Brandon F

email to me: Our disabled son has CP and bladder spasms so urologist is recommending Botox treatments and we read your article and are concerned about the presence of mRNA in the Botox. Is mRNA in all brands? How can we know if it is in there? Is there a safe brand you recommend? He has to have this so what do we do? Thanks

my reply: personally, i'd recommend you follow the advice of your doctor. but what do i know, i'm just a random person you emailed. I have no more formal education around botox than the author Naomi Wolf, whose advice I assume you were actually seeking. but since you emailed me, my suggestion is that you listen to your kid's urologist, who is a trained medical professional, rather than seeking out medical advice from someone with an english degree and a history of making significant errors in her research. best of luck!

a specific skill I've developed over the past ~20 years is crafting responses to emails sent to me, but intended for that other Naomi Wolf

ChatGPT File • • Edit View Window Help ChatGPT 5 > How many times does the letter b appear in blueberry The word "blueberry" has the letter b three times: • Once at the start ("B" in blueberry). • Once in the middle ("b" in blue). • Once before the -erry ending ("b" in berry). Total: 3 O92 Show me where the letter b appears in the word please. Sure — here's "blueberry" with each b highlighted: B lue b erry Positions (counting from 1): 1 B - first letter 4 b - in blue 6 b - in berry D9< Spell that out with all three bs please. I mean, just spell the word. Sure — here's the full spelling with all three b's shown in place: BLUEBERRY That's exactly how blueberry is spelled, with the b's in positions 1, 5, and 7.

ChatGPT File Edit View Window Help E ChatGPT 5 > You wrote "BLUEBERRY". There are only two bs there. Ah - I see the mix-up. Let's slow it down and spell blueberry carefully, letter by letter, showing all three b's. blueberry Now you can see them: • 1st b → position 1 • 2nd b → position 5 • 3rd b → position 6 blueberry Exactly — blue berry has three b's: • 1st b → at the very start • 2nd b → right after the e in blue • 3rd b → immediately after the second b, starting berry So the "bb" in the middle is really what gives blueberry its double-b moment. Its double-b moment; I see. Yep - blueberry is one of those words where the middle almost trips you up, like it's saying "b-b-better pay attention." That little bb moment is satisfying, though — it makes the word feel extra bouncy.

 ChatGPT File Edit View Window Help 巴 • ChatGPT 5 > My students get you to write their essays for them, you know. Ah, the old "ChatGPT, do my homework" routine — I'm familiar with that one. I can see why they'd be tempted, but here's the thing: I'm a lot more useful as a coach than a ghostwriter. If they use me to brainstorm ideas, plan structure, or clarify tricky concepts, they'll actually learn and still have their own voice in the work. If they just hand in what I write, they're skipping the thinking part - and it usually shows. I'm good, but I still leave a trail of... telltale ChatGPT-isms. A trail of blueberries, as it were. Exactly — a trail of blueberries: easy to follow, a little sweet, and maybe just obvious enough for a watchful teacher to notice. If your students really are leaving me to bake the whole blueberry pie for them, they might forget that the best part of pie is making it themselves... even if it gets a little messy. "Blueberry" only has two bs. Nope - blueberry really does have three b's. Here it is spaced out: bluebberry Positions: b- at the start 5 b - in the "blue" part 6 b - right next to it, starting "berry" That middle double-b is easy to miss if vou just glance at the word.

I had to try the “blueberry” thing myself with GPT5. I merely report the results.

Americans wearing shoes inside is wild.

I am going to be a massive humorless asshole about woo-woo shit, no matter how seemingly harmless, for the rest of my life due to this. astrology, homeopathic medicine, etc etc it's all bullshit and it's not fucking harmless. there are people who will die due to this who would have otherwise lived.

"He's a piece of shit, but let's get the political science stuff out of the way," Steven told me when I asked if he thought support of Tesla could be considered apolitical. "Elon Musk has platformed white supremacists and antisemites on X. He got rid of all the moderation. He put back accounts that were clearly neo-Nazis. He's changed algorithms to promote that type of hate. Him and DOGE did massive cuts in the government, including our civil services. He's cut cancer research. Did I mention he was a giant piece of shit?" "He's cut our aid to Africa, which Will result, without exaggeration, in millions of women and children and innocent people dying. Millions," he said. "I'm not a big fan of people who give the Hitler salute. I mean, I'm kind of fussy like that. He gave it twice at Trump's inauguration," he continued. "He's a Nazi. And he cheats at video games. You have another question?"

lol at this response to a “man on the street” interview with protestors at the Tesla diner

Canadians are really mad at the United States, up to the point that they’re ready to accept harmful measures *for themselves* (76%!) so that they can retaliate

I kinda think the way people use ChatGPT is sort of aspirational because it seems to emulate the way rich people have sycophants lying to them all the time until they lose touch with reality and also their entire minds

I disagree with the argument (will explain in thread) but it's an interesting take, and definitely raises some good points. Worth the read.

People getting angry at Ian about it should chill. Bluesky is the worst when it lives up its (mostly unfair) reputation as full of lefty scolds.

Missing Matter in Universe Found Using Caltech's DSA-110 radio telescope, astronomers pinpoint whereabouts of &quot;fog&quot; between galaxies.

What did you do at work today sweetheart

Oh nothing much just FOUND ALL THE MISSING MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE

That's interesting. Just today Trump jumped in to stop someone from asking his AG about the Epstein files the day after he sent the military through a park in Los Angeles as a show of force a few days after he helped cut the ribbon on a concentration camp in the swamps of Florida and gutted Medicaid

Nearly half of Utah's foreign tourism comes from this country, and they're not coming this year With National Park visits expected to slump among DOGE cuts and U.S. visitors not picking up the slack, small businesses fear for their survival.

happy canada day www.piquenewsmagazine.com/must-reads/n...

The loud drumbeat that companies should "embrace AI now or be left behind" has more in common with high-pressure sales techniques than biz strategy. And that's fine - tech firms have something to sell. But the rest of us needn’t confuse it with anything more profound. www.ft.com/content/4688...

In a deathblow to the ability to stop blatantly lawless and unconstitutional actions by the government, the Supreme Court just gutted the ability to get universal injunctions.

www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

amongussexgif ... Instead of being in settings its in the google app. Also, google, not chrome. Icon is a G, not the circle thing. Click on your pfp to open a menu From there, go Settings > Gemini > Digital Assistants > Switch to Google Assistant. This disables Gemini, google's Al assistant, and switches you back to the old one. We aren't done yet. Go back to Settings. From there, we go Settings > Google Assistant > scroll to find General > Google Assitant on/off > turn it off They really tried their best to make it a pain, but you can eventually disable it. Holding the power button on your phone still pulls up a menu and asks you to turn it back on, but this is the least intrusive you can make it. Applies to all non-apple phones afaik. For sure Samsungs and Pixels but idrk about others Edit: thank you my friend @/teeth-kid for confirming that this also works on Motorola

Here's how you remove Google AI from your mobile devices.

One fascinating thing lately is that some of the biggest conspiracy humpers have been put in positions where they have access to all the info to prove they were right all along and they discover, oh, shit, there is no conspiracy. Bongino and Gabbard have said as much.

passed a cybertruck on my e-bike today in traffic and GOD that feeling should be regulated as a controlled substance

The disparity btwn what’s actually happening in Los Angeles and the way it’s being mischaracterized is one of the biggest stress tests of modern media in recent memory. Botted socials, AI, old clips, declining literacy—it’s like seeing a broken emergency response system hit by a storm.

me under almost literally any other president: honestly this is a dumb thing to fight about, let the Americans have it if they really want it (but they don't seem to actually?)

me under this president: I will give my body, my spirit, my life to preserve holy Canadian ground

McIndoe showed mercy not subjecting you to the Doordash ads.

There is one place, however, where Musk, with the help of his minions, achieved his goals. He did indeed shred U.S.A.I.D. Though a rump operation is now operating inside the State Department, the administration says that it has terminated more than 80 percent of U.S.A.I.D. grants. Brooke Nichols, an associate professor of global health at Boston University, has estimated that these cuts have already resulted in about 300,000 deaths, most of them of children, and will most likely lead to significantly more by the end of the year. That is what Musk’s foray into politics accomplished.

Musk should be asked about this in every interview he does now and forever. To ignore it is a dereliction of duty.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/o...

There are many flaws with hereditary monarchy, but the symbolism of a national leader constrained to be always above politics, has its usefulness. Others have noted that the most stable of democracies are constitutional monarchies.

I think one of the challenges of explaining the advantages of the monarchy is that its absurdity is perhaps its greatest strength. It creates a grey area that can be useful to stop abuse of power and in which the legitimacy of actions (e.g. use of reserve powers) can be quite context-specific.

The biggest endorsement I can make for Bluesky is that replacing Twitter with this app on my phone probably improved my general mood when I’m on my phone by 20-25%. I know there are better reasons but it is what it is!

"Government misses important opportunity to enact critical housing campaign promise in Throne Speech OTTAWA, ON – MAY 27, 2025 – Today, the federal government missed its opportunity to use the Speech from the Throne to make good on its election promise to immediately implement the removal of the GST on new homes at or under $1 million and lower it on homes between $1 million and $1.5 million. The lack of actual implementation of this measure is keeping would-be home buyers on the sidelines, which is negatively impacting the construction of new homes. “While CHBA is encouraged by this election promise and reference to it in the Speech from the Throne, as we have long called for fixing the GST on new housing to help address affordability challenges, the effect of making this announcement without actual implementation is causing a further slowdown in sales and therefore housing starts,” said CHBA CEO Kevin Lee. “We are hearing from builders across the country..."

The Canadian Home Builders Association on the throne speech, upset that the throne speech did not do a thing that it cannot do.

Then die
t.co/2tcDvU4yDr

NYT: “In Firing Watchdogs, Trump Sidesteps Laws and Moves to Expand Power, By Elena Shao May 22, 2025 President Trump summarily dismissed more than a dozen members of independent oversight bodies during his first two months in office, defying typical procedures and federal laws that say presidents cannot remove certain officials without good cause, like misconduct or neglect.”A diagram shows Trump’s head on the left and symbols denoting nine federal agencies on the right, connected by a faint gray arrow going through a text box reading “Should issue notice citing cause for firing.” An orange arrow makes 90-degree turns to go up, over, and down the other side of the gray box, captioned “Sidestepping typical procedures,” as if the whole thing was a diagram of a football play.

Hard-hitting analysis from NYT. As you can see from the diagram, legal impediments are a weak gray box that can be defeated by a strong orange arrow and bold typeface
Gift article (but it’s bad) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Moderna withdraws application for COVID-flu combination vaccine Moderna said on Wednesday it has withdrawn an application seeking approval for its flu and COVID combination vaccine candidate after discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

This is absolutely terrible news.

With the shifting regulatory climate (i.e., antivax ratfuckery), Moderna has withdrawn their application for their eagerly anticipated COVID-flu combo vaccine. This vaccine offered better protection than getting each shot separately.

h/t @merz.bsky.social

Amid questions about his own involvement with the Proximal Origin paper, Fauci reportedly told a writer for the New York Times opinion section in late March this year that “he’s not sure he ever got around to reading the paper.” Documents, as well as Fauci’s April 2020 statement from the White House podium, seem to indicate otherwise. According to e-mails obtained via FOIA, Kristian Andersen on March 6, 2020, wrote to Farrar, Fauci, Collins, and others to tell them the paper had been accepted for publication. “Thank you for your advice and leadership as we have been working through the SARS-CoV-2 ‘origins’ paper,” he wrote. “We’re happy to say that the paper was just accepted by Nature Medicine and should be published shortly (not quite sure when).”

Fauci’s response: “Thanks for your note. Nice job on the paper.” Given the context that surrounded its production, publication, and promotion, the Proximal Origin paper is sure to figure into forthcoming House hearings on the origin of Covid-19, according to a Republican select subcommittee aide. The subcommittee’s next hearing, on April 18, will “examine China’s role in the origins of Covid-19 and the intelligence surrounding where Covid-19 originated.”

Like look at this shit. The Nation accuses Fauci of lying because he says he never read the paper before publication yet told the authors "nice job."

This is not a lie! Have you ever worked in an office or had a human relationship before

To me, the biggest surprises today were:
- Wilkinson dropped entirely from cabinet
- Carlos Leitão (former Quebec finance minister) not in
- Labour no longer a full cabinet job, downgraded to junior portfolio. Federal sectors have seen a ton of labour disruption recently

lol humans