Alex Sirota
@alex.sirota.org
Nerd from the SF Bay Area. Neurodivergent, disabled, queer. (he/they)
WPI '29
FIRST Robotics Competition team 6238 (Popcorn Penguins) alum
I use alt-text and so should you.
WPI '29
FIRST Robotics Competition team 6238 (Popcorn Penguins) alum
I use alt-text and so should you.
Pinned
Alex Sirota
@alex.sirota.org
· Mar 21
New banner! This is my #frc team's (6238 Popcorn Penguins) robot completing a climb. It's hanging from a small piece of truss that's only a few inches off the ground.
Photo shot by me, 2025-03-16. CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
Photo shot by me, 2025-03-16. CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
Reposted by Alex Sirota
It is *bananas* that they would give vibe coding tools (and _Replit_, of all platforms 🤣) production deploy access! With no backups! We gave better backup tools to teenagers on Glitch remixing apps a decade ago.
July 20, 2025 at 4:25 PM
It is *bananas* that they would give vibe coding tools (and _Replit_, of all platforms 🤣) production deploy access! With no backups! We gave better backup tools to teenagers on Glitch remixing apps a decade ago.
Reposted by Alex Sirota
The Minnesota shooter apparently used data broker websites to find the home addresses of the people he shot and murdered.
Congress has had years to do something about data brokers and they've sided with the tech lobby over and over again.
Their inaction is deadly.
Congress has had years to do something about data brokers and they've sided with the tech lobby over and over again.
Their inaction is deadly.
June 16, 2025 at 10:56 PM
The Minnesota shooter apparently used data broker websites to find the home addresses of the people he shot and murdered.
Congress has had years to do something about data brokers and they've sided with the tech lobby over and over again.
Their inaction is deadly.
Congress has had years to do something about data brokers and they've sided with the tech lobby over and over again.
Their inaction is deadly.
Reposted by Alex Sirota
thread of photographs i took at my local protest (3)
this trump supporter was the only counter-protestor i saw, and the police forced him to stand on the other side of a creek far away from the crowd of thousands — all alone, he helplessly kept trying to shout "you are the minority!"
this trump supporter was the only counter-protestor i saw, and the police forced him to stand on the other side of a creek far away from the crowd of thousands — all alone, he helplessly kept trying to shout "you are the minority!"
June 14, 2025 at 6:21 PM
thread of photographs i took at my local protest (3)
this trump supporter was the only counter-protestor i saw, and the police forced him to stand on the other side of a creek far away from the crowd of thousands — all alone, he helplessly kept trying to shout "you are the minority!"
this trump supporter was the only counter-protestor i saw, and the police forced him to stand on the other side of a creek far away from the crowd of thousands — all alone, he helplessly kept trying to shout "you are the minority!"
Put the new registration sticker on @josh.sirota.org's car today, and wow the thickness of the stickers really adds up.
June 14, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Put the new registration sticker on @josh.sirota.org's car today, and wow the thickness of the stickers really adds up.
Reposted by Alex Sirota
*NEW LAWSUIT ALLEGES 80'S BAND STARSHIP VIOLATED NUMEROUS BUILDING CODES
June 10, 2025 at 5:32 PM
*NEW LAWSUIT ALLEGES 80'S BAND STARSHIP VIOLATED NUMEROUS BUILDING CODES
Reposted by Alex Sirota
I made this Pride flag using only NASA images and our team thought it would be cool to share on social (I work on the NASA heliophysics communications team), but it's getting all sorts of hate on the bird app and Fbook. Thought y'all might be more appreciative of it here. ☺️🏳️🌈💖
June 14, 2024 at 2:19 AM
I made this Pride flag using only NASA images and our team thought it would be cool to share on social (I work on the NASA heliophysics communications team), but it's getting all sorts of hate on the bird app and Fbook. Thought y'all might be more appreciative of it here. ☺️🏳️🌈💖
Reposted by Alex Sirota
Yosemite climbers unfurl transgender pride flag on iconic El Capitan
For @nbcnews.com:
www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-...
For @nbcnews.com:
www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-...
Yosemite climbers unfurl transgender pride flag on iconic El Capitan
The group of LGBTQ activist climbers said the flag, which is 55 feet by 35 feet, is the largest ever displayed on the face of the world-famous rock climbing destination.
www.nbcnews.com
May 20, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Yosemite climbers unfurl transgender pride flag on iconic El Capitan
For @nbcnews.com:
www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-...
For @nbcnews.com:
www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-...
Reposted by Alex Sirota
One of the most frustrating things about US car culture is that there’s no “opt-out.”
Even if you choose to live car-free in a dense city, not only will you have other people’s noisy vehicles polluting your streets, but drivers will also demand access to *every last space.*
A 🧵 on CT car culture/
Even if you choose to live car-free in a dense city, not only will you have other people’s noisy vehicles polluting your streets, but drivers will also demand access to *every last space.*
A 🧵 on CT car culture/
May 11, 2025 at 11:59 PM
One of the most frustrating things about US car culture is that there’s no “opt-out.”
Even if you choose to live car-free in a dense city, not only will you have other people’s noisy vehicles polluting your streets, but drivers will also demand access to *every last space.*
A 🧵 on CT car culture/
Even if you choose to live car-free in a dense city, not only will you have other people’s noisy vehicles polluting your streets, but drivers will also demand access to *every last space.*
A 🧵 on CT car culture/
what a ride it was at FIRST championships. even though we didn't make it to the playoffs, it was amazing to show off what we could do on the global stage. couldn't have asked for a better way to cap off not only the season, but my career as a student in FIRST. (also I got to meet @reeseric.ci irl)
April 24, 2025 at 4:56 AM
what a ride it was at FIRST championships. even though we didn't make it to the playoffs, it was amazing to show off what we could do on the global stage. couldn't have asked for a better way to cap off not only the season, but my career as a student in FIRST. (also I got to meet @reeseric.ci irl)
My #frc team (6238 Popcorn Penguins) just qualified for the championship for the first time in our 8-year history! I'm so proud of this team and our scrappy little algae bot.
April 9, 2025 at 3:20 AM
My #frc team (6238 Popcorn Penguins) just qualified for the championship for the first time in our 8-year history! I'm so proud of this team and our scrappy little algae bot.
New banner! This is my #frc team's (6238 Popcorn Penguins) robot completing a climb. It's hanging from a small piece of truss that's only a few inches off the ground.
Photo shot by me, 2025-03-16. CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
Photo shot by me, 2025-03-16. CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
March 21, 2025 at 6:06 AM
New banner! This is my #frc team's (6238 Popcorn Penguins) robot completing a climb. It's hanging from a small piece of truss that's only a few inches off the ground.
Photo shot by me, 2025-03-16. CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
Photo shot by me, 2025-03-16. CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
March 21, 2025 at 5:44 AM
New banner! This is my #frc team's (6238 Popcorn Penguins) robot completing a climb. It's hanging from a small piece of truss that's only a few inches off the ground.
Photo shot by me, 2025-03-16. CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
Photo shot by me, 2025-03-16. CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
Reposted by Alex Sirota
Why did we get "pilled" and "coded," "fangled" was right there.
January 16, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Why did we get "pilled" and "coded," "fangled" was right there.
Reposted by Alex Sirota
I imagine most anyone who follows transit-focused accounts knows this, but I figured I would write this little thread for those who may be less familiar with these issues.
We have chosen to make cars easy and transit hard. We could reverse that and increasingly I think we should.
We have chosen to make cars easy and transit hard. We could reverse that and increasingly I think we should.
February 10, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I imagine most anyone who follows transit-focused accounts knows this, but I figured I would write this little thread for those who may be less familiar with these issues.
We have chosen to make cars easy and transit hard. We could reverse that and increasingly I think we should.
We have chosen to make cars easy and transit hard. We could reverse that and increasingly I think we should.
Can't wait for this to trickle to 95!
1985's Windows 1.01 is set to receive an update for the first time in 39 years that backports telemetry and Copilot. /joke
January 13, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Can't wait for this to trickle to 95!
Here's a photo I took! This was taken as an assignment to show texture as an artistic element, but I think it stands well on its own.
Shot by me, September 10, 2024. CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0. #photography
Shot by me, September 10, 2024. CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0. #photography
December 31, 2024 at 6:17 AM
Here's a photo I took! This was taken as an assignment to show texture as an artistic element, but I think it stands well on its own.
Shot by me, September 10, 2024. CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0. #photography
Shot by me, September 10, 2024. CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0. #photography
Reposted by Alex Sirota
50% of cybersecurity is endlessly explaining that consumer VPNs don’t address any real cybersecurity issues. They are basically only useful for bypassing geofences and making money telling people they need to buy a VPN
December 19, 2024 at 8:34 PM
50% of cybersecurity is endlessly explaining that consumer VPNs don’t address any real cybersecurity issues. They are basically only useful for bypassing geofences and making money telling people they need to buy a VPN
Reposted by Alex Sirota
buying a big weirdly shaped electronic gizmo is a humbling reminder this is a cardboard engineer's world and we're just living in it
December 18, 2024 at 1:14 PM
buying a big weirdly shaped electronic gizmo is a humbling reminder this is a cardboard engineer's world and we're just living in it
Reposted by Alex Sirota
So much truth in so few characters.
$100/night hotel: hi. we have you for 3 nights. checkout’s whenever. enjoy the 24 hour gym & pool that smell like chlorine & feet, in that order. unlimited breakfast - you can eat costco sausages til you die for all we care
$275/night hotel: OHHH, so his royal highness expects FREE WIFI, does he???
$275/night hotel: OHHH, so his royal highness expects FREE WIFI, does he???
December 1, 2024 at 9:47 PM
So much truth in so few characters.
I'm doing #adventofcode this year, and this year I WILL do every puzzle and not lose interest after a week. I'll be posting my solutions here, if any of you are curious: codeberg.org/alexjs/advent2024
advent2024
My solutions to Advent of Code 2024
codeberg.org
December 1, 2024 at 5:52 AM
I'm doing #adventofcode this year, and this year I WILL do every puzzle and not lose interest after a week. I'll be posting my solutions here, if any of you are curious: codeberg.org/alexjs/advent2024
Reposted by Alex Sirota
Did you know? Black Friday is named in honor of Rebecca Black, who invented Friday in 2011.
November 29, 2024 at 2:31 PM
Did you know? Black Friday is named in honor of Rebecca Black, who invented Friday in 2011.
Reposted by Alex Sirota
One thing many people are not aware of is that Apple has an entire building full of engineers who are working to push the boundaries of physics in seeing how far an AirPods case can fling the individual earbuds in different directions whenever you drop the case.
November 29, 2024 at 7:15 PM
One thing many people are not aware of is that Apple has an entire building full of engineers who are working to push the boundaries of physics in seeing how far an AirPods case can fling the individual earbuds in different directions whenever you drop the case.
Reposted by Alex Sirota
You don't have to participate in Google's search monopoly, even if for some reason you prefer Chrome. Configure your browser, any browser, to use duckduckgo instead.
The Justice Department is seeking to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser and make other major changes to remedy its illegal search monopoly, setting a marker in the landmark case before the incoming Trump administration makes its own determinations about how to proceed.
DOJ seeks forced sale of Chrome, other big changes at Google in monopoly case
The Justice Department recommendation is one of the final moves of Biden’s aggressive antitrust enforcers, before Trump takes the reins.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 21, 2024 at 8:00 PM
You don't have to participate in Google's search monopoly, even if for some reason you prefer Chrome. Configure your browser, any browser, to use duckduckgo instead.
Reposted by Alex Sirota
Friend, you spend a lot more time on your art than we do on our graphics. Are you really going to put your work out there without alt text and lose the ENGAGEMENT GAME to someone with no formal training? Your gorgeous character work losing to Trent Turkey? Alt text. If not for others, for yourself.
November 15, 2024 at 9:21 PM
Friend, you spend a lot more time on your art than we do on our graphics. Are you really going to put your work out there without alt text and lose the ENGAGEMENT GAME to someone with no formal training? Your gorgeous character work losing to Trent Turkey? Alt text. If not for others, for yourself.