Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas

@hotgarbage.ca

🇨🇦 🇺🇸 SoundGuys Editor-at-large, frmr Executive Editor. Previously USAToday, Reviewed, StorageReview. Dad, #rstats data jockey, crow summoner. #righttorepair, #homebrewing advocate. Colossal jerk about publishing standards and practices.

89 followers112 following272 posts

Chris Thomas reposted

I think the surest sign I wasn't going to buy the house was when I fell through the basement floor due to undisclosed water damage. So anyways, the house hunt is going as well as I've heard it goes.

Chris Thomas reposted

BC has declared a provincial state of emergency due to regional wildfires. Please avoid non-essential travel to the Summerland area. If you must travel there, be alert to rapidly changing situations @EmergencyInfoBC & @DriveBC.

Chris Thomas reposted

A very kind neighbor texted me today about a "sick" crow laying motionless in the yard with its wings outstretched. Because today is the first really hot day of the summer, I knew right away the bird was fine and what was going on. Here's @corvidresearch.bsky.social on what they're doing and why.

corvidresearch.blogWhy crows sunbatheWith its bill agape, I watch as the crow fans out awkwardly across the cedar shingles. Pressing the camera to my face I snap a couple photos, pleased to finally capture on film a moment I so often …

Look at this awesome work!

Chris Thomas reposted

After the historic win against Qatar and a solid effort against Switzerland, the Canada Men’s National Soccer Team is moving on in the #FIFAWorldCup2026! An exciting and historic step forward for the men’s program, with fans throughout BC and beyond proud to be behind the team. (1/2)

Oh hey there, some good news if you weren't aware:

Government of British Columbia@governmentofbc.bsky.social

Adults with mild to moderate hearing loss can buy non-prescription hearing aids in retail stores and online. People often put off getting help for hearing loss because it can be difficult or expensive to get support. The change will create additional options for those who need it.

My oldest just heard that the Bruins were losing and went "oh no they're gonna get thrown in the harbor!!" It definitely sucks, but I haven't laughed like that in a while

If the recent Google search core update gave your site's rankings a healthy whack, my 10-years-running proven SEO hack will save you: Make Good Shit™ that genuinely helps/informs/entertains. People will follow. After a couple weeks:

Chris Thomas reposted

Chris Thomas reposted

Chris Thomas reposted

An under-discussed consequence of generative AI: to prove *your* scientific text is human-authored and should be taken seriously, you'll have to show your credentials, which benefits people with privilege and harms people without it. Harvard gets a pass; U of Nairobi, maybe less often.

Carl T. Bergstrom@carlbergstrom.com

4. As Jevin West and I have been saying for several years now, because a seemingly credible message no longer implies a human sender, LLMs will push us toward more emphasis on reputation and status — and as such serve as an anti-egalitarian force in all aspects of society, science included.

US only, but a big move

Julia Angwin@juliaangwin.com

I'm suing Grammarly over its paid AI feature that presented editing suggestions as if they came from me - and many other writers and journalists - without consent. State law requires consent before someone's name can be used for commercial purposes. www.wired.com/story/gramma...

Chris Thomas reposted

If you have published anything at all that's cited frequently, you should be aware you may be caught up in this. The most unsettling thing about this is how widespread it is, not merely how violating it feels to have someone else charge money for an impersonation of yourself to edit writing.

The Verge@theverge.com

Grammarly will keep using authors’ identities without permission unless they opt-out