You don't think of graphic design and aesthetics as an central skill for scientists, and it's not formally taught in PhD programs, but so much of success in science depends on making compelling and intelligible figures.

New type of arsehole just dropped: I spotted someone replying to a mate's post by saying "I asked Grok about this and here's what it told me."

Lol no. What are you gonna do next, consult the tea leaves?

Hi does the phrase "queer all ages fantasy comic with 100+ pages of cute goats" tickle your fancy? If so you should come to our GOAT MAGIC launch event with Seattle artist Kate Wheeler on August 21! More info can be found on our events calendar: https://outsidercomics.com/event/goat-magic-book-launch-signing-with-kate-wheeler/

Blue cat on pink. Turner design gouache in sketchbook.

#kidlitart #gouache #sketchbook #cats

Tesla's so-called "autopilot" turns off automatically a fraction of a second before a crash, so the driver might be blamed even though the driver has no time to respond. (It's been that way for more than a year since originally publicly documented by the NHTSA, this is clearly a choice someone made.)

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/05/the-vehicle-suddenly-accelerated-with-our-baby-in-it-the-terrifying-truth-about-why-teslas-cars-keep-crashing

(This is just one example out of many terrible things in their software.)

And while Tesla management clearly just loves doing terrible things, an individual engineer implemented this.

You don't want to be that engineer:

1. It's immoral, and a dereliction of your professional duty.
2. If your action ever goes to court, there will be some very expensive lawyers trying their best to make you the scapegoat and claim you are either incompetent or malicious, but you very definitely did this on your own.

When Volkswagen cheated on emissions, the CEO blamed... the engineers: "This was not a corporate decision, from my point of view, and to my best knowledge today. This was a couple of software engineers who put this in for whatever reason... some people have made the wrong decisions in order to get away with something that will have to be found out." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandal#US_Congressional_Testimony,_October_2015).

And most of the time the things you'll be asked to do aren't as bad. I know someone who was asked by their manager to put a CE mark on products that were from the non-CE factory. These devices weren't safety critical, this wasn't going to kill anyone. But it's still fraud, and the incentive was still there for the company to make this engineer the scapegoat.

The engineer said "no"... and that was the end of it. Sometimes that's all it takes to enforce standards.

If "no" isn't enough, asking for something in writing (signed and dated) is a good next step. Chances are that will be the end of it, and meanwhile you can start looking for a new job.

Hi Fediverse, I am looking for a job for someone fleeing from the USA to germany.
The person is versed in front- and backend developement, focused on vanilla js and angular, but willing to do anything in that area. Learning German atm, understanding German pretty good already.
Area Karlsruhe would be preferred.
Someone got anything?
#getfedihired

Hungary has banned anything that “promotes homosexuality,” which essentially means Pride. Today over 500,000 people in Budapest turned up for a Pride march and told the government to: 'Fuck off!'.

#Pride2025 #Hungary #Budapest

The Danish government is to clamp down on the creation and dissemination of AI-generated deepfakes by changing copyright law to ensure that everybody has the right to their own body, facial features and voice.

The Danish government said on Thursday it would strengthen protection against digital imitations of people’s identities with what it believes to be the first law of its kind in Europe https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/27/deepfakes-denmark-copyright-law-artificial-intelligence

Sending some peace: We rotate the goats through different places to graze around the farm, and I just put them on the best part of the rotation. They are SO HAPPY.

Breaking: Armed gunmen impersonating police have shot Minesota State Representative Melissa Hortman (D) and a Minesota State Senator John Hoffman (D) in their respective homes. Family members and a dog also shot.

Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed. John Hoffman and his wife were shot multiple times but are out of surgery and will hopefully survive.

Manhunt ongoing.

Local authorities provide update:

https://www.youtube.com/live/VHtHNAbFnow?si=L6KWQdk8aJKc5TOo

PLEASE BOOST: Icelandair broke two wheels off my new suitcase. I'm stuck in KEF airport in Iceland. Is the reach of Mastodon powerful enough that it can find someone nearby who can help me get a new suitcase that has dimensions that can be checked on Austrian Air? I think that's 158 cm linear.

Remember, you do not have to go to the biggest protest in the biggest city in your region. Smaller local protests:
1. Allow you to meet your nearby neighbors
2. Are less likely to become flashpoints
3. Are a really GREAT way to hearten other people, because if protests are going on in places other than the big city it means a LOT of people care

(In not-unrelated news, my friend’s elderly, formerly-Republican parents went to a protest in their extremely right-wing small town this week and were chuffed to find hundreds of people joining them!)

“I’m American, bro!”
He said it three times.

They still shoved him into a gate, twisted his arm and racked an AR-15. Born and raised in East L.A. —but to them, he didn’t look American enough. This isn’t border security. It’s racial injustice.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2025-06-13/video-shows-immigration-agents-interrogating-a-latino-u-s-citizen-im-american-bro #press

Munich is getting started:
#München #NoKings #NoKingsDay

At the protest in Barcelona against Trump’s dictatorial actions, strong turnout! Beteve, Europa Press & TV Española all here to cover it.
#uspol #trump #nokingsday

It's #NoKings day!
🚫👑🚫👑🚫👑🚫
Be loud. Be heard. Be safe.

⸻
EFF Protest Guide:
•⁠📱⁠https://mastodon.social/@eff/114678037068775207

Know Your Rights:
•⁠🚨⁠https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights

Privacy Guides on Protests:
•⁠🔏⁠https://mastodon.neat.computer/@privacyguides/114678118111594773

Helpful tips by @tankgrrl⁠:
•⁠💡⁠https://hachyderm.io/@tankgrrl/114678716867309614

I think you know I’m skeptical about the ability of traditional mass protest to drive meaningful change where national-scale policy is concerned (triply so in the case of climate). But I think it’s really important for everyone who’s in a position to do so to come out for today’s #NoKings demos, as a way of building on recent counter-ICE mobilizations. Be watchful, take care, but make yourself and your commitments visible and known. 👊

Two men impersonating police shot Democratic lawmakers. Wow, if only anyone would have predicted this extremely obvious crime after allowing law enforcement to hide their identities and agencies while wearing masks and acting like gangsters

Opening shots of a civil war

https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/sources-say-two-minnesota-lawmakers-have-been-shot/

via @fridaghitis

#USpol #NoKings #Indivisible