Joelle Maslak

@jmaslak

Just another neurodivergent techie. I talk about computer networks, feminism, human rights, and autism--and how they are connected. Radically pro-transgender. I fight on the side of the algae. Fuck Nazis and the GOP.

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Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Jul 15

What in the LinkedIN hell is this? Who is this for? Bored recruiters?

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Jul 14

Alt text here.

Girls’ status hierarchies are based on egalitarian openness and cooperation. Other work from an evolutionary perspective finds that men are “warriors” and women are “worriers.”48

Joyce F. Benenson with Henry Markovits, Warriors and Worriers: The Survival of the Sexes (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014).

I highlighted: Other work from an evolutionary perspective finds that men are “warriors” and women are “worriers.”

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Jul 14

I see we're doing male brain and female brain again. (this is of course horseshit)

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Jul 11

For my trans embodiment Hate Measured in Inches project, July's pile of sadness and the pile of joy. This month probably has the starkest difference since I started the project.

Two piles of paper, with some metal flowers behind it. THe leftmost pile is substantially taller than the rightmost pile.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Jun 29

I very much love Colorado's election system. You get several weeks to research candidates and fill out your ballot, then you get emails every step of the way as your ballot is processed and counted.

An email from Colorado BallotTrax which says "Your ballot has been received!"

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Jun 28

If I haven't already told you what this building is, make a guess in the comments as to what purpose this building serves.

A building with a brick fascade and 3 rows of windows across and down visible. Only some of the third column of windows is visible and some of the bottom row of windows is visible, the others are largely visible. There is a lighting system on the building visible, with two light fixtures (between the window row/column between the topmost and middle rows of windows) that shine light in four directions, making an iluminated grid pattern. Visible in two of the windows is some sort of railing system.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Jun 28

Two views of AQ. Left is Bing's (I refuse to support Google, not that I support MS), right is Accuweather. Don't trust AI folks. It's confident but wrong, of course. Also "Copilot Search" is not doing the search part.

A Bing search for "air quality golden colorado" with a Copilot Search AI summary saying "The current air quality in Golden, Colorado is rated as Good with an AQI of 22."

Accuweather air quality page for Golden, CO showing 99, which it says is "Poor: The air has reached a high level of pollution and is unhealthy for sensitive groups. Reduce time spent outside if you are feeling symptoms such as difficulty breathing or throat irritation."

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Jun 15

From one of my past university projects, analyzing a 2016 racist+misogynistic cartoon which showed Michelle Obama (drawn with masculine features and a bulge) contrasting a (stereotypically femininely drawn) Melania Trump. Since that bullshit is in the news again...

Through this cartoon’s masculinization of Ms. Obama, calling upon the Black lady controlling image, her femininity is questioned, in a way that a white woman’s womanhood femininity is not. The portrayal links to the idea of the angry Black woman, contrasting her with
Ms. Trump’s embodiment (in the cartoon) of smiling, white femininity. By linking this masculinization with the transphobic elements of the image, Ms. Obama is transphobically implied to be a man, which then serves to emasculate Barack Obama (through homophobia). While it may not be possible to know for certain the aim of the cartoonist, the cartoon nonetheless serves white supremacy in challenging the right of Mr. Obama, now feminized, in addition to being racialized, to hold an office that is otherwise held by white men. At the root, this cartoon
challenges not only Michelle Obama’s right to femininity, but also Barack Obama’s right to masculinity–and the Presidency.

See the other image's alt-text -- I transcribed both there.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Jun 10

I ended up setting up a filter on Mastodon for posts about the fediverse. So many posts with "fediverse" in them are scolds and rules. Yes, I always use alt text, but also if someone doesn't like my posts, just block me already! The tool is there!

A Mastondon filter page showing "fediverse" is filtered.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Jun 9

Me: I've been writing code for >40 years. Also me: See, I can do text rendering!

Hello world, but all the letters are backwards. The letters are in the right order, just each letter is individually reversed.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· May 31

Oh it gets better. The email:

An email with a subject of "Your tickets are now available!" from "Events - Freedom 250". There is a pop-up security warning saying "Images in this message are hidden. The message appears suspicious. Do not show the images unless you trust the sender and the message."

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· May 31

I registered for the June 27th Freedom250 evening concert because I'm genuinely interested in how they allowing ticket registrations to hear two artists who backed out -- and if/how they'll communicate that to people who get tickets.

A ticket confirmation for June 27, 2026 for The Comodores & Morris Day. They describe who these musicians are.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· May 29

Oops. I forgot alt-text earlier (sorry), but have a chance to fix it - it looks like C+C is back (stating he'd vote for Hitler before backing out because people were upset at him for participating) but Bret Michaels stepped back from this one...

A Freedom 250 poster with featured performers. Martina McBride is crossed out, as are Young MC, Milli Vanili, The Commodores, Morris Day, and Bret Michaels. C+C Music Factory, Vanilla Ice, and Flo Rida are not crossed out.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· May 29

I built freedom250.club last night, and already had to update the lineup! Exciting things are happening!

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· May 18

Solved. So sick of bullshit "news" updates which are basically reposts of existing stories.

Bluesky moderation dialog, "Your muted words: breaking in text & tags"

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Apr 26

Ah, yes, programming as a profession is going great. /s

A text message that reads Your Hertz rental is due back 04/26 4:00 PM. Extend online: null Electronic Surveillance Notice: null

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Apr 24

Watching how Texas is destroying their university system in real-time. Education terrifies fascists. From my own undergrad thesis's acknowledgement page -- not at a Texas school.

In addition to the people who acted positively in my life, I would also like to acknowledge the current administration of the United States of America, which violently oppresses those who are not wealthy, documented, neurotypical/able-bodied, white, cis, Christian, and male. The administration reminds me daily of the importance of opposing white-supremacist capitalist ableist patriarchy. (1) I am proud to use ideas and words banned by the administration in this thesis. (2)

(1) I hope bell hooks would not mind my addition to her well-known concept.

(2) In particular, this work joyfully opposes the racist, transphobic, sexist, and ableist "Defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government" (Exec. Order No. 14,168, 2025) and "Ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing" (Exec. Order No. 14,151, 2025)
executive orders.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Apr 22

The enshitification begins. Of course if you have the power draw of a mid-size nation, you probably need to charge real money for it.

A chart to compare Claude subscriptions. What is notable is that the pro subscription no longer includes Claude Code.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Apr 13

Just working on my #NBPy slides. How do you solve this problem with feminism? (and network geeks, yes, I know this is about connection-oriented requests, not connectionless ones)

A network request diagram, where the diagram expresses time on the Y axis, and shows that a SYN must get to the server before a SYN+ACK gets back, which then results in an ACK and a request sent tot he server, which, when received by the server generates a response.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Apr 11

A demonstration of what happens when you take a mostly air-filled bottle from Denver to San Francisco without opening it. The actual pressure from a few thousand feet more of air above me is kind of amazing.

A bottle of contact lens solution with the sides caved in. There's very little solution in the bottle, it's mostly air.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Apr 9

This email should be illegal. Payroll processing vendors should not be allowed to try to trap people in debt, even if the vendor is located in the USA. (This is not for my $DAYJOB, it's for a small side job)

An email from Paychex, announcing a partnership with BenefitsMe, which can "[give access] to everyday essentials and lifestyle upgrades" through "buy now and pay later...interest-free payments." It has a prominent "start shopping" button.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Apr 4

Since apparently we're doing Ethel Cain, I present one of the most famous and loved art pieces from the man who painted the Sistine Chapel, a religious building, after he did this statue.

A naked white dude carved out of marble. He appears unconcerned about either the cold or being seen by others. He's uncircumcised. Also a viewer's eyeballs, because he is on a raised platform, are closer to his privates than to his eyes.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Mar 28

How I'm using my AAC Cards app for a trip tomorrow (don't worry, my home won't be empty while I'm gone, so nobody will want to steal shit!). This is an example of a card I can use if I want when interacting with an airline agent. I'm super stressed, so talking may not be what I want to do.

An iPhone screenshot that shows tabs (I call them decks) with "General", "Me", "Travel", "Private", Temp", and "Foo..." Travel is selected. The card itself says "I am flying to" and then the destination is scribbled over.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Mar 12

For my Hate Measured in Inches project, I print out all the long-form articles about trans folks that I see in social media while not looking for them. This is 12 days of March. Pile on the left is the pile of sadness. The pile on the right is the pile of joy. It doesn't need any more commentary.

Edges of two stacks of paper. You can't really see what is on them, but the pile on the left is way taller than the one on the right. The left one is 3.75 inches tall, the one on the right is .6 inches.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Mar 8

Since LLM CEOs think LLMs might be alive, I figured I'd implement a check in AppleSoft Basic using 1970s tech. Sure enough, it might be alive (eyeroll).

]LIST

10 X = RND (1) * 100
20 IF X > = 15 GOTO 100
30 PRINT "I AM ALIVE"
40 END
100 PRINT "I AM NOT ALIVE"
110 END

]RUN
I AM NOT ALIVE

]RUN
I AM NOT ALIVE

]RUN
I AM NOT ALIVE

]RUN
I AM ALIVE

]

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Mar 8

With the bans on puberty blockers, I'm thinking of Agnes, who, at age 12 (this would have been the 1950s) started taking estrogen to transition into the woman she became, all while skipping male puberty. Page 287 from: Garfinkel, H. (1967). Studies in Ethnomethodology. Prentice-Hill, Inc.

"During the hour following the welcome news given her by the urologist, after having kept it from me for eight years, with the greatest casualness, in mid-sentence, and without giving the slightest warning it was coming, she revealed that she had never had a biological defect that had feminized her but that she had been taking estrogens since age 12. In earlier years when talking to me, she had not only said that she had always hoped and expected that when she grew up she would grow into a woman's body but that starting in puberty this had spontaneously, grad-ually, but unwaveringly occurred. In contrast, she now revealed that just as puberty began, at the time her voice started to lower and she developed pubie hair, she began stealing Stilbestrol from her mother, who was taking it on prescription following a pan-hysterectomy. The child then began filling the prescription on her own, telling the pharmacist that she was picking up the hormone for her mother and paying for it with money taken from her mother's purse. She did not know what the effects would be, only that this was a female substance, and she had no idea how much to take but more or less tried to follow the amounts her mother took. She kept this up continuously throughout adolescence, and because by chance she had picked just the right time to start taking the hormone, she was able to prevent the development of all secondary sex characteristics that might have been produced by androgens and instead to substitute those produced by estro-gens. Nonetheless, the androgens continued to be produced...

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Feb 28

I don't know. I don't know if Nuremberg is the right approach or if the TRC is the right approach. But I know doing nothing is the wrong one.

Photo of Nuremberg "Doctor's Trial" showing judges, defendants, translators, and lawyers.

A photo of the commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Feb 26

I'm remembering the time (3 yrs ago) when I asked Kansas what bathroom I should use. They didn't actually answer that. There is no thought put into the practicalities of these acts of political hate. Ever.

Email, where I wrote:

I'll be driving through your state next month. As a trans woman, I'm curious what bathroom I'm expected to use at rest stops, in line with SB180 and the AG opinions on SB180.

Should I use the women's room or the men's room?

Response from Kansas:

Thanks for reaching out with your question. I can report KDOT does not have a policy on bathroom use.

Hoping your trip through Kansas is safe and enjoyable. If you would provide an address, KDOT would be happy to mail you the latest state map. The map brings attention to a number of places to visit in Kansas.

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Feb 23

This isn't saying that I think autistics are superior to NTs. I don't believe that. But it does question this monster controlling image. From my thesis, I talked a bit about the controlling image in a footnote.

Partial footnote 23: This film did not have a particularly wide view of disability, and primarily focused on physical and visible
disability. Even so, the film also discusses another controlling image for disabled people: the monster. This links, in

turn, to myths of changelings abducting normal children, only to replace them with something else, i.e. a monster (Leask et al., 2005). Sometimes the monster and child controlling images of autistic and other disabled adults are combined, forming an monster-child, such as Of mice and men’s description of a man labeled with intellectual disability (Steinbeck, 1937) or an op-ed by Temple Grandin’s mother linking autistic men to child pornography on the basis of immaturity (Cutler, 2015).

Joelle Maslak@jmaslak· Feb 22

Since autism and transphobia are back in the news... From my undergrad thesis -