Nelson Minar

@gnomon I don't think OSM does any fictional worlds. You could use the same tools and data formats to make something but that'd be a lot of work.

@bondolo lol same! we only wore one. The cruise encouraged an elevated standard of dress so we did our best.

Home from our lovely trip. Here's a collection of my postcard posts in a nice web viewer.

I'm thinking of turning this Mastodon → web page script I use into a product others can use too. I really like the result.

I am so regularly pleased with how good Gemini's AI research is that it's worth reflecting when it goes spectacularly wrong. These systems are still prone to hallucinating complete bullshit, convicingly.

In theory before passport check is a restricted zone and you are allowed to use your phone to pass the passport check but nothing else. This is part of a System of Control, the entire function of it is to establish the state's power over you

Shout out to the border control guy at SFO impotently berating passengers for looking at their phones while waiting in the artificially long line.

Headed home today. Setting up the Mobile Passport Control app since Global Entry is currently not operating. The MPC app is remarkably good! Clear instructions, easy usability, it's very nice. It basically just collects your immigration info and customs declarations, replaces a paper form, but […]

Google Workspace is not forwarding my private domain email reliably to Gmail: I think they're screwing up the ARC and stuff gets dropped as spam. Have you used either of these two alternatives?

1. Use Cloudflare or ForwardEmail to be MX for my domain and deliver to Gmail. Do they get ARC […]

@mathowie @waldoj I like plastic cuz it can go in the dishwasher

I am sorry to say that having loud video speaker calls on phones in restaurants is now a European vice. It is awful.

@livcomp paternity is so unevenly distributed I'm not surprised it's not 50/50. Always these stories always make some joke about romance. The reality is probably much grimmer.

Once again astonished at how useful LLMs are as a tourist. My impromptu walk in Genoa today was like having a tour guide with me giving me impossibly detailed information on every piazza, church, and snack shop exactly on my route. (I'm using Gemini 3 Pro these days, but ChatGPT is good at this […]

@david don't read Nazi social media

@art "🤘"... going straight to the shocker? isn't that moving a bit fast?

@gnomon how are you liking Gas?

Snow at the Munich airport

Ken at Babette

My ravioli. Also some crispy-fried risotto.

My wardrobe laid out for packing

Successful first day. Flight issues thanks to snow in Munich but we got to Rome in plenty of time to enjoy a lovely dinner at Babette. Highlight was the ravioli with mozzarella and a little anchovy inside in a yummy butter sauce.

A map of our cruise itinerary showing various ports of call

Hallo from München! Ken and I are on our way to Rome for a few days, then a cruise around the northern Mediterranean, then to Madrid. I'll be posting photos and postcard thoughts to this thread.

@mathowie I don't think so. But I stopped making Donner party jokes after reading it.

screenshot

Now that it's launched it's telling me to update. So I click the notification and see

* a badly formatted text window
* incorrect information on the latest release version
* "automatic download is not available"

I tried to open a Word document in LibreOffice. I've now spent 5 minutes waiting for it to update itself. The updater regularly flashes new windows on the screen, fake progress bars, occasionally opens a web page. All interrupting me the whole time.

I just want to see a single page of text.

The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Do… In April of 1846, twenty-one-year-old Sarah Graves, int…

@mathowie you should read this book. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6033525-the-indifferent-stars-above

Watching an 8-minute Olympics edit of just all the gold medal runs. And you know this is really all I need.

@timbray I can't read Yegge but I had Gemini read it for me.

> Steve Yegge argues that while advanced AI tools like Claude Code provide a massive productivity boost, they act as "energy vampires" that cause rapid developer burnout through extreme mental exhaustion.

@spara that looks delicious! what kind of chicharron is that? I know the word means different kinds of food and I am never quite sure how it works.

OH, from a very senior software engineer friend of mine

> if AI is a meteor, we're all dinosaurs.

About Yuba Water Agency Hydropower | Yuba Water Agency, CA Yuba Water Agency’s hydropower facilities provide important electric grid stabilization in Northern California.

I am wrong! The New Colgate Powerhouse is independent, owned and run by the Yuba Water Agency. So the pipe failure is not PG&E's responsibility. PG&E's grid didn't respond very well but maybe there's water damage in the area that complicated things.

Significant Mountain Snow and Major Travel Impacts with Foothill Snow Early Next Week ## No paywall, just an ask Local news provides trustworthy information about what’s happening in your community. One-time Monthly Annually One-time $75 $150 $365 Other Donation amount $ Monthly $10 $20 $30 Other Donation amount per month $ Annually $75 $150 $365 Other Donation amount per year $ Your contribution is appreciated. Yes, I’ll pitch in. The Colgate Powerhouse, operated by Yuba Water Agency, has experienced a failure of the penstock pipe carrying water from Bullards Bar Reservoir to the main stem of the Yuba River. This is a developing story, check back for updates. Colgate powerhouse on Feb. 13. Credit Jared White **February 14, 2026 at 6:37 AM** Yuba Water urges people to stay out of the North and Middle Yuba River between New Colgate Powerhouse and Englebright Lake in the coming days due to potentially hazardous debris on the riverbank and in the river. **February 14, 2026 at 6:34 AM** As of 9:15 p.m. last night PG&E has restored power to all customers impacted by the Colgate substation outage who are able to receive service. Due to the complexity of this incident, and the significant damage incurred due to the flood, approximately 400 customers in the Pike community will remain out of service. We are exploring multiple options to get these customers restored safety and as quickly as possible, and crews are working hard to restore service despite incredibly challenging circumstances. We’ve been in touch with Sierra County officials and will update customers on when we expect their power will be restored. **February 13, 2026 at 8:12 PM** PG&E has rerouted power and the remaining 736 customers are expected to be restored between 8:30 pm and 11:30 pm. **February 13, 2026 at 7:41 PM** SYRCL is closely tracking the failure of the penstock and immediate aftereffects at the Colgate Powerhouse on the North Yuba River. We will continue to be in communication with Yuba Water Agency throughout the weekend, tracking environmental impacts including threats to water quality and observed rapid drop in flows below Englebright. Landslides are natural events, however videos from Rices Crossing suggest that the volume of debris from the powerhouse itself may indicate water quality issues. With the coming storms, flow management and further damage present additional near-term challenges. We will be tracking storm impacts, remaining focused on the health of the river and the safety of people and wildlife in the watershed. **February 13, 2026 at 7:07 PM** PG&E update: As of 6:15 pm, we have restored power to approximately 7,000 of the 15,000 customers impacted by an outage at the PG&E Colgate substation. The outage was caused by the failure of a non-PG&E water pipe that flooded the substation. We currently expect to restore power to nearly all customers by around 11 pm tonight, some earlier. We will continue to keep customers and media informed of important updates. **February 13, 2026 at 6:28 PM** Yuba Water Agency update: Yuba Water Agency is responding to a major incident that occurred just before 3 p.m. today, Feb. 13 at its New Colgate Powerhouse in Yuba County on the North and Middle Yuba River. All Yuba Water Agency staff and contractors in the incident area have been accounted for at this time and there is no threat of downstream flooding. The public is urged to avoid the area while emergency responders continue to secure the site. There was a brief pulse in flows on the Yuba River between New Colgate Powerhouse and Englebright Reservoir downstream and the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office is actively canvasing the Yuba River for any potential impacts. **February 13, 2026 at 6:18 PM** CAL FIRE NEU update: The unaccounted for individual was rescued by a CAL FIRE helicopter and transported to a local hospital. All personnel are now accounted for. * * * Be the first to know, sign up for our newsletter, absolutely free of course. Sign Up **February 13, 2026 at 6:00 PM** CAL FIRE NEU update: The Colgate Incident Commander reports they are searching for one individual unaccounted for with drones, helicopter and the CAL FIRE Technical Rescue Team below the Colgate Powerhouse following a pipe break. CAL FIRE Nevada Yuba Placer Unit is in unified command with the Yuba County Sheriff and Dobbins Fire Department responding to the Colgate incident. The CAL FIRE/Placer County Fire Department Technical Rescue Team has been requested downstream of the Colgate Powerhouse following a pipe break. The powerhouse is located on Lake Francis Road in Dobbins, Yuba County. Colgate penstock break. Photo courtesy CAL FIRE NEU **February 13, 2026 at 5:46 PM** Yuba Water Agency update: Yuba Water Agency and local emergency responders are on site at our New Colgate Powerhouse responding to a serious incident at our penstock pipe, which moves water from New Bullards Bar Dam to our powerhouse on the Yuba River. The penstock has been isolated and there is no threat of flooding downstream. Please continue to avoid the area. **February 13, 2026 at 5:36 PM** Reader Andy Wright was fly fishing at Rice’s Crossing (downstream from the Colgate Powerhouse this afternoon. He shared the following: “Approximately 3:10pm I heard the water rising quickly, maybe two feet. I decided to pack up quickly and move to higher ground. Suddenly there was debris flow, and the water turned muddy. Next thing, there were hundreds of objects floating down the river, including 55 gal drums, crates of all types, and even a large ice machine. The water stunk and fish were dying on the shore. There was a sheen of oil on the water. It was incredibly sad to see a beautiful wild stretch of river become an environmental disaster inside of half an hour.” The footage was taken between 3:10pm and 4:06pm. ****February 13, 2026 at 4:56 PM**** Update from PG&E: At about 3 p.m. on Feb. 13, more than 15,000 PG&E customers lost power after the failure of a non-PG&E penstock – a steeply angled water pipe that provides water to a powerhouse. The failure caused flooding of PG&E’s Colgate switching station south of Dobbins in Yuba County. Customers affected are in Nevada, Yuba, Sierra and Butte counties. Our crews are working to assess the situation and redirect power and have started restoring power to customers. We continue to evaluate the situation so we can restore more customers. **February 13, 2026 at 4:26 PM** Units are securing the area and making sure all personnel are accounted for. **February 13, 2026 at 4:02 PM** Unconfirmed report the burst pipe has a 26ft diameter. That would correspond to the tunnel from Bullards to the penstock pipe. **February 13, 2026 at 3:53 PM** Helicopter is inbound to the Colgate incident. There are reports of smoke coming from the powerhouse. No flames visible. Additional swift water rescue teams are inbound. **February 13, 2026 at 3:44 PM** There is no reported flooding danger for the area below Bullards. **February 13, 2026 at 3:33 PM** The gate at Bullards has been shut off, Yuba Water will attempt to shut off the valve above the busted pipe. **February 13, 2026 at 3:29 PM** Command post is being established at Lake Francis dam for the Colgate incident. **February 13, 2026 at 3:19 PM** Numerous resources dispatched to the Colgate Powerhouse incident. **February 13, 2026 at 3:16 PM** There are 4,045 customers affected by various large outages in Nevada County, 2,147 in Yuba County and 1,314 in Sierra County. **February 13, 2026 at 3:12 PM** A burst pipe in the Colgate Powerhouse in the Dobbins area flooding the structure. Numerous units dispatched, possible entrapment. Also 923 customers out of power, unknown if related. ## More Regional News ### Significant Mountain Snow and Major Travel Impacts with Foothill Snow Early Next Week ### Traffic Alert: Coldest Storm of the Season Expected to Impact Holiday Travel ### Bob Branstrom announces run for Grass Valley City Council in November Load more posts Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

The cause of my outage appears to be a hydroelectric failure. PG&E's penstock failed sending a huge flood down the river and stopping the generation at the Colgate Powerhouse. Yet more PG&E infrastructure maintenance failure. At least this time they didn't kill anyone.

screenshot of outage map

PG&E getting ready for the coming winter storm by flaking out our power two days early. This happens once a month here. We pay 4x for electricity what the rest of the US pays and we don't even have reliable power.

@simon The Singularity is upon us.

RE: https://tech.lgbt/@somebitslinks/116058348297956373

I was suspicious of the etymology of *molly-guard( because it only dates to 1982, and the devices are much older. But Ed Krol from UIUC tells the story about his daughter Molly on page 14 of this PDF.

> The only thing about it was that on […]