Scratchpad for May 31st 2023
Reviving the short-lived scratchpad format, I’m collecting interesting sources from around the internet. As always, it may happen weekly, every once in a while or not at all.
The British Film Institute’s The Greatest Films of All Time list is quite informative and reinforces my interest in finally watching Jeanne Dielman 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles.
120,000 new music tracks are uploaded to music streaming services daily. “If the number of average daily new track uploads continues at the same rate of 120,000 per day for the rest of the year, by the end of 2023, over 43 million new tracks will have been uploaded to Spotify and other music streaming services this year.”
The AI statement by Neil Clarke of Clarkesword is a great start for a badly needed document detailing an ethical role of AI/ML in publishing — and elsewhere.
A day in the life of a woke third-grade teacher, as imagined by a far-right politician. “The alarm blares, and I wake up with a renewed vigor to indoctrinate America’s youth.” I’m thankful this utter nonsense by the far right hasn’t reached European shores yet.
Speaking of European nonsense, Spain wants to ban end-to-end encryption wholesale, a leaked document shows. The make-believe narrative of encryption that only the “good guys” can break continues. A strong lock is either intact or broken. There’s no such thing as half-broken. Insofar, Spain’s comment is shockingly ignorant but at least consistent.
Rob Pike on the Origin of Unix Dot File Names. It’s actually a bug and a cautionary tale of shortcuts in code.
The Internet Isn’t Meant To Be So Small. “It wasn’t supposed to be six boring men with too much money creating spaces that no one likes but everyone is forced to use because those men have driven every other form of online existence into the ground. The internet was supposed to have pockets, to have enchanting forests you could stumble into and dark ravines you knew better than to enter. The internet was supposed to be a place of opportunity, not just for profit but for surprise and connection and delight.”