simonwillison.net/2025/Mar/27/…
Tracing the thoughts of a large language model
In a follow-up to the research that brought us the [delightful Golden Gate Claude](https://simonwillison.Simon Willison’s Weblog
When I remember reading them when they came out, and using the details at work.
Someone at work knew what "B side" kinda meant but not why it was called that. Because why would she? She would have been 2 when Napster came about and 4 when the iPod was released.
To another I said vaping was like chocolate cigarettes for adults because we all stand around pretending to smoke and then I had to explain what they were. ("Well, we had candy which normalised smoking for children.")
You're officially Old when you have to explain things from "my day" to other adults.
. . . why, float #PayWalled articles on Mastodon ?? Especially when you've Free, as in Freedom of Information, in your directive ??
Think you're at a #CrossPurposes point there . . :/
Reorganised my “workshop” room in preparation for the H2D. I’ll shift the A1 Mini when the time comes and it can go there.
I’ll 3D print a vent adaptor to mix it with my other laser cutter air extraction.
Traffic to 23andMe's Website Soars as Users Race to Delete DNA Data
According to Similarweb, 23andMe.com saw its largest traffic spike in two years on Monday as news of the DNA test kit company's bankruptcy broke.Michael Kan (PCMag)
The Southeastern U.S. faces a future with more wildfires : Consider This from NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/1241163680/north-carolina-southeast-wildfires-portend-future-risk?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into Climate @climate-npr
reshared this
Y⃒̸̷̝̜̙ͥͥͥngmar, mhoye, Pseudo Nym, Christine Lemmer-Webber, Shred and David August ❌👑 reshared this.
David August ❌👑 reshared this.
Which reminds me, I have to empty my old dishwasher again....
David August ❌👑 reshared this.
David August ❌👑 reshared this.
Sensitive content
Star Wars v Baseball is new and improved!
This time I picked the star wars names myself to make it harder (full disclosure, I used an AI to do this if that's an issue for you I get it, but I do not the skills to do this myself)
Tariffs hurt small newspapers
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/nx-s1-5332283/tariffs-hurt-small-newspapers?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into Business @business-npr
GOP leaders accused of making threats to block bill to let new moms vote remotely
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/g-s1-56535/congress-new-parents-remote-voting?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into Politics @politics-npr
Russian scientist from Harvard Medical School detained in U.S., faces deportation and likely arrest upon re...
A Russian scientist working at Harvard Medical School has been detained in the United States and placed in immigration detention.The Insider
*Did the Ancient Romans have every-day-carry multitools"
*Yes they did and you can own a replica
domusartificis.com/en/prodotto…
Drow Paladin by Jake Bartok
Source: reddit.com/r/ReasonableFantasy…
#DnD #DungeonsAndDragons #ttrpg #character #characterart #art #digitalart #dndart
The image depicts a character labeled "THE PALADIN" in an ornate, Art Nouveau-style illustration. The character is a humanoid figure with pale blue skin and long white hair, wearing detailed silver armor with a red cape. The armor includes a helmet, shoulder guards, and gauntlets, with a belt featuring circular metal pieces. The character holds a large sword with a blue blade and intricate hilt, resting it on their left shoulder. The background is dark with a gold halo-like design behind the character, enhancing the regal and heroic theme. The character's pose is confident, with one hand on their hip and the other holding the sword. The image is framed with elaborate gold and brown decorative elements, and the artist's signature, "[@]JAKEBARTOK," is visible in the bottom left corner.
Provided by @altbot, generated privately and locally using Ovis2-8B
🌱 Energy used: 0.237 Wh
This breaks my heart.
The Trump/Musk regime want to take us back to the days of HIV/AIDS "killing all the right people" with MAGA Republicans cheering on the virus.
abcnews.go.com/Health/potentia…
Potential foreign aid cuts could lead to millions of HIV infections, deaths: Study
Infections and deaths could surge to early 2000s levels, study authors say.Mary Kekatos (ABC News)
Not just AIDS. No infectious disease respects international borders. TB, polio, ebola, ...
Glyn Moody reshared this.
#XSF Announcement
Today the #XMPP Standards Foundation publishes an Open Letter to urge #Meta to adopt XMPP for messaging #interoperability.
It’s time for real interoperability. Let’s make it happen.
xmpp.org/announcements/open-le…
#jabber #chat #rtc
#opensource #decentralization #standard #dma
As I walked to attend the 1st day of our March meeting of the German Council on the Environment (SRU) today, I walked by this stela as I have so many times before. It's on Charité Campus in Downtown Berlin.
It says: "Remember".
And: "Persecuted Science".
Strange how, in this year 2025, this remembrance of terrible times long past, never to return, suddenly resonates so much.
Ouch, this sent a chill down my spine. [Tl;dr: GitHub locked a repo apparently because one of its contributors was in a US-sanctioned region]:
1. mastodon.social/@organicmaps/1…
2. mastodon.social/@organicmaps/1…
Organic Maps (@organicmaps@mastodon.social)
Attached: 1 image We have a temporary glitch with GitHub—probably some contributor was geolocated in a sanctioned region (no details yet). All required documents to unlock the account have been uploaded. Don't blame Microsoft/GitHub - it is just U.Mastodon
GitHub has gone - long live Forgejo (@forgejo).Fully migrated out of Microsoft’s walled garden after they blocked us:
- 54k commits
- 9.5k issues
- 4.3k pull requests
- 100k commentsEverything moved. Nothing left behind.
git.omaps.dev/organicmaps/orga…
organicmaps
🍃 Organic Maps is a free Android & iOS offline maps app for travelers, tourists, hikers, and cyclists. It uses crowd-sourced OpenStreetMap data and is developed with love by the community. No ads, no tracking, no data collection, no crapware.OMaps: Make Maps Great Again
Southern Appalachia's future — and present — involve wildfires
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/nx-s1-5339707/southern-appalachias-future-and-present-involve-wildfires?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into All Things Considered @all-things-considered-npr
An international project built by enthusiasts and launched to orbit 50 years ago is still working and used by amateur radio hobbyists.
This is infrastructure!
youtube.com/watch?v=7wSEgHYWmM…
AO-7: The Satellite That Refused to Die
It's tough to fit 50+ years of remarkable history into 26 minutes. But here's a shot! Amazingly, the oldest operational @AMSAT transponder is still going str...YouTube
It’s Musicians Day!
Set up by @Kitty, @bestiaexmachina and @thomas, Musicians Day is a bi-annual event celebrating music by indie artists in the Fediverse. Musicians and listeners are encouraged to share their work or music they like.
As a federated music magazine with a sharp focus on Fedi music and Fair Music Platforms here are some of the things you will find on nham.co.uk:
- LISTEN to NHAM Radio and other channels.
- WATCH music videos, live performances & podcasts.
- ATTEND live events.
- Get the latest NEWS.
- Read REVIEWS.
- Catch the latest RELEASES.
- Delve deeper, connect with communities, find useful resources and MORE.
#FediArtists #FediMusic #MusiciansDay
Non Heralded Awesome Music
Online magazine-style platform aiming to help draw connections between indie musicians, fair distribution platforms and listeners, under a shared ethos.nham.co.uk
South Korea admits agencies mishandled international adoptions
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/nx-s1-5341421/south-korea-admits-agencies-mishandled-international-adoptions?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into World News @world-news-npr
I've been using #Signal for nearly 10 years.
The ability to send a message from Signal to someone that does not have Signal was removed in October of 2022.
When a message is sent from Signal only the sender and recipient(s) can view the content - not even #OpenWhisper (the makers of Signal) can view the contents of those/any messages. OpenWhisper has received federal subpoenas previously, and they demonstrated this exact point.
Adding a person to a pre-existing chat requires 4 steps.
So, this was not accidental. It might've been done stupidly, but someone went through the steps to add someone, then send those messages afterwards.
But this really does seem like a distraction tactic - it keeps people's eyes away from Social Security, food stamps, and Medicare being gutted. The same goes for kidnapping immigrants - it's a distraction tactic.
what the fuck is wrong with these people
OMFG
i honestly think maga wouldn't even fall for this at this point
how come we don't send these Republican Terrorists to Guantanamo Bay fer some water treatments?
How right-wing media is covering the Signal group chat controversy
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/nx-s1-5341726/how-right-wing-media-is-covering-the-signal-group-chat-controversy?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into Business @business-npr
#politics
reuters.com/world/us/judge-ord…
Friends defend Turkish student arrested by ICE
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/nx-s1-5342476/friends-defend-turkish-student-arrested-by-ice?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into U.S. News @u-s-news-npr
You know that generative AI browser assistant extension is probably beaming everything to the cloud, right?
theregister.com/2025/03/25/gen…
Just an FYI, like ...
Generative AI assistants packaged up as browser extensions harvest personal data with minimal safeguards, researchers warn.
Toronto Council meets today! It’s the first post-budget meeting. The agenda features tough tariff talk, coyotes, shelter system problems, and councillor compensation.
It’ll stream live here. As is my custom, I will chronicle the proceedings in a big thread. youtube.com/watch?v=3aF9dTKcQ-…
City Council - March 26, 2025
City Council, meeting 28, March 26, 2025Agenda and background materials:https://secure.toronto.ca/council/#/committees/2462/25762The National Anthem played a...YouTube
As you’d expect, Mayor Olivia Chow has named the U.S. Tariff response item as the first order of business. The item about refugees in the shelter system has been scheduled for first-thing tomorrow.
I’ve got a full preview of the agenda here: toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/…
Council to talk about coyotes, federal support for shelters, and a big pay hike
City Hall Watcher #324: Your Council meeting preview for March 2025.Matt Elliott (City Hall Watcher)
Councillor Thompson rises to speak about the mass shooting at a pub in his ward earlier this month. He urges people to call the cops if they know anything.
“We have not been cowered by those amongst us who want to threaten our sense of security and enjoyment of our city,” he says.
Councillor Jamaal Myers, the TTC Chair, says he's looking forward to welcoming former councillor Joe Mihevc back to the TTC Board, as a "citizen appointee."
Council APPROVES Mihevc's appointment via show of hands.
"There seems to be an anti-American tone to this," notes Councillor James Pasternak. "Do you think that could hurt our ability to attract American tourists to Toronto for FIFA and all year round?"
Staff say the goal is to support local businesses and jobs "without tipping into anti-Americanism."
Councillor Stephen Holyday asks the mayor if there's any desire to "reverse the policy and do business with the U.S."
"No. Not right now. We're under attack," says Mayor Olivia Chow. "We need to defend ourselves and attack back."
Holyday asks if the U.S. dropped the tariff talk, would mayor be open to doing biz with the U.S. again?
"If the federal and the provincial and this government collectively believe that there is peace in our land. If there's no more trade war ... then at that point, of course."
"I think something has awoken," says Mayor Olivia Chow. "A feeling of pride. Of being Canadian."
She says she's been asking people if they're proud of being Canadian, and they say yes. She asks them if they want to be the 51st state and she gets a "resounding 'no way'."
Pasternak says he's a patriotic Canadian but warns about "economic nationalism."
"We are a city that relies very heavily on foreign tourism, particularly Americans... and the last thing we need is to send a message south of the border that Toronto is not friendly to tourists."
Councillor Josh Matlow moves a three-part motion:
- Including a sunset clause in this plan so measures get removed if a trade agreement is reached.
- Ask Ottawa & Queen's Park to cover any lost municipal revenue from plan.
- Consider impact on jobs as part of future reports on the plan.
Councillor Bradford moves to strike the part of the Trade War Plan that limits use of U.S-based rideshare companies like Uber.
He says these ride-share companies employ lots of people in Toronto. "These are good jobs. They are important jobs." He warns about making workers "collateral damage."
Councillor Carroll warns that because of "our sabre rattling and our booing at the hockey game," some visiting Americans are fearful they might be accosted in the streets.
"The more we sabre rattle, the more we are creating this beautiful fertile ground of politics for President Trump to use."
Council has returned. Perruzza tells us "the gist" of a joke he heard from a constituent
"President Trump is like a horse in a china shop. Doesn't know why he's there. And doesn't know what he's going to do next. But in the meantime, he's breaking it all apart."
Anyway, time to vote on Toronto's tariff response plan.
Councillor Bradford's motion to delete the part of the economic plan asking staff to limit use of US-based rideshare platforms like Uber & Lyft FAILS 5-17.
Holyday is concerned that the school food program seems to have expanded to include a "mid-morning meal" instead of a snack. What's the difference between a meal and a snack, he asks.
Staff say terms are pretty interchangeable, but more substantial food mid-morning has proven helpful.
Staff cite examples where teachers have moved math class until after mid-morning meal, "because the teacher has seen there's a noticeable improvement in attentiveness and math scores."
"Have we thought of giving them coffee?" Holyday jokes. "No, you don't have to answer that."
"What are we teaching the kids? That now, not only are many things in life the responsibility of others, now suddenly it's the responsibility of the school or the institution to put food into their mouths?" Holyday says.
"Kids should learn how to make and prepare meals," he says.
Council has risen from its slumber and is back for day two of the proceedings. This morning's first debate is scheduled to be about refugees in the shelter system.
The meeting stream is here. I will continue to cover things until the bitter end. youtube.com/watch?v=TvW84RFoWu…
City Council - March 27, 2025
City Council, meeting 28, March 27, 2025Agenda and background materials:https://secure.toronto.ca/council/#/committees/2462/25762The National Anthem played a...YouTube
"Do you feel if the folks in this situation were actually white, the outcome would have been different?" asks Councillor Jon Burnside of the Black refugees who were denied shelter access.
"That wasn't what I investigated and I can't make that assumption," says the Ombudsman.
Councillor Myers asks if the city is confident this won't happen again.
"We were struggling coming out of the pandemic, and then we had 20,000 additional [refugees] we had to serve. If that happens again, I cannot say that we won't see people on the street again," says Shelters GM Gord Tanner.
Thompson asks the City Manager why he refused to accept the Ombudsman report.
"The report failed in my mind to stay focused on the situation that was presenting itself at the time. We had no funding federally, period, for refugees and asylum seekers at that time," says City Manager Paul Johnson.
"My understanding of the Housing Accelerator Fund is it's for the federal government to provide us funding for bricks-and-mortar housing, and you want to use it to provide a financial incentive?" Councillor Ainslie asks.
Bradford says the HAF is to help deliver more housing, and this will do that.
Offering an anecdote about the time he went to Cleveland, Councillor Josh Matlow says it's a city that "still has massive surface parking lots in their downtown — seas of them. Like how Toronto looked in the 80s."
"Fantastic!" jokes Holyday.
Pointing out Council made the call to buy electric ferries in 2019, Councillor Fletcher asks, "At what point did we discover that, if we're going to buy electric ferries, they have to be plugged in?"
July 2024, staff say, was first time there was an estimate on charging costs.
Chow asks what other improvements the parks department is making to the ferry terminal.
Staff list better wayfinding, temporary shade, improved customer service, a "fast pass" line, and "surprise and delight opportunities" like food and entertainment offerings.
Fletcher says this electric ferry deal was a "failure on the part of the parks and recreation division," blaming previous leadership in the division.
"I don't like to use the words 'colossal fail,' but today we're going to be talking about a lot of colossal fails."
"I don't understand why we do bike lanes and not sidewalks," says Nunziata.
"We do both," says Gray.
"No we don't," says Nunziata, saying she had to walk in a bike lane on Bloor because the bike lane was plowed but the sidewalk wasn't.
Simon Willison
in reply to Simon Willison • • •On the Biology of a Large Language Model
transformer-circuits.pubLeon Overweel
in reply to Simon Willison • • •did you read Distill back when that was active? People like (Anthropic cofounder) Chris Olah have their roots there, and it really shows in stuff like this 😀
Example: distill.pub/2020/bayesian-opti…
Exploring Bayesian Optimization
DistillSimon Willison
in reply to Leon Overweel • • •Feature Visualization
Simon Willison’s Weblog