CharlieRBarnes 🏳️‍🌈 🍑🏴‍☠️

Some of my favorite reviews are on Goodreads: #CommunityReviews" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">goodreads.com/book/show/2158…

watched “Twinless” tonight. based on the trailer and the marketing, it looked like something and then when we watched it, it was something else. Every gay character is mentally ill, sexually predatory, psychologically damaged, or just plain broken. Not one positive portrayal.

@sciencegirl Civility

People who actually experienced the 1990s: What is something you miss from that decade that just isn't the same today

@eventbritehelp why does EventBrite make it impossible to report a phishing scam using “noreply” at “campaign . eventbrite . com” that is pretending to be the IRS …. Without having to create an eventbrite account? I challenge anyone to go to the site and try. Can’t be done.

@cigarettesummer There’s only one art school? Who knew?

Bad news I just got rejected from art school, what should I do now

@BilyarskEnterer @HistoryUnd Sounds more like me in the 90s… What? Wait! Did I say that out loud? Oops.

@HistoryUnd “I remember that when I stepped off the train in Bucharest, I immediately visited a Turkish bathhouse in order to have passionate sexual relations with many burly men. It’s an experience I try to replicate every time I visit Europe.” - Rick Steves, probably

Rick Steves: "Here I am, heading off to Europe the day after high school graduation in 1973 — with a budget of $3 a day, a ten-week Eurail pass in my pocket, and the biggest backpack I could find, jam-packed. I came home with no money, a malnourished body, and an enduring love of

@HistoryUnd $3/day is marginal but that Eurailpass is pure gold.

@TimurNegru Hopefully you’ll get to visit a Buc-ees while you’re here - that’s a real slice of America right there. No, no, wait, I’m sorry. That’s a terrible thing for me to hope for you. Just…. Don’t.

I’m a European about to fly to America for the first time. I’ve been told to prepare for: - Airport the size of a small country - Someone aggressively welcoming me to have a great day - A sandwich that costs $24 - Tipping at the airport. At the airport. - XXXL portion sizes Will report back.

@TimurNegru At the Atlanta airport you’ll get: - airport the size of a medium size country - being called darlin’, honey, or told “well aren’t you precious” - fried chicken on a waffle for $35 - tipping, yes, especially in a lounge, where the drinks are “free” - XXXL portions x 2

@LeftismForU @jamestalarico It should have aired under the current standing exception. In other words, this is select enforcement designed to silence opposition. Not a lie.

Why lie? Per FCC rules, CBS would be required to give your opponent equal air time (as has always been the case). FCC isn't the one who chose not to air your interview. CBS did by not wanting to give your opponent equal air time. Your own campaign account literally posted that it was CBS, not the FCC. Dumbass.

This is the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see. His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert. Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas.

Breaking News: ICE has detained an Irishman in Boston! The man was reportedly only in the country for 10 years before being nabbed by ICE while walking with his American citizen wife on the way to his work-permitted job! This is what happens when ICE blankets a major city!

@fiercepatricks Make your own money and invest it well.

Gay men over 40, what is 1 piece of advice you would give to gay men in their 20s?

@dubsa98 @WheatThins I’ll see your wheat thins and raise you a can of cheese whiz.

Hi my name is Alex and I can eat an entire Party Size box of @WheatThins in one sitting

@notcapnamerica That’s a true ally right there yall.

What a creepy question and she handled it without breaking a sweat

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” —George Orwell, 1984

@lady_valor_07 17, but the 18th might happen this year.

I've been to 3, you ?

@EmilySm43 Damn, where was this deal a week ago?

Serious answers only

@mark_k Aka continuity

I believe that persistent memory is a prerequisite for AI consciousness. Without remembering one's earlier state, it becomes hard to reason about the present. Persistent memory will also allow AI to perceive the flow of time.

@adityadotdev No

Books should have dark pages.

@aakashgupta Hi have t buy the land, and get every jurisdiction to approve the construction- then you build it. The days of stealing land from indigenous people and hiring forced immigrant labor are (thankfully) behind us - not the same for China.

Everyone is looking at this map and asking “why can’t we do this?” China builds high-speed rail at $17-21 million per kilometer. California’s HSR costs roughly $200 million per mile. That’s a 10x cost differential on identical technology. The US doesn’t need to build American HSR at American prices. Here are five paths that could actually work. Path 1: The Indonesia Play Indonesia played Japan against China in 2015. Japan offered Jakarta-Bandung at $6 billion with a government guarantee. China countered at $5 billion, no guarantee, faster timeline. The train opened in 2023, has carried 10 million passengers, and cost $7.3 billion after overruns. That’s still cheaper than California’s 171-mile segment connecting Merced to Bakersfield ($35 billion). Japan pledged $550 billion in US investments in October 2025. American states could run the same playbook. Path 2: The Boring Company Model Issue a $50 billion fixed-price contract to Elon for a 500-mile demonstration line. Vegas to LA. Milestone payments, real penalties. The Boring Company tunnels at $10 million per mile versus $500 million to $1 billion for traditional US subway tunneling. SpaceX got good because NASA contracts had consequences. California HSR started in 2008 and still hasn’t carried a passenger. Path 3: State-Level Competition DeSantis announces Florida will partner with China Railway for Tampa-Miami at Chinese prices. Abbott counters with a Japanese consortium for Houston-Dallas. California explains why its project costs 10x more. Brightline West (218 miles, $12 billion, private) breaks ground this year. California’s state project (171 miles, $35 billion) won’t open until 2033. Path 4: The TSMC Model China Railway builds the first two lines with Chinese crews and equipment, training American workers on Chinese methods. By line three, the workforce is American, the costs stay low. This is how China learned from Siemens and Kawasaki in the first place. Path 5: Defense Authorization Frame it as military infrastructure. Norfolk to DC. San Diego to LA. Defense contracts move faster, environmental reviews compress, cost overruns disappear into a budget that already absorbs them. The Math The 17,000-mile network in that map costs $550 billion at Chinese prices. At American prices, $5 trillion. California has spent $15 billion without laying a single mile of high-speed track. At Chinese prices, that buys LA to San Francisco. Brightline Vegas-LA opens before the 2028 Olympics. If private rail succeeds while state rail stalls, the political question shifts from “should we build” to “why are we so bad at building.” Sometimes you can just do things. Sometimes you let people who can do things, do them for you. And sometimes you create enough competitive pressure that your own people figure out how to do things they claimed were impossible.

@Matt_Pinner Muting you

You’re running short on time, what are you pairing with this chicken breast dinner? 😋