That Paul Moffett
@doctormoffett.bsky.social
Medieval Arthurian scholar and sessional instructor at Memorial U of Newfoundland. Principal of Clockworks Academy.
He/him
He/him
I feel like we don't talk enough about what a great line (or couplet, really) this is:
Well you're the real tough cookie with a long history
Of breaking little hearts like the one in me
Well you're the real tough cookie with a long history
Of breaking little hearts like the one in me
January 7, 2026 at 11:23 PM
I feel like we don't talk enough about what a great line (or couplet, really) this is:
Well you're the real tough cookie with a long history
Of breaking little hearts like the one in me
Well you're the real tough cookie with a long history
Of breaking little hearts like the one in me
Reposted by That Paul Moffett
The past is gone. Its hold on me does not exist
In my imagination only it persists
Meanwhile the last year gives its dying gasp
But all we have traveled on beyond its grasp
(2/2)
In my imagination only it persists
Meanwhile the last year gives its dying gasp
But all we have traveled on beyond its grasp
(2/2)
January 1, 2025 at 3:46 AM
The past is gone. Its hold on me does not exist
In my imagination only it persists
Meanwhile the last year gives its dying gasp
But all we have traveled on beyond its grasp
(2/2)
In my imagination only it persists
Meanwhile the last year gives its dying gasp
But all we have traveled on beyond its grasp
(2/2)
Reposted by That Paul Moffett
To The Old Year
A poem
The best thing about a year is that it ends.
You may think I'm being cynical, my friends,
But this is optimism at its most naïve,
to live through what has been and still believe
tomorrow can be something new
And yet I do.
(1/2)
A poem
The best thing about a year is that it ends.
You may think I'm being cynical, my friends,
But this is optimism at its most naïve,
to live through what has been and still believe
tomorrow can be something new
And yet I do.
(1/2)
January 1, 2025 at 3:45 AM
To The Old Year
A poem
The best thing about a year is that it ends.
You may think I'm being cynical, my friends,
But this is optimism at its most naïve,
to live through what has been and still believe
tomorrow can be something new
And yet I do.
(1/2)
A poem
The best thing about a year is that it ends.
You may think I'm being cynical, my friends,
But this is optimism at its most naïve,
to live through what has been and still believe
tomorrow can be something new
And yet I do.
(1/2)
Americans, why are you permitting this to be done in your name?
January 3, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Americans, why are you permitting this to be done in your name?
Reposted by That Paul Moffett
LLMs are 100% - yes, 100% - the results of their programmer's intentions.
Yes, there are some unexpected outputs. But if you'd chatbot creates sexual images of young children, either the programmers don't care or THEY EXPLICITLY WANTED IT TO DO THAT.
Yes, there are some unexpected outputs. But if you'd chatbot creates sexual images of young children, either the programmers don't care or THEY EXPLICITLY WANTED IT TO DO THAT.
1. Headlines everywhere today read "Grok apologizes."
This is bullshit. A chatbot is not something that can apologize.
Pretending otherwise is simple laundering these companies' bullshit about what AI is, while diffusing blame away from the human beings that developed and released this system.
This is bullshit. A chatbot is not something that can apologize.
Pretending otherwise is simple laundering these companies' bullshit about what AI is, while diffusing blame away from the human beings that developed and released this system.
January 3, 2026 at 12:41 AM
LLMs are 100% - yes, 100% - the results of their programmer's intentions.
Yes, there are some unexpected outputs. But if you'd chatbot creates sexual images of young children, either the programmers don't care or THEY EXPLICITLY WANTED IT TO DO THAT.
Yes, there are some unexpected outputs. But if you'd chatbot creates sexual images of young children, either the programmers don't care or THEY EXPLICITLY WANTED IT TO DO THAT.
So that was the end of Stranger Things.
January 2, 2026 at 7:49 PM
So that was the end of Stranger Things.
I'm in an airport. Ask me anything.
December 25, 2025 at 4:31 PM
I'm in an airport. Ask me anything.
Merry Christmas!
I'm celebrating stranded in an airport, but trying to stay upbeat
I'm celebrating stranded in an airport, but trying to stay upbeat
December 25, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Merry Christmas!
I'm celebrating stranded in an airport, but trying to stay upbeat
I'm celebrating stranded in an airport, but trying to stay upbeat
I'm writing a book about [spoiler], and [spoiler] just [spoilered] [spoiler]. But how will they [spoiler]? I don't know yet!
December 20, 2025 at 8:47 PM
I'm writing a book about [spoiler], and [spoiler] just [spoilered] [spoiler]. But how will they [spoiler]? I don't know yet!
Couldn't be more correct.
”I am not very creative and this allows me to be.”
What? No it doesn’t. It actively prohibits you from being creative. It is the opposite of being creative. It’s literally a bunch of nothing. You’re better off creating your own “bad” art versus a bunch of uninspired garbage.
What? No it doesn’t. It actively prohibits you from being creative. It is the opposite of being creative. It’s literally a bunch of nothing. You’re better off creating your own “bad” art versus a bunch of uninspired garbage.
December 8, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Couldn't be more correct.
Reposted by That Paul Moffett
”I am not very creative and this allows me to be.”
What? No it doesn’t. It actively prohibits you from being creative. It is the opposite of being creative. It’s literally a bunch of nothing. You’re better off creating your own “bad” art versus a bunch of uninspired garbage.
What? No it doesn’t. It actively prohibits you from being creative. It is the opposite of being creative. It’s literally a bunch of nothing. You’re better off creating your own “bad” art versus a bunch of uninspired garbage.
December 8, 2025 at 11:05 PM
”I am not very creative and this allows me to be.”
What? No it doesn’t. It actively prohibits you from being creative. It is the opposite of being creative. It’s literally a bunch of nothing. You’re better off creating your own “bad” art versus a bunch of uninspired garbage.
What? No it doesn’t. It actively prohibits you from being creative. It is the opposite of being creative. It’s literally a bunch of nothing. You’re better off creating your own “bad” art versus a bunch of uninspired garbage.
I 100% agree with this as far as it goes, but I also think it's depressingly naive about the business side. Nobody cares if the author loves their book. They care if it will sell.
December 7, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I 100% agree with this as far as it goes, but I also think it's depressingly naive about the business side. Nobody cares if the author loves their book. They care if it will sell.
Rough week. Six writing rejections in three days.
December 1, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Rough week. Six writing rejections in three days.
That's why I don't think of it.
a man laying in a coffin next to another man with a sword
Alt: A clip from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Tim Roth's Guildenstern watches Gary Oldman's Rosencrantz as the latter says "Not that I'd like to sleep in a box, mind you, not without any air. You'd wake up dead, for a start, and then where would you be? In a box. That's the bit I don't like frankly.
media.tenor.com
November 29, 2025 at 6:25 PM
That's why I don't think of it.
Tom Stoppard died! What an enormous talent he was!
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is one of my all-time favourite things to be written. I first encountered it as a movie and it is my favourite movie still. I've never seen the play performed, but I re-read it often. I'll read it today.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is one of my all-time favourite things to be written. I first encountered it as a movie and it is my favourite movie still. I've never seen the play performed, but I re-read it often. I'll read it today.
November 29, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Tom Stoppard died! What an enormous talent he was!
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is one of my all-time favourite things to be written. I first encountered it as a movie and it is my favourite movie still. I've never seen the play performed, but I re-read it often. I'll read it today.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is one of my all-time favourite things to be written. I first encountered it as a movie and it is my favourite movie still. I've never seen the play performed, but I re-read it often. I'll read it today.
I've never made a post on social media that wasn't embarrassing.
November 23, 2025 at 3:54 AM
I've never made a post on social media that wasn't embarrassing.
It seems like a serious perennial problem that ideas, thoughts, stories, insights, perspectives all come from people, and people are so frequently disappointing.
November 22, 2025 at 6:00 PM
It seems like a serious perennial problem that ideas, thoughts, stories, insights, perspectives all come from people, and people are so frequently disappointing.
I don't know, man.
November 18, 2025 at 10:23 PM
I don't know, man.
November 16, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Johnny Cash - God's Gonna Cut You Down (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by JohnnyCashVEVO
youtu.be
November 14, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Listening to the new American Medieval Podcast with interest. There are some folks I recognize involved. My trepidation is on the "American" side of things though. It feels VERY American filter the entire universe through a "this is all about me right?" lens.
November 12, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Listening to the new American Medieval Podcast with interest. There are some folks I recognize involved. My trepidation is on the "American" side of things though. It feels VERY American filter the entire universe through a "this is all about me right?" lens.
Reposted by That Paul Moffett
Another species no longer on the global Endangered list:
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).
A few decades after a Star Trek movie where the central conflict was the total extinction of the humpback, their numbers are rising fast enough to put them at "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List.
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).
A few decades after a Star Trek movie where the central conflict was the total extinction of the humpback, their numbers are rising fast enough to put them at "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List.
a man with a mustache says there be whales here in a dark room
Alt: Scotty from Star Trek Original Series (played by Jimmy Doohan) says there be whales here in a Klingon vessel's cargo hold.
media.tenor.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Another species no longer on the global Endangered list:
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).
A few decades after a Star Trek movie where the central conflict was the total extinction of the humpback, their numbers are rising fast enough to put them at "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List.
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).
A few decades after a Star Trek movie where the central conflict was the total extinction of the humpback, their numbers are rising fast enough to put them at "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List.
One of the weirdest stances I regularly see is "don't burden me with educating you!" said by people who have "educator" on their business cards.
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 PM
One of the weirdest stances I regularly see is "don't burden me with educating you!" said by people who have "educator" on their business cards.
I love Guillermo del Toro, and I have thought a lot about Frankenstein (take the Frankenstein Course at Clockworks Academy: clockworksacademy.com/courses/frankenstein-course). I have some thoughts about the new movie. No spoilers (or only very vague ones).
Frankenstein Course — Clockworks Academy
An eight week course on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: a quintessential gothic novel, a foundational text in the history of science fiction, and a gripping monster story. It is beautiful, horrible, and ...
clockworksacademy.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:32 PM
I love Guillermo del Toro, and I have thought a lot about Frankenstein (take the Frankenstein Course at Clockworks Academy: clockworksacademy.com/courses/frankenstein-course). I have some thoughts about the new movie. No spoilers (or only very vague ones).