Eric McCorkle

Senior research scientist at a major UARC, in information security/distributed systems/formal methods, quantum computing. Former tech industry. Election worker.

#compsci/#infosec background, and aspiring to #physics

Technoprogressive, humanist, reformist, social democrat #socdem, #OpenSource advocate, user, and contributor #OSS.

Interested in collaborating to solve both technical and social problems to build a better world.

Public Key

npub1fyvd5hhwtx08qqrheyqcusavz4xjxa7nmrfgl85vv4yxhvlytalsp8qfa0

NIP-05 Address

emc2_at_indieweb.social@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsyjxx6tmh9n8nsqpmujqvwgwkp2nfrwlfa3550n6xx2jrtk0j97lcnxkr6h

Author Public Key

npub1fyvd5hhwtx08qqrheyqcusavz4xjxa7nmrfgl85vv4yxhvlytalsp8qfa0

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Last Notes

2024-09-24 17:58:13

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@npub1g8e…qdqf I think this probably says more about voters being pro-trans

2024-09-16 15:32:48

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@npub1zdp…vqv8 this also seems to apply to modern math methods of physics books. Massive "recipe books" that somehow miss the fundamentals

2024-09-11 17:18:47

Just realized, the debate was 100% the cross-examination of Col. Jessup scene from A Few Good Men.

2024-08-30 20:16:41

Constellation probably one full day of work away from minimum operating capacity at this point; not much more of more.
I've got a quantum mechanics problem at set to take down tomorrow, but it looks like this is the weekend.

2024-07-26 15:09:08

Alright Fedi, I'm contemplating GrapheneOS for a new phone, probably pixel 8.
Any experiences or recommendations?
#GrapheneOS #OSS #OpenSource

2024-07-02 17:53:42

28th amendment now! Repeal executive immunity. Demand it.
#politics #USpol #28thAmendment

2024-07-01 17:45:28

If the consequences weren't clear before, they sure as fuck are now.
Vote relentlessly and without fail, then organize and apply relentless pressure. Women's suffrage, Election of senators, legal labor unions, the antitrust acts, these all required a steeper-still uphill struggle. The suffragettes campaigned for over half a century, but prevailed. We need that kind of persistence now.
#politics #USpol

2024-06-28 13:13:22

Thoughts on debate: neither candidate did well, and I don't think either achieved their objective.
It was pretty clear Biden had some sort of illness, and it undermined his performance. I suspect if he has a solid July 4th speech, it'll erase most of the setback.
I suspect the debate will have minimal real impact, though. I suspect most people watching were disappointed, but not influenced.

2024-05-10 13:48:23

Apple's ad closes the loop on their downfall. In the beginning, it was the 1984 ad, depicting them as the alternative to a totalitarianesque monopoly, and a refuge for creativity and originality. Now they gleefully depict themselves as the totalitarians, mechanically destroying the very things they once sought to embody.
#tech #technology

2024-04-21 01:23:25

Constellation update: code cleanup is done, a bunch of previously sporadically-failing tests now reliable as clockwork.
Not terribly exciting, but it marks the point of a backlog being cleared out. Now the road is clear to push for the minimum operating capacity demo.

2024-04-20 14:12:58

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@npub14fs…qegk it's going to pass. It wouldn't have won the votes yesterday otherwise.

2024-04-11 14:38:08

We really need to interrogate how the various forms of contempt leveled at OSS and particularly the people doing it show the degree to which volunteerism is denormalized and discouraged.
Particularly telling is the degree to which so few seem to understand that in a volunteer effort, the people who show up are all you've got.
We especially need to challenge the seeming assumption of so many for there to always be some unfortunate service employee at their mercy.

2024-04-01 21:27:39

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@npub1dm5…5sqe I would watch the he'll out of that

2024-03-28 12:33:34

Current anti-electoral talking point: "we were told to vote for Biden to stop fascism, and yet it's gotten worse"
This carries water for fascists, and is more insidious than most of the others. It excuses the deliberate, organized, well-funded efforts of fascists, instead assuming a single choice can make them go away. In reality, it's a continuous effort, *which includes this election*.
#DebunkingAntiElectoral #democracy #politics #ProElectoral

2024-03-15 21:28:50

Common anti-electoral position: "I don't want to vote for the lesser of two evils"
In reality, living in a democratic society means compromise. Only a vanishingly small sliver of the population is ever going to be completely satisfied with a candidate; it's just statistics.
Be particularly wary of people who seem to talk about this as an "impediment". An impediment... to what, exactly?
#DebunkingAntiElectoral #politics #ProElectoral

2024-02-17 23:08:20

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@npub14fs…qegk I don't know about active asset, I suspect he's too far gone mentally to take a meaningful position in nation state conflicts.
But active Russian assets in his immediate circle, manipulating him through his narcissism, mental instability, and drug issues? I'd be surprised if there isn't at least one.

2023-06-26 01:39:22

I am really uplifted by the interactions I've had with all the smart, astute, motivated people here who can see and understand the problems we face, but who approach them with incisive analysis and a can-do attitude.
It is really, really refreshing. Thank you all.

2023-06-26 00:57:50

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@npub1u27…3qfq Scenario #2 is more or less in line with my current contingent theory; scenario #3 is entirely plausible, and it actually plugs the biggest hole in my own theory (that getting big instances into a franchise-type agreement would just end up with users vacating those instances). It makes sense if the real goal is chaff-deployment to get around regulations.

2023-06-25 20:02:34

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@npub1mdk…aptk @npub1q55…wurs
I think the bad scenario is transitive blocking, i.e. fragmenting into a bunch of gated communities. I don't think it's a problem if there's some instances that block them, but still talk to the rest of the FediVerse that doesn't.

2023-06-25 17:02:42

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@npub1g8e…qdqf Likewise!

2023-06-25 16:58:49

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@npub1g8e…qdqf Yeah, I kind of feel a little bad about having put out so many of these in the past couple of days. It needed to be discussed, though.

2023-06-25 16:22:40

Finally, community structure itself is important. The phrase "tyranny of structurelessness" points to something very real.
Fortunately, there are efforts to develop governance structures based around communities, social.coop being one good example: https://blog.opencollective.com/social-coop-a-cooperative-decentralized-social-network/, https://wiki.social.coop/wiki/Main_Page
Robust structures like this are key to building and maintaining resilient, productive communities.
These efforts are every bit as important as the more technical ones.

2023-06-25 14:40:05

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Front-note: I think there's something very close to the difference of views here, so I'll try to articulate what motivates my "side".
Corporations and capital aren't all-powerful dark gods, vampires, demons, or the One Ring. They're systems that can be analyzed, outsmarted, and outmaneuvered.
We have many more options than separatism, and slowing an inexorable advance. We can fundamentally alter the rulebook, and in fact, we have in very significant ways.
So with that, let's get started...

2023-06-25 14:28:40

I and others have talked a lot about the #Facebook / #Meta #FediVerse issue over the past few days, analyzing their strategy, and possible responses, and why pre-emptive blocking isn't an effective measure.
This leaves the question of "what *should* we do?" So....
ITT: actually effective measures for building the resilience of the FediVerse and #ActivityPub, informed by the experience of the #OSS movement.
(This is going to be a long one)

2023-06-25 00:35:25

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@npub14q6…4za2 This is extremely important. For all of the panic about them taking over ActivityPub, this is the kind of thinking that's necessary to actually prevent that from happening.

2023-06-24 23:57:45

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@npub1g8e…qdqf I hope that at least some of those users find an off-ramp from the unhealthy, addictive patterns Instagram encourages to something that's better for them.

2023-06-24 20:01:05

This is an important #FediVerse project: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l46VNMY_ULZmf0lGPKJ86a_umHqGv--WA0fynVjQaRQ/edit
@npub1fmh…hpey
Test suites of this kind can be a very powerful tool for #OSS projects that interact with the private sector, and for preventing hegemony by any one group.
As an example, this is used to with the the JVM and Java specs.
I encourage people to get involved!

2023-06-23 13:01:38

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@npub1edc…0q44
You might even say they're... rushin'... to keep out of the public eye.

2023-06-23 09:36:42

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@npub1g8e…qdqf
There is precedent for this, and it works. Something like this exists for Java, as a kind of inter-implementation compact (I used to work for the OpenJDK group). It specifically acts as a way of preventing EEE within the JVM community.

2023-06-21 12:36:03

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@npub1t2s…r27m
Run. Fast. A whole fucking ocean of red flags here.

2023-06-21 10:22:51

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@npub1hpc…hjn3 I am personally on the side of not blocking them. I think Facebook has a lot more to lose than they have to gain, and in ways they perhaps can't comprehend (e.g. users seeing a readily-available zero-ad experience and wanting it).
I am also pragmatic and outcomes-driven, so I'm not categorically opposed to blocking them, nor do I think everyone needs to make the same move.

2023-06-20 23:27:16

ITT: open-source, #FediVerse, and how it can influence private sector and create change.
Note up front: I'm going to use words like "decommodify", "consumerism", "capital", and "rentierism" a lot here, because I need the vocabulary. I am not a Marxist or some other kind of radical, nor wholesale anti-capitalist, and *certainly* not a revolutionary. I'm a social democrat, progressive, and reformist. Keep that in mind if you reply to me.
#OSS #FOSS

2023-06-17 14:37:40

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@npub1edc…0q44 This increasingly looks to me like an effort to completely collapse the education system in these states.

2023-06-15 15:25:52

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@npub1hpc…hjn3 Next time someone gives me crap for not having kids, I'm making them read this chart to me.

2023-06-14 17:43:57

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@npub1g8e…qdqf this is starting to look like the emergence of an entirely new kind of resistance, aimed at monopolistic social media companies.
Like, on the level of whenever "strikes" were first invented...

2023-06-12 16:41:07

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@npub1uxk…ptq5
100% this. "Militia" refers to *legal* civilian defensive organizations. These people are the opposite: outlaws and terrorists, aiming to wage war against both civilians and the government.

2023-06-12 00:21:32

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@npub1edc…0q44 I didn't realize until recently how bad the TERF shit has gotten over there.

2023-06-06 01:02:26

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@npub1zdp…vqv8
It's garbage. Cryptocurrency is collapsing, so they're moving on to the next pasture.

2023-06-05 01:04:31

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@npub1j2y…ggdc Don't forget the spinoff:
The Suppressed Scientific Theory They Don't Want You to Know About, Despite It Being Widely Discussed In Numerous Introductory Textbooks and Courses Along with the Experiments that Falsified It.

2023-05-10 20:48:36

Something that continues to annoy me about some ongoing conversations I've seen on here: people trying to apply the logic of consumerism to the #FediVerse, and #OpenSource (the latter is an old, old issue)
These are *participatory* and *community-driven* spaces. Approaching them with the mindset of consumerism is off-putting, especially to those of us who have been here for a long time.

2023-05-10 19:53:02

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/08/ai-machines-hallucinating-naomi-klein
The #OpenSource movement needs to adapt and take action on this as well. Clauses for licenses need to be developed that explicitly forbid the use of OSS to train generative models and reproduce OSS code without also reproducing the license at a minimum.

2023-05-01 21:17:45

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@npub1rwc…l57m @npub1hq5…tdje @npub1t95…0kzy @npub1uwt…p8lz that actually would have been the more long-term viable strategy for them