Das Doak
@dasdoak.bsky.social
Gentleman adventurer, mostly decent bastard, only slightly pessimistic optimist. I ride bikes, tinker, program, and read way too much.
White, cis, straight, US male if you need the context. It's a fucked demographic; wasn't my choice to be born into it.
White, cis, straight, US male if you need the context. It's a fucked demographic; wasn't my choice to be born into it.
Pinned
Das Doak
@dasdoak.bsky.social
· Nov 7
Here's what Democrats should do - as a minimum - to help fix the media ecosystem:
Start a newspaper in every single congressional district - yes, all 435 of them - called "The <name of geographic area> Democrat." It can literally be the district number if there's nothing better to hand. (1/7)
Start a newspaper in every single congressional district - yes, all 435 of them - called "The <name of geographic area> Democrat." It can literally be the district number if there's nothing better to hand. (1/7)
Reposted by Das Doak
The best thread on the Edmund Fitzgerald you'll read.
#OTD in Weather History, 48 years ago, on November 10, 1975, the ore freighter SS EDMUND FITZGERALD was lost with all hands in a severe storm on Lake Superior.
She is perhaps the best known shipwreck on the Great Lakes, and today we remember her loss. 1/
She is perhaps the best known shipwreck on the Great Lakes, and today we remember her loss. 1/
November 11, 2025 at 7:24 AM
The best thread on the Edmund Fitzgerald you'll read.
Another day, another structural security flaw in AIs.
Microsoft has revealed a serious flaw in the large language models (LLMs) that power AI assistants, potentially exposing the topic of your conversations with them. Researchers dubbed the vulnerability "Whisper Leak" and found it affects nearly all the models they tested.
Microsoft finds security flaw in AI chatbots that could expose conversation topics
Your conversations with AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini may not be as private as you think they are. Microsoft has revealed a serious flaw in the large language models (LLMs) that powe...
techxplore.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Another day, another structural security flaw in AIs.
Reposted by Das Doak
Reposted by Das Doak
I mean:
1. I don't believe this for one second and...
2. If it is true, @schumer.senate.gov is incompetent and should go retire and hang out with Andrew Cuomo, and let someone competent take over.
1. I don't believe this for one second and...
2. If it is true, @schumer.senate.gov is incompetent and should go retire and hang out with Andrew Cuomo, and let someone competent take over.
SCOOP: Schumer privately fought to extend government shutdown
Scoop: Schumer privately fought to extend government shutdown
"We let him know what we were doing," said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).
www.axios.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:04 AM
I mean:
1. I don't believe this for one second and...
2. If it is true, @schumer.senate.gov is incompetent and should go retire and hang out with Andrew Cuomo, and let someone competent take over.
1. I don't believe this for one second and...
2. If it is true, @schumer.senate.gov is incompetent and should go retire and hang out with Andrew Cuomo, and let someone competent take over.
"Trainsmission" (building train cars full of batteries and then transporting electricity with them BY RAIL) might be one of the dumbest ideas I've ever seen.
...but, in a regularity and permitting environment where it's damn near impossible to build anything, it makes some sense.
...but, in a regularity and permitting environment where it's damn near impossible to build anything, it makes some sense.
People will literally drive electricity on a train instead of building transmission lines
(I haven't looked into the economics/physics of this at all, but its a great example of how policy matters for energy systems)
(I haven't looked into the economics/physics of this at all, but its a great example of how policy matters for energy systems)
Last week SunTrain announced a project with Xcel Energy to transport electricity stored on railcars into the Cherokee Generating Station in Denver.
🔌💡
Today I published a piece on why "Trainsmission" makes sense from a capital efficiency perspective.
🧵
www.planetarytech.earth/posts/suntra...
🔌💡
Today I published a piece on why "Trainsmission" makes sense from a capital efficiency perspective.
🧵
www.planetarytech.earth/posts/suntra...
November 10, 2025 at 8:39 PM
"Trainsmission" (building train cars full of batteries and then transporting electricity with them BY RAIL) might be one of the dumbest ideas I've ever seen.
...but, in a regularity and permitting environment where it's damn near impossible to build anything, it makes some sense.
...but, in a regularity and permitting environment where it's damn near impossible to build anything, it makes some sense.
Reposted by Das Doak
Looks like this is real. About 40% of the flight at 8k feet, then bumped up to 10k, and then finally went up higher, but only to 20k feet. Much slower than normal flight and likely burned a lot more fuel. But the view out the window was probably impressive.
www.flightaware.com/live/flight/...
www.flightaware.com/live/flight/...
November 9, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Looks like this is real. About 40% of the flight at 8k feet, then bumped up to 10k, and then finally went up higher, but only to 20k feet. Much slower than normal flight and likely burned a lot more fuel. But the view out the window was probably impressive.
www.flightaware.com/live/flight/...
www.flightaware.com/live/flight/...
This really isn't something we consider at all after decades of fighting insurgents, but actual peer conflicts are an absolute meat grinder.
o'brien's latest is mid (very unfortunately) but even amidst that midness has an astoundingly important insight i see adopted almost nowhere else: in most modern wars, the pre-war army is totally consumed within a few months of hostilities--
www.amazon.com/War-Power-Wh...
www.amazon.com/War-Power-Wh...
War and Power: Who Wins Wars―and Why
War and Power: Who Wins Wars―and Why [O'Brien, Phillips Payson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. War and Power: Who Wins Wars―and Why
www.amazon.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:35 PM
This really isn't something we consider at all after decades of fighting insurgents, but actual peer conflicts are an absolute meat grinder.
Reposted by Das Doak
On the eve of her retirement, I want to make sure to honor @pelosi.house.gov
1/
1/
November 9, 2025 at 7:14 PM
On the eve of her retirement, I want to make sure to honor @pelosi.house.gov
1/
1/
While Stancil is right about this *overall* I think it's relevant that the two key elements of the American Dream - cars and houses - have gotten *much* more expensive, leading younger generations to feel worse-off than their parents, even though their purchasing power is, on net, higher.
November 9, 2025 at 10:25 AM
While Stancil is right about this *overall* I think it's relevant that the two key elements of the American Dream - cars and houses - have gotten *much* more expensive, leading younger generations to feel worse-off than their parents, even though their purchasing power is, on net, higher.
Ok, scratch everything I've said about Schumer actually being somewhat clever of late; apparently the only reason his incompetence hasn't been on public display is because the *rest of the caucus* is able to shame him into not behaving like an idiot.
He *really* needs to go.
He *really* needs to go.
Why Does Schumer Keep Trying to Cave? - The American Prospect
Most commentators, including me, concluded that the Tuesday election victory saved Democrats from capitulating to Republican demands to pass a simple continuing resolution to re-open the government, i...
prospect.org
November 9, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Ok, scratch everything I've said about Schumer actually being somewhat clever of late; apparently the only reason his incompetence hasn't been on public display is because the *rest of the caucus* is able to shame him into not behaving like an idiot.
He *really* needs to go.
He *really* needs to go.
Reposted by Das Doak
Trump's tariffs are hurting us in two ways:
First, the obvious: Higher costs → either lower profits or higher prices.
Second, more subtle (perhaps bigger): We’ve signaled we’re an unreliable partner, so allies are reorganizing supply chains to avoid us. That's hard to unwind.
First, the obvious: Higher costs → either lower profits or higher prices.
Second, more subtle (perhaps bigger): We’ve signaled we’re an unreliable partner, so allies are reorganizing supply chains to avoid us. That's hard to unwind.
November 8, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Trump's tariffs are hurting us in two ways:
First, the obvious: Higher costs → either lower profits or higher prices.
Second, more subtle (perhaps bigger): We’ve signaled we’re an unreliable partner, so allies are reorganizing supply chains to avoid us. That's hard to unwind.
First, the obvious: Higher costs → either lower profits or higher prices.
Second, more subtle (perhaps bigger): We’ve signaled we’re an unreliable partner, so allies are reorganizing supply chains to avoid us. That's hard to unwind.
Just got a call from the Jury Duty Fee Scammers.
These guys are dumb - they called me on a Saturday when I *know* that the Sheriff's office is closed, and they gave me an address I haven't lived at for twenty years, and the guy on the phone had the most complete lack of "cop voice" I've ever heard.
These guys are dumb - they called me on a Saturday when I *know* that the Sheriff's office is closed, and they gave me an address I haven't lived at for twenty years, and the guy on the phone had the most complete lack of "cop voice" I've ever heard.
November 8, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Just got a call from the Jury Duty Fee Scammers.
These guys are dumb - they called me on a Saturday when I *know* that the Sheriff's office is closed, and they gave me an address I haven't lived at for twenty years, and the guy on the phone had the most complete lack of "cop voice" I've ever heard.
These guys are dumb - they called me on a Saturday when I *know* that the Sheriff's office is closed, and they gave me an address I haven't lived at for twenty years, and the guy on the phone had the most complete lack of "cop voice" I've ever heard.
Reposted by Das Doak
Literally your entire dooming point has been empirically denied in a much smaller, easier group of elections to try and subvert than an actual nationwide midterm. Shut UP.
November 8, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Literally your entire dooming point has been empirically denied in a much smaller, easier group of elections to try and subvert than an actual nationwide midterm. Shut UP.
Reposted by Das Doak
I mean I think the people who are still doomering about "there will never be elections, woe upon us all!" really need to sit their asses down and think for a second.
1.) Subverting elections becomes more administratively difficult and resource intensive the more there are happening at once.
1.) Subverting elections becomes more administratively difficult and resource intensive the more there are happening at once.
November 8, 2025 at 9:14 PM
I mean I think the people who are still doomering about "there will never be elections, woe upon us all!" really need to sit their asses down and think for a second.
1.) Subverting elections becomes more administratively difficult and resource intensive the more there are happening at once.
1.) Subverting elections becomes more administratively difficult and resource intensive the more there are happening at once.
Reposted by Das Doak
"i asked grok" "i asked chatgpt" yeah well i asked carl sagan and he said the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge 🧪
July 18, 2025 at 4:12 AM
"i asked grok" "i asked chatgpt" yeah well i asked carl sagan and he said the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge 🧪
This is the correct way to respond to a thing like this. Refuse to be shamed and point out that the people doing the shaming are being bad people.
Axios tried to bust James Talarico for following adult content creators on Instagram and I'm genuinely impressed by his campaign's response
November 8, 2025 at 9:48 PM
This is the correct way to respond to a thing like this. Refuse to be shamed and point out that the people doing the shaming are being bad people.
Mace Windu, rubbing his temples: "is there literally anyone else we can send?"
Yoda: "No; urgent assignments with the clone wars everyone else has."
Windu: "Fine... Send for Master Clouseau."
Yoda: "No; urgent assignments with the clone wars everyone else has."
Windu: "Fine... Send for Master Clouseau."
Having recently watched some Kurosawa movies, one of my takeaways is that there are usually some samurai wandering around who are absolutely pathetic losers and very bad at everything, and I think we should introduce that dynamic to the Jedi.
Dear Bob Iger:
Please give me control of the Star Wars franchise.
My concept is to just remake old war and samurai movies, but Star Wars.
The Dirty Dozen but Star Wars.
The Great Escape but Star Wars.
Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman but Star Wars.
Please give me control of the Star Wars franchise.
My concept is to just remake old war and samurai movies, but Star Wars.
The Dirty Dozen but Star Wars.
The Great Escape but Star Wars.
Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman but Star Wars.
November 8, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Mace Windu, rubbing his temples: "is there literally anyone else we can send?"
Yoda: "No; urgent assignments with the clone wars everyone else has."
Windu: "Fine... Send for Master Clouseau."
Yoda: "No; urgent assignments with the clone wars everyone else has."
Windu: "Fine... Send for Master Clouseau."
Reposted by Das Doak
Across Eastern Europe, they have what are known as "lustration" laws that do exactly this for people who were in the Stasi and its various equivalents. It's a model we should be examining.
Absolutely sadistic.
A Dem Congress should pass a law banning anyone who is currently serving with ICE or CBP from future Fed employment.
The Feds should condition all future Fed grants to police depts on blanket refusals to hire ppl who were in ICE/CBP right now.
A Dem Congress should pass a law banning anyone who is currently serving with ICE or CBP from future Fed employment.
The Feds should condition all future Fed grants to police depts on blanket refusals to hire ppl who were in ICE/CBP right now.
Or Rodney Taylor, a disabled double amputee who’s been in America since he was two years old.
He was days away from receiving new prosthetic legs when ICE grabbed him
His health is declining, they won’t let him get his legs and they’ve placed him in solitary
www.disabledginger.com/p/help-rodne...
He was days away from receiving new prosthetic legs when ICE grabbed him
His health is declining, they won’t let him get his legs and they’ve placed him in solitary
www.disabledginger.com/p/help-rodne...
November 8, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Across Eastern Europe, they have what are known as "lustration" laws that do exactly this for people who were in the Stasi and its various equivalents. It's a model we should be examining.
People aboard a sinking ship only care about getting themselves into a lifeboat.
Justice Jackson is doing the thankless work of making sure as many people get into lifeboats as quickly as possible, even if it means a slight delay in getting *anyone* into a lifeboat.
Justice Jackson is doing the thankless work of making sure as many people get into lifeboats as quickly as possible, even if it means a slight delay in getting *anyone* into a lifeboat.
/3 I think this is likely strategy by Justice Jackson -- she likely believes this route (rather than the stay being considered by the whole court) results in the shortest stay. But few will listen to that because of reasons 1-3, and I can't really fault them.
November 8, 2025 at 3:45 AM
People aboard a sinking ship only care about getting themselves into a lifeboat.
Justice Jackson is doing the thankless work of making sure as many people get into lifeboats as quickly as possible, even if it means a slight delay in getting *anyone* into a lifeboat.
Justice Jackson is doing the thankless work of making sure as many people get into lifeboats as quickly as possible, even if it means a slight delay in getting *anyone* into a lifeboat.
Jeeze Steve, I was *already* going to vote straight-ticket Democrat - you don't need to twist my arm.
👍🏾 America 🇺🇸 you now have an opportunity to make these people pay for their crimes.
November 7, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Jeeze Steve, I was *already* going to vote straight-ticket Democrat - you don't need to twist my arm.
"...any headline which ends in a question mark can be answered by the word 'no'."
-Ian Betteridge, 2009
-Ian Betteridge, 2009
November 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM
"...any headline which ends in a question mark can be answered by the word 'no'."
-Ian Betteridge, 2009
-Ian Betteridge, 2009
Reposted by Das Doak
we talk too much about the male loneliness crisis and not enough about the male suckerfication crisis maxread.substack.com/p/prediction...
November 7, 2025 at 5:40 PM
we talk too much about the male loneliness crisis and not enough about the male suckerfication crisis maxread.substack.com/p/prediction...
Tech companies really need to be prosecuted much, much more for the crimes they enable on their platforms.
this is the craziest thing I've read in a long time???? Meta projected that 10% of its revenue last year, $16 billion, came from scams. Meta intentionally charges the scammers MORE and knows that people who click on scams are more likely to see more of them www.reuters.com/investigatio...
November 7, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Tech companies really need to be prosecuted much, much more for the crimes they enable on their platforms.
The more people who crash into the traffic calming, the more necessary it was.
That’s two in the first 20 day
November 7, 2025 at 5:39 AM
The more people who crash into the traffic calming, the more necessary it was.