Ed Stern
@edstern.bsky.social
Basic Prog Brit Woke Remoaner Centrist Dad.
He/Him, Bi, ADHD, the usual.
Former Splash Damage game dev.
Full-Stack Narrative Designer/Game Writer available for hire:
https://www.sternword.co.uk/
He/Him, Bi, ADHD, the usual.
Former Splash Damage game dev.
Full-Stack Narrative Designer/Game Writer available for hire:
https://www.sternword.co.uk/
Reposted by Ed Stern
97.5% are not criminals AT ALL
DEVELOPING: The DOJs own data, provided as part of an ongoing lawsuit, appeared to show only about 2.5% of 614 people arrested by ICE on immigration violations in the Chicago area before Oct. 7 had criminal histories
Story here:
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/14/o...
Story here:
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/14/o...
Only 2.5% on list of 614 ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ arrestees had criminal histories, DOJ records show
Meanwhile, the other 598 people on the list had no listed criminal history at all.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:47 PM
97.5% are not criminals AT ALL
Reposted by Ed Stern
the ~5 tons of CO2 emitted on this hourlong flight is roughly equivalent to what the average EU citizen emits in a year
Landed in Van Nuys, California, United States. Apx. flt. time 54 min.
November 14, 2025 at 9:30 PM
the ~5 tons of CO2 emitted on this hourlong flight is roughly equivalent to what the average EU citizen emits in a year
Reposted by Ed Stern
Oh wow @reuters.com got the photo here:
November 14, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Oh wow @reuters.com got the photo here:
Reposted by Ed Stern
My almost 10-year-old son has a couple of friends over, and I just happened to have some Osage oranges that I collected yesterday—because I'm thinking of planting a tree—and so of course I had to grab the chance to teach the kids the delightful facts about Osage oranges and woolly mammoths:
The Trees That Miss The Mammoths - American Forests
Trees that once depended on animals like the wooly mammoth for survival have managed to adapt and survive in the modern world.
www.americanforests.org
November 14, 2025 at 9:29 PM
My almost 10-year-old son has a couple of friends over, and I just happened to have some Osage oranges that I collected yesterday—because I'm thinking of planting a tree—and so of course I had to grab the chance to teach the kids the delightful facts about Osage oranges and woolly mammoths:
Reposted by Ed Stern
Everyone likes to go on about how sedans were fine for families in the 90s but we also weren't keeping kids in rearfacing carseats until they were at least 2, forward facing ones until they were at least 5, and boosters until they were 8-10 in the 90s.
November 14, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Everyone likes to go on about how sedans were fine for families in the 90s but we also weren't keeping kids in rearfacing carseats until they were at least 2, forward facing ones until they were at least 5, and boosters until they were 8-10 in the 90s.
Reposted by Ed Stern
Point of order, I think most people tend to get SUVs these days because it's hard to fit those giant rear-facing carseats in a standard sized car and it's nearly impossible if you have more than two kids who need to go in the backseat.
![4-panel vertical comic. (1) 100 Years Ago [two people standing next to bicycle with small car nearby] PERSON 1: It’s too dangerous riding a bike with these cars around. I should get a car, too. (2) 50 Years Ago [two people between smaller car and bigger car] PERSON 2 with short hair: Small cars are less safe in collisions with larger vehicles, so I should get a bigger one. (3) Today [two people between big car and even bigger car] PERSON 1: Everyone has huge SUVs now. If I don’t get the biggest one, I’m putting my family at risk. (4) Soon [two people next to large armored car with spiked clubs attached] PERSON 2: If I don’t install more whirling spike clubs, I’ll be destroyed by all the other drivers who...](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreiby6can6k76yzfmv2czxs4pu2l7zie7bqbrpswi7h3ifmiadkuqvu@jpeg)
November 14, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Point of order, I think most people tend to get SUVs these days because it's hard to fit those giant rear-facing carseats in a standard sized car and it's nearly impossible if you have more than two kids who need to go in the backseat.
Reposted by Ed Stern
The original Half Man Half Biscuit.
November 14, 2025 at 9:12 PM
The original Half Man Half Biscuit.
Reposted by Ed Stern
Today I'm reading about the hardest motherfucker to ever live, French naval officer Aristide Aubert du Petit-Thouars. His enormous titanium balls are clearly exhibited by this sentence:
"After having lost both legs and an arm, he continued to command from a bucket filled with wheat until he died."
"After having lost both legs and an arm, he continued to command from a bucket filled with wheat until he died."
November 14, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Today I'm reading about the hardest motherfucker to ever live, French naval officer Aristide Aubert du Petit-Thouars. His enormous titanium balls are clearly exhibited by this sentence:
"After having lost both legs and an arm, he continued to command from a bucket filled with wheat until he died."
"After having lost both legs and an arm, he continued to command from a bucket filled with wheat until he died."
Reposted by Ed Stern
Serious talk in the dojo of replacing me with an inflatable tube man.
November 12, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Serious talk in the dojo of replacing me with an inflatable tube man.
Reposted by Ed Stern
I love listening to rosamund pike interviews. On screen, chilly control psycho / practical mamma bear.
Real life : Huge sci fi fantasy geek who talks about minutiae of acting process and is also a walking very british problems.
Real life : Huge sci fi fantasy geek who talks about minutiae of acting process and is also a walking very british problems.
November 14, 2025 at 9:11 PM
I love listening to rosamund pike interviews. On screen, chilly control psycho / practical mamma bear.
Real life : Huge sci fi fantasy geek who talks about minutiae of acting process and is also a walking very british problems.
Real life : Huge sci fi fantasy geek who talks about minutiae of acting process and is also a walking very british problems.
Reposted by Ed Stern
The article also never interrogates the *incredibly* bad judgement of this woman who entered a relationship with not only a professional source but a known liar and crank whose life’s work is getting kids killed. It’s all told from her perspective, like he’s just some work crush that went sideways.
‘The *mutual* infatuation that consumed *her*. Either there is some bizarre misunderstanding as to what the word ‘mutual’ means, or that shift from plural to singular is intended to allow Nuzzi to impose her narrative by elision.
November 14, 2025 at 8:44 PM
The article also never interrogates the *incredibly* bad judgement of this woman who entered a relationship with not only a professional source but a known liar and crank whose life’s work is getting kids killed. It’s all told from her perspective, like he’s just some work crush that went sideways.
Reposted by Ed Stern
April 7, 2024 at 12:36 AM
Reposted by Ed Stern
broadsword? what is that, a weapon for women?
November 14, 2025 at 6:51 PM
broadsword? what is that, a weapon for women?
Reposted by Ed Stern
Obviously, you can think whatever you want about any book, but to me, Nabokov's two masterworks (Lolita, Pale Fire) are about horrible people possessed of deep delusions of grandeur who aim to get the reader on their side by appearing to be smart. And a lot of people fall for it!
November 14, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Obviously, you can think whatever you want about any book, but to me, Nabokov's two masterworks (Lolita, Pale Fire) are about horrible people possessed of deep delusions of grandeur who aim to get the reader on their side by appearing to be smart. And a lot of people fall for it!
Reposted by Ed Stern
I am all for more expansive readings of any text, including Lolita, but if you're going to argue that it's about, like, the European seduction of America(??), please at least contend with how many times the explicit text lets you know Humbert is ruining Dolores's life.
November 14, 2025 at 8:28 PM
I am all for more expansive readings of any text, including Lolita, but if you're going to argue that it's about, like, the European seduction of America(??), please at least contend with how many times the explicit text lets you know Humbert is ruining Dolores's life.
Reposted by Ed Stern
The way too many people actively avoid talking about the unreliability of one of the most famous unreliable narrators in all of the literary canon is really something.
People have been misinterpreting Lolita since it came out and Nabokov was like "you're absolutely wrong; I wrote this to create a trap that you fell into and you should reflect on why you were so gullible about a monster."
![INTERVIEWER
He does [names him]. A third critic has said that you “diminish” your characters “to the point where they become ciphers in a cosmic farce.” I disagree; Humbert, while comic, retains a touching and insistent quality—that of the spoiled artist.
NABOKOV
I would put it differently: Humbert Humbert is a vain and cruel wretch who manages to appear “touching.” That epithet, in its true, tear-iridized sense, can only apply to my poor little girl. Besides, how can I “diminish” to the level of ciphers, et cetera, characters that I have invented myself? One can “diminish” a biographee, but not an eidolon.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:sajwk2kma5oeryy6odgweciz/bafkreibqwlfwj2jyd3apcdb22rbcxsvxpnw36ryqpgqwyu3kc4cn2rbkxm@jpeg)
November 14, 2025 at 8:28 PM
The way too many people actively avoid talking about the unreliability of one of the most famous unreliable narrators in all of the literary canon is really something.
Reposted by Ed Stern
There are thousands of things like this in tech. Why is search bad in Gmail. Why does Bluetooth suck. Why are most streaming apps bad. Why is file transfer still annoying. Every day it feels like I've got random issues with tech stuff while these companies sink billions into AI
if microsoft just made outlook search not suck they'd see triple the productivity gains of any AI integration
November 14, 2025 at 8:24 AM
There are thousands of things like this in tech. Why is search bad in Gmail. Why does Bluetooth suck. Why are most streaming apps bad. Why is file transfer still annoying. Every day it feels like I've got random issues with tech stuff while these companies sink billions into AI
Reposted by Ed Stern
Ultimately it comes down to what you're going to say at the next election.
Would you rather say "we broke our pledge but at least things are better" or "everything's still shit but at least we kept our pledge"?
Would you rather say "we broke our pledge but at least things are better" or "everything's still shit but at least we kept our pledge"?
Too much analysis was still treating breaking the tax pledge as “just another unpopular decision” rather than recognising consequence of breaking a promise which defined an election for the public. If is correct the govt won’t now break it they may have avoided a deeply scarring loss of public trust
November 14, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Ultimately it comes down to what you're going to say at the next election.
Would you rather say "we broke our pledge but at least things are better" or "everything's still shit but at least we kept our pledge"?
Would you rather say "we broke our pledge but at least things are better" or "everything's still shit but at least we kept our pledge"?
Reposted by Ed Stern
i spoke to LOADS of people about this very recently, and the only people using it regularly were the dipshits in charge
November 12, 2025 at 3:47 AM
i spoke to LOADS of people about this very recently, and the only people using it regularly were the dipshits in charge
Reposted by Ed Stern
"It is important to assume that CEOs have no real concept of how games are made but idolise AI tech bros who also value profitable slop over people and actual creativity."
“It’s important to assume every game company is now using AI.” Nexon CEO comments on role of human creativity as AI tools become the norm
automaton-media.com/en/news/its-...
automaton-media.com/en/news/its-...
“It’s important to assume every game company is now using AI.” Nexon CEO comments on role of human creativity as AI tools become the norm - AUTOMATON WEST
In an interview following the launch of ARC Raiders, the CEO of Embark Studios' parent company Nexon shares his views on AI.
automaton-media.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:51 AM
"It is important to assume that CEOs have no real concept of how games are made but idolise AI tech bros who also value profitable slop over people and actual creativity."
Reposted by Ed Stern
I'm really curious what the median salary of this dataset is as opposed to the average, as averages are impacted by the many Spiders Georgs we have in this industry. The vast majority of the game workers I know aren't making anywhere near $142k, myself included 😅
The average salary for games industry professionals based in the United States was $142,000 in 2025, according to a new report from GDC Festival of Gaming.
www.gamesindustry.biz/gdc-survey-a...
www.gamesindustry.biz/gdc-survey-a...
GDC Survey: Average salary for US games professionals was $142,000 in 2025
Findings reveal 33% of workers feel employers are "working to close existing pay gaps," while one-tenth report no efforts are being made
www.gamesindustry.biz
November 14, 2025 at 5:24 PM
I'm really curious what the median salary of this dataset is as opposed to the average, as averages are impacted by the many Spiders Georgs we have in this industry. The vast majority of the game workers I know aren't making anywhere near $142k, myself included 😅
Reposted by Ed Stern
A new post. I think I am not the only person feeling this way. It's personal enough that I've limited discussion and will limit discussion on this post.
I Am So Tired
[This post is very personal. I think it needs to be said, because I am not the only one feeling this way. I posted it at Lawyers, Guns & Money and immediately got a jocular response. So I delet…
nucleardiner.wordpress.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:17 PM
A new post. I think I am not the only person feeling this way. It's personal enough that I've limited discussion and will limit discussion on this post.
Reposted by Ed Stern
Goodnight.
Margaret Bourke-White, Beach Accident, Coney Island, Brooklyn, 1951
Margaret Bourke-White, Beach Accident, Coney Island, Brooklyn, 1951
November 14, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Goodnight.
Margaret Bourke-White, Beach Accident, Coney Island, Brooklyn, 1951
Margaret Bourke-White, Beach Accident, Coney Island, Brooklyn, 1951
Reposted by Ed Stern
Art Shay, Friends Dancing, 1955
November 14, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Art Shay, Friends Dancing, 1955
Reposted by Ed Stern
"Hey guys we invented a bullshitting machine. What should we use it for?"
"How about this task where the margin of error is vanishingly small and any mistake or inaccuracy poses a risk of mass human casualties?"
"How about this task where the margin of error is vanishingly small and any mistake or inaccuracy poses a risk of mass human casualties?"
New from 404 Media: Microsoft and nuclear power company Westinghouse Nuclear want to use AI to speed up the construction of new nuclear power plants in the United States.
"may lead [..] to catastrophic nuclear consequences" and distrust of nuclear tech
www.404media.co/power-compan...
"may lead [..] to catastrophic nuclear consequences" and distrust of nuclear tech
www.404media.co/power-compan...
Power Companies Are Using AI To Build Nuclear Power Plants
Tech companies are betting big on nuclear energy to meet AIs massive power demands and they're using that AI to speed up the construction of new nuclear power plants.
www.404media.co
November 14, 2025 at 6:21 PM
"Hey guys we invented a bullshitting machine. What should we use it for?"
"How about this task where the margin of error is vanishingly small and any mistake or inaccuracy poses a risk of mass human casualties?"
"How about this task where the margin of error is vanishingly small and any mistake or inaccuracy poses a risk of mass human casualties?"