Robin Marwick
@electricland.bsky.social
Freelance medical editor, alto, digital packrat, occasional traveller, trying to make things better. The pup is Bunty, an Airedale terrier (🎂2023-05-29). 🇨🇦 She/her. Yay for alt text. https://linktr.ee/rmarwick
Pinned
Reposted by Robin Marwick
So Bree hinted at this story a few days ago, but I want to circle back now that I have permission to share it.
WHISTLES OUT: A WHISTLE CREW MYSTERY
WHISTLES OUT: A WHISTLE CREW MYSTERY
and the lady in our inbox who caused us to go into a Whistles Out: a Benoit Blanc Mystery spiral for half the day because she had rallied so many people to request whistles to the same town that we thought it was a scam, but no she just convinced like 700 people to mobilize and we love her so much
February 19, 2026 at 2:37 AM
So Bree hinted at this story a few days ago, but I want to circle back now that I have permission to share it.
WHISTLES OUT: A WHISTLE CREW MYSTERY
WHISTLES OUT: A WHISTLE CREW MYSTERY
Reposted by Robin Marwick
all the doubters who thought substack couldn’t find a business model must be feeling PRETTY SILLY now that they’ve partnered with THE upscale predatory gambling application 😏
Substack, as expected, escalates toward hyper-disinfo.
Remember, folks: The tech bros tearing down our country are the major forces behind this monstrosity.
Choose your future wisely.
Remember, folks: The tech bros tearing down our country are the major forces behind this monstrosity.
Choose your future wisely.
February 19, 2026 at 5:48 AM
all the doubters who thought substack couldn’t find a business model must be feeling PRETTY SILLY now that they’ve partnered with THE upscale predatory gambling application 😏
Reposted by Robin Marwick
Federal judges are literally calling the Trump administration an affront to the laws of man and God
The admin thinks this is evidence of the judiciary's bias, but what it perceives as open hostility from judges is an objective response to open authoritarianism
ballsandstrikes.org/ethics-accou...
The admin thinks this is evidence of the judiciary's bias, but what it perceives as open hostility from judges is an objective response to open authoritarianism
ballsandstrikes.org/ethics-accou...
Federal Judges Can Barely Conceal Their Disgust For the Trump Administration’s Lawlessness
When federal judges are appending Bible verses to their signature blocks, that is generally a sign that democracy is not in a good place.
ballsandstrikes.org
February 17, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Federal judges are literally calling the Trump administration an affront to the laws of man and God
The admin thinks this is evidence of the judiciary's bias, but what it perceives as open hostility from judges is an objective response to open authoritarianism
ballsandstrikes.org/ethics-accou...
The admin thinks this is evidence of the judiciary's bias, but what it perceives as open hostility from judges is an objective response to open authoritarianism
ballsandstrikes.org/ethics-accou...
Reposted by Robin Marwick
I wrote about the Evelyn Normielib ass judges out here ruling that the Trump administration must be cleansed with constitutional fire
ballsandstrikes.org/ethics-accou...
ballsandstrikes.org/ethics-accou...
Federal Judges Can Barely Conceal Their Disgust For the Trump Administration’s Lawlessness
When federal judges are appending Bible verses to their signature blocks, that is generally a sign that democracy is not in a good place.
ballsandstrikes.org
February 17, 2026 at 5:55 PM
I wrote about the Evelyn Normielib ass judges out here ruling that the Trump administration must be cleansed with constitutional fire
ballsandstrikes.org/ethics-accou...
ballsandstrikes.org/ethics-accou...
Reposted by Robin Marwick
2026 basically
February 18, 2026 at 4:23 PM
2026 basically
Reposted by Robin Marwick
This local Wolfdog joined an Olympic ski event and triggered the finish-line camera. This is Nazgul. He snuck into a cross-country skiing sprint this morning and raced the homestretch with some competitors before being escorted home. 14/10 someone get him a medal
February 18, 2026 at 5:48 PM
This local Wolfdog joined an Olympic ski event and triggered the finish-line camera. This is Nazgul. He snuck into a cross-country skiing sprint this morning and raced the homestretch with some competitors before being escorted home. 14/10 someone get him a medal
Reposted by Robin Marwick
"Is there technology the left is excited about?" is the kind of question you only ask if you're wildly naive about technology.
mRNA vaccines. Heat pumps. Offshore wind. Urban mining. Sodium batteries.
But god forbid we're not fawning over every new implementation of Making Computers Bad At Math.
mRNA vaccines. Heat pumps. Offshore wind. Urban mining. Sodium batteries.
But god forbid we're not fawning over every new implementation of Making Computers Bad At Math.
February 18, 2026 at 2:58 PM
"Is there technology the left is excited about?" is the kind of question you only ask if you're wildly naive about technology.
mRNA vaccines. Heat pumps. Offshore wind. Urban mining. Sodium batteries.
But god forbid we're not fawning over every new implementation of Making Computers Bad At Math.
mRNA vaccines. Heat pumps. Offshore wind. Urban mining. Sodium batteries.
But god forbid we're not fawning over every new implementation of Making Computers Bad At Math.
Reposted by Robin Marwick
it can’t be emphasized enough about Sparta that the secret ingredient* was slavery
*not actually secret at all but notoriously absent from the Molon Labe crowd
*not actually secret at all but notoriously absent from the Molon Labe crowd
The Center for Hellenic Studies has hundreds of open access books 📕 for use. I appreciate that the book I use to teach the Helots of Sparta in my ancient slavery class is openly available:
_Helots and The Masters in Laconia and Messenia: Histories, Ideologies, Structures_ by Luraghi & Alcock
_Helots and The Masters in Laconia and Messenia: Histories, Ideologies, Structures_ by Luraghi & Alcock
Helots and The Masters in Laconia and Messenia: Histories, Ideologies, Structures - The Center for Hellenic Studies
The name “Helots” evokes one of the most famous peculiarities of ancient Sparta, the system of dependent labor that guaranteed the livelihood of the free citizens. The Helots fulfilled all the functio...
chs.harvard.edu
February 18, 2026 at 12:58 PM
it can’t be emphasized enough about Sparta that the secret ingredient* was slavery
*not actually secret at all but notoriously absent from the Molon Labe crowd
*not actually secret at all but notoriously absent from the Molon Labe crowd
Reposted by Robin Marwick
Reposted by Robin Marwick
His name is Nazgul :)
Surprise 4-legged Olympic competitor wows cross-country fans
Nazgul sprints on the course at a cross-country ski race, crossing the finish line in an unsanctioned quest for glory.
www.npr.org
February 18, 2026 at 1:47 PM
His name is Nazgul :)
Reposted by Robin Marwick
Important addition here!
This GOOD BOY ran onto the course during the Women’s Cross-Country Skiing Team Sprint event, crossing the finish line and being automatically recorded by OMEGA’s photofinish camera 😆
February 18, 2026 at 1:45 PM
Important addition here!
Reposted by Robin Marwick
DOG AT THE OLYMPICS
FULL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS
FULL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS
February 18, 2026 at 1:26 PM
DOG AT THE OLYMPICS
FULL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS
FULL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS
Reposted by Robin Marwick
Wow it really can replace an intern
Seeing an amazing emergent behavior where a document review agent finds internal wiki pages about the struggles of getting LLMs to understand our esoteric internal systems. The agent then decides its won’t be able to do the current task and aborts with a depressive note about its incompetence.
February 18, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Wow it really can replace an intern
Reposted by Robin Marwick
Reposted by Robin Marwick
“Announcer who is furious at the judges” is a great Olympics Prototype
the commentator at the women's slopestyle is in open revolt against the judging, just repeatedly yelling "WHAT?" after scores come in and just said "I won't pretend to have any idea what's going on with the scoring"
February 18, 2026 at 2:57 PM
“Announcer who is furious at the judges” is a great Olympics Prototype
Reposted by Robin Marwick
Incredible performance.
Nina Simone Live At Montreux 1976 - Backlash Blues
YouTube video by bernardobarcellos
youtu.be
February 4, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Incredible performance.
Reposted by Robin Marwick
all the ai bros keep complaining about being compared to nft bros or crypto bros but they all have spent years now lecturing everyone about how maybe if you really understood it you'd be able to fairly critique it, and in the interim nfts completely collapses and crypto 100% turned into crime, so
The constant condescension about ai is another aspect of it that makes me hate it more. The assumption is you can only be against it because you don't understand it like I do. No man. I don't like voluntarily making every human enterprise dependent on a tech run by a tiny group of financial maniacs
February 18, 2026 at 7:03 AM
all the ai bros keep complaining about being compared to nft bros or crypto bros but they all have spent years now lecturing everyone about how maybe if you really understood it you'd be able to fairly critique it, and in the interim nfts completely collapses and crypto 100% turned into crime, so
Can’t. Stuck in Lodi again.
Can't. Flying to the moon, playing among the stars.
Can't. Taking Manhattan and then Berlin.
February 18, 2026 at 7:04 AM
Can’t. Stuck in Lodi again.
Reposted by Robin Marwick
Instead of "the left isn't paying enough attention to these machine gods" they're claiming to build, perhaps we should write an article about how effective altruists brand themselves "left", ask who is writing these articles, and trace their cults and sources of funding.
February 18, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Instead of "the left isn't paying enough attention to these machine gods" they're claiming to build, perhaps we should write an article about how effective altruists brand themselves "left", ask who is writing these articles, and trace their cults and sources of funding.
Reposted by Robin Marwick
When the article succinctly describes the underlying flaw with the current flood of LLMs branded simply as "AI", but then proceeds to say "but what if you just decide that's not true? Then the AI can do anything and you're an idiot for doubting it".
February 18, 2026 at 5:40 AM
When the article succinctly describes the underlying flaw with the current flood of LLMs branded simply as "AI", but then proceeds to say "but what if you just decide that's not true? Then the AI can do anything and you're an idiot for doubting it".
Reposted by Robin Marwick
why won’t the left just praise every technology handed down from self-interested billionaires seeking only to enhance their power and profits?! clearly, they’re the ones in the wrong if they can’t get on board 😤
February 17, 2026 at 6:47 PM
why won’t the left just praise every technology handed down from self-interested billionaires seeking only to enhance their power and profits?! clearly, they’re the ones in the wrong if they can’t get on board 😤
Reposted by Robin Marwick
So many others have already said this, but: The list of technologies I’m currently excited about is lengthy and varied, and my level of excitement for them is high
Generative AI happens to not be on that list, mostly because I am not excited by something that seems on balance unjustifiably bad
Generative AI happens to not be on that list, mostly because I am not excited by something that seems on balance unjustifiably bad
is there a technology that "the left" is excited about?
www.transformernews.ai/p/the-left-i...
www.transformernews.ai/p/the-left-i...
The left is missing out on AI
As a movement, it has largely refused to engage seriously with AI, ceding debate about a threat and opportunity to the right
www.transformernews.ai
February 18, 2026 at 5:23 AM
So many others have already said this, but: The list of technologies I’m currently excited about is lengthy and varied, and my level of excitement for them is high
Generative AI happens to not be on that list, mostly because I am not excited by something that seems on balance unjustifiably bad
Generative AI happens to not be on that list, mostly because I am not excited by something that seems on balance unjustifiably bad
Reposted by Robin Marwick
My dudes. My billionaire pals. The wealth tax is for YOUR well-being, not ours.
Read this sentence slowly:
“Gov. Gavin Newsom, crypto executives and business leaders are ramping up efforts this week to stop the proposed wealth tax...”
gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/u...
“Gov. Gavin Newsom, crypto executives and business leaders are ramping up efforts this week to stop the proposed wealth tax...”
gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/u...
As Bernie Sanders Comes to California, Wealth Tax Opponents Intensify Efforts
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 3:22 AM
My dudes. My billionaire pals. The wealth tax is for YOUR well-being, not ours.
Reposted by Robin Marwick
I am going to sleep, and you should too, but if you're not quite ready and would like a little joy to help you toggle between The Living Nightmare and Sweet Dreams, I cannot possibly recommend this video highly enough:
John Oliver & Cookie Monster Out-Takes
YouTube video by Mashable
www.youtube.com
February 18, 2026 at 5:17 AM
I am going to sleep, and you should too, but if you're not quite ready and would like a little joy to help you toggle between The Living Nightmare and Sweet Dreams, I cannot possibly recommend this video highly enough:
Reposted by Robin Marwick
Great blogpost by @aliahanna.bsky.social on the use of "AI" in writing at every step of the process: in outlining, in research, and ofc in drafting.
"Great writers become great writers by engaging deeply with the work of other writers, and ultimately, imagining themselves in community with them."
"Great writers become great writers by engaging deeply with the work of other writers, and ultimately, imagining themselves in community with them."
February 17, 2026 at 6:34 PM
Great blogpost by @aliahanna.bsky.social on the use of "AI" in writing at every step of the process: in outlining, in research, and ofc in drafting.
"Great writers become great writers by engaging deeply with the work of other writers, and ultimately, imagining themselves in community with them."
"Great writers become great writers by engaging deeply with the work of other writers, and ultimately, imagining themselves in community with them."