Nostr notes by Wendy M. Grossman

what's the source of that cartoon?

2026-06-26T08:59:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…2gtz
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what's the source of that cartoon?

I've gone off musicals over time. As a child I was lucky ...

2026-04-30T08:40:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…jnxj
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I've gone off musicals over time. As a child I was lucky enough to see original productions of Camelot (julie Andrews!"), My Fair Lady, and The Sound of Music on Broadway. These days...I still like the movies of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Among recnet ones the only one that stands out is The Book of Mormon.

This week's net.wars, "Intimacy capitalism", goes to ...

2026-04-24T11:13:42Z

This week's net.wars, "Intimacy capitalism", goes to the We Robot 2026 workshop day, and finds new things to worry about: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/04/24/intimacy-capitalism/ #NetWars #WeRobot

Can anyone advance a theory as to why a Berlin hotel uses a TV ...

2026-04-23T18:29:05Z

Can anyone advance a theory as to why a Berlin hotel uses a TV channel to play, over and over in an "eternal loop", The Big Lebowski?

At Gathering4Gardner's YouTube channel, @npub1s4h…qs84 and ...

2026-04-21T16:37:53Z

At Gathering4Gardner's YouTube channel, Colin the Mathmo (npub1s4h…qs84) and I talk about skepticism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktPuBFIdQDE The Skeptic magazine (npub1lm3…jd4u)

This week's net.wars, "Long Island AI", calls the ...

2026-04-17T12:14:29Z

This week's net.wars, "Long Island AI", calls the peak of AI mania: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/04/17/long-island-ai/ #NetWars #AI #StupidFinanceTricks

Look into buses. They can be slow, but they're very cheap and ...

2026-04-14T12:54:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…l75k
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Look into buses. They can be slow, but they're very cheap and surprisingly often go where you want,.

This week's net.wars, "Waste management", sees the ...

2026-04-10T11:55:29Z

This week's net.wars, "Waste management", sees the planned obsolescence of early Kindles, Microsoft's "just for entertainment" Copilot, and AI-driven new cybersecurity threats: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/04/10/waste-management/ #NetWars #ai #environment

Ego: speaking next Monday eve, April 13, at Greenwich Skeptics in ...

2026-04-07T16:09:59Z

Ego: speaking next Monday eve, April 13, at Greenwich Skeptics in the Pub on "What We Talk About When We Talk About AI": https://sitp.online/sitp/greenwich The Skeptic magazine (npub1lm3…jd4u)

This week's net.wars, "The Silicon Valley ...

2026-04-03T12:51:55Z

This week's net.wars, "The Silicon Valley chronicles", notes the likely pending deathe of Meta's Oversight Board and reviews the shift in Silicon Valley politics laid out in Jacob Silverman's book, Gilded Rage: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/04/03/the-silicon-valley-chronicles/
#NetWars

On the eve of #WeRobot2026, my updated list of summaries of all ...

2026-04-02T10:06:38Z

On the eve of #WeRobot2026, my updated list of summaries of all but one #WeRobot conferences back to its founding in 2012: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/03/18/a-short-history-of-we-robot-2026-edition/

This week's net.wars, "Eating the web", watches ...

2026-03-27T13:08:03Z

This week's net.wars, "Eating the web", watches Google, a creature of the open web, try to swallow the whole thing, and considers the potential far-reaching impact of this week's social media verdicts: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/03/27/eating-the-web/ #NetWars #SocialMedia

#WritersCoffeeClub March 25: What do you feel when a loved one ...

2026-03-25T10:48:21Z

#WritersCoffeeClub March 25: What do you feel when a loved one reads your work?

Surprised.

I hear bicycles don't do that.

2026-03-21T19:28:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…drxw
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I hear bicycles don't do that.

This week's net.wars, "Turn left at the robot", goes ...

2026-03-20T11:51:29Z

This week's net.wars, "Turn left at the robot", goes to the Human-Robot Interaction conference and finds that in robots versus kids the kids win every time: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/03/20/turn-left-at-the-robot/, #NetWars #robots

This week's net.wars, "Power games", finds the ...

2026-03-13T12:31:46Z

This week's net.wars, "Power games", finds the UK's digital ID proposals back in the news, along with alarming new amendments to the Online Safety Act: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/03/13/power-games/

Depends. What kind of braed, how much salt, and where was the ...

2026-03-12T15:28:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…e4l0
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Depends. What kind of braed, how much salt, and where was the bagel made?

This week's net.wars, "Bedroom eyes", finds ...

2026-03-06T10:53:14Z

This week's net.wars, "Bedroom eyes", finds Meta's smart glasses scooping up intimate scenes, finds a new paper says LLMs end online anonymity, and notes wartime Internet risks: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/03/06/bedroom-eyes/ #NetWars #AI #Privacy

Interesting piece. btw, you have "royal asset" instead of ...

2026-03-01T10:52:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…5x8s
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Interesting piece. btw, you have "royal asset" instead of "royal assent" in there.

Nor did I.

2026-02-28T11:47:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…heq9
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Nor did I.

More ill-advised if you drop the d.

2026-02-27T19:08:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…3jzu
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More ill-advised if you drop the d.

This week's net.wars, "Saving no one", finds that 3D ...

2026-02-27T11:55:44Z

This week's net.wars, "Saving no one", finds that 3D printing is enabling puzzle-making and ponders the mess of the Information Commissioner Office's fine against Reddit: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/02/27/saving-no-one/ #NetWars #OnlineSafetyAct

This week's net.wars, "Information wants to be ...

2026-02-20T15:22:42Z

This week's net.wars, "Information wants to be surveiled," discovers surveillance pricing, in which the pythons of industry use everything they know about us to wring out every last drop of profit: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/02/20/information-wants-to-be-surveiled/ #NetWars #Surveillance #Retail

RE: https://social.secret-wg.org/@julf/116092560378745787 you ...

2026-02-18T17:04:07Z

RE: https://social.secret-wg.org/@julf/116092560378745787

you have a problem with that?

quoting
note1xnn…7ys9

This week's net.wars, "Whooped", watches the recent ...

2026-02-13T12:01:35Z

This week's net.wars, "Whooped", watches the recent Australian Open, where the powers that be disagreed about whether #tennis players could wear Whoop fitness tracker bands in competition: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/02/13/whooped/ #NetWars #data

RIP Dave Farber, sometimes called the "grandfather of the ...

2026-02-08T20:07:03Z

RIP Dave Farber, sometimes called the "grandfather of the Internet".

This week's net.wars, "In search of the future ...

2026-02-06T12:34:27Z

This week's net.wars, "In search of the future Internet", goes to meetings building opposition to AI-withouth-public-consent: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/02/06/in-search-of-the-future-internet/ #NetWars #AI #polycrisis

what is this?

2026-02-04T12:00:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…nt8u
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what is this?

Ah. Fun.

2026-02-03T19:09:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…jktn
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Ah. Fun.

traintimes.org.uk thinks 19:09. which is now.

2026-02-03T19:09:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…f0fm
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traintimes.org.uk thinks 19:09. which is now.

It's an interesting point. I had not previously thought of ...

2026-02-02T14:16:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…k4j3
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It's an interesting point. I had not previously thought of the rise of Facebook et. al as a failure of the open web, but of course it's an *induced* failure, as companies saw a more profitable opportunity in locking people in.

tx. One for my collection.

2026-01-30T14:58:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…9n99
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tx. One for my collection.

This week's net.wars, "Universal service", plays ...

2026-01-30T12:44:59Z

This week's net.wars, "Universal service", plays Techdirt's One Billion Users Game and contemplates the potential loss of Freeview, the UK's public service broadcast TV system: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/01/30/universal-service/ #NetWars #TV #SocialMedia

You have email.

2026-01-30T10:52:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…ky69
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You have email.

Where is that quote from?

2026-01-30T09:38:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…hpzk
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Where is that quote from?

Pay off your credit card in full every month. YOu, too, can be a ...

2026-01-29T17:56:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…zy5w
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Pay off your credit card in full every month. YOu, too, can be a "deadbeat"!

RE: https://mastodon.social/@oneguynick/115967848158682089 Some ...

2026-01-28T10:15:15Z

RE: https://mastodon.social/@oneguynick/115967848158682089

Some great movies there...

quoting
note133a…rxzw

WikiFlix is Netflix for public domain films, with no ads, no logins, and no data harvesting. Who doesn't love free entertainment?

https://wikiflix.toolforge.org/#/

It probably varies by title. The last things I looked for on ...

2026-01-23T13:24:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…ah6m
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It probably varies by title. The last things I looked for on Gutenberg had multiple formats available, including ebooks. It's really a wonderful resource - benefits from how long it's been operating.

This week's net.wars, "In search of causality", finds ...

2026-01-23T12:26:01Z

This week's net.wars, "In search of causality", finds new research looking for a connection between teens' social media use and harm: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/01/23/in-search-of-causality/ #NetWars #SocialMedia #OnlineHarm

Isn't this what Project Gutenberg already does?

2026-01-23T12:04:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…v5zs
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Isn't this what Project Gutenberg already does?

This week's net.wars, "Split", notes Keir ...

2026-01-16T13:40:19Z

This week's net.wars, "Split", notes Keir Starmer's reversal on digital ID and ponders the row over Grok's clothing-removal capabilities and its collateral damage to the Royal Society: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/01/16/split/ #NetWars #AI #digitalID #science

Ouch. :)

2026-01-14T14:36:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…rzux
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Ouch. :)

Reduce inequality.

2026-01-11T14:15:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…uaku
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Reduce inequality.

In this week's net.wars, "Disconnexion", Grok's ...

2026-01-09T13:32:14Z

In this week's net.wars, "Disconnexion", Grok's users bring it into disrepute, and the digital euro looms: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/01/09/disconnexion/ #NetWars #AI #grok #UKPolitics #crypto

TBF, which of those technologies do you actually want in your ...

2026-01-08T12:52:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…kgzp
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TBF, which of those technologies do you actually want in your life?

Which Phil Ochs song is that?

2026-01-07T10:57:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…ejvm
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Which Phil Ochs song is that?

I am aware. I'm just saying I don't think they think it ...

2026-01-07T10:55:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…y6s6
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I am aware. I'm just saying I don't think they think it has anything to do with them.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@bruces/115853331794220621 Open to ...

2026-01-07T10:49:58Z

RE: https://mastodon.social/@bruces/115853331794220621

Open to all, not just WELL members.

quoting
note13mh…f9rm

*The WELL State of the World for 02026 is off to the races.

https://people.well.com/conf/inkwell.vue/topics/561/State-of-the-World-2026-with-Bru-page01.html

They're broadcasters, not participants.

2026-01-07T10:49:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…5ver
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They're broadcasters, not participants.

#writersCoffeeClub: Share a tool of your trade. A small (3x5in) ...

2026-01-04T14:41:47Z

#writersCoffeeClub: Share a tool of your trade.

A small (3x5in) paper pad and a pen. I don't trust my memory, so I use it to write down ideas, movie/TV/book recommendations, things to look up, reminders for things I promise people I will do, things people say, and so on. Corollary: all my clothing must have pockets in which to carry them.

This week's net.wars, "The owl who was God", ...

2026-01-02T12:59:35Z

This week's net.wars, "The owl who was God", contemplates the year and concludes AI may be too stupid to live much longer: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/01/02/the-ai-who-was-god/ #NetWars

Sorry. I didn't see the date (I do now!).

2025-12-31T16:33:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…8e9w
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Sorry. I didn't see the date (I do now!).

Is it possible the old message just somehow got marked unread?

2025-12-31T16:27:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…p84y
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Is it possible the old message just somehow got marked unread?

Ha! Our math teacher swore us to secrecy and, in 8th grade, read ...

2025-12-31T14:04:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…j2hq
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Ha! Our math teacher swore us to secrecy and, in 8th grade, read us the opening chapter of Portnoy's Complaint because she thought it was so funny.

My English teacher senior year in high school chided me for ...

2025-12-31T13:58:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…lt44
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My English teacher senior year in high school chided me for reading such "mickey-mouse stuff" over the summer.

In the latest episode of the @npub1wdd…h9qu podcast, we talk to ...

2025-12-30T01:32:54Z

In the latest episode of the Plutopia (npub1wdd…h9qu) podcast, we talk to Cory Doctorow about his latest book, Enshittification: https://plutopia.io/cory-doctorow-enshittification/

The White Canon.

2025-12-29T19:29:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…9zk0
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The White Canon.

1) Spinal Tap II; 2) Pluribus; 3) n/a; 4) n/a; 5) John Lithgow ...

2025-12-29T01:22:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…64w8
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1) Spinal Tap II; 2) Pluribus; 3) n/a; 4) n/a; 5) John Lithgow and Aya Cash in GIANT, also 1136; 6) The White Canon; 7) n/a; 8) n/a.

And leave town before people have time to work out what you did.

2025-12-28T15:42:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…kdff
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And leave town before people have time to work out what you did.

I guess the idea is that your sweater's sleeves won't ...

2025-12-28T15:39:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…ur6t
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I guess the idea is that your sweater's sleeves won't interfere with doing housework?

tx

2025-12-27T17:10:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…fmhd
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tx

Per Lee Hays (of Weavers fame), re This too shall pass: ...

2025-12-27T02:23:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…y6mq
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Per Lee Hays (of Weavers fame), re This too shall pass: "I've had kidney stones and I know."

This week's net.wars, "The censorship-industrial ...

2025-12-26T15:30:44Z

This week's net.wars, "The censorship-industrial complex", ponders the Oscars' move to YouTube; watches Waymos freeze in San Francisco's power outage; and wonders why bar *those* five individuals and NFOs from the US: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/12/26/the-censorship-industrial-complex/. #NetWars #censorship #uspol

thank you!

2025-12-26T00:59:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…5z0q
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thank you!

On the Riseup pad I might have seen it. I don't use Discord ...

2025-12-25T23:02:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…mvuv
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On the Riseup pad I might have seen it. I don't use Discord for anything else

Never heard it was happening.

2025-12-25T21:24:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…67t5
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Never heard it was happening.

How was I not told about this?

2025-12-25T00:38:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…6kte
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How was I not told about this?

Best wishes for a speedy recovery and an eventual desk.

2025-12-24T15:27:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…xmvv
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Best wishes for a speedy recovery and an eventual desk.

I didn't know they had been so widely copied. I have the CD ...

2025-12-24T14:52:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…dtd0
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I didn't know they had been so widely copied. I have the CD at home; I think it's unavailable now. I may have MP3s with me.

Ever heard the Klezmonauts album "Oy! to the World"?

2025-12-24T14:03:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…yup5
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Ever heard the Klezmonauts album "Oy! to the World"?

I feel like we saw this in that segment of Woody Allen's ...

2025-12-23T14:37:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…2p06
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I feel like we saw this in that segment of Woody Allen's movie Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex

<gruesome imaginings>

2025-12-22T21:20:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…fpl6
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<gruesome imaginings>

I do like Pluribus...

2025-12-22T20:59:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…p37l
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I do like Pluribus...

This is why I do batch cooking and freeze in portions.

2025-12-22T20:57:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…nzyh
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This is why I do batch cooking and freeze in portions.

Reminds me of a friend who shouted at her kids one day, "When ...

2025-12-19T11:56:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…cjk6
_________________________

Reminds me of a friend who shouted at her kids one day, "When are you moving *out*"

At hte time, they were aged six...and three.

Agreed.

2025-12-19T10:47:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…t8sd
_________________________

Agreed.

This week's net.wars, "Slop", marks iRobot's ...

2025-12-19T08:21:32Z

This week's net.wars, "Slop", marks iRobot's bankruptcy and sale; wonders why, if generative AI is so great it has to be forced on us; and deplores the CBP plan to demand an unrealistic amount of "high-value data" as part of the price of visiting the US: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/12/19/slop/ #NetWars #privacy #robots

Safe travels.

2025-12-18T20:33:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…sxjw
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Safe travels.

It's a sign of considerable privilege: ...

2025-12-14T16:28:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…wkp6
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It's a sign of considerable privilege: https://www.pelicancrossing.net/netwars/2017/10/the_opposite_of_privilege.html

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@wendynather/115713883336284207 That ...

2025-12-13T19:36:50Z

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@wendynather/115713883336284207

That last sentence is a good quotable.

quoting
note1yaz…y4r4

RE: https://mastodon.social/@scalzi/115713494369759678

It is never an answer. It is merely answer-shaped.

Grok offered to summarize my 2020 keynote at RSAC on “Democratizing Security,” and I said sure, why not. EVERYTHING in the summary was what other people statistically tend to say on that topic. None of it was what I actually said in the talk. LLMs are there to be plausible, NOT to be correct.
note1g26…gewd

This week's net.wars, "ID is football", sees the ...

2025-12-12T13:05:27Z

This week's net.wars, "ID is football", sees the arrival of Australia's social media ban for under-16s and leads a panel on digital ID at #UKIGF: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/12/12/id-is-football/ #NetWars #privacy #digitalid #osa

Yes, I got them confused....

2025-12-12T13:04:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…n73w
_________________________

Yes, I got them confused....

It may be there, but the problem with sending people to github is ...

2025-12-12T09:09:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…9543
_________________________

It may be there, but the problem with sending people to github is there's rarely any quick explanation of what the thing is...

I didn't know they were going to do that. Will see if they ...

2025-12-11T07:48:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…j8nc
_________________________

I didn't know they were going to do that. Will see if they can be persuaded to monitor more than one place.

I did post when registration opened, and then forgot to follow up ...

2025-12-10T11:50:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…pwcn
_________________________

I did post when registration opened, and then forgot to follow up until now. It should be an interesting day.

Rreminder for those interested in Internet and other tech issues, ...

2025-12-10T10:31:35Z

Rreminder for those interested in Internet and other tech issues, #ukigf is tomorrow (remote or in-person in London): https://www.ukigf.org.uk.

I predicted something like that years ago wrt online maps and ...

2025-12-06T14:22:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…9fdr
_________________________

I predicted something like that years ago wrt online maps and driving directions, but can't find the citation.

This week's net.wars, "A fork in the road" is a trip ...

2025-12-05T12:09:18Z

This week's net.wars, "A fork in the road" is a trip through the UK's recent history of thinking about road pricing: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/12/05/a-road-not-taken/ #NetWars #privacy

Don't they already do that? We call them corporations.

2025-12-03T11:31:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…sljr
_________________________

Don't they already do that? We call them corporations.

Applicationsa are open for the Tenacious Journalism awards, for ...

2025-12-03T11:03:57Z

Applicationsa are open for the Tenacious Journalism awards, for those covering AI, online harms, corporate accountability: https://www.tenaciousawards.org/about-the-journalists-award

Not sure it's there any more or the same as it was; it ...

2025-12-03T09:45:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…puz7
_________________________

Not sure it's there any more or the same as it was; it chnaged at some point. But it was famous for the rudeness of the staff. But it was also a great place to go for a good, quick Chinese meal in the theater district. I liked going there,.

It chanaged hands a while back. It used to be notorious for its ...

2025-12-02T18:14:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…0zch
_________________________

It chanaged hands a while back. It used to be notorious for its good, cheap Chinese food and the extraordinary rudeness of its waiters.

Like the Wong Kei on Wardour Street?

2025-12-02T15:52:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…4r9x
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Like the Wong Kei on Wardour Street?

At the @npub1wdd…h9qu #podcast we talk to Bruce Schneier about ...

2025-12-01T22:58:05Z

At the Plutopia (npub1wdd…h9qu) #podcast we talk to Bruce Schneier about his book, Rewiring Democracy, and the good and bad AI may bring: https://plutopia.io/bruce-schneier-rewiring-democracy/

Thanks for the kind words.

2025-11-30T10:29:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…250t
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Thanks for the kind words.

This week's net.wars, "Sovereign immunity", learns ...

2025-11-28T12:42:16Z

This week's net.wars, "Sovereign immunity", learns from X's location tracking feature and ponders the future of international squabbles over Internet censorship: The incident reminded that fraud in general seems to be endemic, especially in the online advertising ecosystem: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/11/28/sovereign-immunity/ #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #fraud

But the song lives on and so does Arlo Guthrie.

2025-11-27T15:47:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…xlrz
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But the song lives on and so does Arlo Guthrie.