probably just paul
@enpaul.net
Urbanist, engineer, activist. (he/him)
Posts here will be about technology, politics, trains, cities, and being very tired.
Spending my engineering time with @freedom.press
Posts here will be about technology, politics, trains, cities, and being very tired.
Spending my engineering time with @freedom.press
Pinned
probably just paul
@enpaul.net
· Feb 2
Welcome new followers. I'm not sure why you followed me, but let me take the opportunity to say:
Trans rights
Fuck elon musk (et al)
I once received a citation for screaming insults at a group of Nazis in Downtown Crossing
Trans rights
Fuck elon musk (et al)
I once received a citation for screaming insults at a group of Nazis in Downtown Crossing
Reposted by probably just paul
2025 Year In Review: Not feeling so great about the rule of law. Zero stars.
December 5, 2025 at 8:17 PM
2025 Year In Review: Not feeling so great about the rule of law. Zero stars.
This is just a less eloquent version of that old "the problems are bad, but the causes are good" tweet
By far the most discouraging thing about These Times is all the people saying effectively, "the ACTUAL problem with this authoritarian dictator is that he's not doing what I want. If we had a GOOD authoritarian dictator everything would be better"
December 5, 2025 at 5:04 PM
This is just a less eloquent version of that old "the problems are bad, but the causes are good" tweet
By far the most discouraging thing about These Times is all the people saying effectively, "the ACTUAL problem with this authoritarian dictator is that he's not doing what I want. If we had a GOOD authoritarian dictator everything would be better"
December 5, 2025 at 4:57 PM
By far the most discouraging thing about These Times is all the people saying effectively, "the ACTUAL problem with this authoritarian dictator is that he's not doing what I want. If we had a GOOD authoritarian dictator everything would be better"
I love when a headline is just "deeply weird fringe person you've never heard of says the most fucked up thing you can imagine" and the follow up is "this person is in charge of everything now"
The co-founder of Kalshi says: " The long-term vision is to financialize everything and create a tradable asset out of any difference in opinion."
December 3, 2025 at 10:25 PM
I love when a headline is just "deeply weird fringe person you've never heard of says the most fucked up thing you can imagine" and the follow up is "this person is in charge of everything now"
Kinda cool to go back to a place you used to know really well and see how the Google reviews of the local Dunkin have improved
December 3, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Kinda cool to go back to a place you used to know really well and see how the Google reviews of the local Dunkin have improved
When your local train breaks down, you end up running forty minutes late, but you still make your connection because the express train is also running late
December 2, 2025 at 10:08 PM
When your local train breaks down, you end up running forty minutes late, but you still make your connection because the express train is also running late
"SEPTA is great as long as you don't need to be anywhere at a particular time!" Is both abjectly insane and also true
So far, my experience with SEPTA has been... let's call it lacking
December 2, 2025 at 9:05 PM
"SEPTA is great as long as you don't need to be anywhere at a particular time!" Is both abjectly insane and also true
So far, my experience with SEPTA has been... let's call it lacking
December 2, 2025 at 9:03 PM
So far, my experience with SEPTA has been... let's call it lacking
"cyber" is a deeply unserious word. I think it's very funny when something is a "cyber thing"
December 1, 2025 at 6:50 PM
"cyber" is a deeply unserious word. I think it's very funny when something is a "cyber thing"
When asked what it's like being an American with a life threatening chronic medical condition, I tell people I have opinions on which debt collection agencies are more reputable than the others
Establish dominance by sending your medical debt to collections before they do
November 30, 2025 at 4:35 AM
When asked what it's like being an American with a life threatening chronic medical condition, I tell people I have opinions on which debt collection agencies are more reputable than the others
Establish dominance by sending your medical debt to collections before they do
November 30, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Establish dominance by sending your medical debt to collections before they do
Reposted by probably just paul
I am not anti-fascist, I am pro liberation. To be pro liberation means you must defeat fascism, but it also means that you fight to create a world that is liberated for all, not just against the thing that is currently harming you.
November 30, 2025 at 1:49 AM
I am not anti-fascist, I am pro liberation. To be pro liberation means you must defeat fascism, but it also means that you fight to create a world that is liberated for all, not just against the thing that is currently harming you.
Reposted by probably just paul
I’ve been saying it for years, years I tell you!
November 29, 2025 at 9:24 PM
I’ve been saying it for years, years I tell you!
Reposted by probably just paul
so if I'm reading the literature right in the 2000s people lost their minds over the idea of the "digital commons" bc they were conflating common-pool resource sharing with like, free speech zones?? those are very different commonses, folks
November 29, 2025 at 7:03 PM
so if I'm reading the literature right in the 2000s people lost their minds over the idea of the "digital commons" bc they were conflating common-pool resource sharing with like, free speech zones?? those are very different commonses, folks
Reposted by probably just paul
Neither Montana nor California have legalized in-app gambling and the fact that those two very different states agree on this should be a signal to everywhere else.
November 28, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Neither Montana nor California have legalized in-app gambling and the fact that those two very different states agree on this should be a signal to everywhere else.
Reposted by probably just paul
Black Friday reminder - that product with a great price being sold by a company with a name that's just a bunch of random letters may end up on our website someday because it explodes.
November 28, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Black Friday reminder - that product with a great price being sold by a company with a name that's just a bunch of random letters may end up on our website someday because it explodes.
Reposted by probably just paul
I don’t know if anyone else notices or cares, but when I see a presentation in which the speaker uses obviously generated-AI images to illustrate their slides, it makes me immediately less confident in whatever other content they’re presenting.
November 28, 2025 at 3:07 PM
I don’t know if anyone else notices or cares, but when I see a presentation in which the speaker uses obviously generated-AI images to illustrate their slides, it makes me immediately less confident in whatever other content they’re presenting.
Reposted by probably just paul
I suspect being stupid is pretty enjoyable. Imagine waiting 3 years for the Brexit vote to happen, then 4 years for Brexit to happen, then 5 years for the consequence to start fully emerging, only to then MAYBE realize you fucked up. Instead I had to endure 12 years of the dumbest shit imaginable.
November 28, 2025 at 1:41 AM
I suspect being stupid is pretty enjoyable. Imagine waiting 3 years for the Brexit vote to happen, then 4 years for Brexit to happen, then 5 years for the consequence to start fully emerging, only to then MAYBE realize you fucked up. Instead I had to endure 12 years of the dumbest shit imaginable.
Sometimes my lovely and wonderful partner (whom I love very much) says something absolutely insane, like "the pie crust is better than the filling"
November 27, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Sometimes my lovely and wonderful partner (whom I love very much) says something absolutely insane, like "the pie crust is better than the filling"
Reposted by probably just paul
Hey ma'am we talked it over and agreed to give you an ACAB waiver if you render the entire staff of The Blaze homeless
November 26, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Hey ma'am we talked it over and agreed to give you an ACAB waiver if you render the entire staff of The Blaze homeless
Reposted by probably just paul
Silicon Valley guys casting government employees as lazy, parasitic, and malevolent seems like a giant case of projection imo
March 20, 2025 at 2:05 AM
Silicon Valley guys casting government employees as lazy, parasitic, and malevolent seems like a giant case of projection imo
Having a 6hr flight the same day that @defunctland.bsky.social 's latest opus drops is unbelievably lucky
November 23, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Having a 6hr flight the same day that @defunctland.bsky.social 's latest opus drops is unbelievably lucky
Saw wild sea lions. Day made
November 23, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Saw wild sea lions. Day made
"megapixels" this, "ai upscaling" that, I am still waiting for them to make a camera that works even half as good as my eyes
November 23, 2025 at 12:53 AM
"megapixels" this, "ai upscaling" that, I am still waiting for them to make a camera that works even half as good as my eyes
Worried I was going to miss my train this morning, but then remembered that Amtrak can always be counted on to be running late
November 22, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Worried I was going to miss my train this morning, but then remembered that Amtrak can always be counted on to be running late