Baldur Bjarnason
LightNews LightNews
banner
baldurbjarnason.com
Baldur Bjarnason
@baldurbjarnason.com
3.5K followers 460 following 6.3K posts
Writer, web developer and consultant based in Hveragerði, Iceland. Lapsed Interactive Media Academic. Webby Tech Stuff and webby book stuff.

https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/
https://softwarecrisis.dev/
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
baldurbjarnason.com
Baldur Bjarnason @baldurbjarnason.com · Oct 27
I figure since there's been a recent influx of people here on Bluesky, it might be worthwhile to do "highlights reels" of sorts for my newsletter, which is at www.baldurbjarnason.com

The biggest topic on my newsletter is software and web development, usually from a bit of a systemic perspective.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
astrokatie.com
A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.
January 25, 2026 at 12:28 PM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
uglyreykjavik.bsky.social
Although no longer in use, this stone house appears to be in decent condition from the front at least. For those who are curious, it was constructed around 1920, and the Icelandic state purchased the land in 1941.

#Iceland #Reykjavik #photography #landscape #nature #naturephotography #abandoned
An abandoned farmhouse and barn next to a row of trees.
January 23, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
uglyreykjavik.bsky.social
The back of this old farm looks far worse than the front, as the barn and the outbuildings have collapsed almost completely.

#Iceland #Reykjavik #photography #landscape #nature #naturephotography #landscapephotography #abandoned #decay
The back of an abandoned old farm surrounded by tall trees during winter.
January 23, 2026 at 10:12 PM
baldurbjarnason.com
“Winning the wrong game”

https://tante.cc/2026/01/25/winning-the-wrong-game/

> “AI” is a tool to disenfranchise labor.

'AI' is a political project, which is why it needs to be fought on a political level, not technical

Winning the wrong game
With studies upon studies showing that actual measurable productivity gains through “AI” (which these days basically means chatbots) are really hard to come by and that “workslop” (meaning the extra w...
tante.cc
January 25, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
hildur.bsky.social
Psst! There’s a giveaway of Dead Weight, my newest book, over on Goodreads!

It’s out in May and they are giving* out 50 copies!

*only for U.S. residents
Dead Weight
An Icelandic night may hide secrets and affairs—or even…
www.goodreads.com
January 24, 2026 at 12:20 PM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
pookleblinky.bsky.social
There would be no ethical use of generative AI even if it weren't *literally* bankrolling the goddamn gestapo and its concentration camps and providing them the ability to generate infinite nazi propaganda slop. But it is also doing that too.
January 25, 2026 at 5:53 AM
baldurbjarnason.com
“Vibe prototyping isn't solving problems. It's creating new ones.”

https://productpicnic.beehiiv.com/p/vibe-prototyping-isn-t-solving-any-problems-but-it-s-creating-many-new-ones

> AI created an environment where good design is impossible
Vibe prototyping isn't solving problems. It's creating new ones.
It's easy to prototype and so everyone is prototyping, without really knowing why they are doing it. The resultant noise drowns out thoughtful work.
productpicnic.beehiiv.com
January 25, 2026 at 10:29 AM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
pookleblinky.bsky.social
Dario Amodei accepted a $200 million defense contract in July 2025, Anthropic is absolutely not an outlier here.
pookleblinky.bsky.social Pookleblinky @pookleblinky.bsky.social · 16h
Remember that literally every single one of the billionaire freaks behind generative AI has very publicly aligned themselves with trump and his policies

Their CEO's are in and out of the oval office for photo ops, they're donating mountains of money to him, they're literally getting military titles
January 25, 2026 at 6:16 AM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
molly.wiki
We all just saw about six different angles of ICE murdering a guy who himself was filming them, but sure, you think body cameras will make all the difference.

How stupid do they think we are?
crimethinc.com CrimethInc. Ex-Workers' Collective @crimethinc.com · 15h
Republicans have blocked every proposal to rein in ICE, but they're happy to let Democrats spend your tax money to equip ICE mercenaries with body cameras. Why? Because they know body cams won't restrain ICE any more than they do cops:

crimethinc.com/bodycams

Don't try to reform ICE. Abolish them.
During negotiations on the homeland security bill, Republicans rejected a series of proposals by Democrats to rein in ICE, including barring funds from being used to to detain or deport U.S. citizens. Democrats succeeded in winning the addition of $20 million for purchasing body cameras for ICE agents.
January 25, 2026 at 7:17 AM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
jucikadaily.bsky.social
We made it to 95% and we have under a week left to clear the Emergrncy Room and hospital stay debt before interest starts! Just 5% more!

www.gofundme.com/f/support-ge...
January 24, 2026 at 7:54 PM
baldurbjarnason.com
Gas Town? Gas Town is the thing that’s convincing holdouts that vibe coding is the future? Really?
January 25, 2026 at 10:03 AM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
vale.rocks
A dystopian new addition I unfortunately felt it prudent to implement on TechConf.Directory.
Notice reading: 'Travel Advisory. Attendees should be aware that travel to and within the United States of America presents heightened risks. Recent immigration enforcement actions have included aggressive use of force and expanded detention at or near borders. Transgender and gender-diverse travellers, in particular, may face increased scrutiny, misgendering, or denial of entry based on documentation or appearance. More broadly, the United States is experiencing political instability and the rapid expansion of authoritarian policies, sometimes implemented with little advance notice. Travellers are advised to review current conditions carefully, carry complete documentation, and assess personal risk before making travel plans. Consult your country's travel advisory for more information.'
January 25, 2026 at 8:33 AM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
seanferrick.bsky.social
There are FOUR lights.
trekculture.bsky.social TrekCulture @trekculture.bsky.social · 20h
Our thoughts are with the friends and families of Renée Good and Alex Pretti.

To our American viewers, please stay safe out there and protect each other.
January 25, 2026 at 1:40 AM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
bildoperationen.bsky.social
Generative AI is a machine built to destroy knowledge: «The latest model of ChatGPT has begun to cite Elon Musk’s Grokipedia as a source on a wide range of queries, including on Iranian conglomerates and Holocaust deniers, raising concerns about misinformation on the platform.»
Latest ChatGPT model uses Elon Musk’s Grokipedia as source, tests reveal
Guardian found OpenAI’s platform cited Grokipedia on topics including Iran and Holocaust deniers
www.theguardian.com
January 24, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
hypervisible.blacksky.app
So glad this is being used in schools and universities.
Latest ChatGPT model uses Elon Musk’s Grokipedia as source, tests reveal
Guardian found OpenAI’s platform cited Grokipedia on topics including Iran and Holocaust deniers
www.theguardian.com
January 24, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
bestonetx.bsky.social
So, I moderated a local history panel last weekend. An organizer just sent me a "summary" to approve. They uploaded the audio to some AI, which fabricated an outline and "pull quotes." The quotes are fake. No one on the panel said any of that.

It had the full audio and STILL made up quotes.
January 24, 2026 at 1:04 PM
baldurbjarnason.com
Once again, TikTok as a whole has not been sold, not even the US part in its entirety, just a part of their US operations. Even the ads and ecommerce features are AFAICT still under Bytedance, so the US operation seems to mostly be user data and custom training for the ‘algorithm’
January 24, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
davidgerard.co.uk
it's because silicon valley is full of genteel nazis, OP

anything venture capital funded, you should assume has a complement of neoreactionary race and IQ guys near the top
lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · May 1
have never understood the tech community's passion for thinking the nazis can just have their own back room if we can just make it kind of hard for them to cross over into the rest of the bar
May 1, 2023 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
jfsculpts.bsky.social
My favorite Bob Kane story:
"Bob had gotten to the point where he never drew anything. Never drew anything on the Batman comics, anyway. [Sheldon] Moldoff was ghosting them all and when he didn't, someone else did. The only thing I think Bob ever drew was when we'd be out somewhere, in a restaurant or someplace, and a pretty girl would come over to him and say, 'Are you really the man who draws Batman?' Then he could whip out a little sketch for her, a big sketch if she was wearing something low-cut and would bend over to watch him draw. One day I'm over at his house to discuss this newspaper strip idea we had and he's talking about who we might get to draw it. I was going to write it and we were going to get someone else to draw it. I'm not sure what Bob was going to do on it except sign his name. I said to him, 'Bob, isn't it disappointing to you that you don't draw any more? You were once such a great artist.' He wasn't but you had to talk to Bob that way. He said, 'Oh, no. Let me show you something.' He took me into a little room in his house. It was his studio. I didn't even know he still had a studio. It was all set up with easels and things and there were paintings, paintings of clowns. You know the kind. Like the ones Red Skelton used to do. Just these insipid portraits of clowns, all signed very large, 'Bob Kane.' He was so proud of them. He said, 'These are the paintings that are going to make me in the world of art. Batman was a big deal in one world and these paintings will soon be in every gallery in the world.' He thought the Louvre was going to take down the Mona Lisa to put up his clown paintings. I didn't have the heart to tell him. So a few months later, I'm up at DC and I ran into Eddie Herron. Eddie was another writer up there and we got to talking and Bob's name came up. Eddie said, 'Did you hear? Bob's getting sued by one of his ghost artists. I said, 'How is that possible? Shelly Moldoff's suing Bob? But they had a clear deal. Shelly knew he wasn't going to get credit or anything..? Eddie said, 'No, not Shelly.' Bob was being sued by the person who'd painted the clowns for him..." Arnold Drake (via arecomicsevengood)
January 24, 2026 at 12:58 AM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
jcoglan.com
I have named my productivity tool after a location from the famous utopian story "mad max"
January 23, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
uglyreykjavik.bsky.social
I think that's an old oil tank.

#Iceland #Reykjavik #photography #landscape #nature #naturephotography #abandoned #decay #rust
The remnants of an abandoned farm.
January 21, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
uglyreykjavik.bsky.social
I guess abandoned farms are like playgrounds for cats.

#Iceland #Reykjavik #video #abandoned #decay #cat #cats #catsofbluesky #catsky
January 21, 2026 at 7:47 PM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
jackjenkins.me
Have a larger story on this coming, but I’ve been embedded with this group, and this story from yesterday is part of what they’ve been doing in the city: religionnews.com/2026/01/22/h...
January 23, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
blambot.bsky.social
Ace in your face Friday
January 23, 2026 at 4:03 PM
baldurbjarnason.com
How is the web version of Apple Music so bad? It just straight up stops working on random songs.
January 23, 2026 at 1:32 PM