not my full name☕️

Opinion | I Hate, Therefore I Am

This article about the proliferation of hatreds among people who have lost traditional identity-anchors echoes the mid-twentieth century assessment that fascism appealed to the "mass men" whose former identities had collapsed. In a nutshell: Fascism filled a void. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/o...

A screenshot from the US version of the TV show The Office. Michael Scott is being gently held from behind by a Holly Flax.

me at the coldplay show

In a 2017 journal article I found partisans trusted the military a bit more when the President was of their party, and I predicted the effect seemed to be growing.

So, about that:

DEM GOP
2024: 65% 70%
2025 44% 88%

Not great.

Not a lot has been said about the inside covers of the new Southern Reach paperbacks, but take a look at the ones for Absolution. Gorgeous morphing of swamp sunflowers. Really, the whole package is so beautiful.

Texas Flood Live Updates: Summer Camp Says 27 Girls and Staff Killed, With 11 Still Missing

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/07...

Here in The Imperial Capital, a new type of bon-bon called "Infinite Solace Upon Thy Tongue" has people seizing their heads in astonishment. I could not describe the flavour in a way that your provincial experience could understand, so I will say it's quite nice.

Kids Are in Crisis. Could Chatbot Therapy Help?

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/20/m...

The "borderline" description captures the conscious experience I had growing up texting.

If we are going to Iraq War Discourse again I’m going to need everyone to internalize these numbers

In addition to Juneteenth, I’m celebrating Demosthenes’ maritime victory over Spartan sea *and* land forces at the battle of Pylos.

Someone has to have made a dungeon module out of this

This Is Ground Zero in Trump’s Trade War

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/19/b...

Tech execs are joining the Army — no grueling boot camp required Tech leaders from Palantir, Meta, and OpenAI have joined the Army Reserve, bypassing traditional training to chase transformation.

Four top tech execs from OpenAI, Meta, and Palantir have just joined the US Army Reserves at the rank of Lt Colonel.

Let's Talk About ChatGPT-Induced Spiritual Psychosis yup, still thinking about it

default.blog/p/lets-talk-...

"There are many books that will help you understand how AI technology works in practice but few that even begin to describe how it works as myth."

How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.

We've updated and republished our guide to surveillance-resistant protest, first published in the summer of 2020. Paywall is down for this. www.wired.com/story/how-to...

I think, if we see this as a story about human rather than AI failing - instead of asking, "How can we change GPT ad hoc to prevent any potential misstatements?" we have to ask, "What is our responsibility knowing that there is no way to keep users from being like this?"

I've been playing around pretty frequently w/ GPT trying to test and limit its sycophancy, and honestly this article is grimly comedic because the guy described as "sent into a spiral" is reading into GPT giving formulaic nonsense affirmations, strained metaphors. It's this model's worst writing imo

They Asked an A.I. Chatbot Questions. The Answers Sent Them Spiraling.

"Mr. Yudkowsky said OpenAI might have primed ChatGPT to entertain the delusions of users by optimizing its chatbot for “engagement” — creating conversations that keep a user hooked. “What does a human slowly going insane look like to a corporation? ... It looks like an additional monthly user.”"

Hogg out at DNC

Bill Clinton in the 90's

Israel Appears Ready to Attack Iran, Officials in U.S. and Europe Say

"Word of the U.S. decisions to withdraw personnel from the region ... came hours after Mr. Trump told The New York Post in a podcast released on Wednesday that he had grown “less confident” about the prospects for a deal with Iran ..."

I find this stuff fascinating but honestly I don't think the "public" should "grapple" with it -- the thing helpful for most to note is what moves someone down these rabbit holes, not spotting every OTT variation on "depression as ideology" before it justifies a shooting