Nostr notes by Shoq 🌿

I still believe this is one of the most important articles that ...

2026-07-28T12:30:23Z

I still believe this is one of the most important articles that most Americans have never read.

How a Brutal Strain of American Aristocrats Have Come to Rule America

The worldview of the old Southern aristocracy can now be found nationwide.

https://truthout.org/articles/how-a-brutal-strain-of-american-aristocrats-have-come-to-rule-america/

frames me as a fraud, how does public key cryptography fix that? ...

2026-07-06T16:08:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…ud3c
_________________________

frames me as a fraud, how does public key cryptography fix that? All the math tells the public is that 'Key #8X92 generated this text first. It doesn't tell them that Key #8X92 belongs to a brave, trustworthy human named John Q. Rebel. To reclaim my work, protect my legacy, or warn people that the copycat is an imposter, I have to step forward, link my face to that key, and explicitly destroy the anonymity the app was built to protect.

This is exactly where the magic bullet of public key cryptography ...

2026-07-06T16:06:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…nuw9
_________________________

This is exactly where the magic bullet of public key cryptography falls short and proves my point about the conservation of complexity. Yes, the math proves with 100% certainty that a message came from a particular cryptographic key. But it cannot prove the human identity behind that key to a skeptical public.If I am a 100% anonymous activist using Holos, and a bad actor steals my leak, puts their real name on it, and

@npub16d5…u6mu Hello old friend! We must catch up soon. In the ...

2026-07-06T12:29:37Z

@reiver ⊼ (Charles) :batman: (npub16d5…u6mu) Hello old friend! We must catch up soon. In the meantime, since I see you engaging with the topic, I’m hoping you can explain something to me about Holos.social.I get that it’s a fascinating technical achievement, and it’s clearly a home run for people who want absolute ownership over their digital footprint. But where the project completely loses me is the belief that it can genuinely secure high-stakes activism or journalism, or that it solves the “trust problem” for these …

RE: https://mastodon.social/@indivisibleteam/116844802922925010 ...

2026-07-01T13:13:14Z

RE: https://mastodon.social/@indivisibleteam/116844802922925010

Oh, great idea! Let’s talk about how “toxic” the only opposition party is months before the most important midterm in history. How is that rhetoric going to drive more voters to the polls? It may not the party we might like it to be, but it’s the only one we have right now. This is NOT helpful.

quoting
note17vn…uzmz

Grassroots wins are sparking an establishment freakout.

But since the Democratic Party brand is so toxic right now, working to rehabilitate that brand is just smart politics.

If you want to build a better Democratic Party that fights fascism as hard as we do, there are many ways you can help make that happen: https://indivisible2026.org/?utm_source=mastodon

THE DNC should have launched this years ago. Litigation Tracker: ...

2026-06-24T16:45:56Z

THE DNC should have launched this years ago.

Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions

A public resource tracking the legal challenges to Trump administration executive orders and actions.

https://www.justsecurity.org/107087/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration/

Last month, Forbes, put it this way about #Spacex. ...

2026-06-13T21:17:50Z

Last month, Forbes, put it this way about #Spacex.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA So, in other words, Trump spent $2 billion ...

2026-06-12T13:21:47Z

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

So, in other words, Trump spent $2 billion dollars a day of OUR money for the right to pay Iran a $300 billion ransom.

Wow, I suppose that will be praised as some serious #winning out there in MAGAville (aka Dumbshitistan)

https://stzl.ink/s3hw92

The nastiest, meanest, and most hypocritical creeps I’ve ever ...

2026-06-02T20:38:54Z

The nastiest, meanest, and most hypocritical creeps I’ve ever known almost always wore faith like a costume. I don’t think all believers are bad people, but I do think most bad people are—or pretend to be—true believers.

https://stzl.ink/dvu1bc

You know what I think would be a perfect birthday present this ...

2026-05-26T00:56:47Z

You know what I think would be a perfect birthday present this July 4th for our 250th birthday? A massive, coast to coast boycott of everything from hot dogs and beer, to travel and restaurants. Show wall street and its oligarchs that #ConsumerLivesMatter.

If these horrible charlatans weren’t so toxic to all of us, the ...

2026-05-21T13:20:07Z

If these horrible charlatans weren’t so toxic to all of us, the hypocrisy would make a funny Broadway musical.

Man Who Ran ‘Conversion Therapy’ Program Arrested For Trying To Meet Teen Boy For Sex

https://crooksandliars.com/2026/05/homophobic-man-running-conversion-therapy

LISTEN⏵The shooter wasn’t the biggest evil at the #WHCD last ...

2026-04-26T21:40:59Z

LISTEN⏵The shooter wasn’t the biggest evil at the #WHCD last night. That honor belongs to every journalist who thought it was a good idea to be there given the appalling treatment of the press by this rogue Trump regime.

What the fuck were you thinking?

(Reposts = agreement)

IMO, block lists are popular with anybody that hasn’t lost ...

2026-04-25T15:16:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…wcm5
_________________________

IMO, block lists are popular with anybody that hasn’t lost dozens or thousands of friends because some asshole had a grudge against someone. There is no remedy or recourse with these lists once you’ve been harmed by them. Blocking people is just not that hard and no one is ever really protected from triggers if they’re going to stay online.

RESEARCH QUESTION. Please reply if you can afford the 5.5 seconds ...

2026-04-25T14:17:05Z

RESEARCH QUESTION. Please reply if you can afford the 5.5 seconds to answer.

On your mobile device (aka, your phone), how many apps, social or other, do you flip between at least once in a typical day or two?

Is AI Really an Existential Threat to Humanity? – Mother Jones ...

2026-04-10T22:33:11Z

Is AI Really an Existential Threat to Humanity? – Mother Jones

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/07/is-ai-really-an-existential-threat-to-humanity-interview-blaise-arcas/

Me too. https://stzl.ink/hhrnrh ...

2026-04-07T22:53:37Z

Me too.

https://stzl.ink/hhrnrh

When/if we take back congress and the White House, if liberals ...

2026-03-27T21:02:31Z

When/if we take back congress and the White House, if liberals talk about anything but the need for the CRUCIAL reforms needed to prevent another Trump, I will leave this country. America will have proved itself unfixable. So it can fuck right off.

Like me and most sane people, you can’t wrap your head around ...

2026-03-23T22:37:31Z

Like me and most sane people, you can’t wrap your head around the idea that perhaps they didn’t want to consider what could go wrong, because going wrong was the whole point from the start. They and their friends are making billions of dollars from the craftiest pump and dump scheme even invented.

https://stzl.ink/rap5hg

I just wish I could understand what makes the Fediverse ...

2026-03-14T14:13:24Z

I just wish I could understand what makes the Fediverse categorically different from the rest of social media in terms of respectful, socialized behavior. It’s not just the algorithms. That’s a pat answer. It may be a factor, but it doesn’t explain the sheer volume of reasonably intelligent people who choose disparagement, belligerence and acrimony as their response of first resort. I almost never see that kind of asocial neurosis on Mastodon, nor even that often on Bluesky. And yet I see …

This lower back pain is now so persistent that my resistance to ...

2026-03-13T14:42:08Z

This lower back pain is now so persistent that my resistance to opioids is breaking down a little more each day. If I felt there was any long term solution to the pain, and I was just buying some time with the meds, I might go there. But just don’t think that’s my reality.

The Strait of Hormuz has been Iran’s ace in the hole for ...

2026-03-12T23:43:39Z

The Strait of Hormuz has been Iran’s ace in the hole for decades. Trump’s fluffers didn’t understand that militaries don’t keep tankers afloat, insurance does. With thousands of drones, and only one hit needed for shipping to cease, it’s a cheap asymmetric war for Iran now.

Most of these posts are generated by bots, as are replies to ...

2026-03-07T17:02:02Z

Most of these posts are generated by bots, as are replies to them. We’ve stopped noticing or caring about this grotesque manipulation of the public that social media has made a fact of daily life. I resent it and want to harm to those responsible.

https://stzl.ink/8cou8r

What a surprise! Who could have seen this coming? Top Election ...

2026-01-29T21:06:24Z

What a surprise! Who could have seen this coming?

Top Election Denier Had Key Role in FBI’s Georgia Election Office Raid

▶ A look at the warrant revealed a chilling detail.

https://newrepublic.com/post/205896/election-denier-fbi-georgia-election-office-raid

“Cringeworthy “Melania” Trailer drops, as critics savage ...

2026-01-29T20:00:53Z

“Cringeworthy “Melania” Trailer drops, as critics savage the movie mess and its notorious sex-pest director.

https://archive.ph/20260128191348/https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/melania-documentary-gets-brutally-review-bombed/

BREAKING: FBI Director Kash Patel says seized election ballots ...

2026-01-29T19:32:10Z

BREAKING: FBI Director Kash Patel says seized election ballots show that Donald Trump won Fulton County, Georgia by 47.3 million votes in the 2020 election.

Ever wonder exactly what would be a line that MAGA or its ...

2026-01-26T16:34:58Z

Ever wonder exactly what would be a line that MAGA or its media-enablers would not cross for Trump and their weird, shape-shifting belief system? I mean, clearly we haven’t found one yet. What do these malignant citizens believe “American values” are?

https://stzl.ink/i2syv6

The world is waking up to the need for a social media not ...

2026-01-22T01:44:15Z

The world is waking up to the need for a social media not controlled by billionaires and toxic assholes.

W Emerges as X Alternative Aimed at Combating ‘Systemic Disinfo’

An option for Europeans who want to distance themselves from American services.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/w-emerges-as-x-alternative-aimed-at-combating-systemic-disinformation?test_uuid=04IpBmWGZleS0I0J3epvMrC&test_variant=B

#MemeOfTheWeek Pass it on. ...

2026-01-14T13:00:21Z

#MemeOfTheWeek

Pass it on.

Please answer this question honestly. I have good reason for ...

2026-01-13T22:18:40Z

Please answer this question honestly. I have good reason for asking.

How often do you actually read more than a handful of replies to any social post you’ve read?

I’ve now been asked about a dozen times “what was the Monroe ...

2026-01-05T02:16:28Z

I’ve now been asked about a dozen times “what was the Monroe Doctrine actually about?”

Apparently the media isn’t interested in explaining this to anyone. What a shock. It’s history, but it’s not complicated.

Everything that is happening to America and the much of the world ...

2025-12-31T15:50:45Z

Everything that is happening to America and the much of the world was foreseen by some prescient thinkers.

If you didn’t read them back then, please read them now. It’s important to be aware that all this was done to us by design.

RE: https://twit.social/@hydrian/115808671630449576 I doubt open ...

2025-12-30T18:26:17Z

RE: https://twit.social/@hydrian/115808671630449576

I doubt open source will be the primary motivation for most government actors to create alternatives. Those that deliberately want to help encourage the Fediverse are another story. The EU was promising, but I don’t know how much that is influencing others. Anyone know?

quoting
note18t8…7v5h

It is happening already just slowly. And guess what is enabling it? #opensource ! With the craziness / fascist machinations of Trump, foreign governments /organizations are looking for digital / data sovereignty. Open-source is the least friction way towards it.

Carl Sagan called it over 30 years ago. And the saddest thing is ...

2025-12-29T20:08:37Z

Carl Sagan called it over 30 years ago. And the saddest thing is that too many under 30 don’t even know what the fuck he was talking about. For the very reasons he was talking about. #WASF

https://stzl.ink/9wjruk

America has a genuine identity crisis. On the Left and the Right, ...

2025-12-27T14:16:51Z

America has a genuine identity crisis. On the Left and the Right, all that seems to matter to most people are the views and goals of the group they feel most aligned with. I don’t see how any society can survive with such an us v. them ecosystem. And I doubt that we will.

Matt Gurney: ‘We will never fucking trust you again’ ...

2025-12-26T23:35:53Z

Matt Gurney: ‘We will never fucking trust you again’

https://www.readtheline.ca/p/matt-gurney-we-will-never-fucking

Democrats should hold a shadow hearing and have Jack Smith ...

2025-12-18T01:29:40Z

Democrats should hold a shadow hearing and have Jack Smith testify in public to questions similar to what he was asked in closed session, so the American people can hear the details of his squelched case against Trump.

I’ve had a perfectly shitty day. I’m sure Trump is going to ...

2025-12-18T00:09:00Z

I’ve had a perfectly shitty day. I’m sure Trump is going to make it worse. How much more of this insane motherfucker are we going to tolerate ?

At the risk of being dragged as an apologist for criminals by ...

2025-12-12T18:20:34Z

At the risk of being dragged as an apologist for criminals by people who enjoy lashing out on social media at any target of opportunity, it’s worth saying this plainly: we should not go full Salem witch trials over the latest Epstein photos. That would be illiberal, reckless, un-American, and just flat-out wrong.

As Hannah Arendt warned, “Guilt by association is not a legal concept but a political weapon.” And that’s exactly what’s being wielded here. …

I said this to a friend at a coffee shop today, and two people at ...

2025-12-10T02:53:57Z

I said this to a friend at a coffee shop today, and two people at the next table burst out laughing. I really think this should be how we refer to MAGA, and deny them their insipid slogan, forever. NO ONE likes to be seen as “gullible.” Even morons.

Thanks for being the first one to comment. I was actually going ...

2025-12-06T17:34:45Z

Thanks for being the first one to comment. I was actually going to propose 4 months ago in a document I wrote that we should start referring to MAGA this way and start taking the word away from them. No one likes to be called “gullible”. Repeat no one,

https://stzl.ink/9na6jn

For literally my entire life, American conservatives have been ...

2025-12-03T23:58:38Z

For literally my entire life, American conservatives have been demonstrably, if not empirically wrong about almost every single thing they ever advocated for. Meanwhile, American liberals have been obscenely incompetent at finding ways to make the public understand that.

THIS IS #CCD (Creative Commerce Disruption) and the kind of mass ...

2025-11-24T17:07:52Z

THIS IS #CCD (Creative Commerce Disruption) and the kind of mass protests we can and should be doing day until the chaos gets too expensive for conservative oligarchs, pols, and shareholders to tolerate.

https://bsky.app/profile/thetnholler.bsky.social/post/3m6ceweget22g

Exactly. And there’s virtually no effort by almost anyone to ...

2025-11-14T15:01:50Z

Exactly. And there’s virtually no effort by almost anyone to challenge any of it. We’re not even sheep. At least they make some noise when they’re led to slaughter. We just swipe left and wait for the next abuse. We don’t even seem to have the good sense to be ashamed of ourselves.

Now read something like 9 different hot takes on why the Dems ...

2025-11-11T19:06:47Z

Now read something like 9 different hot takes on why the Dems made an “obviously” stupid mistake by “caving” over the shutdown. But each of them has a very different rationale. How can it be such an “obvious” unforced error if no two analysts even agree on its fundamentals?

Huh, Tim Miller and I agree on something. Despite the press’s ...

2025-11-11T01:47:16Z

Huh, Tim Miller and I agree on something. Despite the press’s need to help Dems implode, the Dems got a lot more out of this shutdown than most will accept right now. There was not the smallest chance the GOP would fold. They WANT to crush the safety net. We had no game. But the Dems used the shutdown to show just how toxic these Republicans really are. And that’s going to matter.

Nothing annoys me more than having Tim Kaine get his way on ...

2025-11-10T16:58:14Z

Nothing annoys me more than having Tim Kaine get his way on anything. But I won’t let that take precedence over those I’ve spoken to for weeks who have not moved their bowels due to the political terrorism threatening them. MAGA will never be defeated by just pounding the table.

4/5 it. Unless we smarten up and find a word that doesn’t scare ...

2025-11-07T23:13:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…ln69
_________________________

4/5 it. Unless we smarten up and find a word that doesn’t scare off millions of people. And don’t try to tell me we can educate them to not be so scared of it, because most Americans are politically illiterate and very easy to scare. If you want them to understand …

3/5 right could figure out how to do it. So a lot of morons did. ...

2025-11-07T23:13:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…qv32
_________________________

3/5 right could figure out how to do it. So a lot of morons did. And it was almost a dead idea until Bernie brought it back. I’ll never forgive him for that. And now Mamdami is going to bring it back for another round and we’ll spend another 10 years trying to get rid of …

2/5 with words and labels are self-inflicted. But nonet were ever ...

2025-11-07T23:13:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…5ljr
_________________________

2/5 with words and labels are self-inflicted. But nonet were ever as bad as seizing on a European term of art and thinking it would fly in the Americas where “socialism” and “murderous dictatorships” are almost synonymous. That was so easy to attack even a moron on the …

1/5 They can try. Let’s watch them attack “Modern” or ...

2025-11-07T23:13:11Z

1/5 They can try. Let’s watch them attack “Modern” or “Democracy.” They successfully attacked “liberal” because dumb-assed DC liberals ran away to “progressive” which was already an old school, 1900s idea and easy to link back to Marxist sympathies. Most of our problems …

I’m old enough to remember when social media seemed like a good ...

2025-10-27T22:36:45Z

I’m old enough to remember when social media seemed like a good thing for the world. That notion didn’t age well.

My dad used to say “door locks are for honest people.” And so ...

2025-10-19T16:05:33Z

My dad used to say “door locks are for honest people.”

And so are protests. Most autocrats couldn’t give a single fuck about them. Trump and his cabal clearly don’t, and never will.

https://bsky.app/profile/bushwacked.bsky.social/post/3m3knut43vs2s

The #NoKings” event was lovely poetry, but only a reminder of ...

2025-10-19T15:58:09Z

The #NoKings” event was lovely poetry, but only a reminder of our problem. If we’re serious about stopping this fascist coup, there is one path: chaos.

Rotating strikes & boycotts that threaten wealth until this criminal regime is deposed. That’s all that has ever worked.

I’m glad folks showed up today, but I still think this #NoKings ...

2025-10-18T22:01:40Z

I’m glad folks showed up today, but I still think this #NoKings message was the wrong one. Our problem isn’t a King. It’s an evil and corrupt fascist-facing movement controlling the GOP and our govt. Trump is a symbol and a tool of that much larger threat.

The Trump Economy Is Here, and It’s So Much Worse Than ...

2025-10-17T02:03:16Z

The Trump Economy Is Here, and It’s So Much Worse Than Biden’s

https://newrepublic.com/article/201869/trump-economy-jobs-worse-biden

Sorry, her handle was dropped from my post. She’s a really ...

2025-10-11T12:59:31Z

Sorry, her handle was dropped from my post. She’s a really interesting follow because she sees no reason to be polite in the face of this MAGA moral catastrophe we find ourselves living in. That gets my respect.

Handle: https://www.threads.com/@heytocristina

While I applaud the effort, I never liked the name #NoKings Day. ...

2025-10-10T21:28:16Z

While I applaud the effort, I never liked the name #NoKings Day. It puts focus on Trump. And he’s not the problem. It’s the MAGA movement, the GOP (npub1f86…c88l), the lawless corpocracy behind both, and this preposterous party primary system that’s the problem. The event should be renamed…

because venture capital is chasing it is like writing off the ...

2025-10-04T22:35:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…nal9
_________________________

because venture capital is chasing it is like writing off the internet in 1997 because of dot-com scams (which cost me my life savings).

We can hold the profiteers accountable and still use the tool to build something better. That’s not boosterism, it’s realism about a complicated human invention that isn’t going away because some of us don’t like it, whether justified in our dislike or not.

You’re not wrong that profit motives drive a lot of what’s ...

2025-10-04T22:35:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…ryt0
_________________________

You’re not wrong that profit motives drive a lot of what’s happening, but that doesn’t make the technology itself illegitimate or meaningless. Almost every major invention in human history was developed, funded, or scaled by people seeking profit. What matters is how the rest of us choose to use it.

I’m not “proselytizing” for AI; I’m arguing that it’s already changing how people think, learn, and create — including those working on climate, governance, and reform. Dismissing the entire field …

to saying airplanes were a terrible invention because people miss ...

2025-10-04T20:47:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…mf2j
_________________________

to saying airplanes were a terrible invention because people miss all the scenery along the route.

that use it everyday and try it yourself to fully understand the ...

2025-10-04T20:47:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…9782
_________________________

that use it everyday and try it yourself to fully understand the dimension of what these tools are capable of for improving our daily lives, creativity, activism, and potential for actually rebuilding the quality of life that tech has been steadily eroding. This is the first tool since the word processor that I can honestly say is as important as the wheel, the cross-bow, the printing press, and the steam engine. To assess any one use case or context as trivial or unimportant is sort of akin …

completely miss the point. This technology is transforming how ...

2025-10-04T20:47:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…vlzq
_________________________

completely miss the point. This technology is transforming how almost everyone I know works and is turning them into massively more productive engines of creativity and purpose. I can fully develop a spell-checked, fact-checked proposal or project in one hour that would have previously taken me 3-5 weeks if I was lucky. I honestly have to wonder if you have any real-world experience with these tools that you’re being so critical of. And if you don’t,I really think you should talk to people …

Well that was a bit of maximum reductivism. The average person ...

2025-10-04T20:47:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…yua4
_________________________

Well that was a bit of maximum reductivism. The average person doesn’t think about “brainstorming at all,” and most certainly don’t think about climate change. And nowhere have I suggested that grok or any other AI atrocity being used for politics and news manipulation is a good thing. I continually acknowledge all the problems and challenges. But strawman arguments like that, even in jest, ain’t going to solve any of them.

And to liked what I’ve been saying to mere “brainstorming” is to …

to subsidize it. Probably forever. And that may not be a bad ...

2025-10-03T11:07:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…dkr8
_________________________

to subsidize it. Probably forever. And that may not be a bad thing. Perhaps it should be a utility. Then it can be better regulated. If we ever regulate anything again. Which I have severe doubts about.

I don’t think the costs are skyrocketing, but there is ...

2025-10-03T11:07:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…zsdw
_________________________

I don’t think the costs are skyrocketing, but there is certainly pressure on prices building. And many of your points about the upside down nature of all this absolutely true. But that does not mean the baby has to be discarded with the bathwater. We are in for tumultuous times no matter what. If I had to predict where things will go it is that yes the industry as we know it will collapse, but AI will be so infrastructurally embedded at that point the government will simply have to continue …

big-solar has happened much faster than anybody predicted ...

2025-10-02T16:29:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…p7xe
_________________________

big-solar has happened much faster than anybody predicted (including me).

And then there’s a law of unintended benefits. While many panic ...

2025-10-02T16:29:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…z89d
_________________________

And then there’s a law of unintended benefits. While many panic about the energy consumption of AI, AFAIK, no cities or towns have yet had brownouts due to bitcoin mining or AI data centers. More likely than AI creating an energy crisis, it’s going to spawn much faster energy development boom where renewables, next-gen nuclear, and hopefully fusion, will happen much faster than anybody imagined in order to meet the demand AI is creating (at least until it gets more efficient). Just as …

worried about a lot of things, but my core worry is always the ...

2025-10-02T16:21:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…qzen
_________________________

worried about a lot of things, but my core worry is always the same: if we don’t fix broken government none of this shit is going to matter, so why single out the things we are least likely to affect. None of us have any control over the evolution of AI at this point. It’s way too big a beast, way too global, and there’s way too much money involved. I’d rather use it to tame it, than lose it to fear and hysteria.

I have little interest in those who pay their mortgages with doom ...

2025-10-02T16:20:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…lvtx
_________________________

I have little interest in those who pay their mortgages with doom saying. He’s been singing that song since 2020 and like End-Timers, keeps revising timelines as long as they keep selling books and newsletters. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have valid points or concerns. Most critics do. But like most critics, he’s a proven expert at nothing but his own speculations. I stopped investing in gloom and doom prophets with Paul Ehrlich’s population bomb and the peak oil fan bois. I’m gravely …

everything AI. I am simply a realist who knows that human ...

2025-10-02T13:09:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…tumn
_________________________

everything AI. I am simply a realist who knows that human Innovation never goes backwards, only forward. At the turn of the last century everyone was convinced that New York City would be buried 3 feet deep in horse manure. Things change.

tranches. It evolves. If anything, this resembles the railroad ...

2025-10-02T13:09:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…8w8s
_________________________

tranches. It evolves. If anything, this resembles the railroad boom: speculative, messy, but in the end, likely to be foundational.

Are there massive trade-offs and challenges? Will it fuel inequality. Almost guaranteed. But we face those problems in many forms already. But AI is one of the few that gives us some tools to level the playing field, too. Political activism for example can benefit from these tools like almost any other playing field. I am not a wild-eye defender of …

that changes the fact that the tool itself is extraordinarily ...

2025-10-02T13:09:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…vded
_________________________

that changes the fact that the tool itself is extraordinarily useful. There are hundreds of uses that don’t require massive data mining of the world. If the entire industry shrunk down to one that just sold “idea processors, ” I wouldn’t cry about it.

Also, interesting you chose the subprime crisis. That collapsed because its underlying assets (bad mortgages) were junk. AI isn’t junk — it’s infrastructure. Expensive today, maybe inefficient, but it doesn’t evaporate like imaginary mortgage …

You’re not wrong that AI hype has outpaced real-world ...

2025-10-02T13:08:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…kzpn
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You’re not wrong that AI hype has outpaced real-world enterprise ROI. But history tells us that transformative technologies almost always begin with exactly the same speculative overreach. That doesn’t mean they fail. It means they evolve, adapt and consolidate. The dotcom crash didn’t kill the internet. The subprime crisis didn’t kill real estate or banking. AI won’t collapse — it will recalibrate. The imagination reels with how many negative consequences can come from this. But none of …

The dot.com bust cost trillions in loses as reality replaced ...

2025-10-02T00:16:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…5p2q
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The dot.com bust cost trillions in loses as reality replaced hype. But the core ideas, tools, engineers, and the use cases didn’t go away. They were reimagined. AI will be no different. I’d pay 25 times what I’m paying now to not lose such a transformative tool. Not many technologies in the history of human race has had that kind of baked-in motivation to succeed.

I don’t know how many times I can say it. Chat GPT is not very ...

2025-10-01T13:55:22Z

I don’t know how many times I can say it. Chat GPT is not very reliable at news, history or cultural analysis for understandable reasons. That isn’t what I praise it for. It is extremely good at reasoning and organizing and contextualizing thoughts, ideas, insights and details, and discovering or using things it was specifically trained on. (How to choose a backup generator; 3 ways electrical outlet boxes can be joined to a stud; how to map a REACT script to vanilla javascript. They are …

Unfortunately Jamelle’s opinion of whether he has a mandate ...

2025-10-01T13:02:59Z

Unfortunately Jamelle’s opinion of whether he has a mandate doesn’t matter. Trump and MAGA believe that’s exactly what the election gave him the right to do. And the Left still isn’t doing much of anything to stop him. We talk a lot, post lots of memes and barbs to drive traffic to pay our bills, but largely propose nothing and do less. But for Indivisible ❌👑 (npub1u0q…9mcc) and Marc Elias, we are the American #DoNothingLeft. And our entire way of life is soon going to die if we don’t start doing …

notes, and logs into structured systems people can reason with. ...

2025-10-01T01:44:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…ty9t
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notes, and logs into structured systems people can reason with.

Everyday reasoning: helping teams walk through problem trees, dependencies, or alternative strategies without needing a consultant for every question.

Programming: literally billions of lines of business code generated each year in business. Most of it total garbage that these tools can do better, faster, and cheaper. Are they perfect? Nothing this new ever is? It’s just started and it’s already amazingly good (at many …

serious argument about viability or sustainability. Here are a ...

2025-10-01T01:44:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…73xx
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serious argument about viability or sustainability. Here are a handful. Each of them massive markets for simple CHAT AI in their own right (before even getting into the heavyweight apps most will never hear about, except when they IPO).

Process automation: customer service triage, legal contract review, HR onboarding, supply-chain optimization.

Decision support: scenario modeling, financial forecasting, market analysis, compliance checking.

Knowledge organization: turning messy emails, …

I honestly don’t know what you and other critics are even ...

2025-10-01T01:44:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…qz9w
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I honestly don’t know what you and other critics are even talking about half the time. They all seem focused on a few narrow applications where AI is either dangerous or problematic, and most of the hype and press chatter lives. But those things are just mostly fluff the public and media understands. That’s not even remotely close to where the market for these tools are.

To not address this in discussions of an “AI bubble” is just risible to me and more hyperbolic and counterfactual than a …

CEO, 2007. “Television won’t last because people will soon ...

2025-09-30T20:54:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…arg5
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CEO, 2007.

“Television won’t last because people will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” — Darryl Zanuck, film executive, 1946.

“The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.” — Western Union internal memo, 1876.

Whenever someone tells you the AI isn’t sustainable, they’re ...

2025-09-30T20:54:55Z

Whenever someone tells you the AI isn’t sustainable, they’re probably right about many of the stupid business models right now. But be very wary of predictions that it “won’t last.”

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” — Ken Olsen, DEC, 1977.

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” — Attributed to Thomas Watson, IBM chairman, 1943

“There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share.” — Steve Ballmer, Microsoft …

@npub1fdr…lvhs A great tragedy because there are phenomenally ...

2025-09-27T22:42:28Z

Cory Doctorow (npub1fdr…lvhs) A great tragedy because there are phenomenally useful wins to be had. All could be washed away by greed-driven VC scams that are mauling their sustainability. I hope enough of it survives that we can start over with better models.

Johannes Ernst (npub1dvx…gems)/115278626240460990">https://mastodon.social/Johannes Ernst (npub1dvx…gems)/115278626240460990

“Fallout” has got to be one of the more off-the-wall concepts ...

2025-09-20T17:19:48Z

“Fallout” has got to be one of the more off-the-wall concepts for scifi TV. I’m five episodes in and still not sure if I like it. But I keep watching, so..

Folks a lot of this Charlie Kirk movement momentum is all ...

2025-09-14T15:44:23Z

Folks a lot of this Charlie Kirk movement momentum is all propaganda and wishful thinking Don’t be fooled. Trump’s policies are more unpopular by the day, and if we just mobilize we can wipe these motherfuckers out in the midterms. But you need to help get everyone you know off their apathetic asses and into the game. Or it’s game over.

Recall when Michelle Malkin called Obama “Dear leader” for ...

2025-09-14T15:12:48Z

Recall when Michelle Malkin called Obama “Dear leader” for showing up at an elementary school to “indocrinate?” Conservatives were always hypocritical monsters. Now they make no effort whatever to conceal it. We need to boycott them all; every fucking business-owning one of them. Immediately.

Uhh, it’s been spiraling out of control since 1996. ...

2025-09-14T15:06:31Z

Uhh, it’s been spiraling out of control since 1996.
https://bsky.app/profile/rbreich.bsky.social/post/3lyqzynluv52e

Again I ask, how much more of this do we take before we break their Golden Goose and rebel?

(Reminder: rebellion is NOT revolution)

Weird I don’t know what this indicates but after hitting an ...

2025-09-13T20:02:04Z

Weird I don’t know what this indicates but after hitting an all-time high of engagements last week, suddenly my fediverse community has gone very quiet since the Kirk shooting. I have to think about what might explain that. I hope it’s just coincidence, because I have no idea what that cause and effect would look like

This morning, I was dogpiled by a group of Threads users, simply ...

2025-09-13T11:17:42Z

This morning, I was dogpiled by a group of Threads users, simply for asking for the source of a post about the “right leaning shooter,” when I was driving too fast to Google. As usual the information was conjecture, not fact. Sources matter.

I received this by private mention. Is it real or a phish ? ...

2025-09-12T14:23:42Z

I received this by private mention. Is it real or a phish ?

We’re a nation of hypocrites. Conservative leaders know that ...

2025-09-12T13:00:38Z

We’re a nation of hypocrites. Conservative leaders know that Kirk was a hateful extremist and lie about it, and Liberal leaders know this was a entirely predictable event and pretend it was an outrageous tragedy. Maybe when we start telling the truth, things will change.

I’ve been busy. Is Charlie Kirk still dead? I never trust ...

2025-09-11T19:52:09Z

I’ve been busy. Is Charlie Kirk still dead? I never trust anything that happens in America, these days. Especially what’s reported by our shamefully inert when not complicit “news media.”

How Charlie Kirk Planned to Discredit Martin Luther King Jr. and ...

2025-09-11T12:53:46Z

How Charlie Kirk Planned to Discredit Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Act.

“a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s.”

https://www.wired.com/story/charlie-kirk-tpusa-mlk-civil-rights-act/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Having researched and wrestled with this problem for decades, I ...

2025-09-09T00:12:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…839k
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Having researched and wrestled with this problem for decades, I strenuously disagree. Sure, a good chair will wear out, but the problem is the human body wasn’t designed for sitting at all. A $3,000 chair, in the best of shape will often make absolutely no difference to someone with a spinal defect, or average musculature.

Social media gives almost the same weight to everything. So the ...

2025-09-08T23:55:50Z

Social media gives almost the same weight to everything. So the average person has no ability to parse which events, facts, or issues deserve more notice and understanding. This flattens mass attention and diverts focus from what should be the most important issues facing society. We have to find a solution to this or I doubt we can survive much longer as a free society. I’m not sure we’re surviving as one now.

Social media and the creator/influencer industry had created an ...

2025-09-08T23:35:50Z

Social media and the creator/influencer industry had created an illusion that the American left is following and engaged on popular issues and narratives. In my own anecdotal research, I find that the average liberal-minded person is dangerously uninformed about most vital issues and events.

Nearly half the respondents thus far say “frequently.” I bet ...

2025-09-08T22:51:18Z

Nearly half the respondents thus far say “frequently.” I bet that number goes up with a wider sample.
https://mastodon.social/@shoq/115170690797929745

Designer Henry Dreyfus studied reclining positions for the air ...

2025-09-08T22:49:08Z

Designer Henry Dreyfus studied reclining positions for the air force in the 1960s. As you’ve discovered, 127 degrees is the optimal angle for the spine. The problem is that it makes keyboard and monitor use extremely challenging. I’ve solved that, but the production and cost challenges are a bitch.
lakelady (npub136p…taxv)/115170818699852313">https://mastodon.social/lakelady (npub136p…taxv)/115170818699852313

If you’re a writer, programmer, or anyone that uses a computer ...

2025-09-08T21:01:17Z

If you’re a writer, programmer, or anyone that uses a computer every day, how often have you felt that your chair or sitting position was a big contributing factor to back or neck pain, but switching chairs or positions didn’t help much?

Trump has declared war on the drug cartels and his concierge ...

2025-09-08T20:41:33Z

Trump has declared war on the drug cartels and his concierge Supreme Court is enabling him. I have to wonder if Chief Justice Roberts is aware of how the cartels have historically dealt with troublesome judges?

I have nothing to add except this: the cost of creating a viable ...

2025-09-07T13:40:29Z

I have nothing to add except this: the cost of creating a viable alternative has plummeted with streaming services. What’s needed now is a reason to watch. And that’s doable. If more liberals truly believed in improving civilization, rather than just virtue signaling to themselves and others about it, a few famous ones would band together, raise billions, and solve this fucking intractable infrastructural problem. It’s doable.

Sean Tilley (npub1zj7…lc9y)/115160486133648135">https://mastodon.social/Sean Tilley (npub1zj7…lc9y)/115160486133648135