David Hsu
@dhsu.bsky.social
Professor studying cities, infrastructure, climate, energy, long bike rides, the Boston Celtics, & the drop serve. Personal account representing only me. Likes, reposts ≠ endorsements.
Pinned
David Hsu
@dhsu.bsky.social
· 20d
One of my most delightful academic experiences this semester was our reading seminar on infrastructure. Here were the ground rules:
1. we all read 12 of 15 books new to us
2. no laptops or phones
3. read widely bc of our polycrises
Reading books was just great. Here's what we read and reactions:
1. we all read 12 of 15 books new to us
2. no laptops or phones
3. read widely bc of our polycrises
Reading books was just great. Here's what we read and reactions:
Reposted by David Hsu
Polls conducted in late 2025 show that most Americans, by a 25-50 point margin (depending on question wording), oppose the use of military force against Venezuela.
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/americans-...
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/americans-...
January 4, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Polls conducted in late 2025 show that most Americans, by a 25-50 point margin (depending on question wording), oppose the use of military force against Venezuela.
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/americans-...
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/americans-...
Reposted by David Hsu
New Interview: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
January 3, 2026 at 9:42 PM
New Interview: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
A nice detail in this picture of a Chinese car testing lab is the prominent piece of American equipment, the big blue piston labelled ServoSled by Seattle Safety. So we have something, or at least one thing, to trade! www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/b...
December 23, 2025 at 5:48 PM
A nice detail in this picture of a Chinese car testing lab is the prominent piece of American equipment, the big blue piston labelled ServoSled by Seattle Safety. So we have something, or at least one thing, to trade! www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/b...
Reposted by David Hsu
Lol even Marlon knew he committed PI there what on earth
December 22, 2025 at 4:11 AM
Lol even Marlon knew he committed PI there what on earth
Reposted by David Hsu
CBS paid the president of the United States millions in bribe money and now they censor news reports so it does not annoy him. I don’t know how much plainer we can put this.
December 22, 2025 at 12:14 PM
CBS paid the president of the United States millions in bribe money and now they censor news reports so it does not annoy him. I don’t know how much plainer we can put this.
Cleaning up the house this morning and came across a copy of Jane Mayer's book, "Dark Money", on how the Kochs pioneered new ways to use money for political influence. My first thought was that this 2016 classic might now be outdated, but an hour later I saw this: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/u...
Koch Political Operation Spent Nearly $550 Million During 2024 Cycle
www.nytimes.com
December 20, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Cleaning up the house this morning and came across a copy of Jane Mayer's book, "Dark Money", on how the Kochs pioneered new ways to use money for political influence. My first thought was that this 2016 classic might now be outdated, but an hour later I saw this: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/u...
Reposted by David Hsu
Virginia Heffernan wrote this shortly after the 2016 election and it still holds true
December 16, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Virginia Heffernan wrote this shortly after the 2016 election and it still holds true
Reposted by David Hsu
"He took every Advanced Placement class he could, earned a scholarship to Brown and worked at Wawa over the summer to make enough money to buy a laptop, according to his two sisters."
Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a freshman at Brown, had a condition as a child that required brain surgery. The experience created an unshakable ambition to become a brain surgeon, his sister said.
He died after being shot on campus on Saturday.
He died after being shot on campus on Saturday.
Brown shooting victim was pursuing dream of becoming brain surgeon
Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, was one of two people killed at Brown University on Saturday.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:56 PM
"He took every Advanced Placement class he could, earned a scholarship to Brown and worked at Wawa over the summer to make enough money to buy a laptop, according to his two sisters."
Reposted by David Hsu
Grading and googling hallucinated citations, as one does nowadays, and now that LLMs have been around for a while, I've discovered new horrors: hallucinated journals are now appearing in Google Scholar with dozens of citations bc so many people are citing these fake things
December 15, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Grading and googling hallucinated citations, as one does nowadays, and now that LLMs have been around for a while, I've discovered new horrors: hallucinated journals are now appearing in Google Scholar with dozens of citations bc so many people are citing these fake things
One of my most delightful academic experiences this semester was our reading seminar on infrastructure. Here were the ground rules:
1. we all read 12 of 15 books new to us
2. no laptops or phones
3. read widely bc of our polycrises
Reading books was just great. Here's what we read and reactions:
1. we all read 12 of 15 books new to us
2. no laptops or phones
3. read widely bc of our polycrises
Reading books was just great. Here's what we read and reactions:
December 15, 2025 at 6:37 PM
One of my most delightful academic experiences this semester was our reading seminar on infrastructure. Here were the ground rules:
1. we all read 12 of 15 books new to us
2. no laptops or phones
3. read widely bc of our polycrises
Reading books was just great. Here's what we read and reactions:
1. we all read 12 of 15 books new to us
2. no laptops or phones
3. read widely bc of our polycrises
Reading books was just great. Here's what we read and reactions:
Seeing Alien as a high school student visiting a college film or lit class, and then having the professor hand out a journal article titled “Alien as an Abortion Parable”.
December 13, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Seeing Alien as a high school student visiting a college film or lit class, and then having the professor hand out a journal article titled “Alien as an Abortion Parable”.
Watching Memento at Lincoln Center. When the movie ended, I had the very un-New York experience of all of the strangers around me suddenly talking to each other saying “wait, what happened?”.
Raising the always fun question: What are your most memorable theater-going experiences?
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
It was hands-down one of the most memorable theater-going experiences I can remember, a collective 30-minute butt-clench/armrest-grab for the final climb. And we knew he lived! Wild.
December 13, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Watching Memento at Lincoln Center. When the movie ended, I had the very un-New York experience of all of the strangers around me suddenly talking to each other saying “wait, what happened?”.
Last month when I was watching One Battle After Another in New York, two guys were openly doing cocaine one row over until one staggered off and one vomited, and the whole crowd shifted. It was such a terrific, engrossing movie, I barely noticed.
Raising the always fun question: What are your most memorable theater-going experiences?
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
It was hands-down one of the most memorable theater-going experiences I can remember, a collective 30-minute butt-clench/armrest-grab for the final climb. And we knew he lived! Wild.
December 13, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Last month when I was watching One Battle After Another in New York, two guys were openly doing cocaine one row over until one staggered off and one vomited, and the whole crowd shifted. It was such a terrific, engrossing movie, I barely noticed.
The time when a friend and I went to see Scarface re-released in an afternoon matinee in Times Square. We looked down the row to see a 9-year old by himself, positively beaming.
Raising the always fun question: What are your most memorable theater-going experiences?
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
It was hands-down one of the most memorable theater-going experiences I can remember, a collective 30-minute butt-clench/armrest-grab for the final climb. And we knew he lived! Wild.
December 13, 2025 at 7:34 PM
The time when a friend and I went to see Scarface re-released in an afternoon matinee in Times Square. We looked down the row to see a 9-year old by himself, positively beaming.
The opening night in New York when we all waited in line for an hour, and then I watched Return of the King next to fans wearing helmets and chainmail.
Raising the always fun question: What are your most memorable theater-going experiences?
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
It was hands-down one of the most memorable theater-going experiences I can remember, a collective 30-minute butt-clench/armrest-grab for the final climb. And we knew he lived! Wild.
December 13, 2025 at 7:32 PM
The opening night in New York when we all waited in line for an hour, and then I watched Return of the King next to fans wearing helmets and chainmail.
The time that a fight broke out behind me in NYC at a showing of “28 Days Later”, because some of the audience members objected to someone’s INFANT talking too much during the film.
Raising the always fun question: What are your most memorable theater-going experiences?
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
It was hands-down one of the most memorable theater-going experiences I can remember, a collective 30-minute butt-clench/armrest-grab for the final climb. And we knew he lived! Wild.
December 13, 2025 at 7:30 PM
The time that a fight broke out behind me in NYC at a showing of “28 Days Later”, because some of the audience members objected to someone’s INFANT talking too much during the film.
A nice reminder after the term that all that work of teaching produces … educated, thoughtful, creative people.
I went to a small energy workshop this week and saw three former students in various stages of their lives and careers; one parent and another employer of former students approached me.
I went to a small energy workshop this week and saw three former students in various stages of their lives and careers; one parent and another employer of former students approached me.
December 13, 2025 at 5:15 PM
A nice reminder after the term that all that work of teaching produces … educated, thoughtful, creative people.
I went to a small energy workshop this week and saw three former students in various stages of their lives and careers; one parent and another employer of former students approached me.
I went to a small energy workshop this week and saw three former students in various stages of their lives and careers; one parent and another employer of former students approached me.
Drinking hot soup from a mug.
December 10, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Drinking hot soup from a mug.
Our noble and beautiful dog Penny turned eighteen today. She's been through everything with our family. Photos from the first days and weeks we got her in 2008(!), to this year, and still counting!
December 8, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Our noble and beautiful dog Penny turned eighteen today. She's been through everything with our family. Photos from the first days and weeks we got her in 2008(!), to this year, and still counting!
Reposted by David Hsu
It's time once again for my annual #treebybike post. This is the 12/19/42 cover of @newyorker.com, so one full year after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This would be the first real Christmas alone, or without a family member, for millions in the US. Gas and tire rationing had begun earlier that year.🗃️
December 8, 2025 at 3:38 PM
It's time once again for my annual #treebybike post. This is the 12/19/42 cover of @newyorker.com, so one full year after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This would be the first real Christmas alone, or without a family member, for millions in the US. Gas and tire rationing had begun earlier that year.🗃️
What is the opposite of Prime?
can't stop watching this clip of a tesla Optimus teleoperator taking his headset off before properly logging out the robot
December 8, 2025 at 2:50 PM
What is the opposite of Prime?
It's not just happening in Massachusetts, but for all of the same reasons in most places -- and in my opinion -- electricity and gas prices are likely to get worse before they get better. Nice article in the Boston Globe by @shankman.bsky.social. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/06/s...
Skyrocketing energy costs have shocked Massachusetts residents. Here’s what happened. - The Boston Globe
Everyone is mad about their energy bills. But the reason for the extreme bills goes beyond the base cost of the natural gas or electricity sent to our homes.
www.bostonglobe.com
December 8, 2025 at 2:40 PM
It's not just happening in Massachusetts, but for all of the same reasons in most places -- and in my opinion -- electricity and gas prices are likely to get worse before they get better. Nice article in the Boston Globe by @shankman.bsky.social. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/06/s...
Reposted by David Hsu
Read this: www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...
December 7, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Read this: www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...
Now what are you going to do about it?
December 5, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Now what are you going to do about it?
“Right to repair” and “Rage Against The Garage Door Opener” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/t...
Why One Man Is Fighting for Our Right to Control Our Garage Door Openers
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:39 PM
“Right to repair” and “Rage Against The Garage Door Opener” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/t...