I think this exhibit was some sort of art piece. Therefore, I chose to project my perceptions and preconceptions into it. @museumofscience.bsky.social

Q: Is there anything more cool than a two-story-tall working Van de Graaff generator? A: Possibly a two-story-tall working Van de Graaff generator with Elvis Costello performing selections from "My Aim ls True" inside the safety birdcage. Otherwise...no.

Nice guy. Kept asking me if I needed a place to hang up my hat. Big hockey fan.

It's the obligation of an artist to be patient and thoughtful, rather than accept the first furtive flash of inspiration. (Also, that @museumofscience.bsky.social exhibit is so large that a selfie with my hand up one of the nostrils wasn't really possible. So, to hell with it: I went with "arty.")

Excellent talk and you presented technology very well.

The debut of Apple's big "Great ideas start on Mac" campaign happened during the same week as the demolition of the East Wing and the disclosure of Apple's financial contribution supporting it. I wonder if Apple Marketing regards this as Bad Timing, or _Perfect_ Timing?

My panel/talk at the @museumofscience.bsky.social went great! Why, I felt as though I had the whole world at my back...

Boston peeps! I'm speaking at the Museum of Science Wednesday night. It's a neat event about technology and loneliness, and the panel features some folks I'm keen to speak with. Admission is free! Reserve a seat here: www.mos.org/events/subsp...

In legal terms, this mini basketball hoop up on a phone pole is the very definition of an "attractive nuisance." Any sensible person walking by would stop underneath it and pretend to be a Catholic saint. If I'd been hit by a car, the hoop's owner would be held liable for my medical expenses.

Wow. This was another of those times then I gave Gemini a prompt and was so pleased with the result that I uttered a grateful profanity. (This was definitely the first time I've said "I'm very happy with my speaker headshot.") "Convert this photo to a 1-bit bitmap, using Atkinson-style dithering."

Today's writing output, so far: 2500 word draft to explain a nuanced interplay between technology, government policy, and freedom (roughly two hours) 150 word author bio (roughly an hour)

If you know, you know. And if you know, you know that this indicates I've had a spicy week.

FINE I GIVE IN I'M MIDDLE-AGED AND I CAN READ WHAT'S ON MY MACBOOK SCREEN MUCH MORE CLEARLY NOW THAT I'VE GOT THE "DISPLAYS" SETTING AT ITS "SLIGHTLY LARGER TEXT" OPTION But I'm still young enough that I only use caps-lock for dramatic effect Also I can still eat spicy foods after 6 pm

A Sunday when there's a "Charlie Brown kicks the football" strip in the funnies is a Very Good day… www.gocomics.com/peanuts/2025...

My first sighting of Roof Racc at night. Just chilling and contemplating his evening plans. He's been around the neighborhood for months. I'm sure he's clocked the dumpster schedules of all of the restaurants nearby. Some of them are quite fancy. Roof Racc probably eats way better than I do.

I don't have any kids, so I can't say "I want to live long enough to dance at my grandchild's wedding." After some thought, I've decided on "I want to live long enough to play that codger in the disaster movie who refuses to obey the evacuation order because he 'ain't scared of no tor-NAY-dey'."

"Futurama" writers' room: "What if Farnsworth and mathematician Georg Cantor are prisoners in Numberland, and they escape by demonstrating that a unique number can exist outside of an infinite set?" "Family Guy" writers' room: "What if Mrs. Garrett from 'The Facts Of Life' were made out of farts?"

In fairness: It's embarrassing when a product fails during a livestreamed launch event. But IMO Meta and Google send a subtle message of "we're not afraid to perform a live demo." Apple's stuff always works flawlessly at their events because their launch events are always pre-taped and edited.

JK is often DIRECT about his reactions; I think he goes over the line sometimes. Before I saw the monologue, I was prepared to think "Pulling him is BS, of course. But that line about the murder…*cringe*" There's nothing in here to justify even _pretend_ outrage. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j3Y...

I'm sure I'm not the first to say this but... I hope I hope I HOPE that all of the guests for Colbert's show tomorrow are getting text messages informing them that they're all getting bumped to Friday. And, unrelated, I hope that Jimmy Kimmel is on a plane to NYC tonight…

God...no way to respond to this. Where to begin? "Isolation" is one of the profound generational differences. In the 80s-90s, you hard to WORK to find "your people." A show like MST3K, made by people with a POV and outlook you recognized, was VERY BIG. Funny as hell, but also a beacon of sorts.

"Bull Durham, The MUSICAL?!" Apparently, yes. Bull Durham: The Musical. (There'd better be a song entitled "The Rose Goes In The Front, Big Guy") papermill.org/bull-durham/

It's MacOS Tahoe Update Day! Always perform routine system maintenance before installing a major OS update: - Perform a 100% system backup - Free up space by removing apps and files you no longer need - Replace the old scuffed-up David Bowie/NASA mashup sticker with a fresh one

In olden days, you'd walk into someone's living room, see "12:00" flashing on the VCR, and you'd know that this person isn't good with home tech and would probably appreciate some guidance. Today's equivalent is when you see that their TV is on the factory default "Motion Smoothing: ON" setting.

In olden days, you'd walk into someone's living room, see "12:00" flashing on the VCR, and you'd know that this person isn't good with home tech and would probably appreciate some guidance. Today's equivalent is when you see that their TV is on the factory default "Motion Smoothing ON" setting.

I theorize that this graph (of how frequently the phrase "wicked pissah" appears in print over time) tracks Gen-X kids growing up and becoming published writers.

Future students will be surprised to learn that a certain word that lyrically describes a type of melancholy was coined not by Lord Byron in 1813, but by a guy in 2025 who'd been looking forward for months to binging a new 10-episode series in one shot & couldn't make it through the first half-hour.

The seagull said he was "happy as a clam" about the outcome of his lunchtime forage. The clam could not be reached for comment.

This year more than ever, it's important to remember what Labor Day is about. Today, society in general acknowledges that "workers have some rights." Those words were painted in the blood of Union organizers and protesters. (1/4) Studs Terkel, being magnificent: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoED...

I'm impressed by current weather forecasting tech. That said: my phone just chirped a notification that says "Rain starts in 37 minutes" and I don't need that kind of pressure in my daily life.

Very surprised BiBi Macelroy isn't coming back to SNL, or Terry Batley. Frank Corr, Dee Sweeney, Jane Cho, Paul Horst, Mary Torr, and Ernest Aduago are out, too. E! heard that Bobby Jeong and Marcia Bergeron are also not coming back. Actually, I made all those names up. You weren't sure, were you?

More fun with the "describe what you want" image editing features of the latest Gemini app. I'll post my original photo in a reply later. (After a day, I've determined that it's still fallible, like any other AI image editor. But it usually does what you asked, maintaining consistency/integrity.)

Many of my comic book reading friends are here. I hope you'll forgive this rant: SO SUE STORM'S INVISIBILITY POWERS CAN DO LITERALLY ANYTHING? OK FINE GREAT "Oh, you're a vegan? Sorry! I'll turn your cheeseburger into a chickpea masala by rearranging its atoms with my force fields! Boom! Enjoy!!!"

My first go with the Gemini app's new image editing improvements, released today. Very impressed. Look at the original photo, followed by the results after three iterations of changes: "Change the background from asphalt to green grass." "Put a golf glove on the hand." "Change the time to 12:34."

I got early access to the new season of "King Of The Hill" and watched the whole lot. It's terrific! It's not a reboot and not a nostalgia-bore. It's legitimately a new season from a team that's had a lot of time to rest and think. (1/2)

I've been a fan of @thecarollay.bsky.social for ages. Her latest strip is particularly lovely. www.gocomics.com/lay-lines/20...

Personal brand.

What. The. F***?!?!? variety.com/2025/tv/news...

Roof-Rac Update! I've seen it once or twice more since his first appearance a couple of months ago. It's clearly healthy. For reasons best explained by a raccoon, it just likes to sleep in the cradle-like divot at the end of the roofline of the building next to mine from time to time. Monday photo.

Pictured: An Bunny.

Pro tip: if your walk includes a half-hour stop at a bench or table along a popular path, many awesome dogs will come up to you for head skritchies while they're being walked.

They say that the Altamont tragedy marked the official end of the 1960s. The appearance of this chair on the curb today marks the official end of the 1990s.

I'm excited about "Fantastic Four." I'm also scared that the movie will begin with a title card that reads "Well, of _course_ it was an awesome trailer. If we told you that this is just more multiverse bull**** exclusively for obsessive MCU and Disney+ viewers, you wouldn't have bought the ticket."

🍏 MacBreak Weekly: iOS 26 Beta 2 deep dive, Apple's Perplexity buy talks, iPhone 17 Pro camera rumors & the pulled ad campaign—covered by @leolaporte.me, @ihnatko.bsky.social, @snell.zone & Alex Lindsay. Subscribe: buff.ly/nvRFXEU #iOS26

That thing I did last week? Where I recorded a wrapup/wind-down of the MacBreak episode I just recorded with @leolaporte.me @snell.zone and @alexlindsay.bsky.social on @twit.tv ? ...I did it again. (In 720p, because I forgot to change my webcam settings.) youtu.be/gkuInnuxRJ8

Art museums are hypocrites. I bet if a tourist accidentally put a rip in a Monet while taking a selfie and then they looked in the hole and discovered a second, even better Monet behind the first one that they never knew about, they'd be all like "Oo, we _love_ it when careless people take selfies…"

I am disappointed by the revelation, but I am willing to accept that my parents and grandparents were right. During hot weather, my problem isn't "the AC isn't turned up high enough." It's "I haven't given myself time to acclimate." FINE now it's set just high enough to take the edge off.

I really want one of these posters and I can't possibly be the only one.

I’m trying to imagine the MLB or a team’s front office telling George Brett or Pete Rose or Albert Belle “From now on, every time you hit a home run, you’ve got to put on this goofy hat or wave this silly prop as soon as you return to the dugout. You’ll look real dumb, but it’s good television.”

Raiding this closet is ASPIRATIONAL for a film geek. Every time there's a new Criterion Collection "Closet Picks" video featuring someone who (as it happens) I've never heard of, it gives me some hope. "Lots of people haven't heard of _me_…maybe I've got a shot?" www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCKx...