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How Author Dave Eggers Avoids Smartphones, Internet Access, and Flock Cameras

A few weeks ago on a bike ride "inspiration struck" for Dave Eggers, reports SFGate...

Without a pen and paper handy, he was stuck texting the idea to himself. The problem? Eggers doesn't own a smartphone. "It takes 20 minutes to write a sentence," Eggers said... It's a funny predicament for Eggers, given that he's arguably the city's biggest proponent of the written word... Now age 56, Eggers' latest book is called "Contrapposto"...
On writing days, Eggers bikes to his sailboat docked near the Golden Gate Bridge. He writes using a hefty 1998 Mac that has never been connected to the internet. On the boat, he keeps "banker's hours," working 9 to 5 without any meetings or interruptions except for the occasional wildlife visit. "You're there with the cormorants and the occasional porpoise and sea lions and seals, and when you want to take a break, you walk around and you're in the thick of it, one of the most beautiful spots on Earth," he said. "Especially coming from the Midwest, it never gets old."

Given Eggers' decidedly low-tech existence, it's not surprising that the current state of San Francisco gives him pause, but there's a streak of hope that underlies his concerns. He abhors the growing surveillance technology that's gripping the city, refusing to get into Ubers that use recording devices, but he feels a well-written ballot measure about Flock cameras could potentially save our dwindling privacy. ChatGPT's effects on the art of writing are demoralizing, but he welcomes that teachers are re-embracing pencil and paper, with cursive making a big comeback. The wave of artificial intelligence ads blanketing bus stops imploring companies to stop hiring humans are so over the top, they'd sound cliché if he were to include them in one of his dystopian tech industry novels like "The Circle" or "The Every," but tech philanthropy has helped many of his projects flourish.

Case in point, Art + Water, a new art space scheduled to open next year on Pier 29 funded largely by art world donations... Co-founded with the artist JD Beltran, the space is slated to operate as an old-school apprenticeship system, hosting 10 artists in residence mentoring 20 students, all free of charge... The ultimate goal is to break down the financial barriers that keep students from pursuing art.

Thanks to Slashdot reader destinyland for sharing the article.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Amazon CEO's Talks with U.S. Officials Triggered Crackdown on Anthropic Models

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The Trump administration's decision to halt all foreign use of Anthropic's most capable AI models was prompted by conversations between Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy and U.S. officials including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, people familiar with the matter said.

Researchers at Amazon had used a series of prompts to get Anthropic's Fable 5 model to provide them with information that could be used to aid cyberattacks and was supposed to be off limits, Jassy told the officials, according to people familiar with the matter. Tech industry executives have been in regular touch with the administration about the power of cutting-edge AI tools. Shortly afterward, White House officials held a meeting to discuss how to respond and security researchers began testing Amazon's claims. The officials asked Anthropic to fix the vulnerabilities or take down the model, according to administration officials. The officials decided that the most direct way to address that risk was by preventing foreign governments, companies and individuals from accessing the tool, the people said. President Trump later signed off on the action despite reservations about it hindering innovation, a senior White House official said.

The administration had long felt that Anthropic, one of the leaders in America's AI race, couldn't be trusted to manage the security risks its new model presented. Friday's call between some administration officials and Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei reinforced that feeling, the people said...
Anthropic has said that the vulnerabilities like those flagged by Amazon are relatively basic. The company has said that other publicly available models are capable of discovering them and that they don't represent a full so-called jailbreak, a point of view shared by some security researchers familiar with Amazon's research.


The article points out that Amazon is "a big investor in Anthropic, supply Anthropic with chips for data centers.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The Guardian

Latest news, sport, business, comment, analysis and reviews from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice

Australia v Turkey: World Cup 2026 – live

⚽️ Kick-off time: 9pm local/2pm AEST/5am BST/12am EDT
⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail Jonathan

Vancouver has an Australian presence throughout the year, but the city will be green and gold this evening.

Roughly 25,000 people in Canada claimed Australia as their birthplace in the 2021 census. Almost half live in British Columbia. Many of them are only here because of the mountains that crisscross Canada’s westernmost province.

The ski town of Whistler 120 km away is colloquially known as “Whistralia”. Snow-obsessed Australians make up a significant part of the region’s alpine culture thanks to an uncapped visa scheme that allows working holiday stays for two years, longer than most countries. Many never leave.

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Australia news live: Jonno Duniam says ‘I haven’t wasted a single day’ as he announces retirement from politics; Australian child killed in Pakistan

The Tasmanian Liberal senator has announced he will leave parliament before the end of the year. Follow the day’s news live

The Senate will deliver its report from the NDIS inquiry on Tuesday. Butler doesn’t directly answer a question about whether or not he is willing to make any significant changes to the legislation the government has put forward.

He says:

Look, the direction of travel I think is an important one for us to follow through. This largely reflects reviews and insights that we’ve gathered over the last three years since the independent review was done of the NDIS in 2023 and endorsed by all governments at national Cabinet later that year.

I’m utterly convinced this is the right plan for the NDIS… I’m not saying there won’t be any change. We heard ideas from the crossbench in the debate in the House of Representatives. I’ve very much heard that people want greater reassurance about what won’t change because of the reforms we’re putting in place.

We have to constrain that growth. Without reforms it would grow to $20 billion by the end of the decade and that’s simply not a sustainable position.

It’s also allowed us, as I said, to protect the core supports people rely upon for that safety that was part of your introduction.

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Doelman Neuer keert tegen Curaçao terug in basiselftal Duitsland, ten koste van vaste kracht Baumann

Doelman Manuel Neuer keert zondag terug in de basisopsteling van Duitsland, dat in zijn eerste WK-groepswedstrijd tegen Curaçao speelt.

PSV’er Saibari scoort voor Marokko in gelijkspel tegen Brazilië

Zwaargewichten Brazilië en Marokko zijn hun campagne voor de wereldtitel zaterdag begonnen met een 1-1 gelijkspel in een uitverkocht New York New Jersey Stadium in East…

after spring there is JUNE, then summer

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after spring there is JUNE, then summer

the SQUARE
HYDRANGEA
© ajpscs

They All Say It

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They All Say It

Meat Market

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Meat Market

Diana

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Diana

No One Does It Like the Bull

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No One Does It Like the Bull

Out of Time

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Out of Time

千鳥ヶ淵 Chidorigafuchi

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千鳥ヶ淵 Chidorigafuchi

毎年恒例、開花にあわせた、千鳥ヶ淵の桜のライトアップ。The annual illumination event at Chidorigafuchi. Cherry blossoms, Someiyoshino were in full bloom.

千鳥ヶ淵 Chidorigafuchi

ELCAN KE-7A has added a photo to the pool:

千鳥ヶ淵 Chidorigafuchi

千鳥ヶ淵で満開の染井吉野。Cherry blossoms, Someiyoshino along Chidorigafuchi were in full bloom.

Furou-an 不老庵 (ふろうあん)

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Furou-an 不老庵 (ふろうあん)

Furo-an is a kakerizukuri (suspended structure) teahouse built in sukiya-style on a cliff overlooking Garyu-buchi. The teahouse itself is made to look like a ship. The ceiling is made of a single piece of bamboo wickerwork made to look like the bottom of a ship. The moon rises from the right side of Mt. Tomisu-yama on the opposite bank, which the ceiling reflects to brighten up the cleverly designed room. A single plank of Sendai pine with a width of 3.6 meters is used for the floor.
Source: www.en.garyusanso.jp/about/#about01

The image of Furo-an resting on stilts above Hijikawa River is celebrated among photography enthusiasts. The house is well-lit by natural light and good views can be seen from here of the river. Furo-an has an interesting curved ceiling onto which the river reflects the image of the moon during the night.
Source: www.japan-guide.com/e/e5528.html

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Ukimido pavilion

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Ukimido pavilion

Nara, Japan

Nara streets

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Nara streets

Nara, Japan

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Bondscoach Koeman vindt Depay fit genoeg om te spelen en de ploeg is ‘vol vertrouwen’

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Bear encounters are rising in Japan

Bear attack in Japan car park captured on CCTV as cities record more wild encounters. Bear encounters are rising in Japan, and the problem is not confined to the wilderness. Experts say a shortage of nuts due to poor seasonal harvests has driven bears closer to cities in search of food, leading to the increase in sightings and attacks.

Yoshikazu Sato, a professor of wildlife ecology at Rakuno Gakuen University, told Japanese broadcaster NHK last month that bears were also being born and raised closer to human settlements. "As a result, these young bears don't see people as a threat like the bears before them did," Professor Sato said. "They're growing up without that fear and, as a result, they're less wary of humans."