Alexander (Sasha) Wait Zaranek

646 Followers
1.6K Following
1.3K Posts

#Arvados founder; Harvard Personal Genome Project (PGP) and #Curii co-founder.

Boosts welcome on all posts (unlisted / followers-only included.)

Photo: closeup of me wearing p100 mask which covers most of my face; wearing scarf, glasses are dark, messy red hair and earrings.

Banner: Blue Sea Lake, Quebec, Canada.

#AI #BigData #Genomics #FreeKnowledge #FreedomToTinker #RightToRepair #FOSS #OpenScience #QuantumInformation #Aphantasia #Vegan #Fedi22

Pronounsthey/them
LocationSomerville, MA, USA
ORCID :orcid:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0415-9655

Proprietary firmware let me count ways I *HATE* you! ♥️💔🤣

I don't even want to know latest state of #FOSS firmware. Already know it's abysmal.

Why again does it have to be this way?!?

Screenshot was taken when Ubuntu "Long Term Support", v22.04, decided to update Laptop proprietary firmware during routine OS update (not a version update.)

Yes had option not to update.

Yes I still hate it.

No not grateful my computer seems fine and is not a brick.

#UEFI #coreboot #firmware

Recently, I've been reminded how much I love @Tusky! ♥️🎆🎉

Been donating $10/mo via Open Collective since last year and this is a great time to up that.

My love letter to Tusky wouldn't be complete without this little gem from Reddit. FOSS ideals don't force us to accept free speech absolutism.

Don't like it? Fork or f*ck off. Cf.
* https://github.com/tuskyapp/Tusky/issues/1381

Meanwhile, amount of organized hate deployable by that community is immense.

We get fedi we choose to build!

#FOSS #Tusky #fedi

Unexpected behavior when connecting to instance · Issue #1381 · tuskyapp/Tusky

When attempting to connect to the gab.com instance, the app sends me to YouTube and plays this video. I think the source of the bug is here: Tusky/app/src/main/res/values/donottranslate.xml Line 11...

GitHub

I have aphantasia and learning about this quirk of my brain has been a trip. For first time in my life met another person with aphantasia -- and talked to each other about it -- this year!

One aspect of aphantasia, for me, is a profound disconnection with my past. And photos seem to help me remember.

This photo is from ~1973 Kyiv, Ukraine. Can't help wonder how life might have unfolded, for me, if Mom hadn't taken us out of USSR. So much risk.

#aphantasia #kyiv

Part of my job is scientific and business communication + "networking." So, I persist on birdsite w/ mixed feelings.

In today's Notifications I'm encouraged to Subscribe to elonmusk for $3.99 / month (see screenshots.) 💔🤣

When I post replies to his tweets I'll also get a public "badge." Yay?!

Musk is amusing himself and Twitter may still go bankrupt -- as a tactic to squeeze creditors -- but some oligarch or authoritarian government (via proxy?) will absolutely buy it.

BiTCHiN' DONUTS. 193 Lark Street, Albany, NY

https://www.bitchindonuts.com/

#vegan #AlbanyNY

Bitchin' Donuts

Bitchin' Donuts
Fam. drove to #eriepa for a little vacation. We have trip down and stopped once for donuts + two extra stops for bathrooms / gas. Num num! #roadtrip2023

View from kidlet's window was pretty tonight. ♥️

Don't get to see sunsets much.

I'm including a screenshot. Bird Site seems to be blocking #nitter sites as they become popular. Maybe an automatic block based on API calls?

Busy day today as vacation winds down. More to say later.

Left hotel in sunshine and cold temperatures ~ -20c. GPS and checking NY511 sent us away from our usual route down some back roads adding about an hour to our "normal" route. (Not bad.) 💔♥️❄️

Might have stopped at a new place is Syracuse which turned out to be closed due to broken water main.

Ordered takeout from "Strong Hearts" in Syracuse, NY where we have eaten before at their Buffalo location.

Lots of yummies!

Kidlet took photo of her cupcake.

https://stronghearts315.com/

Strong Hearts Syracuse

Strong Hearts Syracuse

Headed to Erie, PA today from Somerville, MA. Weather forecasts helped us plan a stop in Verona, NY -- where fam has stayed before -- just as roads got icy. ♥️❄️

Hotel is now owned by local casino. Sadly, Turns out 9yos are not allowed to gamble. Our plans are dashed! (This part is sarcasm.)

Kidlet has moved on from #retrogames to videos. Sarah is reading. Brought ton of vegan food so I'm using this chance to eat.

Yay - road-trip! Much better than being stuck at airport.