The Art Of Not Asking Why

Great stuff from Cory Doctorow, as always:

Pluralistic: Even if you think AI search could be good, it won’t be good (15 May 2024) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

I’ve been using Kagi, and I like it so far. The more I use it, the more there are things I like. If Kagi builds its excellent search results mostly from Google’s index (because Google is the biggest search index), it means Google can make its search results as good as they used to be, or even better:

Why wouldn’t Google just make its search results better? Rather than building a LLM for the sole purpose of sorting through the garbage Google is either paid or tricked into serving up, why not just stop serving up garbage? We know that’s possible, because other search engines serve really good results by paying for access to Google’s back-end and then filtering the results

…but they won’t:

Making search worse is good for Google. Reducing search quality increases the number of queries, and thus ads, that each user must make to find their answers

and:

If Google can make things worse for searchers without losing their business, it can make more money for itself.

I am not opposed to AI-generated search. I’m opposed to the big tech that runs it. Microsoft’s Copilot sucks (which is maybe why they force it down your throat by default if you use Edge or Bing), and I’m pretty sure Google’s AI search will be the same.

That’s because I’m guessing if you’re a regular reader, you’re probably reading my blog on your favorite RSS reader (speaking of that, did you know I have dedicated RSS feeds for each category? Check out the Archive & Search page to find out how to get those), which is fine of course.

Still, the Newsletter is yet another nice feature that comes with my MB blog. Comes to your inbox every Saturday morning. So, if you’re not an RSS geek or just want to hear from me once a week, check it out. If you register, keep in mind that Gmail (and most other email providers) will put it in your spam folder by default. Make sure you check this folder first after you register, this is where you’ll find your confirmation email.

To register, check toward the bottom of the About page.

As I was reflecting on the weekend and Infected Mushroom concert I went to in my journal, it occurred to me that I would never go without Nyx.

I’m an introverted person who doesn’t go to concerts or almost any “gatherings” of a social nature. It’s not a bad thing or a good thing; it’s just me. It was Nyx who pushed me (though gently) and got the tickets. It was Nyx who had experience with these kinds of events (she insisted on earplugs, for example, which I’m thankful for) and allowed me to “bridge” the lack of experience I felt I had, even if it wasn’t a real thing. And it was Nyx who allowed me to “borrow” her friends, a group of supporting individuals who kept an eye out for me and understood my weird behavior patterns.

The whole thing reminded me of my trip to Italy, which was NK’s idea. They said “let’s go to Italy!” and I didn’t think of it much at the time so I said yes. It was NK’s knowledge and motivation (they travel way more often than I do) that got me going two years ago. A trip? Abroad? Me? Nah. But if NK wants to go, I’d do it for them. OK, and a little bit for me. Actually, it was a wonderful experience for me, too. It just takes time to realize. Italy was amazing, and I’m happy I went. I’m grateful.

Our friends are our enablers. They allow us to extend ourselves and reach out to what we could never (or think we could never) reach out alone. We’re all just thinking about the world in our own little boxes, without outside perspective, until someone comes along with their box of shiny new things to share.

“Link In Bio” is a slow knife - Anil Dash

If Instagram users could post links willy-nilly, they might even be able to connect directly to their users, getting their email addresses or finding other ways to communicate with them. Links represent a threat to closed systems.

This is one of the things I can’t stand about Instagram. I’m forced to use its “stories” and “reels” to link back to my website. It’s not because I want traffic; my content is naturally text and images in post form.

I never got used to Instagram. it’s one of the major social networks I can’t keep up with.

Finally, a good reason I was up all night: Infected Mushroom live from Webster Hall in NYC.

It was a lot of fun with good people to share it with. Events like this that last through the night and into the next day make me feel hopeful about the world. Just a mass of people having a good time.

I haven’t heard of Frank Snepp before, and I should have.

‘Does the CIA Still Do That?’ | naked capitalism

Set assassination aside for the moment. Does the CIA work to influence domestic media, as it did during the Vietnam era? If so, what are its goals? Does it run other domestic operations?

The article includes a recording of an interview with Frank Snepp. Fascinating stuff. The CIA did influence and mislead the media during Vietnam, and it leaves us with the conclusion that it probably still does.

We know the CIA influences the media. We know the NSA has the ability to spy on us and has done just that. We know UFOs are real. We know secret government experiments on its own population are real. I’m not sure if being “crazy” is really all that crazy.

Movies 🍿 to watch again:

• Wag the Dog
• Conspiracy Theory
• Enemy of the State

My sleeping issues returned in full force this week. With my Apple Watch, it looks pretty depressing.

As you can see in the graph, I’ve been waking up at night since Tuesday, then trying to squeeze in some more sleep before work in the mornings. Even then, it’s rare that I get 6 hours of sleep. Unlike what it shows, I don’t spend the orange areas (awake times) in bed. I use this time to work on low-key projects or play relaxing games.

Today has been finally somewhat “better” (5 hours and 5 minutes), but I’ll probably crash hard in the afternoon.

As a result of all this, I’ve been posting much less, which sucks. I’ve been enjoying working on my blog last week, and there’s been a peak in my postings and messing about. Eeehhhrrrmmph.