michael byrne

Cairo, Illinois signage

years ago, i told a veterinarian that my dog was doing this weird thing where he looked at the ceiling a lot. could that mean anything? and the vet replied, well, is there anything up there?

fall activities

travel-light.ccWhat Happened To Mullens, WVEmpty expressways are one symptom of the civic mental illness that governs West Virginia. To a traveler, they may be the most obvious. Mountaintops shredded by mining are mostly behind tall fences; n…

What Happened To Mullens, WV

michael byrne reposted

Boo!-per Lund

@cooperlund.online

I liked the guy for a long time but its pretty clear that listening to Ed Zitron about AI is not making you better informed about the subject

This post is unavailable.

Mt Storm, WV

Luna

Stobe the Hobo Visits Grafton, WV

travel-light.ccStobe the Hobo Visits Grafton, WVJames Stobie, known on YouTube as Stobe the Hobo, was the poet laureate of the modern freight-train rider. For a few short years in the 2010s, he crisscrossed the country on railcars with a camcorder…

michael byrne reposted

404 Media

@404media.co

21 Sept

404 Media is filing public records requests around the country to find out how cops are using Axon's ALPRs. Here is how you can do that too.

404media.coIs Your City Using Axon License Plate Cameras? We Need Your Help404 Media is filing public records requests around the country to find out how cops are using Axon's ALPRs. Here is how you can do that too.

travel-light.ccA Tale of Two Data CentersThe biggest source of power a community has when data-center developers come knocking is the ability to say no. That power is manifested through zoning, building codes, environmental rules, and other…

19 Sept

A Tale of Two Data Centers

michael byrne reposted

ryan cooper

@ryanlcooper.com

8 Sept

hell of a piece. wooooof harpers.org/archive/2026...

harpers.orgChild’s Play, by Sam KrissTech’s new generation and the end of thinking

travel-light.ccThe Country Inn: Berkeley Springs, WVI first became acquainted with Berkeley Springs, WV, in my scumbaggiest twenties. I lived two hours away in Baltimore, where I worked as an editor at the local alt-weekly newspaper. I made $30,000 a…

9 Sept

The Country Inn: Berkeley Springs, WV

travel-light.ccWest Virginia Has What Hyperscalers CraveIf you’re a local government in West Virginia, Big Tech can essentially do whatever it wants with you. That’s actual state law. It’s called the Power Generation and Consumption Act, or West Virginia…

7 Sept

West Virginia Has What Hyperscalers Crave

Bear Affair

Just Seven More Miles

travel-light.ccJust Seven More MilesFollowing an April lawsuit, a pair of environmental groups sought a preliminary injunction this week in federal court that would shut down construction of the terminal 6.9-mile segment of the Corrido…

4 Sept

credit where credit is due

4 Sept

If I had a food blog I'd write about how farm stand pickles are all a scam and made by the same company

travel-light.ccThe Billy Motel: Davis, WVThere was a time when a motel having a restaurant and even a bar was normal. As an amenity, it made good sense: The road-weary, hungry traveler was a captive customer, marooned for the night on an ar…

2 Sept

The Billy Motel: Davis, WV

travel-light.ccThe Freeway That Ate Tucker CountyFor a brief period in the late 2000s, US Route 48 truncated abruptly just shy of the town of Moorefield, WV. Four lanes downhill right into a reflective guardrail. It was an odd feeling. Behind it sw…

2 Sept

The Freeway That Ate Tucker County

31 Aug

Lot of wind turbines in West Virginia

travel-light.ccFirefly Inn: Wardensville, WVA few miles southwest of Wardensville on US Route 48, a traveler is presented with the choice between two different versions of rural West Virginia. Head due south along the Lost River to the small L…

29 Aug

Firefly Inn: Wardensville, WV

travel-light.ccOxford–Bellevue Ferry: Bellevue, MDThe nice thing about a ferry without any real utility is that it’s not likely to be crowded. On a recent summer evening, on the last run of the day, we were one of two cars on the nine-car capacity O…

28 Aug

Oxford–Bellevue Ferry: Bellevue, MD

travel-light.ccMilo's Guesthouse: Davis, WVMilo’s Guesthouse is one of what I’ve started calling keypad motels—very small properties with very limited or, more likely, no onsite staff that are usually accessed via a previously exchanged keypa…

26 Aug

Milo's Guesthouse: Davis, WV

travel-light.ccSeneca Pines Lodge: Seneca Rocks, WVAbout two winding miles down the highway from Seneca Pines Lodge is another, much larger motel. This one, literally in the shadow of Seneca Rocks, the area’s main tourist attraction, is long-abandone…

26 Aug

Seneca Pines Lodge: Seneca Rocks, WV

michael byrne reposted

Haus of Decline

@hausofdecline.bsky.social

23 Aug

Always confused when people express disappointment at Grimes' descent into odd woo-woo Technofascism because the first time I heard 'Oblivion,' a chill ran down my spine as I inherently understood that this dogshit was made by and for sociopaths.

youtube.comMaking Slime and Talking Music with Dan DeaconYouTube video by Motherboard

23 Aug

I mostly remember the panic of trying to come up with an experiment for this @dmead.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=33Km...

22 Aug

i still can't fucking deal with this

Boo!-per Lund@cooperlund.online

I had to tell someone recently that Scott Thompson is now a transphobe

travel-light.ccTo Truly Hate AI Means Accepting What It's Capable OfIn his recent The Reverse Centaur’s Guide To Life After AI, Cory Doctorow likens AI coding/code generation to gambling. A human comes up with some textual prompt issuing an instruction to an LLM to w…

19 Aug

To Truly Hate AI Means Accepting What It's Capable Of

michael byrne reposted

Stellbound: Stellraiser II

@antlervel.vet

Initiating a Distributed Approval of Service Attack. Go ahead. Enjoy the website playboy

the truth is that i'm a line scowler. if you are at the register in front of me, you are somehow fucking it up. you are someone that's bad at ordering, unlike myself

maybe you thought people like me were just in your head. no, we exist. we're judging your ordering abilities hardcore

defector.comEverybody Loves Big Boy | DefectorMy name is Noelle and I’m a fan of the world’s largest operating steam locomotive. I used to think this was a unique fact about me. But recently our tiny fandom has exploded. Big Boy, as he’s called—C...

I'm also assuming that you're a bad tipper

michael byrne reposted

David_j_roth

@davidjroth.bsky.social

12 Aug

Really good blog here: defector.com/everybody-lo...

youtube.comThe Ultimate CBC Brave New Waves Playlist - YouTubeThese are all the clips I could find on YouTube as of 2020-09-17. I'll try to keep it up to date. Let me know if there are some I've missed. Also check out a...

10 Aug

In middle and high school I listened to a CBC show called Brave New Waves, beaming from across the Detroit River. I'm glad someone managed to hold onto their tapes of it: youtube.com/playlist?lis...

22 July

that lettuce you like is going to come back in style

5 June

a peach and two units of string cheese, now that's a good snack folks

washingtonpost.comConservative group alleges 6 million were fraudulently enrolled in ACAA conservative think tank says 6.2 million enrollees on the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges improperly received health coverage this year.

2 June

"improperly received health coverage" going to rattle around in my brain a bit

The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com

An influential conservative think tank is contending that 6.2 million enrollees on the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges — roughly a quarter of all enrollees — improperly received health coverage this year through the program.

bloodinthemachine.comThe AI-inflected crisis artists are facing, in 4 chartsAn alarming new study reveals the dire impact AI is having on artists' livelihoods. It does offer some hope, too.

22 May

from 'the monkey wrench gang,' personally

Words I Learned from Ultima@wordsofultima.bsky.social

caltrops

michael byrne reposted

Brian Merchant

@bcmerchant.bsky.social

11 May

What so many have experienced personally has been confirmed by a new study: AI has been a disaster for working artists.

michael byrne reposted

Cabel Sasser

@cabel.panic.com

11 May

this graduation speech moment is notable, and her amazed shock at having failed to read the room feels instructive. when you're inside the bubble, you think everybody else is. but everybody isn't.

michael byrne reposted

Katie Drummond

@katie-drummond.bsky.social

9 May

Keep this man away from journalists, journalism, the internet, and other people’s money.

hollywoodreporter.comVice News Is Being Resuscitated With Fresh AmbitionsShane Smith's hard-hitting news brand, which covered global current affairs for a Millennial audience, is back, now equal parts creator-driven news outlet and brand partnership vehicle.

findaspring.orgFind A Spring - Use Find A Spring to visit the best cold and hot springsFind A Spring is a user-generated map of cold and hot springs. We provide locations, photos, reviews, water test results, comments and more!

28 Apr

then sometimes you'll find a website from a more hopeful internet era findaspring.org