A slide from a presentation I just finished.

Black phoebes are near me often but I still try to find different ways to frame them. This one was sort of dark/shade-based.

Howard Shore’s work on LOTR is some of my all-time favorite film scores. This helps break down just what’s so brilliant about it. Warning: if you watch this you’ll probably want to watch the LOTR trilogy (again). <https://youtu.be/XLj6zkmwsYU?si=MuMXKIAFqz0WmfBC>

[@dmnelson](https://mastodon.social/@dmnelson) [@iRalph](https://appdot.net/@iRalph) There isn’t necessarily a site for themes but here’s a link to mine:

<https:appdot.net/@Ronnie/110724369780779151>

Also follow [@chamona](https://mastodon.online/@chamona)

Airbus open sourced their new cockpit font. Make it the default for all your embedded projects, because it's REALLY good and has real testing in difficult environments!

<https:b612-font.com/>

Still just as funny today as this was in back in 2006. 😂 Frank Caliendo - Letterman - Impressionists Week <https://youtu.be/CqN8v5pZC54?si=9qD3YAg5ufdbIQGX>

My first proper album is released today! It's called Melodic Guitar Music.

Recommended if you like melodies, or guitars, or music. Now available on Bandcamp and streaming services:

<https:www.holovaty.com/melodic-guitar-music/>

Systems "SHOULD NOT require memorized secrets to be changed arbitrarily (e.g., periodically)."

Said another way way, if your organization requires regular password changes (every 30 days, 90 days, etc.), then you're making your organization _less_ secure.

This has been a PSA: <https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-3/sp800-63b.html#reqauthtype>

Just launched: the initial version of Postmarks, a new ActivityPub platform that lets you save, tag and share bookmarks on the Fediverse! More info on my blog: <https://motd.co/2023/09/postmarks-launch/>

A golden halo around the [#ELT](https://astrodon.social/tags/ELT)

What a [#stunning](https://astrodon.social/tags/stunning) [#picture](https://astrodon.social/tags/picture) of the extremely large [#telescope](https://astrodon.social/tags/telescope), currently under construction in [#chile](https://astrodon.social/tags/chile), with the [#Sun](https://astrodon.social/tags/Sun) perfectly aligned behind.

[#Astronomy](https://astrodon.social/tags/Astronomy) [#Space](https://astrodon.social/tags/Space) [#photography](https://astrodon.social/tags/photography) [@astrophysics](https://a.gup.pe/u/astrophysics) [#astrophysics](https://astrodon.social/tags/astrophysics)

credits: E. Garcés/ESO. Ack.: N. Dubost

read more: <https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2336a/>

[#SIlentSunday](https://mastodon.social/tags/SIlentSunday)

Unfreezable! Oooooh, me likey. [#Zelda](https://mastodon.social/tags/Zelda)

I wrote 68 pages on Optimizing Python, but the tldr is five words.

<https:tyr.fyi/6>

Oh gawd this feels too real.

Source (updated) he has more of these.
christhebarker ☑️
[@christhebarker](https://mastodon.social/@christhebarker)
[#satire](https://meow.social/tags/satire) [#funny](https://meow.social/tags/funny) [#starwars](https://meow.social/tags/starwars)

For camera geeks (and wildlife-photo lovers): Thoughtful remarks about lens choices and framing techniques. Plus, wow, those photos, the leopard and the elephant shots are to die for: <https://petapixel.com/2023/08/19/one-lens-plus-two-teleconverters-equals-one-amazing-safari/>

🤯

"a fascinating way to show users the refresh rate of their screen by spinning a specially designed zoetrope-like disc graphic at speed. As it spins, the numbers representing the viewer’s refresh rate should remain visually stable unlike surrounding numbers."

<https:cohost.org/lunasorcery/post/2465593-testing-your-animati>

Cloudflare's internet speed test tool provides a lot of nerdy details above & beyond upload/download measurements ✨

🔗 <https://speed.cloudflare.com/>

[#ouch](https://hachyderm.io/tags/ouch) is a [#CLI](https://hachyderm.io/tags/CLI) [#compression](https://hachyderm.io/tags/compression) [#helper](https://hachyderm.io/tags/helper) written in [#Rust](https://hachyderm.io/tags/Rust) which works better than any [#terminal](https://hachyderm.io/tags/terminal) function wrapper to the compressors.

<https:github.com/ouch-org/ouch>

The [#rust](https://hachyderm.io/tags/rust) ecosystem is getting bigger with the creation [#nucleo](https://hachyderm.io/tags/nucleo) from one of the very talented [#helix](https://hachyderm.io/tags/helix) developers.
A faster fuzzy matcher replacement compared to [#fzf](https://hachyderm.io/tags/fzf) and [#skim](https://hachyderm.io/tags/skim).

<https:github.com/helix-editor/nucleo>
<https:github.com/helix-editor/helix/pull/7814>

Applite - a new app installer / brew frontend for the Mac. Built by my 18yo son Milan [#prouddad](https://twit.social/tags/prouddad) [#mac](https://twit.social/tags/mac) [#swiftui](https://twit.social/tags/swiftui) <https://aerolite.dev/applite/index.html>

Just posted slides for Beyond Paradigms, updated for [@NorthBayPython](https://social.northbaypython.org/@NorthBayPython) 2023.

Thanks to all who attended and made me feel welcome!

<https:speakerdeck.com/ramalho/beyond-paradigms-with-python-examples>

The video for my 40m talk at [@NorthBayPython](https://social.northbaypython.org/@NorthBayPython) is now available, and I've put together an accompanying edited transcript with annotated slides and links

Catching up on the weird world of LLMs: <https://simonwillison.net/2023/Aug/3/weird-world-of-llms/>

If you haven't been completely immersed in this world for the last year, my hope is this can help catch you up!

[#OxiTraffic](https://fosstodon.org/tags/OxiTraffic): Self-hosted, simple and privacy respecting website traffic tracker 🌐

A [#Rust](https://fosstodon.org/tags/Rust) web app that I did write with [#Axum](https://fosstodon.org/tags/Axum) to see how many read my blog posts 🧐

I did just publish a version which I consider ready for public usage 🤗

The screenshot shows the call history of one of my blog posts 📈

Check out the README for a demo and more details about how it works and how you can host it:

<https:codeberg.org/mo8it/oxitraffic>

[#RustLang](https://fosstodon.org/tags/RustLang) [#Selfhosted](https://fosstodon.org/tags/Selfhosted) [#Analytics](https://fosstodon.org/tags/Analytics) [#IndieWeb](https://fosstodon.org/tags/IndieWeb)

"Why doesn't this happen with other manufacturers?"

Two reasons:

- Apple cares more. Seriously, some of their engineering is unheard of elsewhere in the industry. And they have a specific focus on security that is miles ahead of everyone else.
- Apple is vertically integrated. They control their platform throughout and make engineering decisions that intertwine parts as a consequence, because it makes sense when they can do that for various engineering reasons. For example, their LED matrix backlights are controlled by an in-SoC microcontroller, and on M2s and above the trackpad touch processing algorithms also run in-SoC. This allows them, among other things, to ship those firmwares per-OS version and not have to bother with keeping backwards compat on the interfaces, which lets them move faster and improve more easily. Practically no other manufacturer does this to that extent, usually because they outsource complete sub-modules which naturally results in simpler dividing lines that then means easier part swaps. E.g. I bet any other platform doing LED matrix backlights will have the on-screen TCON handle that processing instead.

Strongly recommended: [@jwz](https://mastodon.social/@jwz)'s “Recent movies and TV”: <https://www.jwz.org/blog/2023/07/recent-movies-and-tv-23/>

He does one of these every few months and they're useful.

I wrote up how I used [#homeassistant](https://drupal.community/tags/homeassistant) to monitor a fridge we were having trouble with.

Case Study: The value of monitoring a fridge with Home Assistant - <https://community.home-assistant.io/t/case-study-the-value-of-monitoring-a-fridge-with-home-assistant/592200>

I'm in this 2 hour(!) podcast episode about the newly released ChatGPT Code Interpreter - you can get a good overview of why I'm so excited about it from the first 15 minutes, I think it's the most interesting tool in the whole AI space right now <https://www.latent.space/p/code-interpreter#details>

FINALLY. I’ve spent years trying to capture this.

What a beauty of a shelf cloud just passed by! Awesome watch!

9 July 2023, 16.07
Hekelingen, The Netherlands

[#photography](https://mastodon.nl/tags/photography) [#weather](https://mastodon.nl/tags/weather) [#shelfcloud](https://mastodon.nl/tags/shelfcloud) [#sunday](https://mastodon.nl/tags/sunday) [#netherlands](https://mastodon.nl/tags/netherlands)

[@gla](https://mastodon.social/@gla) Yes, just save the hashtag as a search record instead of following them. You can check your saved searches on the Search tab.

.... [#Storm](https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/Storm) [#Poly](https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/Poly) [#StormPoly](https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/StormPoly) [#Netherlands](https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/Netherlands) [#Amsterdam](https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/Amsterdam)

[#science](https://mastodon.social/tags/science) is real

🐦 [#MonaTheme](https://mastodon.online/tags/MonaTheme): ‘Monarrific-Akikiki

Inspired by [@Iconfactory](https://iconfactory.world/@Iconfactory) Twitterrific Light Mode Theme ‘’Akikiki’.

Link: mona-cat:60d8

[#ChaMona](https://mastodon.online/tags/ChaMona) [#MonaApp](https://mastodon.online/tags/MonaApp) [#MonarrificAkikiki](https://mastodon.online/tags/MonarrificAkikiki) [ [@MonaApp](https://mastodon.social/@MonaApp) ]

🐦 [#MonaTheme](https://mastodon.online/tags/MonaTheme): ‘Monarrific-Puffin & Monarrific-Parakeet’

Inspired by the [@Iconfactory](https://iconfactory.world/@Iconfactory)’s Twitterrific Dark Mode Themes Puffin & Parakeet.

Monarrific-Puffin: mona-cat:9a9a

Monarrific-Parakeet: mona-cat:0031

[#ChaMona](https://mastodon.online/tags/ChaMona) [#MonaApp](https://mastodon.online/tags/MonaApp) [#MonarrificPuffin](https://mastodon.online/tags/MonarrificPuffin) [#MonarrificParakeet](https://mastodon.online/tags/MonarrificParakeet) [ [@MonaApp](https://mastodon.social/@MonaApp) ]

strip-tags 0.4 is now out, with a set of features to make it easier to turn large HTML pages into content suitable for feeding to a LLM
<https:github.com/simonw/strip-tags/releases/tag/0.4>

I wrote more about strip-tags here: <https://simonwillison.net/2023/May/18/cli-tools-for-llms/>

"Beni-Fuji" Symbol of Japan
[#photography](https://mstdn.jp/tags/photography) [#mtfuji](https://mstdn.jp/tags/mtfuji) [#japan](https://mstdn.jp/tags/japan)

I must emphasize: this game is very very good (via [@draknek](https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@draknek)) <https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/~csk/slide/>

The streets of Kyoto become more beautiful in the rain.
[#photography](https://mstdn.jp/tags/photography) [#streetphotography](https://mstdn.jp/tags/streetphotography) [#kyoto](https://mstdn.jp/tags/kyoto)

One of the decisive moments in my understanding of [#LLMs](https://fediscience.org/tags/LLMs) and their limitations was when, last autumn, [@emilymbender](https://dair-community.social/@emilymbender) walked me through her Thai Library thought experiment.

She's now written it up as a Medium post, and you can read it here. The value comes from really pondering the question she poses, so take the time to think about it. What would YOU do in the situation she outlines?

<https:medium.com/@emilymenonbender/thought-experiment-in-the-national-library-of-thailand-f2bf761a8a83>

Midnight rain. Location Osaka. [#streetphotography](https://mstdn.jp/tags/streetphotography) [#写真](https://mstdn.jp/tags/%E5%86%99%E7%9C%9F) [#photography](https://mstdn.jp/tags/photography)

Please give me your favorite [#Zelda](https://mastodon.social/tags/Zelda) elixir recipies! I have none to speak of thx! [#TearsOfTheKingdom](https://mastodon.social/tags/TearsOfTheKingdom)

Rice terraces that reflect like mirror.
[#photography](https://mstdn.jp/tags/photography) [#japan](https://mstdn.jp/tags/japan)

This thread is now available as a blog post:
<https:innig.net/teaching/liberal-arts-manifesto>

–––

In college, I took a class called The Letters of Paul. I took it for two very good reasons:

1. I was (and am) named Paul.
2. The prof, Cal Roetzel, was (and is) cool.

I didn’t figure it was an especially practical course. It was for fun, for the challenge, for the cultural knowledge, for the pleasure of doing it.

WHAT LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION IS FOR: A THREAD

1/

LEGO Celebrates BATMAN RETURNS With Unreal 3,981 Piece Batcave Shadowbox Set!: <https://www.blast-o-rama.com/2023/05/16/lego-celebrates-batman-returns-with-unreal-3981-piece-batcave-shadowbox-set/>

A deep dive on Andreessen Horowitz's latest "State of Crypto" report. In short: they want people to keep buying crypto, and are not above publishing blatant falsehoods to convince them to do so.

The report itself is 60 pages long, so this is a long one.

<https:newsletter.mollywhite.net/p/andreessen-horowitzs-state-of-crypto>

[#crypto](https://hachyderm.io/tags/crypto) [#cryptocurrency](https://hachyderm.io/tags/cryptocurrency) [#VentureCapital](https://hachyderm.io/tags/VentureCapital) [#AndreessenHorowitz](https://hachyderm.io/tags/AndreessenHorowitz)

Feeling very spring. 🌸🌱🌦️

Michael Kenna, Forest Edge, Hokuto, Hokkaido, Japan, 2004

The problem with AI/ML isn’t what the tech is or isn’t useful for (we don’t really know yet). The problem is the people who build and own and operate it, a mix of giant tech monopolies and VC-funded growth-crazed startups. Both are entirely oblivious to ethics and the civic good.

It is fair and reasonable to be paranoid and suspicious about *any* tech pushed by this cabal.

[This post from a member-owned co-op Fediverse instance, see <https://cosocial.info>]

[@lethain](https://mastodon.social/@lethain) Schedule 1:1s with everyone in your org. If that's not practical, have office hours where people can sign up for a 1:1. And publish your 90-day plan.

Every time I get a new manager or leader I freak out a little about how they're going to change things. And you come with a bit of celebrity status.

The plan makes it clear what's going to happen in the next 3 months and 1:1s give people a chance to know you as a person not the famous author.

[@atomicpoet](https://mastodon.social/@atomicpoet) [@phanpy](https://hachyderm.io/@phanpy)

Wow, my initial impression is excellent! Start at: phanpy.social

Includes everything I want, excludes lots of junk that I don’t. Easy on the eyes. I’m sure there will be flies in the ointment eventually, but seriously considering adopting this as my everyday web client.

I presented a three hour tutorial at [#PyConUS](https://fedi.simonwillison.net/tags/PyConUS) yesterday - "Data analysis with SQLite and Python"

Wrote a few notes about that here: <https://simonwillison.net/2023/Apr/20/pycon-2023/> - and I've shared the full 9-page workshop handout as well: <https://sqlite-tutorial-pycon-2023.readthedocs.io/>

Commander 2023 Wallpaper

<https:basicappleguy.com/basicappleblog/commander-2023>

So many highlights in this paper "Eight Things to Know about Large Language Models" by Sam Bowman

If you've not been staying entirely on top of modern LLM research this might be a great place to start catching up - it's succinct, readable and full of fascinating details

PDF: <https://cims.nyu.edu/~sbowman/eightthings.pdf>

If you write code you probably have to read this, because it’s by Steve Yegge: <https://about.sourcegraph.com/blog/cheating-is-all-you-need>

I’m still unconvinced, but you still have to read it.

I wrote about how AI-enhanced development makes me more ambitious with my projects <https://simonwillison.net/2023/Mar/27/ai-enhanced-development/>

I published a new library called ThumbHash, which generates very compact image representations for image placeholders. There's more info on the website: <https://evanw.github.io/thumbhash/>

It's inspired by BlurHash but does some things a little differently (e.g. supports alpha, uses binary instead of ASCII, separates luma and chroma).

Big thanks to [@WAHa_06x36](https://mastodon.social/@WAHa_06x36) for the original BlurHash concept and implementation.

Copenhagen

[#photography](https://hachyderm.io/tags/photography)

The entire 3-disc set of the Portal 2 soundtrack is still online to download for free if you need some mp3s to hear while you are working: <https://www.thinkwithportals.com/music.php>

RT @OrinKerr
How many people are in prison or jail in the United States, and for what. <https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2022/03/14/whole_pie_2022/>

🌟 Near my house, there's an apartment building with a courtyard. Big deal, right? But if you walk up the steps a little bit, there's something about this courtyard that you might find really truly wonderful… <https://cabel.com/2023/02/25/the-courtyard/>

[@ivory](https://tapbots.social/@ivory) [@paul](https://tapbots.social/@paul)

The release of the iPod is closer in time to the birth of the Internet than the iPod’s release is from today.