Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
@colinaut.bsky.social
(he/him) Artist, designer (print/web/branding/XD/games), front-of-the-full-stack-ish developer, and shenaniganizer. My friends are rad! I also am long-time volunteer staff at the best con ever Big Bad Con. You can find my games at mirthpeddlers.com.
Pinned
Mirth Peddlers
Games, LARPs and mirthful shenanigans!
www.mirthpeddlers.com
Hi! My Bluesky is just me talking about stuff I care about… Clearly politics is on the menu right now — because I have empathy. But also music! I love hitting concerts. And last but not least, ttrpgs! You can find my game blog and the games I've designed on my site here: www.mirthpeddlers.com
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
November 24, 2025 at 6:19 PM
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
My friends and I were featured in Wired magazine today! (cc @tacticoolgf.bsky.social @picatinnyrailed.bsky.social @inrange.tv etc etc)
www.wired.com/story/the-ha...
www.wired.com/story/the-ha...
November 24, 2025 at 6:53 PM
My friends and I were featured in Wired magazine today! (cc @tacticoolgf.bsky.social @picatinnyrailed.bsky.social @inrange.tv etc etc)
www.wired.com/story/the-ha...
www.wired.com/story/the-ha...
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
Everyone should have the right to speak up against injustice without ending up in a database. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
How Cops Are Using Flock Safety's ALPR Network to Surveil Protesters
Through an analysis of 10 months of nationwide searches on Flock Safety's servers, we discovered that more than 50 federal, state, and local agencies ran hundreds of searches through Flock's national
www.eff.org
November 22, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Everyone should have the right to speak up against injustice without ending up in a database. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
Seems like they had a source in the chat & not that they’re able to hack into signal or get the records via warrant. Important distinction for organizers & guardian article should’ve made it more clear.
They are spying ON ORGANIZERS, not just the signal chat. Understand how they will come after you
They are spying ON ORGANIZERS, not just the signal chat. Understand how they will come after you
WHOA. The FBI was/is spying on a Signal chat for a New York immigration court watch group, claiming they were “anarchist violent extremist actors.”
Your reminder that the government is watching and don’t say anything in a big group chat you wouldn’t say on TV.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Your reminder that the government is watching and don’t say anything in a big group chat you wouldn’t say on TV.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of immigration activists, records reveal
Exclusive: Agency accessed private conversations of New York ‘courtwatch’ group that was observing public hearings
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Seems like they had a source in the chat & not that they’re able to hack into signal or get the records via warrant. Important distinction for organizers & guardian article should’ve made it more clear.
They are spying ON ORGANIZERS, not just the signal chat. Understand how they will come after you
They are spying ON ORGANIZERS, not just the signal chat. Understand how they will come after you
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
Rolling out the Matt Christman quote from after Charlottesville (2017) again:
November 21, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Rolling out the Matt Christman quote from after Charlottesville (2017) again:
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
It's no secret that 2025 has given Americans plenty to protest about. But as news cameras showed protesters filling streets of cities across the country, cops were watching those streets through different lenses: Flock Safety license plate readers that tracked every car. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
How Cops Are Using Flock Safety's ALPR Network to Surveil Protesters
Through an analysis of 10 months of nationwide searches on Flock Safety's servers, we discovered that more than 50 federal, state, and local agencies ran hundreds of searches through Flock's national
www.eff.org
November 21, 2025 at 12:02 AM
It's no secret that 2025 has given Americans plenty to protest about. But as news cameras showed protesters filling streets of cities across the country, cops were watching those streets through different lenses: Flock Safety license plate readers that tracked every car. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
The thing about Americans basing their entire identity around what they consume is that it's susceptible to changing fads. Trump, as a branded name, was made for this moment. That said, it feels like this right wing fandom is peaking now. At some point, people will be bored with all of it… I hope.
NEW: For months, my colleagues and I dug into YouTube's conservative airwaves and found a flourishing network of host-read ads on right-leaning podcasts. This phenomenon has enriched hosts, YouTube, and businesses that use ideology to sell. bloom.bg/3Kaio9w
November 20, 2025 at 11:27 PM
The thing about Americans basing their entire identity around what they consume is that it's susceptible to changing fads. Trump, as a branded name, was made for this moment. That said, it feels like this right wing fandom is peaking now. At some point, people will be bored with all of it… I hope.
This is good and they need to get rid of the rest of the police state surveillance cameras
Scores of people voiced concerns about growing police surveillance, while others support more cameras to fight crime.
Oakland council committee rejects Flock surveillance camera expansion
Scores of people voiced concerns about growing police surveillance, while others support more cameras to fight crime.
oaklandside.org
November 20, 2025 at 1:49 AM
This is good and they need to get rid of the rest of the police state surveillance cameras
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
Pre-orders are now open for #ZhenyasWonderTalesRPG and the pledge management surveys begin this week! Add this gorgeous game to your gaming library! #TTRPGs #RPGs
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
November 19, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Pre-orders are now open for #ZhenyasWonderTalesRPG and the pledge management surveys begin this week! Add this gorgeous game to your gaming library! #TTRPGs #RPGs
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
Great thread. Arriving at genuine knowledge always involves the friction of encountering complicating evidence and countervailing interpretations held by different humans you can’t control or ignore. LLMs eliminate that friction, and thus become slippery slopes into delusional rabbit holes.
LLMs give people with delusional belief systems a way to organise those beliefs. The model fills in gaps, supplies connective tissue, and wraps the madness in formal language.
It doesn't make the claims more credible to us, it just tidies them up.
It doesn't make the claims more credible to us, it just tidies them up.
November 19, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Great thread. Arriving at genuine knowledge always involves the friction of encountering complicating evidence and countervailing interpretations held by different humans you can’t control or ignore. LLMs eliminate that friction, and thus become slippery slopes into delusional rabbit holes.
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
'Skeleton Wearing a Top Hat Playing the Shamisen for a Small Dancing Yōkai' (circa 1870)
Kawanabe Kyōsai
Kawanabe Kyōsai
November 18, 2025 at 2:00 PM
'Skeleton Wearing a Top Hat Playing the Shamisen for a Small Dancing Yōkai' (circa 1870)
Kawanabe Kyōsai
Kawanabe Kyōsai
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
"I don't know" is one of the most powerful intellectual positions imaginable.
Where you plant your "I don't know" flag signals your research question, methodology, and even what *counts* as evidence.
Current commercial manifestations of GenAI make it so you cannot even see the spot on the ground.
Where you plant your "I don't know" flag signals your research question, methodology, and even what *counts* as evidence.
Current commercial manifestations of GenAI make it so you cannot even see the spot on the ground.
My biggest GenAI-related intellectual fear is about the future of “I don’t know”
Giving medical advice, sometimes ChatGPT is right, and sometimes it is quite wrong, but it is hard to tell the difference:
"Rather, Wachter identified something more frightening: ChatGPT’s dangerous answers don’t sound risky to a non-doctor. The chatbot always sounds confident and authoritative."
"Rather, Wachter identified something more frightening: ChatGPT’s dangerous answers don’t sound risky to a non-doctor. The chatbot always sounds confident and authoritative."
November 18, 2025 at 12:15 PM
"I don't know" is one of the most powerful intellectual positions imaginable.
Where you plant your "I don't know" flag signals your research question, methodology, and even what *counts* as evidence.
Current commercial manifestations of GenAI make it so you cannot even see the spot on the ground.
Where you plant your "I don't know" flag signals your research question, methodology, and even what *counts* as evidence.
Current commercial manifestations of GenAI make it so you cannot even see the spot on the ground.
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
Interesting way of thinking about the way power and authority has shifted under Trump. None of this can just be about him — there was a world ready and willing for this kind of transactional relationship-based power.
1/This week has seen a blitz of what looks like corruption sandals: Saudi development deals for US military tech, Pakistani payments to Trump insiders for tariff relief, Swiss gold bars for a trade deal. Far from a payoff, this is a reordering of internat'l system.
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxthh...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxthh...
www.dropbox.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Interesting way of thinking about the way power and authority has shifted under Trump. None of this can just be about him — there was a world ready and willing for this kind of transactional relationship-based power.
Spent a little time updating my "Concerts I've Seen" spreadsheet, getting it up to date with the shows I've seen recently, and doing some web searches to fill in details for past shows. This spreadsheet is my favorite spreadsheet as just reading it allows me reminisce of some awesome shows!
November 18, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Spent a little time updating my "Concerts I've Seen" spreadsheet, getting it up to date with the shows I've seen recently, and doing some web searches to fill in details for past shows. This spreadsheet is my favorite spreadsheet as just reading it allows me reminisce of some awesome shows!
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
High Country News consistently has fantastic Indigenous reporting! Here's a lovely read on heavy metal on the Blackfeet reservation.
Heavy metal is healing teens on the Blackfeet Nation - High Country News
In response to youth suicides, teachers show students the power of headbanging at Fire in the Mountains festival.
www.hcn.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:46 AM
High Country News consistently has fantastic Indigenous reporting! Here's a lovely read on heavy metal on the Blackfeet reservation.
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
license plate data merged with credit header data, marriage records, vehicle ownership, and voter registrations, in one app for ICE agents. oh and it sends push notifications when someone they're seeking is nearby.
🆒: www.404media.co/this-app-let...
🆒: www.404media.co/this-app-let...
This App Lets ICE Track Vehicles and Owners Across the Country
Material viewed by 404 Media shows data giant Thomson Reuters enriches license plate data with marriage, voter, and ownership records. The tool can predict where a car may be in the future.
www.404media.co
November 17, 2025 at 2:45 PM
license plate data merged with credit header data, marriage records, vehicle ownership, and voter registrations, in one app for ICE agents. oh and it sends push notifications when someone they're seeking is nearby.
🆒: www.404media.co/this-app-let...
🆒: www.404media.co/this-app-let...
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
Then, over the last thirty years, we set about automating Editing. Now much of it is done by robots, and our humanity has decayed. And with it, Modernity.
Gutenberg gave us, when he gave us The Press and Typography, The Editor. By creating a necessary pause between writing and distributing the writing, by creating a role for someone to prepare the text for the press, and to decide what goes to the press at all, he created The Modern World.
Editors have a really hard job, and the good ones can make something unreadable readable, and the great ones can make something unreadable into something good. But they're basically invisible, until someone tries to write without one.
November 17, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Then, over the last thirty years, we set about automating Editing. Now much of it is done by robots, and our humanity has decayed. And with it, Modernity.
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
the only good accent work on earth is old money transatlantic american to make fun of rich people accent
November 13, 2025 at 4:06 PM
the only good accent work on earth is old money transatlantic american to make fun of rich people accent
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
some other familiar grocery store names that are brands for producer-owned agricultural co-ops:
Blue Diamond
Bob's Red Mill
Land O'Lakes
Tillamook
Welch's
Blue Diamond
Bob's Red Mill
Land O'Lakes
Tillamook
Welch's
My #SuperlativeCannedGoo tweet from the old place is making rounds again. Support co-op cranberry growers!
November 17, 2025 at 2:44 AM
some other familiar grocery store names that are brands for producer-owned agricultural co-ops:
Blue Diamond
Bob's Red Mill
Land O'Lakes
Tillamook
Welch's
Blue Diamond
Bob's Red Mill
Land O'Lakes
Tillamook
Welch's
Good overview of the electorate indicating that there is no Trumpian realignment. It’s just good old fashioned Christian nationalism and racism, plus a worsening distrust in institutions and democracy as a whole.
What is really going on in this society that elected Donald Trump president a second time?
I wrote about three stubborn myths about Trump’s support – and why America has experienced a de-alignment rather than a rightward realignment.
My new piece for @zeit.de – and some thoughts in English:
I wrote about three stubborn myths about Trump’s support – and why America has experienced a de-alignment rather than a rightward realignment.
My new piece for @zeit.de – and some thoughts in English:
Unterstützung von Donald Trump: Die Irrtümer über Donald Trumps Rückhalt
Rechtsruck, multiethnische Koalition, Held einfacher Leute: Trump gilt als fest verankert. Doch diese Überzeugung beruht auf drei großen Missverständnissen.
www.zeit.de
November 17, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Good overview of the electorate indicating that there is no Trumpian realignment. It’s just good old fashioned Christian nationalism and racism, plus a worsening distrust in institutions and democracy as a whole.
Reposted by Colinaut ~ Mirth Peddlers
“there is a point on the graph where things get Worse, and there you will find Ronald Reagan” stays undefeated
it's fascinating that you can see when exactly the Reagan revolution happened
November 15, 2025 at 9:26 PM
“there is a point on the graph where things get Worse, and there you will find Ronald Reagan” stays undefeated