Scott

Ebikes exist to get me to all my geographically distributed polycule dates on time and feeling ready to rumble

Hello Internet! I come to you collecting anecdotes to inspire an upcoming improv comedy project. I’m looking for: issues that you’ve had with a coworker, roommate, or other person you generally were in close and frequent contact with.

These may be shared publicly and recorded, so please […]

Matt Walsh tweeted last year: "We've spent the last 25 years bringing "freedom" and "democracy" to countries around the globe while our own country has been systematically invaded and now our largest cities are run by foreigners and communists. If you want to know why I'm so avowedly non-interventionist, this is why." Then he tweeted today: ""This is a war for oil!!!!!" First of all, the "war" lasted like 90 minutes. Second, going to war to secure vital resources for your own people is totally legitimate. Why should we allow some third world communist shithole to control trillions of dollars worth of oil?"

Laura Loomer tweeted last year: "I’m America First, I don’t support “Regime Change”. I went on @Bannons_WarRoom to talk about Chinese aggression in Venezuela and why we need to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign Islamic terrorist organization." Then she tweeted yesterday: "Maduro has arrived at the DEA office in Manhattan. He was transported in an armored motorcade after being transported in a blindfold via helicopter & then by plane to New York after his compound in Caracas was raided by US Special Forces. Proud to be an American today! USA 🇺🇸"

Catturd tweeted last year: "Name one U.S. inspired regime change that hasn’t ended in absolute disaster." Then he tweeted yesterday: "Venezuela is now more free than New York City."

Will Chamberlain tweeted last year: "The Republican Party is no longer the party of regime change and endless wars If you want to be its standard-bearer that is a non-negotiable position" Then he tweeted yesterday: "I can think of few better uses of my tax dollars than black-bagging the head of a foreign narco-trafficking organization that enriches itself by addicting and poisoning my fellow Americans"

amazing how the entire machine can pivot within 24 hours. no need to slowly upsell the argument; just issue new marching orders

In street safety conversations, people should write directly about the choices and actions of human operators rather than machines.

‘A driver killed a pedestrian by striking him with a car’ is clearer than ‘a pedestrian died after being struck by a car.’

We should do the same with AI.

1/?

Jeff Jacoby is always an unhinged doofus, but insisting that Dallas is a model for urban design because he's pissed off about his commute is something else.

Fewer crashes, lighter traffic, more easily available parking, and importantly: Better quality of life. People enjoy environments with fewer cars!

By every metric, congestion pricing has been a huge success.

NYC Wegmans is storing biometric data on shoppers' eyes, voices and faces The supermarket chain says it’s a move to ensure shopper safety. Surveillance experts warn of privacy risks.

“It’s really chilling that immigrant New Yorkers going into Wegmans and other grocery stores have to worry about their highly sensitive biometric data potentially getting into the hands of ICE.”

Creepy and concerning for everyone, if you ask me. Uncontrolled tech is ruining a lot of things.

[Michael Bublé voice] And I'm feeling bad

*With one omission, which is that you can indeed cross post from Mastodon to Bluesky using @ap.brid.gy - You can see my Mastodon account right here via @scottsthoughts.better.boston.ap.brid.gy

A beginner's guide to Mastodon, the open source Twitter alternative | TechCrunch Mastodon has almost doubled its userbase since Elon Musk took control of Twitter last month. Here's what you need to know about the platform.

I still prefer the community feel of Mastodon to Bluesky, though I totally understand why many folks prefer Bluesky. if anyone is masto-curious though, this article from @amanda.omg.lol lays it out pretty well* techcrunch.com/2026/01/01/w...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wants you to stop calling Al "slop" in 2026. Images of satya Nadella and MS AI logo.

Microsoft logo redone to say Microslop

Barbra Streisand

5 steps to making better cities Before you can do the right thing, you have to do the right thing badly. And before that, you have to do the wrong thing.

As I discussed in the interview, these are the 5 STEPS TO MAKING BETTER CITIES I’ve been using for many years, and eventually wrote about in @fastcompany.com. Too many cities are stuck in Step 2 (doing the wrong things better), and have to really be careful in Step 4 (doing the right things badly).

‘Cars ruin cities’ signs in Denver were hacked, officials say Denver transportation officials said an anti-car message that was displayed on traffic signs in Denver on Friday was the result of a hack. One sign, photographed by The Denver Gazette on Friday evenin...

"Denver transportation officials said an anti-car message that was displayed on traffic signs in Denver on Friday was the result of a hack. One sign, photographed by The Denver Gazette on Friday evening at E. Colfax Ave & Lincoln St near the Colorado Capitol, shared the message 'Cars ruin cities.'"

I know it’s a crowded race and you have many excellent options, but please consider voting for both Jon and me for Somerville City Councilor at Large on or before November 4th.

We are very much aligned on street safety and infrastructure priorities in the city, and align pretty closely in other policy areas as well like zoning. But even more - he walks the walk. He’s been deeply involved in his neighborhood and across the city. He’s knocked on over 11,000 doors!

I am thrilled that the Somerville City Council race has so many excellent candidates in it who I would be thrilled to work with. That said, I am particularly excited about @jonlink.bsky.social and would encourage anyone who votes for me to also vote for him.

A black metal gate at an entrance to a park is swung open into the sidewalk adjacent the park

A black metal gate stands shut in front of an ada accessible ramp.

Hey @cityofsomerville.bsky.social whats up with these gates that appeared at the new Ken Kelly park? The one blocking the ramp seems to make the park completely inaccessible to wheel chair users, and they block a good portion of the sidewalk when open.

Trans rights are not the rights of a tiny minority, trans rights are everyone’s rights to self-determination, control of our bodies, and a society where opportunity and aesthetics are not restricted by sex assigned at birth

You should support and defend trans people because trans people are people

Obviously I talk a lot about bike/ped safety.

But something that is really crazy is how much less safe you *in a car* since 2010.

In spite of all the additional safety technology, vehicle occupants are less safe today than they were 15 years ago.

MA elections should not be held on September 1, by far the biggest moving day in the state, because it makes it harder for renters to vote.

www.wwlp.com/news/massach...

I thought the right liked comedy and hated cancel culture

(...as if pointing out their hypocrisy ever caused them to have an ounce of introspection.)

A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say.

This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.

All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.

This morning, masked and menacing Homeland Security agents abducted one of my East Somerville constituents. Thankfully another constituent captured this video to document the presumed kidnapping. I’m in touch with colleagues at all levels of government as we work to gather more information.

Thrilled to be endorsed by @abundanthousingma.org for Somerville City Council At Large! Remember to get out and vote tomorrow Somerville!

Promotional graphic, reads: comedy at large. Saturday August 30th at 6pm. Union comedy 593 Somerville Ave. scottistvan.com/comedy for tickets

Hey #Somerville (and neighbors in #Boston #Cambridge etc) -
I’m hosting a comedy show tomorrow! It’s a fundraiser for my city council campaign, but it also should be a very good show. I’m pulling together some of my favorite performers from theaters across the […]

[Original post on better.boston]

Thrilled and honored to be endorsed! Let’s make a vibrant and affordable community here in Somerville.

Somerville YIMBY 2025 Election Endorsements and Voter Guide Somerville YIMBY endorses Willie Burnley Jr. for Mayor, emphasizing his leadership and housing initiatives. Other endorsements include Scott Istvan, Ben Wheeler, Will Mbah, and Jonathan Link for Ci…

Somerville YIMBY’s 2025 election endorsements are here! We’re pleased to endorse these candidates:

@willieburnleyjr.bsky.social
@scottistvan.com
@benjiwheeler.bsky.social
@wilfredmbah.bsky.social
Jon Link
@benforward3.bsky.social
Naima Sait
Emily Hardt

Read on: somervilleyimby.org/elections/20...

One thing I love about Somerville is that people see a clever bit and go “yeah I want in on that“ see: elf land, cat mayor, etc

Powerpoint slides from a presentation entitled “Unleashing the Silent Majority to Beat Bikelash”, which feature photographs of urban transformation from cities around the world.

The global phenomenon of “bikelash” has become one of the biggest barriers to implementing interventions that make our streets more liveable, accessible and sustainable. So how do we best manage it as advocates for change? Here are eight strategies we recently presented at the Velo-city Conference.🧵

i wish we had a sane and stable national politics so we could treat "lebron james sends cease and desist to AI company making pregnant videos of him" the most important story of the week that it deserves to be