Preston Austin

4 frame comic. the first frame shows Fredrick Brennan, the second shows the 8chan logo, the third shows the 8chan homepage, the fourth shows birds flying out of a tree near a house on a pink sky. the text reads, across the four frames : I was saddened to learn about the recent passing at 31 of fredrick brennan. he was born with brittle bone syndrom, an inherited genetic disease, and early in his life, deve- lopped the belief that people like him should be forcibly sterilized. at 12, he joined 4chan, which further radicalized him into incel culture and white supremacy. when 4chan banned discussions about gamergate, he decided to create the unmoderated 8chan. but after a few years, he realized how his creation brought out the worst in people. he gave the web- site to his associate, and went on to spend the rest of his life back- tracking on the politics of his youth, trying to get the website shut down and making amends. I wouldn't say that we were friends, but we did talk several times. he first reached out to me in 2018 to offer a formal apology for the harassment and doxxing I suffered from 8chan. after that, he kept monitoring the forums, and would let me know whenever people were planning to cause trouble at my public talks and things like that. when I think about brennan's complicated story and legacy, I'm reminded how people can change. his change of heart inspired me to keep creating through hardships. I hope you rest in peace, fredrick. apologies accepted.

Apologies accepted.

Keep ICE out of Stores, Say Starbucks Workers Since more than 4,000 ICE agents descended on the city of Minneapolis, Starbucks barista Alex Rivers has tried to balance the exacting focus the job requires—baristas are expected to write on every cup and complete every order in four minutes or less, he said—with the gnawing fear that agents could burst in at any moment. “It became a fear of not if, but when,” Rivers said: “We’ve seen ghost cars on the highway, just abandoned cars. We’ve seen really scary stuff.

Keep ICE out of Stores, Say Starbucks Workers | Labor Notes

https://www.labornotes.org/2026/03/keep-ice-out-stores-say-starbucks-workers

March ISTHMUS cover illustration of a light brown skinned femme resenting person with long straight black hair crossing a Madison, WI State St style of pedestrian mall They are carrying a copy of Orwell's 1984 under their arm The shops and utility poles on the street are festooned with an absurd number of cameras, drones fill the sky, and even other passersby are pointing phone cameras at them - some of them looking a bit sketchy all in black with sunglasses There's a 2026 Wisconsin Film Festival (April 09 to 16) promo banner across the bottom of the image

“[Renée Graef's] first two drafts of her Isthmus cover showed a Minneapolis-centric vigil, and a scene depicting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pepper spraying the classic Statue of Liberty scene on Lake Mendota”

“she pivoted to a […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]

Here is a man with more simple moral integrity & courage that the vast bulk of Dem electeds & pundits.

I lack the words to capture it, but ... it's just endlessly remarkable to me that so many people in our society have chosen trans kis -- TRANS KIDS, the smallest, least significant, most vulnerable demographic slice you could possibly pick -- as a repository for all their fears & insecurities.

Milwaukee, 2026

"it's certainly not just a tool, but and it certainly has made you more of a tool" is my current comeback to anyone who tells me their fascination with bone dust 🦴 fashtech is something greater than them being used by other men with machines

While it's not inexorably true that the first person to stop listening to in a discourse is the one who first claims to have greater access to reality than their interlocutors, it's a fairly good heuristic

On some level it's kinda funny how reliably almost every...

"I avoid all the herd dynamics here and I have a broader epistemology than this woke, liberal, virtue signaling, politically correct, insular, judgmental, hypersensitive, hysterical, parochial, fake, performative, etm bubble" […]

"The Republican Party of Florida consistently stands against racism, antisemitism, and bigotry in all of its hateful forms of expression," the statement said.

this might be the funniest thing I've ever read

Slurs Filled a Chat Created by a Republican Party Official in Florida

passive voice final boss grand champion honorable mention award for turning slurs into a sentient thing that can do actions www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/u...

I've said this before, but it's worth repeating; AIPAC funds people who agree with it. it's not bribing them.

I get that it may seem like an academic distinction, but it's pretty important for a bunch of reasons. 1

it's amazing to me that after Iraq, people don't realize how bad they're going to look for supporting this war.

and like, not in the distant future. in a month from now.

None of my current projects would be considered digital infrastructure, but if your project qualifies and needs someone to help it grow, please reach out. Maybe we can apply together!

I've spent the last 10+ years freelancing as an open source developer, community manager and project manager […]

“There is no thought process into what any of this means long term,” said one official. “It’s not coordinated regime change. It’s just ‘bomb them until they’re less of a threat.’”

Asked about the administration’s plan for Iran after the war, that official responded: “Whatever.”

[uspol]

‘Dog murdering adulteress’

I hate that I know who this is

Screenshot of Isthmus article headlined: Does ICE have access to Flock data? The Dane County Sheriff’s Office has shared data from 25 cameras with seven states by Liam Beran March 5, 2026 12:00 PM Picture is of a Flock camera and its characteristic solar panel attached by metal straps to a metal utility pole, silhouetted against a pale blue sky with what appears to be an out of focus American flag in the background, obscured by the camera (along with the civil liberties it supposedly represents)

Pie chart of Reasons for Flock network searches by Dane County Sheriffs, Jan 25 to Feb 22 Unspecified attempts to locate by sheriff's department - 58.4% Attempt to locate person of interest, witness, suspect at request of another agency - 22.4% Stolen auto - 5.6% Theft - 4.4% Hit & run - 2.8% Burglary -2.8% Wanted/warrant - 1.6% Missing person - 0.8% Suicidal person – 0.4%

“Dorothea Salo the awesome [@dsalo here en la fedi ] a cybersecurity expert and UW-Madison professor, says Dane County’s data sharing agreements add another layer of concern”

» “They can’t promise that [data won’t be used for immigration enforcement] if […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]

“I just don't want to have to sell people on Full Communism on day negative one”

“ah yes, FCoD-1”

Lol, just heard from a German friend who is calling the backup in the Straight of Hormuz right now the "fossil fuel dunkelflaute."

Niche humor.

Even people who aren't anti-AI are sickened by OpenAI's active role in supporting MAGA authoritarianism at home and its atrocities abroad. There's now an active movement to urge people to stop using its chatbot. Do you have friends or colleagues who need to see this? […]

Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei’s Death Sparks Revolt Among Kalshi Customers How Kalshi decided to settle a market tied to Iran’s supreme leader prompted anger among traders who felt the rules weren’t clear.

I imagine plenty of people on Kalshi probably feel their gambling addiction is better than someone who gambles on horses

But it feels infinitely more ghoulish

https://www.wired.com/story/iranian-ayatollah-khameneis-death-sparks-revolt-among-kalshi-customers/

If anything universally characterizes the development, deployment, and use of current generative models it's:

“an utter lack of professional, let alone, political solidarity”

"I want bees to survive"
"I want bees, to survive"
"I want, bees, to survive"

🐝

[uspol]

In retrospect, the clues were there when the guy with a crusader version of the american history x tattoo changed the name of the department of defense

“He had a big grin on his face”

https://www.rawstory.com/military-2675544403/

JFC 🙄

A large, off-white mug with carved geometric designs and aqua accents, collaged on top of a photo of The Everglades (a wetland scene with water lilies, tall grasses and a pinkish cloudy sky)

I'm raffling this oversized mug to support Friends of the Everglades, a #Florida environmentalist group who have been fighting alongside the Miccosukee Tribe against #AlligatorAlcatraz #ICE detention center in court. Donate any amount and email your receipt […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]

Violent delights and all that 🙄

» “stupid rules of engagement” «

“Since the start of the Trump administration, the Defense Department under Secretary Hegseth has deliberately and systematically weakened the protections meant to ensure compliance with the laws of armed conflict”

Supes odd that we got decades of gritty rule […]

lol. Starlink is very popular for general aviation. Today, they announced they were lowering the max speeds for their “roam” plans to 100 mph/87 kts/161 km/h, and added a new $250/mo “aviation” plan that caps you at 20gb/mo. (There’s also a second aviation plan meant for those in jets, for […]