Jean

That is gorgeous!

AI nailed by @ryanhatesthis.bsky.social - “It is not a revolution in computing, but a revolution in accepting lower standards”

we're getting all the downsides of cyberpunk (social alienation, ruthless hyper capitalism, digital mass surveillance state) but none of the promised upsides (cheap street food, cool jackets, super drugs that make you really fast and strong before they kill you)

Surrealing in the Years: We've found out we know nothing about a lot of Very Important Things Maybe it’s a bad thing that we’re completely clueless.

“In fairness, we also seem to believe that over one-in-three Irish people are accessing social housing compared to the real figure of 9.2%, which begs the question: how much social housing do these people think that Ireland has?”

Here is this week’s column.

Dec 2025 - Jan 2026 print edition of The Onion

Onion spoof ad for Gemini AI - “our AI won’t just tell you how to kill yourself, it’ll sell you the noose”

Got myself a Xmas gift of a print subscription to @theonion.com, first one arrived this week and it’s **unreal**. The fake ads are particularly great.

Donate to Help a working writer to purchase a new laptop computer, organized by Jennifer McMahon Hi, my name is Jennifer McMahon. I'm an Irish author, a full-… Jennifer McMahon needs your support for Help a working writer to purchase a new laptop computer

The wonderful writer and all round lovely person @jmcm.bsky.social needs to raise money for a new laptop - she gives so generously to the writing community in Ireland, please support her with a small donation or by sharing ❤️ gofund.me/365b21652

The final Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in papers 30 years ago today.

Scientists now believe that the human brain--a magic goo for worrying--can also be used to do other things

One of the many reasons AI can't produce good writing is it can't hate its own writing. It can't think to itself "Maybe I'm illiterate" during the writing process. And that's essential

Once in a century political opportunity here, if only there were a party to claim it

Something for the Weekend: Animator John Kelly's cultural picks Animator John Kelly is winning acclaim for his short Retirement Plan...

Great list of recommendations from the brilliant John Kelly www.rte.ie/culture/2025...

“AI is clearly sticking around so you have to get used to it” wrong. I don’t have to get used to shit. I am a practiced hater and I can keep this going for decades if I am required to

Open the fucking windows on buses are you all insane

Just a heads up with all the Christmas markets and fairs on at the moment - if you see art or art-based pieces for sale, ask who the artist is, because the amount of people deceptively slapping "made locally" on pieces locally farted out by their computer and a genAI prompt is getting depressing

As a centrist, I think Donald Trump is bad, but the political and economic conditions that enabled him to become president twice are good

Recession indicator in case anyone needs yet another one - quite a few closed-down shops in Dublin Airport

At least the 2008 crash was about a bet that housing would never decline. The next one will be about betting that six companies who sell each other magic beans would never decline

"My Grandma would want me to fight them." I have loved Lynda Barry cartoons for 40 years. Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/31/o...

i think if you ride public transit enough you learn that most weird behavior is not dangerous, and conversely i think driving a car teaches you that everyone is trying to kill you at all times

Now that the left has had a huge victory in Ireland I guess the centrist parties must promise to listen to the electorate and move to the left. I mean they feel compelled to ape the right whenever those headbangers win a few council seats.

Can some band please record a song called ‘Put in Your F*cking Headphones’, so I can play it out loud on the Luas as needed

stop fucking replying to this about headphone jacks. i don't give a shit about if you have to figure out bluetooth. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE WATCHING A VIDEO AT ALL TIMES. JUST FUCKIN PUT IT DOWN. READ A FUCKIN BOOK OR SOMETHING

people playing music/videos on their phone speakers in public is more than just mildly annoying and is instead a leading indicator of the decline of community and empath

Online resource to help voters spot and report election interference in Ireland

Major election coming up in Ireland next week, and election interference is a real concern. I contributed to this online resource to help inform voters about how to spot and report illegal election interference - please use and share!
sites.google.com/view/electio...

Did you know that if you buy my book on Amazon, Jeff Bezos makes 5 times as much as I do on each copy sold? Sharing some behind-the-scenes book math on why buying directly from presses is best for EVERYONE (except Bezos) in my newsletter today! aubreyhirsch.substack.com/p/book-math

You live in Kilrush? Had a little holiday there in August, it’s a great spot 😊

Hmmm, i did float through an open window earlier, lured by the smell of freshly baked pie. Must look into this further 🤔

I look forward to her stopping and checking that exact spot for sausages until the end of time 😂

Dog with bin bag and string of sausages

Our dog found an actual string of sausages today! I thought that only happened in The Beano 😆