Nate Vack @[email protected]

@ehseacs @ScottStamb82849 @dick_nixon Agree with the pundit part, but I think his model is solid. I don’t know that the concept of poll aggregation makes sense anymore, but I don’t see think his thumb is on the scale.

Silver is twisting in the wind.

@spacewxwatch A suburb of Madison, WI. So good, even with light pollution.

Intense overhead #aurora over Maryland tonight. What a dream this is, I can’t even explain it. Thank you for sharing this incredible hobby with me.

The idea that Scott Walker is, or ever was, a man of principle is… remarkable

@awb20774 @GeorgeWHerbert @GeraldNGOM @ArmsControlWonk Boats and trains, to laymen, both transport goods and people. But if you start calling boats “trains” you are likely to confuse the hell out of people

@GeorgeWHerbert @GeraldNGOM @ArmsControlWonk Do they each not interdict airborne projectiles so as to minimize &/or nullify the single & collective impacts said projectiles may have on targets in Israel? If that's what each of them does, to laymen, they each do the same thing.

I will say this one more time: For missiles ranging Israel from Iran, the system attempting to intercept them is Arrow-2/3 and NOT Iron Dome. Stop using "Iron Dome" as a genericized trademark like Kleenex or Xerox.

@randall_plant @brianjackson502 @mrod21mvp @hyattch @RadioFreeTom Actually: If you truly don’t give a fuck, then please just listen to folk here, cast a vote for Harris, and then go back to clowning on social media.

@sahilkapur It’s like chatgpt huffed glue

Donald Trump was asked today what he’d do about child care if elected president. This is what he said, in its entirety:

@brianoleary @librarythingtim Tool libraries kick ass

@librarythingtim Tool libraries make a lot of sense. Lots of tools get used sparingly. When they are shared, value goes up and maintenance gets easier.

Buying things and sharing them in groups is a core right in capitalism. American was hot on social lending libraries a century before taxpayer-funded public schools caught on.

@Wandersong_game Sorry, can’t answer; Audrey Redheart is still living rent-free in my damn head

chat is this relatable?

@librarythingtim Genuinely surprised you’re an anti-Oxford man

First solid argument against Harris—uses the Oxford comma.

@stephenfhayes @SusanKristol @SarahLongwell25 @JonahDispatch She’s progressive on some issues. But the *real* far-left Democrats are arguing for stuff like embargoing Israel and completely nationalizing healthcare. Disagree with her if you like, but she’s objectively approximately median in the Dem party.

@SusanKristol @SarahLongwell25 @JonahDispatch Great! Who are you describing? Not me. I've voted mostly for Republicans, twice for an alternative (Libertarian in 1996, wrote in Mike Lee in 2016) and once for Democrat (Biden in 2020.) I still believe it's worth pointing out that Kamala Harris is a far-left Democrat.

I’ve read you and @JonahDispatch since I was a young conservative. You were both so influential on me. Watching your tedious rationalizations about why you’ll stand on the sidelines instead of taking a stand against the worst threat to American ideals in our lifetimes has been so deeply disappointing. I’ll never understand it as long as I live. This is basic right and wrong stuff.

@Pinboard Why… did you post this? You could just not post. It would be okay.

Watching male competitors in women's sports is a lot like the Biden debate thing. Everyone can see with their own eyes what's going on, but then there's an ideological post-processing step where everyone must decide whether their beliefs allow them to see it.

@librarythingtim Maybe? I think that if limiting resale were a legal option, auto dealers would do it routinely. I remain surprised that clickthrough terms are actually binding, honestly — a contract negotiation really should involve, y'know, negotiation and a meeting of the minds

@njvack I mean, if I literally sell you something but require you to sign a contract about non-resale as I do so, it's binding. Would make checkout at the B&N amusing.

I haven't been right about everything, but holy shit was I right about ebooks in 2009. I predicted (1) the ebook market would split consumer/library (2) libraries would end up paying far, far more for ebooks. thingology.librarything.com/2009/10/ebook-…

@librarythingtim They couldn't legally do it, either, by the first-sale doctrine. E-books are a devil's bargain for libraries

The whole thing turned on some basic legalities. Publishers couldn't charge libraries extra for printed books. (They could, but then the library would just get them elsewhere. They couldn't feasibly impose a no-resale contract on the whole market.) So they didn't push it.

@elneurozorro a million million years ago we ran an fMRI study called "spider train" which, as the name suggests, involved a spider stuck to a lil plastic train I'm not sure that ever got published

Pretty sure fMRI is not the right tool for this

@librarythingtim WAIT WHAT "obscure Cibo Matto spin-off" is absolutely my jam, so thanks

Every year or so I remember to listen to Butter 08 and smile the whole time. (An obscure spin-off from the nearly-as-obscure Cibo Matto, described as "often hilarious and consistently groovy; in a word, dynamite.") en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter_(B…

@librarythingtim @argyriou15 (In the short term, I suspect we're mostly going to see cost savings feverishly claimed by investors.)

@librarythingtim @argyriou15 In a normal, well-functioning market, the money businesses save in staffing costs would be passed on as lower costs. And I suspect we'll see that in the medium-to-long term. Software, having eaten the world, will begin the process of autophagy

I'm so glad this bubble popped. Getting $300k and Versailles-level benefits for an ordinary white-collar job at a big tech company is an insult to millions of smart, hard-working tech and non-tech workers. twitter.com/i/status/17916…

@one_byte_cafe they're both good flan but I always like a garnish

@librarythingtim I read "bonking noises" and now I want to make bonking noises when I kiss

You know how we all wondered how to kiss without bonking noses? (Not you? An 80s kid thing?) 17c Flemish kids had the same question about neck ruffles. And, really, I have the same question.

GPT-4o is not an effective art search engine. (I asked for classic paintings of women wearing chokers. I was SURE Sargent wasn't one. Two others you can't even see the woman's neck!)

@americashawk @JonahDispatch @RepLizCheney It's okay to not agree Cheney's policies (I disagree with many!) but also respect her as a person

@JonahDispatch @RepLizCheney Are you fucking insane? Because that is some crazy shit right there

Well, for starters because @RepLizCheney is conservative, principled, patriotic, honest, and brave enough to sacrifice her political career for something more important. Also, she’s a very smart and decent person. But if you give me time I can give you a more exhaustive list.