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matt blaze Profile picture
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30 Dec 20, 5 tweets, 1 min read
I just spent the last hour trying to submit a recommendation letter for someone and having it rejected because I failed to include a Fax number.

So I finally just made one up. Now it wants me to swear that all the information I'm submitting is accurate.

Computers suck.
The fax police are going to come after me, I know it.
If they really want to reach me, they can just send a telegram.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to point out that computers are neutral, inanimate objects that simply do what they are programmed and that my complaint should be with those who programmed and configured this system. I was not at all aware of how this technology works.
They should really teach courses on how computers work in colleges.

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More from @mattblaze

matt blaze Profile picture
1 Jan
Wow.

This would be a great move for Indian science. Though part of me understands scientific journal subscription fees the same way I understand paying ransomware.
For those not in science: authors and their institutions aren’t paid for their papers (sometimes it’s even the other way around). The journals don’t support the research in any way, but they insist on copyright transfer. Subscription fees are just pointless rent-seeking.
I wrote this rant ten years ago. Shockingly, it’s still relevant. mattblaze.org/blog/copywrong…
Read 4 tweets
matt blaze Profile picture
31 Dec 20
Radio nerditry: getting Medi-1, Nador Morocco on 171 KHz(!) loud and clear right now. Because radio is still magic sometimes.
And also BBC Radio-4 on 198 KHz (weaker but entirely readable).
Medi-1 Morocco on 171 KHz booming in amazingly loud and clear on the east coast of the US again tonight. French and Arabic programming.
Read 5 tweets
matt blaze Profile picture
31 Dec 20
The new hall at Penn Station looks like a big, welcoming improvement, but:

- it doesn't fix the serious capacity problems (esp the tunnels)

- it requires a longer walk to the 1, 2 or 3 trains, through the entire depressing length of the current station.

nytimes.com/2020/12/30/nyr…
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see a nice (if largely cosmetic) improvement, but until they add urgently needed capacity to the tunnels, rail travel into NYC is still going to be a mess.
That said, after 9 months of this pandemic, I'd practically kiss the ground of even the old Penn Station if I could travel again.
Read 4 tweets
matt blaze Profile picture
30 Dec 20
There are genuine weaknesses in some of the voting tech used in the US, which is why experts advocate for things like risk-limiting audits. But this is not by itself proof that any election was "rigged", an extraordinary claim that requires specific, persuasive evidence.
I am not aware ANY credible evidence of technical flaws being exploited to alter the outcome of any race in the 2020 elections for any candidate, regardless of party. Beware of self-promoting charlatans (across the political spectrum) making alarming claims without evidence.
Trump and his supporters are getting a lot of attention (and have been doing a lot of damage) with claims like this, but they are by no means the only people trying to use the mere existence of vulnerabilities to cast doubt on election outcomes they don't like.
Read 4 tweets
matt blaze Profile picture
23 Dec 20
Christmas cryptography: In “A Christmas Story”, Ralphie is shown with what appears to be a 1940 edition of the official Orphan Annie decoder badge, which would be appropriate for the time in which the film is set. The prop used appears to be an original badge. 1/
I know this because I have one in my collection (Enigma machines being too rich for me). Unfortunately, this is where things go a bit off the rails, cryptographically speaking. 2/ Image
These decoder badges had two rings, one with the numbers 1-26, and the other with a permutation of the 26 letters of the alphabet. The badge could be set to one of 26 offsets (a keyspace of under 5 bits) by rotating one ring with respect to the other. 3/
Read 31 tweets
matt blaze Profile picture
21 Dec 20
I need to do slightly complex audio/video editing just infrequently enough that I have to re-learn the ten thousand magic incantations to make the tools work every single time.
I’ve really optimized this for maximum inefficiency.
If you want an example of how awful this is (merely representative - there are a zillion others), google “how to connect a microphone to Pro Tools”.
Read 5 tweets

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