It's frustrating that the UK is trying to follow in the USA's political footsteps…
(Not sure who to credit for the artwork.)
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mmalc
@mmalc@mastodon.social
mastodon 4.8.0-nightly.2026-10-06Former content developer/instructor with Software University at Apple. Interested in energy, electrification, efficiency. And subjects like health and photography whose names don’t begin with “e”.
648 Followers
263 Following
50 Posts
Joined August 31, 2018
Replying to
@EUCommission
"One cable, any brand, less electronic waste.”
Per the article @jnfingerle posted, unfortunately that's simply not true
(See also: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/11/usb-c-is-not-universal/680502/)
There are multiple types of USB-C cable with different capabilities, and they're not interchangeable. Previously it was obvious that you couldn't plug device-A into power adapter B; now the connection may fail for no obvious reason.
What's needed now is clear, standardised labeling. It’d be great if you could work on that.
Replying to
@benroyce@mastodon.social
Whatever you think of him, I do think it’s important not to celebrate his death
You don’t want to peak too early and have nothing left for McConnell. Just be mildly joyous
#USPol
#LindseyGraham
#MitchMcConnell
Replying to
@benroyce@mastodon.social
I’m sure there will be any amount of pearl-clutching from Republicans as others fail to mourn Graham with “appropriate respect”.
Given Republicans’ refusal to censure Trump for his monstrous comments about various deceased: tough. When Trump himself is gone, maybe we can return to a modicum of decorum; until then, open season
Related:
https://youtu.be/k9b7wmRsy9g
#USPol
#LindseyGraham
#MitchMcConnell
NNN Politicians
Many of those gravely asserting that the $200 million cost of rescuing one pilot was worth it because "every human life is worth saving” are the same as those who will routinely shout down calls for universal healthcare, improved public transportation, better food access, and environmental protections. Investments that would dramatically reduce mortality from a range of leading causes of death in the U.S.
Replying to
@raymaccarthy @EUCommission @jnfingerle
One of my own examples:
VW put USB-C outlets all over the place in the ID.Buzz. Excellent, very considerate.
I got a dash-cam with a USB-C charging port…
I tried literally over a dozen different USB-C-to USB-C cables trying to get the cam to power up. Each failed.
What did work was putting a USB-C to USB-A adapter into the outlet on the car, and plugging the cam into the adapter using its USB-A to USB-C cable. 🤦♂️
#USB
#USBC
#Cables
Boosted by @cstross@wandering.shop
Replying to on mstdn.social
@DemocracyMattersALot@mstdn.social
Borowitz: “… former President George W. Bush confirmed on Saturday that he is celebrating no longer having started the dumbest war in U.S. history."
#USPol
#Satire
Every July, a secretive all-male encampment (past guests: presidents, senators, SCOTUS justices) gathers in the Sonoma redwoods for an event called “Bohemian Grove”. This year, for those 3 weeks, Santa Rosa airport quietly ran the departure route it's told residents for 2.5 years is impossible. No safety issues, no delays, 82% fewer low-altitude flights.
#BohemianGrove
#Sonoma
#SonomaCountyAirport
#NoisePollution
#FAA
https://mmalc-x-machina.ghost.io/bohemian-grove/
Computer History Museum event: “Steve Jobs in exile —
NeXT and the Making of a Comeback"
“… a special CHM Live book talk with Geoffrey Cain, author of Steve Jobs in Exile: The Untold Story of NeXT and the Remaking of an American Visionary, and key figures from NeXT’s history, including Dan’l Lewin, Avie Tevanian, and Bud Tribble.”
https://computerhistory.org/events/steve-jobs-in-exile/
Maybe of interest to some.
Related: Also recently excavated another piece of memorabilia
Replying to
@jonesmurphy@mastodon.social @benroyce@mastodon.social
Umm, I don’t understand why you're suggesting that; I'm only holding out hope for decorum.
See also Hunter Biden's post
“Following her press conference, Trump is reportedly firing Melania as First Lady. It is rumored she will be replaced by Lindsey Graham.”
Richard Angehr
If Hormuz is not opened within 25 days, oil field production may permanently reduced.
The “reservoir skin effect” can create “permanent damage around the well, … crippling its long-term productivity. If [well]s are forced to go dark for even two to three weeks, the altered physics of the reservoir dictate that they may never return to their original flow rates.”
https://fortune.com/2026/03/28/iran-hormuz-oil-price-l-shaped-plateau-not-v-recovery/
#Trump may have done more to wean the world off #Oil than decades of campaigning.
MAGA people celebrating #Trump "winning" peace in Iran are like home-owners congratulating an arsonist for calling the fire brigade.
Congratulations, I suppose, to Donald #Trump for introducing the world to the concept of the Pyrrhic Defeat.
Replying to
@jonesmurphy@mastodon.social
Please don't continue to misrepresent me; I wrote specifically:
"When Trump himself is gone, *maybe we can return to a modicum of decorum*”
I offered Biden's post as a contrast — he offered a broader hope which I do not share.
Replying to
@benroyce@mastodon.social
Oh, I don't disagree; “open season" until we get a return to a modicum of decorum (if we ever do), not simply because Trump's gone.
I'm not holding out any particular hope for it in the current generation — I suspect it's too far gone and too deeply imbued in the GOP now.
Replying to
@SamantazFox @raymaccarthy @EUCommission @jnfingerle
"It however improves the overall user experience”
Not really, precisely per your own follow-up:
"The only drawback might be the markings (as the USB if is quite bad at this)”
That's exactly the point I made. 🤦♂️
Replying to
@solar_chase@mastodon.green
To add to the sense of optimism, from the viewpoint of 30+ years ago the progress has been remarkable.
As then Energy Coordinator for Sheffield Friends of the Earth one of the things I did manage to do was organise a stall in the city centre to promote low-energy light bulbs. Our target for the day was to save *80 tons* of CO2. It's been slow and frustrating, but we have come a long way since.
#RenewableEnergy
#Optimism
Replying to
@skinnylatte @wakame
I’m not arguing against that; I'm arguing against the assertion that “just” using humans would be better.
I started in speech recognition research in the late 1980s (and Noel Sharkey was a later colleague). I'm well aware of the issues. Using any basically “safety critical" system without adequate checks is foolhardy.
Replying to
@SamantazFox @raymaccarthy @EUCommission @jnfingerle
My apologies for misunderstanding.
Not having known anything about dash cams before, I did try to find a "reputable" (VanTrue?) one, so it's… disappointing.
Replying to
@Ghostflaneur
FWIW, I found that it's fairly easy to transition from flat keyboard to a sculpted one like this (in my case https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage2/) provided that the key layout is the same (QWERTY). The true vertical alignment of the keys actually makes it easier.
(As ever, YMMV.)
Replying to
@xan@xantronix.social
Or if they wanted to modernise it a bit…
Personally I'd be really happy if they just brought back the vertical tear-off menus.
Walnut Creek has banned gas-powered leaf blowers.
Noise is the obvious pollutant that many focus on, but emissions from 2-stroke engines are startlingly toxic, including a mix of:
- Carcinogens (benzene, PAHs)
- Lung irritants (PM2.5, NOx)
- Toxic gases (CO)
- Smog-forming chemicals (VOCs, hydrocarbons)
Best is not to use leaf blowers at all (they lift topsoil into the air), but battery is orders of magnitude less harmful.
wienerberger UK & Ireland has secured funding to transition natural gasfired brick kilns at its brickworks in Denton, Greater Manchester, to run on 100% green hydrogen. This will make Denton the first commercial scale hydrogen fired brick plant in the world.
Splendid progress.
#Hydrogen provides long-term storage for surplus energy created by renewables; using it directly for heating is even more efficient than turning it back into electricity.
Replying to
@raymaccarthy @SamantazFox @EUCommission @jnfingerle
Re Belkin, touché
They're not usually on my list, but having tried so many others (per earlier, literally dozen+) I got some of theirs too given extravagant claims about compatibility.
It was only when they all failed I started down the “maybe it's the device itself" rabbit hole…
I'm all for USB-C in principle (I was an eager early adopter); in practice *for now*, it's often just different more difficult to diagnose problems.
Replying to
@geoffl @EUCommission
It's not just the cables. With VW/dash cam, was almost certainly cam that was at fault.
If a device wires VBUS straight to charging circuit and doesn’t put 5.1kΩ pull-downs on CC1/CC2, it’ll "fail”.
It works with a USB-A to USB-C cable because the USB-C end of those cables has a 56kΩ pull-up resistor baked into the plug itself — it fakes the CC signal so the device sees power immediately, since USB-A always has 5V live on VBUS.
Classic example: https://www.scorpia.co.uk/2019/06/28/pi4-not-working-with-some-chargers-or-why-you-need-two-cc-resistors/
Replying to
@raymaccarthy @SamantazFox @EUCommission @jnfingerle
I put a link to the Pi 4 example in another post (https://mastodon.social/@mmalc/116483798356327588)
https://www.scorpia.co.uk/2019/06/28/pi4-not-working-with-some-chargers-or-why-you-need-two-cc-resistors/
Replying to
@SamantazFox @raymaccarthy @EUCommission @jnfingerle
"Mandating USB-C doesn't prevent crappy vendors from misusing the connector…”
To address this specifically — thank you for the condescending mansplaining…
I only buy reputable brands — Anker, Belkin, Cable Matters etc. The issue in this particular case is almost certainly with the device (dash cam) itself (it probably doesn't have 5.1kΩ pull-downs on CC1/CC2).
Replying to
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social
If he were any sort of doctor, my guess would be pediatrician
Freudian slap: an unintentional error in speech or action that may reveal unconscious thoughts or desires but which hits harder than the correct version.
(To preempt:
Freudian slop: broadly the same, but generated by AI.)
“There is no question that President Trump is 100 percent responsible for a stunning victory in the Iran war.”
I hope at least some of the smug MAGA-adherents continued to read the remainder of the article, bumping almost straight away into:
"Unfortunately, there is also no question as to who won. Hint: It wasn’t the United States.”
The remainder of the piece is a good summary of the overall catastrophe.
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5824238-trump-geopolitical-catastrophe-iran/
(Maybe see also: @mmalc@mastodon.social)
People in the #SFBayArea interested in #ElectricVehicles might benefit from visiting the 2nd Annual Sustainable Transportation Expo at Skyline College on April 30th, 2026:
https://events.skylinecollege.edu/event/109338-2nd-annual-sustainable-transportation-expo
TELO trucks is an exhibitor:
Replying to
Many thanks to @avuko for pointing out that I'd omitted the link in the original version of the post; my apologies for the error.
Replying to
@stacey_campbell@aus.social @mrundkvist@archaeo.social
I'm just waiting for “It's a large asteroid the size of a small asteroid”
(https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/a-large-boulder-the-size-of-a-small-boulder)
As #Apple approaches its #50thAnniversary, thinking of what the company could have achieved if only it had pursued the lucrative Internet Café business
More excavation of memorabilia…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWii2NItLo4
Old Mac OS had an upgrade
AI AI oh
And in that upgrade it had a chatbot
AI AI oh
With a bot bot here and a bot bot there
Here a bot, there a bot, everywhere a bot bot
Old Mac OS had an upgrade
AI AI oh
Hmm, the dealership promised they were going to repair the car this morning, but I’m starting to wonder …
(Something chewed through the windscreen washer fluid line — I suspect squirrels)
Replying to
(I know that technically the JCoS is not an operational body, but…)
Trump consults the Oracle at Delphi…
"If you cross the Rubicon, a great empire will be destroyed.”
(See alt-text for notes.)
Replying to
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social
If you'll forgive the obligatory:
Sam Vimes ‘Boots’ Theory of Socio-Economic Unfairness
https://terrypratchett.com/explore-discworld/sam-vimes-boots-theory-of-socio-economic-unfairness/
TDS is real — it stands for Trump Deification Syndrome
(See also: https://thedailybritain.co.uk/trump-attacks-pope-leo-weak-terrible-liberal-iran-2026/)
Replying to
@wakame @skinnylatte
*In general* AI transcription tools are now comparable to or better than human transcription in raw accuracy. Humans aren't very good at sustained effort like this, but may be better at understanding nuance.
Much depends on the system and context; the original article notes that it's dealing with a New Zealand accent, which I'd expect to be currently underrepresented.
A hybrid model is likely to be optimal for precision.
https://www.healos.ai/blog/the-truth-about-ai-medical-scribe-accuracy-rates-2025-healos-achieves-98-performance
Replying to
@hannah@posts.rat.pictures
They have a different system in Colorado:
"A large hailstone the size of a small hailstone…”
In the unlikely event of Kash Patel going down on a woman, would it be a twat à twat?
(Random thought inspired by @lsdog@piaille.fr)
Replying to
@red_rooster @raymaccarthy @EUCommission @jnfingerle
Umm, OK, but that doesn't address fundamental issue.
If a device has a USB-C power input port, it seems reasonable to expect to be able to power it using a USB-C charger and (good quality) cable. Sometimes you can't, not because of charger or cable, but because of device itself. That's hardly intuitive.
Ironically some devices seem to come with a USB-C to USB-C cable that does work, I'd guess because it intentionally violates the spec.