Grammarly window showing "Scott Weingart" helping me out with a helpful writing tip.
I just made up the most inane-yet-me-sounding 150 words I could think of and shoved it into Grammarly, and indeed the first 'AI expert' it came up with to help was me.
In case you were wondering about the state of free idea exchange in academia, this is where we are.
I appreciate colleagues reaching out. But I wish they'd say it publicly, especially if untenured. That's the only way to change this insanity where experts are afraid to speak up.
theory-of-everything books like "Sapiens" are most accurately described as part of the conspiracy theory genre, i will not be taking further questions at this time
A red Corolla AE92 and a yellow 3G Prelude on the roof of a parking deck at sunset
ketchup/mustard
digital (2021)
Wrote a little Android app to keep a silent bluetooth audio stream alive to prevent the first little bit of a sound file from getting clipped when doing things like language learning vocab exercises github.com/saralilyb/ta... . Can be installed through Obtanium
Bandcamp Friday image featuring the 1000xRESIST keyart.
It’s BANDCAMP FRIDAY 💙 (Bandcamp waives revenue share, we get direct funds)
If you want sad songs to pretend you're in a music video to, ambiance melodies perfect for studying/working, and SO much more (it's 85 tracks long lol), buy the 1000xRESIST OST!
sunsetvisitor.bandcamp.com/album/1000xr...
@oddletters.bsky.social 👀
DON'T HESITATE Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don't hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that's often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don't be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.
♥️
Rockwell Kent’s Moby-Dick illustration
I reached out to the Plattsburgh State Art Museum to ask about using Rockwell Kent’s Moby-Dick illustrations for a fountain pen project.
They replied with wonderful news:
In her review of Piketty, McCloskey points out that the Latin root of data is "things given," but that the documentation Piketty is working with, primarily tax records, is more accurately a reflection of "things seized." That is, not data, but capta. I want to détourné McCloskey's point to argue that capta is the appropriate title for the currencies of technofeudalism.? It is an economy which is growing increasingly inefficient, coercive, and authoritarian because the economic process it glorifies is not one of mutual consent to market exchange, but of non-consensual seizure of attention, identity, and future potential.
I’ve been trying to use capta consistently, where appropriate, and have been pleased to find, for many, no explanation is needed. It is very intuitive, as disciplinary jargon should be.
Kansas invalidated a trans woman's license even though she never changed her gender marker.
It's not about the gender marker. It's about targeting trans people and making their lives unlivable.
Still not a peep on the things Mamdani can do for trans youth after hospital closures.
No activation of H+H to take patients. Trans patients are a rounding error for the $10B program.
No movement on human rights complaints.
No promise to restore care.
Rarely have I been so disappointed.
![Screenshot of a Wikipedia article with two sections. The first section is headed "Apprehensions about computers and artificial intelligence". The text reads:
"He started to think philosophically about the implications of artificial intelligence and later became one of its leading critics.[8] In an interview with MIT's The Tech, Weizenbaum elaborated on his fears, expanding them beyond the realm of mere artificial intelligence, explaining that his fears for society and the future of society were largely because of the computer itself. His belief was that the computer, at its most base level, is a fundamentally conservative force and that despite being a technological innovation, it would end up hindering social progress. Weizenbaum used his experience working with Bank of America as justification for his reasoning, saying that the computer allowed banks to deal with an ever-expanding number of checks in play that otherwise would have forced drastic changes to banking organization such as decentralization. As such, although the computer allowed the industry to become more efficient, it prevented a fundamental re-haul of the system.[9]
Weizenbaum also worried about the negative effects computers would have with regards to the military, calling the computer "a child of the military.""
The second section is headed "Position on the military" The text reads:
"When asked about his belief that a computer science professional would more often than not end up working with defense, Weizenbaum detailed his position on the effect of rhetoric, specifically euphemism, on public viewpoints. He believed that the terms "the military" and "defense" did not accurately represent the organizations and their actions. He made it clear that he did not think of himself as a pacifist, believing that there are certainly times where arms are necessary, but by referring to defense as killing people, humanity as a whole would be less inclined to embrace violent reactions so quickly.[9]"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:hw6uhid5zn5xpdicqfzf2ytd/bafkreihy7glmejovk5yyzrexk7aylv77tibuxj7ore7e6zk3uphmx3uqmq)
Screenshot of a Wikipedia article with two sections. The first section is headed "Apprehensions about computers and artificial intelligence". The text reads: "He started to think philosophically about the implications of artificial intelligence and later became one of its leading critics.[8] In an interview with MIT's The Tech, Weizenbaum elaborated on his fears, expanding them beyond the realm of mere artificial intelligence, explaining that his fears for society and the future of society were largely because of the computer itself. His belief was that the computer, at its most base level, is a fundamentally conservative force and that despite being a technological innovation, it would end up hindering social progress. Weizenbaum used his experience working with Bank of America as justification for his reasoning, saying that the computer allowed banks to deal with an ever-expanding number of checks in play that otherwise would have forced drastic changes to banking organization such as decentralization. As such, although the computer allowed the industry to become more efficient, it prevented a fundamental re-haul of the system.[9] Weizenbaum also worried about the negative effects computers would have with regards to the military, calling the computer "a child of the military."" The second section is headed "Position on the military" The text reads: "When asked about his belief that a computer science professional would more often than not end up working with defense, Weizenbaum detailed his position on the effect of rhetoric, specifically euphemism, on public viewpoints. He believed that the terms "the military" and "defense" did not accurately represent the organizations and their actions. He made it clear that he did not think of himself as a pacifist, believing that there are certainly times where arms are necessary, but by referring to defense as killing people, humanity as a whole would be less inclined to embrace violent reactions so quickly.[9]"
"... the computer allowed banks to deal with an ever-expanding number of checks in play that otherwise would have forced drastic changes to banking organization such as decentralization."
Screenshot of text: Norma Jeane Baker of Troy Anne Carson Surely the life of a girl can’t be collateral? Surely the gods don’t think like that? How do gods think? Does it all make sense to them — war? Clouds? Fakery? People in flames? Do they like a good war show? Cover their eyes at the bloody parts? Poor gods! We’re beyond that. We don’t cover our eyes anymore, do we — we mortals, we creatures of a day? We’re more or less blind — shooting day for night. And anyway, a heart surgeon told me once, no need to worry: once the cutting starts, a wound shines by its own light.
A blockquote from Kyle Paoletta's "Fair Warning" in Real Life magazine, citing a 1985 interview with The Tech, an MIT News service, in which Joseph Weizenbaum — the computer scientist who developed ELIZA, the first chatbot in 1964 — states: "the computer has from the beginning been a fundamentally conservative force … a force which kept power or even solidified power where it already existed." The passage concludes that in place of fundamental social changes, the computer allows technical solutions to be proposed that would allow existing power hierarchies to remain intact.
I'm sure the block layoffs have nothing to do with cutting all their failed crypto/web3 efforts and dressing it up in an efficiency and future-forward story!
the moon illuminates a colorful twilight sky and catches flecks of starlight in bitches eyes. shes smoking a cigarette out if her car window and gazing vacantly outside at nothing in particular. susie’s huge eyes sit fixed on bitch. almost absentmindedly, she replies. “no” “not really” end.
2/2
a four or five panel comic with a dog named bitch and a rabbit named susie they sit at a bar, clearly drunk. bitch says “what the fuck am i doing with my life” theyre in a club, bitch has just thrown up, she continues “sometimes i like get really sweaty and like feel like a stagnant dread over my total lack of ambition lol” they sit together on the couch listening to music, trash beside them. bitch continues “and i look at you” they stumble home, bitch continues “and all of your time im wasting” a free floating text box continues her thought “susie… dont you want something more?”
1/2
Adopting an immediate side and ignoring that we must necessarily doubt our convictions is, to me, always a grift, to yourself and to knowledge in general.
the percent for C is wayyyyyyy too low
NEW: A hobbyist has created Nearby Glasses, an app that warns you if someone close by is wearing smart glasses. 404 Media spoke to the creator who said he was inspired by our coverage that uncovers how men are wearing Meta's Ray-Bans to covertly film massage parlor workers.
For all those outraged by their universities’ embrace of AI, NYU’s full-time contingent faculty are poised to strike over issues that include AI
Doing things the "right" way, burning out and then realizing there is another option, coming back and winning it all with no fucks given? Yes please tell me that story forever.
btw if i’m ever not posting it’s because things are going exceptionally well
Specifically on this point of next-token prediction, as someone who’s studied this with eye-tracking, people are *not* next-token readers. They skim text. Eyes saccade. Even 1970s AI folks knew this, and old reading systems like DeJong’s FRUMP explored much more plausible mechanisms of reading.
In a blatant violation of NY state and NYC law, NYU Langone has shut down its youth gender clinic and caused a potential forced detransition to its patients. Where is the NY AG and Mayor Mamdani?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/n...
Quote from Annie Dillard from Teaching a Stone to Talk: Were you were to glance out one day and see a row of mushroom clouds rising on the horizon, you would know at once that what you were seeing, remarkable as it was, was intrinsically not worth remarking. No use running to tell anyone. Significant as it was, it did not matter a whit. For what is significance? It is significance for people. No people, no significance. This is all I have to tell you.
No people, no significance.
“We should learn to speak in a language that rich people who don't dream can't comprehend”
Photo of a Ma Bell mug with the blue Bell logo
Thank you ebay-sama
Front cover of the 1998 Xena: Warrior Princess calendar featuring a shot of Xena standing with a sword. Smaller pictures include shots of Xena and Gabrielle separately and together
February in the Xena calendar. The main photo is Gabrielle leaning her head on Xena’s shoulder. There are three smaller pictures on the bottom, all of the two of them. Two of the photos feature them gazing into each other’s eyes and the third sees Xena giving Gabrielle a kiss on the head
Get you a friend who sees the “1998 Xena Calendar Lines Up with 2026” post, sends it to you then surprise buys you a copy of the calendar because she knows you’re a freak who loves Xena: Warrior Princess (it’s @kayannbee.bsky.social, she’s the friend)
