Sign in

Stewart V. Wright

@svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy
7 followers 1 following 63 posts

Opinions are my own, but they should be yours. Yes, I have a PhD. No, I'm not the Dr Wright who claimed to have invented Bitcoin. #emacs #lisp #RealEstate #ai #ml […] [bridged from fosstodon.org/@svw on the fediverse by fed.brid.gy ]

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Stewart V. Wright
Low Quality Facts @lowqualityfacts.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/05/2026
That's so interesting.
The TV remote was
invented in 1893, and
was considered to be a
useless device until 1927
when the television was
invented.
018
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 19/09/2026
"#Autism is genetic – and why this information matters now" www.autism.org.uk/blog/autism-is-ge… "Today, the National Autistic Society is stating definitively for the first time that autism is genetic. You're born autistic and you're autistic […]
fosstodon.org
Original post on fosstodon.org
010
Reposted by Stewart V. Wright
Omar Antolín @oantolin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 19/09/2026
Now entering the age of the secrecy. 🙁
Tweet by Jeffrey Shallit that says:

A new risk for mathematicians: a colleague reports that immediately after they posted an abstract of their upcoming talk online, a
student elsewhere used Al to derive proofs of the stated results and then posted it on the arxiv.

My colleague hadn't posted to arxiv yet.
116
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2026
It's an #Emacs kinda day. Searching for a change in #git history using #GitHub? Painful, slow and wrong. Using #magit? Easy, insanely fast AND correct. C-x g l -G <term> ENTER L Transient popups mean you don't even need to remember anything.
021
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2026
#Claude Sonnet has a sense of humour. This is about a test it just wrote for me: Note: the "--missing-dates" test uses 2999 date range as a cheap proxy rather than mocking `current-time`; fine for now, but will silently need updating if you're still running this code in the 30th century. This […]
fosstodon.org
Original post on fosstodon.org
003
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 15/09/2026
O frabjous day! A whole pile of new books to read. Catching up with a few of Donna Leon's #CommissarioBrunetti. A pile of Greg Bear's books from #HumbleBundle. AND a couple of #pirateaba's recent #WanderingInn series.
010
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 11/09/2026
The Simple Sabotage Field Manual is the Dilbert replacement we need. @simple_sabotage I'm sure I've worked with people who thought it was their daily instructions.
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2026
Hey @bitwarden - fancy making your cookie consent banner a bit more user friendly? 🤦🏻‍♂️ #CookieBanners #A11y
​A website cookie consent banner displaying a notice about cookies and privacy policy. A prominent, solid blue button labeled "Accept All" sits at the top. Beneath it are two outlined white buttons with extremely low color contrast—labeled "Customize Settings" and "Reject All"—containing faint text that is barely legible against the white background.
002
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2026
Wow. 🤯 Painless #git cherry-pick and rebase. #Magit in #Emacs is my superpower. 🦸🏻‍♂️ Thank you @tarsius and other contributors!
000
Reposted by Stewart V. Wright
daniel:// stenberg:// @bagder.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/08/2026
I've talked to several new #curl customers over the last few weeks who want back-ported security fixes for their older curl releases. To get them secured without having to do a full version upgrade. Stay tuned for multiple patch releases coming soon for older curl version branches. Shipped […]
mastodon.social
Original post on mastodon.social
1912
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026
#Sabotage and #AI "Among the potential citizen-saboteurs who are to engage in physical destruction, two extreme types may be distinguished. On the one hand, there is the man who is not technically trained and employed. This man needs specific suggestions as to what he can and should destroy as […]
fosstodon.org
Original post on fosstodon.org
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 16/08/2026
This is the almost exact mirror of why I started using #Emacs over #vi. The reasons I *keep* using it are legion.
Paul Graham @paulg@bird.makeup 14h
Since several people asked why I don't use emacs, here's why:
[Quoted post]
Paul Graham @paulg@bird.makeup 5y
The reason I use vi instead of emacs is because when I got to grad school and tried to save a file on a Sun workstation, it froze the screen instead. It took me a couple days to find out what keys they'd remapped the save command to. In the meantime I started using vi.
121
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 10/08/2026
Did you see Typhoon Dolphin has hit China? Is that like a Sharknado, but squeakier?
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 07/08/2026
Yet another example of how ridiculously dangerous #Australia is: the paralysis tick. 🇦🇺
000
Reposted by Stewart V. Wright
Moriel 🏳️‍⚧️ @moriel.chaosfem.tw.ap.brid.gy · 28/07/2026
This image is all black.  It simulates for sighted people what visually impaired people experience when there is no alt text.  Thank you for reading this alt text.
010
Reposted by Stewart V. Wright
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 25/07/2026
I want your opinions! I'm going to work on a 1-day tech hackathon for an online financial institution - and I want to work on something related to #accessibility. So if you are #autistic, #AuDHD, #neurodivergent, #blind, #deaf, have #LearningDifficulties or #LearningDisabilities, or are a […]
fosstodon.org
Original post on fosstodon.org
013
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 26/07/2026
WTF HuggingFace? "We want to give developers agency over their source code by letting them decide whether or not it should be used to develop and evaluate machine learning models." Opt *OUT* ‽‽‽ Um, no. Read my licence or pay my fee. From […]
fosstodon.org
Original post on fosstodon.org
022
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 25/07/2026
#Anthropic researcher seems to think that spreadsheets and slide decks from consultants are superhuman-level. 🤣🤣🤣 So their #SpicyAutocomplete can replicate another spicy autocomplete. I'm so very impressed. "Just over 6 months later, Opus 5 now produces near-superhuman level spreadsheets and […]
fosstodon.org
Original post on fosstodon.org
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 25/07/2026
I want your opinions! I'm going to work on a 1-day tech hackathon for an online financial institution - and I want to work on something related to #accessibility. So if you are #autistic, #AuDHD, #neurodivergent, #blind, #deaf, have #LearningDifficulties or #LearningDisabilities, or are a […]
fosstodon.org
Original post on fosstodon.org
013
Reposted by Stewart V. Wright
Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
I've added five new original drawings to the Art for Sale section of my website. www.tomgauld.com/art-for-sale
324952
Reposted by Stewart V. Wright
LillyLyle/Count Melancholia @lillyherself.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/07/2026
100% true.
screenshot:
sidereal @sidereal@kolektiva.social

I just realised that I've been using adblock
so consistently, for so long, that | have basically no idea what the average person's experience of the internet is like.

Every now and then | use someone else's device that isn't so locked down. And I'm floored by how useless and annoying the internet is. IDK how people do this.
161363541
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 17/07/2026
I know the use of a #LLM is a divisive topic, but the utter crap and ignorance of the hype-mongers is so annoying. Here's a link to a post about a model solving a stats problem: bird.makeup/users/8teapi/statuses/2… "yet another result using combinatorial innovation […]
fosstodon.org
Original post on fosstodon.org
010
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 14/07/2026
With #IBM's share price collapse I propose a rebrand: AIBM I'll take cash for the idea, not equity thanks.
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 06/07/2026
How can you not love @gutenberg_org when you see their support for #accessibility when you read this thread? mastodon.social/@gutenberg_org/1168… It doesn't directly impact me, but damn we need more of this!
mastodon.social
Project Gutenberg (@gutenberg_org@mastodon.social)
@dandylover1@someplace.social Can I ask you one more favor? Since we are seeking ADA II accreditation, a question has arisen regarding the use of straight and curly quotes. I have selected two examples to provide practical examples in this regard. We would appreciate it if you could provide us with feedback so that we can clarify this question. Straight quotes: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3011/pg3011-images.html Curly quotes: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/78702/pg78702-images.html Thank you once again for your invaluable help!
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 29/06/2026
Any ideas how can I get #notmuch to add/include the text of attachments, like PDF or DOCX, to my index? I'm not looking for a mail delivery filter, this is for archived, existing messages. There's a suggestion to use the 'pre-new' hook and I guess pandoc, but I can't quite work out how to fake […]
fosstodon.org
Original post on fosstodon.org
100
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 13/06/2026
Tempted to just block everything from mastodon.social I'm sure there are exceptions, but wow, what a waste of electrons.
000
Reposted by Stewart V. Wright
a kilo of saucepans (rakslice) @rakslice.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/06/2026
lol, did nobody tell this nyt critter what business they were in before all this ai stuff came along www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/technolo…
107
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 06/05/2026
Do we think that Microslop is outsourcing app icon design to AI? Or is Engage just meant to be Enrage?
A grid of five mobile app icons on a pale pink background. The bottom left icon, labelled Viva Engage, is a vibrant red circle with a black, wide-grinning emoji face in the centre. The other icons include OfficeMaps, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Authenticator, and Company Portal, all featuring blue and purple professional designs.
100
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 05/05/2026
I love #AI tools (not): #Gemini: Updating the podman machine to 5.8.2 via the rm/init method is the cleanest path to a permanent fix. #Copilot: No. Upgrading your Podman machine to 5.8.2 does not fix this issue. #Claude: Will Podman 5.8.2 fix it? I can't say with confidence. Me: 😭😭😭
011
Reposted by Stewart V. Wright
Flipboard Science Desk @sciencedesk.flipboard.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/03/2026
In a study of two million people with breast cancer, those who used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) had a substantially increased risk of dying over a five-year span compared to people undergoing mainstream treatment (surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and endocrine […]
flipboard.social
Original post on flipboard.social
008
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 13/03/2026
TIL that #Tusky has translation functionality built in. How did I miss that? 🤦‍♂️
001
Reposted by Stewart V. Wright
Cassandrich @dalias.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 26/02/2026
PSA: The Amazon wishlist doxing threat is much greater and more immediate than folks might realize. Attack works like this: Stalker who wants your address opens an Amazon seller account and lists themselves as a third party seller for any item on your public wishlist. Then, they order the item […]
hachyderm.io
Original post on hachyderm.io
834225
Reposted by Stewart V. Wright
kravietz 🦇 @kravietz.agora.echelon.pl.ap.brid.gy · 20/02/2026
Interesting case from #CERN where #Russia team leaving the project sabotaged continued operations of the module they delivered by refusing to supply documentation on its operations, thus threatening continuity of the project: > When CERN definitively ended its cooperation with Russia, engineers […]
agora.echelon.pl
Original post on agora.echelon.pl
4031
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 20/02/2026
I love how the Fediverse REGULARLY throws up unexpected, unplanned, but oh so interesting connections. Without the boost from @europlus I might never have seen @overholt's post on medieval manuscripts with one being a model book for illuminators to copy! […]
fosstodon.org
Original post on fosstodon.org
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 19/02/2026
What I love about the @gutenberg_org posts is that they give *context* rather than just links. Show you care for the person (or void) you send a message to why *you* think it's interesting. Seriously, stop being lazy and expecting someone to spend their time to discover what you found relevant […]
fosstodon.org
Original post on fosstodon.org
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 18/02/2026
Sometimes life tells you you should have taken the other path. ...says person with a PhD 🤣
Image of a Cottees brand chocolate topping for ice-cream with "Thick n Rich" emphasised


An aside from the poster: To the screen reader community - I love that you can participate with us.
000
Reposted by Stewart V. Wright
Christian Tietze @ctietze.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/02/2026
@sacha I have a Sunday treat for you, maybe:
010
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 03/02/2026
#Anki ownership transferred to AnkiHub forums.ankiweb.net/t/ankis-growing-… (From Hacker News) I've just put the hashtag on for better visibility
forums.ankiweb.net
Anki ownership transferred to AnkiHub
Comments
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 30/01/2026
A discussion on why RSS readers look like email clients and the guilt associated by @tg ... www.terrygodier.com/phantom-obligat… This would have to be one of the most beautifully and relevantly designed pages I've seen, perhaps ever.
terrygodier.com
Phantom Obligation
Why RSS readers look like email clients, and what that's doing to us.
010
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 27/01/2026
@Tusky Can we have more helpful error messages than "An error occurred"? 🙏
A part of a screenshot with a white background. 

The text reads "An error occurred." and there is text "Retry" which appears to be a link
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 26/01/2026
@greg How's your experience with #Ty in #Eglot going? #emacs #python
001
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 16/01/2026
Who thought the recent changes to #Firefox on #android were a good idea? 😭 Did they even try to use it before release? 🤬
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 05/01/2026
GPT-5 is awesome. I asked it to generate 10 questions based on some files I gave it. It generated 7. Then it asked me if I wanted it to "Add 4 more questions to make 10". 🤦‍♂️ #AISlop
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 31/12/2025
Bloody #Dyson "It is a known (and frustrating) issue with Dyson purifiers and heaters: their internal Wi-Fi chips often struggle with certain special characters in home network passwords, including the $ (dollar sign), !, and #." 🤬
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 16/12/2025
I was today years old when I discovered #git worktrees. 🤯 Naturally, #Emacs' fantastic #magit handles them perfectly. 😍 @tarsius is a 🌠 huonw.github.io/blog/2025/12/magit-… HT @samebchase for fantastic.earth/@samebchase/1157283…
huonw.github.io
magit-insert-worktrees improves status buffers
When using Emacs' Magit and Git worktrees, adding the magit-insert-worktrees section inserter gives an nice overview of them in the status buffer.
000
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 16/12/2025
Re: fosstodon.org/@Gina/115730905374603… @Gina's posts always make me think she's a travel writer masquerading as someone in tech.
fosstodon.org
Gina (@Gina@fosstodon.org)
Attached: 2 images To have these visitors every morning 🇦🇺❤️
000
Reposted by Stewart V. Wright
memes from outside fedi/atmosphere @nonfedimemes.wetdry.world.ap.brid.gy · 16/11/2025
Rolls to alarm your players:
1d12 - Roll 1d10 and say "oof"
2d12 - Roll 2d6, 1d8, and 3d12
3d12 - Roll 1d6, 4d8, and 1d12
4d12 - Roll 14d20
5d12 - Roll 3d6 and silently shake your head
6d12 - Roll 3d12 and 2d20
7d12 - Roll 1d4, 1d6, and 2d10
8d12 - Roll 7d10
9d12 - Roll 4d10, look alarmed, and then quickly try to cover it up
10d12 - Roll 3d10
11d12 - Roll 1d10 and 2d12
12d12 - Roll 3d20, look at one of your players for a second, and then silently roll another d20

[photo of a 30-sided die] or... just roll this, get up and quietly leave the room for 10 minutes
01114
Stewart V. Wright @svw.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 13/11/2025
My reading of this is the author doesn't care enough about their audience to actually write anything. #AISlop shows you don't care.
I just fired myself from blogging. My new employee?

n8n + Hugging Face

It fetches viral trends ,writes posts, makes thumbnails, and uploads to Blogger.
@n8n_io @huggingface
$399 today only.
Reply interested or visit (link redacted)
030