Alex Wenzel
@alexwenzel.bsky.social
Postdoc studying cancer. Academic unionist and transit enthusiast. Trying to make buses less invisible. TF2 Medic main.
This account does not represent the positions or opinions of my employer or of my union.
he/him
This account does not represent the positions or opinions of my employer or of my union.
he/him
Pinned
Alex Wenzel
@alexwenzel.bsky.social
· Sep 24
Starting a thread for examples of why American fascism couldn’t have happened without car-centric planning and American suburbs.
I hope this ends up being broader than PlayStation because an AI player with nothing but knowledge of the controls and the entire history of Team Fortress 2 YouTube content would be one of the most unhinged digital creations of all time.
I decided to read the full patent and this is substantially funnier than I expected - they want to generate the AI "helper" from footage of other people playing the game, including, they specifically note, footage scraped from social media and youtube
bc everyone on socials/youtube is an expert
bc everyone on socials/youtube is an expert
Sony has patented an AI gaming ghost that will play PlayStation games for you when you get stuck www.eurogamer.net/sony-has-pat...
January 6, 2026 at 8:44 PM
I hope this ends up being broader than PlayStation because an AI player with nothing but knowledge of the controls and the entire history of Team Fortress 2 YouTube content would be one of the most unhinged digital creations of all time.
We have annual minimum wage increases in San Diego as well as a couple recent industry-specific minimums established recently. Every time, businesses and the Chamber of Commerce warned that the industry would collapse, none of them have.
An unbelievable take from the Wall Street Journal.
January 6, 2026 at 8:36 PM
We have annual minimum wage increases in San Diego as well as a couple recent industry-specific minimums established recently. Every time, businesses and the Chamber of Commerce warned that the industry would collapse, none of them have.
Given that soldiers and their families visit food banks and rely on other local social services, this is essentially another cut to welfare support in San Diego County. The direct costs (cuts + expenses to enforce work requirements) are already $300 million over the next few years.
Trump's redirected $1,776 cash bonuses for troops might have come at the expense of those in uniform struggling to pay for housing in expensive areas
www.kpbs.org/news/militar...
www.kpbs.org/news/militar...
How Trump's 'Warrior Dividend' checks impact troops in higher-cost-of-living areas
President Donald Trump's "warrior dividend" payments diverted $2.9 billion allocated to subsidize housing costs.
www.kpbs.org
January 6, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Given that soldiers and their families visit food banks and rely on other local social services, this is essentially another cut to welfare support in San Diego County. The direct costs (cuts + expenses to enforce work requirements) are already $300 million over the next few years.
From the resignation letter of the director of extramural (external grants) operations at the National Human Genome Research Institute, seems to confirm that award decisions are dependent on how compliant institutions have been so far.
January 6, 2026 at 6:37 PM
From the resignation letter of the director of extramural (external grants) operations at the National Human Genome Research Institute, seems to confirm that award decisions are dependent on how compliant institutions have been so far.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
First CES panel. Intuit CMO Thomas Ranese is proud of his company's integration with OpenAI, which involves giving AI read/write access to tax data. Since prompt injection attacks are unavoidable, I asked him who will be liable when customer data is exposed: Intuit, OpenAI, etc?
He had no idea.
He had no idea.
January 6, 2026 at 5:58 PM
First CES panel. Intuit CMO Thomas Ranese is proud of his company's integration with OpenAI, which involves giving AI read/write access to tax data. Since prompt injection attacks are unavoidable, I asked him who will be liable when customer data is exposed: Intuit, OpenAI, etc?
He had no idea.
He had no idea.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
Feeding papers into an LLM ≠ Supporting the plagiarism machine
AI and machine learning are a bundle of techniques and systems, and yeah, they have baggage much like inferential statistics etc, but they also have fair use.
AI and machine learning are a bundle of techniques and systems, and yeah, they have baggage much like inferential statistics etc, but they also have fair use.
January 6, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Feeding papers into an LLM ≠ Supporting the plagiarism machine
AI and machine learning are a bundle of techniques and systems, and yeah, they have baggage much like inferential statistics etc, but they also have fair use.
AI and machine learning are a bundle of techniques and systems, and yeah, they have baggage much like inferential statistics etc, but they also have fair use.
Throughout all this Balboa Park parking stuff, I’ve never seen it mentioned by anyone - reporters, the City, Park institutions/organizations, even MTS - that there are buses both directions ever 3-5 minutes (7 minutes weekends) on Park Blvd and every 8 minutes (15 minutes weekends) on 4th/5th Aves.
January 6, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Throughout all this Balboa Park parking stuff, I’ve never seen it mentioned by anyone - reporters, the City, Park institutions/organizations, even MTS - that there are buses both directions ever 3-5 minutes (7 minutes weekends) on Park Blvd and every 8 minutes (15 minutes weekends) on 4th/5th Aves.
She wasn’t even arrested for “protesting”, she was arrested while standing on a sidewalk giving an interview to local reporters, something that happens thousands of times all over the country every day.
We need to grapple with the reality that we're very close to living in a police state.
"Officers repeatedly pressed her on whether she was Venezuelan, what her connection to Venezuela was, and why she had attended the protest. Plichta claimed they tried to get her to identify other demonstrators."
"Officers repeatedly pressed her on whether she was Venezuelan, what her connection to Venezuela was, and why she had attended the protest. Plichta claimed they tried to get her to identify other demonstrators."
Preschool Teacher, 22, Arrested on TV After Condemning Trump
Cops moved in with handcuffs while the teacher was still on camera.
www.thedailybeast.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:13 PM
She wasn’t even arrested for “protesting”, she was arrested while standing on a sidewalk giving an interview to local reporters, something that happens thousands of times all over the country every day.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
We need to grapple with the reality that we're very close to living in a police state.
"Officers repeatedly pressed her on whether she was Venezuelan, what her connection to Venezuela was, and why she had attended the protest. Plichta claimed they tried to get her to identify other demonstrators."
"Officers repeatedly pressed her on whether she was Venezuelan, what her connection to Venezuela was, and why she had attended the protest. Plichta claimed they tried to get her to identify other demonstrators."
Preschool Teacher, 22, Arrested on TV After Condemning Trump
Cops moved in with handcuffs while the teacher was still on camera.
www.thedailybeast.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:48 PM
We need to grapple with the reality that we're very close to living in a police state.
"Officers repeatedly pressed her on whether she was Venezuelan, what her connection to Venezuela was, and why she had attended the protest. Plichta claimed they tried to get her to identify other demonstrators."
"Officers repeatedly pressed her on whether she was Venezuelan, what her connection to Venezuela was, and why she had attended the protest. Plichta claimed they tried to get her to identify other demonstrators."
Here LaMalfa accused a specific school guidance counselor of “deciding” a student was trans while introducing a bill to withhold federal funding from schools that accept trans students. California students and school staff are safer without him.
January 6, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Here LaMalfa accused a specific school guidance counselor of “deciding” a student was trans while introducing a bill to withhold federal funding from schools that accept trans students. California students and school staff are safer without him.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
What a time to be alive…….
January 6, 2026 at 8:26 AM
What a time to be alive…….
In San Diego, one of their test cars was seen circling the area where ICE was just active. One occurrence is not a pattern, but I would be interested to hear if anyone sees it happening again.
January 6, 2026 at 2:59 AM
In San Diego, one of their test cars was seen circling the area where ICE was just active. One occurrence is not a pattern, but I would be interested to hear if anyone sees it happening again.
You'd think someone who believes these vaccines are poisonous would be furious that, after all this effort, they're still approved for use and will be covered by insurers including public payers. Instead we get this verbal eye-roll in the parentheses because he doesn't actually believe what he says.
Kennedys antivaxx lawyer is already telegraphing their next move.
January 6, 2026 at 2:39 AM
You'd think someone who believes these vaccines are poisonous would be furious that, after all this effort, they're still approved for use and will be covered by insurers including public payers. Instead we get this verbal eye-roll in the parentheses because he doesn't actually believe what he says.
R stack traces and base function error messages are not very informative.
January 6, 2026 at 12:59 AM
R stack traces and base function error messages are not very informative.
Mine is public transit, which is still political. I can give you make, model, year (+/- 2 or 3) and depot assignment for any MTS bus ID number from memory, that's the least political thing I can think of.
u heard sharon, everyone post about their esoteric interests right fucking now. for the good of the community, we need to be hyperfixationmaxxing.
i think this site really needs to figure out how to grow the non-politics verticals (the baseball moment was a good thing!) because i suspect a lot of the bad clusters come out of the political clusters driving 95% of ENG-lang posts
January 6, 2026 at 12:53 AM
Mine is public transit, which is still political. I can give you make, model, year (+/- 2 or 3) and depot assignment for any MTS bus ID number from memory, that's the least political thing I can think of.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
People who take immunosuppressants to treat chronic illness? Or who have a condition like Common Variable Immunodeficiency? We are polluting the gene pool, we are keeping America from being healthy again, we do not deserve the protection of herd immunity. That is the eugenics at the core of MAHA.
CDC Cuts 6 More Childhood Vaccines, Advancing MAHA Eugenics | Shouldn't Need to Be a Lawyer by Matthew Cortland
Get more from Shouldn't Need to Be a Lawyer by Matthew Cortland on Patreon
www.patreon.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:44 AM
People who take immunosuppressants to treat chronic illness? Or who have a condition like Common Variable Immunodeficiency? We are polluting the gene pool, we are keeping America from being healthy again, we do not deserve the protection of herd immunity. That is the eugenics at the core of MAHA.
As has always been the case at and beyond the border. For example, CBP's behavior this year is not new, they just used to keep it mostly at the border and remote adjacent areas, not in the middle of cities for news cameras.
If the DEA had killed 80 innocent Americans in the course of apprehending one drug dealer, there would be riots. But we are so ghoulishly indifferent to the lives and humanity of people abroad that it's barely even part of the conversation.
A reminder that the US killed 80 people in Venezuela, and it would be nice if the US media cared enough to think that the life of a grandmother in Caracas whose building is destroyed by a US bomb matters as much as the life of a person in the US.
January 6, 2026 at 12:08 AM
As has always been the case at and beyond the border. For example, CBP's behavior this year is not new, they just used to keep it mostly at the border and remote adjacent areas, not in the middle of cities for news cameras.
I got one of these as well. I thought it was a scam honestly. I didn't bother to check the recommendations, but I've seen LLM-generated text about the things I work on and it usually reads like an undergrad presenting at their first lab meeting, so I'm not convinced they'd be useful.
somebody at UChicago is feeding preprints to LLMs without authors' consent, in a research study
they have the gall to suggest to authors they've opted-in that they volunteer to evaluate the LLMs' suggestions regarding their own work.
lol, lmao even. here is the invite and my reply
they have the gall to suggest to authors they've opted-in that they volunteer to evaluate the LLMs' suggestions regarding their own work.
lol, lmao even. here is the invite and my reply
January 6, 2026 at 12:00 AM
I got one of these as well. I thought it was a scam honestly. I didn't bother to check the recommendations, but I've seen LLM-generated text about the things I work on and it usually reads like an undergrad presenting at their first lab meeting, so I'm not convinced they'd be useful.
I wish RFK Jr would be as open about his intention to cull America's children as Stephen Miller is about colonialism now, although as with Miller, there's no guarantee that it would matter.
Following the recommendations of countries like Denmark, RFK Jr. has scaled back American vaccine recommendations. The thing is, countries like Denmark have a healthcare system to back up their recommendations.
RFK Jr.’s New Infatuation With a Danish Model
How MAGA fell in love with a tiny, socialist Scandinavian nation—as long as it’s just about vaccine recommendations.
lnk.thebulwark.com
January 5, 2026 at 11:31 PM
I wish RFK Jr would be as open about his intention to cull America's children as Stephen Miller is about colonialism now, although as with Miller, there's no guarantee that it would matter.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
Once again, I implore media outlets to stop saying these are CDC decisions.
These are changes being made unilaterally by RFK Jr. against the expert advice of CDC scientists.
I note that RFK Jr. no longer recommends flu vaccine for kids in the midst of a horrible influenza year.
These are changes being made unilaterally by RFK Jr. against the expert advice of CDC scientists.
I note that RFK Jr. no longer recommends flu vaccine for kids in the midst of a horrible influenza year.
CDC overhauls childhood vaccine schedule to resemble Denmark in unprecedented move
The new U.S. guidelines recommend all children get vaccines for 11 diseases, compared with the 18 previously on the schedule.
www.nbcnews.com
January 5, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Once again, I implore media outlets to stop saying these are CDC decisions.
These are changes being made unilaterally by RFK Jr. against the expert advice of CDC scientists.
I note that RFK Jr. no longer recommends flu vaccine for kids in the midst of a horrible influenza year.
These are changes being made unilaterally by RFK Jr. against the expert advice of CDC scientists.
I note that RFK Jr. no longer recommends flu vaccine for kids in the midst of a horrible influenza year.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
BREAKING: CDC announces an unprecedented overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule, a significant shift that recommends fewer shots for all kids.
CDC overhauls childhood vaccine schedule to resemble Denmark in unprecedented move
The new U.S. guidelines recommend all children get vaccines for 11 diseases, compared with the 18 previously on the schedule.
nbcnews.to
January 5, 2026 at 7:07 PM
BREAKING: CDC announces an unprecedented overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule, a significant shift that recommends fewer shots for all kids.
The same people who posted about "100 million deportations", are trying to end birthright citizenship, claim people's birth certificates are fake, and now argue that basically no ID can prove citizenship.
This isn't 2017. This isn't "ironic" or "edgy". The people in power are planning a genocide.
This isn't 2017. This isn't "ironic" or "edgy". The people in power are planning a genocide.
Eyes wide open, folks. They're revealing the supervillain plot.
January 5, 2026 at 7:23 PM
The same people who posted about "100 million deportations", are trying to end birthright citizenship, claim people's birth certificates are fake, and now argue that basically no ID can prove citizenship.
This isn't 2017. This isn't "ironic" or "edgy". The people in power are planning a genocide.
This isn't 2017. This isn't "ironic" or "edgy". The people in power are planning a genocide.
Reposted by Alex Wenzel
January 5, 2026 at 12:58 PM
“Whata Bod”
Wait a minute...why is NWS throwing out genAI generated slop on their socials?
This is a horrible look and doesn't help keep people safe or aware of the forecast.
This is a horrible look and doesn't help keep people safe or aware of the forecast.
January 5, 2026 at 4:56 PM
“Whata Bod”
It’s quite likely that a grant to study that child’s cancer was disrupted or canceled because of the man who now makes money from someone turning a picture of her suffering into CSAM.
There’s no bottom, these people will keep extracting until there is nothing left to take.
There’s no bottom, these people will keep extracting until there is nothing left to take.
Elon Musk chatbot repeatedly making CSAM on demand should be one of the single biggest stories right now and it's effectively a collective shrug instead
January 5, 2026 at 3:58 PM
It’s quite likely that a grant to study that child’s cancer was disrupted or canceled because of the man who now makes money from someone turning a picture of her suffering into CSAM.
There’s no bottom, these people will keep extracting until there is nothing left to take.
There’s no bottom, these people will keep extracting until there is nothing left to take.