Hey, gotta find something to critique, right? And to do so, why not make that common move: critique the book you think they should have written rather than the one they actually wrote? Oh well, as long as the final para starts with, "These quibbles aside, this is a fine blah blah blah..."

Brilliant, w/ much for historians to enjoy. Instead of “resisters are like those morons of the past who opposed ‘progress’”, it’s more like “embracers risk being like those of the past driven mad by novel tech”—and that, thanks to LLMs & boosters, this mad “bright future” is brought to the masses.

Makes me grateful to be on a search subcommittee where we all detest LLMs and wouldn’t dream of using it to replace any part of the hiring process… And where we would all I think insta-reject any candidate who was proven to have used LLMs in preparing their materials.

Look I don’t know what Bible they’re reading, but the actual one has a lot of lines like these: “Thus says the Lord: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy…do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts.” Zechariah‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭

normalize Putin chew toys www.caricachewers.com

Riveting (Clark St Bridge downtown Chicago)

I will not use it at the beach I will not use it when I teach I do not want it in a church I do not want it for research I see no reason to concede I will not use it when I read Although its hype should have no end Upon it I will not depend

I do not like your AI slop I do not like it, make it stop I do not want an AI house I do not want an AI mouse No AI box. No AI fox— That AI slop can go kick rocks I would not AI here or there I would not AI anywhere No AI car, no AI czar Your AI slop is killing trees I do not like it, let me be!

Sharing operational details of an attack beforehand with a random journalist on a group chat is for rookies. Casually disclosing covert action while calling into a radio show is the real deal.

Barbaric. “The U.S. military has offered no evidence that the boats it has destroyed were transporting illicit substances or belong to criminal networks… A wide range of legal experts say the U.S. strikes are illegal…” Gift link

Since 1975, $79 trillion in wealth has been redistributed from the bottom 90% to the top 1% — a 1% that now owns more wealth than the bottom 93%. We can respect innovation & entrepreneurship, but we cannot respect the extraordinary greed that now exists. We need a wealth tax.

“You are not entitled to a response from us, or anyone, ever." - Dept. of Education to ProPublica's @megomatz.bsky.social "Our journalists reach out to people they’re writing about to ensure fairness. But ... their efforts to do so are more likely to be vilified than appreciated."

Iran's economic crisis reaching a new level today: Bazaar merchants and shopkeepers have taken to the streets in Tehran, protesting over a collapsing currency and rising cost of living. Parliament has rejected the govt's budget bill. The central bank governor has resigned.

Name 1 movie from your childhood you were way too young to watch. (curse of being the youngest sibling, I saw nightmare-inducing crap I had no business seeing)

Excited to be arrested because the AI hallucinates some crime I didn't commit

Interesting news from the running world. I’m a hobby runner and I like my Brooks, but this is an interesting glimpse at the elite level and the science of super shoes

Indonesia’s new capital or vanity project of former president headed for failure? Interesting reporting from the new planned city of Nusantara in Borneo. Gift article.

Passed by here recently and snapped this photo. I kept thinking of one thing: Pottersville

This need to concede ground, as in “Yes, there are myriad documented problems & risks, but here’s the one or two *right* or *ethical* ways to use it…” is hard to understand apart from the levels of money & hype surrounding it. It’s usually good to be skeptical of slippery slope arguments, but…

Preach

Wow, what framing. As if war is, or has always been, the preferred “way”… which only now exhaustion is forcing “the region” to rethink. First, no, the ME is not a place of “constant war since ancient times.” Second, while there are indeed trigger-happy war mongers in the ME w/ non-ME backers…

Ergo… The ‘kin’ of pumpkin means “little” ‘Pump’ means ‘pump’ So a pumpkin is a little pump

My wife reading a joke from a cracker: why do they call it the Dark Ages? Me: they don’t Her: because there were lots of knights. Everyone: hahaha Me: ok let me stop you there. Number one…

"A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research and the Centre for Demographic Studies investigated the impact of the conflict in Gaza on mortality. They estimate that 78,318 (70,614-87,504) people were killed in Gaza" Don't forget. Just don't.

In case anyone needs a reminder, war-criminal Putin’s murderous invasion of Ukraine is still going on. What an ongoing tragedy for the Ukrainian people.

Relaxing (at times) #caturday

As with the false, tedious narrative of “college & uni instructors as elite indoctrinators”, narratives about “anti-tech” or “Luddite” faculty are pumped out by genAI boosters to keep the focus off the for-profit colonizing project being pursued by tech barons & their academic admin enablers.

Surely, he’ll throw the book at himself

Those were the days…

When women critical of gAI in academia/industry speak out about it, the response from people who want us to use the tech and AI pushers is quite clearly shaped by misogyny, even if they will deny it. We are "emotional" "irrational" Luddites, etc. Our ladybrains just can't handle/understand it.

Make a Bond movie academic: “Dean No”

Fun fact: I didn’t know that was there until into my 4th decade. It’s esp useful when you own multiple cars (cuz, kids who drive & limited public transport) & can’t remember which has the “filler” on the left or right.

Alt Text those photos, screenshots, and images of charts, graphs, cartoons, etc, folks! It’s easy to set up: Settings—Accessibility—require alt text before posting (toggle on)

Seems a good time to re-up this 🧵 and report. Religion is only one among a host of factors driving conflict and the enormous security challenges in northern Nigeria.

“A day after part of a missile fired by the United States hit their village, landing just meters from its only medical facility, the villagers of Jabo in northwest Nigeria are in a state of shock and confusion.” Possible downsides to airstrikes based on POTUS’s whims. www.cnn.com/2025/12/26/a...

make a Bond movie academic: A View to a Shill: Tech Boosterism and the Invention of the Crisis of Higher Education

In which he used a fork to “scoop” the vanilla ice cream as a complement for his leftover cherry pie. It did not end well for the fork or the carton.

Again, the fact that this admin openly opposes thoughtful, clearly needed state-level regulations on AI (good review here of some states’ efforts) and is poised - at the behest of big tech companies - to litigate against states that dare to regulate AI tells us everything we need to know.

“We are living in an age of disgusting impunity that is taking us back hundreds of years. We are reduced to giving concession after concession not to stop…aggression, but to ask those responsible to kill fewer people, destroy fewer neighbourhoods.” Powerful piece by @patrickwintour.bsky.social

Happy Day after Christmas

They are colonizing education. Mirroring historic colonial discourse, they hide their real motives w/ the claim that they’re only doing it for the good of the colonized (enhanced learning! efficiency!). This entails spreading false narratives a/b those (instructors & their pedagogy) who dare resist.

Launching tomahawks supposedly to “protect” African Christians, while banning their entry into the US (expanded travel ban from “s-hole” countries; excepting white S Africans of course) and causing pain and death to hundreds of thousands (thoughtless cuts to USAid and other int’l funding).

First of all, Tom Waverly was not down on his luck. He survived the horrors of WWII and returned to buy and operate a resort hotel in Vermont.

Absolutely incredible Christmas sunset out at the big lake this evening. One of the best I’ve ever seen. #Grateful. Scroll down for more. Once again, Merry Christmas everyone!

A huge and, sadly, growing problem

Same. Some of my favorite Christmases were the ones, I think 6 or 7, we celebrated in India. In north India, Christmas is colloquially called बड़ा दिन بڑا دن “barda din,” big day.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

Interesting comparing several news sites covering “Christmas celebrations return to Bethlehem”. Most foreground the happiness of B’s Palestinian Christians and how, post Gaza “ceasefire,” things are now looking up. If at all, they bury deep in the story the stark realities of how bad things remain…

Christ is Born! Merry Christmas! Icon of the Nativity, Ukrainian, mid. 16th century (National Museum in Krakow); via: www.icon.org.ua

Meanwhile, in Bethlehem… “The return of Christmas celebrations comes despite continued raids and…military incursions across the occupied West Bank, even after a fragile ceasefire[…] Unemployment in Bethlehem surged from 14 percent to 65 percent during the…war…, Canawati said earlier this month.“