Dr. Brenda Bethman

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.

Installing ceiling fans in just about every room was one of the first things we did when we moved into this house (the Portuguese generally don’t use them, I don’t understand why not) - and last summer at least we almost never had to run the splits.

Feel free to send me a DM. Happy to chat!

Retired and moved to Portugal a year ago - it was a TON of work to apply for the visa, sell the house, pack, prepare and move the cats, ship our stuff, etc., but totally worth it. Happy to answer any question that might be helpful to you (bearing in mind that UK and EU visas are quite different).

Bummer, but fingers crossed for next summer for sure.

Speaking of trips, are you still headed my way this summer?

My droopy hydrangea would like you to move to Portugal 😂

This is the way!!

Look, I married someone who cooks so I wouldn’t have to learn. I’m really good at eating, though!

I’ll let you know! I lived on the other side of the state, but there are similarities to KC, even if both cities would deny it.

Started listening to this this morning and it’s wonderful! Almost makes me miss Missouri. Almost 🤣

Pink, green, and white colorwork yoke with iPad playing The Last American Road Trip

Knitting while listening to the new @sarahkendzior.bsky.social book feels appropriate

Rainbow in a grey sky

Looking down the hill into the foggy valley

Clearing skies and mountain views

It’s been raining for a while, but yesterday’s rainbow and a bit of sun today reminded me why I love living on our mountain. #portugal

As soon as the rain stops and the seafood shack opens up, we are going!

Nice! I was just thinking I need to drive to the coast soon.

Sophie, our spoiled princess dilute calico, does this, especially when the people are upstairs and she needs someone to come downstairs to feed her before she perishes. She also likes to stand at the bottom of the stairs and scream until someone notices.

We moved 10 months ago after close to 2 years of planning and only JUST got our residency cards (which then triggers a whole other set of tasks). And don’t get me started on trying to learn Portuguese (so hard!). Definitely happy to be here, but ooof, it was not easy.

Not having read them yet, I can’t really say. My plan is to go in chronological order. Someone else might have another suggestion, though.

Today would be yet another good day for university presidents to loudly, collectively, & publicly start defending our institutions & industry. The silence is deafening & frankly, incomprehensible. What exactly are you waiting for? How many Columbias, Maines, & Johns Hopkins will it take?

Yep. No SXSW in B/CS obviously, but man, I hated the weather outside of March.

I always said March is the best month in Texas. The only one, really.

I didn’t get the hype for small scarves until I moved to a place where the winter isn’t terribly cold. A lot of my big shawls are too much, but a little something around the neck is just perfect. Also, let people knit what they want! Who cares?

Oh, I know! I’ve followed Sarah and read her shorter pieces for years. Just couldn’t bring myself to read the books until now.

Pile of three books by Sarah Kendzior.

I had to leave the U.S. before I felt able to read these. But now I’m ready to dig in. @sarahkendzior.bsky.social

*Bust,* February was a bust, damn autocorrect.

No, 150-Year-Olds Aren’t Collecting Social Security Benefits Elon Musk claims to have found rampant fraud in the Social Security Administration. There’s a much simpler explanation.

Despite what President Trump said tonight, social security is not, in fact, rife with fraud. @wired.com’s
@davidgilbert.bsky.social broke it down last month.

www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

Screenshot of Apple workout summaries

Can’t do much all the bad shit happening, but I can try to get more exercise. Might help, might not, but can’t hurt, I suppose. February was a busy, March is looking better.

Ooooh, when? Where? You better come visit us! And yes, I’m very glad we made the move.

Come visit me! Portugal has high vaccination rates for everything.

That’s great! I’ve never been to Mexico City, definitely on my list, though :)