Today's Large Language Models are Essentially BS Machines
LLMs have no way to determine whether the responses they generate are factually correct or make logical sense.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted September 07, 2023 in Blog (Last Updated September 07, 2023)
Proposed Debate With Antivaxxer Just a Shameless Bid for Content
Joe Rogan wants a real scientist to debate an antivax grifter. He doesn't care about the truth, he just knows it would attract the audience he needs.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted June 20, 2023 in Blog (Last Updated June 20, 2023)
We Deserve to Know Why Hamilton LRT is So Delayed
I would really love to understand exactly what Metrolinx has been up to for the past two years.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted June 07, 2023 in Blog (Last Updated June 07, 2023)
We Still Don't Know the Origin of COVID-19
The lab leak hypothesis received a boost this week, but the question remains unresolved.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted March 03, 2023 in Blog (Last Updated March 03, 2023)
The Scott Adams Fiasco is a Microcosm of the Right-Wing Media Ecosystem as a Whole
The entire right-wing media ecosystem exists to manufacture, inflate, recirculate and normalize hateful right-wing propaganda until it seeps into the mainstream discourse and shapes public opinion and political outcomes.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted February 28, 2023 in Blog (Last Updated February 28, 2023)
Moral Panic Against 15-Minute Cities is More Fossil Fuel Propaganda
All of these policy absurdities make sense when you understand that the movement is funded and financed by fossil fuel interests.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted February 10, 2023 in Blog (Last Updated February 10, 2023)
Doug Ford's Cute Health Care Privatization Game
The Ontario goverment has manufactured a crisis in health care and their solution will further enrich their well-connected friends.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted January 18, 2023 in Blog (Last Updated January 18, 2023)
Conservatives Want to Preserve Some Traditions
Conservatives favour traditions that maintain inequity and oppose traditions that reduce inequity.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted November 22, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated November 22, 2022)
Hospitals are Overflowing with Sick Children and We Still Won't Mask
I'm just not emotionally prepared for the knowledge that we live in a society in which our leaders and huge numbers of fellow citizens simply refuse to take even the most minimal steps to protect children from harm.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted November 17, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated November 17, 2022)
No Penalty for Incitements to Violence
Right-wing politicians have a perverse incentive to continue engaging in reckless incitements to political violence.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted October 31, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated October 31, 2022)
The Grift Paradox
When the victims of right-wing populists get grifted, their response is to become even more devout
By Ryan McGreal
Posted October 28, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated October 28, 2022)
Canadians Are Ignoring the Rising Threat of Fascism
Canada's fascist movement is well-funded, growing steadily and encroaching into mainstream politics and media.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted September 07, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated September 07, 2022)
The J6 Committee and Conspiracy Theories vs Real Conspiracies
Real conspiracies that succeed don’t succeed because they maintain absolute secrecy, they succeed because they seize control of the apparatus of power and the narrative in such a way that knowing about the conspiracy has no power to stop it.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted June 29, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated June 29, 2022)
Expect Poilievre to Attack Judicial Independence
Poilievre studied carefully at the knee of his political master, Stephen Harper, and he is determined to be even more extreme in his assault on Canada’s civic institutions.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted June 24, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated June 24, 2022)
Fossil Fuels and the Threat to Liberal Democracy and Human Civilization
Time is running out for liberal democracy to step up and really deliver on the promise of a more inclusive justice that can defeat right-wing extremism.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted June 13, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated June 13, 2022)
We're Sleepwalking into a Slow-Motion Catastrophe of Disability
It seems unconscionable to me to let thousands or tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people become chronically disabled every year due to a virus that is more or less preventable with good policy.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted March 29, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated March 29, 2022)
Looking Forward to Next-Generation Vaccines
The vaccines were an incredible accomplishment that saved millions of lives. Now we need vaccines that provide next-genertion protection
By Ryan McGreal
Posted March 24, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated March 24, 2022)
The So-Called Pfizer Gotcha is Exactly What You Would Expect
Yes, it turns out to be reckless antivax fearmongering disinformation.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted March 19, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated March 19, 2022)
What 'Learning to Live With COVID' Really Entails
If we're not actually learning from what works, we are just learning to accept preventable suffering, disability and death.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted February 16, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated February 16, 2022)
'Freedom' Convoy Built on Racist Right-Wing Ideology
Right-wing ideology emphasizes a narrow, selfish sense of entitlement and grievance against a bogeyman parade of suspicious groups presented as opposed to 'real' citizens.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted January 27, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated January 27, 2022)
Ford Doesn't Trust Scientific Modeling
Ontario finds itself in the same situation again and again: we don't take prudent steps early on, so we're forced to take extraordinary steps after hospitals are already filling up.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted January 03, 2022 in Blog (Last Updated January 03, 2022)
Modest Antiracist Health Measure Provokes Outrage
'Reverse racism' isn't a thing. Racism is what happens when power leverages prejudice to perpetuate itself.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted April 27, 2021 in Blog (Last Updated April 27, 2021)
The Real Reason Housing is Expensive in Canada
Housing is the most basic job of civilization, but our society is doing a terrible job of housing everyone.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted March 16, 2021 in Blog (Last Updated March 16, 2021)
George Floyd Protests Confronting Intolerable Systemic Anti-Black Racism
When it comes to responding to racism, there has never been a worse time to claim you don’t understand what the protests are about or that you don’t know what to do.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted June 01, 2020 in Blog (Last Updated June 01, 2020)
Five+ Years of Running and Fitness, Part Three: Around the Bay Again
I've signed up for the ATB 2019 30 km race and started my dedicated training long runs in the beginning of January.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted February 01, 2019 in Blog (Last Updated February 01, 2019)
Five+ Years of Running and Fitness, Part Two: Sitter's Knee and HIIT
In June 2017, I joined a fitness centre in order to focus on core-strengthening exercises to improve my running form and avoid knee pain.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted January 31, 2019 in Blog (Last Updated January 31, 2019)
Five+ Years of Running and Fitness, Part One: The Sleep Factor
Insufficient sleep sabotages all of the benefits of a healthy diet and regular physical activity.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted January 30, 2019 in Blog (Last Updated January 30, 2019)
Ask Attorney General to Defend Rule of Law
Please consider sending an email to Caroline Mulroney, Attorney General of Ontario, calling on her to defend the rule of law against the abuse of the Premier.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted October 13, 2018 in Blog (Last Updated October 13, 2018)
Jordan Peterson Conspiracy Theory Generator
Just a bit of silliness on a Friday morning.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted June 15, 2018 in Blog (Last Updated June 15, 2018)
Unofficial Ontario 2018 Election Riding-By-Riding Summary Table
Summary results by riding and party for the 2018 Ontario Election.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted June 08, 2018 in Blog (Last Updated June 08, 2018)
Ontario Election 2018: Winnable Ridings via Strategic Voting
The PC Party is projected to win Thursday's election. However, with strategic voting, it's still possible to stop this from happening.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted June 05, 2018 in Blog (Last Updated June 05, 2018)
A Fourth Year of Running: The Victory Lap that Wasn't
After completing my first marathon, I found myself caught in the grip of a kind of running ennui that has sapped my enthusiasm.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted November 01, 2017 in Blog (Last Updated November 06, 2017)
It's Past Time to Remove Civic Artifacts Celebrating White Supremacists
Most Confederate artifacts were installed during the long backlash after the Reconstruction era in order for white supremacists to send an unmistakable message to emancipated slaves: we are still in charge.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted August 23, 2017 in Blog (Last Updated August 23, 2017)
My First Marathon, Or: A Supposedly Fun Thing I Won't Do Again Until I've Had Time to Forget How Gruelling it Was
The marathon occupies a sweet spot in human achievement: it is a difficult physical and mental feat that requires months of training, but is accessible to almost anyone who decides they really want it.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted November 07, 2016 in Blog (Last Updated November 25, 2016)
A Third Year of Running, Plus Various Other Experiments
In my third year, I have finally internalized and accepted the lessons of my second year, which has allowed me to return to something akin to the accomplishments of my first.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted July 26, 2016 in Blog (Last Updated July 28, 2016)
What You Need to Know to Start Running
There is so much information out there about running that it can be overwhelming. Here are the basics of what you need to know to get started.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted January 08, 2016 in Blog (Last Updated April 06, 2016)
A Year of Walking
A pedometer made walking into a game: the goal of increasing my count came to overrule my default work-avoidance setting.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted October 23, 2015 in Blog (Last Updated January 20, 2016)
A Second Year of Running, Plus Some Not-Running and Other Stuff
After injury struck, I was forced to take a broader and more sustainable approach to fitness.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted July 28, 2015 in Blog (Last Updated July 30, 2015)
Designing a RESTful Web Application
This blog entry is my attempt to get all the concepts of RESTful web service design straight.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted June 21, 2010 in Blog (Last Updated December 23, 2014)
Hamilton Ward Councillor Election Ward Councillor Summary
For each Hamilton ward, this table calculates the winning candidate's vote as a percent of eligible voters.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted October 29, 2014 in Blog (Last Updated October 29, 2014)
A Year of Running
In summer 2013, I was an obese 39-year-old on the threshold of middle age. Here's an update a year later.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted July 28, 2014 in Blog (Last Updated July 28, 2014)
Some Unexpected Benefits of Running
I started running four months ago. I expected to lose weight and improve my aerobic fitness, but I've also noticed several additional benefits.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted November 27, 2013 in Blog (Last Updated November 27, 2013)
Stand Your Ground or Last Man Standing
The controversial law returns us to a state in which mutual distrust spirals into needless violence.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted July 31, 2013 in Blog (Last Updated July 31, 2013)
Why Bloomberg is Wrong About Terrorism Response
The appropriate way to respond to terrorism is the same as it has always been: through effective, targeted law enforcement measures that do not violate the civil liberties of innocent citizens.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted April 23, 2013 in Blog (Last Updated April 23, 2013)
Adria Richards and the Allocation of Outrage
The tech community whipped itself into a firestorm of outrage when a woman complained about inapproprate behaviour at a a conference, but at best shrugged and at worst said she deserved it when that very firestorm overflowed into a forward panic of abuse and death threats.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted March 28, 2013 in Blog (Last Updated March 28, 2013)
Misogyny in the Tech Industry
Today, I am ashamed to work in an industry in which unconscious misogyny is still the norm.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted March 21, 2013 in Blog (Last Updated March 25, 2013)
On Crimes and Punishments: The Cruel and Unusual Threat against Aaron Swartz
A prosecutor forcing someone to admit guilt by threatening a life-destroying cruel and unusual punishment if they do not admit it - why, that is the very essence of using torture to extract a confession!
By Ryan McGreal
Posted January 18, 2013 in Blog (Last Updated January 18, 2013)
Bill C-38
I sent a letter to the Senate about Bill C-38.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted June 27, 2012 in Blog (Last Updated June 29, 2012)
The Appification of Computing
It appears that the relentless drive to simplicity in user interface has had the-side effect of serving as a disincentive for students to bother learning more about how computers work.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted June 27, 2012 in Blog (Last Updated June 28, 2012)
My Second Baguette
Cooler temperatures and better oven steam action helped produce a better batch of baguettes.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted April 30, 2012 in Blog (Last Updated April 30, 2012)
Services-First: A Better Way to Build a Web Application
When you're building a web application, it's a powerful design heuristic to build a REST web service API, and build your application on top of your service.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted February 02, 2012 in Blog (Last Updated February 02, 2012)
Python String Formatting With Dictionaries
In Python, you can use dictionaries instead of tuples to populate values via classic string formatting.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted January 04, 2012 in Blog (Last Updated January 04, 2012)
CHCH Report on LRT in Hamilton
Light rail transit advocates are reeling at the news that the city of Hamilton is redirecting its resources to all-day GO train service instead. Does this mean that Hamilton's LRT is completely off the rails?
By Ryan McGreal
Posted July 22, 2011 in Blog (Last Updated July 22, 2011)
My First Baguette
After a month of reading about how to make baguettes, I finally took the plunge today.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted July 11, 2011 in Blog (Last Updated July 11, 2011)
Tenn. Passes Controversial Lawnmower Theft Bill
The lawnmowing industry has successfully lobbied the Tennessee State Government to pass a groundbreaking law making it a criminal offence to loan your lawnmower to a neighbour.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted June 02, 2011 in Blog (Last Updated June 02, 2011)
How to Write a Blog Post
Provide value for your readers. Valuable writing is personal, informative, instructional, revelatory, entertaining, and engaging.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted July 26, 2010 in Blog (Last Updated July 26, 2010)
Ubuntu 10.04 First Thoughts
I just upgraded my netbook to Ubuntu 10.04. So far, so good.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted April 30, 2010 in Blog (Last Updated May 01, 2010)
Shared Awareness: A Better Way to Manage Comment Trolls
If we understand what motivates trolls, we can manage their disruptions by removing their incentive to comment.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted April 15, 2010 in Blog (Last Updated April 15, 2010)
CouchDB Working Notes
I've decided to learn CouchDB, and I'm taking notes as I go.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted April 09, 2010 in Blog (Last Updated April 09, 2010)
MPAA and Piracy
The MPAA is lashing out against piracy by punishing its legitimate customers, which will only push more of them to piracy.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted February 26, 2010 in Blog (Last Updated February 26, 2010)
Review: Mark Pilgrim's Dive Into Python 3
If you're an experienced programmer, you want to learn Python 3, and you don't have a lot of time to waste, skip this review and just go straight to the book.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted February 08, 2010 in Blog (Last Updated February 08, 2010)
Top 10 Programming Lessons in 10 Years
Here's my top 10 (plus one bonus) list of programming lessons I've learned over the last ten years.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted January 14, 2010 in Blog (Last Updated January 25, 2010)
The Virtue of Forgiving HTML Parsers
Most of the time, you want code to fail fast if it receives junk data. HTML on the early web is a powerful counterexample.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted January 08, 2010 in Blog (Last Updated January 08, 2010)
Newsfeed Bug: Fixed
Links in the main newsfeed for this site don't work. Update: Fixed
By Ryan McGreal
Posted December 18, 2009 in Blog (Last Updated December 20, 2009)
Confused About CanChild
How can it cost $100,000 a year to host a website?
By Ryan McGreal
Posted December 18, 2009 in Blog (Last Updated December 18, 2009)
Challenging the MLS Monopoly
I propose an Open-Source Listing Service (OSLS) with the express purpose of killing the MLS monopoly and highlighting the earned value of truly competent real estate agents, while preventing under-performing agents from continuing to extract unearned value from their role as gatekeepers.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted November 25, 2009 in Blog (Last Updated November 25, 2009)
Software as a Model for Government
The way software developers approach software may be instructive in helping us to think more constructively about politics and governance.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted October 31, 2009 in Blog (Last Updated November 19, 2009)
Productivity and Procrastination
I wrote this essay as a way of not completing another, more pressing task.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted September 09, 2009 in Blog (Last Updated October 29, 2009)
An Open Letter to Lily Allen
File-sharing is an opportunity, not a problem.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted September 25, 2009 in Blog (Last Updated September 25, 2009)
Installing gtk-gnutella on a clean install of Ubuntu 9.04 in 29 Easy Steps
An object lesson in the difference between developer-oriented Linux distributions and consumer-oriented Linux distributions.
By Ryan McGreal
Posted May 29, 2009 in Blog (Last Updated May 29, 2009)