Everyone here talks about being Agile, but keep creating procedures that are Aggressively Waterfall, if not Painfully Waterfall

Bluesky is a site explicitly founded by cryptocurrency libertarians with the idea that it would be a decentralized platform where users would be free to choose the open-source moderation and algorithmic feed tools they wanted, and by accident acquired a power userbase that hates all of those things.

The “E-Bike Effect:” Those who bought e-bikes increased their average daily bicycle use from 2.1km (1.3 miles) to 9.2km (5.7 miles), a 340% increase. The e-bike share of all their transportation increased dramatically too; from 17% to 49%. E-bikes support fewer car trips. V @lloydalter.bsky.social

'Please stop asking Zohran about Israel and start asking him about composting' is funny but also a real clear assessment of what the media is doing

Was talking to a co-worker my kids living living in large urban areas around the world. "If I could live somewhere like that instead of {small New England town I live in}, I would." Then I realized, I'm a grown-ass adult and I *could* live anywhere I want

The real generational divide is people who refuse to watch a video if it could be an article versus people who refuse to read an article if it could be a video

Another idea that works well in Andyland, but can't bring with me until everyone else agrees. Standing about 2 steps back from the baggage claim carousel allows more people to fit, a better view of the luggage, and easier to remove luggage without hitting someone

I wonder how many leaves need to stop blinking before they call the electric tree surgeon

More bikes than cars. That means more people moving in less space with less public cost, less pollution, more retail spending, longer and healthier lives, greater happiness etc. In more and more centre cities the Simpsons is proving prophetic.

"It's my fault, I asked if you could read, not if you could count" "if I could count I wouldn't have had four children" --Gabriella Lester and her volunteer at Scoopfest @heyscoops.bsky.social

idk what it is that driving does to people but i’m convinced the psychic effect of driving is one fundamental cause for the american decline by way of the effect it has had on how people prioritize things and what they value most. this + the car as both symbol and reqmt for freedom = death cult

Imagine if Judaism examined this question. “What would we know? The Talmud was locked by a moderator after 12239 pages of heated debate.”

I might be stereotyping, but there is probably a reason this casino is giving away deep fryers and not salad spinners. #scoopfest

don't miss the video about these fun and happy bricks

tired: defensive walking wired: offensive walking

I think I'm going to start calling YouTube hosts YouTubophonists as @georgehrab.bsky.social did on his most recent podcast episode

Yesterday, when I got to synagogue, there was a bike locked to a railing. I was thinking of riding mine as i do some shabbat mornings, but couldn't imagine biking in a suit.

I just wrote into a MS-Teams chat: The person who I usually think would know the answer is {co-worker in other department}. The person who I'm always afraid to refer someone to because it is difficult to get answers is {co-worker in other department}

I just heard a middle-aged white guy in a meeting say "do the needful" and wondering if it it going to expand beyond its Indian English origins

Is ending a MS-Teams meeting with "any questions, you know where to find me" too close to a dad joke?

It's amazing how one manilla folder on top of a laptop sitting on top of a pile of other papers can render that laptop invisible through many rounds of searching

I was trying to remember the name of the play "110 Stories", so I googled and the AI nonsense told me the following. Adding "9 11" to the search string lead me to the play's name. Sending this to my kids (their drama club performed the play) replied with "did you know she killed her girlfriend?

meanwhile, stanford has developed a billionaire parrot who bought the parrot internet, brought in advertisers, and has increased average engagement to more than six hours per day by pitting the other parrots against each other

I had the nagging feeling I had some town bill that I needed to pay. One that I put aside when money for expenses could go elsewhere until due. Last paycheck was thinking "isn't this the check I expected to pay..." but couldn't find it. Maybe I was mistaken.

Q: but what if a full Epstein investigation also takes down Bill Clinton????? A:

Two kinds of people don’t get why we study religion: people who think religion is bad and not studying it will make it go away and people who think religion is good—but just their own—so keep your critical hands off it. Both are wrong about what religious studies is. (See first comments on op.)

Fascinating correction on placement of _fucking_ adv. from Hochul's team, via @jccoltin.bsky.social (screenshot is from X; his post here here has the "correct" version only):

A few weekends ago with my parents, they didn't say it but maybe thought it. "Well the Vado has a belt drive , less maintenance and always ready to go. The Como has a bigger motor and a derailleur and handles better at traffic lights.

just a reminder that every corporation out there actively hates you thelyonfirm.com/blog/jeep-da...

Wondering if what I'm seeing is an effect of tariffs. A guitar that for nearly a year I've been convincing myself I don't need to buy used to be around $900 new, and I've sen some around $600 used. Now I'm seeing used ones over a grand and anything still priced about $600 used disppears quickly

I have come to think it's underappreciated that social media isn't merely bad because of polarizing people, but because it in general gives one the impression of being in a world where everyone cares a LOT about everything. It's an anxious way to be.

Pondering a grammar issue: Are multiple written as "State of Emergencies" or "States of Emergency" like Attorney General?

Im getting pretty good at judging exactly how much groceries will still fit in the paniers

@podtherapy.bsky.social this might have some connection to some of your recent discussions

It would be cool if the journalists doing these kinds of stories would take 5 minutes and look up one of the many studies on the benefits of bike infrastructure and then include that in the story. But no, we get vibes and a one-sided story.

This only happens because of the leadership of Mayor Wu. There’s been no mayor in my lifetime more supportive of efforts to improve the built environment at the neighborhood scale for Boston residents than @wutrain.bsky.social

I can get rid of these, right?

I wasn't expecting to be smiling and laughing at a cover of Crazy Train this morning, but @georgehrab.bsky.social podcast slipped a recording of one in the middle of an episode geologicpodcast.com/the-geologic...

I remember the juiciest gossip was in the letters to Lord Byron’s sister Augusta Leigh and to Harriet Beecher Stowe of all people 😆

we have both computers and science fiction because Byron was so insufferable it inspired all the women around him to come up with elaborate reasons to get away

Remembering when an earlier Red Sox ownership group was pushing for a public-money new ballpark & thus were claiming that Fenway Park was doomed to collapse because of the instability of the ground. Never believe the owners, friends. They don’t even understand what they have, let alone love it.

The Republican party is going insanely hard on trying to interfere with the midterm elections, and while that should make us feel FAR from safe, it should make us confident that preserving fair elections is the surest and easiest path to taking control of the federal government back.

I just found out that the traffic sensing cameras at an intersection near my house 1. Doesn't notice a bicyclist well at waiting at the light and 2. Doesn't notice a car giving the bicyclist lots of space behind them in the lane.

It's because it is current news, but interesting when a subject comes from many sources on a day. NY Times has a guest essay about the harms of using LLMs for therapy www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/o..., and @podtherapy.bsky.social Patreon has the new IL law regulating it www.patreon.com/posts/emma-a...

It’s wild that the most unrealistic part of Terminator 2 is now the idea of a tech founder being told their creation will enslave humanity and they decide to destroy their product & company.

[looking at the gettysburg address] “that sign won’t stop me because i can’t read”

I've long had a guess in my head of how the musical Annie was created. Some producer in the 70s said "who goes to musicals? Little Old Ladies. What do they like? Nostalgia from their youth. When were they young? The depression. We've got ourselves a show"