Mark A. Taff

Opinions are solely my own, retweets aren't endorsements. A cog in the pro-gun machine.

[Andrew Leyden @PenguinSix]

The Reflecting Pool is now reflecting again.

[Kasey @digitalspaz]

Happy Killdozer Day.

Due to the economy, expectations have been lowered.

[Mark A. Taff @marktaff]

@Mike___Kilo @BreannaMorello Austin is the victim's name. The murder was in Frisco, and the trial is here in Collin County (NE of Dallas).

[Adam Hunter @AdamComedian]

Last night Katie Porter conceded in the California Governor’s race after getting 5% of the vote. She will now go back to her other job tormenting The Goonies.

[Attorney General James Uthmeier @AGJamesUthmeier]

Tradition Community Association agreed to stop enforcing its unlawful firearm ban in common areas. We are working with the Association to ensure this policy change is permanent and complies with FL law.

For others who’ve reached out about their HOAs, don’t worry, we hear you.

[Venture Pictures @venturepictures]

Operation #SaveStargate is taking off 🫡 #stargate let @AmazonMGMStudio @PrimeVideo @amazon know about your dissatisfaction about their rash decision to can the show with the original creators.

If not now, it’ll never happen. Speak up!

Animation by me

[emily miller @emilymiller]

EXCLUSIVE: THE WATER IS FLOWING AT THE LINCOLN REFLECTING POOL. WATCH!

[Nerd Cookies @nerd_cookies]

Fans do NOT want a new Stargate series if the legends who made Stargate aren't involved.

Everyone needs to know that Amazon reportedly still wants to make Stargate, just WITHOUT the writers and producers who spent decades faithfully building and expanding the franchise.

Fans were actually excited to see what Martin, Brad, Joe were making because they've proven for decades that they understand how to foster and tell new Stargate stories.

LET THE PEOPLE WHO MADE STARGATE KEEP MAKING STARGATE! @AmazonMGMStudio @PrimeVideo #Stargate

[Michael Shanks @MichaelShanks]

I’m gonna simply say this: if you are at all interested in a Stargate show with ANY of the original creators/performers involved, now is the time to say something. Otherwise it really will be the end of that chapter forever. Let them know you are THERE

[Kostas Moros @MorosKostas]

Starting up soon. If you have questions or comments on Baird v. Bonta or related matters, post below.

[Cam Edwards @CamEdwards]

You didn't fix the judge's complaint, you ninny. The judge said adults younger than 21 have a 2A right to purchase a handgun, and HB 1525 prohibits them from doing so.

[Joseph Mallozzi 🏴‍☠️ @BaronDestructo]

Well this is a hastily cobbled together shit-take of conjecture and misdirection.

The author starts by misreading a grassroots marketing launch as a statement of exclusive intent. Come on.  Announcing a series TO a fandom alongside its community leaders is standard PR; it's not proof that the show was designed exclusively FOR fandom. In fact, it was made clear from the start that, first and foremost, the series would function as an accessible entry point for new viewers...while still respecting canon.  And, by the way, “Respecting canon” does not mean “requiring new viewers to be familiar with 350+ hours of existing Stargate programming” as this article implies.

The author proceeds to support their point by launching into fan fiction: "No plot details were revealed about the scrapped show, but I can easily imagine…”  And they certainly do.  What follows is a parade of clichés, a generic legacy-sequel checklist that the author has conjured up from nothing and pinned to the new show as predictive evidence.

Then comes the claim that Starfleet: Academy failed because the showrunners: "focused too much on paying tribute to the series' past.”  Uh, wut?  Yes, Starfleet: Academy did receive a fair amount of criticism, but strict adherence to canon wasn't on the list of grievances.  This reads like a comment from someone who likely never even watched the show, much less perused the fan response.

They state: "Rebooting the cannon also would let the new Stargate showrunner bring back the Goa'uld, the franchise's most iconic villains…”  No, it wouldn’t.  Know why?   Because the goa’uld... ARE CANON!!!!

The article concludes with a disconnected meditation on an old Stargate storyline with no relation to either the new show or the author’s own argument.

I want to say it was written by A.I., but surely A.I. would display more logical consistency than this.

How the hell does this account have over 1 million followers?

[Michael Shanks @MichaelShanks]

Fans be spittin’ truths today. And I’m here for it…

[Eric S. Raymond @esrtweet]

Recent algorithm changes on X may be unfairly hammering Brave users. And there's a larger issue here about bad interactions between robots and privacy measures.

@nikitabier @brave

My friend Jay Maynard, who some of you may know as Tron Guy, just got permabanned off X for "inauthentic behavior". His appeal was swiftly denied.

Jay is not a spammer, scammer or engagement farmer; he is, in fact, exactly the kind of good citizen X says it wants. Jay asked Gemini for analysis, and now thinks he knows what happened.

Brave, as a privacy measure, randomly changes the identity presented to sites in order to avoid tracking by the ad vampires. Gemini suggested that some code at X interpreted this as spammy behavior using multiple browsers. If so - and this does seem plausible - everybody trying to protect their privacy with Brave is at risk.

This is a general problem, not just an X glitch or a Brave issue. Social media sites are increasingly relying for security on forms of heuristic AI that are prone to unacceptably high false-positive rates.

More specifically, platforms are increasingly treating a user's refusal to be tracked, fingerprinted, and categorized as a hostile act. When a site makes it impossible to connect via a privacy-focused user agent without getting flagged as a malicious bot, it stops being "security" and effectively becomes a retaliatory lockout for protecting oneself.

Worse yet, such system architecture provides no circuit breaker - humans are only rarely and exceptionally asked review for errors. Jay's appeal denial came back so fast that it was obvious no meat-brain ever saw it. He has filed complaints within the Minnesota Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau, because what else can he do? The robots have locked him out.

Badly designed robots and zeal to squeeze human oversight out of the system forces regular citizens to rely on state law enforcement or consumer protection bureaus.

Allow me to gently suggest to the people running X that unless you want politicians poking their noses into your business and imposing constraints on you that you are not going to like, you need to fix your security and appeal processes so running to the law isn't necessary.

[Mark A. Taff @marktaff]

@MorosKostas Yes, he is a well-known champion of concealed carry.

[Brad Wright 🇨🇦 @bradtravelers]

Martin and his team were doing amazing work and I wish the world got to see it. I wish I got to see it, too.

[Currermell @currermell]

Today, it’s Glocks.

About 30 years ago it was the Saturday Night Special.

Tomorrow, it’ll be something YOU own.

👇👇👇