Need to get @netblocks to start covering the republic of SOMA.

RE: https://toot.cafe/@baldur/116860967516480109

One of my fundamental issues with LLMs (among many), is that if these things actually could think, reason, and feel (they can’t), then we absolutely would need to treat them as people, with full rights.

Anything less is just creating a new underclass of slaves to be abused and exploited. We know why that’s problematic and how such things end, yet there seem to be a lot of people (billionaires, mostly) that are all too excited to make that happen, again.

🚨 Well that's that. The Barents Sea had its earliest melt-out of #Arctic sea ice on record this summer!

ICYMI: I wrote up a blog on this extreme event: https://zacklabe.com/climate-viz-of-the-month/. This is already one of the fastest changing climates in the world.

China's Tianwen-2 probe is matching orbits with space rock (469219) Kamo'oalewa, in a 0.90 x 1.10 AU x 7. 8 deg solar orbit. The rock is about 20 meters across and has a mass around 7000 tonnes, and is the smallest asteroid so far to have been visited by a spacecraft

Celtic nations begin to plan for breakup of UK in event of Reform election win

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jul/04/uk-ireland-leaders-fear-union-future-nigel-farage-led-government

Politicians brace for constitutional turmoil if Nigel Farage’s party end up in government – or even as a strong opposition

<- 4th July. Some banana republic somewhere used to celebrate that, as its parent crumbles.

Congratulations to USAnians this July 4th, or as we Brits call it, Thanksgiving Day!

Walkman. You've invented the Sony Walkman.

The pub says bookings only, but walk-ins welcome.

On July 4, the Chinese asteroid sample return and comet exploration mission Tianwen-2 will rendezvous with 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, a quasi-satellite of Earth, 40–100 m in diameter.

Over the next few months, the probe will study and map the asteroid, collect rock samples, deliver them to Earth in Nov 2027, and then continue on to rendezvous with the main-belt comet 311P/PanSTARRS in Jan 2035.

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/97RjX0XCVsYmUvB3-l7cgA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianwen-2
#Science #Space
1/n

Elon Musk posted twice as often on UK race and immigration as about SpaceX in IPO run-up - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/04/elon-musk-uk-race-immigration-spacex-ipo #musk is a vile individual; something needs to be done on this...

Elon Musk posted twice as often on UK race and immigration as about SpaceX in IPO run-up https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/04/elon-musk-uk-race-immigration-spacex-ipo #ElonMusk #X #Internet #Spacex #TheFarRight #TommyRobinson #Politics #UkNews #ImmigrationAndAsylum #SocialMedia #Ipos

In a pickle: US pickle company pulls out of DC fair over Confederate flag https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/04/dc-state-fair-pickle-company-withdrawal #WashingtonDc #Festivals #UsPolitics #UsNews #Culture

from 2007: "Well, given that the Acorn ARM chip and Symbian operating system are both British inventions, why don't we even have a leading mobile phone company?"

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2007/jun/26/psionthelast

Didn't Sinclair design an early digital mobile phone (pre-GSM)?

#technology #PSION #ARM #Acorn #computers #UK

Exterior of the BIS "Avalon" Space Station / Company town design

The main habitat is about 1 km wide and long, with radiators. big solar panels provide power, and a solar sail is used for fuel-free station keep at the L5 Lagrange point.

By me and Aldo Spadoni.

Figured out how to strap a dolly to the back of my bike to be able to haul a big tent when needed

#carryshitolympics

#ProlapseBand playing at the 100 Club in London in August. A friend tells me they have aircon. If only they were here on Mastodon.

https://bsky.app/profile/prolapseband.bsky.social/post/3mp72i7sohc2s

At Eurocon, watching a discussion between Al Reynolds and Peter Hamilton, and when asked if their prose style was evolving, Pete said: "I think my novels are getting shorter!" while brandishing an 800 page paperback at the audience.

@mrundkvist @cstross imagining you and your colleagues swaying to loud EDM (music) in the middle of a field somewhere brought me some mirth 😁

Archeo Rave!

Congratulations to all my US friends on making it to the end of your epic 250 year experiment with democracy! May the subsequent imperial phase be mercifully brief and the aftermath painless.

Lots of progress around the Olympic Village and Westfield Stratford.

Some amazing surfaces and some atrocious ones. The one over the bridge is sublime.