Have you read the short story "Pump Six" by @paolobacigalupi.bsky.social ? It's the future we're headed for if we continue to let education wither on the vine.

Some #goodnews for your week: Geothermal energy project from the South Side non-profit Blacks for Green could heat and cool Chicago. (Reminds me of one of my favorite @paolobacigalupi.bsky.social short stories). #innovation #climate techxplore.com/news/2025-03...

Interior Dept. may be withdrawing from the West, not moving to it: Will a DOGE plan to shutter federal offices affect the BLM's potential HQ move? -- Jonathan P. Thompson (LandDesk.org) #snowpack coyotegulch.blog/2025/03/07/i...

I’m currently in a hotel next to Fenway Park. There’s a heated pool! But I’ve signed a stack of The Book of Love pb at Porter Square Books, another stack at Harvard Bookstore, & tomorrow am I drop by Brookline Booksmith to sign there. So if you’re in Boston & want a signed copy, you’ve got options.

This is why a lot of kids stop reading. We force "nutritious" books down their throats, instead of indulging them wildly on books they enjoy. Also, the fun and subversively silly books seem to evaporate in upper grade levels. If books taste like oatmeal, a wise person will play video games.

they basically want to turn the american army into the russian army

Discipline is better than inspiration

In case anyone isn't watching football right now, the kindle version of @paolobacigalupi.bsky.social 's book #Navola is on sale today for $1.99. I just bought it.

I bet folks in Beijing already have their hands hurt from popping up champagne all the time as America voluntarily barbarizes its own global soft power instruments that particularly made it a superpower and won the Cold War.

The moment Estonia disconnected its power grid from Russia has been shared online. A historic step toward energy independence.

This weekend I've decided to finally read Balaji Srinivasan's terrible fucking book, "The Network State." I've put this off for as long as I possibly could. Here goes. thenetworkstate.com/book/tns.pdf

Weak men cannot compromise. Weak men cannot build consensus. Weak men think that leadership means force. Weak men build nothing that lasts.

Here's last night's driving thread, for your reading pleasure. There's a polyamorous pirate, a drunk birthday chemist, and cheating on a quiz with ChatGPT. It's messy.

The Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have today fully decoupled their energy grid from Russia. At the moment they are running in an island mode, but starting tomorrow the energy grid will be reconnected with the European Union.

"This... idea that powerful nations deserve to be able to conquer weaker ones unopposed, and that regular people defending their homes and families are worthy of contempt — was an utterly shameful display, and largely failed to convince the American people." MAGA went along, though [Noah Smith]

PSA: When it comes to apps, "private" & "secret" are not synonymous, as they refer to different aspects of data handling & accessibility. Public = data is avail. to anyone Private = data is restricted to specific people Secret = data is restricted & inaccessible to the app or its operators.

just over here photoshopping muppets onto the cover of elle magazine: thread

Leading by example, Finland is set to implement a new law prohibiting Russian citizens and entities with Russian ties from purchasing or transacting in real estate. Today, the bill was submitted to the Finnish Parliament for a final vote, where it is expected to pass.

Few comments on this new Wired.com piece. These aren't additional scoops or revisions. But we're covering common ground so just some additional color and confirmation. As I noted in a post yesterday, the whole 'read-only' thing is a kind of misdirection which was made possible by the specific ...

Next fall, my Worldbuilding in Science Fiction and Fantasy course at ASU is expanding from a 38-person cap to 147. I've been envisioning big creative writing classes for a while, and when I designed this one five years ago, I built it to grow. I'm excited to fill the biggest rooms my university has!

If you are a federal employee working in anything related to climate, environment, or disasters, I'm @zoeschlanger.99 on Signal and would like to hear from you.

Asked when prices will actually start coming down, a flustered Karoline Leavitt says, "prices at the store and at the grocery pump?" and provides a non-answer

1:30am. Curse you, Baldur's Gate. Curse you.

Performance art vs. coup. Pathetic.

I tune into NHK via their "NHK World" app - intended for foreign audiences - on the Apple TV. I think highly of this app in general, as it often provides a sort of soothing, good-natured, human-scale content I find missing in western media.

Throughout the last few years, Japanese broadcaster NHK has done a remarkable job of continuing to cover Ukraine, keeping the audience informed about the war and the difficulties of Ukrainians trying to live during wartime. Impressive.

Adore how ‘Maidan’ became the common noun for civil protests against the government worldwide, let’s fucking go, ‘maidan’ literally translates as ‘square’, but Square Revolution doesn’t have the same ring to it

I try to mention this day job a LOT because so many people have wild ideas about how much writers make. Gene Wolfe worked as an engineer his whole life! He designed the machine that makes Pringles cans!! (He retired with a... PENSION!). Even Kevin J Anderson had to (grumpily) get a teaching job!

#Syrian children swinging on electric wires, They want just to play no matter what. You can find a way out for it.

Hello, Portland! I'll be kicking off the tour for The Martian Contingency in your city. I hope you'll make plans to drop by the Cedar Hills Crossing location of @powells.bsky.social on March 18 to say hello and get your book signed. www.powells.com/book/the-mar... @torbooks.bsky.social

"Don't Engage, Just Block" - Now more than ever!

I've been tracking when and where my books are getting banned in the US since 2023. My books are all about queer teen girls and/or Asian Americans. Here's my latest update: As of today, my books have been censored in 96 cases across 20 states. www.malindalo.com/blog/2025/2/...

Every single post-apocalyptic/dystopian movie I watched from 1982 to 1994 in the midnight-to-2 slot on HBO and Showtime was absolutely correct, and I feel both really superior and really bad about that.

If you treat your allies like shit, pretty soon all you'll have is enemies.

The Locus Recommended List is live! locusmag.com/2025/02...

I regret to inform I gotta hand it to Zizek again

Another great piece by @drjademcglynn.bsky.social, whom you must follow if you're interested in the Ukraine war. open.substack.com/pub/smalldee...

Here’s the original version of the OpEd that reflects my actual arguments. drive.google.com/file/d/1mNFm...

My first and definitely last time working with the Los Angeles Times. Editing out the most urgent point of an OpEd in the minutes before sending to press while then also assigning a title and image that suggest an argument entirely opposite to the author’s clear intent is pretty shitty.

We can't keep (re)building in stupid places. Insurance costs are one of the few things that emphasize the cost/risk of doing so. We need regs that prevent building in stupid places/require structures to be hardened to risks. That said, bankrupting oil companies with lawsuits is never a bad idea!

Random thought from nowhere: I think I would enjoy operating some sort of boarding house for travelers located in a mountain pass somewhere. "A bed, yes, here have some tea. There will be fresh bread in the morning. The library's that way."

This resonates

"opting out" of social media is a bit like committing social suicide that's true BUT instead of dying forever you get reincarnated as a Person with an Attention Span it's great tbh

Just got this tip from an airline pilot

The more you do something, the more you'll be recognized as someone who does that thing. Over time, new opportunities will arise connected to that thing. If you do something you hate, you will be recognized, rewarded, and given more opportunities to do that thing you hate. Do things you like.

Please follow the Pacific Institute and welcome then to Bluesky. Also add them to Starter Packs for water, climate, equity organizations. @pacificinstitute.bsky.social

Apparently it's that kind of day.

So cool.

😂

Exactly