Based in Princeton since it launched in 2022, PolyGone Systems developed “a floating filter” that can capture most of the invisible tons of microplastics that stream into the world’s waterways every year. […] Liu outlines how PolyGone’s filter works: Made of thousands of silicone fibers, it traps small particles due to their hydrophobic properties, meaning the microplastics stick to the bristly brush-like filter. […] Banks goes on to say that the filter allows wastewater systems to recover the collected plastics, separating them from the bristles. Since most plastic is either buoyant or lighter than water, they are usually found on the surface or in the first 30 centimeters of the water column, where PolyGone’s filter operates.

So a brush-like filter floating on the water, with the microplastics sticking to the silicon fibers penetrating the surface?

If the worker has a “choice” between a familiar application with guaranteed compatibility, there’s a slim chance a switch is going to take place. It requires standardizing document exchange on open format types (instead of continued use of Microsoft’s proprietary ones) and familiarization to the substituting software suite. This doesn’t mean these applications and formats should be dropped entirely (at least not short-term), but that FOSS applications and open standards should be defaulted to. Otherwise this should be regarded as gesture politics.

Als je het mij vraagt mogen inkomsten vanuit verkeersboetes alleen worden gebruikt om veiligheid op wegen effectief te verbeteren, evenals wegenbelasting en accijns voor onderhoud en verbeteringen aan het wegennet. Zodat het niet, zoals het nu lijkt, een extra belasting wordt, en er een incentief ontstaat om situaties onveilig te houden (te behoeve van deze inkomstenstroom).

Had de politiek dit gehanteerd, dan hadden we deze discussie waarschijnlijk niet: dan zou wegontwerp gedrag onbewust bijsturen, zou er geen frustratie ontstaan door samenvallend achterstallig onderhoud, en zou er geen reden zijn (behalve vanuit een eerlijke pleit voor een politiestaat) voor meer cameratoezicht.

Drank en drugs achter het stuur is een ingewikkelder probleem, maar doormiddel van steeksgewijs controleren zou dit ook voldoende kunnen worden ontmoedigd; wat voorheen ook veel meer gebeurde. Alles wordt op zijn beloop gelaten, en dan is digitaliseren de voordehandliggende “optie”; evenals in bijvoorbeeld de zorg (waar het winstoogmerk van zorgaanbieders, verzekeraars en voornamelijk de farmaceutische industrie, tactisch achterwege wordt gelaten…).

And so they double down… These regulations won’t stop until the open internet has been reduced to toddler content only, and all users, regardless of age, being required to compromise on their psuedonymity; in order to get some use out of it. Because surely an iPad kid playing a PEGI 18 game (“Call Of Duty”) should be able to expect an age-appropriate experience…

Met de dalende trend in postvolume zou dat best kunnen; zeker als overheids- (belasting, toeslagen, en boetes), zorg, en verzekeringspost voornamelijk digitaal zou gebeuren, en spam (energie collectieven, loterijen, en reclamecatalogi) zou worden geweigerd. Dan blijven voornamelijk tijdschriften en brievenbuspakketten nog over (waar de meeste klanten daadwerkelijk iets om geven). Misschien dat alleen stembiljetten bezorgen nog een opgave wordt (gezien praktisch ieder adres een poststuk ontvangt; de kieslijst zou eenvoudig digitaal kunnen), tenzij wellicht ook daar een veilig digitaal alternatief voor kan worden geboden.

Daarmee verdwijnt er wel een hoop werkgelegenheid, en een systeem waar de samenleving op kan terugvallen (indien digitale infrastructuur het af laat weten).

If you stream footage of a robot, wearing a wife-beater, dookie-rope and a mustache: grabbing a girl’s ass and making humping motions afterwards; I think it’s safe to say what the intentions were… This has to be dumbest shit I’ve read in a while haha.

Be subtle about it, free of judgement. Don’t lecture them on something they likely know already, and (semi)consciously ignore to maintain an unhealthy, yet comforting pattern. It’s rather about planting seeds, than doing the thinking for them: let them come to their own conclusions next time they use it.

It’s all about predatory dark patterns, that deliberately exploit human psychology; so gear them up to recognize these abusive mechanisms. Not in a direct way, but just by casual conversation about content on their timeline, with some observation woven into it, like: quite some advertisements, huh? What does that little text say? Oh, “sponsored content”. Do your friends still post things? Because I haven’t seen any on your timeline. Shouldn’t that be the entire purpose of this platform? They give you notifications about friends liking other’s posts now? That seems a little excessive.

My mom has been using the platform a lot less since I did, and she even has opened up to the concept of disabling Facebook push-notifications. The latter needing some more time, because she’s struggling with a fear of missing out. I once disabled push-notifications for news applications too without asking, so perhaps I should do the same for Facebook (Messenger being a different application anyways).

The main problem seems to be that users have, successfully, been conditioned into wanting anti-features. My mom actually clicks personalized advertisements, and I have no clue how to cure her from that; other than to joke about a particular shoe brand always being featured. I already substituted her ad-ridden weather app for a Firefox (with uBlock) shortcut, which she has really come to appreciate. So there’s progress to be made: it just requires the right approach, and a lot of patience; which is worthwhile for loved ones.

Zero trust is the end station, if you allow organizations to treat your personal devices as being theirs. Organizations that could actually benefit from the increased security (which isn’t Twitter, except for some high-profile individuals, maybe), should provide the user with resources to do so, at their expense (issuing a dedicated TOTP device for example).

But what tends to happen instead, is enshittification of service, while offloading it onto the client. A similar trend can be observed with car parking: where operators remove parking meters, and require the customer to use their device and data plan, to make a payment to the operator…

We’ve been on this trajectory for quite a while now: from Outlook enforcing IT-policies of email administrators (dictating screen locking requirements as device administration app), to SMS-based 2FA requiring one to have a mobile phone number and tying all to this tamper-resistant identifier. So why not a black box snitch, paid for by the client, further restrict their freedom for “security”?

It seems perfectly in line, and I think this article draws all the right parallels.