les swimming poules!

No ragrets!

HS teachers: yeah, I know progress reports are due today, but I have a couple more assignments to grade - can I post mine tomorrow?

The same HS teachers: students need to hand things in on time! In the Real World, you can’t just ask your boss for an extension!

Me:…

I think we’re almost exactly two decades out from @shinkicker.bsky.social unilaterally declaring friendship with me, so…yeah.

fanart of Melinoe from Hades 2, wearing a modern outfit (dark jeans, orange top), she has a big tattoo on her right arm, and is about to tie her hair with a hair band (is this how it's called in english ?) her eyes are closed, she has nice arm muscles and looks extremely lesbian

fanart of Nemesis from Hades 2, wearing a modern outfit (red jeans, black crop top with the Hades sigil as a pattern on it), moon shaped necklace, tattoos on her left arm and pecs, as she's about to tie her hair using a green hairband, her eyes closed (green light on her right side cause she's standing next to Melinoe's glowing arm, off camera)

fanart of Eris, from Hades 2, she's sitting, right leg with her knee bent, in front of her right hand on her right foot, left hand on her face, framing her left eye between two fingers she's wearing big sneakers, micro shorts, some sort of sweater with stripes showing her shoulders she has apple tree branch tattoos on her thigh and left shoulder

fanart of Medea from Hades 2, but wearing modern clothes (tiny leather shorts with double belt, red/purple leather crop top), a nose ring, necklaces, also big tattoo covering the entire left arm (a snake, a moon crescent, flowers and leaves) She's sitting, resting on her left hand, her right hand next to her face, conjuring some plague magic that bathes her in green light

hades gals 💀🌸

I’ve never felt that strongly about people microwaving fish - I don’t love it, but whatever - but HOO boy, do I hate Fish Day in the school cafeteria. 🤢🤢🤢

…well now I know that there’s a new kj Charles in the world, so that’s MY post-gym plans sorted out.

Yeah. The right choice, but it sucks.

A small black cat sitting on a stack of student work.

A small black cat, curled up in a ball.

A small black car sprawled across a coffee table, sticking one leg out

a small black cat hiding behind a door, looking betrayed

RIP to the Lady Sif, Elder Statescat of the Reneben household, our Halloween void-beast who snuck into our basement and our hearts.

You were a great cat - terrible at absolutely everything else, but great at Cat. We’ll miss you, beastie.

photo of two drinks, one tall & red with a black cherry, the other short & bright green

m: "someone will die." "of fun!" #chezreneben

Screen cap of parodic version of William Blake's "The Tyger" that begins: Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright (Not sure if I spelled that right) What immortal hand or eye Could fashion such a stripy guy? What the hammer that hath hewn it Into such a chonky unit? Did who made the lamb make thee, Or an external franchisee?

In honor of National Poetry Day, the greatest parody rewrite of all time:

Oh nooooo!

I woke up yesterday feeling anxiety about a student situation a colleague had emailed me about…in a dream. As in, neither the situation nor the email ever happened.

And yet: ANXIETY.

To be clear, this is a rule you have imposed/are imposing on yourself. I told you to go ahead and start Hades 2!

The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers WIRED spoke with more than 200 federal workers in dozens of agencies to learn what happened as the Department of Government Efficiency tore through their offices.

NEW

WIRED led the way in reporting on Elon Musk's efforts to dismantle the US government. My colleagues and I spoke to 100s of employees at dozens of agencies to understand what happened.

This is the definitive story of DOGE as told by those who experienced it

www.wired.com/story/oral-h...

The Youth are once again practicing the ukulele in the hall outside my office.

However, the first song this year appears to be “Soda Pop” from KPop Demon Hunters, so I’m tentatively less annoyed than I have been.

A sticker that says “greatness - heroism - class”, but with specific letters bolded so that it also says “eat her ass”.

Makes me laugh every time I see it.

In her recommendation, Bagdasarian stated, "Any person over the age of six months without contraindication who has not received a dose of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved or-authorized 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccine may be considered to have an underlying condition that puts them at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19 and is thus eligible to receive an age-appropriate dose."

I like this. Since under RFK Jr, Covid shots are now for people with underlying conditions that put them at risk, Michigan’s chief medical executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian states that not having the most recent Covid shot constitutes such an underlying condition.

www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside...

Truly such a gift.

Captain Haddock looking very frazzled, saying, “What a week, huh?” Tintin leans into the frame and says, “Captain, it’s Wednesday.” Snowy is very excited about the drink he has found.

I love this, not least because it makes a point that the people who use AI as a shortcut to creative expression are pathetic. They just want to be praised without effort on their part. And if all you want is praise, all you'll make is slop.

They are - and I don’t say this lightly! - interrogating the text from the wrong goddamn perspective. 😡

About 45 minutes in, Ray turned to me and said, “…oh, shit. You were in the woods when this tour started - you didn’t hear about any of this.”

I have. Some questions.

Kill it with fire!!

“I asked ChatGPT.”

Well I went to the doctor. I went to the mountains. I looked to the children. I drank from the fountains.

Massachusetts becomes first state to dictate its own vaccine coverage rules - The Boston Globe Pharmacies will start taking COVID vaccine appointments Friday, state leaders said.

Mass. is requiring insurers to heed state guidance on which vaccines they will cover, the latest in a series of moves from Governor Maura Healey that has in a matter of days virtually severed the state’s immunization guidelines from federal policies.

I see
and I hear
and I speak no evil;
I carry
no malice
within my breast;
yet quite without
wishing
a man to the Devil
one may be
permitted
to hope for the best.

-“An Ethical Grook” by Piet Hein

That second graf was honestly super helpful in making sense of some conversations I’ve had about gen AI - like, oh, that person wasn’t actually trying to convince me that it was GOOD, they were trying to get me to be less meanies about it.

To which I can only reply: SHAN’T

Seriously considering printing this out and making it required reading for all of my students, to say nothing of my colleagues.

I considered writing a long carefully constructed argument laying out the harms and limitations of AI, but instead I wrote about being a hater. Only humans can be haters.