@galacticstone@mastodon.social cover
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

galacticstone

@[email protected]

👉 Dealer of #Meteorites & Fossils
👨‍🔬 #Science Champion
☄️ Meteorite Curator
🎲 Dungeon Master
☕ Caffeine Addict
🚀 Retro Futurist
💀 Fossil Hunter
💻 Data Hoarder
🇺🇦 Slava Ukraini
👺 Recalcitrant
🔭 Astronomer
🗿 Naturenaut
⛏️ Rockhound
📚 Bibliophile
☢️ Collector
👫 Husband
🌎 Explorer
🚣 Kayaker
🍸 Dudeist
✍️ Luddite
🐧 #Linux
🧷 Ally

Profile pic : Photo of Paul the One Eared Cat, a handsome grey striped tabby laying in the grass outside in the Sun.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

@mttaggart@infosec.exchange avatar mttaggart , to random

You see what's happening right?

They are preventing you from accessing the means of computing, making you reliant on their services in the future they're building.

At astronomical rents.

https://wccftech.com/western-digital-has-no-more-hdd-capacity-left-out/

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@mttaggart Suddenly all that retro "obsolete" hardware isn't so niche and worthless. I have a stack of old laptops to cannibalize - enough to last a Linux lifetime.

@ProPublica@newsie.social avatar ProPublica , (edited ) to random

The Boarman family’s water was undrinkable: It corroded taps. It withered plants. Their ice maker expelled clumps of salt.

But why was this happening? For two years, Oklahoma delayed basic tests that could help them find out.
https://www.propublica.org/article/oklahoma-oil-polluted-drinking-water-boarman-family?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@ProPublica Voting decisions have consequences. Deep red Oklahoma voted repeatedly to elect leaders who gutted environmental regulations and oversight. This is a logical outcome of that course of action.

@GayDeceiver@mstdn.social avatar GayDeceiver , to random

Hear me out: Antiques Roadshow, but for cursed objects.

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@GayDeceiver Well, indeed your ordinary gold ring is quite extraordinary. If we hold it in this fire here, you will see some faint script revealed which is in fact the sign of the maker, the Dark Lord Sauron. As far as value goes, at auction I would conservatively estimate about $1 million and I'd insure it for $1.5 to $2 million. Of course, it's real value is to dominate the lesser rings and their owners, so it's priceless. Thanks for bringing it.

@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

The only Superb Owl that interests me.

The Superb Owl.
ALT
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

For those who use filters : How many keywords do you have filtered out of your feed?

Please boost for more response. I want to get a feel for where I rank on the scale of filtering.

@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

Well, TikTok is officially dead to me now.

galacticstone OP ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

Folks, if you have favorite TikTok or YouTube accounts that you follow, send a comment or DM to that account and tell them about PeerTube and Loops.

Progressive voices are not welcome or safe on those broligarch venues and it's going to get worse.

It would be wise for these influencers and creators to not have all their eggs in one corporate basket. They should at least establish a presence and cross post.

@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many.

@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

Is your name Mike?

Please boost to collect as many Mikes as possible.

@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

Never forget. This is the future they stole from us.

Vintage photo of a dapper fellow sitting in a bucket chair in front of an exotic control board and large CRT monitor showing a field of red dots. The overall aesthetic is a combination of mid century modern and retro analog tech.
ALT
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

The reason for the season.

Hipster Jesus says "So there I was ... the only white dude in Jerusalem..."
ALT
@nixCraft@mastodon.social avatar nixCraft , to random

Microsoft has officially admitted that core Windows 11 features are broken. This confirms user complaints, highlighting a quality control crisis as Microsoft prioritizes flashy AI over OS stability. A fix is promised, but without a timeline. Furthermore, Microsoft repeatedly expressed surprise on Twitter that users dislike integrated AI in the OS and Office apps, while requesting users to tone down aggression against employees on Twitter 😅

https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-finally-admits-almost-all-major-windows-11-core-features-are-broken/

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@nixCraft Windows is so laughably bad now that it's comical to watch their users justify keeping it. I've heard every excuse in the book, but it really boils down to people are scared of change or are trapped by workplace requirements. None of them seem happy with it.

It's always : I need it for work or random application X.

@stux@mstdn.social avatar stux , to random

Ah well, look at it this way!

With down and taking with it, kids now need to do their own homework

Maybe this outage is for the best

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@stux Butlerian Jihad has begun! (I wish) ... :KEKW:

@stux@mstdn.social avatar stux , to random

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@catsalad/115544059139918704

Mozilla keeps telling it's optional etc but at the same time they keep stuffing it in people's face @mozilla

I'm not sure how much more clear we need to be we don't want bs in every product

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@stux Welp, I'll be leaving Firefox soon. Back to Brave, or Vivaldi?

@tante@tldr.nettime.org avatar tante , to random

You can't point at everything you don't like and say "Enshitification". Doctorow describes a specific capitalist dynamic (kinda to save capitalism as a concept). It's not "a bad thing happens", it's basically just the specific way venture capital funded companies operate today.

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@tante Enshittification is the final form, capitalism is the larva.

@Daojoan@mastodon.social avatar Daojoan , to random

Absolutely obsessed with framing your employees sleeping on the floor as a humble brag

“Look how hard my team works” no dude you’re just bad at project management.

Competent companies ship products without cosplaying being homeless

A tweet by Mark Kretschmann showing two photos of the xAI office on Grokipedia release day. The office is filled with small camping tents set up between desks and along hallways, suggesting that engineers have been sleeping there while working late. The caption notes it’s early morning and the engineers are still in their tents, joking that a good night’s sleep does wonders.
ALT
galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@Daojoan LOL. Good. They deserve it. I hope it gets worse.

@evacide@hachyderm.io avatar evacide , to random

Every quote in this story from the founder of Ring, Jamie Siminoff has been designed in a lab to illustrate the single most wrongheaded approach to technology, surveillance, privacy, and crime: https://www.theverge.com/tech/804052/ring-jamie-siminoff-book-ding-dong-release-date-interview

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@evacide Something needs zeroing out alright... :KEKW:

@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random
@kevinrothrock@infosec.exchange avatar kevinrothrock , to random

A Russian conscript opened fire on fellow soldiers at a military base outside Moscow today, killing one and injuring at least five people before turning the weapon on himself. I'm not seeing anything about possible motives.

https://iz.ru/1974153/2025-10-17/soldat-srochnik-otkryl-ogon-po-sosluzhivtcam-v-voennoi-chasti-v-podmoskove

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@kevinrothrock Orcs gonna orc. :SMOrc:

@Daojoan@mastodon.social avatar Daojoan , to random

Tech company lifecycle:

Year 1-3: Change the world
Year 4-7: Monetize the world
Year 8-10: Congressional hearing about what you did to the world

galacticstone , (edited )
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@Daojoan Year 25 : public executions of tech CEOs by the masses and a return to decency and fairness.

@Daojoan@mastodon.social avatar Daojoan , to random

Moore's Law: Chips double in power every 2 years

Wirth's Law: Software slows down faster than hardware speeds up

My Law: Every Electron app uses 8GB of RAM to display text that would fit in a .txt file

We are losing.

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@Daojoan Resource requirement bloat has been out of control for a long time. The logical conclusion of this trend is a word processor that requires 36 cores and 10 terabytes of RAM to open a text file.

Oh, and the machine will be obsolete in six months and cost eleventy million dollars.

@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

👍 Simple Step by Step Guide to Disabling AI in your Microsoft, Google, or Apple software :

Step One : delete all Microsoft, Google, or Apple software from all of your devices.🚫

Step Two : install Linux.🐧

Step Three : congratulations, you have regained full control of your devices. :KEKW:

galacticstone OP ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

If somebody would market a cheap Linux-based phone, I would throw my money at them.

And by cheap, I mean $150 or less, and preferably under $100.

Fuck Apple. Fuck Android. Fuck Google.

FTW

@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

Let's see the last meme saved on your phone or laptop. No NSFW please.

Please boost and let's make this a massive meme dump.

@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

That rapture was LIT.

I'm posting from Cloud 420.

@junesim63@mstdn.social avatar junesim63 , (edited ) to random

"The richest man on earth owns X.

The second richest man on earth is about to be a major owner of TikTok.

The third richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

The fourth richest man owns The Washington Post.

See the problem here?"

Robert Reich

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@junesim63 Yes. The problem is a housebroken population that can't be bothered to mildly inconvenience themselves for principles. How many people reading this still have Amazon accounts?

@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

Cat in a window meme. The cat says "Windows 11 sucks man, I wish there was an alternative" Someone holds a photo of the Linux penguin near him and he says "Get that thing off of me! ... I hate Windows 11."
ALT
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

Capitalism is paywalls. That's basically all it is. Paywalls for food. Paywalls for shelter. Paywalls for water. Paywalls for medicines that are required to be alive, and if you cant pay you die.
ALT
@nixCraft@mastodon.social avatar nixCraft , to random

Microsoft's decision to deny developers the ability to block its AI service, Copilot, from generating issues and pull requests has become a major point of pain on GitHub. This refusal has prompted many FLOSS developers to search for alternative platforms and workflows for code hosting

https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/05/github_copilot_complaints/

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@nixCraft The final goal is total control over all machines. Butlerian Jihad time before it's too late.

@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

Science is hard. You gotta prove it, test it, and reproduce the results. Pseudoscience is easy. You make it up, add some fear, and watch ignorant people spread it.
ALT
@Vivaldi@vivaldi.net avatar Vivaldi , to random
galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@Vivaldi I've been pining for this.

@gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green avatar gerrymcgovern , to random

America's largest power grid is struggling to meet demand from AI

"Electricity bills are projected to surge by more than 20% this summer in some parts of PJM Interconnection's territory, which covers 13 states - from Illinois to Tennessee, Virginia to New Jersey - serving 67 million customers in a region with the most data centers in the world."

The upheaval at PJM started a year ago with a more than 800% jump in prices

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/americas-largest-power-grid-is-struggling-meet-demand-ai-2025-07-09/

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@gerrymcgovern PULL. THE. PLUG.

It's actually really simple. Capitalists are just making it seem hard.

@gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green avatar gerrymcgovern , to random

Life next to a US data center

"I can't live in my home with half of my home functioning and no water," Ms Morris says. "I can't drink the water."

"I'm afraid to drink the water, but I still cook with it, and brush my teeth with it," says Morris. "Am I worried about it? Yes."

Meta, however, says its data center and the poor water quality are not connect.

Meta, the truth sayer.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8gy7lv448o

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@gerrymcgovern Where problem? They are getting what they voted for. This is an epidemic in America right now. Red states bitching about the sociopathic policies they voted for, despite being warned 10,000 times.

Let me break out the world's smallest violin.

@stux@mstdn.social avatar stux , to random

It is truly worrying that "social media" companies like Twitter and Meta have their own LLMs and heavily intergrate and promote them to their users

A social media platform should do all in their power to not let bots overtake human content, otherwise that is the point of a social platform

For me, it's a MASSIVE red flag if a social media company is embracing AI LLM's, let alone build one🤷

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@stux Thank you! I am grateful that you aren't buying in to all the AI hype. I am confident that you will make the right decisions and any future use of AI within Mastodon will be well considered and implemented for positive effect - not just for marketing or profit.

@publicdomainrev@mastodon.social avatar publicdomainrev , to random

It's ! Here's some excellent headwear (and moustaches) from an album of 19th-century Ottoman fashion. More here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/19th-century-album-of-ottoman-fashion/

Composite picture showing busts of nine people each wearing an elaborate hat and also supporting impressive moustaches
ALT
galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar
@pixelfed@mastodon.social avatar pixelfed , to random

Pixelfed now has over 300K users across 500+ servers!

Thank you for helping us reach over 300K users on Pixelfed!
ALT
galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar molly0xfff , to random

social media platform users are going to link offsite. the only question is how obnoxious the platform will make it for them and everyone else.

(For context: Instagram prohibits links in post text. This, plus the incentive to inflate comments, has led to the proliferation of tools where creators instruct their followers to comment with a specific word to receive a link in their DMs— in this case, to a pie crust recipe)

Screenshot of an Instagram comments section where every comment just says "Pie"
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galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@molly0xfff - I was shadowbanned on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for posting links to my website. My click-through traffic dropped dramatically almost overnight when those sites started using aggressive algorithms to enforce a pay-to-be-seen regime. This was around 2013.

They even use OCR to find text in images - that was a good workaround until they stopped it.

Without the incentive of traffic, there was no reason to stick around those places. This was before they became nazi bars.

@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar galacticstone , to random

They're not wrong.

HUGE plot hole in reality: every person carries around a device with access to the totality of human knowledge and yet people are constantly wrong about everything.
ALT
@kevinrothrock@infosec.exchange avatar kevinrothrock , to random

[sound effect of fresh rubles landing in Snowden’s bank account]

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@kevinrothrock Snowden is garbage and I knew it from day one. Trash, just like Assange.

@nixCraft@mastodon.social avatar nixCraft , to random

Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 11 users will not be able to uninstall the controversial “Recall” feature, despite earlier reports suggesting otherwise. Recall, part of the Copilot+ suite announced in May, automatically captures screenshots of user activity on the operating system including sensitive information such as passwords or financial data https://digitalmarketreports.com/news/25091/microsoft-recall-feature-on-windows-11-not-removable-after-all/ Do yourself a favor and get rid of Windows from your life—enough of these greedy companies.

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar
@kevinrothrock@infosec.exchange avatar kevinrothrock , to random

Moscow subway ticket kiosks have started showing military recruitment ads trying to tempt men with an annual salary of 5.2 million rubles ($57k) to enlist as contract soldiers. https://t.me/sotaproject/85929

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@kevinrothrock $57k is now the going price to have the last 30 seconds of your life set to death metal music and posted in a war video subreddit.

@stux@mstdn.social avatar stux , to random

It still takes a while before Meta(P92) joins the Fediverse and the recent times we have read a lot of things from both sides

Polls are not super reliable but maybe it will give a better overall picture of what you, the people using these platforms want

The result will not be the definite outcome for us but I do take it into heavy consider because I love you all very much!

"Would YOU want to federate with Meta's new platform?"

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@stux Hard NO. Any Meta instances will be blocked immediately.

galacticstone ,
@galacticstone@mastodon.social avatar

@stux The idea of Meta spreading it's tendrils around the Fediverse worries me. Meta will always seek to dominate and control everything it touches.

And, this might be a hot take, but at this late stage in the game, everyone knows what Meta stands for and I question the moral/ethical character of anyone who would still use a Meta platform. I'm don't even want those people around me.

If somebody wants to experience the Fedi, just use Mastodon and reject the Meta option in the first place. :)