Frank Hecker

Yesterday I celebrated my one-year anniversary on Math Academy. Five courses completed, another almost complete, 19519 XP thus far. 1/2

The first legal structure in the United States built specifically for how artists work is now law

@austinrobey_ For example, see roomy[.]space, an ATmosphere-based Discord alternative whose developers believe "decentralized networking is best realized with decentralized ownership" (blog[.]roomy[.]space) and treat investors somewhat like Subvert does. 5/5

@austinrobey_ Organizational: The ATmosphere is thus conducive to innovation by individuals and small teams but not fertile ground for hypergrowth based on monopolization. This in turn spurs interest in alternative economic structures like PBCs, co-ops, "steward-ownership", etc. 4/

Is there something in tech that I should be excited about now? Not feeling it

@Scholars_Stage I’d add that it seems very compatible with the views expressed by the Math Academy folks: individuals differ in how far they can advance in math, but if motivated and under the right conditions (which MA purports to provide) they can go much further than they would have thought.

This is a fantastic essay on intelligence and potential, genius or otherwise

Infoblox IQ also uses DNS data to detect and suggest remediation for security threats, since attackers typically depend on DNS infrastructure and attacks typically show up first in DNS (e.g., domains get registered and quickly get flagged as suspicious). 2/2

I'm retired from Infoblox, but I still follow it and thought this worth reposting. The Infoblox IQ announcement is especially interesting: an AI agent specialized to troubleshoot and suggest remediation for DNS problems in enterprises using Infoblox software/services for DNS. 1/

Yesterday, Gov. Polis signed the Colorado Artist Company Act into law. It creates the Artist Corporation — the first legal structure in the US built specifically for how artists work. Two years of work. 5,000+ artists and creators signed on. Now real. artistcorporations.com

We just passed 4,000 followers. Thank you 💚 Some of you may have already noticed the site has been getting a little refresh. Baiheverse exists to make official Chinese baihe stories easier to find, read, and support in English. We’re still working to bring more stories over, while also improving the site UI, reading experience, and mobile: • Android app improvements are in progress • iOS app development has started Still small, still building. Thank you for being here with us. #baihe

@Scholars_Stage I trust your taste, so I’ll have to try Caroline Alexander’s Iliad again. I thought it a bit clunky on first trying it. And I’ll definitely have to try Chapman.

This is my favorite Iliad translation -- the one I find most edifying. amzn.to/4nPRJhx

@ystrickler I remember this, and can go one better: I still have a copy of 11 Dots: An eMusic eMployee Compilation.

A comp our label put out in 2009. Salem, Girls, Obits, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Victoire, Homeboy Sandman, Glasser. Never made it to streaming, but the tracklist still lives at Discogs discogs.com/release/164533…

Since all four factors above still operate, I'm skeptical regarding the current tech elite becoming a positive "techno-nationalist" force. I see more a marriage of convenience where they are defense suppliers and political donors operating on a mostly transactional basis. 5/5

4) Downstream of secularism, decline of the prosocial influence formerly provided by religion, e.g., the Episcopal Church. Religion today often seems to play more of a countercultural role, e.g., promoting social conservatism and/or withdrawal from the broader society. 4/

A good article with no apparent responses, so I'll try: I think the root problem with today's tech elite is downstream of four factors: 1) Absence of an existential/near-existential conflict a la the Civil War/WWII requiring nationwide mobilization of people and organizations. 1/

@NiskanenCenter @Scholars_Stage This is a good complement/response to Greer's article. No one else seems to have commented on this article, so I'll do so. See my separate thread, but the bottom line is that I don't see either Greer's or your hopes for a positive "techno-nationalist elite" coming to pass.

Today's tech elite lack the sense of national responsibility that previous American elites possessed. @Scholars_Stage argues that they should take “responsibility to shape American life for decades to come,” looking to the Gilded Age as a model. But there's a better model, and it emerged between 1940 and 1970.