“Green Peak Falls”
Olympus E-M10 IV with 7 Artisans 7.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens @ f/9, 1/5s, ISO 100.
Some signs of AI model collapse begin to reveal themselves
Or to put it more bluntly, Garbage In, Garbage Out. Not that I expect garbage out will do anything to stop the massive overdeployment of current AI technologies, or their contribution to the enshittification of everything.
What is the ‘TACO trade’ on Wall Street?
It’s Trump Always Chickens Out, of course. I’ll bet every time he sees that smoke comes out of the man-baby’s ears. Good.
“Porch Friend”
Olympus E-M10 IV with M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/6.3, 1/500s, ISO 640. At Camp Yale.
RFK Jr. ends COVID shot recommendation for healthy children, pregnant women
Killing children is going to be RFK Jr’s signature achievement. Having one fuckwit override scientific consensus is just horrifying.
Finished: The New Year, by Pearl S. Buck 📚. A change of pace from her sweeping historical novels, this one is more of a modern romance. It tracks an ambitious politician, his smart (and beautiful) wife, and his previously-hidden son who was born in Korea as the result of a wartime hookup. There’s an overwhelming sense of good people being good, which is much more heroic than you get in most current novels.
“Fern Forest”
Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 14mm, f/7.1, 1/40s, ISO 5000. Along a utility easement near Camp Yale.
The Privacy-Friendly Tech to Replace Your US-Based Email, Browser, and Search
It’s good to have alternatives.
“Pearls”
Olympus TG-6 @ 18mm, f/6.3, 1/400s, ISO 250. At the top of MacDuff Mountain.
America Is Watching the Rise of a Dual State
Systems are crumbling – but daily life continues. The dissonance is real
Two chewy essays that provide, I think, important framing for understanding the current dismal moment in American governance.