Tab Combs
@drtcombs.bsky.social
Transport-Equity-Resilience PhD.
Road Harm Reducer.
Villagist.
She/hers. Occasional outbursts about dogs, kids, Davidson hoops, & gardening. My opinions are mine.
Please read pinned post before following.
Road Harm Reducer.
Villagist.
She/hers. Occasional outbursts about dogs, kids, Davidson hoops, & gardening. My opinions are mine.
Please read pinned post before following.
Pinned
Tab Combs
@drtcombs.bsky.social
· Feb 19
You may be a very nice person but if you have no profile description, no posts, no profile pic (doesn't even have to be of you!), and follow a bazillion accounts, please don't follow me.
I grew up hating Nebraska. Anyone from Nebraska could not be trusted. Anyone who voluntarily went to Nebraska could not be saved.
I didn't spend time thinking about Nebraska, but any mention of the state got my spidey senses up.
🧵
I didn't spend time thinking about Nebraska, but any mention of the state got my spidey senses up.
🧵
December 26, 2025 at 10:45 PM
I grew up hating Nebraska. Anyone from Nebraska could not be trusted. Anyone who voluntarily went to Nebraska could not be saved.
I didn't spend time thinking about Nebraska, but any mention of the state got my spidey senses up.
🧵
I didn't spend time thinking about Nebraska, but any mention of the state got my spidey senses up.
🧵
Reposted by Tab Combs
It is EXHAUSTING not only being made responsible for coming up with new kinds of assignments for our students; it's also tedious reading op-eds that suggest the core problem is a crisis in teaching. But, as Chris and I lay out here, this isn't a crisis in teaching; it's an attack on learning.
"We envision a resistance that is...a repudiation of the efficiencies that automated algorithmic education falsely promises: a resistance comprising the collective force of small acts of friction."
"How to Resist AI in Education" by me & @cnygren.bsky.social
www.publicbooks.org/four-frictio...
"How to Resist AI in Education" by me & @cnygren.bsky.social
www.publicbooks.org/four-frictio...
Four Frictions: or, How to Resist AI in Education - Public Books
We are calling for resistance to the AI industry’s ongoing capture of higher education.
www.publicbooks.org
December 24, 2025 at 7:39 PM
It is EXHAUSTING not only being made responsible for coming up with new kinds of assignments for our students; it's also tedious reading op-eds that suggest the core problem is a crisis in teaching. But, as Chris and I lay out here, this isn't a crisis in teaching; it's an attack on learning.
I am enjoying watching the niblings trying to wrap their heads around the fact that I have the Muppets Christmas Carol on VHS.
#LightTheLampNotTheRat
#LightTheLampNotTheRat
December 25, 2025 at 6:38 PM
I am enjoying watching the niblings trying to wrap their heads around the fact that I have the Muppets Christmas Carol on VHS.
#LightTheLampNotTheRat
#LightTheLampNotTheRat
What if we all just keeping telling gmail's spam filter that emails from gemini are spam
December 20, 2025 at 3:45 PM
What if we all just keeping telling gmail's spam filter that emails from gemini are spam
Admittedly small sample size, but my research suggests 6th graders vastly prefer icing, off-brand m&ms, and gummy Lifesavers to homemade chocolate chip cookies, high dollar cake, and fresh fruit
Most of the icing has been ingested
December 20, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Admittedly small sample size, but my research suggests 6th graders vastly prefer icing, off-brand m&ms, and gummy Lifesavers to homemade chocolate chip cookies, high dollar cake, and fresh fruit
Three 6th graders are attempting to make gingerbread houses in my kitchen without adult supervision
December 20, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Three 6th graders are attempting to make gingerbread houses in my kitchen without adult supervision
Reposted by Tab Combs
NHTSA released estimates of traffic fatalities in the first half of 2025, so I made a quick visual to show that bicyclists are one of only two categories with increasing fatalities
Data: crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/V...
Visual: www.datawrapper.de/_/EFpSk/
Data: crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/V...
Visual: www.datawrapper.de/_/EFpSk/
Early Estimates of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities and Fatality Rate by Sub-Categories For the First Half (January-June) of 2025 | Created with Datawrapper
For the first half of 2025, NHTSA estimates a decrease of about 8.2 percent as compared to the first half of 2024. Only two reported subcategories showed an increase in reported fatalities - pedalcycl...
www.datawrapper.de
December 19, 2025 at 7:41 PM
NHTSA released estimates of traffic fatalities in the first half of 2025, so I made a quick visual to show that bicyclists are one of only two categories with increasing fatalities
Data: crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/V...
Visual: www.datawrapper.de/_/EFpSk/
Data: crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/V...
Visual: www.datawrapper.de/_/EFpSk/
Giving a 10 year old a Chromebook with constant WiFi access and saying, "only use this for school work" is like giving a dog a steak and saying, "just nibble around the edges"
If you're not prepared to be their guardrails, you can't expect them not to eat the whole steak.
If you're not prepared to be their guardrails, you can't expect them not to eat the whole steak.
December 19, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Giving a 10 year old a Chromebook with constant WiFi access and saying, "only use this for school work" is like giving a dog a steak and saying, "just nibble around the edges"
If you're not prepared to be their guardrails, you can't expect them not to eat the whole steak.
If you're not prepared to be their guardrails, you can't expect them not to eat the whole steak.
one of the coolest parts about all this #AI stuff is when it emails you a paper in a pay-to-play journal that is basically your paper but with someone else's name on it, on a topic in which you are the seminal author, and doesn't cite any of your work
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
December 19, 2025 at 4:30 PM
one of the coolest parts about all this #AI stuff is when it emails you a paper in a pay-to-play journal that is basically your paper but with someone else's name on it, on a topic in which you are the seminal author, and doesn't cite any of your work
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
We need more of the kind of people who can singlehandedly wrangle 3 middle school orchestras and 4 middle school bands into one 90 minute concert
December 19, 2025 at 3:32 AM
We need more of the kind of people who can singlehandedly wrangle 3 middle school orchestras and 4 middle school bands into one 90 minute concert
A lot of things are going wrong right now, but sitting on the front steps waiting on the school bus while having a Lucinda Williams sing-a-long with my almost-12-year-old is definitely not one of them
December 18, 2025 at 12:43 PM
A lot of things are going wrong right now, but sitting on the front steps waiting on the school bus while having a Lucinda Williams sing-a-long with my almost-12-year-old is definitely not one of them
Reposted by Tab Combs
My bike for tonight. Be at Carrboro town commons by 7:30 and let’s finds some of Carrboros best Xmas lights
December 17, 2025 at 11:07 PM
My bike for tonight. Be at Carrboro town commons by 7:30 and let’s finds some of Carrboros best Xmas lights
Reposted by Tab Combs
December 16, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Meanwhile, have a little dog refusing to come in from the cold until the school bus brings his small human back
December 16, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Meanwhile, have a little dog refusing to come in from the cold until the school bus brings his small human back
My PC needs to shut down and restart but My PC is running and preventing My PC from shutting down and restarting
December 16, 2025 at 4:15 PM
My PC needs to shut down and restart but My PC is running and preventing My PC from shutting down and restarting
So much car brain
“I'm okay with asking someone to drive two more miles to save 50 percent of the cost... ” Friedman said. “We all know teachers and state employees don’t make a lot of money. This will help save them money, and will help save us even more money.”
www.wunc.org/health/2025-...
“I'm okay with asking someone to drive two more miles to save 50 percent of the cost... ” Friedman said. “We all know teachers and state employees don’t make a lot of money. This will help save them money, and will help save us even more money.”
www.wunc.org/health/2025-...
December 16, 2025 at 12:01 AM
So much car brain
“I'm okay with asking someone to drive two more miles to save 50 percent of the cost... ” Friedman said. “We all know teachers and state employees don’t make a lot of money. This will help save them money, and will help save us even more money.”
www.wunc.org/health/2025-...
“I'm okay with asking someone to drive two more miles to save 50 percent of the cost... ” Friedman said. “We all know teachers and state employees don’t make a lot of money. This will help save them money, and will help save us even more money.”
www.wunc.org/health/2025-...
The amount of slop on FB now is alarming. I go only to check a local grapevine and a weather account, and when I'm not specifically on those pages it's just firehose of AI-generated click bait make believe. #meta
December 15, 2025 at 12:27 AM
The amount of slop on FB now is alarming. I go only to check a local grapevine and a weather account, and when I'm not specifically on those pages it's just firehose of AI-generated click bait make believe. #meta
Being able to tie a bow without having to wait for someone, literally anyone, to amble over and lend me a finger. Just one finger. For two seconds.
All I need.
All I need.
December 13, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Being able to tie a bow without having to wait for someone, literally anyone, to amble over and lend me a finger. Just one finger. For two seconds.
All I need.
All I need.
December 12, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Reposted by Tab Combs
Teach like a Luddite! In which I join @philnichols.bsky.social and @anterobot.bsky.social to argue for a Luddite praxis in education grounded in three elements: embracing strategic playfulness; developing localized tactics; and building networks of resistance. Read the article at Kappan:
Teach like a Luddite - Kappan Online
Embracing new technologies that don’t advance teaching and learning is a mistake. Educators must ask questions — and resist when necessary.
kappanonline.org
December 9, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Teach like a Luddite! In which I join @philnichols.bsky.social and @anterobot.bsky.social to argue for a Luddite praxis in education grounded in three elements: embracing strategic playfulness; developing localized tactics; and building networks of resistance. Read the article at Kappan:
I will never stop being impressed at this dog's ability to snuggle with all four of his feet at once.
December 6, 2025 at 10:15 PM
I will never stop being impressed at this dog's ability to snuggle with all four of his feet at once.
Reposted by Tab Combs
I'm not exaggerating when I say following @boltsmag.org rn will unlock money for our journalism.
A generous reader, @russ41.bsky.social, has offered to donate $1 for every 1-person increase to our follower count.
If you're not following @boltsmag.org yet, it'll directly help fund our reporting!
A generous reader, @russ41.bsky.social, has offered to donate $1 for every 1-person increase to our follower count.
If you're not following @boltsmag.org yet, it'll directly help fund our reporting!
December 6, 2025 at 12:07 AM
I'm not exaggerating when I say following @boltsmag.org rn will unlock money for our journalism.
A generous reader, @russ41.bsky.social, has offered to donate $1 for every 1-person increase to our follower count.
If you're not following @boltsmag.org yet, it'll directly help fund our reporting!
A generous reader, @russ41.bsky.social, has offered to donate $1 for every 1-person increase to our follower count.
If you're not following @boltsmag.org yet, it'll directly help fund our reporting!
Hear me out what if everybody drove slightly slower when it's dark out
December 4, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Hear me out what if everybody drove slightly slower when it's dark out