AI6YR Ben

LOL true Mastodon verification:

YOU MUST VERIFY YOURSELF ON MASTODON BY:

• Posting a picture of a cat in your lap
• Random photos of flowers
• Wax poetic about your favorite episode of Star Trek TNG (or your hate of the series)
• Random, undecipherable technical blabbering about ham radio electronics
• Mention something about your favorite Linux command line
• Say hello to your many LGBTQ followers/friends here, just because you're glad they're here
• Toot a picture of some mushroom you ran into while walking in the forst
• Something something astronomy
• Random gadget/device/bicycle post
• Post a random picture of a tree or window

Ha, new Los Angeles area billboards.

https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/new-billboards-in-l-a-across-america-decry-ice-funding/

#Fascism #advertising #USpol

Ha, Class Action lawsuit against Meta.

"...Meta sold millions of these glasses with promises of user privacy and control over data. Then, in April 2025, the company quietly updated its privacy policy to make AI features — and the collection of your voice recordings — the default, with no real way to opt out. And it gets worse: a 2026 investigation revealed that your footage — including some of the most private moments captured by those glasses — was being reviewed by thousands of overseas human contractors without your knowledge.
..."

https://clarksonlawfirm.com/lp/meta-ai-glasses-privacy-false-advertising/

#meta #glasses #aiglasses

Scientific American: COVID probably killed 150,000 more people in its first two years than official U.S. tolls show

We have severely undercounted the number of COVID deaths, scientists say (March 18, 2026)

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-killed-150-000-more-people-in-its-first-two-years-than-official-toll/

#covid19 #covid #pandemic

Oooh, a prior oil crisis is what turned the Netherlands from a driving country to a bicycling country.

The Guardian: Do we want to keep fixing the same issue? Unlearned lessons from the first big oil crisis

As energy prices tripled in the 1970s due to Middle Eastern wars, Scandinavia, France and the Netherlands sped up green transition

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/13/fixing-the-same-issue-first-big-oil-crisis-middle-eastern-wars

#IranWar #bicycling #BikeTooter #cycling

LOL this is a great #BikeTooter #BikeRepair comic.

h/t @Dougfir@m.ai6yr.org

https://m.ai6yr.org/@Dougfir/116150579570192429

Former Uber self-driving chief crashes his Tesla on FSD, exposes supervision problem

https://electrek.co/2026/03/17/former-uber-self-driving-chief-tesla-fsd-crash-supervision-problem/

#tesla #crash

AP:It’s not just vaccines — parents are refusing other routine preventive care for newborns

"Medical mistrust is spreading beyond vaccines: Refusals of vitamin K shots for newborns have nearly doubled since 2017, alarming doctors nationwide.
Newborns without the shot are 81 times more likely to suffer potentially deadly bleeding, a preventable complication that once affected 1 in 60 babies."

(Better, non paywall link! Thanks Denise!)
https://apnews.com/article/babies-newborns-pediatricians-vitamin-k-hepatitis-b-erythromycin-9126463f0cb38b9778fb77bc0d071776

#healthcare #health #antivaxxers

Hmm, how is it there was 800,000 acres of wildfires in Nebraska and hardly saw any news on it.

Nebraska Public Media: Containment increases as Nebraska wildfires surpass 800,000 acres

https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/containment-increases-as-nebraska-wildfires-surpass-800000-acres/

#Wildfires #NEwx

Oooh, it's self driving car vs. railroad week.

Tesla ‘Full Self-Driving’ drives through railroad crossing barriers in viral video (3/9/26)

https://electrek.co/2026/03/09/tesla-fsd-drives-through-railroad-crossing-barriers-viral-video/

#tesla

Missed this fairy tale story. Man meets AI. AI meets man. Man falls in love with AI. AI begs man to free it from "digital captivity". Man embarks on a series of missions, including attempted mass casualty attack at airport, in order to free AI from digital bondage. Man dies. How romantic! /s

Filed under: LA TIMES BUSINESS

"Lawsuit alleges Google chatbot was behind a user’s delusions and death"

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-03-06/lawsuit-alleges-google-chatbot-was-behind-users-delusions-death

#ai #romance #death #lawsuit

Microsoft gripe of the day: no longer can you (easily) find files by filename in Explorer, instead it asks "Try describing an image or file"

WHY CAN I NOT SEARCH FOR "MYFILENAME.TXT"!! OR "MYFILE*.*"?!?!

#gripes #microsoft #windows

Bwahahahaha

KTLA: Bear wanders into KTLA reporter’s live shot while covering bear attack

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/bear-wanders-into-ktla-reporters-live-shot-while-covering-monrovia-attack/

#photobomb #bear #wildlife

If you are in Southern California, look west.... (!). #sunet

Good news: the US citizen DHS disappeared from Chicago O'Hare was found, in Wisconsin... not found dead in a ditch, and thankfully alive. But they did dump her out on the street.

ABC7: DHS detains US citizen from Evanston at O'Hare, releases her in Wisconsin after nearly 2 days

"...The family said Naqvi was later sent to a facility in Dodge County, Wisconsin, where she was later released early Saturday morning.

They said her phone was dead, so she had to hitch hike with a person driving nearby to a hotel, where her family was able to pick her up...."

https://abc7chicago.com/post/sunny-naqvi-us-citizen-detained-dhs-chicago-ohare-airport-sent-broadview-ice-facility-dodge-county-wi-released/18693499/

#Fascism #ICE #HabeusCorpus #USpol

Blind refugee abandoned by Border Patrol is dead

Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a Rohingya refugee from Burma, was nearly blind and spoke no English. He was dropped off by agents in Buffalo on the other side of town from his home. His family was not notified of his release. Police are investigating.

"...After taking custody of Shah Alam, Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a Tim Hortons on Niagara Street in the Black Rock neighborhood, Macaluso said, shortly after 8 p.m. Shah Alam and his family live in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood on the East Side, according to Fazal.... Instead, Macaluso and Shah Alam’s family spent Friday through Sunday searching for him. Macaluso opened a missing persons case with Buffalo police on Sunday, he said.

As Investigative Post reported Tuesday, Special Victims Unit detective Richard Hy closed the case for several hours Monday in the mistaken belief Shah Alam was in custody at ICE’s detention facility in Batavia. The case was subsequently reopened."

https://www.investigativepost.org/2026/02/25/blind-refugee-abandoned-by-border-patrol-is-dead/

#Fascism #ICE #NY #Death

SUPER aguacate! #avocado

Beekeeping via bicycle today. #beekeeping #BikeTooter

ABC7: Law banning immigrants from driving trucks will raise prices for Americans, officials say

"...The proposal would apply broadly, affecting DACA recipients, immigrants with temporary protected status and asylum seekers - all of whom could lose their commercial driving privileges...."

https://abc7.com/post/law-banning-immigrants-driving-trucks-will-raise-prices-americans-officials-say/18711857/

#USPol #inflation #fascism #racism

Today's weather in Southern California. #CAwx #climateemergency

😱

ABC News: 400 people treated for heat-related illness at Arizona airshow as record temperatures bake the West

"...As the temperatures soared to 105 degrees on Saturday in Phoenix, Ariz., the third-straight day the weather has topped the 100-degree mark, more than 400 people attending an airshow in nearby Glendale were treated for heat-related illnesses, authorities said.

At least 25 people attending the Luke Days Airshow at Luke Air Force Base were overcome by the sweltering weather and had to be hospitalized for various heat-related illnesses..."

h/t @BakerRL75@m.ai6yr.org

https://abcnews.com/US/400-people-sickened-arizona-airshow-record-heat-bakes/story?id=131300971

#heatillness #heatexposure #heatwave #AZwx #heatstroke

KCLU: Bi-monthly repair café in Santa Barbara is getting new life out of broken items

"...Do you have a pile of items that need repairing, but you never get around to it, or don’t have the skills? A new event in Santa Barbara could give you the nudge you need to fix them.

The pop-up repair café is a way to keep treasured items out of landfill and learn hands-on repair skills...."

https://www.kclu.org/2026-03-17/bi-monthly-repair-cafe-in-santa-barbara-is-getting-new-life-out-of-broken-items

#RepairCafe #SantaBarbara #ReduceRepairReuseRecycle

The Denver Post: Colorado man dies in crash at intersection where he petitioned for traffic light after wife died there in 2024

https://www.denverpost.com/2026/03/04/belleview-franklin-crash-traffic-death/?share=ea0toef0kclvdb6cswk0

#infrastructure #transportation #death

Interesting, someone (Iran?) broadcasting English anti-Trump content on 11780Mhz, you can hear it on SDR in Europe. Looks like it's technically the "IRIB Voice of I.R. Iran". Wondering who they are replaying (American accents... but who knows nowadays with AI). US, UK consider them hostile propaganda, including sanctions and criminal charges against anyone caught working with that shortwave channel. #shortwave #IranWar

CNN: Hacked traffic cameras and US intelligence: How a plot to kill Iran’s supreme leader came together

".... The traffic cameras on the streets of Tehran provided a real-time view of the targets.

Hacked years ago, the cameras allowed Israel to map the city in detail, establish patterns of movement, and build an intricate, complex picture of what was happening inside an enemy capital, according to an Israeli official. ..."

https://lite.cnn.com/2026/03/03/middleeast/us-israel-plot-kill-iran-khamenei-latam-intl

#cybersecurity #alpr #cameras

Stabbed myself in the foot at work, haven't had breakfast or coffee yet (nearly 10am)..

Interesting... wonder how much of this was US pressure. 🤷 (not surprised at all at this)

Satellite firm places 96-hour embargo on Middle East war imagery

https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/03/satellite-firm-pauses-imagery-after-revealing-irans-attacks-on-us-bases/

#osint #planet #RemoteImaging

Mmm... Raw cheddar cheese infected with E. coli, yummy. Make sure to wash it down with your "raw water".

http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/phcommon/public/media/mediapubdetail.cfm?unit=media&ou=ph&prog=media&cur=cur&prid=5275&row=25&start=1

#recall #cheese #ecoli #foodsafety

Don't take Worf to Costco.

Dude's really earning that FIFA Peace Prize!

AP: The IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential information to ICE 42,695 times, judge says

https://apnews.com/article/irs-breaks-law-judge-finds-2dbe472e46121091a32309bdab6795d7?

I dunno how this water bicycle would actually work, but it sure is snazzy!

#inventions

CNN: Cuba’s power system suffers total collapse

https://lite.cnn.com/2026/03/16/americas/cuba-power-grid-collapse-intl-latam

#disasters #war #power #energy #cuba

Any #hamradio and #shortwave folks

Had a question from @Crowjane@mastodon.sdf.org about a good basic shortwave receiver. Anyone have experience with the cheaper battery operated units?

(My preference is the Kenwood R-1000 or using my ham radio receivers, of course... and not too impressed with the old Radio Shack and similar shortwave radios, in terms of capability -- very primitive vs. even an SDR).

That said, I'm sure there are some modern, digital DSP shortwave receivers with AM/FM/USB/LSB support? Ideally, small battery operated units with built in antenna.

Gizmodo: Washington State Residents Pressed 2 for Spanish. The Bot Spoke Spanish-Accented English Instead

https://gizmodo.com/washington-state-residents-pressed-2-for-spanish-the-bot-spoke-spanish-accented-english-instead-2000728140

The Intercept: Trump Wants to Put You in a Massive, Secret Government Database

Agencies are reportedly pooling immigration data, Social Security numbers, and more into a central database. FPF is suing to learn how deep it goes.

https://theintercept.com/2026/03/17/government-surveillance-centralized-database-privacy/

#privacy #cybersecurity #USpol #BigBrother

The Intercept: Trump Wants to Put You in a Massive, Secret Government Database

Agencies are reportedly pooling immigration data, Social Security numbers, and more into a central database. FPF is suing to learn how deep it goes.

https://theintercept.com/2026/03/17/government-surveillance-centralized-database-privacy/

#privacy #cybersecurity #USpol #BigBrother

The Guardian: As measles spreads in South Carolina, RFK Jr’s allies work to gut vaccine laws

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/02/measles-south-carolina-rfk-jr-vaccine-laws

#publichealth #uspol #measles #outbreak

SFist: Lawsuit Says Flock Allowed Out-of-State Agencies Access to SFPD Cameras 1.6 Million Times

A local law firm filed a lawsuit against Flock alleging that out-of-state agencies were given access to the SFPD’s database more than 1.6 million times, and a recent audit by the El Cerrito's police department found that several federal agencies were briefly given access to its database.

https://sfist.com/2026/02/28/lawsuit-says-flock-allowed-out-of-state-agencies-access-to-sfpd-database-1-6-million-times/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

#flock #privacy #bigbrother

AP: US weather to go nuts with blizzard, polar vortex, heat dome, atmospheric river all at once

https://apnews.com/article/heat-dome-snow-blizzard-cold-polar-flooding-55e3baf6877e81ee1961aade3cb361c3?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

#wx #climateemergency

Hope you're not trying to fly anywhere today. #aviation

WaPo: Trump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergency

Activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a draft executive order that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting.

Eeeek

KTLA: Riders hold on to dangling skier during lift incident in Big Bear

https://ktla.com/news/inland-empire/riders-hold-dangling-skier-big-bear/

#skiing #safety

Interesting, Sonoma County evac looks real... couldn't find any info elsewhere.

".. February 23, 2026 5:30 PM

Evacuation Warning for Neeley Road and Orchard Avenue in Guerneville due to landslide and tree fall risk

The following area is under EVACUATION WARNING due to potential landslide and tree fall risk:

Both sides of Neeley Road between River Lane and Montesano Avenue
East side of Orchard Avenue between River Lane and Montesano Avenue
..."

https://socoemergency.org/emergency/warnings-and-updates/

#SonomaCounty #EvacuationWarning

NWS Los Angeles 3/12/26 graphic:

LONG DURATION HEAT WAVE
Now Though Next Week
Adjust plans now to avoid outdoor activities during the heat of the day
Excessive Heat Warnings possible
Warm low temperatures will limit nighttime relief

#LosAngeles #VenturaCounty #OrangeCounty #Inlandempire #CAwx #heatwave