avoiding deanonyization by ai watermarks by writing my fucking self

What's your favorite smell?

RE: https://famichiki.jp/@mainichi/117131083938081940

Japan is one of the few democracies in the world that still has the death penalty but it remains broadly popular, consistently polling ~80% support

The system overall is better than the US system but still has problems, such as:

1) coercive police interrogations
2) cruel aspects of its implementation (prisoners aren’t informed of the date so they wake up each day not knowing if they’ll be executed)

Since 2000, japan has executed 100 people compared with ~1000 in the US (3x the population)

Hey #Bookstodon
Curtis C Chen recently did a cover reveal for the 4th book in his excellent Kangaroo series. The series has scifi, espionage with good humor (disclaimer, I never met a pun I didn't like) and great plots.
https://xoxo.zone/@curtiscchen/117113270899643099

If you haven't read the first three books I recommend them highly. (Spend the time to solve the puzzles for the covers. Even if you get stuck like me it's fun.)
You can purchase at
https://curtiscchen.com/kangaroo/003/

Follow Curtis here at @curtiscchen

The older I get the more I talk with my hands on my chest like Jimmy Carr

I'm sorry, WHAT

@curtiscchen Non-paywalled story from the Japan Times:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/08/world/us-cyberforces-suicides-focus/

The other inventor.

🧵Spotted While Roaming in Aotearoa New Zealand:

A small human (3?) is marching into a bakery with Dad. Arms swinging at his side, chest puffed up with importance.
Cloaked in an adorably oversized high-vis vest.
Dad's hardhat on his head.
He's on the job, and at the moment that job is ordering a potato pie with EXTRA tomato sauce.

At a crosswalk: A small human (4?) is saying: "Hold my hand Mum. You have to look both ways when you cross the road."
Mum following this sensible advice.
Crossing and heading into a nearby museum.
There is science and history to explore!

A greyhound wearing a floral pink coat and a pretty orange collar is trotting along next to her human (80s?).
A passerby compliments them on the doggy couture and Greyhound's Human beams: "I figure she deserves a bit of spoiling after the life she had before. She's m'best friend now."

A man (50s?) in work clothes is standing in front of a MASSIVE overgrown garden with his hands on his hips, expression pensive.
A passerby says: "Big job today?"
He nods stoically. "Yup. Big job. Not a bad one but a big one."

Two women (20s?) in business casual are sitting on some steps leading up to a cathedral. Lunchboxes on their laps. Amiably chatting. Soaking up some winter sun on a Friday lunchbreak.

(Continued Below)

Hear me out:

The reason Jeff Goldblum's character in Jurassic Park goes all "you were so preoccupied whether or not you could, you never stopped to think if you should" is *obviously* his traumatic and misguided scientific experiment in The Fly.

Little Shop Of Horrors
(via Bill Watterson)

Woke up this morning and The Ink Spots song The Java Jive was in my head.
I have fond memories of my grandfather singing it occasionally so I'm sharing with all of you. It was a great song and memory to wake to.
Hope you're all having (or have had) a great day
https://youtu.be/iP6IUqrFHjw
#Music #Coffee

TIL about “cancellous bone”. I’d previously misunderstood what the solid sample taken in a bone marrow biopsy was composed of; I thought it was part of the outer, “cortical” bone. But today the doctor doing the biopsy showed me the sample and explained exactly what it was.

I had a naïve picture of marrow being soft & pliable as toothpaste, from memories of sucking it out of the bones in lamb stew. But the interior of living bones is a network of rods & plates, with the squishy bits, like hematopoietic stem cells, in the pores of this solid sponge.

#Spotted While Roaming in Aotearoa New Zealand:

A woman (60s?) with a sparkling laugh, wearing a bright pink top, is leaning on a mobility aid while catching up with a friend.
Exchanging all the latest news about life, family and friends as they wait in line for coffee.
Ordering two melting moments to go.*

A roly poly black woolly dog (Labradoodle cross long pillow?) is amiably roaming about a cosy pub. Sidling up to patrons with a doggy grin.
Waiting patiently to see if pats are on offer,
then moseying on to the next table.
Getting all the love.

A couple (50s?) are sitting across from each other in a pub based in an old church. Playing cards between them. Game faces on. Quiet conversation with the odd burst of laughter around them.

A tiny human (2?) has decided that the best way to get to her front door is via:
This patch of ivy.
This tall grass.
This tangle of winter-bare hydrangea bush and
Around this BIG lemon tree.
Dad standing on the porch asking: "Ya right there bub?"
She emphatically bellows: "Yes!"

A slinky grey cat has spotted new humans wandering past her home.
Her collar bell jingling, meowing a hello, she trots over to introduce herself.
Will they be friendly?
Yes!
Win!
She flops on her back and flashes her tummy.
Blinking love eyes.
(It's (maaaybe) not a trap.)

(Continued Below)

The Aesthetic Rebellion

Bonus speedpaint: https://www.peppercarrot.com/en/miniFantasyTheater/066.html#bonus

#webcomic #krita #miniFantasyTheater

Recently I've been watching the Daytime Perseids. I haven't seen a meteor from them yet, but the clouds are pretty and the snacks are good.
https://xkcd.com/3287/

Trump can rage post all he likes, his options for interfering with NY’s pied-à-terre tax are extremely limited.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewleahey/2026/08/18/trump-cant-stop-new-yorks-pied--terre-tax/

A post about Clive Barker made me think of his book The Thief of Always. An amazing book. Loved it when I read it as a teenager but meant more to me when I read it for the first time as an adult.
A kid is taken to a house where he can do anything he wants, but there's obviously something wrong and shenanigans happen. I don't want to spoil it.
Also I'd love recommendations of other Clive Barker novels as this is the only one of his I've read.
#Bookstodon

RE: https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/117121090724073316

"- to commit criti-hype is to repeat the marketing claims of people like Sam Altman and then add, "(and that's bad)" in parentheses at the end. These guys – these terrible, mediocre, boring-ass losers – are bullshit factories, ejecting fountains of nonsense about AI. The right way to criticize them is to point out that they're lying – not to repeat their lies as warnings." - @pluralistic

I said I like Centaur as a collection of his best AI articles - might print this one & slip it in...