One of my favorite things about when NASA folks make the news is everyone else learning what gigantic nerds they all are (complimentary).

I put butter on the inside of the bread for the flavor and mayo on the outside for a good grill. Cook them butter side down for like a minute, then flip, add sharp cheddar, sandwich it up. Let it finish toasting while I tend to the tomato soup (which is mandatory)

I’m probably the last person to tell someone it’s obnoxious for them to talk about their childhood accomplishments, but I don’t think anybody has ever given a shit about someone else’s SAT scores. Especially not when you’re in your 40s or 50s.

Remember kids: means testing is for smug busybodies and jackasses who want to waste money punishing people for being poor!

Still just a me Standing in front of indie game devs Begging you to stop thinking "the twist is it's about DEATH!" is: - deep - original - a good idea Anyone can tell a story about death and practically everyone has, and if you're relying on cheap surprise to make yours work, it doesn't.

Two things are true. 1. Most *people* did not watch the launch live because shuttle launches weren't super popular TV by that point. 2. NASA had a huge PR campaign to get television broadcasts of that specific launch to be shown live in classrooms across the country, so many *kids* did watch live.

OH: "I'm like Wolverine if he got a lot of therapy and the girl" "...so like Scott Summers?"

This year is Escape Artists 20th anniversary. Next year will be my 20th hosting PseudoPod I think. I’m also pretty sure Full Lid turns ten(!) next year I’ve spent a lot of my life conditioned to believe what I do doesn’t matter. Those numbers say different:)

OH: "I can find entertainment anywhere—where there's fire"

Every time I make the (correct) statement that social media use is not universally bad for teenagers, or state that the best consensus is that it's beneficial-to-neutral for many and any negative effects are a small subset of teenagers, people demand citations (and then refuse to believe them, sigh)

"preservation of physical books is not an individual burden" should be taught in schools Your personal library is not an archive. Your yellowing mass market paperback will not be the sole copy of The Shadow War of the Night Dragons to survive the apocalypse. You can get rid of books. It's fine.

Don't sleep on the alt text

Happy Maryland Day to those who celebrate

I agree 100% with Steven Vickers that authors will be falsely accused of using AI in the coming years. In particular, authors like myself whose works were stolen to train AI systems are at risk. When we write in our own unique styles, AI trained on us will quite likely flag us as using AI.

The insecurity people seem to be wrestling with is “Does my nostalgia make me a bad person?” which is the wrong question and shunts aside trans people’s safety in order to center someone else’s personal feelings. I guess that’s instructive.

the girl guides in the UK just kicked out all their trans members specifically bc they were threatened with a lawsuit from a rowling-funded group

I've said this before but I say it again, with love in my heart and absolutely no judgement: You should wash your water bottle every day.

🤔Senator Rachael Warnock is a pastor. Representative Cori Bush is a pastor. Representative Emmanuel Cleaver is a pastor. Black people attend church more regularly than any other group in the US. Yes, even more than Hispanic people. So please, be honest when you talk about why Talarico "resonates."

The USPS IS NOT LOSING MONEY. THE USPS IS SPENDING TAX DOLLARS ALLOCATED TO IT BY THE BUDGET. THE USPS SHOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO ZERO OUT ITS BALANCE SHEET IT IS NOT A BUSINESS IT DOES NOT HAVE SHAREHOLDERS. IF THE USPS IS OUTSPENDING ITS BUDGET IT SHOULD BE ALLOCATED MORE BUDGET.

This entire 🧵 is worth reading, but @flowerhorne.com makes a point here that I’ll add to: In a “code of conduct” context, restorative justice is only an option if the violator is willing to do the very hard work of changing themselves. And most abusers don’t even acknowledge that work is needed.

Judith Herman has written some powerful words on this. People tend to see victims as the source of harm because they were unaware of the violence until the victim spoke up. A lot want to go back to the day before they knew—not a time before the violence ever happened.

I remember when everything started moving to apps and I was morally offended at the idea of having to download all these little programs to access services when the Internet was right there and you know what, I was right

A number of Jewish organizations are shrilly insisting that any criticism of Israeli genocide and warmongering is an illegitimate attack on Jews. At the same time, an increasing number of non-Jewish people are insisting that any attack on Jews is a legitimate attack on Israel. This sucks, man

A major failing of restorative justice when it's taken out of its original context (which is as an alternative to carceral systems) is that abusers often have way more energy to spend on staying in communities that enable them than victims have for staying in communities where they're not safe.

For restorative justice to work: - It must be truly voluntary for the survivor—which means there must be other options available too. - The perpetrator must confess. - There must be recognition of the power imbalance between victim and perpetrator. It is not just a fancy mediation session.

If there is going to be a reckoning about violence in progressive organizing spaces, we need to be prepared to hear survivors’ critiques of restorative justice. A lot of progressives think restorative justice is the only path forward, but it can be weaponized and co-opted just like other processes.

Once a little kid hit my cane on accident and the dad said “be careful, don’t hit that.” And he said “why?” And the guy froze so I said “because it’s magic and if it leaves my hand I’ll disappear!” And the boy looked up at me in total awe and I walked away.

Dear parents of young children: when your kid loudly asks "why does that person have a stick?” Please— don't be embarrassed. Don't shush them and drag them away. Disability is not a shameful secret. They're asking because they don't know. Just answer the question.

Moderation isn’t about good moderators being super empathic , technological geniuses Though good moderation has them It’s about being willing to commit to safety and good conduct for participants WHO ALSO COMMIT And holding that damn line with CARE regardless

My jacket is getting long in the tooth and it's time for an update. What do we think? Try to color match some red bias tape? Go for a darker red? Contrasting color like yellow or black? Find a coordinating plaid? (The buttons and belt buckle are a brown faux tortoiseshell)

In both of these cases the issue is not the statement, which many Jews agree with, it’s the assumption that the statement will cause a Jew pain or is something they will be horrified by and thus the *intent to harass* that is antisemitic. You guys can’t be this dense.

ME: oh a little Zohran video for St Patrick's Day, probably just celebrating Irish culture, maybe a few green beer jokes ZOHRAN (2 minutes in): ...and that's why King Leopold I of Belgium is a big wet bitch. Furthermore...

it's astounding to me how survivors of abuse and misconduct can come forward and explain what they went through in exacting detail, not using any euphemisms or eliding any of the worst bits, and STILL, people will get on the internet and go "okay but was that really abuse? I don't get it?"

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

I know all writing "rules" are just guidelines, but we really need to talk about a horrible trend that absolutely needs to stop I speak of authors pacing their books such that I get to the most dramatic parts right when I'm trying to fall asleep I'm too old to stay up late; have some compassion

my novella The Death of Mountains (from @lethepress.bsky.social) is a Nebula Finalist in a stacked category with @amalelmohtar.com, @annaleen.bsky.social, @renanbernardo.com, and @hachepueyo.bsky.social the announcement was tonight, in an amazing presentation from @sfwa.org

Why's it called an FHA loan and not a Humble Bundleow

Non-writers are wondering why in the replies, and it's basically math. Authors typically make a few bucks or less /copy and even a Big 5 book can sell <10k and that might even meet expectations (depending). Like all things in capitalism, it's uneven, with a small minority of authors selling lots.

Just saw an ad left over from December announcing an Elf On The Shelf pop-up bar called "Cheers from the shelf" and I have questions Mostly the ones you would expect but also: "Elf On The Top Shelf," surely?

What if we all just refuse to do Daylight Savings Time They can't make us, right?

I was in DC when he was elected and the whole city was in celebration. People were rejoicing and dancing on U Street. The feeling in the district was absolutely electric. I was high fiving total strangers as we passed. I've never seen such community joy like that.

You know who's really good at juggling dozens of point of view characters is @sherwood.bsky.social I've been reading the Norsunder War books and like mid scene or even mid paragraph she'll slip from one POV to the next but it works fine and it's almost never confusing who's head she's in

When all the other time travelers are busy killing Hitler, I’m gonna take out Laura Ingalls Wilder.

A decent article about the #LostCanadian new option for people with Canadian ancestors. There was someone approved recently 9 generations out from #Acadian displacement. If you can prove your Canadian ancestors, you can claim citizenship. It's not naturalization. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

btw about that pixar thing, the reason why these people think having a conversation about gay people with kids is difficult is because they don't know a way to say to their kid "gay people are normal but you are not allowed to be one" without sounding like a bigot (there is a reason for that)

I spend a lot of time at the beginning of every project figuring out which POV/tense is going to serve that story. I'm aware many readers take an "I don't like mushrooms" approach to these tools, and that's fine, but it's not my job to try to guess whether there are more mushroom lovers or haters.

We didn’t win, place, or show; but it’s all politics anyway.

Black people and Black people only: what do we know about Andrea LaFlamme? Is she cool? (Paging the one Black person deployed to the Maine outpost! Stop ice fishing with the locals and answer me!)

A network should simply make a tv show of @valerievaldes.bsky.social's Eva Innocente series.

You can like something and think a lot of it is pretty good and still hold the opinion that it had its day and we don’t need more of it now