped up in my feed, I knew I'd be talking about it (even though I Don't Speak German covered Mother Night, this week, which is my favourite Vonnegut book. Maybe I'll talk about that one next week).
I had never heard of the Occulture conference, which is...what you think it is. As a good little Marxist materialist, I am not a chaos magick practitioner or believer as such except that definitely magic and the occult are a terrain we should not cede to the enemy so I am not not a chaos magick believer, y'know? At the very least as a philosophical and narrative system it's something that I'm quite interested in.
And of course for all his being one of the most Problematic Faves of all my Problematic Faves—he killed his wife ffs—I never really got over my teenage obsession with William S. Burroughs. As the episode points out, he's lumped in with the Beats but more properly belongs with the Surrealists (and the Dadaists) in terms of what he was doing. And y'all know how I feel about the Surrealists and the Dadaists. So there's an unexpected amount of discussion of Burroughs as a magickian at the the conference and his techniques (some of which were extremely funny, such as cursing a restaurant that took his favourite thing off the menu) and particularly his use of technology to channel the non-human.
Which brings me to the argument that I get into way too fucking much, which is "well isn't GenAI basically the same as cut-up poetry," and that's apparently something that was asked repeatedly at this conference. Spoiler: No it is not. Like, neither artistically nor magickically, which is a relief as that wasn't necessarily where the discussion might have gone. The short version has to do with Third Mind theory, which is quite interesting, and again, I feel there's a much more materialist explanation for why it's not the same but I also appreciate the occultist explanation.
Anyway it's a big meaty feast for my special interests and apparently there will be a second part dropping this weekend, so yay!
This week's podcast episode sure is spooooooky! It's It Could Happen Here's "Occulture, William S. Burroughs, and Generative AI," and the moment that title popped up in my feed, I knew I'd be talking about it (even though I Don't Speak German covered Mother Night, this week, which is my favourite Vonnegut book. Maybe I'll talk about that one next week).
I had never heard of the Occulture conference, which is...what you think it is. As a good little Marxist materialist, I am not a chaos magick practitioner or believer as such except that definitely magic and the occult are a terrain we should not cede to the enemy so I am not not a chaos magick believer, y'know? At the very least as a philosophical and narrative system it's something that I'm quite interested in.
And of course for all his being one of the most Problematic Faves of all my Problematic Faves—he killed his wife ffs—I never really got over my teenage obsession with William S. Burroughs. As the episode points out, he's lumped in with the Beats but more properly belongs with the Surrealists (and the Dadaists) in terms of what he was doing. And y'all know how I feel about the Surrealists and the Dadaists. So there's an unexpected amount of discussion of Burroughs as a magickian at the the conference and his techniques (some of which were extremely funny, such as cursing a restaurant that took his favourite thing off the menu) and particularly his use of technology to channel the non-human.
Which brings me to the argument that I get into way too fucking much, which is "well isn't GenAI basically the same as cut-up poetry," and that's apparently something that was asked repeatedly at this conference. Spoiler: No it is not. Like, neither artistically nor magickically, which is a relief as that wasn't necessarily where the discussion might have gone. The short version has to do with Third Mind theory, which is quite interesting, and again, I feel there's a much more materialist explanation for why it's not the same but I also appreciate the occultist explanation.
Anyway it's a big meaty feast for my special interests and apparently there will be a second part dropping this weekend, so yay!
Coca-Cola loses court case to distribute Dr. Pepper
Oct. 29th, 2025 03:33 pmthewayneBLEH!
In case you were unaware, Dr. Pepper was not a Coke product. They were their own brand, and in the last year or two became the #2 cola, bumping Pepsi out of that slot.
Coke had a contract for their distribution, which is why you usually saw it on the menu at Coke restaurants. But now, as of Monday the 27th, many restaurants will be starting to serve Mr. Pibb, a vastly inferior product (IMO). Presumably Keurig, Dr. Pepper's owner, will have its own distribution deals in place, but it may be a bit chaotic until things settle down.
Usually I drink iced tea (unsweet) when dining out, but on rare occasion I'll get a Dr. Pepper. I don't like disruptions like this! Grrr....
I am a little perplexed and amused that it took the legal system to resolve whether or not Dr. Pepper were allowed to distribute their own product. I guess big business just can't give up that last penny of profit, even if they don't make the product that they're distributing.
https://www.silive.com/business/2025/10/coca-cola-to-pull-popular-soda-flavor-from-restaurants-and-venues.html
In case you were unaware, Dr. Pepper was not a Coke product. They were their own brand, and in the last year or two became the #2 cola, bumping Pepsi out of that slot.
Coke had a contract for their distribution, which is why you usually saw it on the menu at Coke restaurants. But now, as of Monday the 27th, many restaurants will be starting to serve Mr. Pibb, a vastly inferior product (IMO). Presumably Keurig, Dr. Pepper's owner, will have its own distribution deals in place, but it may be a bit chaotic until things settle down.
Usually I drink iced tea (unsweet) when dining out, but on rare occasion I'll get a Dr. Pepper. I don't like disruptions like this! Grrr....
I am a little perplexed and amused that it took the legal system to resolve whether or not Dr. Pepper were allowed to distribute their own product. I guess big business just can't give up that last penny of profit, even if they don't make the product that they're distributing.
https://www.silive.com/business/2025/10/coca-cola-to-pull-popular-soda-flavor-from-restaurants-and-venues.html
Reading Wednesday
Oct. 29th, 2025 06:50 amsabotabbyJust finished: The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults by Cheryl B. Klein. I don't really have a lot to add: This was good and useful, especially if you're in the revision stage of a project, which I am not. It weirdly made me want to read a few of the books that it talks about as examples, though with my TBR list as it is and a general disinterest in YA literature, I likely won't.
Currently reading: Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. It's time, fuckos! I've had a hold on this one since I read a bad review of it. I have heard that Kuang often doesn't land her endings, which I hope is not the case, because this has one of the best openings I've come across in a good long time. It begins with Alice Law, a postgrad in linguistic magick, preparing a chalk circle to go to Hell to retrieve the soul of her recently dead advisor, Professor Grimes, because he's on her dissertation committee and is her only chance to get tenure. The cost for going to Hell and returning is half your remaining lifespan, but Alice is more than willing to pay that in exchange for having a stable job, making her possibly the most relatable character in genre fiction. Her plans are interrupted by Peter, her hated academic rival and the department's golden boy, who insists on coming with her even though his prospects for career advancement are much better than hers.
Anyway this is completely hilarious and painful and only an inconvenient need to work and sleep is keeping me from it at the moment.
Currently reading: Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. It's time, fuckos! I've had a hold on this one since I read a bad review of it. I have heard that Kuang often doesn't land her endings, which I hope is not the case, because this has one of the best openings I've come across in a good long time. It begins with Alice Law, a postgrad in linguistic magick, preparing a chalk circle to go to Hell to retrieve the soul of her recently dead advisor, Professor Grimes, because he's on her dissertation committee and is her only chance to get tenure. The cost for going to Hell and returning is half your remaining lifespan, but Alice is more than willing to pay that in exchange for having a stable job, making her possibly the most relatable character in genre fiction. Her plans are interrupted by Peter, her hated academic rival and the department's golden boy, who insists on coming with her even though his prospects for career advancement are much better than hers.
Anyway this is completely hilarious and painful and only an inconvenient need to work and sleep is keeping me from it at the moment.
The Python Software Foundation (PSF) rejects U.S. government grant to increase software security
Oct. 28th, 2025 01:35 pmthewayneThe PSF isn't a huge organization, but they do a lot of work. They have an annual budget of about $5 million and applied, and were close to receiving, a grant for $1.5 mil from the National Science Foundation to “address structural vulnerabilities in Python and PyPI.". PyPI is a library used by TONS of Python projects and has been subject to what's known as supply-chain attacks.
So what's a supply-chain attack? In brief, you take a library that's commonly used. Let's say it let's you send output to a PDF within your Python program, a fairly common task, and something that most programmers don't want to reinvent and won't bother inspecting the library for vulnerabilities. The attack happens when a bad guy changes the code for that PDF library then uploads changes to the master, and now, in addition to generating the PDF, it sniffs around your computer and does... stuff. Infects it with malware, perhaps. Gains admin access and strolls around the network. Looks for crypto wallets and steals them. It can do all sorts of stuff. That, in very simplified form, is a supply-chain attack. And if the program you are writing is released as open source and lots of people download it, THEY all are capable of being subverted!
The PSF was going to use the money to implement some automatic code inspection systems so any changes uploaded into the PyPl library would automatically be inspected, etc., to reduce the threat of supply-chain attacks. Lots of good stuff.
But there was a problem...
The grant application was close to being approved when the board that reviews such applications noticed that the "...foundation’s mission statement includes a goal “to support and facilitate the growth of a diverse and international community of Python programmers,” which conflicted with the grant requirements."
And there was another problem. The grant application, if you agreed to accept it, you also accepted that the NSF could claw-back funds if they wanted to! Basically, you take the $1.5 mil, spend it, and a few years later they decide you're too woke and take it all back, directly out of your bank account. And if your cash flow was a little tight at that time, well, sorry! Your foundation just went negative and is no longer solvent!
The board of the FSF decided to withdraw their grant application with the NSF and pursue other avenues to complete their missions.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/10/python-foundation-rejects-1-5-million-grant-over-trump-admins-anti-dei-rules/
So what's a supply-chain attack? In brief, you take a library that's commonly used. Let's say it let's you send output to a PDF within your Python program, a fairly common task, and something that most programmers don't want to reinvent and won't bother inspecting the library for vulnerabilities. The attack happens when a bad guy changes the code for that PDF library then uploads changes to the master, and now, in addition to generating the PDF, it sniffs around your computer and does... stuff. Infects it with malware, perhaps. Gains admin access and strolls around the network. Looks for crypto wallets and steals them. It can do all sorts of stuff. That, in very simplified form, is a supply-chain attack. And if the program you are writing is released as open source and lots of people download it, THEY all are capable of being subverted!
The PSF was going to use the money to implement some automatic code inspection systems so any changes uploaded into the PyPl library would automatically be inspected, etc., to reduce the threat of supply-chain attacks. Lots of good stuff.
But there was a problem...
The grant application was close to being approved when the board that reviews such applications noticed that the "...foundation’s mission statement includes a goal “to support and facilitate the growth of a diverse and international community of Python programmers,” which conflicted with the grant requirements."
And there was another problem. The grant application, if you agreed to accept it, you also accepted that the NSF could claw-back funds if they wanted to! Basically, you take the $1.5 mil, spend it, and a few years later they decide you're too woke and take it all back, directly out of your bank account. And if your cash flow was a little tight at that time, well, sorry! Your foundation just went negative and is no longer solvent!
The board of the FSF decided to withdraw their grant application with the NSF and pursue other avenues to complete their missions.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/10/python-foundation-rejects-1-5-million-grant-over-trump-admins-anti-dei-rules/
AI datacenters creating an order backlog of JET ENGINES
Oct. 28th, 2025 08:36 amthewayne*SIGH*
I'll let the Slashdot summary do the initial speaking for me:
A global shortage of jet engines is threatening the rapid expansion of AI data centers, as hyperscalers like OpenAI and Amazon scramble to secure aeroderivative turbines to power their energy-hungry AI clusters. With wait times stretching into the 2030s and emissions rising, the AI boom is literally running on jet fuel. Tom's Hardware reports: Interviews and market research indicate that manufacturers are quoting years-long lead times for turbine orders. Many of those placed today are being slotted for 2028-30, and customers are increasingly entering reservation agreements or putting down substantial deposits to hold future manufacturing capacity. "I would expect by the end of the summer, we will be largely sold out through the end of '28 with this equipment," said Scott Strazik, CEO of turbine maker GE Vernova, in an interview with Bloomberg back in March.
General Electric's LM6000 and LM2500 series -- both derived from the CF6 jet engine family -- have quickly become the default choice for AI developers looking to spin up serious power in a hurry. OpenAI's infrastructure partner, Crusoe Energy, recently ordered 29 LM2500XPRESS units to supply roughly one gigawatt of temporary generation for Stargate, effectively creating a mobile jet-fueled grid inside a West Texas field. Meanwhile, ProEnergy, which retrofits used CF6-80C2 engines into trailer-mounted 48-megawatt units, confirmed that it has delivered more than 1 gigawatt of its PE6000 systems to just two data center clients. These engines, which were once strapped to Boeing 767s, now spend their lives keeping inference moving.
Siemens Energy said this year that more than 60% of its US gas turbine orders are now linked to AI data centers. In some states, like Ohio and Georgia, regulators are approving multi-gigawatt gas buildouts tied directly to hyperscale footprints. That includes full pipeline builds and multi-phase interconnects designed around private-generation campuses. But the surge in orders has collided with the cold reality of turbine manufacturing timelines. GE Vernova is currently quoting 2028 or later for new industrial units, while Mitsubishi warns new turbine blocks ordered now may not ship until the 2030s. One developer reportedly paid $25 million just to reserve a future delivery slot.
Now, in some cases the jet engine is in place as a power backup in case main grid power fails. But in many cases, such as Leon Muskbrat's xAI data centers, he's running them full-time while he's waiting for generating stations to be built! And yes, the locals are not happy because he's installing more turbines than he's permitted for. And, of course, the local town councils are doing squat to enforce permits because JOBS!
One interesting Slashdot commenter said "Yes during the dotcom bubble the company my dad worked for made HVAC and UPS equipment for data centers, and they declined the opportunity to build out bigger capacity to meet orders instead of just letting the queue grow longer because their management figured it was a bubble. So, they survived the pop because instead of having unused factories, they just had some cancelled orders. The turbine manufacturers probably feel the same or just don't feel like trying to build factories during a trade war anyhow."
The big question, of course, is how much will this cause problems with the production of jet aircraft? These jet engine generators take engines made for... wait for it... jets. The Boeing 767 is specifically mentioned, that plane is currently in production, and engines are needed for newly-made aircraft and also to service the fleet that is now flying. In the world of 'money talks, BS walks' I suspect that the vulture capitalists backing AI may be able to throw more cash towards data centers, pulling more orders for engines than the airlines can. Could this disrupt global air travel? Will the engine makers, such as GE, be stupid enough to build more capacity and when the AI bubble bursts, be on the hook for billions of dollars that suddenly is no longer needed?
Now, there's one other point that I don't get. There are thousands and thousands of jet engines on the used markets available right now. Okay, maybe they're not quite as powerful as something that's strapped onto a 767. So maybe you need two or three or four to make that much power. But they're available right now. SO WHY AREN'T YOU GOBBLING UP THE USED MARKET?
Article behind a paywall:
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/turbine-shortage-threatens-ai-datacenters-as-wait-times-stretch-into-2030
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/10/28/0151205/jet-engine-shortages-threaten-ai-data-center-expansion-as-wait-times-stretch-into-2030
I'll let the Slashdot summary do the initial speaking for me:
A global shortage of jet engines is threatening the rapid expansion of AI data centers, as hyperscalers like OpenAI and Amazon scramble to secure aeroderivative turbines to power their energy-hungry AI clusters. With wait times stretching into the 2030s and emissions rising, the AI boom is literally running on jet fuel. Tom's Hardware reports: Interviews and market research indicate that manufacturers are quoting years-long lead times for turbine orders. Many of those placed today are being slotted for 2028-30, and customers are increasingly entering reservation agreements or putting down substantial deposits to hold future manufacturing capacity. "I would expect by the end of the summer, we will be largely sold out through the end of '28 with this equipment," said Scott Strazik, CEO of turbine maker GE Vernova, in an interview with Bloomberg back in March.
General Electric's LM6000 and LM2500 series -- both derived from the CF6 jet engine family -- have quickly become the default choice for AI developers looking to spin up serious power in a hurry. OpenAI's infrastructure partner, Crusoe Energy, recently ordered 29 LM2500XPRESS units to supply roughly one gigawatt of temporary generation for Stargate, effectively creating a mobile jet-fueled grid inside a West Texas field. Meanwhile, ProEnergy, which retrofits used CF6-80C2 engines into trailer-mounted 48-megawatt units, confirmed that it has delivered more than 1 gigawatt of its PE6000 systems to just two data center clients. These engines, which were once strapped to Boeing 767s, now spend their lives keeping inference moving.
Siemens Energy said this year that more than 60% of its US gas turbine orders are now linked to AI data centers. In some states, like Ohio and Georgia, regulators are approving multi-gigawatt gas buildouts tied directly to hyperscale footprints. That includes full pipeline builds and multi-phase interconnects designed around private-generation campuses. But the surge in orders has collided with the cold reality of turbine manufacturing timelines. GE Vernova is currently quoting 2028 or later for new industrial units, while Mitsubishi warns new turbine blocks ordered now may not ship until the 2030s. One developer reportedly paid $25 million just to reserve a future delivery slot.
Now, in some cases the jet engine is in place as a power backup in case main grid power fails. But in many cases, such as Leon Muskbrat's xAI data centers, he's running them full-time while he's waiting for generating stations to be built! And yes, the locals are not happy because he's installing more turbines than he's permitted for. And, of course, the local town councils are doing squat to enforce permits because JOBS!
One interesting Slashdot commenter said "Yes during the dotcom bubble the company my dad worked for made HVAC and UPS equipment for data centers, and they declined the opportunity to build out bigger capacity to meet orders instead of just letting the queue grow longer because their management figured it was a bubble. So, they survived the pop because instead of having unused factories, they just had some cancelled orders. The turbine manufacturers probably feel the same or just don't feel like trying to build factories during a trade war anyhow."
The big question, of course, is how much will this cause problems with the production of jet aircraft? These jet engine generators take engines made for... wait for it... jets. The Boeing 767 is specifically mentioned, that plane is currently in production, and engines are needed for newly-made aircraft and also to service the fleet that is now flying. In the world of 'money talks, BS walks' I suspect that the vulture capitalists backing AI may be able to throw more cash towards data centers, pulling more orders for engines than the airlines can. Could this disrupt global air travel? Will the engine makers, such as GE, be stupid enough to build more capacity and when the AI bubble bursts, be on the hook for billions of dollars that suddenly is no longer needed?
Now, there's one other point that I don't get. There are thousands and thousands of jet engines on the used markets available right now. Okay, maybe they're not quite as powerful as something that's strapped onto a 767. So maybe you need two or three or four to make that much power. But they're available right now. SO WHY AREN'T YOU GOBBLING UP THE USED MARKET?
Article behind a paywall:
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/turbine-shortage-threatens-ai-datacenters-as-wait-times-stretch-into-2030
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/10/28/0151205/jet-engine-shortages-threaten-ai-data-center-expansion-as-wait-times-stretch-into-2030
Your moment of climate grief
Oct. 28th, 2025 07:20 amsabotabby Barely making headlines yesterday was the announcement that governments have failed once again to meet climate targets. As Hurricane Melissa barrels towards Jamaica, threatening to do catastrophic damage, it's important to remember that these governments had a choice, that we as so-called Western civilization had a choice, and we chose wrong every single time.
The thing you may not have heard of at all was the announcement yesterday of the extinction of the Christmas Island shrew. This little animal was a victim of an even older human-caused catastrophe, the colonization of Australia and its surrounding islands by first Britain, then Japan. The invasion of Europeans introduced black rats to the island, which in turn introduced a parasite that wiped out most of the population.
With so many other horrors, including the continuing horrors perpetrated by colonialism, take a moment to grieve for this tiny, innocent creature, which was a unique being that in our carelessness and cruelty, we destroyed. Just another beautiful life lost to the gaping maw of capitalism. The people in charge think that they can cheat death by colonizing Mars or uploading their brains into a god-machine but there won't be any little shrews there, and also their fantasies are impossible. There is only this world and we're shitting it up like we have a spare one stashed somewhere.
The thing you may not have heard of at all was the announcement yesterday of the extinction of the Christmas Island shrew. This little animal was a victim of an even older human-caused catastrophe, the colonization of Australia and its surrounding islands by first Britain, then Japan. The invasion of Europeans introduced black rats to the island, which in turn introduced a parasite that wiped out most of the population.
With so many other horrors, including the continuing horrors perpetrated by colonialism, take a moment to grieve for this tiny, innocent creature, which was a unique being that in our carelessness and cruelty, we destroyed. Just another beautiful life lost to the gaping maw of capitalism. The people in charge think that they can cheat death by colonizing Mars or uploading their brains into a god-machine but there won't be any little shrews there, and also their fantasies are impossible. There is only this world and we're shitting it up like we have a spare one stashed somewhere.
J.D. Salinger's Popcorn Salt!
Oct. 26th, 2025 11:48 amthewayneI was adding a recipe to my iCloud Notes, and the top recipe came up, which was this! I haven't made it yet, but I thought I'd share it. And also give you the story of how I got it!
There's a podcast that's a lot of fun called The Sporkful. It's a fun listen that features interesting guests. As their tag line goes, it's not for foodies, it's for eaters. Anyway, they had on, IIRC, a librarian/archivist who came across this recipe in the collection that he manages. And it's become his go-to popcorn salt. And here it is!
J.D. Salinger popcorn salt
Ingredients:
6 tsps sea salt
2 tsps paprika
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp celery powder
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp dill powder
This is definitely going to have a bit of a kick to it! For me, I'm going to leave out the dill powder: I just don't care much for the taste of dill. You might also want to process this in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle as the thyme and marjoram can be on the large/leafy side if you want things down to a more uniform consistency.
Have fun, and report back if you try it!
There's a podcast that's a lot of fun called The Sporkful. It's a fun listen that features interesting guests. As their tag line goes, it's not for foodies, it's for eaters. Anyway, they had on, IIRC, a librarian/archivist who came across this recipe in the collection that he manages. And it's become his go-to popcorn salt. And here it is!
J.D. Salinger popcorn salt
Ingredients:
6 tsps sea salt
2 tsps paprika
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp celery powder
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp dill powder
This is definitely going to have a bit of a kick to it! For me, I'm going to leave out the dill powder: I just don't care much for the taste of dill. You might also want to process this in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle as the thyme and marjoram can be on the large/leafy side if you want things down to a more uniform consistency.
Have fun, and report back if you try it!
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