Alex Vancina
@alexvancina.com
Systems Librarian. Beekeeper. Open source enthusiast. 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker.
Honey bee doing bee stuff
July 11, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Honey bee doing bee stuff
Brown-belted bumble bee
July 9, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Brown-belted bumble bee
Two-spotted bumble bee above purple prairie clover
July 5, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Two-spotted bumble bee above purple prairie clover
Brown-belted bumble bee
July 5, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Brown-belted bumble bee
Since Microsoft is now cluttering up Notepad with AI and other superfluous features no one asked for, it's nice that they're still offering one text editor that just, you know, edits text files.
Microsoft released a new terminal text editor! It's called Microsoft Edit, it's open source, it's tiny (about 250KB Rust binary) and it works cross-platform. They built it for Windows 11 - I've been trying it out on my Mac and it's a nice alternative to Vim or nano simonwillison.net/2025/Jun/21/...
![Screenshot of alpine-edit text editor interface with File menu open showing: New File Ctrl+N, Open File... Ctrl+O, Save Ctrl+S, Save As..., Close File Ctrl+W, Exit Ctrl+Q. Window title shows "alpine-edit — Untitled-1.txt - edit — com.docker.cli docker run --platform linux/arm...". Editor contains text "le terminal text editor." Status bar shows "[LF] [UTF-8] [Spaces:4] 3:44 * [Untitled-1.txt]".](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:kft6lu4trxowqmter2b6vg6z/bafkreigde2wra6wpmzwptkzoxpkgk4s7wghuqevvbptxk7jpvxaxu7i5vm@jpeg)
June 24, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Since Microsoft is now cluttering up Notepad with AI and other superfluous features no one asked for, it's nice that they're still offering one text editor that just, you know, edits text files.
Reposted by Alex Vancina
Microsoft released a new terminal text editor! It's called Microsoft Edit, it's open source, it's tiny (about 250KB Rust binary) and it works cross-platform. They built it for Windows 11 - I've been trying it out on my Mac and it's a nice alternative to Vim or nano simonwillison.net/2025/Jun/21/...
June 21, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Microsoft released a new terminal text editor! It's called Microsoft Edit, it's open source, it's tiny (about 250KB Rust binary) and it works cross-platform. They built it for Windows 11 - I've been trying it out on my Mac and it's a nice alternative to Vim or nano simonwillison.net/2025/Jun/21/...
Reposted by Alex Vancina
wow, wonder who was president when no one was flying during covid?
Duffy: "By the way, during covid, when people weren't flying, that was a perfect time to fix these problems."
(Who wants to tell him ... )
(Who wants to tell him ... )
May 13, 2025 at 12:58 AM
wow, wonder who was president when no one was flying during covid?
Reposted by Alex Vancina
Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer for President Trump, is now acting Librarian of Congress. According to his public profile, Blanche has no experience working in libraries or archives.
The President has named a new Acting Librarian of Congress. It's his former defense lawyer.
Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer for President Trump, is now acting Librarian of Congress. According to his public profile, Blanche has no experience working in libraries or archives.
www.npr.org
May 12, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer for President Trump, is now acting Librarian of Congress. According to his public profile, Blanche has no experience working in libraries or archives.
Reposted by Alex Vancina
ILA has released a statement on the termination of Dr. Carla Hayden as Librarian of Congress. bit.ly/4mejoYj
May 12, 2025 at 8:45 PM
ILA has released a statement on the termination of Dr. Carla Hayden as Librarian of Congress. bit.ly/4mejoYj
Reposted by Alex Vancina
This #NationalLibraryWeek, when you donate $15 or more to the ALA Show Up for Our Libraries fund or your public library, you’ll receive an audiobook credit from Libro.fm!
Details at: blog.libro.fm/libraryweek/
Thank you, @libro.fm!
Details at: blog.libro.fm/libraryweek/
Thank you, @libro.fm!
April 8, 2025 at 8:30 PM
This #NationalLibraryWeek, when you donate $15 or more to the ALA Show Up for Our Libraries fund or your public library, you’ll receive an audiobook credit from Libro.fm!
Details at: blog.libro.fm/libraryweek/
Thank you, @libro.fm!
Details at: blog.libro.fm/libraryweek/
Thank you, @libro.fm!
Reposted by Alex Vancina
Reposted by Alex Vancina
If the U.S. had an opposition party that opposition party would have a bill rolling back these tariffs and radically reducing executive discretion over tariffs already written and would be targeting individual republican congresspeople to pressure them into voting for the bill
Reminder that Congress could, at any time, pass legislation canceling these tariffs and then vote to override a veto.
As prices rise and your 401(k) falls, don't let lawmakers get away with acting like powerless observers of the onslaught. Together they can kill it if they want.
As prices rise and your 401(k) falls, don't let lawmakers get away with acting like powerless observers of the onslaught. Together they can kill it if they want.
April 4, 2025 at 2:43 AM
If the U.S. had an opposition party that opposition party would have a bill rolling back these tariffs and radically reducing executive discretion over tariffs already written and would be targeting individual republican congresspeople to pressure them into voting for the bill
Reposted by Alex Vancina
Liberation Day apparently means Trump has liberated us from our retirement savings.
April 4, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Liberation Day apparently means Trump has liberated us from our retirement savings.
Reposted by Alex Vancina
Being (or pretending to be) this stupid should bar you from ever doing political analysis again
February 13, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Being (or pretending to be) this stupid should bar you from ever doing political analysis again
Reposted by Alex Vancina
"[Musk is] already very clearly operating here as an independent actor whose actions the President blesses after he’s found out what’s happened. This is a parallel overlaying of authority over the entire structure of the US government.
We’re in dystopian quasi-science fiction territory here."
We’re in dystopian quasi-science fiction territory here."
Not Hyperbole Anymore: Musk Is In Charge of the US Government talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/not-h...
Not Hyperbole Anymore: Musk Is In Charge of the US Government
These are wild times at TPM because they’re wild times in the...
talkingpointsmemo.com
February 12, 2025 at 2:50 AM
"[Musk is] already very clearly operating here as an independent actor whose actions the President blesses after he’s found out what’s happened. This is a parallel overlaying of authority over the entire structure of the US government.
We’re in dystopian quasi-science fiction territory here."
We’re in dystopian quasi-science fiction territory here."
Reposted by Alex Vancina
This is beautiful
February 9, 2025 at 7:08 PM
This is beautiful
Reposted by Alex Vancina
We just launched a 16TB archive of every dataset that has been available on data.gov since November. This will be updated day by day as new datasets appear. It can be freely copied, and we're sharing the code behind it to help others make their own archives of data they depend on.
Announcing the Data.gov Archive | Library Innovation Lab
Today we released our archive of data.gov on Source Cooperative. The 16TB collection includes over 311,000 datasets harvested during 2024 and 2025, a complet...
lil.law.harvard.edu
February 6, 2025 at 9:23 PM
We just launched a 16TB archive of every dataset that has been available on data.gov since November. This will be updated day by day as new datasets appear. It can be freely copied, and we're sharing the code behind it to help others make their own archives of data they depend on.
Reposted by Alex Vancina
This outstanding (and extremely terrifying) @nathantankus.bsky.social piece on Musk and DOGE at the Treasury adds a lot of essential context to the reporting from over the weekend. A must-read. www.crisesnotes.com/elon-musk-wa...
Elon Musk Wants to Get Operational Control of the Treasury’s Payment System. This Could Not Possibly Be More Dangerous
Until Further Notice: Comprehensive coverage of the Trump-Musk Treasury Payments Crisis of 2025
www.crisesnotes.com
February 3, 2025 at 1:29 PM
This outstanding (and extremely terrifying) @nathantankus.bsky.social piece on Musk and DOGE at the Treasury adds a lot of essential context to the reporting from over the weekend. A must-read. www.crisesnotes.com/elon-musk-wa...
Reposted by Alex Vancina
Leopard: I will eat your face
Bank analysts: Our baseline assumes no face-eating
Leopard: Chomp chomp chomp
Bank analysts: Our baseline assumes no face-eating
Leopard: Chomp chomp chomp
J.P. Morgan econs on Trump’s latest are “increasingly concerned that the policy mix may tilt into an unintentionally far less business-friendly stance. The sustained 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico set to start this weekend is materially different than the tariff increases built into our baseline.”
February 1, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Leopard: I will eat your face
Bank analysts: Our baseline assumes no face-eating
Leopard: Chomp chomp chomp
Bank analysts: Our baseline assumes no face-eating
Leopard: Chomp chomp chomp
Reposted by Alex Vancina
We’ve seen this before. We know what it means.
There will be an emphasis on the “Judeo-Christian” influences on our founding. There will be a whitewashing of our history. Anything social justice related will end in the 1960s.
There will be an emphasis on the “Judeo-Christian” influences on our founding. There will be a whitewashing of our history. Anything social justice related will end in the 1960s.
January 29, 2025 at 10:59 PM
We’ve seen this before. We know what it means.
There will be an emphasis on the “Judeo-Christian” influences on our founding. There will be a whitewashing of our history. Anything social justice related will end in the 1960s.
There will be an emphasis on the “Judeo-Christian” influences on our founding. There will be a whitewashing of our history. Anything social justice related will end in the 1960s.
Reposted by Alex Vancina
Hey, while we're talking about erasing history:
In 1949 the US military held its first Aeriel Gunnery Competition, later known as "Top Gun."
The best of the best competed in dogfighting and other skills. The team that won, was the 332nd: The Tuskegee airmen.
So they refused to announce a winner🤡
In 1949 the US military held its first Aeriel Gunnery Competition, later known as "Top Gun."
The best of the best competed in dogfighting and other skills. The team that won, was the 332nd: The Tuskegee airmen.
So they refused to announce a winner🤡
January 27, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Hey, while we're talking about erasing history:
In 1949 the US military held its first Aeriel Gunnery Competition, later known as "Top Gun."
The best of the best competed in dogfighting and other skills. The team that won, was the 332nd: The Tuskegee airmen.
So they refused to announce a winner🤡
In 1949 the US military held its first Aeriel Gunnery Competition, later known as "Top Gun."
The best of the best competed in dogfighting and other skills. The team that won, was the 332nd: The Tuskegee airmen.
So they refused to announce a winner🤡
Reposted by Alex Vancina
One nice thing I did for myself today, even with a horrible cold and so much doomscrolling I'm getting TikToks about stocking stuffers, and I voted for my favorite pick for flag of Illinois. No text, no people, no mistaking for other flags, no needless complexity—my fav. apps.ilsos.gov/stateflag/
January 24, 2025 at 4:17 AM
One nice thing I did for myself today, even with a horrible cold and so much doomscrolling I'm getting TikToks about stocking stuffers, and I voted for my favorite pick for flag of Illinois. No text, no people, no mistaking for other flags, no needless complexity—my fav. apps.ilsos.gov/stateflag/