David D. Levine

Hugo- and Nebula-winning writer of the ARABELLA OF MARS trilogy and over 50 science fiction and fantasy stories. He/him. :heart_bi:

Public Key

npub1sqlnan7qjgdwvkjejrfvjcagdxtzfl03fd3m55wjmxtm3hn9jpxstp6f82

NIP-05 Address

daviddlevine_at_wandering.shop@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsgq0e7elqfyxhxtfvep5kfvw5xn93ylhc5kca628fdn9acmejeqngpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0wd68ytnsw43qgmyr7m

Publishing to

relay.mostr.pub

Author Public Key

npub1sqlnan7qjgdwvkjejrfvjcagdxtzfl03fd3m55wjmxtm3hn9jpxstp6f82

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Last Notes

2024-10-15 18:21:11

The existence of the "Uncanny Valley" implies the existence of a "Canny Valley." Which is presumably where all those Scottish engineers come from.

2024-09-17 20:48:07

There's no doubt in my mind that the "AI" bubble will burst soon -- the technology just isn't delivering results that justify its costs. But Ed Zitron's clear-eyed analysis makes me concerned it'll take the broader economy down with it. https://www.wheresyoured.at/subprimeai/

2024-08-20 12:31:05

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@npub1psd…9sr7 Think they'll ever pay the creators of acquired IP? #DisneyMustPay

2024-08-16 10:58:21

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@npub1psd…9sr7 Thanks for the info!

2024-08-16 10:04:58

#EdFringe 15. "Half Man Half Bull | Part One: Theseus" and "Part Two: Daedalus" by Wright&Grainger with Oliver Tilney and Molly Morris
Powerful rock/hip-hop opera in two parts recounting the stories of Theseus and Icarus, connected by the tragic character of Daedalus. Like Hamilton for Greek myth, though more informal. I loved it. Five stars.

2024-08-01 17:38:59

I'm with her! #KamalaHarris https://fctry.com/products/kamala-harris-action-figure
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2024-08-01 16:55:30

If I were a tea drinker I'd be looking at this hard. https://sauropods.win/@futurebird/112887639678712925

2024-07-22 16:39:54

"When you ask ChatGPT to summarise [a] text, it instead shortens the text. And there is a fundamental difference between the two. To summarise, you need to understand what the paper is saying. To shorten text, not so much." https://bit.ly/3LzYHoE

2024-07-20 04:27:38

I won't be using passkeys any time soon. https://me.micahrl.com/blog/concerns-about-passkeys/

2024-07-12 18:19:08

Okay FB, this is some bullshit. "Violence and incitement" my ass. Clearly we've touched a nerve.
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2024-07-09 15:07:15

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@npub1psd…9sr7 Can't wait for your review! I wrote my first novel on a MobilePro and would really like a smol dedicated writing device.

2024-07-08 17:30:17

Even Goldman Sachs concludes that "Generative AI costs far too much, isn't getting cheaper, uses too much power, and doesn't do enough to justify its existence. There are no killer apps, and no killer apps on the horizon. And there are no answers." https://www.wheresyoured.at/pop-culture/

2024-06-29 17:53:14

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@npub1psd…9sr7 But the need for system programmers doesn't scale with the number of deployed units, but with the number of different OSs?

2024-06-29 17:51:08

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@npub1psd…9sr7 Tell me more about this forced migration. I'd love to be able to dump Word but every previous experiment with LibreOffice (et al) has ended in disappointment.

2024-06-24 16:37:02

Has Facebook Stopped Trying? https://www.404media.co/email/b161a988-dd86-4440-8e73-f9585a45cad2/
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2024-06-12 14:16:54

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@npub1psd…9sr7 This is AI-generated so I hate it. But capybaras, so I love it. I'm so conflicted!

2024-06-11 02:29:22

Ursula K. Le Guin's home will become a writers residency https://apnews.com/article/ursula-k-le-guin-home-writers-residency-8a119efb584b4446056c12405186f4fd

2024-06-08 16:59:40

"'Safe mode' sounds like a good thing but it isn't -- it means that the robot has gone into a fetal position and needs help" -- NASA engineer and SFWA author Dr. Katelyn Brehm #Nebulas2024

2024-05-02 11:48:22

Heat Death of the Internet. I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this only-slightly-exaggerated description of what life on the internet is like in early-mid-2024. https://www.takahe.org.nz/heat-death-of-the-internet/

2024-04-15 15:17:44

"Being alive is as special an occasion as it gets" 😍
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2024-04-13 23:46:22

Chicago Steampunk Exposition Saturday (4)
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2024-04-10 20:13:23

This is an actual photo of yesterday's eclipse taken from the International Space Station. http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-040924a-2024-eclipse-astronauts-view-space-station.html
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2024-02-27 16:28:58

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@npub1psd…9sr7
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2024-02-16 21:22:15

If you haven't read John Scalzi's essay on the 2023 Hugo Awards and where we go from here, you really should. https://whatever.scalzi.com/2024/02/15/the-2023-hugo-fraud-and-where-we-go-from-here/

2024-01-21 04:51:17

@npub1nne…c4w6
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2024-01-12 05:16:12

"They're Made out of Meat" is probably the most famous piece by the fabulous author Terry Bisson, who just passed away yesterday. https://www.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/prose/text/thinkingMeat.html

2024-01-08 20:56:17

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@npub1psd…9sr7 @npub1enf…qnda We have a model in place to deal with this. In the 1910s the copyright issues around the new tech of recorded music were addressed by the formation of ASCAP. I think we may wind up with something like this for LLMs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Society_of_Composers,_Authors_and_Publishers

2024-01-03 20:34:45

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@npub1psd…9sr7 @npub1xcg…ukyy @npub1l7q…yt4c Looks like a cross between a wet Scottie and the TiVo mascot.

2024-01-01 22:23:04

I recently encountered a Mastodon post which included an indented quote and a link whose link text was not the URL. How do I do this? Does it require a modified server?
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2023-12-31 19:38:22

Cory Doctorow: What Kind of Bubble is AI? https://locusmag.com/2023/12/commentary-cory-doctorow-what-kind-of-bubble-is-ai/
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2023-12-13 17:32:47

This is the whey
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2023-11-26 20:49:47

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2023-10-21 23:04:51

Ursula Vernon's Hugo acceptance speech included this delightful anecdote-slash-metaphor-slash-encouragement. https://www.patreon.com/posts/91410900
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2023-10-14 17:31:29

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2023-10-02 15:27:42

Anti-Trump Republican Group Shows How to Damage Trump. The study showed that "policy ads don't work against Trump because his supporters don't really care about policy, even when he says things they hate." https://https//www.electoral-vote.com/evp2023/Items/Oct02-4.html
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2023-09-23 01:00:59

BIPOC Book Fair rescheduled from November 23 to December 23 https://carlbrandon.org/events/

2023-09-22 00:33:23

It would be a LOT easier to include alt text in images if copying an image that already has alt text also copied the alt text.

2023-09-21 20:18:24

'Game of Thrones' creator and other authors sue ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for copyright infringement https://apnews.com/article/openai-lawsuit-authors-grisham-george-rr-martin-37f9073ab67ab25b7e6b2975b2a63bfe
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2023-09-14 22:03:53

This is HUGE comics and copyright news. Bill Willingham has put the comics series "Fables" into the public domain. Irrevocably. https://billwillingham.substack.com/p/willingham-sends-fables-into-the

2023-09-09 01:42:13

We had NO idea what was coming.
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2023-09-08 03:06:57

I was doing some work with QR codes just now and thought about tattooing one's medical alert information as a QR code on one's body somewhere. It took me about 10 seconds of thought to realize just how NOT future-proof that is.

2023-09-02 13:26:08

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@npub1psd…9sr7 Wow. But will the changes made to cope with that infrastructure change necessarily change the app in such a way that you'll have to stop using it? (If you're using Dropbox for sync in your alternative paradigm you'll be affected anyway.)

2023-09-02 13:17:48

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@npub1psd…9sr7 What makes you suspect that? I've heard nothing at all about Scrivener 4.0.

2023-08-26 19:22:01

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@npub1psd…9sr7 @npub17aq…3dh0 You are most likely correct.

2023-08-26 19:11:55

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@npub1psd…9sr7 @npub17aq…3dh0 Cause vs effect? Could be that immunity to cancer is key to their longevity.

2023-08-26 18:45:02

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@npub1psd…9sr7 Yes, that's meaning 2. But I *think* meaning 1 is more prevalent. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hangar_queen

2023-08-26 18:38:06

I was wondering about the terms “closet queen" (a clandestine gay man) and "hangar queen” (an airplane kept for parts) and wondering which came first. Also the related terms “drama queen" and "drag queen.” Looks like “hangar queen” is the earliest, dating from WWII, with “drag queen” and “closet queen” being uncommon until about 1960. But I can't say for sure that "closet queen" is related to "hangar queen.”
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2023-08-25 16:53:58

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@npub1psd…9sr7 @npub17aq…3dh0
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2023-08-24 23:30:08

If you're in LA or NYC, here are some opportunities to help out the striking actors and writers by bidding on lunch with an actor or attending a Broadway show. And more! http://give.actorsfund.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=15184.0&dlv_id=29786

2023-08-22 20:07:37

A friend of mine was recently in an exceptionally nasty car accident and woke up in the hospital two days later. His phone was destroyed in the accident and without it no one, not even he, could find his emergency contact phone numbers. (Of course he didn't know his friends' numbers. Who does, anymore? And accessing his contacts from a laptop would require 2FA by the destroyed phone.) So from now on he's going to carry those numbers on a piece of paper in his wallet. I will too!

2023-08-21 20:59:03

#TodayILearned that worker ants who can become queens are called "gamergates." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate_(ant) The term is derived from Greek and was coined in 1983, long before the 2014 controversy of that name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate_(harassment_campaign)

2023-08-07 22:32:30

COMING NOVEMBER 7 from Caezik SF & Fantasy: THE KUIPER BELT JOB by Hugo and Nebula winner David D. Levine!
THE KUIPER BELT JOB is a caper story in space, a mash-up of FIREFLY, LEVERAGE, and THE EXPANSE. It's an ensemble piece with complex character relationships and a twisty, compelling plot, but beneath the entertaining surface it raises deep questions about identity and personhood. In a world where minds can be copied, what does it mean to be "me"? https://daviddlevine.com
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2023-08-05 16:39:58

I must confess I would have some difficulty with the transition, but I still think this is a good idea.
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2023-08-04 22:54:53

Global investment firm KKR has acquired OverDrive, which threatens the #enshittification of #ebooks at 95% of US public #libraries. (cc @npub1hyk…3p33) https://karawynn.substack.com/p/the-coming-enshittification-of-public-libraries?utm_medium=email

2023-08-01 16:56:43

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@npub10fm…x0qg They were indeed!

2023-08-01 16:48:01

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@npub10fm…x0qg "Ownership class"?

2023-08-01 16:36:14

Never forget that the Wellerman was not a person but a SHIP (cf "Indiaman").

2023-08-01 15:12:56

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@npub1psd…9sr7 Because getting enough silver bullets for an assault with AR-15s would be prohibitively expensive.

2023-07-11 14:04:09

On the way to Ottawa my first flight was delayed and I barely made my connection, though without my luggage. On the way home my first flight was delayed and I missed my connection, though I did retrieve my luggage. Spent the night in a nice Toronto airport hotel, heading home this evening. (LOTS of folks at this convention had travel issues!)
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2023-06-22 19:43:34

Amazon warehouse workers last year "suffered more serious injuries than all of the other warehouse workers in the country combined," the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) announced yesterday. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/06/amazons-allegedly-dangerous-and-illegal-warehouses-spur-senate-probe/

2023-06-21 18:28:57

The battle of the Twitter replacements continues. I'm now on https://t2.social as daviddlevine.

2023-05-23 16:09:02

#TodayILearned
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2023-04-13 18:04:07

There are now over 70 reported cases of COVID from people who were at Eastercon, according to #[0]. I haven't heard of any from #[1], which was an all-vaxed, all-masked event. https://www.cheryl-morgan.com/?p=29210