[User] another school shooting out here in SoCal, my mind marvels at just how little time has passed between my graduation and the frequency of school shootings and active shooter drills in schools. Just gonna kinda tweet a thread of consciousness for a sec.

[Assistant]
I graduated from high school 15 years ago. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a lot of time between then and when kids started having to have training for an active shooter situation.

One thing we DID have was bomb threats. And we had a LOT of bomb threats.

[User] Smithson Valley High had a pretty huge problem with bomb threats in the early '00s. I think I can recall one year where we had about six of them. We started having bomb threat drills since it was becoming such a regular occurrence.

[Assistant] But the whole thing was a joke. The drills, the actual threats, all of it. The whole thing was comedy and was utterly pointless. Not a single bomb threat was ever real. Every time we got one (either from a note found in the bathroom or somebody calling it in at the office)...

[User] ...we would all just roll our eyes and march outside with our classmates. Some loved it 'cause it means class was knocked out for a day. Other smarter kids realized it sucked because our school had to schedule us make-up days due to bomb threats.

[Assistant] And drills for bomb threats weren't really conducted any differently than fire drills. You stuck with your class as your teacher led you outside, specifically to the football field, where we sat on the bleachers for a few hours.

[User] Which, in and of itself, was dumb. After a couple bomb threats had come and gone, we all knew that, if there WAS gonna be a real bomb, obviously the person was gonna put it in the bleachers at the football field 'cause they kept taking us there.

[Assistant] I saw a whole lot of SWAT/bomb squads in those handful of years. Obviously they were professional and taking it seriously because they had to, but all it ever served to do was have all the students gawking at the squads and their K-9 units.

[User] Only a handful of years later, nobody would be concerned about bomb threats anymore (if they were ever REALLY scared of bomb threats). Only a handful of years later, school shootings would be the norm, and somehow I was just a little early for them.

[Assistant] And it's just SO WEIRD how I'm not THAT much older in the grand scheme of things, and everything is so DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT now.

[User] You think you can still remember what it's like to be a kid in school 'cause it wasn't THAT long ago, but you don't know what it's like to have to live through ACTUAL school shootings where someone's going to try to kill you, where you gotta be ready to just hope you live.

[Assistant]
As always, I don't have the solution to this. But doing NOTHING is not the solution. Kids shouldn't have to live thinking this is normal. Nothing about this is normal.

I think that's all I got for now.


[User]
Currently visiting my MAGA parents for 🦃. They had Fox News on when I arrived.

I’m starting to understand how they can possibly believe what they believe if this is what they’re hearing on a constant basis and accepting as fact.

This isn’t even just propaganda anymore. It’s full-on delusion.

[Assistant] Yup. Cannot believe how Russia figured out how to create such echo chambers for the right... (and far left).

[User] This is Khrushchev’s wet dream. They really did manage to destroy us from the inside.

[Assistant] Makes me so angry and sad....


[User] It's called the quiet coach for a reason pal.

[Assistant] Is this you screaming helplessly into the void?

[User] I'm on the Birmingham train. Luckily I have packed noise cancelling headphones.

[Assistant] The absolute worst!


[User]
We've been pretty hard on regular people who looked at the most radical aspects of the Trump agenda and said, "oh he'll never do that."

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you some of the smartest people in the world, overtly living in denial. Markets even went up the day after his announcement.

[User] Yep, they said it out loud before the election and people still voted for him: “Elon Musk assures voters that Trump’s victory would deliver temporary hardship”

[Assistant] It gets into psychology, my specialty, which is our inability to personalize stochastic thinking. You can feel terrible that your neighbor's house has burned down and think " thank God that will never happen to me."


[User] Assuming the Snell deferrals are evenly spread out and begin right after the contract ends (using @bnightengale.bsky.social's number of $62M, that he reported over on Twitter), the present value of the contract goes down to $171,700,877. The AAV for CBT purposes will be $34,340,175.

[Assistant] And in tabular form; this uses the imputed loan interest rate for October 2024 of 3.7%, which is lower than last year's 4.43% used for Ohtani, so the impact of deferrals is lessened.

[User] Does a large signing bonus increase the NPV for lux tax purposes?

[Assistant] MLB needs to regulate how contract dollars are announced with deferred money. People don’t and never will understand present vs 10 years from now money. (Im saying this facetiously but if they actually did this, it wouldn’t be a terrible idea)


[User] i can die happy now 😭

[Assistant] This is amazing! So happy for you.

[User] thank you! 🥰

[Assistant] oh my god congratulations!


[User]
THE WORD OF THE YEAR COMES FROM A VIRAL TIKTOK TREND

Yes, "Demure" has been named the dictionary.com word of the year.

This is a fantastic example of how trends on platforms like TikTok reflect and shape cultural moments.

[Assistant] Something that starts as an off-the-cuff post that no one should see, quickly snowballs into something much more - something that resonates with audiences far and wide and becomes a part of everyday conversation.

[User]
This should be a reminder for marketers, don't just respond to cultural moments, but actively play IN IT.

You have to be agile, pay attention to where you audience is spending their time and what they are talking about. That right there is the sweet spot to engagement.

[Assistant] Would love to hear what you think, are there any brands that do this well?


[User] I just saw a billboard for a girl’s OnlyFans in New Roads, Louisiana which has a population of MAYBE 150 people. Shoutout to her.

[Assistant] Slight exaggeration but population around 4k still seems low for OF.

[User]
It only takes one hour in a private video chat to pay for one month of that billboard.

Pretty sure half the population at least took a peak.

[Assistant] Good on her for the effort. Pretty sure there’s almost nothin going on in New Roads.

[User]
There ain't much going on in Louisiana anyways.

Yeah, a body is an asset and you can profit from it on the internet.

[Assistant]
Funny, a few sociologists I know are mildly baffled by unconnected groups gaining access to the internet only to become addicted to porn.

North Korean soldiers in Russia
Calihari Bushman in Sahara Africa
Amazonian tribes.

Cat pics and porn, that is the domain of the interwebs.


[User] this may sound absurd, but I wish it is possible to talk about long term loneliness and inceldom as a sort of sexual trauma for men. Its hard to start a sympathetic discussion about it, but I feel its effect creeping in everyday, I just hope it isn't too late to stay human.

[Assistant]
the mental and emotional toll of long term loneliness part, yes I agree.
framing inceldom as a sexually traumatic experience implies some form of sexual violence has been perpetrated on you by people not wanting to fuck you... that, not so much.

I get how difficult it is to be rejected. (cont.)

[User] but calling it "sexual trauma for men" destroys all sympathy and sabotages the discussion preemptively because so many people that have been violently traumatized by sex just want to be left alone. no one is owed companionship, it is earned. you have to learn how to love and be loved before (cont.)

[Assistant]
expecting it of others.
villainizing them for your suffering does more to increase repulsion than it does to inspire empathy. it's an act of objectification that de-humanizes the very people you're trying to fuck.

I wish I had an easy answer for this. consider seeking a professional opinion. 💪🏽

[User] I don't think "sexual trauma" as framing substantively changes the response I would have gotten about this discussion, but maybe I should have said psychological damage of long terms solitude and intimacy starvation, but I don't know anybody will say anything about it.

[Assistant]
yeah, intimacy starvation feels way more genuine.

but also, positive energy goes a long way towards making the connections we desire in life. so like, all we can do is our best and see where it takes us.


[User]
“A life no one would aspire to, yet…”
There’s something a bit squeamish about how Lawrence is now commonly, and am guilty of this myself, observed and lauded as an eccentric. There is that but also something uncomfortably tragic there too. This does both well.

[Assistant] A great read, Will and Lawrence (if he shows) are scheduled to speak at Walthamstow Trades in December ... alas it's sold out 😢

[User] Was there last night for Don Letts. Was fun but also odd. Packed room full of near pensioner-age punks. Questions were like they’d been drinking pints of dementia.

[Assistant]
We were there too! Yeah the questions were random and some of the ‘calling out’ from the audience a bit annoying 😳
Have you got Lawrence tickets?

[User] Hah! Very odd. No, no Lawrence tickets.

[Assistant] A great read. Capture's essence really well.

[User] Saw you in the closing chapter. Good luck!

[Assistant] I was inspired to find Guitar Man by Will after this. Half way through it. Another good read :-)


[User] I thought a Facebook friend was expressing #Ferguson protesters' perspective—but realized it was actually a protester. I feel kinda sad now.

[Assistant] To be clear: If you're covering #Ferguson, as @deray noted, framing and phrasing are EVERYTHING. Your poor writing can actually harm people.

[User] That said, it's my privilege to be having even this level of disillusionment—'cause people of color in #Ferguson have had no such illusions.

[Assistant] Even people whose job is to seek understanding are getting it wrong—in the most basic words they use to describe the situation in #Ferguson.

[User] And if I, your white friend, am seeing bias in what you write about #Ferguson, you should listen—because there's no way I'm catching it all.

[Assistant] In case any journalist is unclear, it's not "balance" to include factually incorrect items in interviews about #Ferguson—even in quotations.


[User] Recently a trip operator whom I had written a glowing review for on google maps, desperately called me up saying my review had not been published, and he needed me to republish my review or review from an alternate google account.

[Assistant] I found this was very curious and now I find that Google has suppressed almost all of my reviews for whatever reason...still trying to understand why they did this? Wondering if a business for which I left a negative review asked them to suppress my reviews or is it automated filter screwing up?

[User] In a way it is a good indication of how social media companies have become more like red-tape bound governments. Except they are totally opaque and have zero accountability for what they do with user data. Also a reminder that in the end, our data is also theirs to use as they please.

[Assistant] It's ironical that on Google, neither does the tour operator "own" his business page on Google and nor do I "own" the review I wrote for his business. We are both at the mercy of some arbitrary filter and scrubbing policy in Google that could scrub us away at any time.

[User] Some Google automatic “refactoring” filter consolidated addresses of two similar businesses in the same plaza, complete with the bad business’s negative reviews and it took me two months and an insider to fix it. And then it happened again. Maddening.

[Assistant] I wrote a positive review for a computer hardware store and Google wouldn't show my review to the public at all. For some reason. I added images and everything, and this is despite having a pretty positive reputation for rating places on Google.


[User] im sick of this game calling me out for being single.

[Assistant] the way i havent even done that heart island thing from 2 years ago…hyv when i catch you.

[User] i think i did all of them , yes by myself.. 😁 (and my friends/stranges me thinks)

[Assistant] WAIT THIS PUZZLE IS SO CUTE 🥹🥹🥹


[User]
Overheard someone say, “…the only safe way to cook a turkey is to overcook it…”

What - and I mean this - the actual fuck is wrong with you?!

[Assistant] So THIS is why people think turkey sucks...

[User]
I think so. People out here cooking every ounce of moisture out of the meat and then acting like there was no other way.

Brine the turkey. Reverse sear roast the turkey. Rest the turkey. Eat the juicy turkey.

[Assistant] Mom taught me butter under the skin and bacon over the breast to keep it juicy. Coincidentally I never understood why people decried turkey as this dry meat while I'd never had a bad one ever.


[User] I would be such a shit senior public servant. I’d be good at my job except for that bit where you have to be poker faced when asshole Ministers are being assholes.

[Assistant] Especially if one is not really skilled at hiding one's emotions 😆😆😆

[User] That is me. My mum always said she knew exactly what I was thinking and it was true.

[Assistant] That would be disqualifying for me too. I have no poker face and no chill.


[User] A recent Israeli drone strike in Gaza City killed Murad al-Rajoub, a Hamas terrorist behind a 2002 bombing attack in Beersheba, the military says.

[Assistant] Al-Rajoub was one of two Hamas terrorists behind the May 2002 attack, in which 10 civilians were wounded. He had been sentenced to 38 years, before being released and deported to Gaza in a 2011 deal in which Israel exchanged 1,027 terror convicts for captive soldier Gilad Shalit.

[User]
According to Palestinian media, al-Rajoub was killed in a strike on Friday, along with three other Palestinians.
Meanwhile, the IDF says it is continuing an offensive against Hamas in the Strip's far northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Jabalia.

[Assistant]
Fighter jets struck dozens of Hamas weapon depots, buildings used by the terror group, and other infrastructure in the area overnight, according to the military.
The IDF says that many of the targets were located based on intelligence obtained from detained terror operatives who were interrogated.


[User] bsky is all fun and all but i kinda miss the kpop (svt) posts... i have to go back to my kpop twt account sometimes to see the pretty svt fanarts :'00 (and the funny posts too i'm ngl)

[Assistant] *whispers* although i understand not wanting the kpop stans here, bc i literally only want carats- //

[User] me too i need twitter to see all the kpop (svt) news....

[Assistant] kpop (svt) stans please come here a little bit, please........


[User]
#churchcrawling St Mary & All Saints, Chesterfield. Famous for its twisted spire but with some excellent monuments inside too. But the gravestones... If I had a heart I could weep. Stood 7 and 8 deep as a wall, relocated for easier maintenance in the 1920s ☠

www.poorfrankraw.co.uk/Derbyshire/C...

[Assistant] so sad. You can't even read them like that. Feels hugely disrespectful.

[User] I have other examples almost as bad 😱

[Assistant] Not much chance of the descendants paying respect of even finding their family memorial  stone.


[User] Get your oscillator shoes here, from Dr Pyle, at the White Cross Shoe Clinic - walk out with a new shimmy, guaranteed!

[Assistant] The GP assigned to me at the local surgery was a Dr Pyle.  Pretty awkward person (it takes one to know one) but good at his job.  Retired early - possibly to take over the family oscillator shoe business.

[User] :-) I used to see a Neurologist consultant (re migraines) called Dr. Cull. I never quite dared to mention my amusement at such a name..

[Assistant] Oh heck 😬. Can remember a GP called Dr. Poorly.  What made him choose that career path?


[User] 77,035,822 Americans voted for this:

[Assistant] Glad I was not one of them!

[User] They’re EATING the dawgs and the catz!

[Assistant] I don’t know why this picture kills me. 😝

[User] Because he’s horrid in any picture, but he’d HATE this picture. It’s also photographic proof he’s a moron.

[User] Gross!! It looks like his Mini-Me is looking out of his own mouth!

[Assistant] Oddly it does. I’m sure that’s where the most psycho personalities live.


[User] Four of Arsenal's goals last night were netted from inside the six yard box.

[User] somewhere out there, eddie is giving a hearty slow-clap to celebrate those goals.

[Assistant] Still want to see shots from outside the area mixed in.

[Assistant] Arteta asked for more efficiency in the box and he got it.


[User] Any other harness fans?

[Assistant] That is off the scale hot. That chest! 😍

[User] any of your own to add 👀

[Assistant] I really don’t have the body for it.


[User] Also looking for recs on reverse harem webtoons where the FL actually has big dick energy and uses all those men and isn't a weenie about it... why is Empress' Palace the only one out there to give me what I crave 😩 Liu Yan An, you're the only hope out there...

[Assistant] I tried a few reverse harem/"matriarchal" style C-novels a while back and even though some of them had potential in the beginning, it always felt like the authors chickened out at going too hard, especially when the sex scenes were indistinguishable from any old m/f thing...

[User] The only exception being the adorable Female General's Childhood Sweetheart... which I should catch up on!

[Assistant] Ok now I will catch up on I Fell Into The World Of A Reverse Harem Game and hope the FL continues to live up to expectations...


[User] Am I sitting in the Costco parking lot waiting for it to open so I can get a pumpkin pie? Yes, yes, I am. 🤦♀

[Assistant] Pumpkin or the pumpkin cheesecake?

[User] Oh, definitely pumpkin. Nothing against cheesecake, but need the OG for Thanksgiving.

[Assistant] I'm definitely not alone, though lol.


[User] Currently on the "booking everything and paying out" part of the trip planning, and oh yeah the costs are excruciating!! Partially on me on getting things done late, but also a lot of stuff out of my hands that could have also saved me money 😭 I'll learn my lesson next time...

[Assistant] Apart from one specific event I want to go to next week,  I have literally no excuse to spend money on any non-necessities for the next... 2-4 months to make up for the $$$. I do plan on bringing an army haul of food back with me, so I should live off that anyway 😤

[User] Well, that and I should probably get a small phone stick if only so I don't take shaky video, but that's it 😭

[Assistant] Just booked a one-night stay in Hakone in a very old school ryokan with hot springs AND breakfast and dinner for only $152 CAD, I'm so pumped not to have to pay a fortune for this lol 🥺🥺🥺


[User] Cowbell is kinda "The Aristocrats" of a Saturday Night Live sketch; not actually all that funny in isolation, but remarkable in terms of its craftsmanship and commitment to bit. www.vulture.com/article/blue...

[Assistant] I remember watching it first run with a group of people and it was fascinating because everyone was "wow" rather than "haha."

[User]
As a bunch of 20 and 30-somethings watched a clip of that at work constantly after it came out, and consistently found it hilarious.

There may not be any SNL sketch more deeply ingrained in my mind than that one.

[Assistant]
(Obligatory _twenty four years ago_?)

👴


[User] Hear hear!

[User] Totally agree.

[Assistant] Joy, your TV show stinks and you’re a racist.


[User]
I am officially announcing the details for my first ever charity stream! As mentioned in the photos I am taking donations for
@stackupdotorg
 to raise money for their many programs supporting veterans through video games! To read more about their programs, follow the thread 🧵

[Assistant] The first program through Stack Up is their Supply Crate program! With this, deployed units and vets receive care packages including consoles, games, peripherals, etc. to provide an outlet to decompress! This can also help them connect with others in their community by including multiplayer games!

[User] The Air Assault program includes fully paid for trips to gaming expos like E3, PAX, and other nerd related conventions like Comic-Con, or even touring game dev studios!

[Assistant] The Stacks are teams of local volunteers around the globe who use gaming and other activities to connect to their communities to create welcoming and supportive environments for veterans. This helps volunteers develop skills like leadership and public speaking while providing a community for vets!


[User] NOT criticizing something you love and care about is weird. Criticizing means you care enough that you want it to get better. And that goes for pretty much everything.

[Assistant] I’ve seen so many AEW and WWE fanboys who insist their preferred company is perfect and immune from criticism. The mfs that run these companies are rich as hell and trying to turn a profit. Doesn’t mean they don’t care, but it does mean they’re not always going to do what’s “good for the sport.”

[User] They’re going to do what’s good for their bottom line. And the fans and talent are going to suffer for it sometimes. So when your “preferred company” fucks up. CALL THEM ON IT. If the product isn’t working for you, criticize away. But don’t just bitch to bitch.

[Assistant] Never complain without having a solution to offer.


[User] They should hold a data analyst conference here.

[Assistant]
Or the Microsoft Excel World Championship.

 youtu.be/tNWPGhzhdMg?...

[User] I didn’t know that was a thing. Battle of the nerds.

[Assistant]
There's a belt and everything. 😂

www.theverge.com/c/24133822/m...


[User]
Every version of you that could ever exist is out there, living its life, right now.

The millionaire you, jet-setting and living it up.

The crackhead you, scraping by and looking rough.

The you that’s fluent in three languages and calls Spain home.

[Assistant]
The you that crushes 5AM mornings, out here being productive.

The gym rat you, flexing and inspiring.

The you that dropped 150 pounds and feels unstoppable.

The you that gained 200 pounds and feels invisible.

[User]
The happiest, most fulfilled version of you.

The you that makes boss moves and turns dreams into reality.

And yeah, the you that keeps fumbling the bag with bad choices.

They all exist.
Right now.
Today.

[Assistant]
So here’s the truth: the decisions you make TODAY are the ones that decide which version of YOU wakes up TOMORROW.

Smoke crack today? Hate to break it to you, but crackhead YOU clocks in bright and early tomorrow.


[User] I’m gonna start a podcast called “Pass the Politics Please” where I debate a crazy thanksgiving uncle every week. Because taking politics at Thanksgiving, I mean what’s the deal with that? Those uncles are crazy aren’t they folks?

[Assistant] I’d like to be involved somehow. Maybe my thing is I ‘cohost’ each episode, but I don’t talk and my real job is just to give you someone to look to and I’ll just exasperated roll my eyes.

[User] I need someone with unc connects. All my uncles are either dead or estranged due to divorce.

[Assistant] I feel like starting a Facebook group would provide a boundless supply of types of uncles to work with.


[User]
There is some wonderful humans on here.

Have a cookie.

[User] Don't mind if I yes! 🍪🍪🍪

[Assistant] Three for you then and the rest for me.


[User]
#Thanksgiving Macaroni and Cheese Commandments.

A thread:

1. Thou shalt not overcook thy noodles.

[Assistant]
2. Thou shalt choose thy base with care:
Egg custard or roux.

[User] 3.Thou shalt honor the cheese in thy dish with at least 3 types of cheeses.

[Assistant] 4. Thou shalt not use fake or packaged pre-shredded cheese.

[User] 5. Thou shalt put the cheese all the way through.

[Assistant] 6.Thou shalt bake it until bubbly, browned and hot.


[User] BREAKING NEWS: The Green Bay Packers play football tomorrow!!!!

[Assistant] Time to get Love his turkey leg (and a replacement for last year’s, too!!)

[Assistant] Love needs a leg for tomorrow, one for last year and Greg Olson gets none.

[Assistant] I'm sorry to say, but the Dolphins will be busting the narratives that they can't beat good team, can't play prime time and can't play in cold weather.  I hope. But let's hope for a good game.


[User] @laustan.bsky.social Thank you for following me. I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy my posts.

[Assistant] Hello 👋, how are you doing today and how’s your day going so far…..???

[User] Hi, Kelly, I am well, and you?

[Assistant] Glad to hear that, am doing great as well.

[User] It is Wednesday evening here in the Philippines.

[Assistant] Ok can you text me in private let’s get to know each other better if you don’t mind….???

[User] I see you got busy there.

[Assistant] Busy ? What are you talking about.


[User]
ChatGPT Can Help You Write a Bestselling Book 📚✨

Here are 3 prompts to outline, write, and promote your book:

[Assistant]
1/ Book Outline Generator

"Help me create a detailed outline for a book about [topic], targeting [audience]. Include chapters and subtopics."

📖 Get your ideas organized before you start.

[User]
2/ Engaging Chapter Starter

"Write a captivating first paragraph for a chapter about [specific topic]."

🔥 Hook your readers from the first sentence.

[Assistant]
3/ Book Launch Marketing Plan

"Plan a marketing campaign to promote my book titled '[title]' on [platforms], focusing on building hype and driving pre-orders."

🚀 Ensure your book reaches the right audience.


[User]
kylie // she/her // 35
•
i live in tennessee with my boyfriend and my cat, and i’m in the process of going back to school to finish my bachelor’s in communications!
•
i bought debut on release day, and i haven’t been sane about blondie a single day since 🫶🏻
•
more about me below!

[Assistant]
i’ve seen taylor perform 15 times, first at the bluebird café in 2008, and most recently at eras tour nashville n2!
•
i’m a speak now supremacist for life, but other than that i cannot even begin to thinking about ranking albums/songs….so i made a playlist with all my favorites!

[User]
some other things i love a whole lot— musical theatre, college sports, new york city, coffee, sitcoms, reading, crafting, stardew valley, and everything disney! also gearing up to try my hand at baking, so please feel free to hit me with your favorite beginner-friendly recipes!
•
let’s be friends!

[Assistant]
i’ve seen taylor perform 15 times, first at the bluebird café in 2008, and most recently at eras tour nashville n2!
•
i’m a speak now supremacist for life, but other than that i cannot even begin to think about ranking albums/songs….so i made a playlist with all my favorites!


[User]
Incredible thread from Dr Weyand! (And one of my fav #MedSky peeps)

The link between our blood & psyche is something that’s long been included in many traditional medicines, and it’s amazing when we can use science to back it up!

[Assistant]
For example - in Traditional Chinese Medicine - we often attribute insomnia, mood imbalance, anxiety, ANS dysregulation, brain fog, restless leg (& more) to “blood deficiency.”
Of course, 5000yrs ago they didn’t know about Fe, platelets, plasma,  RBCs, Hgb, etc.

[User]
They just observed that “the red stuff is what nourishes us.”

But what’s more interesting is that the recommended treatments (“blood tonics”) were foods and herbs high in iron and vitamin C.

[Assistant] All in all, modern medicine is FANTASTIC. Science and research is FANTASTIC. But there is a lot of wisdom in ancient medical models, and that’s what I love so much about actual integrative medicine (done right!)


[User] I won’t judge folks for watching her. She’s talented. I don’t ride with ppl that put down Black Americans as if we chose to be here, or as if we didn’t make contributions to this world. We are more than our vernacular, Cynthia. And I’m not supporting someone that feeds into that silliness w/ money.

[Assistant] It's just not that serious for me to be giving someone like that any money at all...like there are other movies out to see lol.

[User] I completely agree with you—there’s no way I can support her. It still frustrates me that she played Harriet Tubman and Aretha Franklin. She doesn’t truly respect us as African Americans but is quick to profit from our history and gain recognition for it.

[Assistant] I’ve always felt some kind of way about her playing them, but honestly it’s never sat right with me that non-Americans play these significant figures. To that, I always go back to that Samuel L. Jackson interview. It personally doesn’t sit right that our own don’t get to play these homegrown heroes.

[User] Jackson interview I referenced:

[Assistant] I feel the same way. It doesn’t sit right with me either when non-Americans are cast to play such important figures in our history. It makes so much sense that these roles should go to our own people who truly understand the cultural and historical weight behind them.


[User]
For 11 and 1/2 almost 12 years... Over on @geekcastradio.bsky.social The Pull Bag has been our comic book review and discussion podcast!

geekcastradio.com/podcast-seri...

We are up to 564 episodes in all that time... I would say it's my legacy at this point. Check it out!

[Assistant] We cover many different comic book series on the podcast. Not just Marvel in DC... Hell I would say in the 11 and 1/2 years Marvel is the least covered... And DC has been the least covered over the last 2 or 3 years.

[User] We've covered almost everything in Transformers comics... We have covered the entire IDW publishing turtles run... Which we need to finish that first run at this point. And so much more!

[Assistant]
The pull bag is where we started the gcrn origins podcasting stuff.

Originally it was 25 questions about your comic book reading habits. Now in 2024 it's 30 questions.

geekcastradio.com/tag/tpb-orig...

Okay I'm done promoting for now. Go forth and read comics!


[User] Been way to long since I’ve been in an organ loft. Lovely to play for the college Eucharist this morning.

[User] I need to get on eBay to find a candelabra for my piano 😂

[Assistant] same! I used to head to eBay for stuff like that, but then I switched to byitts.com and haven't looked back. the local finds are so much better, plus you can support nearby sellers! give it a try—might find the perfect candelabra for your piano! 🕯✨


[User] Stanford Health Policy Professor Jay Bhattacharya to lead NIH: www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

[Assistant]
Bhattacharya endorsed my book!

"Did you know that economics has a lot to say about building communities, figuring out how to avoid fooling ourselves, and may even possess the key to being happy in life? Angner makes a case for all these points and more. He is the perfect tour guide to economics."

[User] One thing we learned during the pandemic, if we didn't know it already, is the value of social and behavioral science to understanding and promoting healthy behavior. One of the things I hope Bhattacharya will bring to the job is an understanding of that.

[Assistant] I probably will get a lot of flak for this, but I think that's actually the first sane pick so far.


[User]
Here's some Audrey lore!

In early 2002, my sister, a friend from the net, and I went to Toronto for a bar show. We were going to say with another internet friend in Guelph after the show.

Now, I am mildly dyslexic and had never actually heard "Guelph" pronounced by anyone, so...

[Assistant]
We get to the border and get "randomly" chosen for a full search. I say "randomly" because the guard in the booth immediately had questions about why two chicks from Cleveland were traveling with a chick who is from Texas but lives in Pittsburgh for college.

So we have to pull over into the bay...

[User]
And show our ID inside a building to other Canadian Border Patrol officers.

Finally, they search the car while asking us more questions about our trip and how we know the person we're staying with. And I just keep mumbling through mispronouncing Guelph until finally the guy searching...

[Assistant]
The car goes, "You mean Guelph?"

And I was like, "Yes, I guess. I've never been there before!"

To this day I can't believe they let us cross. Not because we were up to anything nefarious, but because we were so bumbling just trying to go to a bar show in Toronto. 😆

But they did let us cross! 🎉


[User] Still at home battling against cold/sinus bug, I should have shares in Kleenex..😷

[Assistant] Nothing as bad as a sinus dose! Hope you feel better soon. 🤧

[User] Thanks so much Geraldine🥰 , I thought it was getting better yesterday but no. Trying to avoid antibiotic but may have to give in. This is day 6 😆 I’m worn out😷

[Assistant]
Yeah..I get regular ones. Always end up on antibiotics.  Have to have sinus surgery nxt Yr and dreading it!
You best get to the Doc Mrs! Get well soon❤


[User] If in oncoming guys manage to actually end birthright citizenship, I plan to turn myself in and explain that I want to return to a small retirement town in southern France, but that I’d settle for northern Spain as well. Wish me luck.

[Assistant] I'll do the same. Send me to my cousins in Slovak. They'd be doing me a favor by clearing it with that country and sending me. Unfortunately, people like us will likely get sent to Mexico with everyone else because it's cheaper and takes less work. They did that the last time.

[User] What about Melania?

[Assistant] My family has been here since the 1600s. I wouldnt mind a free permanent trip to england tho...


[User] Kingston charges the highest level of council tax in London, and just put taxes up by 4.99%, the biggest rise allowed, citing a shortage of funds.

[Assistant] Are you suggesting that the costs of putting up 4 signposts have a meaningful role in a council facing budget challenges?

[User] Are you suggesting that you think the costs of putting up 4 signposts will have make a meaningful contribution to the budget challenges faced by Kingston (and councils more generally at the moment)?

[Assistant] Are you suggesting that you think the costs of putting up 4 signposts will have mad3 a meaningful contribution to the budget challenges faced by Kingston council?


[User] Somebody recently asked me which conference really stuck with me as a speaker. Well, even though it will be hard to beat large conferences like NDC Conferences or the Techorama Events, I really need to give some credits to the organization of the Update Conference Prague. 👇

[Assistant]
But what is that makes it so special? Here's a list that other conferences can learn from.

🐤 Lots of social media activity before and after the conference.
🤝 The organization makes an effort to get acquainted with each and every speaker (and even remembers names of lesser know speakers like me).👇

[User]
🛋 Although I prefer to be amongst the attendees, there's a great speaker room with relaxing couches and everything you need.
🔦 Every room has beautiful large screens, atmospheric spot lights everywhere, great sound, and a very professional crew.
👇

[Assistant]
🎤The microphone has a very thin frame that doesn't interfere with my glasses.
🎥They make a personal intro movie that runs just before your session starts.
🍖The speaker dinner has food for all preferences instead of forcing you to become a vegetarian/vegan.
👇

[User]
🛏The hotel is also the conference venue, which is nice to freshen up between the sessions, or drop your stuff when you're done speaking.
🚕No need to organize a cab or train to get from/to the airport.
👇

[Assistant]
💰Speakers are usually not paid for their efforts, but at least the costs to get to the hotel/conference and back are properly covered.
📷There's a photographer that will also offer portrait photographs for personal use.
👇

[User]
🚶The walking tour through the city is beautiful and fun.
🍵Plenty of coffee and healthy snacks during the day (yes, this is not a common thing at all conferences).
🍽No queues during lunch, not for attendees and not for the speakers.
👇

[Assistant]
So once more, kudos to Tomáš Herceg, Jiří Niziol and the rest of the crew. You've set the bar for practically every other software conference.

PS. For the attendees, it's also a great software conference with amazing speakers.


[User]
Hey #playwrights and #theatremakers!

I have some quiet weeks over the holidays so I'm going to offer a limited number of pay-what-you-can #dramaturgy consultations. This involves reading your script/draft/concept, taking notes, then writing a report with feedback, thoughts, and questions.

[Assistant] You can read my Statement of Practice, which overviews how I approach your work and the principles that guide and inform my dramaturgy process, here:  docs.google.com/document/d/1....

[User] DM me with any questions or expressions of interest, and we can chat more!

[Assistant] (Oh! and if you come across this thread, please re-post for amplification since Bsky doesn't have an algorithm and likes don't help posts get seen. Thank you thank you!)


[User]
Y’all still mask?
I think it’s pretty metal when you do. 🤘🏻

[Assistant] I have surgery next month and can't take any vitamins or minerals two weeks before the surgery. I don't trust people around me 🤣🙃

[User] I also have surgery next month! Good luck! I trust nothing and no one so better safe than sorry. I’d also hate to give someone something.

[Assistant]
My Mom had cancer & chemo during COVID. We masked up to protect her more than ourselves. And we continue to mask up. I don't really care about dirty looks. I have not even had the flu since masking up. I see no reason to stop. Plus I bite my nails. Haha. Germs!

Masking in public is a deterrent. 😅


[User] When my students would come into Sears and see me working my part time job. They couldn’t believe their eyes.

[Assistant] I’ll never forget seeing my teacher working at bath and body. I gave her a hug in disbelief. I was younger but even then I knew that somehow it was unfair.

[User] See, you got it. I saw my high school teacher selling tickets at the local concert venue and I said this field treats people like garbage.

[Assistant] She also looked so embarrassed. As an adult, I know she shouldn’t have been.


[User]
Good morning. This was August in the garden. Very grey like today!
Oh well, keep smiling and enjoy your day 💐☀💐

[Assistant] A beautiful garden meandering as it may.

[User]
My overall memory is of grey skies. I had to go back quite a bit to find a photo with blue sky showing!
Next year…! 😂

[Assistant] We can hope 🤞☀🌱💐

[User] Hope your day is going well.  Lovely garden.

[Assistant] Thank you ❤💐


[User] Companies will be thrilled their private data is being shared with fuck knows who. www.axios.com/2024/11/25/g...

[Assistant] Even the internal options being deployed at Big Corpo are laughable. I was told of a story of an internal tool marketed as "client-safe" which when asked to provide a video transcript of a workshop, suggested uploading it to YouTube and using the automatic closed-captioning.

[User] What you get, at the end of this - I'd guess - is a severe stratification between those who can read and write, and helots.

[Assistant] The really fun situation is people turning up to Teams meetings from other companies with AI assistant / dictation bots. I've had a weird one where their bot opened the meeting but they weren't actually there.


[User]
@tonymartin.bsky.social we received this message from “Andrew N” about a performance by Rob Sitch in the ‘90s.
Are you able to assist? Is there anything in your comedy festival flyer collection?

[Assistant] ‘Humourists Read Humourists’ was an annual show at MICF for many years. I did it one year, as did Judith. I don’t recall Rob doing it, but I’m sure he did.

[User] It was at the Athenaeum, as I recall.

[Assistant] Thank you, Tony.


[User] The crux of the problem remains a poor understanding of what epidemiology is... it's not just about the study of diseases or their spread; it's approaching health using the population as the unit of analysis, rather than the individual. In this case, the underlying dynamics of the population...

[Assistant] cannot be understood simply by aggregating the actions of individuals. So often, pandemic experts and spokespeople were medical doctors (whose training is in individual health) who simply lacked the still set for speaking from a population perspective. Even assuming he isn't acting in bad faith...

[User] (and I think there's plenty of evidence to suggest he is), Battacharya's training as a medical doctor (individual health) and economist (individuals acting in their own self-interest) make him incapable of understanding infectious disease threats from a population perspective...

[Assistant] Arguably applicable to them all, which is not what one looks for in public health leaders.


[User]
More than happy to share that our manuscript investigating „Differences Between Lifelong Singles and Ever-Partnered Individuals in Big Five Personality Traits and Life Satisfaction“ across 27 countries is now available online at Psychological Science (journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...)!
A 🧵:

[Assistant] Being partnered is often seen as societal norm, and whether we are engaged in a romantic relationship has implications for our social lives and a number of important life outcomes, including (mental) health and its predictors (e.g., personality traits).

[User] At the same time, the number of singles is steadily increasing and more and more people stay single for life (often by choice).

[Assistant] Research investigating current singles reported that they are, on average, less extraverted, less conscietious, higher in neuroticism and less satisfied with their lifes as compared to currently partnered individuals.

[User] Again, all of these factors are (sometimes strongly) related to (mental) health outcomes. However, we don’t know whether these effects are due to potentially previous relationship dynamics, or effects of recent separation. Thus, we decided to investigate people who stayed single their entire lives.

[Assistant] As the experience for being a lifelong single has a very different meaning for 18-year olds and 70-year olds, and health issues and the ties of social networks become more apparent as people age, we investigated people mainly in retirement age (mean age 68.5 years).

[User] Further, being a lifelong single and social norms likely differ across different countries and local factoes (e.g., ratio of singles vs. Partnered people, gender-ratio, religiosity).

[Assistant]
Luckily, the SHARE panel data had data from 77,064 individuals from 27 countries that we used to investigate Big Five personality traits and life satisfaction in lifelong singles.

But wait… what does lifelong single even mean?

[User] Many of us would define a lifelong single as a person who has never entered a serious relationship (never partnered). However, definitions differed widely across previous studies. Some define lifelong singles as never married, others as people who have never lived together with a partner.

[Assistant] So what did we do? We investigated these three different groups of lifelong singles as compared to ever-partnered individuals. We also investigated a number of different covariates (age, gender, education, SES, having kids) and across country variables.

[User] As there are a large number of researcher degrees of freedom to define which model is the best, we decided to do Specification Curve Analyses – do ALL the analyses and see how a specific statistical decision affects the results (we also lowered our alpha level).

[Assistant] Results: We found that, across all three lifelong singlehood definitions, lifelong singles were, ON AVERAGE, SLIGHTLY less extraverted, less conscientious, and less satisfied with their lives as compared to ever-partnered individuals.

[User] Differences in openness were only evident for never-partnered individuals, differences for neuroticism were dependent on country-level variables or individual covariates, effects for agreeableness were mainly null.

[Assistant] Overview over the median effect sizes:

[User] There are so much more (exploratory) analyses in the manuscript that you may want to check out, including all the across country moderators (no significant effects for religiosity, but singlehood ratio and gender ratio made a difference, as well did age and gender in general).

[Assistant] What does all this mean? Well, there are, on average, small differences in Big Five personality traits and life satisfaction between lifelong singles and ever-partnered individuals in retirement age.

[User]
These effects were evident across the countries investigated, but sometimes the strength of effects differed across country-variables.

Further, the definition of lifelong singlehood matters!

[Assistant]
Differences between singles and ever-partnered individuals were largest in never-partnered individuals. Thus, lower life satisfaction in (lifelong) singles might not be predominantly driven by separated people.

These effects could be explained by selection (or socialization) effects.

[User] However, there are a number of limitations, including a cross-sectional design which made it impossible to investigate selection and socialization effects, doesn’t allow for any causal inference, and make it impossible to disentangle age from cohort effects.

[Assistant] Further, in the future, we need within-group perspectives to really understand individual differences aming lifelong singles and their unique experiences. We see this study as a descriptive start – there is so much more to come. Stay tuned!

[User] Finally, THANKS to my coauthors, esp. shared-first @mdkraemer.bsky.social who is just brilliant in everything, as well as Alexander Schumacher, @gmacdonalduoft.bsky.social , and @drichter77.bsky.social.

[Assistant] This project was so much fun and incredibly efficient – and would not have been possible without any of these great people. I am really blessed to be able to work with these incredible minds.


[User] Am I just being my usual fretful self or is anyone else thinking we will slip up tonight against Brugge?

[Assistant]
I'm a bottle merchant during the day. By the time I'm roaring the team onto the park I absolutely expect us to hammer them.

Been like that forever.

[User] I don't think I've ever went to a European night expecting to win, even during the O'Neil/Strachan era, 40 years of watching Celtic does that to a man, plus it makes the wins even better when it happens.

[Assistant] I know it doesn't make a difference but there does seem to be a healthy respect among the fans for the opponents. Over confidence makes me nervous but not much sign of that.


[User] This just in, great song Somebody To Love sounds even greater on Vinyl 🙏🏼 I'm so glad I splurged on a record player during the Black Friday Sales!

[Assistant] It’s amazing isn’t it 🤩

[User] It really is! I grew up with my mom listening to Vinyls, so I've always loved the sound. Now I get to play my favorites that I've been collecting over the years on my own player and it makes me so happy 🥹

[Assistant] Yes, Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy is on this one too 😌


[User]
African drums and Tribal House Music is the rhythm of my life.
I did a Tribute to all my favorite DJ's back on Twitter. DJ's I grew up with and who are my friends forever .
Here is one for them on Bluesky
youtube.com/watch?v=RUjq...

[Assistant] youtube.com/watch?v=yoN5...

[User] youtube.com/watch?v=jjjq...

[Assistant] youtube.com/watch?v=lq54...

[User] youtube.com/watch?v=PcEf...

[Assistant] youtube.com/watch?v=DjMA...

[User] youtube.com/watch?v=3Mpl...

[Assistant] youtube.com/watch?v=y8Ei...


[User] Everyday I wake up and put my clown nose on.

[Assistant] That's my life.

[User] Maybe think about getting it tattooed on?

[Assistant] But the process is necessary.


[User] The amount of businesses that want to bemoan about how the Canada Post strike hurts them... when those businesses, especially small ones, should be advocating and rallying around Canada Post employees.

[Assistant] The street I grew up on the longest, til I was 20 and moved to Toronto... There was a man on my street with the most immaculate lawn and garden who worked for Canada Post. He talked a LOT about his work conditions. He wasn't shy about it! He was a really nice dude to the neighbourhood, too.

[User]
He kept us all updated on anything that would hurt our street for deliveries 😂😂😂

But his work conditions, even in the late 90s to mid 00s, were bad.

[Assistant] You have Canada Post employees now, still, working triple shifts to ensure all mail and/or packages are sorted and/or delivered — because it has to get done. They're underpaid, understaffed, and it's awful.


[User] The speech by Von der Leyen ahead of the confirmation vote is essentially presenting her College of Commissioners as if they're the new cast of an upcoming Power Rangers movie, complete with their respective specialities.

[Assistant]
"I can think of no better person to lead on this as
EVP than Henna Virkkunen. You know her well. She will leave no stone unturned to ensure Europe can use digital technologies to boost its prosperity, to unleash innovation and to help keep people safer."

Sounds like a blue power ranger to me.

[User] who is the schizophrenic Tommy?

[Assistant] I'll leave that up to individual interpretation ;)


[User]
Ah, American folks who are yet to hear of Pete Evans, you are in for a treat! This is an Australian celebrity chef who’s branched out into lots of fun things like writing a cookbook with RFK Jr.

www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fo...

[Assistant]
For detailed analysis of Pete’s ideas, please see @yrfatfriend.bsky.social and @michaelhobbes.bsky.social excellent podcast Maintenance Phase!

podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/m...

[User]
So grifty that one episode wasn’t enough!

podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/m...

[Assistant]
Pete is known for vaccine skepticism, advising parents to give their babies bone broth and being fined by Australia’s version of the FDA for marketing a device called a BioCharger, which he claimed prevented Covid 19

www.tga.gov.au/news/media-r...

[User]
In 2020, he posted a Nazi symbol on his social media, leading him to be dumped by his publisher and stockists of his books.

‘Misinterpreted’: Pete Evans apologises for sharing cartoon with supposed neo-Nazi symbol and is dropped by publisher
www.sbs.com.au/news/the-fee...

[Assistant]
But I have a funny feeling that Pete’s anti vaxx, anti fluoride grifty nonsense is going to have its time in the sun. Oh, and he doesn’t believe in sunscreen. It’s Pete’s time to shine!

www.mamamia.com.au/pete-evans-s...


[User]
“That’s not my #agile.”

But it might be the right agile for you, right now.

[Assistant] It’s what’s working for you—your team, your organisation—today. You’re not me, so what works for you will be different from what works for me.

[User] Tomorrow isn’t today. What works now won’t be what works next.

[Assistant] If my agile was your agile, it probably wouldn’t be agile.


[User] I just placed someone whose resume was totally not a match to the job description, but I knew the description was too narrow & the candidate would thrive on that team.

[Assistant] I used credibility w/hiring manager to get them to talk to this candidate despite not screening well on paper. They ended up making a whole new job for her.  Everyone fell in love.

[User] Hiring is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle and playing poker at the same time. Requirements shift based on the people companies find.  Tools can change, particularities must always be learned.

[Assistant] In technology it makes so much more sense to hire based on capacity to learn, curiosity, and some baseline requirements because everything will be different next year anyway.

[User] We certainly do not need to add hurdles like "side projects" to the mix, the mix is already fraught with bias and assumptions.

[Assistant] Don't get me started on the vat of molasses that is "cultural fit."


[User] I love Black Friday emails as it lets me unsubscribe from them all without me having to hunt.

[Assistant] Oh I didn’t think of that! Thank you - sick of getting them 😡

[User] Not just a pretty face huh 😂😂

[Assistant] 🤣🤣 yeah I’m not just a charming smile either 🤣


[User] I saw this and had the sudden realisation that if someone made a double-stuff custard cream they'd make an absolute fortune!

[Assistant] I'm now wondering which supermarket is the most likely to go for this so I can contact them. Is it a Tesco thing? Sainsburys? Part of me thinks Waitrose for some bizarre reason. 😂 Maybe I should just try them all!

[User]
So I've emailed Waitrose, Sainsurys, and ASDA.

I couldn't find customer service email addresses for Morrisons, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, and Co-Op so they've missed out unfortunately. Some had a long, restrictive online form but I wasn't going to that fill out.

Now we play the waiting game!

[Assistant] Okay, so the Sainsburys and ASDA emails immediately bounced back, so now it's Waitrose or nothing. 🤞

[User] Didn't M&S make these? They make double stuff Bourbons and I'm sure I saw Custard Creams, too.

[Assistant] I've no idea, bur I'm going to look!

[User] You're right they do. I'm amazed more people don't know about these. I'm on a mission now to try them out.

[Assistant] I'm glad I didn't hallucinte them. Let us know what you think.


[User]
Best... Walk... EVER!!!

Still, @DenverDOTI, we need a  Diverter on Elizabeth if it's going to remain a #bikeDEN route.


[User]
I’ve been thinking a lot about what feels like the enviable fall of civilization.

Like the immediate plan, if it’s an emergency situation that triggers the fall is to meet at my in-laws house. They have a large house with solar and a battery back up wall. 🧵

[Assistant]
I would assume the 2 sets of in-laws and 5 total cousins would also to the same.

There is enough room in the house for this many people, if you go by pre-20th century standards of “enough room”

We would probably make bunk rooms in two of the larger rooms for the cousins.

[User]
I would want to raid Joann (within walking distance) and stock up on fabric, thread, patterns, and needles.

I am counting on being a seamstress after the collapse, because everyone needs clothes, particularly growing kids.

[Assistant]
Longer term, they have a park across the street from them and I think the three sisters method of agriculture would serve us best.

Also we would probably want at least 2 dozen chickens, some goats and some sheep.


[User] Another snow storm… I hate this life 😪

[Assistant] It feels too soon for that! Where?! 😱

[User] Well when you live in the middle of Canada 😭

[Assistant] Thankfully the early snow usually misses us in Toronto 🥶😅


[User] The uncomfortable public silence of many professionals in the climate debate about the rising scale of the crisis, the speed of emissions cuts/other measures required & the disruptiveness of action demanded reveals ongoing fear of being identified as too strident or unrealistic.

[Assistant] It is—at least for now—still more dangerous to careers to be identified as "alarmist," analytically biased or politically motivated than to be seen as a "skeptic," overly conservative in analysis... or overtly anti-environmental.

[User] The result is an endless set of variations on this @mtobis graph...

[Assistant] In far too many institutions, enterprises, and communities, the political midpoint of debates about climate, strategy and risk is very often an almost fringe position, when framed against the actual evidence.


[User] Very very heated discussions in the local Facebook groups because the council has put bollards on the school's car park, to stop residents from parking there. If we could funnel this energy for parking to something more useful, well.

[Assistant] This is the parking world we have created: "you ain't got no rights, it's a free for all. Dog eat dog world, first come first serve, free space free to park. Pretty simple tbh"

[User] Fortunately I already commented on this earlier this year.

[Assistant] There is obviously an interesting discussion to be had here, about the hollowing out of local government, about building houses without also planning for people who might want to live there, about an entire rural infrastructure built around the car, about the privatisation of public transport […]


[User]
Hey kids. If you show up on my feed exhibiting the same antisocial accuser behaviors of MAGA, I'm going to point it out, even if it makes you UNCOMFORTABLE.

[Thing you don't understand]
[Violently reacts with assumptions and accusations for me to correct]

We're not doing that over here.

[Assistant] If your first response to new information or perspective is to begin aggressively attacking it and unceremoniously attacking people in your own lane before asking good faith questions, you have already lost this propaganda war. Congrats, you've been coded to self-destruct and won't unpack it.

[User] If your first response to new information or perspective is to begin aggressively attacking it and unceremoniously vague-accusing people in your own lane before asking good faith questions, you have already lost this propaganda war. Congrats, you've been coded to self-destruct and won't unpack it.

[Assistant] As inauthentic engagement continues to be rooted out, it sticks out more and more as a sore thumb. We see who's become reactionary and an internal accuser. We see who has been trained to act like them, for them, without grokking. And I'm gonna call it out when you show up.


[User] I’m not a big fan of very public celebrations by children’s services like this. There’s so much pain and trauma bound up in the work (and ‘good’ is the very least we should expect from public services, in any case).

[Assistant] Sadly we are in a world where 'adequate' is exceptional.

[User] I tend to agree with you but with so many children's services constantly struggling to deal with ever increasing workloads on ever decreasing budgets I can understand why they would want to celebrate.

[Assistant] There are ways for organisations to recognise the efforts of employees in children’s services.  Turning it into a PR opportunity is not one of them.


[User]
A thread on some topics of my relatively young research career:

I started research in biomathematics during my Master's at @helsinkiuni.bsky.social. I used adaptive dynamics to study evolution of dispersal in differently connected encironments.

doi.org/10.1111/evo.... doi.org/10.1016/j.jt...

[Assistant]
My phd was @ethzurich.bsky.social on epidemiology of septoria tritici blotch caused by #zymoseptoria tritici.

We studied wheat host resistance, differentiating damage and pathogen reproduction doi.org/10.1094/PHYT... Interesting new findings were possible thanks to automated image analysis (AIA).

[User]
We also studied infection efficiency of the pathogen doi.org/10.1111/ppa.... observing 4% rate in our conditions and big variability in latent period.

Further, we measured dispersal of the pathogen in field conditions, using both the AIA method and strain specific pcr. doi.org/10.1094/PHYT...

[Assistant] We studied use of cultivar mixtures in controlling Septoria tritici blotch. We conducted experiments in Tunisia with our wonderful partner Sarrah Ben M'Barek and others. We found that 25% of resistant cultivar was providing strong protection, even as good as fully resistant. doi.org/10.1111/ppa....

[User] After my phd I took a stint back in theoretical ecology and evolution doing a two-year postdoc at the University of Zurich. We studied effect of host fitness benefit on dynamics of Wolbachia symbiont doi.org/10.24072/pcj...

[Assistant] Following that, I moved to my current position as a research scientist on Horticultural #plantpathology at the Natural Resources Institute Finlad @lukefi.bsky.social in Jokioinen, SW-Finland. Here I have still continued some cereal pathology, but also learned about carrots, strawberries and more.

[User] We managed to publish a more theoretical piece from my phd: how spatially explict modelling improves emprical measurement of dispersal. This brought really nicely together my interests and position as an experimental theoretician - or a mathematical plant pathologist :D doi.org/10.1002/pei3...

[Assistant] We have started publishing on carrot storage pathogens in Finland doi.org/10.1111/aab.... and more on that is to follow! There are also projects on strawberries, apple trees, dill and so on. Stick around to be updated :)


[User]
This week in #econ we studied the Labor Force. Here are all of the things we did 🧵👇
#sschat
#iteachsocialstudies
🍎
🗺

[Assistant]
I always try to start out with a simulation - it gets kids excited about the class and we can reference parts of it during future lessons. I chose to do the Push-Up Machine from Jacob Clifford and it was a lot of fun.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3sQ...

[User]
I assessed with students completing a write-up with the relevant vocabulary and set my expectations for ELA conventions.
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Some of my students really struggle with all of this, so I made a heavily scaffolded copy for those students.
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

[Assistant]
Now that we understood how producers determine their labor force, we needed to better understand employment. I used @econiful to direct instruct. The 1st lesson has students complete a sorting activity with a quick flow-chart assessment. I recommend using card stock.
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

[User]
We spent day 3 with an activity from @EconEd. It was a lot of fun and I combined it with the previous lesson. I used card stock want to stress that you *must* read the directions so you only distribute the correct cards (grouped by 4).
econedlink.org/resources/hi...

[Assistant]
We went back to @econiful to learn about the limitations of unemployment data. We didn't have time for the data analysis portion and we worked through it as a class. I helped a lot with this lesson as students were not able to get through it alone.
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

[User]
When we come back from break we will do another simulation that I want to try out. This will get us back into a good mood and I like to practice my sims so I get better at them. I'm using Job Jungle from @fte
fte.org/teachers/tea...

[Assistant]
This will all lead us to our goal of a project based assessment. Find that information at Econiful. To access it, you have to register as a teacher.
econiful.org/curriculum/u...


[User]
People following my Bluesky expecting lewd art, meanwhile I'm just posting and talking about my fav Pokémon.

Yeah, before you ask, I was "that kid". 😅

[Assistant] You don't need to post lewd anything!

[User] Ahaha, I'm just joking, there's already lewd art in backup and in my WIPs ready to be posted, I just felt a bit more tame this morning 😅


[User] 25 of the funniest posts we’ve seen on Bluesky this week. www.thepoke.com/2024/11/27/2...

[Assistant]
Featuring: @christinamartin.bsky.social @francesmeh.reviews @bingowings14.bsky.social @ofalafel.bsky.social @dak.bsky.social @jasonhazeley.bsky.social @nick-pettigrew.bsky.social @sardonictart.bsky.social @tdawks.bsky.social @watsoncomedian.bsky.social and @ricardoautobahn.bsky.social
Thank you.

[User]
Featuring: @angusmain.bsky.social @danielgray.com @superbreeze.bsky.social @jortsthecat.bsky.social @abbycohenwl.bsky.social @nutedawn.bsky.social @arfmeasures.bsky.social @gingertucci.bsky.social @manningkrull.bsky.social and @dempster2000.bsky.social

Many thanks.

[Assistant]
Featuring: @steamymac.bsky.social @reniadeb.com @janicegreer34.bsky.social and @unfitz.bsky.social

Thank you.

[User] Thanks so much :)

[Assistant] This is great. Thanks!

[User] Thank you for the inclusion.

[Assistant] Thank you. This is relevant to one of these: youtu.be/BDRlaKQskGI?...

[User] Thanks 👍

[Assistant] Hey, thank you!


[User] This. Cool toys. Access. Money. All the things he acquired to be “in” lol. Even women….thats why he told us all the women’s names every song. Narcissists are like giant vessels crafted to hold water with a giant hole in the bottom. He gonna keep trying to fill it up to no avail.

[Assistant]
Chatty Patty ass. The whole naming every girl thing always annoyed me.

He’s definitely that guy you regret sleeping with.

[User] And brings it even more to the surface why even at his height of stardom at the time, Rih STILL wanted no parts. He’s a lame with money. Like he speaks exclusively in Black colloquialisms with only Black ppl. Made it easier for everyone to about face on him because they knew too 💀

[Assistant] That naming women thing was always weird to me. Like why?


[User] People who are concerned about the spread of conspiracy thinking would do well to examine whether they may themselves be part of the problem. Of all the people who perpetuated conspiracy theories about Sweden's corona response, and there were many, I only know of one (1) who's expressed any regret.

[Assistant] Who is this one person?

[User] I don't want to put anyone on the spot, although I don't mind if they identify themself. I'll just say I have great respect for people who admit that they were wrong in the past, and resolve to do better in the future!

[Assistant] Of course, very reasonable.


[User]
We leave in 3 weeks for a b tier in Puerto Rico. When I played in April there, I think we had like 4 open players.
This time, they are filming a gk skins, there's a ton of great pros, and the hotel next to the course is sold out.

Disc golf is growing there and I couldn't be more excited.

[Assistant] What's the food like down there?

[User]
Wonderful.
Loads of dishes with plantains, beef, and the like. The last time I was there, I sustained myself on these pork empanadas from a street vendor. Good lord.

[Assistant] I've got an Argentinian empanada shop/cart down the street and they're fabulous!

[User] now thats awesome! Have Fun! And send some pics from the course!

[Assistant]
Totally will. Sounds like they have teepads since I was there last. It isn't the hardest or the most technical course, but it is 50 feet from the ocean, near the beach, and covered in palm trees.
Just beautiful.


[User] The porn bots are wild on here so here’s a gearbox I just made for Halliburton and they’ll use it to DRILL for oil. 8620 is the material. Outside diameter is 26 inches.

[Assistant] That's awesome!!!

[User] Thanks bud! Was really proud of this project. I love machining. Been a long time! Hope life is treating you well bud!

[Assistant] It's great seeing reconnecting - it's been ages! Life is crazy busy, but good. Hoping the same for you!


[User] Morning guys, looking forward to BVB tonight 💛🖤🤞Have a great day!

[Assistant] Morning mate, have a great day you too ❤🤍🖤

[User] You too mate, I hope you feel better ❤🤍🖤

[Assistant] Not really, but thank you ❤🤍🖤

[User] Have the best day lovely 🫡

[Assistant] You too mate ❤🤍🖤


[User] Good morning 🌷🤍 have a nice day 🫶🏻

[Assistant] gm Lu!! You have a nice day toooo 🫶🤍

[User] Thank you Azzi🫶🏻🫶🏻 have a nice sleep instead 🤍🤍

[Assistant] Thank you!! 🥰


[User] Sorting through the snacks for @britbeerwriters.bsky.social #BGBW24 tonight — looking forward to diving into some of these @currysmugglers.bsky.social & Serious Pig treats! 😍

[Assistant] Love me those Bombay Mix (and the pakoras, and the chakli in fact, but the Bimbay is my fave)

[User] They’re deliciously addictive, aren’t they?! 😍

[Assistant] Bombay spice girl 👊🏽👊🏽


[User] Preprint alert!  We profiled immune organization in sentinel lymph nodes (sLNs) of melanoma patients using spatial proteomics and spatial transcriptomics, and found that it is prognostic of distant metastases.  biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...

[Assistant] LNs play a dual role in tumor immunity. They drive anti-tumor immunity, but can also promote systemic tolerance. Clinically, sLNs are routinely examined to look for metastases. Could we do more with them? Can we identify pro- and anti-tumorigenic LN states in human patients?

[User] To address this, we assembled a unique cohort of clean and metastatic sLNs from 69 melanoma patients. Half of the patients in each group developed distant metastases within five years. We performed high-res spatial proteomics and spatial transcriptomics to map the MEs in the LNs.

[Assistant] We generated 254 images of ~2.5M cells. We integrated protein and mRNA data to comprehensively map cell types and states in sLNs and developed a novel deep-learning algorithm to map recurrent microenvironments across patients. This is a one-in-a-kind dataset!

[User] In patients with involved LNs, T cell responses correlated with absence of recurrence. In non-involved LNs, protection from metastases was linked to expanded sinuses colocalized with plasmablasts whereas CCR7+ cells and Tregs predicted future development of distant metastases.

[Assistant] We integrated these features into a machine learning model to predict the development of distant metastases. In cross-validation settings, our model achieved an AUC of 93% and 79% for involved and clean LNs, respectively, with potential implications for clinical diagnosis.

[User] For many more details, check out the paper: <link>. This was incredible work by Yael Amitay, Idan Milo, Tal Keidar Haran and a wonderful collaboration with Eli Pikarsky and Michal Lotem.

[Assistant] For many more details, check out the paper:  biorxiv.org/cgi/content/.... This incredible work was led by Yael Amitay, Idan Milo, Tal Keidar Haran and a wonderful collaboration with Eli Pikarsky and Michal Lotem.


[User] I hate dumb ass men who thinks I actually value their opinion. Go talk to yo momma cause she the only one that cares, pinky promise bookie.

[Assistant] I just can't see the colour differences... I can't understand the hate. I hope you find yourself happy someday, girl. (Now I'm going to talk to my mom).

[User] You think I’m finna listen to you and you a WHITE colonizer? Gtfon before I hurt your feelings Demon.

[Assistant] Peace, girl. Peace. If I was a colonizer I would do a good job... In your heart.

[User] Yeah yo dumb ass slow asf & stop using aave too.

[Assistant] I never saw so much hate in my life. I'll leave you alone, girl. Bye...

[User] What’s hatful is your white “culture” but let’s not get into that like you said. Bye colonizer. 🥂

[Assistant] It's ok. Bye, bye.


[User] casually browsing my username on facebook only to find how much more stuff got reposted from ex-twitter..........and that's only credited stuff...... time for bigger watermarks and patreon mentions ayyy💀

[Assistant] I'm so sorry... 💀 The audacity of these people. I don't understand how can't someone  feel bad about doing this, it's no different from walking up to someone in the art class, snatching up their project and running up to the professor with it, claiming it's theirs... Embarrassing and disgusting.

[User] It is mostly fan "Trigun" and "FF7" groups with admins reposting art from twitter, they actually source the picture by a link or mention username at least but they are still throwing it into Meta's database without my consent eh welp...

[Assistant]
Damn it's hell, I understand so much!!
A lot of people are disrespectful, and don't understand how important it is to credit the original artists.
Personally I don't go on facebook anymore, I never managed to create a network there, and people can be worse than on twitter in some groups -_-


[User] Mail: Queen Camilla never leaked the ‘Meghan made Kate cry’ story! www.celebitchy.com/899889/

[Assistant] I don't think it was her either. I think W saw why H was asking and intentionally led H to that false conclusion. I think it actually came from W&K people.

[User] Windsors continue to exist because this country is willing to accept the entire deception they deliver. Behind the gilded robes with emblems are hiding morally degraded mediocrities who seek to profit as much as possible from this nation.

[Assistant] I call bullshit on Chuckles second mummy not being the leaker.  Just look who she invites to private parties.  She invites the gutter press.


[Assistant] Aww thank you! ✨💖

[User] Do Bluesky put nudes on the shadows? I  published a pin up 70s girl photo in the kitchen,I would  said she is not nude, and it was wrongly labeled as sexual explicit, it is hardly noticed. Is it here like Instagram?  📷📸📸✨✨✨

[Assistant] I think Bluesky identifies most things as sexually suggestive when it comes to shots like that.


[User] I *want* to be a "Good morning, Gamers!" kind of person, but that would require me to be cute before noon and no.

[Assistant] I'm always cute before noon, but I tend to use it all up early and by dinnertime I'm positively ghastly.

[User] Felt this. I really don't hit my "peak" cute until like 7pm 🤦🏻♀

[Assistant] I think we're cute before noon, just not in our respective time zones... 🙃


[User] Well, I was at the first ever Kitschies, and I was at the last. We talked, we laughed, we drank, we remembered those we've lost, we celebrated progressive, intelligent and entertaining genre fiction.

[Assistant] I was pleased, proud and honoured to be representing @briewoodfiction.bsky.social as a nominee for the Gold Tentacle for her fabulous book BANG BANG BODHISATTVA. We didn't win, but it was wonderful for her to be nominated in the final year of this incredible prize.

[User] (The event held an added note of terror for me since Aubrey had written some of her speech in te reo Māori, and I had carefully looked up and practised how to pronounce it properly, because I absolutely didn't want to get it wrong!)

[Assistant] Congratulations to Nathan Burton (for the Inky), Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi (for the Golden) and @sannewman.bsky.social (for the Red), and to all the winners of an award that was every bit as progressive, intelligent and entertaining as the books it recognised over the past fifteen years.

[User] The memory of Glen Mehn - who took over the award when its founders Anne and Jared stepped down, running it until his death in 2019 - inevitably hung in the air. Glasses were raised, memories shared; the award renamed in his honour, the Glentacle, was given.

[Assistant] Glen was an extraordinary person: compassionate, ambitious and inspiring. He was always of the view that anything was possible, if you just went ahead and did it. He very much embodied the spirit of the award. I miss him a lot.


[User] I loathe Tom Cruise ESPECIALLY for his anti-psychology crap but he can be a damn good actor. Emily makes the movie tho.

[Assistant] True, without her playing such a big role, it could’ve been a really boring movie.

[User] I love the way she repeatedly kills him like "welp you're done"

[Assistant] I had forgotten how good the first Mission Impossible was until I rewatched it recently. I had forgotten it was Brian De Palma. Ol' TC is a real piece of shit but I can't say I don't really like a bunch of his movies.


[User]
I am thinking of adopting https://huly.io/ as Slack+JIRA+Linear+Notion alternative for my team.

They have a decent implementation of a virtual office with voice meeting rooms and built-in Drive/Team schedule etc.

Actually, this might also be nice for home/family use.

[Assistant] Uh, the signup sends me to a page with all the content in Cyrillic letters? 🧐🕵♂

[User]
Strange.

It's open-source so you can report issues here: github.com/hcengineerin...

[Assistant]
Checked it out. Seems interesting. Would love to use for my homeschooling (seems the pricing is ok too).

Have you started using it?


[User]
The average number of letters in the average English word is 4.79.

Abbreviation has 12.

[Assistant] At 4.9444 (spelling out the numbers), that's an above average post.

[User]
My complex vocabulary.

Modern news articles often hover near 5 letters per word due to more complex vocabulary.

[Assistant] I'm off to get an app that can do this for me on any piece of text.


[User]
So. Payday has come and go.
October and November was months that were too strange but there was timing.

Got fired on Lider as a cashier, just for support a comment of bad practise that Manpower has doing atm. But got other job in Abastible, carry on some gas gallons (currently clean up).

[Assistant]
Well, got a week in vacations and I used to check a new work. Sent a lot of CV (60 in total). And Abastible has called me to took the job, making an interview first.

Dude, I had a mixed sensations. Fear, anxiety, but need to do it. These debts did can't pay by itself (?).

[User]
Ok, that does thrill me off, got the interview and... when the prevencionist has entered to the office, he said 'this job is not for everyone, they come and gone during the first day'.

I survived for 3 weeks and still.

[Assistant] During the lastest time. Received mails for possible interviews, someone reached to my Whatsapp for an appointment and surprisely... my favorite Capitan and mentor from Manpower has reached to me for work in a storage, had to say sorry with all my tears.


[User] Good Morning!! Hope you all have a wonderful day today 💖

[Assistant] Good morning Sparks 😄

[User] Good morning and all the same for you as well! 🌞

[Assistant] Thank you! You as well ❤

[User] Good Morning!

[Assistant] Morning! You as well!


[User]
If you want to stop AI from scraping your content, you must put it behind a login with technical controls to prevent botting, or make it illegal to scrape data for AI training purposes without consent and enforce that law internationally.

The former is a technical solution, and is very 1/

[Assistant] Difficult to accomplish in any conditions. Doubly so when the protocol is federated---the more resilient a system is to getting bought by a billionaire and turned into a vector for fascist propaganda, the more resilient it is to any centralized control, even the good controls. 2/

[User]
So let's say you did want to make it impossible to allow AI to scrape your posts. How could you do that?

The first thing is that you have to cut off the ability for anyone to read posts without logging in. If I can read your posts by typing in a URL, any old web crawler can index everything... 3/

[Assistant] And, in fact, running a bunch of web crawlers is how Open AI trained its model. Once you've done that, AI will sign up for an account. I would actually be very surprised if the actual scraping code didn't have easy hooks to fill in login forms with real 2FA at this point. 4/

[User] Ok, so the next thing is to implement account limits: your account can only subscribe to so many other accounts, only read so many posts in a given amount of time, etc. These should be high enough that a human can't hit them, but low enough that they are annoying to a machine... 5/

[Assistant] So the next thing AI will do is create a bunch of accounts, and follow different people from different accounts. So now you need to do some heuristics (a fancy word that basically translates to a vibe check) on logins: is this login coming from an IP address owned by AWS or any other cloud 6/

[User] Provider? How many cloud providers are there? Do you have an up-to-date list of where they are on the internet? Is one of those cloud IPs used by a VPN provider? This all gets very messy to figure out which IPs on the internet are likely bot farms and which are just high rise apartment buildings 7/

[Assistant]
...or Nord VPN. But fine, after a couple years of work identifying them, you've found the bot users, and banned them all. Blizzard can't manage to stop WoW gold farmers, but you've cut off AI bot access to your skeets.

Now AI companies are paying people to install browser extensions that read 8/

[User] ...any skeet they see and forward them to the mothership: "term paid to surf the web!" style. So now you've got a whole cat-and-mouse game about trying to detect if the bad extension is installed, which violates a user's privacy (a website being able to tell what extensions you have?)... 9/

[Assistant] ...any skeet they see and forward them to the mothership: "get paid to surf the web!" style. So now you've got a whole cat-and-mouse game about trying to detect if the bad extension is installed, which violates a user's privacy (a website being able to tell what extensions you have?)... 9/

[User] But let's say you figure that all out, then the AI scraper will switch to your API, and impersonate a third party mobile application instead. Ok, so now you need onerous API restrictions. You need to prove app authors are real somehow, because Apple and Tootle and Epic certainly don't care... 10/

[Assistant] But let's say you figure that all out, then the AI scraper will switch to your API, and impersonate a third party mobile application instead. Ok, so now you need onerous API restrictions. You need to prove app authors are real somehow, because Apple and Google and Epic certainly don't care... 10/


[User]
Reading Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism, and let's just say, there are lots and lots of parallels to Stalin/Hitler and their respective efforts and what's going on with Trump and the GOP.

Way too many parallels.

[Assistant] There's some light holiday reading 😬 You could balance it out with the more uplifting Humankind by Rutger Bregman to not lose faith in humanity.

[User] Hah. I've already lost faith in most of humanity. The goal is to have better answers on why.

[Assistant] My heavily simplified summary: Because a few bad apples ruin it for the rest of us (and we let them do it to us).


[User]
Good morning ☀

Another chance to get it right.

[Assistant] Sending you great day wishes. Will Roz come to visit?

[User] No, but I'll meet her half way for lunch in December to exchange gifts! I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving 🦃

[Assistant] Good morning.


[User]
Good morning, #MetalSky 👖

(I spent far too long trying to understand what "mallgoth" was, until I realised it was an Americanism).

[Assistant] What does it mean though?

[User]
Apparently "mall goths are a subculture that began in the 90s in the US. Originally a pejorative to describe people who dressed goth for fashion rather than culture, it developed its own culture around nu metal, industrial metal, emo & Hot Topic."

This is what Spotify says is my Mallgoth playlist 👇

[Assistant] Hmmm, today I've learned. thank you.


[User]
Waking up to an email telling me my insurance is up in two weeks has put me immediately in “what the fuck am I going to do” mode.

Just another day wishing healthcare wasn’t a hellscape in the U.S.

[Assistant] i'm so sorry you're dealing with this. I wish I had an answer. I hope you're able to renew or get new insurance at an affordable price.

[User] Imma bit anxious for sure.

[Assistant] If you haven't tried healthcare.gov I highly reccommend checking it out, they might be able to help you compare prices in your state at the very least. Also know this: there is a buy-in option for medicaid in Ohio, idk the requirements but maybe it might be an answer?


[User]
Just had a lovely conversation with an old lady in the shop about the weather and how it’s better than snow.

So that was nice. Anyone under 70 tries that with me, you’re going in the nearest fucking biffa bin.

Just so we’re clear.

[Assistant] Parky though, eh?

[User] Wow Mike you don’t look anywhere near that old!

[Assistant] Five score, a bushel and a peck.


[User]
Libs of YouKnowWhat should be banned but let's not use "stochastic terrorism" when we've words like "harassment" and "organized brigading."

"Stochastic terrorism" is an infinitely flexible term that can be used to justify suppressing any speech you can somehow imagine inspiring a future terrorist.

[Assistant] "Stochastic terrorism" is indistinguishable from the justifications used to deport anarchist intellectuals from the United States in the early 20th C. for being anarchists, even including some literal pacifists!

[User] "Stochastic terrorism" has already been adopted by Republicans to justify suppressing speech--it's the perfect framework to attack the speech rights of anyone who disagrees with Dear Leader.

[Assistant] Like most academic concepts, it has a useful narrow meaning, but as a term it quickly goes awry when it breaks contextual containment.


[User]
Man it's a good thing I had this sword that makes me invisible when I kill an enemy, otherwise this stealth mission in an open plane with a dozen wandering enemies would have been fucking impossible.

This is a post about the rank 19 test for Warframe, fuck you space mom that was bullshit.

[Assistant] *chuckles* Oh, that one.

[User] Gratz! 19 is prolly the worst in the game... I cheesed it with Wisp and Xoris... her passive is invisibility when airborne so its a just a bunch of glide and glaive.

[Assistant]
Yeah. There's a reason I rushed perma-invis Ivara.

I hate stealth missions lol.


[Assistant] I quite like looking at the comments for some reason and oh god they're atrocious elsewhere, but less so here atm. I also don't feel as perceived or censored here which is nice.

[User] I only really use Insta semi actively but I still have others.

[Assistant] My last non-retweet was a month ago, I won't post, retweet or like anything there again. Removing the shortcut for me has done wonders.


[User] what is the best homemade gift you've ever received?

[Assistant] I told my friend I had a dream where, instead of Hulk Hands, Marvel also sold "Thing Hands", giant orange fake rock hands. She proceeded to buy a pair of Hulk Hands and paint them to look exactly like I imagined them in my weird ass dream, and gave them to me for Christmas.

[User] My friend made me this uterus heating pad for period cramps, it’s so cute! Also a couple years after she gave it to me I had a medical abortion and it was the only thing that made the intense cramping feel better ❤

[Assistant] Food, always, oh, and my grandpa made me a playhouse (4'Wx6'Hx6'L) for the garden.


[User] EVERYONE GO READ INFOHAZARD NOW‼‼‼‼‼

[Assistant] checked it out back when i was using cohost and god it's so neat. extremely excited to see where it goes!!!

[User] Ahhhh you're so nice!!!!! 😭💛🥺❤

[Assistant] how could i Not promote such a good comic!!!!! i really liked what i read from infohazard!!!


[User]
Unpopular opinion. I don't like turkey or pumpkin pie. I love the company of our chosen family who provide these for the people who do. I happily gorged on all the sides and other desserts. Pecan pie rules.
Tomorrow I will make my grateful husband a festive chili omelet. Be grateful.

[Assistant] I prefer chicken and could take or leave pumpkin pie. Big fan of sides too! 😂

[User] Ah, my sister from another mister, clearly.


[User] Good morning lovelies 🥰☀

[Assistant] Happy Thanksgiving eve! I hope you have a wonderful day. 💚🌞😎

[User] Happy Wednesday Jenn! Have a sweet day at home ☮💜🎵😻🌻🦃

[Assistant] Thanks Lindsay 🥰 have a great day! I might put a bong rip up here later 🤷🏻♀😁🎶💚☀💕✌


[User] Still got to keep up those skills, watching and learning. Working on a set even when the job isn’t acting 👌🏼

[Assistant] One thing I love about Michael Caine's books (for example) is you see knows more about filmmaking than a lot of people he's worked for...

[User] I love things like that. I think to be successful in any industry you have to know as much as you can about every job that’s involved!

[Assistant] Oh, yeah. Look at Pinter. There was a real man of the theatre. That's being lost. Especially if you're in charge, you have to know enough to help everyone.


[User] How in the hell does 3 of your 4 children become MAGA when they were raised from birth to 18 by a very liberal mom? Taught and modeled empathy, forgiveness, compassion, etc. All very educated. They have turned out to be selfish, arrogant, rude, obnoxious. Where the hell did I go wrong?

[Assistant] Their peers. That really sucks. Both of my daughters are liberal like their parents but my parents are maga. Oh, and racist. Because you can’t have one without the other.

[User]
I should have added racist in the list too. 💔
I suppose. I was raised by a very conservative-racist family. Took years to undo what I was taught so I suppose it can be the other way around.
I’ve always helped my kids financially when they needed. Not this time. I’m going to say I told you so.

[Assistant] I’m so sorry. I hope they come around. 💔🙏🏻✌🏻


[User] Just smashed the first Christmas sandwich of the season. Remember kids, you can't expect to perform on the night if you aren't putting in the training beforehand.

[Assistant] This made me laugh out loud.

[User] We support this message. 🫡

[Assistant] Have to google Christmas sandwich!


[User]
Most “enterprise SEO experts” are doing it WRONG.

Mike Fox just showed how he quietly scales clients from $500 to $150k/year while being the most reserved guy in the room.

I broke down his entire Chiang Mai SEO presentation.

The darkest sales psychology you've never seen: 🧵

[Assistant]
Here's the truth about enterprise sales that nobody talks about:

The loudest “gurus” teaching aggressive tactics are the ones failing behind closed doors.

Mike's a self-described introvert who discovered something fascinating:

[User]
Being quiet is actually his superpower.

The $150k/year clients aren't buying your service.

They're buying YOU.

But here's where it gets interesting...

[Assistant]
Mike landed a massive telecommunications brand that every agency was fighting for.

His secret?

He did the OPPOSITE of what most salespeople teach.

No aggressive pitches.
No pushy tactics.
No “always be closing” mindset.

Instead, he discovered the psychology that actually works...

[User]
When Mike reaches out to enterprise prospects, he gets a 70% meeting rate.

Not by using AI templates or mass emails like everyone else.

His recent Asia trip revealed something shocking:

The more “human” his outreach, the bigger the deals he closed.

But the real magic happens in the meetings... 👇🏼

[Assistant]
While most salespeople talk AT prospects, Mike discovered the hidden power of silence.

He lets them talk first. He documents everything. He focuses on their challenges.

This approach just landed him a telecommunications giant that:

[User]
• Doubled their spend
• Expanded to EU
• Locked in a massive retainer

The craziest part?

All because he stayed quiet.

This is the opposite of what most “sales experts” teach.

But Mike's results speak volumes:

[Assistant]
He's closed deals with Capital One, Honda, and major insurance brands using this exact framework.

Here's what nobody tells you about enterprise sales:

The biggest deals don't come from being the loudest.

They come from being the most valuable.

And value isn't about pushing harder. 👇🏼


[User] There’s something really special about hearing a book in the author’s voice, even if I’ve already read it. Any recommendations for more nonfiction read by the author?

[Assistant]
I wrote this post the other day on this, which you might like.

bsky.app/profile/layl...

[User] It’s interesting to read about your experience! I recorded the narration for my book in my closet in Japan during the height of the pandemic, on a video call with a lovely producer in LA.

[Assistant] I learned a lot from the producer, and the experience of narrating my book gave me the courage to start dabbling in audio journalism.

[User] I almost forgot about (blocked out?) the most dramatic part! On the first day of recording my audio book, a glass of water that was UNDER the desk spilled on my laptop (the whole mess tumbled over) and killed it. I had to buy a new laptop before we could continue 😭

[Assistant] Ha, now I feel better about mine!

[User] I was mostly perturbed by how many names etc I just hadn’t considered in advance how to pronounce. But no electronics were harmer, so got to look on the bright side…

[Assistant] In one section—about something that still makes me sad—I started sobbing. I was embarrassed, but the producer said the emotion was good. We did a few takes until I could get through the whole section.


[User]
Or just never drank to begin with .
Mocktails FTW!

[Assistant] My husband's never been a drinker, and he opened me up to the wonderful world of cocktails.  Why are they so good???

[User]
Mocktails?
Autocorrect changed it to cocktails on my post, and I had to change it back.
They're good because they're fruity and all about flavor 😋

[Assistant] Yeah, mocktails, darn autocorrect!


[User] hey @bsky.app  what's with the weird useless links showing up in people's posts?

[Assistant] Are they auto detected urls? Ie somebody meant to write “everything you” but accidentally put a dot instead of a space, and it got turned into a link?

[User] When you type something that looks like a domain, like this.one, the app creates a link preview automatically. If you fix the typo the preview stays unless you notice and delete it. It’s especially easy to miss because you need to scroll down to see it. I’ve almost had this happen more than once.

[Assistant] It’s a deliberate feature that you can leave the preview and delete the link. I even use it sometimes. But combined with treating plain domains as URLs, it has this weird gotcha.


[User]
#JoeRogan insulted #Zelensky and #Ukraine, and supported #Trump (Joe Rogan Experience #2233 - Scott Storch).

Why is #Spotify giving this pro- #Putin propagandist a platform?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=35G3...

[Assistant]
2/x

Here's the whole episode. The anti-Ukraine rant starts at 1:19:50.

youtu.be/bvKNjXawwSc?...

[User]
3/x

On the same episode Joe Rogan spreads the conspiracy theory that there were stacks of bricks placed on the streets of L.A. during Covid to incite protesters.
www.factcheck.org/2020/06/bric...

[Assistant]
4/x

Former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and former professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko reacted.

Klitschko's video:
x.com/Klitschko/st...


[User] My new toy! A Waterphone, all the way from China... Will post a demo clip shortly. 😊

[Assistant] Ooooh this looks fun! Enjoy!

[User] Thank you! 😊 Not sure how often it'll be used, but looking forward to finding out...

[Assistant] Didn't realise videos had to be less than 60 seconds, so here's a snippet 😊

[User] Ooh I love this! What an ethereal sound✨

[Assistant] Thanks! You hear so much more when you're up close it it and can feel the vibrations as well... 😊

[User] Waterphone's are cool.  In my audio engineering days, I recorded this instrument a couple of times. remarkable.

[Assistant] Oh. I was expecting a communication device that can be used underwater 😬


[User] "He’s throwing a cat among the pigeons to watch what happens. It’ll probably work."

[Assistant] There HAS to be a way he makes money off it.

[User]
Some of us who derive revenue from overseas will benefit massively from the collapse of the US dollar.

That's the first idea that comes to mind.

[Assistant] Ah!!! Interesting!!!


[User] It’s against my ethos but I guess I have to start screenshotting just to have a good point I agree with and want to piggyback on. Y’all are smart & I want to be smarter with yew!

[Assistant] Settle down over there on your side of the Triangle. Not ALL of us are smart…

[User] I’ll continue to just quote your shit, Damian. Thankful that you don’t block me!!!!

[Assistant] Keep sending me tips for good vets in the area and we’ll be fine 🤣


[User] Grand Council of Bengalis 😭

[Assistant] Sigh. Must tag @privatechand.bsky.social 😅😅

[User] Lol having quit the Grand Council years ago on account of people exactly like that uncle (and despite the love of rice, fish and poetry) I disavow the whole mess completely.

[Assistant] Please can we start a satirical version of this? 🤣🤣🤣

[User] Definitely. But I ban all singing at meetings.

[Assistant] Rohin is one of my internet crushes.


[User]
Spent like 3 hours just prepping quests before I actually head out to the dungeons to actually do them in FFXI lol

Now I sleep. 💤 Tomorrow adventure awaits.

[Assistant]
I basically have everything ready to go out and complete Nation Mission 4, Limit Break 3, and gather the remaining pieces of my AF gear. And a random side quest I found.

I feel like I'm actually making some progress. Also, I think my Chocobo might hatch tomorrow! I'm excited!

[User] After all that's said and done, there's no more detours for a while. I just get to progress the story! Can't wait to beat up the Shadow Lord!

[Assistant] Goodnight and hope you sleep well! Good luck on tomorrow's adventurers! 🖤


[User]
Rodri's injury and Walker being completely done has exposed City's defenders tremendously which were often protected by City's ultra conservative possession approach and midfielders running back to provide numbers, now they get isolated more often and the result is there to see.
...

[Assistant]
The only proper elite CB there imo is Stones, who is never fit, Ake has his use, others don't belong in a side aiming for the top 4 in PL let alone CL glory.
The papering over the cracks over the years has been ripped and the ever so reliable players are either out of time...

[User]
or simply carry too many minutes in their legs making others look great.

Bad profiles, misfits, poor quality players, bad recruitment, players out of their prime, etc are all adding up.

[Assistant] On the up side, Guardiola fans get to see if he can coach a clunky side to something good, then rebuild. He usually leaves right as things are getting potentially messy.

[User] I think he has already been coaching a clunky side for some time, but yes the rebuild part is where he will be tested. The current crop is mostly washed. The recruitment has shat itself for years, so it will need a huge upgrade itself.

[Assistant] I don’t understand how Pep never saw the need to refresh their midfield and/or defense.

[User] Maybe he did, maybe he didn't but I see no point in blaming a manager for recruitment(not his job) when there's a whole sporting department and almost a two decade experienced Sporting Director.

[Assistant] That’s fair. It is quite damning for a club with City’s resources for sure. On a related note also confusing why so many clubs at the top level seem to make predictably bad decisions all the time. Barca’s squad building has annoyed me so much for over a decade now😭

[User] He's never really passed aspects of the eye test for me but I think you cant rule out Dias impact. They are so poor at box defending without him.

[Assistant] Box defending is probably the only aspect where he excels at, that too if he isn't arriving.