Jonathan Corbet
Posts
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35Followers
1934
Jonathan Corbet
corbet
Power is back on here. After two days without, one definitely appreciates the luxury of being able to flip on a light.
According to the official numbers, the peak wind gust in my neighborhood was 102mph. Suffice to say I didn't get my bike ride in yesterday... otherwise all seems well at this point, though.
[Now looking harder at vehicle-to-home power solutions.]
According to the official numbers, the peak wind gust in my neighborhood was 102mph. Suffice to say I didn't get my bike ride in yesterday... otherwise all seems well at this point, though.
[Now looking harder at vehicle-to-home power solutions.]
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
Peak gust at the nearby NCAR weather station (which I helped set up nearly 30 years ago!): 88.4 m/h (140km/h). So far.
No power until 10pm tomorrow, or so the utility promises.
At least nobody seems to have set anything on fire. So far.
https://archive.eol.ucar.edu/cgi-bin/weather.cgi?site=fl&period=5-minute&units=english
No power until 10pm tomorrow, or so the utility promises.
At least nobody seems to have set anything on fire. So far.
https://archive.eol.ucar.edu/cgi-bin/weather.cgi?site=fl&period=5-minute&units=english
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
Why NCAR matters. The Joint Aviation Weather Studies (JAWS) project described here is one I worked on quite a bit.
https://www.rmpbs.org/blogs/science-environment/ncar-boulder-microbursts
https://www.rmpbs.org/blogs/science-environment/ncar-boulder-microbursts
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
@dentangle "Lashed to the keyboard" sounds an awful lot like my normal state anyway...
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
So today I learn that the National Weather Service has a "particularly dangerous situation" designation that is more severe than a red flag warning. There has never been one in Colorado -- until now.
I would have rather not learned that.
I would have rather not learned that.
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
Oh boy, fun times in Boulder ... >100mph winds, red-flag warnings, power failures ... for the second time this week. Not the Christmas weather we were hoping for.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/COBOULDER/bulletins/4009a6b
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/COBOULDER/bulletins/4009a6b
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
I worked at NCAR for 18 years; we did a lot of research that benefited a lot of people, and I felt proud to be a part of that institution. The administration's desire to destroy it is certainly in character; we can't have leading-edge science in a country ruled by ignorance, after all. But this one hits close to home. It will take generations to recover from the damage that is being done.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/climate/national-center-for-atmospheric-research-trump.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/climate/national-center-for-atmospheric-research-trump.html
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
I encountered this gathering in Japan; was really tempted to post it as another Maintainers Summit group photo but ... resisted ...
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
So I took some grief yesterday about the "clickbait" headline on the brief Rust news I put up:
https://lwn.net/Articles/1049831/
In person, though, I've gotten far more grief for adding the "(successful)" parenthetical afterward — folks say the original was better.
Oh well, I've learned to be more careful with headlines now.
Next article: Seven Shocking Conclusions from the Linux Plumbers Conference — but #4 will warm your heart.
https://lwn.net/Articles/1049831/
In person, though, I've gotten far more grief for adding the "(successful)" parenthetical afterward — folks say the original was better.
Oh well, I've learned to be more careful with headlines now.
Next article: Seven Shocking Conclusions from the Linux Plumbers Conference — but #4 will warm your heart.
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
For those who are curious about tomorrow's Maintainers Summit session on machine-learning tools, Sasha Levin has put together a good summary of the state of the discussion: https://lwn.net/ml/all/aTYmE53i3FJ_lJH2@laps
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
So it turns out that experiencing a middle-of-the-night earthquake on the 23rd floor of a Tokyo hotel is not conducive to a good night's sleep. Who knew?
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Jonathan Corbet
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Kernel Recipes
KernelRecipes@fosstodon.orgHeya, Heya!
Before the presents land under the Christmas tree, we’re super happy and honored to reveal the name of our godfather for the 2026 edition: @corbet.
Huge thanks to him for giving us a bit of his time — we know how precious it is.
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
@bjst I too miss Rockbox - that was a great project. If somebody were looking for a similar project today, how about replacement firmware for the humble television with a better interface and no surveillance?
RE: https://mastodon.social/@bjst/115644471160611216
RE: https://mastodon.social/@bjst/115644471160611216
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
In 2017 Randall Munroe posted a strip called "Seven Years" about being the caregiver for a loved one dealing with cancer:
https://xkcd.com/1928/
That strip literally made me cry, it was such a clear telling of what that experience is like; much of it could have been about my own life.
Except that my own experience had a different ending.
Today he put out "Fifteen Years":
https://xkcd.com/3172/
This one made me want to cheer. What a joy to see a story that has played out so differently, so much better. I have never crossed paths with Mr. Munroe, but I rejoice in his and his family's good fortune as if he were a good friend.
Here's to many more years.
https://xkcd.com/1928/
That strip literally made me cry, it was such a clear telling of what that experience is like; much of it could have been about my own life.
Except that my own experience had a different ending.
Today he put out "Fifteen Years":
https://xkcd.com/3172/
This one made me want to cheer. What a joy to see a story that has played out so differently, so much better. I have never crossed paths with Mr. Munroe, but I rejoice in his and his family's good fortune as if he were a good friend.
Here's to many more years.
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🏳️🌈🖖🏽
Jonathan Corbet
corbet
EFF is asking for US folks to file comments on a proposed rules change that would make killing bad patents much harder.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/11/patent-office-about-make-bad-patents-untouchable
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/11/patent-office-about-make-bad-patents-untouchable
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
The company that provides LWN's health insurance just sent me a helpful thing about how a very small number of employees, those with expensive chronic conditions, drive the bulk of insurance claim costs.
We are far too small to have such a plan, but bigger companies pay their claim costs. As these companies lay people off, surely they wouldn't target the few employees that, we are being told, are the reason their health-insurance costs are going through the ceiling. The ones who most need the insurance they would stand to lose.
Right?
https://www.anthem.com/employer/the-benefits-guide/the-high-cost-reality-what-2024-trends-mean-for-self-funded-employers
We are far too small to have such a plan, but bigger companies pay their claim costs. As these companies lay people off, surely they wouldn't target the few employees that, we are being told, are the reason their health-insurance costs are going through the ceiling. The ones who most need the insurance they would stand to lose.
Right?
https://www.anthem.com/employer/the-benefits-guide/the-high-cost-reality-what-2024-trends-mean-for-self-funded-employers
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Jonathan Corbet
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Prof. Sam Lawler
sundogplanets@mastodon.socialIt's becoming increasingly clear to me that Reflect Orbital's fucking stupid giant mirror satellite, with absolutely NOTHING useful to offer, which will cause countless safety issues, ecological disasters, and destroy the night sky, is going to launch.
A bunch of astronomers and I have sent out a fact sheet about them to a bunch of journalists, but very few are going to write about this. So, let me try posting it all here.
Here's what I know about Reflect Orbital and all the downsides:
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Python Software Foundation
ThePSF@fosstodon.orgHere we are again: stunned, floored, full of hope, because of you–each of you wonderful humans in the #Python community. Since we shared the news about our withdrawal from the NSF grant opportunity two weeks ago, we have received over $160,000 in donations across nearly 2000 donors, which includes 313 new Members–WOW!
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
Ah ... a federal guarantee for AI financing ... somehow I thought this was all such a sure thing that they couldn't possibly need the government to bail them out?
https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/if-you-thought-the-2008-bank-bailout
https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/if-you-thought-the-2008-bank-bailout
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