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Powderhorn

@ Powderhorn @beehaw.org

Posts
1366
Comments
2869
Joined
3 yr. ago

Freelance journalist, burner, raver and vandweller.

I read news so you don't have to (but you still should).

  • The Real Reason Trump Talks Like an Idiot | The Daily Beast Podcast

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  • Back when Trump was dating more age-appropriate women. Or already fucking underage girls ... who's to say? Does one really wake up one day and say, "You know, I'd really like some underage pussy"?

  • Democrats won the redistricting fight in Virginia. Was Trump’s gerrymandering war all for nothing?

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  • Also, I think a Constitutional Convention would likely end up dissolving the U.S. It wouldn't really be secession, just "nah, y'all do your thing, but this isn't what we want, and Nazi states should learn to be self-sufficient instead of relying on us to subsidize your bullshit."

    You end up with greater Canada on both coasts and around the Great Lakes, and the rest can believe Jesus is about hate and women should have no rights. Good luck with your economy without California and New York.

    sigh A man can dream.

  • The Real Reason Trump Talks Like an Idiot | The Daily Beast Podcast

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  • This was designed back in the '70s, and we started gutting education under Reagan. Now that we're two generations in, I'm not sure reversing mindsets -- especially given digital distractions -- is plausible.

  • Democrats won the redistricting fight in Virginia. Was Trump’s gerrymandering war all for nothing?

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  • I mean, they could try to make that differentiation, but in both cases, the Legislature still has to pass the final bill again, unless I'm mistaken. I know that's the case in the Commonwealth; California, I can't say for certain.

    At any rate, the rest of the world is laughing at us that instead of focusing on a pointless war, we're focused on changing election rules. If this were any other country, we'd be mocking them, but American exceptionalism strikes again.

    So long, and thanks for all the fish.

  • Hands-on with ChatGPT's powerful new image engine

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  • Both had "I'm a junior designer" vibes about them. If you saw the first few pages I designed in college, those were far worse. Of course, we didn't have the luxury of CMYK, let alone just coughing up RGB shit. I'm used to seeing execrable design.

  • Democrats won the redistricting fight in Virginia. Was Trump’s gerrymandering war all for nothing?

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  • Your final thought has occurred to me as well. And, sorry to say, I don't think we're special here.

    I think it's worth noting that both California and Virginia sought temporary exemptions from nonpartisan redistricting boards and went to the voters. Nazi states did it legislatively and don't intend to give up absurd maps just because 2030 rolls around.

    This was all a pointless exercise. Like, I'm glad Dems fought back, but how much taxpayer money did we spend to arrive at the status quo? I've love to see a Constitutional amendment stating that states shall appoint nonpartisan boards to determine congressional districts. We'll see that before term limits for Congress, but neither is ever going to sail through with two-thirds in both houses and then 35 states ratifying it.

    We don't have lawmakers anymore. Just corporate interests.

  • Hands-on with ChatGPT's powerful new image engine

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  • Would it have if you'd not been told it was ahead of time, though?

  • The EU requires phone makers to fit 'readily removable' batteries from next year — but there may be a notable exception

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  • The last phone I had with a removable battery was over a decade ago. With proper gasketing, light rain wasn't an issue, but up until that point, while I was still in my midrange-phone phase, it totally was. I know people who put their phone in the shower to listen to music and would be aghast that everything hasn't always been IP68.

    Plus .a few screws on the back shouldn't be too much of an issue, since the case will cover them.

  • Hands-on with ChatGPT's powerful new image engine

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  • I've been out of the design game for six years at this point. Given that I did broadsheet design and wince at most everything for both art and typographical choices, it wasn't really the sort of thing that stood out to me. There is a lot of bad design being happily gobbled up ... hell, I didn't look at rave flyers in the '90s and think "this is great design," but rather "how the hell did they have the budget for C2S in CMYK with spot fluorescent and a top coat?"

  • The EU requires phone makers to fit 'readily removable' batteries from next year — but there may be a notable exception

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  • The debates that led to these regulations seem tedious as hell. I miss being able to just pop in a new battery (I used to always have a spare, because batteries sucked a decade ago), but this said, I don't miss the IP rating on dust and water that meant using a phone was risky in a light drizzle.

  • Politics @beehaw.org
    Powderhorn @beehaw.org

    Democrats won the redistricting fight in Virginia. Was Trump’s gerrymandering war all for nothing?

    www.theguardian.com /us-news/2026/apr/22/virgina-midterm-elections-trump

  • Condom prices could rise 30% due to Iran war, says world’s top producer Karex

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  • I mean, Apple doesn't make anything, either -- they design things. I find it unsurprising that condom brands do the same thing.

  • Hands-on with ChatGPT's powerful new image engine

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  • OK. What are the clues?

  • Hands-on with ChatGPT's powerful new image engine

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  • I spent two decades as a newspaper writer, editor and designer and have won national awards for all three. Try again.

    Also, it doesn't matter if it's 100% as good as what I can do. Corporate will readily settle for 80% for a fraction of the price and time.

    And the public was wowed by seven-fingered hands when image generation first came out. Their threshold is even lower.

  • Politics @beehaw.org
    Powderhorn @beehaw.org

    The Real Reason Trump Talks Like an Idiot | The Daily Beast Podcast

  • Technology @beehaw.org
    Powderhorn @beehaw.org

    Hands-on with ChatGPT's powerful new image engine

    www.axios.com /2026/04/22/chatgpt-hands-on-powerful-image-engine
  • Technology @beehaw.org
    Powderhorn @beehaw.org

    Report: Meta will train AI agents by tracking employees' mouse, keyboard use

    arstechnica.com /ai/2026/04/meta-will-use-employee-tracking-software-to-help-train-ai-agents-report/
  • Politics @beehaw.org
    Powderhorn @beehaw.org

    Supreme Court arguments make it clear that FCC fines are "nonbinding"

    arstechnica.com /tech-policy/2026/04/supreme-court-arguments-make-it-clear-that-fcc-fines-are-nonbinding/
  • Politics @beehaw.org
    Powderhorn @beehaw.org

    Pentagon wants $54B for drones, more than most nations’ military budgets

    arstechnica.com /ai/2026/04/pentagon-wants-54b-for-drones-more-than-most-nations-military-budgets/

  • Recommend Some Magazines and Journalism

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  • In that case, I would go with

    • The Atlantic for longform on current events

    • Rolling Stone for politics

    • The New Yorker for essays

    • The Economist for current geopolitical events

  • Trump announces extension of Iran ceasefire until ‘discussion concluded’

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  • TACO is an acronym that's been in use for quite some time. It stands for Trump Always Chickens Out.

  • Recommend Some Magazines and Journalism

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  • Before I start making suggestions, what's your overall paywall budget? Some sites aren't month by month but charged annually. If you actually have a newsstand or the equivalent (I've not seen one in years), you can of course pick up single copies.

  • Virginia voters approve new congressional maps in blow to Trump

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  • This story lacks the basic info on election results coverage. With 97% of precincts counted, the measure passed by 51.5% to 48.5%, a margin of less than 90,000 votes.

  • Palantir manifesto described as ‘ramblings of a supervillain’ amid UK contract fears

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  • As usual, we're not getting the whole story. There's plenty of stuff the company doesn't make public ... "national security" and so forth.

  • Palantir manifesto described as ‘ramblings of a supervillain’ amid UK contract fears

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  • At a casino enjoying a martini?