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"The previously undisclosed board of an ascendant DC think tank pushing Democrats to the center includes a Democratic Party megadonor with a stake in artificial intelligence chip designer Nvidia, which could benefit from the organization’s efforts to defend data center build-outs and limit AI regulation.
The Lever exclusively reports that philanthropist Simone Coxe — whose multibillion-dollar fortune largely comes from her venture capitalist husband’s investments in Nvidia — sits on the board of the Searchlight Institute, a new center-left DC think tank. Nvidia is heavily invested in data center expansion.
Coxe, also the cofounder of and director at California news organization CalMatters and a prolific Democratic donor, is listed as a director of the Searchlight Institute in the organization’s DC incorporation documents. The think tank has not disclosed its association with Coxe or her husband, Tench Coxe.
Searchlight’s board of directors has not been previously reported. It includes other rich and powerful investors with a stake in the AI build-out, such as billionaire hedge fund manager Stephen Mandel. Mandel’s investment firm Lone Pine Capital is heavily invested in the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the largest manufacturer of chips designed by Nvidia."
https://jacobin.com/2026/04/democrats-coxe-ai-searchlight-nvidia
#USA #AI #AIRegulation #ThinkTanks #SearchLightInstitute #Nvidia
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"My research focused on the impacts of various fertilization techniques on forest growth and survival rates. By meticulously analysing and presenting empirical data, I demonstrated the potential benefits and challenges associated with different fertilization strategies. Help of COST Action by ITC Grant is a great way to assist scientists to share their research with the whole community."
(Wojciech Kędziora, CLEANFOREST ITC grant holder)
#forest #science #research #fertilization -
Preventative Medicine, or the Manufacture of Patients?
There is a sentence every American patient has heard at the dentist’s chair, the cardiologist’s office, the primary-care visit, and the pharmacy counter. It arrives in a tone of grave responsibility: We caught this early. What follows is a crown, an echocardiogram, a statin, a stress test, a referral, a follow-up appointment, and a copay. The word “preventative” has come to function as a moral shield around a billing code. To question whether the recommended intervention is necessary is treated as ingratitude toward a profession that, the implication goes, only wants to keep you alive.
The trouble is that the evidence for many of these interventions is weaker than the assured tone of the recommending clinician suggests, and the financial structure of American medicine rewards the recommendation regardless of whether the evidence supports it. A 2019 JAMA review by Shrank and colleagues estimated annual waste in U.S. health spending at $760 billion to $935 billion, roughly a quarter of total expenditures, with overtreatment and low-value care alone accounting for $76 billion to $101 billion of that figure. Administrative complexity contributes another $266 billion. Pricing failures contribute $230 to $241 billion. These are the numbers in the system’s own peer-reviewed literature, produced by health-services researchers reading their own data.
Consider the dental crown. A 2020 study by Holden and colleagues, published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, surveyed dentists who reported widespread peer-observed overtreatment driven by what the authors called the “selling culture” of practice-management courses that teach acceptance-rate optimization. KFF Health News documented Medicaid reimbursement structures that pay three to six times more for nickel-chromium steel crowns than for fillings, an obvious incentive to crown rather than restore. Two of the largest American dental chains, operating under the Kool Smiles and Small Smiles brands, settled federal whistleblower lawsuits alleging unnecessary root canals on Medicaid-enrolled children for roughly $24 million each. The pattern is documented in the Department of Justice settlement record. A three-year-old boy named Gregory, examined by a North American Dental Group office in Ohio, was diagnosed with seven needed root canals; four of the teeth treated were later extracted. The Medicaid bill came to $1,273 against the $61 a check-up and cleaning would have cost. Gregory paid in tooth count. The chain paid a settlement years later, after the journalism caught up with the billing.
Echocardiograms tell the same story in higher-resolution format. The American College of Cardiology, through the Choosing Wisely campaign launched in 2012, listed five cardiac procedures routinely overused, three of which concerned imaging and stress-testing patients without symptoms. The American Society of Echocardiography itself recommends against repeat echocardiograms in stable, asymptomatic patients with a previously normal exam, against echocardiography for preoperative assessment in patients with no cardiac history, and against stress echocardiograms in low-risk asymptomatic adults. A multicenter trial cited by the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology found that 15% of cardiac SPECT studies were inappropriate by the ACC’s own appropriate-use criteria, with the largest single category being detection of coronary artery disease in asymptomatic low-risk patients. A Choosing Wisely Canada review found that asymptomatic low-risk patients account for up to 45% of unnecessary cardiac screening. The professional society of the field that performs the test acknowledges that close to half of its screening volume should not occur. The volume occurs because the equipment is amortized, the slot is scheduled, and the reimbursement code clears.
Salt deserves a more careful answer because the original advice was honest, the science evolved, and the medical establishment has not communicated the evolution well to patients trained to fear the salt shaker. A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis in Cureus by Alqurain and colleagues, drawing on twenty studies and 306,019 participants, found that sodium restriction reduces mortality risk in patients with essential hypertension, which confirms the original logic for that population. In observational cohorts, however, low sodium intake associates with increased mortality, supporting a J-shaped relationship at the lower extreme. In heart-failure populations specifically, aggressive restriction shows a non-significant trend toward harm. The 2024 European Society of Cardiology guidelines responded to this evidence by setting the sodium target at less than 2 grams per day, framed as realistic and sustainable, and acknowledged that the J-curve effect appears at intakes below that threshold. The honest answer to the question is that the old blanket prohibition was overdrawn, the current evidence supports moderation rather than minimization, and the simplistic counter-claim that “more salt is better” is also wrong. Hypertensives still benefit from reduction. Severely sodium-depleted patients on aggressive diuretics may be harmed by it. Medicine has walked back a categorical claim quietly, without retracting the decades of advice that produced an entire processed-food category labeled “low sodium” and a generation of patients trained to feel guilty about a pinch.
Threshold creep is the marketing arm of preventative medicine, and the documentation of it is now its own academic literature. In May 2003, the Joint National Committee’s seventh report introduced “prehypertension” as a diagnostic category covering blood pressure between 120 and 139 systolic or 80 and 89 diastolic, redrawing the line of disease in a single committee meeting and producing millions of new patients overnight without anyone’s actual blood pressure changing. The American Diabetes Association lowered the hemoglobin A1c threshold for prediabetes to 5.7% in 2010, expanding the population eligible for diabetic surveillance and pharmaceutical preprescription by tens of millions. AbbVie spent more than $75 million on AndroGel marketing in 2012, running an unbranded “Is It Low T?” awareness campaign that, according to a 2017 JAMA Internal Medicine analysis, drove measurable rises in testosterone testing in regions with heavier advertising exposure. The company’s claimed hypogonadism prevalence climbed from roughly one million American men at AndroGel’s FDA approval in 2000 to twenty million at the peak of the campaign, a twentyfold inflation in twelve years that left the actual incidence of medical hypogonadism unchanged and reached well past it into the population of aging men whose declining testosterone is part of normal physiology. JAMA itself published the takedown under the title “Low T as a Template: How to Sell a Disease.” GlaxoSmithKline ran the parallel campaign for restless legs syndrome beginning in 2003, two years before Requip’s FDA approval; sales doubled within a year, climbing from $165 million in 2005 to $330 million in 2006, and the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation received roughly 45% of its 2005 revenue from the drug companies whose products it was positioned to validate. Ray Moynihan and Alan Cassels named the framework in 2005 in Selling Sickness, which the April 2006 special issue of PLoS Medicine on disease mongering then developed across eleven peer-reviewed articles. The phenomenon is not exotic. The eye doctor who tells the patient with stable elevated intraocular pressure that the chart now reads “pre-glaucoma” is following the same logic, and the rest of the chain follows automatically: category extends, patient enrolls, visit recurs. Nothing about the patient has changed except the box checked on the form.
Colonoscopy is the case where every thread in the argument crosses. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended initiating screening at age 50 from its 1996 guideline through 2020, then lowered the threshold to 45 in May 2021 in response to documented rises in younger-onset colorectal cancer; the American Cancer Society had already moved earlier, in 2018. The threshold change added roughly 21 million newly eligible Americans to the screening pool. Modeling cited in the USPSTF’s own evidence review estimated that lowering the screening age from 50 to 45 requires 810 additional colonoscopies per 1,000 persons screened in a colonoscopy-based strategy. The procedural revenue for the gastroenterology specialty is substantial, and the financial alignment with maintaining colonoscopy as the preferred modality is direct, even though the USPSTF itself lists fecal immunochemical testing, stool DNA testing (Cologuard from Exact Sciences), and, since the FDA approval of Guardant Health’s Shield in July 2024, plasma-based screening as recommended alternatives. Patients dislike colonoscopy for documented reasons that the marketing apparatus does not address: the day-long bowel preparation is psychologically and physically demanding, the procedure itself requires sedation and a driver, and the complication rate, while small in absolute terms at roughly four perforations and eight major bleeding events per ten thousand procedures, is non-zero on a population that now includes twenty million additional people. Most consequentially, the randomized trial evidence underwriting the marketing is more modest than the marketing suggests. The Nordic-European Initiative on Colorectal Cancer trial, called NordICC, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in October 2022 by Bretthauer and colleagues, randomized 84,585 adults aged 55 to 64 in Poland, Norway, and Sweden either to receive a one-time invitation to colonoscopy or to receive no invitation. At ten years, the intention-to-screen analysis found an 18% relative reduction in colorectal cancer incidence, considerably less than the 50% the trialists had originally hypothesized, and the reduction in colorectal cancer-specific mortality was not statistically significant, with a relative risk of 0.90 and a confidence interval that crossed one. Per-protocol analyses of those who actually attended their colonoscopy were more favorable, but the trial’s headline finding sent a different signal than the volume of screening recommendation would suggest. None of this argues against any individual person choosing colonoscopy. The mass-screening case for choosing colonoscopy at age 45 over the non-invasive alternatives, on a procedure patients dislike with a complication profile that scales with volume, is weaker than the gastroenterology revenue stream depending on it would suggest.
Statins offer a sharper case because the harm signal is undisputed within the literature, including the manufacturers’ own pooled trial data. The 2024 individual-participant-data meta-analysis published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology by the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ Collaboration confirmed what previous summary-level analyses had shown: statin therapy produces a moderate, dose-dependent increase in new diagnoses of type 2 diabetes. The earlier Sattar meta-analysis, with 91,140 participants across thirteen trials, put the relative risk increase at 9%. Preiss and colleagues, comparing high-intensity to moderate-intensity statins across five trials with 32,752 participants, found a 12% increase. Cai and colleagues stratified by LDL-c target and found that when the target was set below 1.8 millimoles per liter, the risk of new-onset diabetes rose by 33%. The Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study, with 3,234 high-risk participants followed for ten years, recorded a 36% cumulative incidence of diabetes among statin users compared with 20% in placebo. Observational meta-analyses, which capture longer follow-up and broader populations than the trials, place the increase as high as 44 to 55%. Statins lower cardiovascular events in patients with established disease. They also produce diabetes in a measurable fraction of users, with the risk concentrated in patients who already carry metabolic risk factors. Both statements are true. Weighing them honestly per patient is the clinical task. The marketing posture, which presented the drugs as harmless tools to be deployed broadly on the basis of a single number called LDL-c, was always incomplete. As the LDL-c target was driven downward more aggressively, the regimen produced more diabetes. This is on record. It has not produced a corresponding pullback in prescribing volume because the prescribing volume is shaped by guideline thresholds, quality metrics tied to insurer reimbursement, and patient anxiety, none of which respond directly to the diabetes incidence data.
The structural question follows from the four clinical cases. Is the American medical system broken, or did it never work? The honest answer is the second. The system was assembled from incompatible parts during the postwar period: a tax-deductible employer-insurance model designed during wartime wage controls, a Medicare program designed to extend Blue Cross logic to the elderly, a Medicaid program designed as charity for the poor, a private fee-for-service architecture designed for solo practitioners, and a hospital-based academic medicine designed for rare disease and surgery. None of these components were designed together. None share an objective function. The result is an apparatus that bills with great competence, codes with great competence, and produces health outcomes that are mediocre by every international comparison the United States has been willing to publish. Life expectancy at birth in the United States is below that of Costa Rica. Maternal mortality runs more than 50% higher than in the next closest wealthy nation. The system is performing as designed; the design has always rewarded volume of billable encounters, and the financial structure pays out for that volume regardless of whether the volume corresponds to improved health.
This is where the moral question becomes unavoidable. Should there be profit in having a healthy body? Some forms of profit are morally legible. A surgeon who removes a tumor has earned compensation. A pharmaceutical firm that develops a drug from molecule to market has earned a return on capital. An infectious-disease specialist who diagnoses a rare presentation has earned the consultation fee. These are professional earnings against a discrete service rendered. The trouble is that American medicine has migrated, over four decades, from the model of compensated service toward the model of recurring revenue extraction. A patient enters a clinical panel. The panel is screened on a schedule. Screening reveals an incidental finding, which generates a workup, which generates a procedure, which generates a follow-up, which generates a maintenance medication, which generates a side effect, which generates a referral. At no point in this chain does anyone need to act in bad faith for the patient to be subjected to a sequence of interventions whose net benefit, as measured by years of life or quality of life, is negligible or negative. The clinician is paid by relative-value-unit production, the hospital by case-mix index, the insurer by per-member-per-month premiums, the drug company by prescription volume. The patient pays a copay at every node and a premium at the front of the chain.
Consider how the mechanism operates without anyone choosing it. The dentist who recommends a crown the tooth does not require is rarely acting in bad faith. The practice-management system quantifies daily production targets and benchmarks the doctor’s work against peer averages, and a clinician below the benchmark has uncomfortable conversations with the practice owner. A cardiologist who orders surveillance echocardiograms in stable asymptomatic patients follows a referral pattern that the practice’s billing coordinator built into the appointment template. A primary-care physician who titrates a statin to a more aggressive LDL-c target works from a quality measure that determines a portion of the practice’s reimbursement. None of these clinicians wakes up wanting to harm the patient. The structure does the harming for them, by making the path of least resistance the path of maximum billing. Preventative medicine, in the modern American sense, has become a euphemism for a procedure pipeline disguised as moral concern.
The technologies themselves have legitimate uses. Statins prevent secondary cardiovascular events in patients who have already had a heart attack, and the evidence for that use case is strong. Echocardiograms in symptomatic patients are diagnostic instruments without which cardiology could not function. Crowns on actually fractured teeth save the tooth and the bite. The correct critique is of population-level deployment without symptom-based indication, of marketing the diagnostic machinery as a moral good when it operates as a revenue mechanism, and of presenting the patient with a recommendation that the system has produced before the clinician walked into the room.
Real prevention exists, and it is recognizable by the absence of profit attached to it. Hand-washing prevents postsurgical infection. Vaccines reduce measles, pertussis, and cervical cancer to historical curiosities. Smoking cessation lowers lung-cancer, stroke, and heart-disease risk. Exercise interrupts nearly every chronic-disease cascade. Sleep allows metabolic recovery. Adequate nutrition starves the inflammatory base state on which most chronic disease feeds. None of these interventions generates significant revenue for the medical system, which is why none of them receives the marketing attention that statins and stress tests and crowns receive. The cheapest preventive measures, which are also the most effective, sit unmarketed because no one profits from them. The most expensive interventions, which range from genuinely beneficial to actively harmful depending on the patient, are heavily marketed because the entire revenue chain depends on their continued use.
A patient who walks into an American clinical encounter today operates in an information environment in which the recommending professional has financial reasons to recommend, the institution has financial reasons to perform, the insurer has financial reasons to negotiate, and no one in the room has direct financial reasons to leave the patient alone. The patient is the only party in the room without a billing code, the substrate on which the codes are inscribed. Until the financial structure changes, the recommendation to question every preventative procedure deserves to be called sober self-interest, supported by the system’s own published evidence about its own published failures. The question to ask the dentist, the cardiologist, the primary-care physician, and the pharmacy counter is the one the system makes hardest to ask: What happens to me if I do nothing? The answer is sometimes serious, sometimes neutral, and sometimes far better than the answer that follows the recommended intervention. Knowing the difference is the work of an adult patient in a system that prefers the patient remain a child.
#bloodPressure #cardiac #dentist #doctor #echocardiogram #glaucoma #health #healthcare #healthyBody #preventativeMedicine #screening #statins -
The Writing Community’s AI Panic
Another day, another storm in the writing community teacup!
The storm, this New York Times article: The New Fabio is Claude
TL;DR: Coral Hart uses AI to generate 200 books a year. This has made many writers mad, mad, mad.
(Somewhere in a glistening office tower is a very satisfied editor – the ragebait has worked as the article is widely discussed everywhere. KPI met!)
Coral Hart is just the newest “outrage” in a long list of “outrages” for writers.
If you’re as much of a social media hermit as I am, you’re probably unaware that the fiction writing community is currently being torn apart by those who use AI to write and those who aren’t.
I won’t go deep into the arguments for or against writers like Coral Hart right now, as this article is more about the writing community than AI and the answers are just a Google away.
Also, when I’m talking about the writing community, I’m talking about the online writing community that writes in English. They often come from countries such as the United States, Europe, and to a degree, Australia and New Zealand.
I personally do not know how the Malaysian fiction writing community is reacting to AI as I have limited contact with the community at large. (That’s another long story.)
How I reacted when AI became a thing
Like most writers, I was also resentful and upset, especially about the idea that our writing has been used to train AI without our permission.
But I’m a realist because I work in tech, and I have a realistic view of the technology. I have used AI for quite some time, even before ChatGPT became a thing.
Over time, my perspective changed as I found out how the technology worked, and calmed down. I am even experimenting with using AI to assist me when I write fiction.
Here’s the harsh truth: Either a writer is willing to adapt or they are not. Those who refuse will end up being behind, as they won’t be able to reap the benefits that AI gives a writer.
When you’re a working writer, you gotta face industry realities
On a practical level, at work, AI has been invaluable in helping me learn concepts faster. I’ve also created agents and accelerated my writing workflows because of it.
A powerful AI search bot on a knowledge base with rich data has been game-changing for me as well. (No more begging for stuff from colleagues and waiting for days to receive them!)
Elizabeth TaifirediaristEdit Profile
AI is also discussed in societies differently. In the West, doomerism prevails. In the East, especially China, there’s lots of optimism and it is now actively used in smart factories and hospitals. There are different types of AI, and LLMs are just one of them, so for the purpose of this article I’ll be focusing on LLMs.
These regional cultural attitudes will affect how AI is received in writing communities.
At the end of the day, AI is just technology—neither inherently good nor bad.
Writing communities have always been prone to toxicity; AI is just the newest trigger
The online writing community on a good day.To be honest, the fiction writing community has always been toxic to me. Even in Malaysia.
They’re always squabbling and attacking each other for one reason or another. During the early days of indie publishing, traditionally published authors sniffed at indie published authors, saying they’re not real writers. Now, it’s writers who are using AI assistance that are “not real writers”.
I’m not sure what it is about the writing craft and why its communities are like that. I have a theory that this is because writing, as a craft, is so closely tied to one’s ego. So, anything that threatens that makes people go crazy.
I’m a working writer (like, I literally write for media and corporations). I have been writing professionally for decades. Not only has my ego been pulverised by sharp-tongued editors and scathing reviews, I have no time for this shit. I need food on the table, so I need to write, end of story.
I prefer to use my limited free time to practice my craft – write fiction free of the demands of a cash till or boss. I don’t have time to reply or write posts in forums or social media defending my ego or hoping to get some understanding from a community that is often fighting among themselves.
During the early days of indie publishing, traditionally published authors sniffed at indie published authors, saying they’re not real writers. Now, it’s writers who are using AI assistance that are “not real writers”.
One thing I noticed lately, especially on Substack, is that many anti-AI writers have ended up bullying writers who do.
Frankly, I have no idea why people do this. What will that accomplish? How will that improve anything? Their anger should be directed at the tech giants who impose technology without understanding its impact on creatives, or at governments that refuse to regulate.
Honestly, it is not worth arguing with these bullies because they are too fearful of a technology they do not understand. The right thing to do is to block them because your energy is precious—you need to use it to create, not engage with people who refuse to do their own research and dare to experiment with this technology to truly understand what it means.
Unless these bullies who come hurling nasty words at you truly understand what AI does, they shouldn’t bully others about it. They only reveal their own lack of knowledge and understanding.
If a writer is hungering for community, especially one that uses AI to support their work, the best thing is to get it from small pockets of like-minded writers. Big is not always better.
The disability perspective
Another common narrative is that AI isn’t solving real problems but creating problems to solve.
For one, and I will continue being annoying about this, I have seen how it helps neurodivergent communities or those with cognitive problems, even in the creative field. Their struggles are valid, even if they aren’t always visible. Let’s not dismiss their problems so quickly just because their issues seem incomprehensible or not real to neurotypicals.
Ethical AI use?
As for writers who use AI, they must decide for themselves how they want to use it.
Sadly, due to the hostility against AI in the fiction writing community, I’ve come to believe it’s not worth announcing that you use AI.
One, writers don’t need validation for the tools we choose.
Two, I find these arguments around AI a bit silly. We’ve been using AI long before LLMs became a thing. People argued that spell checkers weren’t AI, but modern versions definitely are. AI has done a lot for knowledge management, a field I work in and love. It makes knowledge sharing easier and information more accessible.
What we need to discuss
What we really need to discuss are the rampant capitalistic forces that are driving this hype and the safeguards that are sorely needed to protect jobs, creative works, and societal stability.
We need to discuss the production-driven, “we need to write more books faster” culture that is now festering in indie publishing.
We need to come up with a better way to matchmake books and authors with their destined readers.
But no, writers are fighting with each other.
And the powers that be continue with a grin, knowing that their profits are still coming in because the writing community is as divided as ever.
I just know there would be a writer or two who would probably come at me and yell that I’m supporting Coral Hart or all for generating novels with AI due to my Guide to writing fiction with AI, all because I have written such a guide and I’m not raising my pitchfork at Coral.
Which, of course, makes me question the reading comprehension abilities of writers who claim to write professionally, sometimes. I will address my reaction to Coral’s situation, and what I think about generating 200 novels a year in my next post, promise.
#AIwriting #AIfictionwriting #BeingAWriter #ChatGPT #FictionWritingWithAI #writing -
CW: Thoughts about Lensa - nuanced
On the topic of art and artists
These AI tools do not work without the data, and the data is nonconsensually scraped from artists work posted online. So the artists have had their labor stolen to train an AI system which will make the company a lot of money. They get no compensation for that.
Will the AI replace the artists? In some cases yes. For example, some companies may not want to pay an artist to make advertising materials and will use these systems to generate images instead. But overall I do not think it will significantly impact the financial condition of artists, it is just that a company is profiting off of theft. Te company is a data broker, the images they create are secondary to the data they have produced - stolen and coerced.
On the topic of face data
Is your face data a risk to you? Possibly. But the threat is more on the societal level. This data aggregation will result in tools that will be better at creating deep fakes. These are fabricated visuals that make it seem like something happened when it didn't. Just because these images are dressed up in fantasy (from the art that was scraped) the data itself can be used to produce more refined reality fakes. Also, it is possible to fake art materials, for example there could be new forms of revenge porn.
Does this make you bad for buying some pretty faces?
No. It is unusual that a company has managed to get real money from one of their data grifts. But ultimately the responsibility for the potential harms is on these companies and the state which will use these systems for future disinformation and carceral projects.
This has been an opportunity for public education in data and AI literacy.
Another thing that is an unexpected benefit to creating these images and playing with these tools is that it might help the average user get better at detecting deep fakes. There is a particular gestalt to these images that people may be better able to pick up on in the future.
I have worked in 3D art and animation for years and so I am still able to tell that something is off when I see a deep fake. It is possible that the more people who play with AI tools, the more people will be able to notice that something is off and be skeptical of the media they are watching.
*do not be a pedant about the difference between AI and machine learning I am trying to do public outreach here.
#LENSA #MachineLearning #AIArt #FaceData #DataBrokerage #DataJustice #TechJustice #DeepFake
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Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala alleges massive data leak from Kerala CMO, claiming personal details of over one crore people — including Stree Suraksha beneficiaries — were shared with a private agency for election purposes. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/kerala-cmo-leaked-stree-suraksha-beneficiaries-data-to-private-agency-alleges-ramesh-chennithala-mpsth58v?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #KeralaPolitics #DataPrivacy #RameshChennithala #StreeSuraksha
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To me, the 'marketing' of #perl would benefit greatly from focusing on the areas where it excels, it's true power and utility, which is being a practical extraction and reporting language, which is why I picked it for #inxi and #acxi, though it does more than extract in acxi, but that is part of what it does.
True native regex too, coupled with advanced complex data structures, unlike say python, where regex has to be added as a library, requiring functions to access, like php.
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CW: A quarter of Australia’s property investments held by 1% of taxpayers, data reveals
Hey Philip Lowe…let’s talk about how successive governments have distorted our housing market by keeping #negativegeating and #capitalgains. Oh wait they benefit rich people and your mates. #rentcaps which help poor is bad distortion. #auspol #rba
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C’era un numero di partigiani limitato per un’area vasta come la Brianza
Un ambiente privilegiato per la diffusione dell’antifascismo è, quanto meno a Monza e nella bassa Brianza, la grande fabbrica fordista. Monza si trova a ridosso delle grandi fabbriche di Sesto San Giovanni e di Milano (Breda, Falck, Innocenti, Magneti Marelli, Pirelli…). Tra le masse operaie delle grandi aziende milanesi “il partito comunista era penetrato in profondità, aveva fatto proselitismo e le teorie antifasciste associate a quelle di lotta di classe avevano preso piede. Queste idee venivano poi irradiate verso la provincia dagli operai brianzoli che vi lavoravano e dagli sfollati che dopo i tremendi bombardamenti dell’agosto 1943 su Milano si dirigevano sempre più numerosi verso la provincia” <26. La creazione di gruppi antifascisti che derivano dall’antifascismo delle fabbriche, dove erano già presenti cellule clandestine, si registrano ad Agrate Brianza, Cavenago Brianza, Lissone e Seregno <27. Nei paesi più lontani dal milanese e da Monza la struttura economica è caratterizzata da piccole aziende dove il PCI i partiti di sinistra non hanno ancora radicamento e, anche se la popolazione in larga parte è avversa al fascismo repubblicano e all’invasore tedesco, manca, specie nei primi mesi successivi all’armistizio, un’organizzazione antifascista strutturata, che tarderà a vedere la luce <28. Emerge quindi uno scenario duplice, cioè un contesto, quello della Bassa Brianza, influenzato dall’antifascismo diffuso tra il proletariato delle grandi fabbriche e il resto del circondario monzese, specie le aree più distanti da Milano, in cui, in particolare nei primi mesi della Resistenza, non è ancora presente un’organizzazione partigiana consolidata e l’elemento spontaneistico prevale.
In Brianza l’attività predominante consiste nell’assistenza logistica ai partigiani riparati sui monti e, specie nella prima fase resistenziale, non vi è una vera e propria lotta armata contro i nazifascisti <29.
I Gap (Gruppi d’azione patriottica), cioè i nuclei partigiani organizzati dal PCI per il combattimento in città, sono le uniche formazioni che nei primi mesi di occupazione tedesca svolgono attività di tipo terroristico per creare insicurezza tra i nazifascisti. In Brianza non sono presenti i Gap, ma si registrano alcune azioni armate di gappisti giunti da Milano <30. Il principale obiettivo dei Gap in territorio monzese è Luigi Gatti, squadrista di vecchia data, dirigente dell’UPI e maggiore della GNR presso la Villa Reale di Monza dove tortura gli oppositori arrestati. Il 20 ottobre 1943 due gappisti, operai milanesi, sparano al Gatti, che però risulta solo ferito. Subito dopo l’attentato la reazione fascista si concentra sui noti antifascisti locali, dieci dei quali vengono immediatamente arrestati e ne viene decretata la fucilazione per rappresaglia. Anche grazie al fatto che le ferite del Gatti non sono particolarmente gravi, hanno successo le pressioni del medico curante dottor Arrigoni e dell’Arciprete perché lo stesso Gatti si pronunci contro la rappresaglia: così avviene e la condanna a morte viene revocata <31.
I CLN
Un ruolo determinante nella guida della Resistenza italiana sono stati i Comitati di Liberazione Nazionale (Cln), cioè i comitati costituiti dai partiti antifascisti (DC, PCI, Pd’A, PLI, PSIUP). Già l’8 settembre il comitato romano assume tale nome. Il riferimento dei liberali nel comitato romano è “Alessandro Casati, appartenente ad un’antica famiglia nobiliare che risiedeva ad Arcore” <32, in Brianza. Il Cln di Milano si costituisce anch’esso nel corso del settembre 1943 e ha tra i suoi membri anche i monzesi Giovanbattista Stucchi (socialista) e Gianni Citterio (comunista). Nel gennaio 1944 il Cln di Milano è investito da quelli del settentrione del ruolo di organismo guida della ribellione nel nord-Italia. Il comitato romano, prevedendo una rapida liberazione della Capitale da parte degli Alleati, approva tale investitura: nasce così il Clnai (Comitato di liberazione nazionale alta Italia). A Monza, i rappresentanti del comitato sono coloro hanno fondato nel 1942 il già citato Fronte d’azione antifascista e, cioè, Fortunato Scali per i comunisti, Enrico Farè per i socialisti e Luigi Fossati per i democristiani <33. I primi Cln in territorio brianzolo scontano numerosi arresti e continue sostituzioni in quanto si trovano isolati tra di loro e le forze partigiane sono ancora scarse: occorrerà del tempo perché la struttura organizzativa del movimento partigiano si sviluppi nella Brianza monzese <34.
Un punto di svolta nella fase resistenziale sono stati i grandi scioperi operai del marzo 1944, che coinvolgono anche la Brianza. Il grande sciopero del marzo 1944, al contrario agli scioperi del 1943, non pone al centro le rivendicazioni economica, ma è, bensì, un’iniziativa politica del Partito comunista: l’obiettivo dello sciopero è quello di dare una prova di forza politica dell’opposizione al fascismo e all’occupazione tedesca <35.
“Il primo marzo scatta la contestazione in tutte le città del nord. Nel milanese, l’area di Sesto San Giovanni è determinante: la Breda, la Falck, la Magneti Marelli sono il fulcro dello sciopero e il punto di riferimento, naturalmente anche per la Brianza” <36. Lo sciopero riguarda anche il territorio brianzolo, soprattutto l’area di Monza, in cui si trovano importanti aziende industriali. Lo sciopero riguarda molte aziende monzesi, come la Hensemberger, la Singer, dove rientra rapidamente a causa della minaccia nazista, la Philips e la Sertum. Altre realtà industriali brianzole coinvolte sono la Bianchi di Desio e la Isotta Fraschini di Meda. Il secondo giorno di sciopero il Rapporto sullo sciopero generale del 1 marzo a Milano e provincia, redatto dal PCI, informa “che a Monza a causa della brutalità della reazione in alcuni stabilimenti il lavoro è stato ripreso” <37. Infatti, mentre a Milano e Sesto San Giovanni lo sciopero si protrae fino all’8 marzo, nel monzese lo sciopero non dura oltre i due giorni. Ad ogni modo la partecipazione allo sciopero non può dirsi negativa per una terra come la Brianza dove “gli scioperanti non potevano contare, al contrario di Sesto San Giovanni, sulla forza di enormi masse che lavorano nelle grandi fabbriche di città industriali; la repressione poteva avere buon gioco e gli agitatori potevano essere più facilmente individuati” <38. Agli scioperi seguono numerosi arresti e deportazioni nei lager tedeschi. Il PCI si rende conto che le squadre di difesa delle fabbriche, create su sua iniziativa a inizio 1944, non sono in grado di reggere l’onda d’urto della reazione nazifascista <39. Emerge quindi la necessità di un ripensamento organizzativo che porta alla nascita delle Sap.
Le SAP
Nell’estate del 1944 nascono le Sap (Squadre armate partigiane) per idea del comunista Italo Busetto <40. Le squadre delle Sap sono costituite nelle città da cinque uomini e, cioè, un caposquadra e quattro partigiani, mentre nei paesi il caposquadra, scelto nella figura più carismatica del gruppo, coordina tre gruppi composti da cinque uomini l’uno. Le squadre si raggruppano in distaccamenti idealmente di 45-50 uomini; cinque o sei distaccamenti costituiscono una brigata. Il partigiano delle Sap, al contrario dei Gappisti che vivono in clandestinità, se non è un renitente o un ricercato, vive nella legalità, svolgendo il proprio lavoro ed entrando in azione quando è chiamato a farlo <41.
Le Sap, pur essendo una formazione di emanazione del Partito Comunista, “assumono più un aspetto di milizia nazionale, contando nei propri ranghi elementi delle più disparate tendenze politiche” <42.
L’organizzazione delle Sap nella Brianza monzese si articola nell’estate del 1944 come segue <43 <44:
1° settore di Oggiono, poi rientrerà nella 104^ brigata Gianni Citterio. Comandante: Livio Cesana. Distaccamenti: Oggiono, Carate Brianza, Macherio, Biassono, Costamasnaga, Renate. Totale: 177 uomini.
2° settore di Monza, poi 150° brigata. Comandante: Moretto. Distaccamenti: Monza e Vedano al Lambro. Totale: 22 uomini.
3° settore di Vimercate. Comandante prima compagnia, che successivamente si dividerà tra 104° brigata Gianni Citterio e 103° brigata Sap Vincenzo Gabellini <45, Iginio Rota. Distaccamenti: Vimercate, Arcore, Bernareggio, Bellusco, Concorezzo, Cavenago. Totale: 140 uomini.
La seconda compagnia è dislocata a Trezzo d’Adda e dintorni. La terza compagnia (poi 105^ brigata Luigi Brambilla, è composta dai distaccamenti di Brugherio, Caponago, Agrate Brianza, Bussero, Cascine S. Ambrogio, Cernusco sul Naviglio, Carugate. Totale: 159 uomini.
Si costituisce anche una 3^ brigata Sap nella zona tra Saronno (Varese) e la Brianza monzese. Per quest’ultima area si registrano a Meda 40 sappisti attivi dai distaccamenti dell’Isotta Franchini, 12 dall’azienda F.A.C.E., oltre che 36 partigiani delle Sap a Cesano Maderno, 25 a Meda città, 5 a Paderno Dugnano, 150 nell’area compresa tra Bovisio, Varedo, Villaggio Snia, Seveso e Ceriano Laghetto <46.
A fine del 1944 le file delle Sap si ingrossano: si sono via via costituite nuove brigate che confluiranno nel Raggruppamento brigate Bassa Brianza. Tale raggruppamento, guidato dal comandante Eliseo Galliani e dal commissario politico Eugenio Mascetti, riunisce a sé la 119^ brigata Quintino Di Vona con distaccamenti a Nova Milanese, Muggiò, Lissone, Desio, Seregno, Carate Brianza, Paina, Arosio, Inverigo, Cinisello Balsamo, Cusano Milanino, Bresso e Cormano Brusuglio e la 185^ brigata Pietro Arienti con distaccamenti a Cesano Maderno, Bovisio, Seveso, Meda, Barlassina, Paderno Dugnano, Palazzolo, Senago e Limbiate. Rientrano nel raggruppamento anche i distaccamenti per la difesa interna delle industrie quali la Snia e Acna di Cesano Maderno, la Isotta Franchini di Meda e la Bianchi di Desio <47.
Contestualmente le Brigate Garibaldi sono riorganizzate anche nella parte orientale della Brianza, con il Raggruppamento brigate fiume Adda. Confluiscono in tale raggruppamento la 103^ brigata Vincenzo Gabellini con distaccamenti a Vimercate, Bernareggio, Cavenago, Mezzago e Trezzo d’Adda, la 104^ brigata Gianni Citterio e la 105^ brigata Luigi Brambilla con distaccamenti in Brianza a Caponago e Brugherio <48.
Le brigate garibaldine si sono quindi costituite anche in Brianza, sebbene, specie nei primi tempi, la struttura organizzativa sia ancora gracile e il numero dei partigiani limitato per un’area vasta come la Brianza, tanto che non di rado risultano difficili i collegamenti con le altre brigate e il comando. Nonostante le difficoltà, le Sap si rafforzano progressivamente cosicché anche la lotta contro i fascisti e i tedeschi ne trae beneficio in termini di aumento degli attacchi armati sia dal punto di vista quantitativo sia da quello qualitativo <49.
Nel corso del 1944, e in particolare durante l’estate, sono creati i Cln nel territorio brianzolo. Se in un primo momento esisteva solo il Cln di Monza, nel corso dell’estate un po’ in tutti i paesi si formano i Cln. Così facendo la Resistenza prende piede nella maggior parte dei comuni della Brianza. L’operatività e, soprattutto, l’attitudine alla lotta partigiana, dei Cln è però disomogenea: vi sono, ad esempio, alcuni Cln locali del tutto passivi, improntati più a frenare la ribellione invece che ad alimentarla. Alcuni problemi, legati all’inesperienza dei partigiani, alla presenza massiccia di forze nemiche nella zona o alla difficoltà dei collegamenti, pur migliorando nel tempo, permangono fino alla Liberazione. Tuttavia, l’aspetto più significativo che si può desumere dalle biografie dei componenti dei Cln locali è l’inedita partecipazione alla vita politica e sociale degli appartenenti di tutte le classi sociali <50 <51.
[NOTE]
26 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 52.
27 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 53.
28 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 54.
29 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 54.
30 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 54.
31 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 54.
32 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 55.
33 G. Bianchi, Dalla Resistenza. Uomini, eventi, idee della lotta di Liberazione in provincia di Milano, edizione della Provincia di Milano, Milano, 1975, pag. 27.
34 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 56.
35 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 60.
36 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 60.
37 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 60.
38 Annali della Fondazione Lelio e Lisli Basso, L’archivio Basso e l’organizzazione del partito (1943-1945), vol. 8, 1985, 1986, pag. 400, “Ditte con più di 500 dipendenti”.
39 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 97.
40 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 97.
41 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 97.
42 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 99.
43 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 100.
44 G. Bianchi, Dalla Resistenza. Uomini, eventi, idee della lotta di Liberazione in provincia di Milano, edizione della Provincia di Milano, Milano, 1975, pag. 30-31.
45 G. Bianchi, Dalla Resistenza. Uomini, eventi, idee della lotta di Liberazione in provincia di Milano, edizione della Provincia di Milano, Milano, 1975, pag. 33.
46 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 100.
47 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 137.
48 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 138.
49 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 100.
50 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 106.
51 G. Bianchi, Dalla Resistenza. Uomini, eventi, idee della lotta di Liberazione in provincia di Milano, edizione della Provincia di Milano, Milano, 1975, pag. 30.
Enrico Comini, La Corte di Assise Straordinaria di Monza. I processi per collaborazionismo a Monza (1945-1946), Tesi di laurea magistrale, Università degli Studi di Padova, Anno Accademico 2022-2023#1943 #1944 #Arosio #Barlassina #Bovisio #Brianza #CarateBrianza #CesanoMaderno #CiniselloBalsamo #CLN #comunisti #CusanoMilanino #Desio #EnricoComini #fabbriche #fascisti #GAP #GNR #Inverigo #Lissone #marzo #Meda #Milano #Monza #Muggiò #NovaMilanese #operai #PadernoDugnano #Paina #Palazzolo #partigiani #SAP #scioperi #Seregno #Seveso #tedeschi
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C’era un numero di partigiani limitato per un’area vasta come la Brianza
Un ambiente privilegiato per la diffusione dell’antifascismo è, quanto meno a Monza e nella bassa Brianza, la grande fabbrica fordista. Monza si trova a ridosso delle grandi fabbriche di Sesto San Giovanni e di Milano (Breda, Falck, Innocenti, Magneti Marelli, Pirelli…). Tra le masse operaie delle grandi aziende milanesi “il partito comunista era penetrato in profondità, aveva fatto proselitismo e le teorie antifasciste associate a quelle di lotta di classe avevano preso piede. Queste idee venivano poi irradiate verso la provincia dagli operai brianzoli che vi lavoravano e dagli sfollati che dopo i tremendi bombardamenti dell’agosto 1943 su Milano si dirigevano sempre più numerosi verso la provincia” <26. La creazione di gruppi antifascisti che derivano dall’antifascismo delle fabbriche, dove erano già presenti cellule clandestine, si registrano ad Agrate Brianza, Cavenago Brianza, Lissone e Seregno <27. Nei paesi più lontani dal milanese e da Monza la struttura economica è caratterizzata da piccole aziende dove il PCI i partiti di sinistra non hanno ancora radicamento e, anche se la popolazione in larga parte è avversa al fascismo repubblicano e all’invasore tedesco, manca, specie nei primi mesi successivi all’armistizio, un’organizzazione antifascista strutturata, che tarderà a vedere la luce <28. Emerge quindi uno scenario duplice, cioè un contesto, quello della Bassa Brianza, influenzato dall’antifascismo diffuso tra il proletariato delle grandi fabbriche e il resto del circondario monzese, specie le aree più distanti da Milano, in cui, in particolare nei primi mesi della Resistenza, non è ancora presente un’organizzazione partigiana consolidata e l’elemento spontaneistico prevale.
In Brianza l’attività predominante consiste nell’assistenza logistica ai partigiani riparati sui monti e, specie nella prima fase resistenziale, non vi è una vera e propria lotta armata contro i nazifascisti <29.
I Gap (Gruppi d’azione patriottica), cioè i nuclei partigiani organizzati dal PCI per il combattimento in città, sono le uniche formazioni che nei primi mesi di occupazione tedesca svolgono attività di tipo terroristico per creare insicurezza tra i nazifascisti. In Brianza non sono presenti i Gap, ma si registrano alcune azioni armate di gappisti giunti da Milano <30. Il principale obiettivo dei Gap in territorio monzese è Luigi Gatti, squadrista di vecchia data, dirigente dell’UPI e maggiore della GNR presso la Villa Reale di Monza dove tortura gli oppositori arrestati. Il 20 ottobre 1943 due gappisti, operai milanesi, sparano al Gatti, che però risulta solo ferito. Subito dopo l’attentato la reazione fascista si concentra sui noti antifascisti locali, dieci dei quali vengono immediatamente arrestati e ne viene decretata la fucilazione per rappresaglia. Anche grazie al fatto che le ferite del Gatti non sono particolarmente gravi, hanno successo le pressioni del medico curante dottor Arrigoni e dell’Arciprete perché lo stesso Gatti si pronunci contro la rappresaglia: così avviene e la condanna a morte viene revocata <31.
I CLN
Un ruolo determinante nella guida della Resistenza italiana sono stati i Comitati di Liberazione Nazionale (Cln), cioè i comitati costituiti dai partiti antifascisti (DC, PCI, Pd’A, PLI, PSIUP). Già l’8 settembre il comitato romano assume tale nome. Il riferimento dei liberali nel comitato romano è “Alessandro Casati, appartenente ad un’antica famiglia nobiliare che risiedeva ad Arcore” <32, in Brianza. Il Cln di Milano si costituisce anch’esso nel corso del settembre 1943 e ha tra i suoi membri anche i monzesi Giovanbattista Stucchi (socialista) e Gianni Citterio (comunista). Nel gennaio 1944 il Cln di Milano è investito da quelli del settentrione del ruolo di organismo guida della ribellione nel nord-Italia. Il comitato romano, prevedendo una rapida liberazione della Capitale da parte degli Alleati, approva tale investitura: nasce così il Clnai (Comitato di liberazione nazionale alta Italia). A Monza, i rappresentanti del comitato sono coloro hanno fondato nel 1942 il già citato Fronte d’azione antifascista e, cioè, Fortunato Scali per i comunisti, Enrico Farè per i socialisti e Luigi Fossati per i democristiani <33. I primi Cln in territorio brianzolo scontano numerosi arresti e continue sostituzioni in quanto si trovano isolati tra di loro e le forze partigiane sono ancora scarse: occorrerà del tempo perché la struttura organizzativa del movimento partigiano si sviluppi nella Brianza monzese <34.
Un punto di svolta nella fase resistenziale sono stati i grandi scioperi operai del marzo 1944, che coinvolgono anche la Brianza. Il grande sciopero del marzo 1944, al contrario agli scioperi del 1943, non pone al centro le rivendicazioni economica, ma è, bensì, un’iniziativa politica del Partito comunista: l’obiettivo dello sciopero è quello di dare una prova di forza politica dell’opposizione al fascismo e all’occupazione tedesca <35.
“Il primo marzo scatta la contestazione in tutte le città del nord. Nel milanese, l’area di Sesto San Giovanni è determinante: la Breda, la Falck, la Magneti Marelli sono il fulcro dello sciopero e il punto di riferimento, naturalmente anche per la Brianza” <36. Lo sciopero riguarda anche il territorio brianzolo, soprattutto l’area di Monza, in cui si trovano importanti aziende industriali. Lo sciopero riguarda molte aziende monzesi, come la Hensemberger, la Singer, dove rientra rapidamente a causa della minaccia nazista, la Philips e la Sertum. Altre realtà industriali brianzole coinvolte sono la Bianchi di Desio e la Isotta Fraschini di Meda. Il secondo giorno di sciopero il Rapporto sullo sciopero generale del 1 marzo a Milano e provincia, redatto dal PCI, informa “che a Monza a causa della brutalità della reazione in alcuni stabilimenti il lavoro è stato ripreso” <37. Infatti, mentre a Milano e Sesto San Giovanni lo sciopero si protrae fino all’8 marzo, nel monzese lo sciopero non dura oltre i due giorni. Ad ogni modo la partecipazione allo sciopero non può dirsi negativa per una terra come la Brianza dove “gli scioperanti non potevano contare, al contrario di Sesto San Giovanni, sulla forza di enormi masse che lavorano nelle grandi fabbriche di città industriali; la repressione poteva avere buon gioco e gli agitatori potevano essere più facilmente individuati” <38. Agli scioperi seguono numerosi arresti e deportazioni nei lager tedeschi. Il PCI si rende conto che le squadre di difesa delle fabbriche, create su sua iniziativa a inizio 1944, non sono in grado di reggere l’onda d’urto della reazione nazifascista <39. Emerge quindi la necessità di un ripensamento organizzativo che porta alla nascita delle Sap.
Le SAP
Nell’estate del 1944 nascono le Sap (Squadre armate partigiane) per idea del comunista Italo Busetto <40. Le squadre delle Sap sono costituite nelle città da cinque uomini e, cioè, un caposquadra e quattro partigiani, mentre nei paesi il caposquadra, scelto nella figura più carismatica del gruppo, coordina tre gruppi composti da cinque uomini l’uno. Le squadre si raggruppano in distaccamenti idealmente di 45-50 uomini; cinque o sei distaccamenti costituiscono una brigata. Il partigiano delle Sap, al contrario dei Gappisti che vivono in clandestinità, se non è un renitente o un ricercato, vive nella legalità, svolgendo il proprio lavoro ed entrando in azione quando è chiamato a farlo <41.
Le Sap, pur essendo una formazione di emanazione del Partito Comunista, “assumono più un aspetto di milizia nazionale, contando nei propri ranghi elementi delle più disparate tendenze politiche” <42.
L’organizzazione delle Sap nella Brianza monzese si articola nell’estate del 1944 come segue <43 <44:
1° settore di Oggiono, poi rientrerà nella 104^ brigata Gianni Citterio. Comandante: Livio Cesana. Distaccamenti: Oggiono, Carate Brianza, Macherio, Biassono, Costamasnaga, Renate. Totale: 177 uomini.
2° settore di Monza, poi 150° brigata. Comandante: Moretto. Distaccamenti: Monza e Vedano al Lambro. Totale: 22 uomini.
3° settore di Vimercate. Comandante prima compagnia, che successivamente si dividerà tra 104° brigata Gianni Citterio e 103° brigata Sap Vincenzo Gabellini <45, Iginio Rota. Distaccamenti: Vimercate, Arcore, Bernareggio, Bellusco, Concorezzo, Cavenago. Totale: 140 uomini.
La seconda compagnia è dislocata a Trezzo d’Adda e dintorni. La terza compagnia (poi 105^ brigata Luigi Brambilla, è composta dai distaccamenti di Brugherio, Caponago, Agrate Brianza, Bussero, Cascine S. Ambrogio, Cernusco sul Naviglio, Carugate. Totale: 159 uomini.
Si costituisce anche una 3^ brigata Sap nella zona tra Saronno (Varese) e la Brianza monzese. Per quest’ultima area si registrano a Meda 40 sappisti attivi dai distaccamenti dell’Isotta Franchini, 12 dall’azienda F.A.C.E., oltre che 36 partigiani delle Sap a Cesano Maderno, 25 a Meda città, 5 a Paderno Dugnano, 150 nell’area compresa tra Bovisio, Varedo, Villaggio Snia, Seveso e Ceriano Laghetto <46.
A fine del 1944 le file delle Sap si ingrossano: si sono via via costituite nuove brigate che confluiranno nel Raggruppamento brigate Bassa Brianza. Tale raggruppamento, guidato dal comandante Eliseo Galliani e dal commissario politico Eugenio Mascetti, riunisce a sé la 119^ brigata Quintino Di Vona con distaccamenti a Nova Milanese, Muggiò, Lissone, Desio, Seregno, Carate Brianza, Paina, Arosio, Inverigo, Cinisello Balsamo, Cusano Milanino, Bresso e Cormano Brusuglio e la 185^ brigata Pietro Arienti con distaccamenti a Cesano Maderno, Bovisio, Seveso, Meda, Barlassina, Paderno Dugnano, Palazzolo, Senago e Limbiate. Rientrano nel raggruppamento anche i distaccamenti per la difesa interna delle industrie quali la Snia e Acna di Cesano Maderno, la Isotta Franchini di Meda e la Bianchi di Desio <47.
Contestualmente le Brigate Garibaldi sono riorganizzate anche nella parte orientale della Brianza, con il Raggruppamento brigate fiume Adda. Confluiscono in tale raggruppamento la 103^ brigata Vincenzo Gabellini con distaccamenti a Vimercate, Bernareggio, Cavenago, Mezzago e Trezzo d’Adda, la 104^ brigata Gianni Citterio e la 105^ brigata Luigi Brambilla con distaccamenti in Brianza a Caponago e Brugherio <48.
Le brigate garibaldine si sono quindi costituite anche in Brianza, sebbene, specie nei primi tempi, la struttura organizzativa sia ancora gracile e il numero dei partigiani limitato per un’area vasta come la Brianza, tanto che non di rado risultano difficili i collegamenti con le altre brigate e il comando. Nonostante le difficoltà, le Sap si rafforzano progressivamente cosicché anche la lotta contro i fascisti e i tedeschi ne trae beneficio in termini di aumento degli attacchi armati sia dal punto di vista quantitativo sia da quello qualitativo <49.
Nel corso del 1944, e in particolare durante l’estate, sono creati i Cln nel territorio brianzolo. Se in un primo momento esisteva solo il Cln di Monza, nel corso dell’estate un po’ in tutti i paesi si formano i Cln. Così facendo la Resistenza prende piede nella maggior parte dei comuni della Brianza. L’operatività e, soprattutto, l’attitudine alla lotta partigiana, dei Cln è però disomogenea: vi sono, ad esempio, alcuni Cln locali del tutto passivi, improntati più a frenare la ribellione invece che ad alimentarla. Alcuni problemi, legati all’inesperienza dei partigiani, alla presenza massiccia di forze nemiche nella zona o alla difficoltà dei collegamenti, pur migliorando nel tempo, permangono fino alla Liberazione. Tuttavia, l’aspetto più significativo che si può desumere dalle biografie dei componenti dei Cln locali è l’inedita partecipazione alla vita politica e sociale degli appartenenti di tutte le classi sociali <50 <51.
[NOTE]
26 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 52.
27 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 53.
28 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 54.
29 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 54.
30 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 54.
31 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 54.
32 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 55.
33 G. Bianchi, Dalla Resistenza. Uomini, eventi, idee della lotta di Liberazione in provincia di Milano, edizione della Provincia di Milano, Milano, 1975, pag. 27.
34 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 56.
35 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 60.
36 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 60.
37 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 60.
38 Annali della Fondazione Lelio e Lisli Basso, L’archivio Basso e l’organizzazione del partito (1943-1945), vol. 8, 1985, 1986, pag. 400, “Ditte con più di 500 dipendenti”.
39 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 97.
40 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 97.
41 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 97.
42 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 99.
43 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 100.
44 G. Bianchi, Dalla Resistenza. Uomini, eventi, idee della lotta di Liberazione in provincia di Milano, edizione della Provincia di Milano, Milano, 1975, pag. 30-31.
45 G. Bianchi, Dalla Resistenza. Uomini, eventi, idee della lotta di Liberazione in provincia di Milano, edizione della Provincia di Milano, Milano, 1975, pag. 33.
46 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 100.
47 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 137.
48 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 138.
49 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 100.
50 P. Arienti, La Resistenza in Brianza 1943-1945, Bellavite, Missaglia (LC), 2006, pag. 106.
51 G. Bianchi, Dalla Resistenza. Uomini, eventi, idee della lotta di Liberazione in provincia di Milano, edizione della Provincia di Milano, Milano, 1975, pag. 30.
Enrico Comini, La Corte di Assise Straordinaria di Monza. I processi per collaborazionismo a Monza (1945-1946), Tesi di laurea magistrale, Università degli Studi di Padova, Anno Accademico 2022-2023#1943 #1944 #Arosio #Barlassina #Bovisio #Brianza #CarateBrianza #CesanoMaderno #CiniselloBalsamo #CLN #comunisti #CusanoMilanino #Desio #EnricoComini #fabbriche #fascisti #GAP #GNR #Inverigo #Lissone #marzo #Meda #Milano #Monza #Muggiò #NovaMilanese #operai #PadernoDugnano #Paina #Palazzolo #partigiani #SAP #scioperi #Seregno #Seveso #tedeschi
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I tried calling WINZ again later in the day, and then I tried again just now. Same answer as the first time;
We're experiencing very high call volumes right now, and we can't answer your call.
So ... automate a callback, and hire some more fecking call centre staff FFS!
Also maybe get rid of all the pointless hoop-jumping that wastes staff time. Like making people reapply every 6 months for a benefit we obviously need, or your data-matching with IRD would have flagged fulltime income.
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Harnessing AI in Blogging: Benefits, Challenges, and Personal Insights
In today’s digital landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a progressively popular tool across various domains, including blogging.
WordPress integrated AI into its platform a few years ago, joining numerous other sites that now offer AI as an option.
I have witnessed many bloggers who are afraid of what AI can do, but I have also seen many bloggers embrace AI and utilise it for the benefits it can offer.
However, like any tool, there are pros and cons to consider.
What are your thoughts about using AI to blog?
This post examines the advantages and disadvantages of integrating AI into your blogging process.
Pros of Using AI in Blogging
1. Improved Efficiency
AI tools can streamline the writing process. From generating topic ideas to creating content drafts, AI can save bloggers considerable time, allowing them to focus on refining their unique voice and style.
This may prove beneficial to bloggers who publish daily, but those bloggers who publish less often may not see any benefit.
2. Enhanced Creativity
AI can assist in brainstorming and generating creative content ideas. With access to vast databases and algorithms that identify trends, AI can offer fresh perspectives and innovative suggestions.
However, some consider this to be plagiarism, a term that specifically refers to taking another person’s work—words, ideas, and so forth—and presenting it as one’s own without proper attribution.
Did you know that WordPress users can choose to stop their blog’s content from being shared with a WordPress-licensed network of content and research partners, including those that train AI models? To achieve this, navigate to your blog’s dashboard, select Settings—Reading, and tick the box next to ‘Prevent third-party sharing...’.
Tick this box to stop AI from using your blog content.3. SEO Optimization
Numerous AI-based tools can analyse keywords and optimise content for search engines. They offer insights into the types of content that rank well, assisting bloggers in enhancing their visibility and reach.
I utilise AI to generate titles for blog posts when I struggle to think of a captivating title that will entice readers to read and engage further. Consequently, I have observed a significant increase in engagement and visitors to my blog.
4. Data-Driven Decisions
AI can analyse reader behaviour and feedback to inform content strategy. By understanding what resonates with the audience, bloggers can create more targeted and engaging content.
However, your WordPress statistics can also provide this information by analysing the stats of posts that receive higher engagement. Typically, you’ll observe a correlation between those posts that engage readers more and those that attract less engagement.
5. Consistency
AI can assist in maintaining a consistent posting schedule by automating aspects of the content creation process. This guarantees that the blog stays active and engaging for readers.
It is widely known that blogs which publish on a schedule tend to retain readers; however, it is unwise to publish content merely for the sake of it. There is nothing wrong with occasionally missing the publication of a blog post or taking a break from blogging. Nevertheless, if you choose to take the latter route, ensure that you inform your readers.
Cons of Using AI in Blogging
1. Lack of Personal Touch
AI-generated content often lacks the emotional depth and personal touch that human writers naturally provide. Readers tend to connect more readily with personal stories and unique experiences that AI is unable to replicate.
If you let AI compose all your posts, you’ll soon notice a decline in visitors and engagement.
2. Quality Control
While AI can generate content rapidly, the quality does not always meet high standards. Bloggers must review and edit AI-generated content to ensure it aligns with their voice and is factually accurate. Remember, it is your blog, not that of AI. Your voice matters.
3. Dependence on Technology
Over-reliance on AI can hinder writing skills. Bloggers may grow overly dependent on tools, stifling creative development and originality. This is particularly evident in the fiction world, where I have observed AI produce stories that lack emotion or feeling, thus making them dull and unappealing.
My advice is that if you are going to AI, mix it with your written content.
4. Ethical Concerns
The use of AI raises ethical questions, such as plagiarism (which I discussed earlier) and authenticity. Bloggers must ensure that their use of AI does not compromise their integrity or mislead their audience. Always check (and check again) what AI produces.
5. Costs
Although some AI tools are free, many come with a cost. For bloggers on a tight budget, investing in AI technology might not be practical. However, this won’t affect those who choose not to use AI.
Do I use AI in blogging?
Yes, I utilise AI to assist with spelling and grammar corrections. I have also used AI to verify if I have omitted anything essential from a post, as well as for generating titles for blog posts.
The featured images I use in my blog posts (including this one) are primarily created using the WordPress AI image tool. However, I have found that the tool is not always particularly effective at generating images, especially when more than a few words are included. More work is needed to improve it.
Conclusion
Utilising AI in blogging offers both exciting opportunities and significant challenges. While it can enhance efficiency, creativity, and data-driven decisions, it is crucial to maintain a balance and preserve the unique voice that attracts readers. By carefully weighing the pros and cons, bloggers can make informed choices about incorporating AI into their writing process.
If you wish to utilise AI, do so with your own writing rather than generating posts entirely composed by AI.
Finally, we must never forget that we all have a choice regarding AI. We can either use it or leave it be. What we must never do is persuade other users to use it or not. It’s a personal decision. Never criticise those who choose to use AI if you are against any use of AI in writing. Likewise, don’t criticise anyone who refuses to use AI if you use it.
Recommended reading about AI in blogging from other bloggers.
If you want a guide on AI on WordPress, check out this excellent article from Fedora, ‘A Guide To WordPress.Com’s AI Assistant.’
This post from Debbie at Deb’s World, “Reinventing Blogging: A Look into the Future,” dives into the controversial realm of AI in blogging, and trust me, it’s a must-read that has ignited plenty of debate. Are you ready to jump into the fray and add your voice to the discussion?
Are you hopping on the AI train in your blogging adventure? If so, what tools are you using, and what benefits has AI brought you and your blog? Does the use of AI in the blogging world concern you? Are you against using AI in Blogging? If so, what are your reasons? We want to hear your thoughts if you’re for or against AI. Drop your thoughts in the comments, and let’s chat!
I’m getting tough with non-engaging comments. Any non-engaging comments such as ‘Nice post’ are marked as spam.
Follow Hugh on social media. Click the buttons below.
Copyright @ 2025 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.
#AI #AIInBlogging #ArtificialIntelligence #BloggingAdvice #BloggingHelp #BloggingQuestions #BloggingTips #BloggingTools #HowTo #WordPress
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Harnessing AI in Blogging: Benefits, Challenges, and Personal Insights
In today’s digital landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a progressively popular tool across various domains, including blogging.
WordPress integrated AI into its platform a few years ago, joining numerous other sites that now offer AI as an option.
I have witnessed many bloggers who are afraid of what AI can do, but I have also seen many bloggers embrace AI and utilise it for the benefits it can offer.
However, like any tool, there are pros and cons to consider.
What are your thoughts about using AI to blog?
This post examines the advantages and disadvantages of integrating AI into your blogging process.
Pros of Using AI in Blogging
1. Improved Efficiency
AI tools can streamline the writing process. From generating topic ideas to creating content drafts, AI can save bloggers considerable time, allowing them to focus on refining their unique voice and style.
This may prove beneficial to bloggers who publish daily, but those bloggers who publish less often may not see any benefit.
2. Enhanced Creativity
AI can assist in brainstorming and generating creative content ideas. With access to vast databases and algorithms that identify trends, AI can offer fresh perspectives and innovative suggestions.
However, some consider this to be plagiarism, a term that specifically refers to taking another person’s work—words, ideas, and so forth—and presenting it as one’s own without proper attribution.
Did you know that WordPress users can choose to stop their blog’s content from being shared with a WordPress-licensed network of content and research partners, including those that train AI models? To achieve this, navigate to your blog’s dashboard, select Settings—Reading, and tick the box next to ‘Prevent third-party sharing...’.
Tick this box to stop AI from using your blog content.3. SEO Optimization
Numerous AI-based tools can analyse keywords and optimise content for search engines. They offer insights into the types of content that rank well, assisting bloggers in enhancing their visibility and reach.
I utilise AI to generate titles for blog posts when I struggle to think of a captivating title that will entice readers to read and engage further. Consequently, I have observed a significant increase in engagement and visitors to my blog.
4. Data-Driven Decisions
AI can analyse reader behaviour and feedback to inform content strategy. By understanding what resonates with the audience, bloggers can create more targeted and engaging content.
However, your WordPress statistics can also provide this information by analysing the stats of posts that receive higher engagement. Typically, you’ll observe a correlation between those posts that engage readers more and those that attract less engagement.
5. Consistency
AI can assist in maintaining a consistent posting schedule by automating aspects of the content creation process. This guarantees that the blog stays active and engaging for readers.
It is widely known that blogs which publish on a schedule tend to retain readers; however, it is unwise to publish content merely for the sake of it. There is nothing wrong with occasionally missing the publication of a blog post or taking a break from blogging. Nevertheless, if you choose to take the latter route, ensure that you inform your readers.
Cons of Using AI in Blogging
1. Lack of Personal Touch
AI-generated content often lacks the emotional depth and personal touch that human writers naturally provide. Readers tend to connect more readily with personal stories and unique experiences that AI is unable to replicate.
If you let AI compose all your posts, you’ll soon notice a decline in visitors and engagement.
2. Quality Control
While AI can generate content rapidly, the quality does not always meet high standards. Bloggers must review and edit AI-generated content to ensure it aligns with their voice and is factually accurate. Remember, it is your blog, not that of AI. Your voice matters.
3. Dependence on Technology
Over-reliance on AI can hinder writing skills. Bloggers may grow overly dependent on tools, stifling creative development and originality. This is particularly evident in the fiction world, where I have observed AI produce stories that lack emotion or feeling, thus making them dull and unappealing.
My advice is that if you are going to AI, mix it with your written content.
4. Ethical Concerns
The use of AI raises ethical questions, such as plagiarism (which I discussed earlier) and authenticity. Bloggers must ensure that their use of AI does not compromise their integrity or mislead their audience. Always check (and check again) what AI produces.
5. Costs
Although some AI tools are free, many come with a cost. For bloggers on a tight budget, investing in AI technology might not be practical. However, this won’t affect those who choose not to use AI.
Do I use AI in blogging?
Yes, I utilise AI to assist with spelling and grammar corrections. I have also used AI to verify if I have omitted anything essential from a post, as well as for generating titles for blog posts.
The featured images I use in my blog posts (including this one) are primarily created using the WordPress AI image tool. However, I have found that the tool is not always particularly effective at generating images, especially when more than a few words are included. More work is needed to improve it.
Conclusion
Utilising AI in blogging offers both exciting opportunities and significant challenges. While it can enhance efficiency, creativity, and data-driven decisions, it is crucial to maintain a balance and preserve the unique voice that attracts readers. By carefully weighing the pros and cons, bloggers can make informed choices about incorporating AI into their writing process.
If you wish to utilise AI, do so with your own writing rather than generating posts entirely composed by AI.
Finally, we must never forget that we all have a choice regarding AI. We can either use it or leave it be. What we must never do is persuade other users to use it or not. It’s a personal decision. Never criticise those who choose to use AI if you are against any use of AI in writing. Likewise, don’t criticise anyone who refuses to use AI if you use it.
Recommended reading about AI in blogging from other bloggers.
If you want a guide on AI on WordPress, check out this excellent article from Fedora, ‘A Guide To WordPress.Com’s AI Assistant.’
This post from Debbie at Deb’s World, “Reinventing Blogging: A Look into the Future,” dives into the controversial realm of AI in blogging, and trust me, it’s a must-read that has ignited plenty of debate. Are you ready to jump into the fray and add your voice to the discussion?
Are you hopping on the AI train in your blogging adventure? If so, what tools are you using, and what benefits has AI brought you and your blog? Does the use of AI in the blogging world concern you? Are you against using AI in Blogging? If so, what are your reasons? We want to hear your thoughts if you’re for or against AI. Drop your thoughts in the comments, and let’s chat!
I’m getting tough with non-engaging comments. Any non-engaging comments such as ‘Nice post’ are marked as spam.
Follow Hugh on social media. Click the buttons below.
Copyright @ 2025 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.
#AI #AIInBlogging #ArtificialIntelligence #BloggingAdvice #BloggingHelp #BloggingQuestions #BloggingTips #BloggingTools #HowTo #WordPress
-
Harnessing AI in Blogging: Benefits, Challenges, and Personal Insights
In today’s digital landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a progressively popular tool across various domains, including blogging.
WordPress integrated AI into its platform a few years ago, joining numerous other sites that now offer AI as an option.
I have witnessed many bloggers who are afraid of what AI can do, but I have also seen many bloggers embrace AI and utilise it for the benefits it can offer.
However, like any tool, there are pros and cons to consider.
What are your thoughts about using AI to blog?
This post examines the advantages and disadvantages of integrating AI into your blogging process.
Pros of Using AI in Blogging
1. Improved Efficiency
AI tools can streamline the writing process. From generating topic ideas to creating content drafts, AI can save bloggers considerable time, allowing them to focus on refining their unique voice and style.
This may prove beneficial to bloggers who publish daily, but those bloggers who publish less often may not see any benefit.
2. Enhanced Creativity
AI can assist in brainstorming and generating creative content ideas. With access to vast databases and algorithms that identify trends, AI can offer fresh perspectives and innovative suggestions.
However, some consider this to be plagiarism, a term that specifically refers to taking another person’s work—words, ideas, and so forth—and presenting it as one’s own without proper attribution.
Did you know that WordPress users can choose to stop their blog’s content from being shared with a WordPress-licensed network of content and research partners, including those that train AI models? To achieve this, navigate to your blog’s dashboard, select Settings—Reading, and tick the box next to ‘Prevent third-party sharing...’.
Tick this box to stop AI from using your blog content.3. SEO Optimization
Numerous AI-based tools can analyse keywords and optimise content for search engines. They offer insights into the types of content that rank well, assisting bloggers in enhancing their visibility and reach.
I utilise AI to generate titles for blog posts when I struggle to think of a captivating title that will entice readers to read and engage further. Consequently, I have observed a significant increase in engagement and visitors to my blog.
4. Data-Driven Decisions
AI can analyse reader behaviour and feedback to inform content strategy. By understanding what resonates with the audience, bloggers can create more targeted and engaging content.
However, your WordPress statistics can also provide this information by analysing the stats of posts that receive higher engagement. Typically, you’ll observe a correlation between those posts that engage readers more and those that attract less engagement.
5. Consistency
AI can assist in maintaining a consistent posting schedule by automating aspects of the content creation process. This guarantees that the blog stays active and engaging for readers.
It is widely known that blogs which publish on a schedule tend to retain readers; however, it is unwise to publish content merely for the sake of it. There is nothing wrong with occasionally missing the publication of a blog post or taking a break from blogging. Nevertheless, if you choose to take the latter route, ensure that you inform your readers.
Cons of Using AI in Blogging
1. Lack of Personal Touch
AI-generated content often lacks the emotional depth and personal touch that human writers naturally provide. Readers tend to connect more readily with personal stories and unique experiences that AI is unable to replicate.
If you let AI compose all your posts, you’ll soon notice a decline in visitors and engagement.
2. Quality Control
While AI can generate content rapidly, the quality does not always meet high standards. Bloggers must review and edit AI-generated content to ensure it aligns with their voice and is factually accurate. Remember, it is your blog, not that of AI. Your voice matters.
3. Dependence on Technology
Over-reliance on AI can hinder writing skills. Bloggers may grow overly dependent on tools, stifling creative development and originality. This is particularly evident in the fiction world, where I have observed AI produce stories that lack emotion or feeling, thus making them dull and unappealing.
My advice is that if you are going to AI, mix it with your written content.
4. Ethical Concerns
The use of AI raises ethical questions, such as plagiarism (which I discussed earlier) and authenticity. Bloggers must ensure that their use of AI does not compromise their integrity or mislead their audience. Always check (and check again) what AI produces.
5. Costs
Although some AI tools are free, many come with a cost. For bloggers on a tight budget, investing in AI technology might not be practical. However, this won’t affect those who choose not to use AI.
Do I use AI in blogging?
Yes, I utilise AI to assist with spelling and grammar corrections. I have also used AI to verify if I have omitted anything essential from a post, as well as for generating titles for blog posts.
The featured images I use in my blog posts (including this one) are primarily created using the WordPress AI image tool. However, I have found that the tool is not always particularly effective at generating images, especially when more than a few words are included. More work is needed to improve it.
Conclusion
Utilising AI in blogging offers both exciting opportunities and significant challenges. While it can enhance efficiency, creativity, and data-driven decisions, it is crucial to maintain a balance and preserve the unique voice that attracts readers. By carefully weighing the pros and cons, bloggers can make informed choices about incorporating AI into their writing process.
If you wish to utilise AI, do so with your own writing rather than generating posts entirely composed by AI.
Finally, we must never forget that we all have a choice regarding AI. We can either use it or leave it be. What we must never do is persuade other users to use it or not. It’s a personal decision. Never criticise those who choose to use AI if you are against any use of AI in writing. Likewise, don’t criticise anyone who refuses to use AI if you use it.
Recommended reading about AI in blogging from other bloggers.
If you want a guide on AI on WordPress, check out this excellent article from Fedora, ‘A Guide To WordPress.Com’s AI Assistant.’
This post from Debbie at Deb’s World, “Reinventing Blogging: A Look into the Future,” dives into the controversial realm of AI in blogging, and trust me, it’s a must-read that has ignited plenty of debate. Are you ready to jump into the fray and add your voice to the discussion?
Are you hopping on the AI train in your blogging adventure? If so, what tools are you using, and what benefits has AI brought you and your blog? Does the use of AI in the blogging world concern you? Are you against using AI in Blogging? If so, what are your reasons? We want to hear your thoughts if you’re for or against AI. Drop your thoughts in the comments, and let’s chat!
I’m getting tough with non-engaging comments. Any non-engaging comments such as ‘Nice post’ are marked as spam.
Follow Hugh on social media. Click the buttons below.
Copyright @ 2025 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.
#AI #AIInBlogging #ArtificialIntelligence #BloggingAdvice #BloggingHelp #BloggingQuestions #BloggingTips #BloggingTools #HowTo #WordPress
-
Harnessing AI in Blogging: Benefits, Challenges, and Personal Insights
In today’s digital landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a progressively popular tool across various domains, including blogging.
WordPress integrated AI into its platform a few years ago, joining numerous other sites that now offer AI as an option.
I have witnessed many bloggers who are afraid of what AI can do, but I have also seen many bloggers embrace AI and utilise it for the benefits it can offer.
However, like any tool, there are pros and cons to consider.
What are your thoughts about using AI to blog?
This post examines the advantages and disadvantages of integrating AI into your blogging process.
Pros of Using AI in Blogging
1. Improved Efficiency
AI tools can streamline the writing process. From generating topic ideas to creating content drafts, AI can save bloggers considerable time, allowing them to focus on refining their unique voice and style.
This may prove beneficial to bloggers who publish daily, but those bloggers who publish less often may not see any benefit.
2. Enhanced Creativity
AI can assist in brainstorming and generating creative content ideas. With access to vast databases and algorithms that identify trends, AI can offer fresh perspectives and innovative suggestions.
However, some consider this to be plagiarism, a term that specifically refers to taking another person’s work—words, ideas, and so forth—and presenting it as one’s own without proper attribution.
Did you know that WordPress users can choose to stop their blog’s content from being shared with a WordPress-licensed network of content and research partners, including those that train AI models? To achieve this, navigate to your blog’s dashboard, select Settings—Reading, and tick the box next to ‘Prevent third-party sharing...’.
Tick this box to stop AI from using your blog content.3. SEO Optimization
Numerous AI-based tools can analyse keywords and optimise content for search engines. They offer insights into the types of content that rank well, assisting bloggers in enhancing their visibility and reach.
I utilise AI to generate titles for blog posts when I struggle to think of a captivating title that will entice readers to read and engage further. Consequently, I have observed a significant increase in engagement and visitors to my blog.
4. Data-Driven Decisions
AI can analyse reader behaviour and feedback to inform content strategy. By understanding what resonates with the audience, bloggers can create more targeted and engaging content.
However, your WordPress statistics can also provide this information by analysing the stats of posts that receive higher engagement. Typically, you’ll observe a correlation between those posts that engage readers more and those that attract less engagement.
5. Consistency
AI can assist in maintaining a consistent posting schedule by automating aspects of the content creation process. This guarantees that the blog stays active and engaging for readers.
It is widely known that blogs which publish on a schedule tend to retain readers; however, it is unwise to publish content merely for the sake of it. There is nothing wrong with occasionally missing the publication of a blog post or taking a break from blogging. Nevertheless, if you choose to take the latter route, ensure that you inform your readers.
Cons of Using AI in Blogging
1. Lack of Personal Touch
AI-generated content often lacks the emotional depth and personal touch that human writers naturally provide. Readers tend to connect more readily with personal stories and unique experiences that AI is unable to replicate.
If you let AI compose all your posts, you’ll soon notice a decline in visitors and engagement.
2. Quality Control
While AI can generate content rapidly, the quality does not always meet high standards. Bloggers must review and edit AI-generated content to ensure it aligns with their voice and is factually accurate. Remember, it is your blog, not that of AI. Your voice matters.
3. Dependence on Technology
Over-reliance on AI can hinder writing skills. Bloggers may grow overly dependent on tools, stifling creative development and originality. This is particularly evident in the fiction world, where I have observed AI produce stories that lack emotion or feeling, thus making them dull and unappealing.
My advice is that if you are going to AI, mix it with your written content.
4. Ethical Concerns
The use of AI raises ethical questions, such as plagiarism (which I discussed earlier) and authenticity. Bloggers must ensure that their use of AI does not compromise their integrity or mislead their audience. Always check (and check again) what AI produces.
5. Costs
Although some AI tools are free, many come with a cost. For bloggers on a tight budget, investing in AI technology might not be practical. However, this won’t affect those who choose not to use AI.
Do I use AI in blogging?
Yes, I utilise AI to assist with spelling and grammar corrections. I have also used AI to verify if I have omitted anything essential from a post, as well as for generating titles for blog posts.
The featured images I use in my blog posts (including this one) are primarily created using the WordPress AI image tool. However, I have found that the tool is not always particularly effective at generating images, especially when more than a few words are included. More work is needed to improve it.
Conclusion
Utilising AI in blogging offers both exciting opportunities and significant challenges. While it can enhance efficiency, creativity, and data-driven decisions, it is crucial to maintain a balance and preserve the unique voice that attracts readers. By carefully weighing the pros and cons, bloggers can make informed choices about incorporating AI into their writing process.
If you wish to utilise AI, do so with your own writing rather than generating posts entirely composed by AI.
Finally, we must never forget that we all have a choice regarding AI. We can either use it or leave it be. What we must never do is persuade other users to use it or not. It’s a personal decision. Never criticise those who choose to use AI if you are against any use of AI in writing. Likewise, don’t criticise anyone who refuses to use AI if you use it.
Recommended reading about AI in blogging from other bloggers.
If you want a guide on AI on WordPress, check out this excellent article from Fedora, ‘A Guide To WordPress.Com’s AI Assistant.’
This post from Debbie at Deb’s World, “Reinventing Blogging: A Look into the Future,” dives into the controversial realm of AI in blogging, and trust me, it’s a must-read that has ignited plenty of debate. Are you ready to jump into the fray and add your voice to the discussion?
Are you hopping on the AI train in your blogging adventure? If so, what tools are you using, and what benefits has AI brought you and your blog? Does the use of AI in the blogging world concern you? Are you against using AI in Blogging? If so, what are your reasons? We want to hear your thoughts if you’re for or against AI. Drop your thoughts in the comments, and let’s chat!
I’m getting tough with non-engaging comments. Any non-engaging comments such as ‘Nice post’ are marked as spam.
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#AI #AIInBlogging #ArtificialIntelligence #BloggingAdvice #BloggingHelp #BloggingQuestions #BloggingTips #BloggingTools #HowTo #WordPress
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Times of India | Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has a warning for AI companies: Stop telling people that...
AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that the AI industry must stop downplaying the imminent disruption its technology will cause, noting that AI could eliminate roughly 50 % of entry‑level white‑collar jobs—including junior tech, legal, consulting and finance roles—within five years. He argued that the sector’s credibility hinges on delivering tangible benefits rather than empty promises, emphasizing that public trust is eroding as early‑career workers increasingly feel the squeeze. Amodei highlighted internal research showing programmers, customer‑service reps and financial analysts are already the most exposed to automation, and cited broader labour‑market data indicating a decline in coding jobs. While other AI leaders are proposing policy solutions such as shorter workweeks and portable benefits, Amodei stressed that real safeguards and measurable productivity gains are needed now to offset the looming displacement and restore confidence in AI.
#Anthropic #DarioAmodei #OpenAI #SamAltman
AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.
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#AI #GenerativeAI #Journalism #News #LLMs #RAGs #Science #ScienceJournalism #Media: "Surprisingly, GPT-4 with the abstracts performs a little bit better than GPT-4 with RAG over the article text, both in terms of accuracy (96.6% vs. 93.5%) and win percentage (29.2% vs. 27.8% — the rest were ties). This suggests that more context from the scientific article did not necessarily lead to higher accuracy or better understandability (i.e. our first assumption about using RAG here as described above was not met). A deeper investigation of the retrieved snippets and their actual relevance to the jargon term may help understand if this is an issue with the quality of the context, or if there may be other causes such as the similarity threshold we used. To apply RAG successfully, it’s essential to explore and test different parameters. Without this kind of careful experimentation, RAG on its own might not provide the desired results.
It may also be the case that the large size of GPT-4’s pre-training dataset enables it to draw from other sources to generate definitions. This can be as much a concern as a benefit though — it can make it harder to override irrelevant information from the pre-training data, or eschew its limitations based on cutoff dates for model training.
We also found that the effectiveness of these approaches varied based on the reader’s expertise. For instance, the less experienced annotator found similar value in both methods (higher tie percentage), while the more expert reader noticed more differences. Further evaluation with a larger set of annotators may help to replicate and understand these differences."
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🆘 Your government is in the hands of super-rich people who never had to show anything to anybody!
And you can bet they plan to run the country the same way they have run their companies:
using shell games and pyramid schemes, fraud and shakedown, answerable to virtually no one.
These are people who have thrived in a culture of unaccountability and self-dealing.
They are also people who have convinced themselves that the accrual of wealth to themselves is a boon to the nation at large.
They like to think of themselves as job creators, dynamic players in shaping the global economy.
Because their magnificence exists to benefit us all, the reasoning goes, they need not show us the methods by which they perform their magic.
And indeed we do all stand, mouths agape, at the show, dazzled by the 22,000-square-foot mansion
(with a 6,200-square-foot guest house)
that serves as the home address of secretary of education #Betsy #DeVos,
or the 203-foot yacht (with an elevator inside) owned by #Robert #Mercer, the Trump donor and patron of chief White House strategist #Stephen K. #Bannon.(Mercer’s daughter, #Rebekah, is said to have great influence in the West Wing.)
The source of Mercer’s wealth is ♦️Renaissance Technologies LLC, a privately owned firm known as a hedge-fund sponsor,
which was built by scientists who learned how to run algorithms that identify signals emanating from great masses of data in order to generate profitable financial trades.After Renaissance founder and math wizard James Simons, a big donor to Democratic candidates and political action committees, retired and kicked himself upstairs to serve as the company’s chairman,
Mercer became co-CEO with #Peter #Brown, his longtime research partner.At the Renaissance office in East Setauket on New York’s Long Island, no sign is visible from the road to tell you you’ve arrived at the headquarters of a rare kind of casino
—one that moves billions of dollars around the world.Thick plantings of trees obscure any view of the low-slung Renaissance building from the public side of the security gate.
Renaissance is spectacularly successful
—Investopedia named Renaissance Institutional Equities, the LLC’s largest entity,
the top-performing hedge fund of 2016,
after it yielded investors a return of 20 percent for the year.Mercer’s genius as a data and systems geek is part of the super-secret sauce of this “quant fund”
that turned other people’s assets-minus-liabilities into riches for his investors.It’s like a very complicated version of counting cards at the blackjack table.
But the best-performing fund at Renaissance is one that only its employees can join
—and indeed they must in order to actualize their full compensation package.Bloomberg’s Katherine Burton described the employee-only Medallion fund as
“finance’s blackest box.”
https://thebaffler.com/salvos/what-we-do-is-secret-stan -
A dollar is a dollar is a dollar
But some dollars are different, because of how their owners obtain them and move them about.These are the dark dollars of private companies, dollars slithery in their expert avoidance of taxes, their paths rendered invisible by the absence of footprints.
Critics of the Trump White House point to the obscene levels of wealth that you find among the inner circle of President Trump’s appointees and associates.
Just as striking, though, is the provenance of all this loose cash:
Trump’s trusted advisers have come into much of this wealth through private companies,
whose financial balance sheets and so much more are shielded from public view.At least ten of Trump’s close political associates, including some of his cabinet picks, hail from the carefully shrouded world of private capital.
💥Private companies play by a different set of rules than those governing firms that trade their shares on stock exchanges.
Unlike their publicly traded counterparts, private companies don’t have to worry about facing irate shareholders.
That’s because a private company’s principals have chosen those shareholders, who are often drawn from a founder’s family.
No proxy fights or hostile takeovers to worry about; no bending to the will of big institutional investors.
This is not to say that there are no big donors to Democrats who don’t also get their dough from private companies.
For example, Democrats have long enjoyed the largesse of the Pritzker family, who took their Hyatt Corporation public only in 2009.
Until then, it was a closely held private company.
But no Democratic administration was ever dominated by the owners of privately held entities,
and no administration of either party has ever represented so much wealth derived from such secretive entities.👉Little in the way of financial disclosure is required of privately held companies. When it comes to financial regulation, these companies reap the benefit of the government’s failure to call them to account.
The same is true of private companies as large as the Koch Industries conglomerate or as adorably tiny as a startup founded by a lone millennial in a stocking cap.
Sanctums of Privilege
This is not a screed against private companies. As a red-blooded American, I revel in tales of heroic entrepreneurship
—of hatched-in-the-garage ideas that yield their underdog executors an unlikely pot of gold.This is, rather, a scream, the wail of a blues tune sung to my fellow red-blooded Americans:
🆘 Your government is in the hands of super-rich people who never had to show anything to anybody!
And you can bet they plan to run the country the same way they have run their companies:
using shell games and pyramid schemes, fraud and shakedown, answerable to virtually no one.
These are people who have thrived in a culture of unaccountability and self-dealing.
They are also people who have convinced themselves that the accrual of wealth to themselves is a boon to the nation at large.
They like to think of themselves as job creators, dynamic players in shaping the global economy.
Because their magnificence exists to benefit us all, the reasoning goes, they need not show us the methods by which they perform their magic.
And indeed we do all stand, mouths agape, at the show, dazzled by the 22,000-square-foot mansion
(with a 6,200-square-foot guest house)
that serves as the home address of secretary of education #Betsy #DeVos,
or the 203-foot yacht (with an elevator inside) owned by #Robert #Mercer, the Trump donor and patron of chief White House strategist #Stephen K. #Bannon.(Mercer’s daughter, #Rebekah, is said to have great influence in the West Wing.)
The source of Mercer’s wealth is ♦️Renaissance Technologies LLC, a privately owned firm known as a hedge-fund sponsor,
which was built by scientists who learned how to run algorithms that identify signals emanating from great masses of data in order to generate profitable financial trades.After Renaissance founder and math wizard James Simons, a big donor to Democratic candidates and political action committees, retired and kicked himself upstairs to serve as the company’s chairman,
Mercer became co-CEO with #Peter #Brown, his longtime research partner.At the Renaissance office in East Setauket on New York’s Long Island, no sign is visible from the road to tell you you’ve arrived at the headquarters of a rare kind of casino
—one that moves billions of dollars around the world.Thick plantings of trees obscure any view of the low-slung Renaissance building from the public side of the security gate.
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RE: https://mementomori.social/@levi/115334697961474628
2. Streetcomplete and #Openstreetmaps
On the topic of #geolocation , there's another FOSS project that relies on community submissions to build a privacy preserving map
let's face it, Google Maps is the most solid, polished and convenient maps app out there, it offers detailed business listings, phone numbers, open hours, photos and reviews, Streetview (which OSM lacks), live traffic, routing algorithms with turn by turn navigation.. Etc.
But as it's the case with proprietary software, convenience comes at a cost, a cost that no one can afford, loss of privacy.
Most people fail to recognize how sensitive location data is, how it's used against them and how it can be abused in the future.
if I ask.. where were you on February 9, 2012, at 3 o'clock? you have no clue, you can't even remember what you had for dinner last night! me too :-) our brains can't recall events with time and location with such great precision, if you can.. you must be Charles Xavier from X-Men :-P
But you know who can remember? Google. the Ad company profiles individuals by tracking queries, routes, and interactions, it records your movements by a feature called location history which is turned on by default, even when you don't use the app, your movements are still logged, heck.. even if you turn off location history altogether, Google keeps on tracking you.. this should tell you how much valuable location data is for E-Corp, where you work or study, what you're planning to buy, where you go for entrainment.. etc. all used to create a profile so that the surveillance machine can target you with ads..
The brightside is that we don't have to use a surveillance tool like Google Maps, OrganicMaps is a free and open source software that respects your privacy, does not collect or transmit your location, search history, or usage data and it encourages you to use it offline by letting you know that you have to download maps for your area.
Organic Maps uses OpenStreeMaps which is also free software, but as I mentioned it's not as rich as Google Maps in terms of data. :-(
Which brings us to Streetcomplete, a FOSS android app designed to make contributing to OpenStreetMap easy. It's really like a real life game and I find it fun, It uses a simple question and answer interface to gather missing OpenStreeMaps details like: surface types of paths, opening hours of shops, speed limits.. etc
Submitted data will appear on OpenStreeMaps, so all users of apps like @organicmaps and @CoMaps can benefit from :-)
If you're interested in volunteering to help us make a #freedom map so we don't live our lives under the constant surveillance of #bigbrother Google, check out the following links:
- https://streetcomplete.app/
- https://www.openstreetmap.org
- https://organicmaps.app
- https://www.comaps.app/
#opensource #geolocation #linux #programming #coding #technology #geoip #software #gis #openstreetmap #tech #github #iot #data #security #opensourceprojects #geotagging #locationdata #mapdata #opendata #fdroid #neostumbler #location #surveillance #privacy #street #streetcomplete #google -
🏆 HT Award Spotlight – Douglas Engelbart Best Paper Award 2015
Axel Schulz, Benedikt Schmidt, Thorsten Strufe: Small-Scale Incident Detection based on MicropostsDetecting small-scale incidents from microposts using spatial-temporal clustering. The method combines multiple incident-defining properties, a hybrid efficient pipeline, and robust feature extraction, achieving 32.14% detection (vs ~6% SOTA) and 77% precision on Seattle data.
🔗 sigweb.org/awards
#Hypertext #ACM #SocialMediaAnalytics -
Terrestrial Energy Goes Public With Gain of $280M
- Terrestrial Energy Goes Public with Net of $280 Million
- SMR Developers Get Ready to Submit License Applications to NRC
- DOE Re-Issues $900 Million Solicitation For SMRs
- INL Seeks Industry Sponsors for $5-10 Million to Invest in Nuclear Startups
Terrestrial Energy Goes Public with Net of $280 Million
- Terrestrial Energy merged with a special acquisition company
- The firm expects to net $280 million from the deal
The combined entity of Terrestrial Energy and HCM II Acquisition Corp expects to list on Nasdaq under the symbol ISMR. Proceeds will be used to accelerate commercial deployment of Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR technology and to pay transaction expenses. Prior to the SPAC merger, Terrestrial Energy had raised $94 million, according to PitchBook.
The ticker IMSR is a reference to Terrestrial Energy’s design of small modular reactor (SMR), which it calls an integral molten salt reactor. The startup is targeting a range of markets, including electric power, data centers, and industrial applications that require process heat.
The transaction will provide approximately $280 million in gross proceeds consisting of $50 million in common stock PIPE commitments at $10.00 per share from new non-affiliated fundamental institutional investors, and approximately $230 million of cash held in HCM II Acquisition Corp.’s (HCM II) trust account before potential redemption.
HCM II Acquisition Corp. (HCM II) is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. HCM II’s Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbols “HOND” and “HONDW”, respectively.
HCM II’s management team is led by Shawn Matthews, its Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, and Steven Bischoff, its President and Chief Financial Officer. HCM II’s Board of Directors includes Andrew Brenner, Michael J. Connor and Jacob Loveless.
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. is acting as exclusive capital markets advisor and sole PIPE placement agent. King & Spalding LLP is acting as legal advisor to HCM II. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is acting as legal advisor to Terrestrial Energy. DLA Piper LLP (US) acted as legal counsel to the placement agent, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
Key Markets for the IMSR
Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR plant technology is focused on several growth sectors, including data center power supply, industrial heat and power, grid power, and the production of advanced low-carbon fuels and materials.
The company has multiple partnerships and agreements with Westinghouse Fuels, Energy Solutions, Schneider Electric, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and Argonne National Laboratory, among others.
Texas A&M University recently selected Terrestrial Energy to partner on the construction of a commercial IMSR plant at the Texas A&M RELLIS campus, contributing to the university’s goal of achieving 1 GW of generating capacity at the site by the mid-2030s.
https://youtu.be/ncKGUj6FN1E?feature=shared
Progress with Canadian and US Nuclear Regulatory Agencies
In 2023 the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) completed its programmatic Vendor Design Review of the IMSR plant design, the first Generation IV reactor design to complete Canada’s CNSC Vendor Design Review, and a historic industry first for a nuclear plant powered with molten salt reactor technology.
The company’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) engagement commenced in 2016 and includes a successful inter-agency joint review of the IMSR technology under a CNSC-U.S. NRC Memorandum of Cooperation and concurrent with the CNSC’s completion of the Vendor Design Review.
About Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR
Terrestrial Energy’s reactor core is designed to be entirely replaced every seven years, in part to head off some of the problems earlier molten salt reactors experienced like corrosion. The reactor core includes not only the fuel and graphite modulators that regulate the speed of the fission reactions, but also the heat exchangers and pumps that keep the salt cool and flowing.
The company’s IMSR plant design, consisting of two operating IMSRs, has an 822 MWth / 390 MWe capacity. Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR technology is differentiated from legacy nuclear technology through its use of molten salt reactor technology, which offers high efficiency and inherently safe operation.
Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR plants are designed to make use of low-cost, readily available Standard-Assay Low Enriched Uranium (LEU enriched to under 5% U235) fuel, enabling secure and scalable fuel supply chains necessary for widespread fleet deployment.
Terrestrial Energy believes the use of LEU fuel is a key competitive advantage given significant challenges to the commercial supply of High-Assay Low- Enriched Uranium (HALEU is enriched to between 15% and 20% U235) due to geopolitical tensions.
There are many proposals to build commercial-scale molten salt reactors, but to date, none has been built. The basic technology was invented in the 1950s at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. However, these designs did not proceed to commercial implementation.
Terrestrial Energy isn’t the first SMR startup to use a SPAC — Sam Altmans Oklo completed its deal in 2024. However, X-Energy exited a SPAC deal shortly after the termination of NuScale’s project in Idaho and reverted to being a privately held company.
& & &
SMR Developers Get Ready to Submit License Applications to NRC
(WNN) Oklo Inc and Deep Atomic Inc are preparing pre-application engagements with with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for their respective projects: Oklo Inc is engaging with the regulator ahead of an application to construct and operate an Aurora Powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory, while Deep Atomic is planning to apply for design certification of its MK60 small modular reactor.
NRC pre-application activities mainly occur through three processes: white papers/technical reports, topical reports, and readiness assessments. These documents request NRC feedback on technical, programmatic, regulatory, or administrative topics that may involve challenging issues, describe new/novel approaches, involve policy issues that require Commission involvement, or are technical areas that applicant/vendors have little experience.
SMR Developers Engage With US Regulators
NRC policy regulating advanced nuclear reactors encourages potential applicants to engage with its staff “early and often” in the design process to help minimize complexity and add stability and predictability in the licensing and regulation process.
Oklo is engaging with the NRC through a Pre-Application Readiness Assessment for the combined license application (COLA) it intends to submit later this year. The readiness assessment allows NRC staff to review and familiarize themselves with Oklo’s licensing materials ahead of the full application so that both sides can prepare for an efficient and cost-effective review
The Readiness Assessment will begin later this month, and will address the content of the first phase of Oklo’s COLA submission, which will include information on the siting and environmental portions of the application. Oklo plans to submit a formal COLA later this year, with plans for follow on-applications for an order pipeline of 14 GW.
The Aurora powerhouse is a fast neutron reactor capable of producing electricity – up to 50 MWe – or heat. Oklo received a site use permit from the US Department of Energy in 2019 to build and operate a prototype reactor at Idaho National Laboratory and is working towards site characterization for the first-of-a-kind plant.
The firm plans to submit its combined license application after 10/01/25 which is the date at which the NRC’s planned 55% hourly reduction in fees takes place for applications by developers of advanced reactors.
Oklo’s first reactor, which is to be built at a site on the Idaho National Laboratory, will use HALEU fuel derived from the EBR II project. While there is enough for a first fuel loading, like other advanced reactors developers, the firm is facing a challenge to secure enough fuel for future new builds especially at multi-unit sites supporting data centers.
It will be 2030 or later before production of HALEU fuel by US suppliers is up to speed. Oklo noted in the investor briefing that it is also building a spent fuel recycling facility and fuel fabrication plant at the Idaho lab which will provide the fuel for its commercial installations.
Oklo said in an investor briefing last week that it has expanded the power rating of its advanced reactor to 75 MW to meet requirements for power by large data center customers. The firm said in the briefing the change will take place, “without any notable technical, design, or regulatory complexities.”
The firm’s ambitions to build out 14 GW of power for multiple customers translates into about 190 of the 75 MW units. The firm’s business model is one of build, own, and operate the reactors at customer sites. Each reactor the firm builds and operates becomes a continuous revenue stream for the firm. The firm said in its briefing that the larger reactor design is more fuel efficient and allows its customers to achieve needed electrical generation with fewer reactors.
Deep Atomic Design certification
Deep Atomic formally notified the NRC in a letter dated 03/01/25 of its intent to begin the Pre-Application Process for the Design Certification of its MK60 SMR. The MK60 SMR uses pressurized light water reactor technology, and is designed to produce 60 MW of electricity. It is specifically intended to cater for data centers. The Zurich, Switzerland-headquartered company says its target date for the project (series manufacturing) is the fourth quarter of 2029.
“We are looking forward to working collaboratively with the NRC to ensure a transparent, efficient, and thorough review process throughout all stages of the licensing process,” Deep Atomic CEO William Theron said in the letter to the NRC.
Deep Atomic initiated the consultation with the NRC in October last year. It aims to submit its regulatory engagement plan this coming July and the design certification application by the fourth quarter of 2027. It told the NRC that it also intends to submit an application for an Early Site Permit – which certifies that a site is suitable for the construction of a nuclear power plant from the point of view of site safety, environmental impact and emergency planning – by the fourth quarter of 2027, but without naming a proposed site. Eventually, the firm will have to select a location for the ESP.
Deep Atomic recently issued a white paper on its vision for co-location of SMRs at data centers to provide a fully integrated, optimized power and cooling generation solution. The company says it views the data center and the SMR as parts of one integrated system rather than two separate entities.
& & &
DOE Re-Issues $900 Million Solicitation For Generation III+ SMRs
(NucNet) The US Department of Energy (DOE) on 03/24/25 re-issued a $900m (€831m) solicitation to support the deployment of Generation III+ small modular reactors (SMRs). The re-issued solicitation specifies light-water reactor (LWR) technologies.
Among the changes, “all community benefits requirements, and related elements, have been removed from the solicitation.” The previous solicitation required a community benefit plan that considered four factors: local engagement, alignment of community benefits with community priorities, quality local jobs, and support for underrepresented groups. The previous solicitation put 20% of the evaluation for a funding award on these factors.
The original solicitation was issued in October 2024. The new solicitation has the objective of achieving “grid-scale deployment of “domestic Gen III+ SMR technologies that are reliable, able to be licensed, commercially viable, and have a demonstrated path towards a multi-reactor order book.”
Three Applicants Likely Among Others
While the solicitation is open to all comers, three applicants to the previous RFP are likely submit bids for this one. They include;
Constellation had teamed with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to support an early site permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for one or more advanced nuclear reactors at the Nine Mile Point site in upstate New York.
TVA applied to “accelerate construction of an SMR at TVA’s Clinch River Project, in Oak Ridge, TN,, by two years—with commercial operation planned for 2033.” The selected SMR is the GE-Hitachi BWRX-300.
TVA’s partners include Bechtel, BWX Technologies, Duke Energy, the Electric Power Research Institute, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Indiana Michigan Power, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Sargent & Lundy, Scot Forge, and North American Forgemasters.
Arizona Public Service had partnered with the Salt River Project and Tucson Electric Power. It focused on site selection efforts with a site picked by the end of the decade and having an SMR in revenue service in the early 2040s.
DOE’s Risk Reduction Strategy
The DOE said the re-issued solicitation offers funding to de-risk the deployment of Generation III+ light-water small modular reactors through two tiers.
Tier 1 will provide up to $800 million to support up to two “first mover” teams of utility, reactor vendor, constructor, and end-users or off-takers committed to deploying a first plant and developing a multi-reactor, Generation III+ SMR order book.
Tier 2 will provide approximately $100 million to spur additional Generation III+ SMR deployments by addressing key gaps that have hindered the domestic nuclear industry in areas such as design, licensing, supply chain, and site preparation.
Why DOE Wants SMRs
The DOE said US electricity demand is forecast to soar in the coming years driven by consumer needs, data center growth, increased AI use, and the industrial sector’s need for constant power.
SMRs could provide reliable power for these energy-intensive sectors, with the added benefit of flexible deployment thanks to their compact size and modular design.
Light-water SMRs could also make use of the existing service and supply chain, including LEU fuel, e.g., less than 5% U235, supporting the country’s current fleet of LWRs. This would help speed up the near-term deployment of new nuclear reactors, the DOE said.
Generation III+ plants incorporate passive safety features which require no active controls. They can shut down safely in an emergency without the need for operator action or electronic feedback. There is no precise definition of Generation III+, but full size plants already in operation that include Generation III+ features include the Westinghouse AP1000, Areva’s EPR and Russia’s VVER 1200. Many generation III+ SMR plants, e.g, less than 300 MW, are under development by multiple developers, but none are yet in operation.
& & &
Idaho National Laboratory Seeks Industry Sponsors for $5-10 Million to Invest in Nuclear Startups
The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is seeking an industry sponsor to invest $5 million to $10 million in a privately funded innovation incubator. This program will combine the power of a national laboratory with private sector commercialization knowledge to unleash breakthrough innovations by finding and supporting promising startups in the areas of nuclear energy, integrated energy systems, cybersecurity and advanced materials.
The innovation incubator seeks to provide seed-stage startups aligned with the private sector sponsor’s strategic investment priorities with access to INL’s world-class facilities and technical expertise, which can de-risk and advance their innovations. This is a unique opportunity to support promising startups and be at the forefront of innovation.
INL and the private sector sponsor will jointly issue nationwide calls for entrepreneurs and startups to identify American technologies and talent. This effort will develop and narrow into a small cohort of top candidates who will be selected for investment. The incubator provides the private sector sponsor with direct access to a pipeline of innovation at a fraction of the cost of conventional acquisition. Sponsor benefits include:
Pipeline to innovation: The incubator delivers a turnkey source of cutting-edge American innovation in the private sector sponsor’s areas of strategic interest, providing valuable new growth opportunities.
Technology de-risking: National laboratory scientists and laboratory capabilities that provide unparalleled technical due diligence for identified opportunities and subsequent acceleration of technology advancement, resulting in opportunities that are substantially de-risked.
Publicity for advancing American innovation: Partnering with INL adds credibility, goodwill and visibility to the private sector sponsor’s investments, demonstrating viable leadership in technical innovation.
Interested industry sponsors can contact [email protected] for more information.
# # #
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Posting here as we still have this role open. #Java Engineer (ideally with some #DataBricks or data pipeline knowledge), working in the healthcare space for Praia Health. Smaller startup; health+dental benefits, hiring in the USA or Canada. Comp is 110,000 - 160,000 USD. #GetFediHired
Apply here or DM me: https://ats.rippling.com/praia-health/jobs/3d3d0d0a-34d1-4bf0-b5e5-f37662eb67c3?st=a580e158-824a-40a9-a3da-f6c1351a6e2c -
The Amass Project received a glowing testimonial from an organization leveraging the @owasp #attacksurface mapping system:
"For FortifyData, Amass is an invaluable tool in our arsenal for quickly and accurately determining asset footprints for cyber risk assessment. It reliably provides superior results without false positives. Further, the OAM database model provides inherent benefits beyond asset footprinting, such as identifying third parties associated with the target and nth-party detection. Working closely with the Amass team, we've watched Amass steadily enhance its capabilities. Our clients are deeply impressed with the results our platform generates using Amass data. We look forward to continuing to work with Amass and supporting its development!"
J. Eric Smith, VP Technology Services Delivery
Please let us know if your organization has a testimonial to share as well!
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#bootable portal extra tools #density #io
from chatgpt onYou said:
compare usb flash drives to nvme in external enclosure - latency and overall speed comparison
ChatGPT said:Great question — let’s break this down clearly.
⚡ USB Flash Drives vs. NVMe in External Enclosure
Aspect USB Flash Drive NVMe in External Enclosure
Underlying Technology NAND flash on a basic controller (often slower, fewer channels) High-speed NVMe SSD on PCIe lanes inside an enclosure with USB-C or Thunderbolt interface
Typical Interface USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 (5–10 Gbps) USB 3.1/3.2 (10–20 Gbps) or Thunderbolt 3/4 (up to 40 Gbps)
Sequential Read Speed ~100–400 MB/s (high-end USB 3.2 models) 900–2,800 MB/s over USB 3.2; up to ~3,000–4,000 MB/s with Thunderbolt
Sequential Write Speed ~50–300 MB/s (often slower due to cheaper controllers) 900–2,500 MB/s over USB 3.2; higher with Thunderbolt
Random Read/Write IOPS Very low (~1,000–10,000 IOPS), latency ~100–500 µs Much higher (~100,000–600,000 IOPS), latency ~20–100 µs
Latency High (slow controller, weak queueing, high protocol overhead) Low (PCIe NVMe is optimized for low latency; enclosure adds some but still faster)
Performance Stability Degrades quickly on large sustained writes (thermal or cache limits) Much more stable under heavy or sustained workloads (thanks to DRAM cache, better controller)
Use Case Suitability Best for occasional file transfers, light usage Suitable for heavy file transfers, external boot drives, video editing, virtual machines, fast scratch disks
Cost per GB Low Higher (but dropping steadily)
Thermal Considerations Generally none (low power, low heat) Needs proper enclosure cooling; NVMe can throttle under sustained load
🔍 Latency DetailsUSB flash drives use simple microcontrollers designed for cost, not performance.
Latency is often >100 microseconds per request, plus protocol stack delays.NVMe SSDs inside an external enclosure are fundamentally designed for high-performance PCIe operation:
Even though USB/Thunderbolt adds some latency, overall you get ~20–100 microseconds access times — significantly lower.
NVMe also benefits from parallel command queues (up to 64K queues) while USB flash sticks typically handle just one or a few.
💡 Real-World Speed Examples
Scenario USB 3.0 Flash Drive NVMe + USB 3.2 Enclosure
Copying 10 GB file ~5–10 min (100 MB/s) ~20–30 sec (400–500 MB/s over USB)
Running OS or apps (external boot) Feels slow, long delays Feels near-native, snappy performance
Editing 4K video off disk Likely choppy or slow Smooth playback and editing
🚀 Summary✅ NVMe in an external enclosure is vastly faster in both throughput and latency — essentially turning your external drive into a portable high-speed SSD.
⚠ USB flash drives are convenient but optimized for simplicity and cost, not speed.If you want to boot an OS, run virtual machines, edit large media, or move lots of data, NVMe is a huge upgrade.
If you just want to carry around some documents or backups occasionally, a decent USB stick is still fine.
If you tell me your use case, I can help recommend the best external drive setup! Want me to suggest some specific models?
You said:
do this - plan out a bootable encrypted persistence drive with all the bells and whistles - it is based on kali everything and has all the tools plus some kali everything leaves out, notably it is geared to have a full wiki dump imported into mediawiki, it also has a giant solr index from say top 100 sites and what else? i would like the tone to be specialized as a dx/pentesting but also serving tool - maybe have some components of my cms/portals idea installed, it couldd be customized for various sectors but initially for infosec/IT....you have a 2 tb nvme - fill it up to 1.4gb to leave some space. maybe include pihole and opnsense and malcolm images, have scripts that will run and gather data into a buffer in memory but also on the drive. so the tool should have a open source license but also some community gen resources for how to use with proprietary data and sw and extend. heavy emphasis on osint, versioning, ai and leveraging info - maybe even have some info on going more api less and more on getting reliable feeds, hooking it up to a vps over a vpn to offload and scale, even easy clustering - you could spin up this image on a vm if you wanted to scale cluster
ChatGPT said:🔥 Plan: Bootable Encrypted Persistence Kali + Specialized DX/Pentest/OSINT Mega Toolkit 🔥
Here’s a detailed, structured build plan for your 2TB NVMe to create a bootable, encrypted, persistent, heavy-duty pentesting + data-ops drive geared for infosec, IT, and OSINT power use.
🛡 Core Design Goals✅ Bootable Kali “Everything” (with persistence, encryption, and full toolset)
✅ Preloaded MediaWiki with full offline wiki dump (e.g., English Wikipedia)
✅ Prebuilt Solr search index from top ~100 important sites (infosec, tech, OSINT)
✅ Pi-hole, OPNsense, Malcolm IDS preinstalled images or containers
✅ Custom CMS/portal framework (seeded for infosec/IT sector, but extendable)
✅ Ready-to-run scripts and collectors for real-time OSINT + memory buffering
✅ Designed for local offline power use but able to scale to VPS or clusters over VPN
✅ Heavy on open-source tooling but flexible for commercial integration
✅ Includes AI tools and resources for RAG (retrieval-augmented generation), versioning, and live intelligence
🧱 Drive Structure (2TB NVMe, ~1.4TB Used)
Partition Size Contents
Boot partition (GRUB, EFI) ~1 GB GRUB, encrypted LUKS bootloader, persistence hooks
Root (/) encrypted ext4 ~200 GB Kali “Everything” + added tools, drivers, configs, core scripts
/home encrypted ext4 ~200 GB Personal configs, CMS/portal configs, collected data, user scripts
/data encrypted ext4 or ZFS ~1.0 TB MediaWiki + offline dumps, Solr index, Malcolm + IDS data, Pi-hole data, CMS DBs
Swap (encrypted) ~64–128 GB Large swap for memory buffers, AI tools, and clustering workloads
Spare space ~400–600 GB free For additional VMs, containers, OS snapshots, sandboxed work, or expansion
🔧 Major Software Components✅ Kali Linux Everything +
Extra tools not included:
Ghidra, Angr, Volatility, BloodHound, CrackMapExec
CyberChef offline version, Sigma rules, Mitre ATT&CK navigator offline
Big malware sample zoo (if legally permissible) in quarantined area
Local GitLab instance for version control of tools/scripts
Docker, Podman for running OPNsense, Pi-hole, Malcolm, etc.
✅ MediaWiki with Offline Dump
Preload with latest full English Wikipedia (or curated infosec/IT subset)
Fully searchable, customizable offline knowledgebase
Optionally add other dumps: Stack Overflow, Exploit DB, CVE DB, etc.
✅ Apache Solr Index
Prebuilt Solr/Lucene index with crawled top 100 infosec and tech sites
Local search + analytics, extendable with own crawls or enterprise datasets
✅ Pi-hole, OPNsense, Malcolm
Pi-hole as local DNS sinkhole on container or VM
OPNsense router/firewall images ready to deploy on VM or embedded hardware
Malcolm for network capture, PCAP indexing, IDS analytics
✅ Custom CMS/Portal Layer
Start with lightweight Django or Flask app
Connects local tools, dashboards, script runners
Modular design for sector-specific extensions (infosec, IT, fintech, etc.)
Supports community-developed modules, licensed as open source
✅ OSINT + Data Collection Scripts
Parsers for RSS, Atom, social feeds
In-memory collectors (RAM-buffered) and disk-backed archival
Configurable pipelines for scraping, crawling, and syncing feeds
Exporters to push to VPS, cluster, or partner nodes over VPN
✅ AI + RAG Toolkit
Local vector DB (e.g., Milvus, Weaviate, Qdrant)
Lightweight LLMs (e.g., GGUF models) preloaded with open weights
Scripts for embedding + querying wiki, Solr, Malcolm data
Tools to link out to API-less, robust scraping and offline enrichment
✅ Cluster + VPS Extensions
WireGuard or Tailscale VPN ready to connect to offload nodes
Cluster startup templates (VM- or container-based) to scale horizontally
Option to replicate toolstack on cloud VPS for remote jobs
⚙ Preloaded Scripts + Tools
✅ Quick setup script for new sector (infosec/IT → medical → finance → etc.)
✅ Automated updater for tools, dumps, feeds, AI models
✅ Data sync script (selective or full) to VPS or peer node
✅ Local dashboard UI (web-based) to manage collectors, scrapers, solr, wiki
✅ Burn-in tester + disk health monitor to ensure drive integrity under heavy loads
🔒 Security + EncryptionLUKS full-disk encryption with strong passphrase + Yubikey/2FA support
Encrypted swap to prevent memory leakage
Hidden encrypted vault (Veracrypt or LUKS hidden volume) for sensitive payloads
Scripted integrity checkers + hashes to ensure toolchain hasn’t been tampered
Optional self-destruct script or wipe trigger on tamper detection
📦 Final Disk Fill
With ~1.4TB occupied, you get:
✅ 80–100 GB: Full offline wiki, MediaWiki + DB
✅ ~200–300 GB: Solr search index
✅ ~200–300 GB: Container + VM images (OPNsense, Pi-hole, Malcolm, etc.)
✅ ~200–300 GB: Local tool binaries, scripts, models, datasets
✅ ~200–400 GB: Spare user + working space, logs, collected data
🏗 Customization & LicensingOpen-source license (e.g., GPLv3, MIT) for your tooling and integrations
Community guide + wiki on using it with proprietary/commercial data
Template configs + YAML/JSON to extend it for any industry
Local-first design but ready for hybrid/cloud scaling
Emphasis on reproducibility + versioning: snapshot, rollback, extend
🌐 How You Can Use It
✅ Boot as your all-in-one pentest/OSINT lab anywhere
✅ Plug into a workstation or cluster as a scaling node
✅ Push/pull data to a VPS for remote jobs, aggregation, enrichment
✅ Serve as an offline knowledge + intelligence center when disconnected
🛠 Next StepsIf you want, I can:
✅ Write out the build script / setup checklist
✅ Generate a detailed disk partition map + encryption scheme
✅ Provide YAML or Docker Compose configs for the containers
✅ Build out example CMS/portal components for your sector
✅ Recommend hardware (NVMe enclosure, host systems)Want me to prepare the detailed technical setup or generate a GitHub starter project? Let me know! 🚀 moving from usb to bootable nvme, also bootable enc persistent image with tools+ info and serving not just winpe dx #bootable portal #generic
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Building The Geospatial Future Together - The NSDI Strategic Plan 2025–2035
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https://www.fgdc.gov/nsdi-plan/nsdistrategicplan2035 <-- shared report (PDF)
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https://www.fgdc.gov/nsdi-plan/NSDI2035 <-- shared plan web page
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H/T Joshua Delmonico [FGDC Executive Director… ]
“The overarching vision for the NSDI is that, by 2035, the NSDI will be a seamlessly interconnected national geospatial ecosystem…”
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“The mission of the NSDI through 2035 is to deliver highly responsive, timely, dependable, and interoperable geospatial data, applications, and services that provide knowledge on demand and actionable insights to inform decisions; address local, regional, national, and global challenges; and benefit all people…”
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #NSDI #national #geospatial #ecosystem #mission #vision #future #StrategicPlan #FGDC #NGAC #partnership #coordination #technology #futureproofing #integration #economics #economicbenefits #value #returnoninvestment -
6️⃣ upcoming webinars in #PathOS Training Corner ➡️ new expert-led series of trainings and resources that explore impacts of #OpenScience
🔗 https://pathos-project.eu/training
✅ Measuring the Societal Impact of Open Science
✅ Key Impact Pathways of Open Science
✅ Exploring the Academic Impact of Open Science
✅ Exploring the Economic Impact of Open Science
✅ Cost Benefit Analysis Framework for Open Science
✅ Open Science Impact Indicator Handbook, Tools and Data -
Do you think this Excel chart is perfect and couldn't benefit from improvements?
If so, don't read below. The same goes if you think all plots in academic papers (and TV news) present data clearly and aesthetically, without exception.
If you have an urge to fix that - good news!
We will fix that using AI during this Brainhack Warsaw (28-30 March 2025)!"AI Chart Surgeon: Improving Visualizations, One Graph at a Time" by Katarzyna Kańska and me
We're creating an open-source tool during the Brainhack, for the workflow:
Upload plot -> AI extracts data -> AI generates good charts with ggplot2 (or another library with high visualization standards).We invite people from various fields - researchers, UX/UI designers, data scientists, AI tinkerers, software engineers and anyone dealing with data visualization. This is a cross-disciplinary effort - diverse skills and perspectives are crucial! Especially welcome are students, scientists, and activists working with data.
Application Deadline: 7 March 2025
Note: Previous workshops filled up well before the deadline, so act fast! You need to register on the Brainhack website and complete a qualification task: find a publicly shared chart, explain what's wrong with it and how to fix it (bonus points for actually remaking it).Join us:
https://brainhackwarsaw.fuw.edu.pl/#dataViz @brainhackorg #brainhack #hackatrhon #AI #ux #ui #dataScience
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recensione alberghiaca con sorprese megapazzurde e stasi ottimalizzata!
A grandissimissima richiesta (…di ben 1 persona), quasi urgeva una recensione dell’albergo dove sono stata per poco più di metà della settimana scorsa… utile a non si sa chi o cosa, data la solita mia necessaria precauzionale omissione di dettagli altrimenti fondamentali, ma il piacere della storiella (o, come dice il caro Piero Angela, il piacere della scop..ta) è sempre altamente importante e necessario a non sprofondare ogni giorno sempre di più in quello stato dell’essere che ci (mi) vede... vabbè, scusate, basta cazzate. 🙁
Vediamo prima le cose strane, così togliamo il dente bizzarro e via il dolore causato dalla morbosa curiosità. A parte il non proprio spassoso incidente dell’ultima sera, che fa testo a sé, di cose curiose ce n’erano un bel po’ in questo hotel; queste altre, per fortuna, non avvilenti. La cosa che forse più colpiva, complessivamente e continuamente, è che… proprio all’ingresso, affianco alla reception, aveva un bar… che operava da normale bar, essendo in centro. In 4 giorni non ho visto nessuno andarci, però oh: per chi ha interesse, ci sta il bar. Anzi, ci sono due bar: c’era una sala interrata, che fungeva da sala colazione (e solo colazione, il resto del tempo era chiusa), e aveva un altro bancone/postazione bar. Addirittura, le pareti di questa erano affrescate con un tema apposta per l’hotel… ma non ho fotine mie ora, quindi ops. 👻
Passando alla camera… Altre cose strane sono che il rubinetto del lavandino si chiamava Cristina (e si, le marche delle robe idrauliche sono sempre stranamente assurde, ma Cristina non l’avevo mai vista)… mentre, la marca dell’area lavandino proprio, è un altro nome mai sentito, TECHNOVA, ma la cosa che mi ha lasciata confusa è che il font sembra uscito tipo da un anime… queste lettere un po’ rotonde con la O che è una stellina, insomma… E poi ancora, nell’armadio appendiabiti (non in bagno ovviamente), c’era il quadro elettrico della stanza, con un cartello che diceva tipo di non aprire se non autorizzati… ma la porticina di plastica era di suo mezza aperta, quindi il cartello nel contesto sembra una presa in giro. Boh, roba proprio strana si trova, mi sa, andando in giro con l’occhio clinico ben aperto. 👁️
Temo di non essere proprio bbona a fare le recensioni dei posti, però, perché i tratti positivi di forte impatto che riesco a dire solo solo 2… però oh, son roba tosta. Come già detto, con la stanza solo per me le faville sono state sensibili: anzitutto perché il letto era a due posti, ma c’ero appunto soltanto io, quindi ho dormito alla grande, senza sentire i rumori molesti dei miei genitori — altrimenti succede puntualmente che loro fanno il roleplay della Russia (russano e invadono il mio sonno) e io quindi dell’Ucraina (sigh) — e perdendomi ampiamente in questo letto, gigante per i miei standard (0.5 posti più grande del mio solito, wow), stabilendo insomma per bene anche in trasferta il mio stato da principessa femcel marcia… ma poi, perché avevo il bagno solo per me… 😈
E il bagno, anche se era più piccolo di quello dei miei genitori — che, al contrario, avevano la parte principale della stanza più piccola di me, ops — era stellare… da gaming, oserei dire. E il gaming è infatti avvenuto alla grande, la sera che avevo un po’ di tempo (si, proprio quella dell’incidente) e ho quindi deciso di provare la doccia che c’era. Il design era molto strano a prima vista, e certamente mi aspettavo qualcosa di insolito nel suo uso… ma non immaginavo che avesse letteralmente i LED blu (primo colore del gaming!!!) e dei display numerici per indicare la temperatura corrente dell’acqua e il tempo trascorso con essa accesa!!! In confronto alla roba normalissima che posso permettermi io a casa, questa doccia è stata super premium… tanto che, trasportata dal gaming, ho deciso di farmi anche lo shampoo, nonostante inizialmente volessi solo sciacquarmi. (Poi vabbè, lo shampoo ha causato altri problemi, ma quella è una condanna mia personale.) 😻
Ecco, del bagno in realtà non mi è assolutamente piaciuto che il sapone per le mani fosse in un dispenser automatico (non solo da me, anche dai miei era così)… A parte che si mimetizzava col muro, quindi inizialmente non lo notavo e mi chiedevo dove straminchia fosse il sapone per le mani, non essendoci saponette in giro, ma solo il flaconcino per la doccia… è semplicemente terribile il fatto che si attivi con un sensore di prossimità: se si appoggia qualcosa lì sotto per sbaglio, ecco che questa verrà sburrata immediatamente dal macchinario, senza se e senza ma… e anche banalmente per prendere il sapone, è scomodo, non si capisce mai come bisogna mettere e togliere la mano, e quindi ogni tanto va a cadere, sporcando la superficie attorno al lavandino. 😭
Però… in un certo senso, questo contrasto tra elementi di lusso e oggetti che vanno bene solo in un bagno pubblico ha una sua personalità… E quindi, comunque, tutto sommato, nice albergo da 3 stelle in provincia di Roma; non costato troppissimissimo, considerato che il totale con le due stanze è stato 800€ per 4 notti. Ci sarebbero ora foto da salvare riguardo il viaggio, ma, tra questo blog, il sito delle foto, Pixelfed, la BBS, ora anche Sharkey, non so manco dove mettere cosa, e allora zzz, circolare, non c’è null’altro da vedere qui… 🥴
