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Ben Pettis

@bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy
17 followers 1 following 304 posts

he/they Assistant Professor University of Richmond Studying Internet culture & web histories. So basically I get to look at memes and scroll through […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ mastodon.benpettis.ninja/@bpettis, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026
Everyone put in your tin foil hats because what if the Velvet Despot incident on the #aoir listserv was just a psyop by Big AoIR™ to sell t-shirts? Wake up sheeple! The truth is out there! #AoIR2026
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026
I wonder if I could get an AI agent to manage this ongoing inbox explosion... (For context, all of these emails are #aoir folks discussing the presence of a so-called "AI identity" participating in and contributing to the email list)
Email inbox with several messages from the AIR-L listserv digest
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026
For anyone getting ready to travel to Mexico City for the #AoIR2026 #AoIR (Association of Internet Researchers) conference starting later this week -- don't forget to bring your Nintendo 3DS system and enable StreetPass so we can pretend that it's […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
Nintendo 3DS "Mii Plaza" software

The top screen includes explanatory text about how exchanging Mii via StreetPass works:

"All you have to do is walk past someone else using StreetPass!"Nintendo 3DS "Mii Plaza" software

The top screen includes a 3D avatar loosely modeled after Ben Pettis with the name "Ben!"
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026
www.henricocitizen.com/breaking-hen… Don't love the "will review other options" that they throw in at the end, but this is still something! There were/are 128+ cameras placed all over Henrico county -- I will be very glad to see them finally come down.
henricocitizen.com
BREAKING: Henrico cancels Flock Safety contract
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026
babe wake up a new multi-lingual version of the text on example.com just* dropped * This might be old news. I'm not sure when this change was made and it may very well have been several months ago
"This domain is for use in documentation examples without needing permission. This is not a service; avoid relying on it for testing and monitoring purposes."

The message is repeated in Arabic, Japanese, French, Russian, and Spanish
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026
Ah yes, seems like all is well for the current state of academic publishing and the peer review process... Separately, any suggestions on how I should celebrate the upcoming 1 year anniversary of this piece being under review?
Screenshot of a manuscript submission portal showing a submission date of October 14, 2025
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 27/09/2026
I have been running Debian (with KDE Plasma desktop) as the primary OS on my desktop computer for a while, and I'm *thrilled* that I have not needed to boot into my Windows partition at any point in the last several months. 9/10 -- would recommend […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
Output of the "fastfetch" command displaying an ASCII version of the Debian logo and information about my system hardware and software
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026
Can't wait to live in the opening credits to Futurama with flying shit clogging up the sky above me all the damn time. What a stupid world we live in. www.deq.virginia.gov/Home/Component…
A basic poster with black text on white background. A map of the Richmond area with a large red circle is centered. There are photos of an Amazon delivery drone to the left and a QR code to the URL linked in the post at the right.

Primary text is as follows:

Do you live in this circle?

Do you like drones?

Yes? Great news, then!

Amazon wants to fly drones in this area with up to 1,000 flights each day. Each drone would be around 78 pounds, the size of large labrador dog, and deliver packages in the area. These delivery operations would run 6:00am - 10:30pm, seven days per week. When making deliveries, the drones would fly at 400 feet in the air, descend, open payload doors and drop packages from a height of 13 feet.
Convenient for deliveries? Maybe!
A nuisance and a safety risk? Almost certainly!
Hate this idea? Have thoughts about this proposal?
Email Megan Black (Department of Environmental Quality) and let her know!
megan.black@deq.virginia.gov
Reference Public Notice FAA; DEQ #26-120F.
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026
Shot, chaser
Title and information for an article published in the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology titled "Pirate open access as electronic civil disobedience: Is it ethical to breach the paywalls of monetized academic publishing?"A paywall preventing access to read the aforementioned article.
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026
The UW Foundation and the Wisconsin Alumni Association might want to rethinking how they introducing their fundraising campaign. "Flock" is not exactly a term that has positive connotations in many people's minds.
Screenshot of a email discussing an upcoming fundraising campaign. The Headline is "Coming 'Flocktober:' 1-2"
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 17/09/2026
Walked into the classroom where I teach to see that someone had left emergency contraceptives and Narcan for anyone to take if needed. Some students in the room pointed it out and were laughing about it. I opted to play dumb: - What's so funny? I […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
Mostly empty white board with several boxes on the marker tray, labeled with "take if you need!"Box of "Julie" brand emergency contraceptiveBox of Nalaxone medicine for emergency treatment of opioid overdose
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 15/09/2026
I'll take "secure in their masculinity" for 200, Alex
Pickup truck wrapped with a graphic of an American flag and several sport balls. It's labeled "MAN UP HAIR CUT" with the slogans "WATCH SPORTS" and "HAIR CUT"
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2026
RE: mstdn.social/@lowqualityfacts/11720… Science is amazing!
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2026
abcnews.com/Politics/trump-1-coins-… We can call them "loonies"! But also, this is patently illegal: 31 U.S. Code § 5114 states that only portraits of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency. Though, I suppose there are ways […]
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 29/08/2026
"Going off to talk to Mitch McConnell for 20 minutes" is my new euphemism for needing to excuse myself to the restroom.
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 25/08/2026
Look, I'd love to be one of those "inbox zero" people but it just ain't ever gonna happen. But look what they're missing out on! If I leave the ICA listserv sitting in my inbox, it says "International Communication Ass" the next day. Also I am apparently a middle school boy in many ways still
Screenshot of email inbox showing one message from "International Communication Assoc" from 5am this morning. Screenshot of email inbox showing one message from "International Communication Ass" from yesterday
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 21/08/2026
The university renovated our offices over the summer. Some of this was much-needed work (replacing outdated carpets and repainting) but also replaced all of the furniture in an attempt to "standardize" the aesthetics across campus?? I know feel like I am working in a Deloitte cubicle farm or […]
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 07/08/2026
Today marks the 81st anniversary of the United States detonating an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. An estimated 140,000 people - mostly civilians - were killed by the blast and its immediate effects. Thousands more died from burns and radiation poisoning […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
The Hiroshima Victims Memorial Cenotaph

A large concrete arch in the center of an open plaza. The Children's Peace Monument 

A large monument with a statue of a girl at its top. Inside the monument hangs a folded crane. The glass cases in the background contain paper cranes.A hand a paper crane with the children's memorial in the background The Hiroshima Genbaku Dome

The building is a prominent structure that remains standing in the area around the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. A metal skeleton of a dome stands atop a crumbling brick building. The Genbaku Dome stands almost exactly as it did after the bombing on August 6 1945
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 05/08/2026
As a barometer of just how fucky my current healthcare situation is (dealing with harassment, discrimination, and now retaliation by a provider) -- I was speaking with Anthem member services about the situation, and the *insurance* worker was in shock and disbelief. You know it's bad when one […]
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 20/07/2026
Two thoughts: 1) (Further) global economic crisis imminent wheeeeeeeeee 2) How fucking poetic would it be for the energy market crashing to incentivize greater investments in renewable energy? And specifically, the construction of more wind […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
Line chart showing the size of the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve since 1982. While the average for the charted span is 65 days worth of supply, it is now at its lowest point in 45 years with just over 40 days remaining, with the amount trending downward
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 16/07/2026
RE: mastodon.benpettis.ninja/@bpettis/1… New article by myself and Jeremy Morris is now published #openAccess in the Journal of Radio and Audio Media. In it, we examine how the platfomization of podcasting is affecting digital preservation projects. We use a large-scale […]
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 15/07/2026
This is a new one in the fuckery of US healthcare. In my visit notes describing what we talked about when I was seen by this doctor, they write that I refused to be seen. Notably, I am not "a *pleasant* 30 year old male" in their description of me anywhere, either....
Screenshot of visit notes and summary from a medical appointment: "Mr. Pettis is here to establish care with Dr. Majhi. Patient refused to be seen today."
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 13/07/2026
I've been talking with other media/communication scholars about Academic Twitter and many conversations have expanded to general uses of social media for academic career advancement as well. The work is still (btw more info here if you have thoughts you want to share […]
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arthur.pizza @art.mastodon.sdf.org.ap.brid.gy · 20/11/2024
I'm sorry.
Various Logos of software, but the names have maliciously been swapped.

+ VSCode
+ Github
+ Pip
+ Rust
+ Javascript
+ Go
+ Ruby
+ React JS
+ Ubuntu
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 29/06/2026
This XKCD comic was posted in 2017. Just swap "AI" for "algorithms" and it reads just as true xkcd.com/1831
    [Megan, standing next to Hairy, is addressing the reader holding her arms out. Cueball walks in from the right.]
    Megan: Our field has been struggling with this problem for years.

    [Cueball holds his laptop high up in one arm above Megan's head while holding his other arm out as well. Megan has turned to look at him.]
    Cueball: Struggle no more! I'm here to solve it with algorithms!

    [In a frame-less panel Cueball sits on a chair at a desk with his laptop working on it, while Hairy and Megan looks on from behind.]

    [Cueball, still sitting at his laptop, points at the screen. Megan raises her arms and four small lines above her head, on either side of her speech line, indicate her annoyance with Cueball.]
    Six months later:
    Cueball: Wow, this problem is really hard.
    Megan: You don't say.
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 28/06/2026
From IKEA Spain's Blåhaj Empathy Manual 🏳️‍⚧️ 🦈 "Because empathy shouldn't need a manual, but sometimes it helps to have one." (and an English translation I found through Reddit) […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
Cover page for an Ikea manual: BLÅHAJ Manual de empatía7. El respeto no es opcional

No usamos el nombre y los pronombres correctos Unicamente delante de la
persona, también cuando no esta. También cuando hablas con terceras personas. También cuando ha terminado la interacciéon. Siempre mantenemos el respeto y nunca revelamos la identidad de otras personas sin su consentimiento.

Angry Blahaj with a "no" symbol:  Cuando no esta delante, da igual como le llames


Happy Blahaj with a "yes" symbol: “Maria es una chica encantadora."7. Respect isn't optional
We don't use the correct name and pronouns only in front of the person,
but also when they're not there. Also when you talk with other people. Also
once the interaction is over. We always keep respect and never reveal
someone's identity without their consent.

Angry Blahaj with a "no" symbol: When they're not there, it doesn't matter what you call them

Happy Blahaj with a "yes" symbol: "Maria is a lovely girl"
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 25/06/2026
RE: mastodon.benpettis.ninja/@bpettis/1… Thanks to everyone who answered my poll! I'm really glad to see that my experience hasn't been the norm everywhere. In my opinion, 3-6ish months seems like a reasonable enough timeframe. I have a paper that has been out for […]
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 11/06/2026
RE: norden.social/@SheDrivesMobility/11… Pokemon Go to the military-industrial complex
norden.social
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026
"Cost, and INFLATION, were far higher under the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, than they are now. In fact, costs under the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION are tumbling down, helped greatly by gasoline and ENERGY. Affordability is a lie when used by the Dems. It is a complete CON JOB. Thanksgiving costs […]
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026
And now, the most important images from my time in Cape Town for #ICA26 -- the *adorable* African penguins at Boulders Beach and the beautiful sights at the Cape of Good Hope. I'm so grateful to have a job where I get to travel and talk with/learn […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
Small penguin walking on a sandy beachLarge group of penguins laying on a beach with light blue ocean waves in the background.Man in a blue hoodie standing with outstretched hands behind a wooden sign on a rocky waterfront. The sign reads: CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. THE MOST SOUTH-WESTERN POINT OF THE AFRICAN CONTINENTRed flowers in foreground with ocean and a rocky peninsula -- the Cape of Good Hope -- in the background
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026
While in Cape Town for #ICA26, I noticed this interesting "storefront" near the convention center: The AWS Skills Centre, which I can really only describe as an Amazon Cloud Propaganda Department It offers "free cloud training and interactive […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
Window with signage: "Skills Centre Capetown" over the Amazon Web Services logoPhysical exhibit with several potted plants and a television screen playing a video.

The exhibit is labeled "Data sustainability initiatives"Wall with 3 television screens displaying class schedules and other promotional information. A sign on the wall reads "Career doors are opened when connections are made"Physical exhibit with plastic models of a wind turbine and solar panels in front of a television screen. The exhibit is titled "Experience cloud data storage" and has the caption "Take a virtual tour and explore how data centers operate and power the cloud."

The screen has a model of a data center and the text "Welcome to the Data Center Community"
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 05/06/2026
I'm in Cape Town for the International Communication Association annual conference and I was going to write "he/they" on this little nametag ribbon but couldn't find a sharpie so have essentially had this "do not perceive or acknowledge me at all" […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
Conference name tag with a neon green ribbon: "my pronouns are" followed by a blank line
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 03/06/2026
AI has meant a huge increase in Web traffic hitting the Media History Digital Library: largely in the form of scrapers/crawlers, but also as "agents" in new chat apps "look up" information from the live Web. Eric Hoyt talks here about more of the specific details here, but the gist is that […]
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 03/06/2026
It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for dropping the gas price to five dollars a gallon. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the gas price was to be RAISED to five dollars a gallon.
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 03/06/2026
Sometimes I get a really on-the-nose reminder that Richmond really is in the South and requires these types of prominent reminders. USA! USA! USA! 🫠
Large yellow banner in an airport stating NO FIREARMS IN CARRY-ONS
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 25/05/2026
Madison, WI - The Run Madtown marathon/half marathon (runmadtown.com) along with their service vendor Lakeshore Athletics Service (www.lakeshoreathleticservices.com) believe that their convenience is more important than disabled […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
Large truck labelled Lakeshore Athletics Service parked laterally  across several parking spaces Multiple trucks parked laterally across multiple parking spaces. To the right there is a parking sign indicating the spaces are reserved for disabled parking
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 24/05/2026
Alternatively, this is why Trump didn't go to his son's wedding: he already had something else planned that day abcnews.com/US/white-house-lawn-cle…
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 24/05/2026
It's been nearly 10 years since Harambe was shot and killed by a worker at the Cincinnati Zoo. How poetic would it be for our decade-long curse to be lifted by The News finally breaking that day -- you know, the obituary that will be on the front page of newspapers everywhere
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 12/05/2026
Remember kids, crime doesn't pay. Except for all the times that it does pay... www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-in… #academicChatter #academicMastodon #canvas #shinyHunters
insidehighered.com
Instructure Pays Ransom to Canvas Hackers
Although the monetary value of the deal is unknown, Instructure says the cybercriminals have returned the hacked personal data and offered assurance “that no Instructure customers will be extorted as a result of this incident.”
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 08/05/2026
I'm tired, boss Trump administration cut funding to study hantavirus, the virus behind deadly cruise ship outbreak | Scientific American www.scientificamerican.com/article/…
scientificamerican.com
Trump administration cut funding to study hantavirus, the virus behind deadly cruise ship outbreak
The Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases were designed to study viruses that could jump from animals to people, including hantavirus, but in 2025 the National Institutes of Health said the work wouldn’t continue
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 07/05/2026
Canvas, which is used by a huge number of US colleges and universities, has been targeted by a cyberattack -- I've been doing work on the "platformization" and neoliberalization of higher education. I'm really interested in how institutions that are […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
Similar to other colleges and universities across the nation, Canvas is down and unavailable at Virginia Tech. The Division of Information Technology and Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies are working with the vendor, Instructure, to identify and resolve the problem.
Canvas is currently inaccessible and users are encountering a malicious message on login.  Technologists and Cybersecurity are aware.  We will provide updates as soon as possible OIT is aware of reports of a cybersecurity incident involving Instructure, the vendor that provides the Canvas Learning Management System to Duke and many other institutions.Canvas is currently unavailable for the UO and many other institutions. Visitors to the site are receiving an unexpected maintenance message. The vendor behind Canvas, Instructure, is investigating
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 07/05/2026
Ah, yes, "scheduled." I don't think that word means what you think it means... #academicMastodon #academicChatter
Graphic: robots repairing a spaceship.

Text: Canvas is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance. Check back soon.
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Low Quality Facts @lowqualityfacts.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/05/2026
I know that Stephen Miller gets a lot of hate on here, but hear me out. I think we could hate him more. We have the capacity, we all just need to put in a little more effort.
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 26/04/2026
There was a mass shooting this morning at Indiana University that has left nine injured. The Indiana Daily Student has been facing pressure by Republicans and school administrators to shut down the print edition all year. Why isn't Donald Trump or legacy media corps reporting about this huh?
idsnews.com
LIVE UPDATES: At least 5 wounded by bullets, fragments during Kirkwood shooting, no suspects in custody
A press conference is scheduled for 1 p.m. at City Hall.
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 27/04/2026
I'm quoted in this recent Fast Company article about Bluesky and its waning user base. I wasn't quite as articulate as I would have liked to be, but my main point is this: the online spaces that are good for corporations are generally *not* good for people. Corporate social media does not have […]
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 27/04/2026
More misadventures in #selfHosting Disk which has the database for my mastodon server died a little while ago. I was fortunately able to swap in a different HDD, pictured here in a sketchy USB-SATA adapter.
Numerous IO errors in white text on black backgroundA hard drive with a bare SATA to USB adapter placed precariously on the edge of a desk
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 13/03/2026
"Yes, the planet got destroyed. But for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot of value for shareholders."
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Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 26/04/2026
The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a multi billion dollar ballroom
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