Eric R. Scott

What are some reasons that file downloads would work consistently with a VPN, but return 500 responses or just no response about half the time without a VPN?

#http #HowDoesTheInternetWork

In August, the #Trump admin sent #UCLA a 27-page list of demands and settlement proposal, which UCLA wanted to keep confidential during its deliberations and negotiations. The UCLA Faculty Association sued to compel its disclosure, and the California Supreme Court just decided in favor of the […]

What are some reasons that file downloads would work consistently with a VPN, but return 500 responses or just no response about half the time without a VPN?

#http #HowDoesTheInternetWork

My niece's kindergarten principal read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and as a result one of her homework activities is to "practice being proactive".

JFC

Congress has to stop this!

The #Trump admin carried out another deadly strike against alleged drug traffickers on Wednesday, targeting a vessel in the eastern #Pacific Ocean for the second straight day, #Defense Secy #PeteHegseth said in a social media post.

#law #murder #WarPowers #war […]

Go for Launch! Packages Shipped to the R-Multiverse Packages submitted to the R-multiverse during our recent coworking session.

[blog] Go for Launch! Packages Shipped to the R-Multiverse ✨

https://ropensci.org/blog/2025/10/22/packages-multiverse/

If you are a California voter, I implore you to back Proposition 50, a hopefully temporary measure to block the Trump-Republican scheme to rig U.S. House districts for perpetual GOP control.

They declared war on democracy. Vote Yes. A no vote gives them what they want […]

I'm part of multiple teams/communities that use multiple messaging services, so at one time I need to have open a several of slacks, a couple of discord servers and two discourse forums; also whatsapp. I know there are several tools that try to integrate all of them into a single window (life […]

Formerly The White House

Formerly The #WhiteHouse

You know how you move into a place & it has rules, like no pets, no smoking etc?

Next level, you buy a home that’s designated a #historical #landmark & in the deed it stipulates renovations are limited to interior & have to conform to a specific era.

Now imagine you’re a renter, or better yet […]

Ice Tip Reporting By Phone (866) 347-2423 (866) DHS-2ICE

Please only use the ICE hotline (shown below) to report real things. When you call the number to make reports like 'Musk is an illegal', or 'suspected gang members wearing cop uniforms', you just tie up the line and make it difficult for ICE to do their actual jobs.
#ice #immigration #trumpgestapo

Happy #Diwali, the Festival of Lights, of good over evil, of light over darkness.

@sundogplanets thank you!

Just wrote an incredibly grumpy but fact-filled email about the many evils of LLMs to part of my university that constantly sends out cheerful emails about how to integrate genAI into teaching university courses. And maybe it's time for me to sign off for the day...

@babelcarp Oh this is kinda funny—I just noticed that in a different part of the paper they translate it as "Zijin Zen tea". I'm *pretty* sure it's supposed to be 蝉 not 禅. As in 茶·绿叶蝉 (tea green leafhopper, i.e. Empoasca onukii)

@babelcarp Any idea what tea this paper about "Zijin Cicada tea" is referring to? A bug-bitten tea I haven't heard of from Guangdong!

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0956713525006541?via%3Dihub

#tea #gongfucha

I'll be talking at some online events in the next few weeks: this Thurs Oct 23 I'll be on DS Hangout with @libbyheeren.bsky.social, and on Thursday Nov 6 I'll be on the @ropensci.org community call about graceful internet packages!

#rstats

posit.co/data-science...
ropensci.org/commcalls/gr...

More boulders

@LeafyEricScott another pic. Looks like sandstone maybe? But why so bouldery?

Screenshot of Google maps with location marker near Jacumba Hot Springs, CA

Photo of boulders that look like a pile of giant gravel

Hey geologists, what's the deal with all these boulders in this spot on hwy 8 between the CA-AZ border and San Diego?

#geology #rocks

@aram Is this the news you're referring to?

https://flipboard.com/@newyorktimes/u.s.-6tjik97dz/-/a-Lh9PTb8URsew0X6Bz3ir6g%3Aa%3A3195393-%2F0

Three weird things about social websites:

1) If you run a a social website, you don't actually have to allow nazis and demagogues to sign up.

2) If the nazis and demagogues sign up anyway, you can kick them out. It sounds weird, I know, but it's totally a thing you can do!

3) If you've signed […]

Veteran holds sign

World War 2 veterans, the original antifa, took part in the nationwide protests against the fascist Trump regime. #3E #NoKings #50501Movement #indivisible #wearetheflood

BREAKING: Trump humiliated as official numbers are in — 7 million people joined the No Kings rallies, making it the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. 🇺🇸💪

This! AI Is hollowing out Higher Education! by @olivia Guest and @Iris van Rooij

"In reality, AI erodes academic freedom, weakens critical reading, and subordinates the pursuit of knowledge to corporate interests." […]

Naked Bikers and Federal Escalation Around 4 p.m. on Sunday, I arrived at the ICE field office in Portland to find half a dozen protesters in inflatable animal costumes dancing to the upbeat sounds of the Unpresidented Brass Band, whose members were dressed in banana costumes. By 4:15 p.m., I was filming

> in what Speaker Mike Johnson called “the most threatening thing I’ve seen yet.” 🍆 🚲 🍑

https://www.wewillfreeus.org/naked-bikers-and-federal-escalation/

To the University of Virginia community: On Monday of last week, Rector Rachel Sheridan and I shared a message with the community regarding the proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. We were asked to provide comments on the proposal no later than October 20. Today, I sent the letter below to the Secretary of Education and to White House officials. The letter confirms our core values and commitments while expressing our view that federal research funding should be based on merit. I want to thank personally the Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, Student Council, and many other members of our community who expressed their opinions on the proposed Compact, through the online form we provided and other means. Your thoughtful feedback shows a profound care for the University and a strong commitment to its future. We will continue to work to strengthen free expression and free inquiry, protect academic freedom, ensure affordability , promote intellectual pluralism, and maintain institutional neutrality in an increasingly polarized world. I am grateful for your continued dedication to the University and I look forward to working with you on these vital projects. Paul Mahoney Interim President University of Virginia

October 17, 2025 The United States Department of Education Washington, DC 20202 Dear Secretary McMahon, Ms. Mailman, and Mr. Haley, Thank you for your letter inviting comment on the proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. We wholeheartedly agree that “American higher education is the envy of the world.” We also agree with many of the principles outlined in the Compact, including a fair and unbiased admissions process, an affordable and academically rigorous education, a thriving marketplace of ideas, institutional neutrality, and equal treatment of students, faculty, and staff in all aspects of university operations. Indeed, the University of Virginia leads in several of these areas and is committed to continuous improvement in all of them. We seek no special treatment in exchange for our pursuit of those foundational goals. The integrity of science and other academic work requires merit-based assessment of research and scholarship. A contractual arrangement predicating assessment on anything other than merit will undermine the integrity of vital, sometimes lifesaving, research and further erode confidence in American higher education. Higher education faces significant challenges and has not always lived up to its highest ideals. We believe that the best path toward real and durable progress lies in an open and collaborative conversation. We look forward to working together to develop alternative, lasting approaches to improving higher education. Sincerely yours, Paul Mahoney Interim President University of Virginia

UVA says no to the compact

Guess how many more Starlinks are in orbit since last time I gave this talk 5 weeks ago? Fucking 240 more Starlinks.

Nearly 10,000 Starlinks have been launched, 8,626 are in orbit today. https://planet4589.org/space/con/conlist.html

It's a keeper!

Chicken and Mushroom Clay Pot Rice Chicken Mushroom Clay Pot Rice is a Chinese home-cooked comfort food recipe with mushrooms, wood ear, lily flower, & silky pieces of chicken!

Trying a new recipe tonight. If it's good, I'll have *two* recipes that use day lilies in my repertoire!
https://thewoksoflife.com/chicken-mushroom-clay-pot-rice/

#cooking #chinesefood