Mar Hicks
@histoftech.bsky.social
Historian of technology, occasional dad jokes. www.marhicks.com
For the past five months the only refugees the USA has accepted are white South Africans fleeing equality & safety meanwhile they are disappearing or strapping ankle monitors on any Haitian they can get ahold of. It needs to be understood how thoroughly connected these two things are.
Join us (virtually) on September 14 for a day-long workshop on the Philosophy of Diagnosis! What is diagnosis, who is it for, and what will become of it in the age of AI? We have an incredible line up of speakers who plan to tackle these questions. Registration is free and open at the link.
Workshop: The Philosophy of Diagnosis - The Center for Philosophy of Science
Workshop: The Philosophy of Diagnosis September 14, 2026 9a-5p (EDT = UTC-4) Virtual (on Zoom) Hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Diagnosis is central to the practice of medicine, yet it …
centerphilsci.pitt.edu
“Across the state, community colleges have exceeded expectations on those metrics, and the total amount due to the colleges is now millions of dollars more than the amount the board is allowed to distribute before the next legislative session.” www.dallasobserver.com/news/state-f...
North Texas community colleges set to lose millions amid state funding changes
The state incentivized community colleges to improve student success outcomes. Now, Texas can’t afford to pay up.
dallasobserver.com
Virginia health officials have confirmed the state’s first known case of locally acquired dengue fever
Virginia resident has state’s 1st locally acquired case of dengue fever - WTOP News
Virginia health officials have confirmed the state’s first known case of locally acquired dengue, a viral disease usually associated with international travel.
wtop.com
look, I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up but I think I may have discovered something incredible on worldcat
Don't look now, but the world has now installed 3TW of solar. Took 10 years to get from 100GW to 1TW. Less than 3 years to get to 2TW. Less than 2 years to get to 3TW. Analysts expect *9TW* by 2036.
The World Crossed a Major Solar Milestone. No One Noticed
The next phase of the boom may reveal a shift in who is gaining access to the technology.
bloomberg.com
Google - a thrice-convicted monopolist - is the gateway to the internet, with more than a 90% search market share that it attained by buying out all its competitors and bribing Apple more than $20b/year not to start a rival search engine: www.democracynow.org/2024/8/6/goo... 3/
Google Is a Monopoly: Judge Rules Against Tech Giant in Landmark Antitrust Case
In the biggest antitrust case in decades, a federal judge ruled Monday that Google illegally maintains a monopoly over the online search industry, using its market dominance to shut out competitors an...
democracynow.org
The too-big-to-care company is still the internet's gatekeeper, but half the guards at the gate have been fired and the other half have pulled so much overtime that they keep falling asleep on the job. Google has become a scammer's paradise. 18/
yep this is the kind of shit someone who has never been poor says
katie@supermathskid.bsky.social · yesterdayokay now he's gone too far
In a very different past life I was a Mormon missionary. I had $200 ecco's flats. My companion bought a new pair of $10 flats from Walmart every month. By the end of 18 months my eccos easily had another year left before they'd have been as destroyed as the Walmart flats by the end of a month.
katie@supermathskid.bsky.social · yesterdayokay now he's gone too far
"Wyoming will become the first state in the US where you cannot receive a B.A. in Philosophy. The University of Wyoming will be the only R1 institution, the only state flagship university, and one of two land-grant universities that do not offer a B.A. in Philosophy." dailynous.com/2026/07/23/u...
Sixty-two years ago today, the FBI uncovered the bodies of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman & Michael Schwerner in Neshoba County. We honor their courage by refusing to take that freedom for granted & recognizing our responsibility to protect our right to vote & ensure every voice is heard.
One of the lesser known circumstances of the FBI’s search is, in the course of looking for Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner, the FBI found eight other bodies of missing persons.
Scott Colom@scolom.bsky.social · 15h agoSixty-two years ago today, the FBI uncovered the bodies of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman & Michael Schwerner in Neshoba County. We honor their courage by refusing to take that freedom for granted & recognizing our responsibility to protect our right to vote & ensure every voice is heard.
In light of the revelation today of DHS’s massive operation to spy on social media critics of their policies, remember this I posted a few months ago about the tech they bought that can do just this—and how the company markets itself to do political surveillance.
Matthew Guariglia@mguariglia.bsky.social · 5mo agoJust learning that ICE has a $4.2 million contract for social media surveillance/AI analysis with Fivecast. A few years ago I came across a brochure of theirs which used as an example for potential police customers their ability to map left-wing groups. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Prof. @daniellecitron.bsky.social argues that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is weaponizing privacy by monitoring online speech the agency says could endanger its mission. @wsj.com
How ICE Is Weaponizing Social Media Against Its Critics
The agency says its surveillance program searches for threats to agents, but critics see free-speech infringements.
wsj.com
This is from 2016 but I hadn’t heard of it until now. WILD story. www.denverpost.com/2016/08/10/l...
Kansas home wound up with 600 million IP addresses and a world of trouble
The little Kansas house in the center of the country became the crossroads of the Internet, with unimaginable consequences.
denverpost.com
@histoftech.bsky.social A biparitsan call for a state-wide moratorium on new data center construction in Virginia. Microsoft power & water 2025: Boydton: 3.11 TWh, 362 ML Ashburn: 829 GWh, 263 ML Manassas: 40 GWh, 11 ML Avg VA household: 12 MWh, 0.25 ML www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/virg...
Virginia state senators call for review into data center groundwater strain and potential state-wide moratorium
Bipartisan movement calls on state governor to act immediately
datacenterdynamics.com
More than 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant children lost their legal representation because the Trump administration has not entered into a new agreement to take over their legal services after it let a longstanding contract with a nonprofit expire.
Unaccompanied immigrant children face deportation after legal services agreement expires | Arizona Mirror
More than 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant children lost their legal representation because of the Trump administration's failure to act.
azmirror.com
"Why can't you just appreciate how revolutionary the job-taking, environment-degrading, information-shredding, technology-hoarding, economy-swamping machine is?" My brother in Christ, there may indeed be a revolution in part because of "AI," but it might not be the one you wanted.
"I don't understand why you, a fantasy writer, don't appreciate the value of making bargains with the fae."
John Scalzi@scalzi.com · 2d agoEvery now and then someone takes a run at me along the lines of "I don't understand why you, a scifi writer, don't appreciate 'AI'," and I'm all, motherfucker, it's *because* I'm a science fiction writer I have the positions I have, how many times do we have to fucking yell "torment nexus," my dude
Immigrant Held at Delaney Detention Center Has Died, Officials Say The mayor of Newark identified the dead man as Edwin Lopez-Cornejo. The federal New Jersey center has been the focus of intense scrutiny for its treatment of detainees. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/n...
Immigrant Held at Delaney Detention Center Has Died, Officials Say
The mayor of Newark identified the dead man as Edwin Lopez-Cornejo. The New Jersey center has been the focus of intense scrutiny for its treatment of detainees.
nytimes.com
can we help my pal Karen? she needs to get somewhere cool & quiet & get something to eat. this is going to be a very hot week in Vancouver
karen ward@kwardvancouver.bsky.social · 2d agoI just woke up. I slept maybe 20 mins Could people chip in so I can go in a/c place and food. not feeling best E-transfer : thefool.ward@gmail.com I am currently the owner of 3$
Trib Ed board deciding how to react to young people downtown
Chicago Tribune@chicagotribune.com · 4d agoFrom the Editorial Board: Sparkly, semiattired Lolla kids are this weekend swarming around such oft-deserted environs as Van Buren Street, Jackson Boulevard and State Street. Welcome. Your presence and youthful energy could not be more timely.
I am so happy to have learned this
Mar Hicks@histoftech.bsky.social · 2d agoThis is so neat— I had no idea that they put the light up words on this building entirely manually, each day. If you’ve ever wondered about the BCBS building on the lakeshore, you’ll probably enjoy this: youtu.be/4c11SFlGCps?...
I know about Flock being used to stalk women via cameras, and I know about the Uber god mode being used to stalk women via app. What's the third (etc) example that I can't remember right now?
Drew Harwell@drewharwell.com · 3d agoNew: We found 50 cops who misused Flock cameras and other license-plate readers for personal purposes, often to spy on their girlfriends or ex-wives. He "watched every single move I made. ... Who do you turn the chief of police in to?" wapo.st/3S6rTuo
