Robb Aley Allan

@[email protected]
26 Followers
47 Following
91 Posts

Former science/tech writer/reporter for #Newsweek/Popular Computing/#MacWorld/etc. Long-time #Apple developer, database programmer, and incorrigible geek. Now a late-night sys admin and tech investor. (Twitter investor. Yes, really.)

Trustee, NEHGS. Governor, SCWFL. Member, SoC, SR, HODCG, CLOM, SNS.

Fosstodon@robballan
Twitter@robbaleyallan
Webhttps://cognosce.helical.com
Verified Journalisthttps://www.verifiedjournalist.org/people/@[email protected]
Robb Aley AllanMar 22, 2023

RNA base in asteroid samples suggests origins of life on Earth: study

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230322-rna-base-in-asteroid-samples-suggests-origins-of-life-on-earth-study

RNA base in asteroid samples suggests origins of life on Earth: study

The black particles from an asteroid some 300 million kilometres away look unremarkable, like pieces of charcoal, but they hold a component of life itself.

France 24
Robb Aley AllanFeb 10, 2023

Inform Thyself.

Readers of news have a duty, too.

https://open.substack.com/pub/robbaleyallan/p/inform-thyself?r=orwj0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Inform thyself

Bret Stephens wrote an interesting editorial today in the NY Times, calling his colleagues to account for the profession’s biases and sloppy standards. “If the American news media wants to regain trust, we could stand to get off our high horse and be a bit more self-aware about our privileged and often troubling role in society,” he wrote. He’s right, as far as he goes. But he doesn’t go far enough — because he leaves the duty of the reader of news out of the formula.

Cognosce
Robb Aley AllanJan 12, 2023
Steven BeschlossJan 7, 2023
“Every time I look at the 20-odd nihilists in the House chamber, who crave attention and care not one whit about serving the public and real governance, my mind drifts to 2021. Where is the yellow crime tape? Where is justice?”
https://america.substack.com/p/crime-nihilism-and-sad-entertainment?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share
Crime, Nihilism and Sad Entertainment

On this second anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, GOP extremists are reveling in blocking Kevin McCarthy and the functioning of Congress

America, America
Robb Aley AllanDec 17, 2022

The battle of our time isn’t who controls the world today. It’s who controls the future.

https://medium.com/@robballan/whiteness-wokeness-capitalism-and-the-future-of-mankind-b154e0c45d34

Whiteness, wokeness, capitalism, and the future of mankind

Elon Musk’s announcement of his intention to purchase Twitter triggered tremors in the mountains and valleys of California’s liberal culture and workplace technocracy. Initially, it stemmed from fear…

Medium
Robb Aley AllanDec 6, 2022
danah boydDec 5, 2022
I've been thinking a lot about Twitter and failure lately. And the absurdist Gladiator spectacle that we're all watching. I decided to turn it into a blog post: https://zephoria.medium.com/what-if-failure-is-the-plan-2f219ea1cd62
What if failure is the plan? - danah boyd - Medium

I’ve been thinking a lot about failure lately. Failure comes in many forms, but I’m especially interested in situations in which people *perceive* something as failing (or about to fail) and the…

Medium
Robb Aley AllanNov 24, 2022

The #SecondAmendment is an amendment to the Constitution. It can be amended again.

If the #SupremeCourt makes interpretations of the Second Amendment that are out of step with the modern world and perpetuate 18th Century behaviours, don't change the Court. Change the Second Amendment.

Limit #gun ownership. Regulate use. Impose financial liabilities. Restrict open carry, concealed carry, access by children and the ill. Keep citizens safe, and end anti-government theatrics.

Robb Aley AllanNov 24, 2022

While I don’t pretend to be familiar with longtermism in detail, in many ways it sounds like a attempt to create a social/political/technical solution to the famous “Great Filter“ hypothesis, which supposes that the reason we haven’t detected any advanced extrasolar civilizations is that intelligent species self-destruct.

“What “longtermism” gets wrong about climate change - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists”

https://thebulletin.org/2022/11/what-longtermism-gets-wrong-about-climate-change/

What “longtermism” gets wrong about climate change

A new movement and a popular new book argue that climate change is not an existential threat to humans. That’s a dangerous claim.

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Show threadRobb Aley AllanNov 23, 2022
I doubt he's trying to reshape it as a personal megaphone, or for that matter as a #rightwing echo chamber. Rather he appears to seriously believe in an open, free-for-all public space in which everyone can talk and everyone can ignore what they want. My one fear is that expertise and #knowledge gets drowned out by frivolous opinionating and mob attacks when everyone's voice is "leveled".
Robb Aley AllanNov 23, 2022

It's hard to defend the chaos and silliness around #ElonMusk and #Twitter these days, it's also hard to digest the extravagant claims about his motives. I'm a liberal -- and I'm also an investor in the new Twitter. And while I think Musk confuses the public and press with his often sophmoric and glib posts and his tolerance for rightwing celebrities, I doubt he wants to destroy it.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/elon-musk-trump-twitter-account-republican-rcna57861

Elon Musk's revival of Trump's Twitter account shows his political mission

Elon Musk is increasingly aligned with the hard right, and views Twitter as a powerful tool for advancing his interests and his ideology.

MSNBC
Robb Aley AllanNov 21, 2022
Reymond AguinaldoNov 21, 2022

Two views of the galaxy cluster #SMACS0723—#HubbleSpaceTelescope on the left, #JamesWebbSpaceTelescope on the right. #Hubble’s image on the left shows many faint stars and galaxies, but the #Webb image absolutely pops with light, revealing many hidden structures.

Hubble vs Webb: https://webb.nasa.gov/content/about/comparisonWebbVsHubble.html

#SpaceMastodon #Spacedon #Space #Astronomy #Astrodon #ScienceMastodon #Sciencedon #Science #JWST #HST #Galaxies #GalaxyCluster

Comparison: Webb vs Hubble Telescope - Webb/NASA

The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called Webb or JWST) is a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror. Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System.