Graeme Smith

i have been thinking a lot about how the entire concept of “the deal” is antithetical to transparency, fair play and rule of law, as larry notes. the deal is necessarily nonstandard, ad hoc and dependent on the whims of the dealmaker

LA Times: "'It backfired,' said one senior administrator at UCLA, reflecting the sense of whiplash. .... 'Within hours of announcing our settlement, the DOJ was on our back.'

WHO COULD'VE SEEN THIS COMING

www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0ypqo...

Alex on twitter writes: "Someone on Twitter writes: "You’re a menswear writer. You don’t know anything about manufacturing in America, or steel mills, or metallurgy, or CNC machining, or how anything is produced from raw material into a finished product in this country or anywhere. Stick to writing about “men’s fashion."" I reply: "i actually had a career in knifemaking before this. the reason why you can't avoid tariffs in knifemaking is because everyone relies on Gobelin machinery. are you aware of this?" Alex replies: "Gobelin machinery? What exactly are you referring to?" I reply: "you Gobelin DEEZ NUTS!"

"stick to menswear"

Just saw a headline "Alan Dershowitz says he was refused pierogi at Martha's Vineyard farmers market" and I would like to inform newspapers that noted shitheel and turbocreep Alan Dershowitz being treated by his community as if he were a noted shitheel and turbocreep is not news.

Zuckerberg says people without AI glasses will be at a disadvantage in the future | TechCrunch Mark Zuckerberg really believes AI glasses will be the ideal way to blend the physical and digital worlds together.

techcrunch.com/2025/07/30/z...

[youth pastor voice]: you know who else was rizzin’?

Tom Lehrer, Musical Satirist With a Dark Streak, Dies at 97

One of the greatest scientist communicators of all time has passed on. The Science Division at UCSC was so fortunate to have had Tom Lehrer on our faculty for almost 30 years.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/a...

robin williams in 'Dead Poets Society' saying Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But memes, shitposting, bullying racists on the internet these are what we stay alive for

💯

Photo of Tom Lehrer

My last living musical hero is still my hero but unfortunately no longer living. RIP to the great, great Mr. Tom Lehrer.

I pledge that I will not provide any service to Columbia University. I will not speak at conferences held at or organized by Columbia. I will not publish with Columbia publications or provide peer reviews for them. I will not provide outside tenure evaluations for Columbia departments. I will not contribute in any way to the institution until everyone who is responsible for this week’s shameful decision has resigned, retired, or been fired, and until Columbia repudiates their catastrophic choice.

I wonder if the Columbia leadership realizes (or cares) how much blowback there might be from *within* the academy.

This post, from a Cornell Law professor, is worth reading:

3d.laboratorium.net/2025-07-25-c...

Ghislaine Maxwell received limited immunity during meetings with deputy attorney general: Sources A second meeting between Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche took place on Friday for about three hours.

What they’re about to try here is just obscene. What else can you call it?

“I asked whether I was being detained, and she said 'You’re not being detained,'" Chavarria said. "I said, 'Then can I go?' And she said, 'No, you may not go.'"

Trump: It looks like it’s about $3.1 billion

Powell: I’m not aware of that.

Trump: It just came out

Powell: You just added in a third building

Trump: It’s a building that’s being built

Powell: It was built five years ago.

Exclusive: Newly discovered photos and video shed fresh light on Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein | CNN Politics Newly uncovered archived video footage and photos reveal fresh details about Donald Trump’s past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Bluesky shot more traffic to this than X - love ya bluesssky
www.cnn.com/2025/07/22/p...

Great opportunity for postdocs in the US looking move to Austria:

stipendien.oeaw.ac.at/en/fellowshi...

rip to andre the giant ONLY

Saw someone call AI users “botlickers” and that is very funny

"No established legal process was followed for the Columbia agreement; no genuine legal dispute was resolved. The dealmaking is the main regulatory event from start to finish.... [T]he means being used to push through these reforms are as unprincipled as they are unprecedented."

Screenshot of Columbia's settlement with the White House

Columbia University has handed over its undergraduate admissions process to Donald Trump and his MAGA allies, who will now decide at their sole discretion whether the university has admitted enough white people. It's no longer an independent institution.

Columbia agrees to pay over $220 million in deal with Trump administration to restore federal funding | CNN Politics Columbia University announced on Wednesday that it has reached a deal with the Trump administration to resolve several federal probes into allegations that it had violated anti-discrimination laws, fo...

Cowards

www.cnn.com/2025/07/23/p...

FYI I just proved 2+2=4 in Lean at adam.math.hhu.de#/g/leanprove...

A thread on how gauge/gravity duality tells us to take string theory very seriously. ⚛️🧵

No its not the usual holographic universe argument.

Let us start with a quick intro to the duality from that noted string diehard, Sabine Hossenfelder

Director job with Fermilab | 41900849 The partnership of the Department of Energy, the FermiForward Discovery Group (FFDG), and the FFDG Board of Directors, invites nominations and appl...

Apply to become director of Fermilab

jobs.physicstoday.org/job/41900849...

The Democratic Party’s capitulation to the Crypto lobby is one of the most nakedly corrupt things I’ve seen in my life.

Crypto is a blatant scam with zero value that is designed to end popular control of our currency. Dems just co-signed the next global financial crisis. It’s unforgivable.

Get ready for qRNA™.

Original copy of a short letter (signed F.G - who was Francis Galton) describing 'Cutting a Round Cake on Scientific Principles.' with 3 images describing the cuts of the cake

By 1906, you couldn't so easily get your letter published by referencing cute pets though! Francis Galton knew you had to address the truly serious scientific challenges of the day ...

Great dinner conversation with SURF students @caltech.edu⁩! (SURF = Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship).

All done.

I hate when someone unearths my pube-autograph to the world's most famous pedophile while I'm dying of cankles