EssayWells
@essaywells.bsky.social
Scientist, husband, parent, possibly a little too into Dungeons and Dragons. @essayWells on Twitter (Ex-Twitter?)
Reposted by EssayWells
Incredible update: "This article was updated to note that CNN reports there were at least four party balloons shot down by DOD, not just one."
gizmodo.com/one-mexican-...
gizmodo.com/one-mexican-...
Mexican Cartel 'Drones' Near El Paso Airspace Were Actually Party Balloons: Report
FAA initially ordered the closure of airspace over El Paso for 10 days before backtracking.
gizmodo.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Incredible update: "This article was updated to note that CNN reports there were at least four party balloons shot down by DOD, not just one."
gizmodo.com/one-mexican-...
gizmodo.com/one-mexican-...
Reposted by EssayWells
HEGSETH GAVE THE GUYS SHOOTING CITIZENS IN THE STREET AND BREAKING DOWN DOORS AN ANTI-AIRCRAFT LASER.
Sorry for shouting I just can’t hear my thoughts over the ringing in my ears.
Sorry for shouting I just can’t hear my thoughts over the ringing in my ears.
February 12, 2026 at 3:29 AM
HEGSETH GAVE THE GUYS SHOOTING CITIZENS IN THE STREET AND BREAKING DOWN DOORS AN ANTI-AIRCRAFT LASER.
Sorry for shouting I just can’t hear my thoughts over the ringing in my ears.
Sorry for shouting I just can’t hear my thoughts over the ringing in my ears.
Reposted by EssayWells
According to multiple NYT sources, it wasn’t even military personnel at Fort Bliss that fired an anti-drone laser at alleged cartel drones. It was CBP who used the weapon on loan from DoD against a child’s party balloon they mistook for a drone. The Pentagon gave CBP an anti-aircraft weapon.
February 12, 2026 at 3:28 AM
According to multiple NYT sources, it wasn’t even military personnel at Fort Bliss that fired an anti-drone laser at alleged cartel drones. It was CBP who used the weapon on loan from DoD against a child’s party balloon they mistook for a drone. The Pentagon gave CBP an anti-aircraft weapon.
Reposted by EssayWells
Incredible update: "This article was updated to note that CNN reports there were at least four party balloons shot down by DOD, not just one."
gizmodo.com/one-mexican-...
gizmodo.com/one-mexican-...
Mexican Cartel 'Drones' Near El Paso Airspace Were Actually Party Balloons: Report
FAA initially ordered the closure of airspace over El Paso for 10 days before backtracking.
gizmodo.com
February 11, 2026 at 11:39 PM
Reposted by EssayWells
Waymo exec says remote assistance operators are in US and also in Philippines. Markey says that's unacceptable, a national & cyber security risk. And it takes jobs away from American drivers to outsource overseas. "Transatlantic backseat driver is downright dangerous in our country" Markey says.
February 4, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Waymo exec says remote assistance operators are in US and also in Philippines. Markey says that's unacceptable, a national & cyber security risk. And it takes jobs away from American drivers to outsource overseas. "Transatlantic backseat driver is downright dangerous in our country" Markey says.
Reposted by EssayWells
A lot of people who regurgitate "improvement" talking points to discredit any criticism of AI have little to no awareness of the trickery that occurs behind the scenes to provide this mirage. Not only for autonomous vehicles, but the army of human labour used to fine tune generative AI.
Waymo exec says remote assistance operators are in US and also in Philippines. Markey says that's unacceptable, a national & cyber security risk. And it takes jobs away from American drivers to outsource overseas. "Transatlantic backseat driver is downright dangerous in our country" Markey says.
February 5, 2026 at 11:08 AM
A lot of people who regurgitate "improvement" talking points to discredit any criticism of AI have little to no awareness of the trickery that occurs behind the scenes to provide this mirage. Not only for autonomous vehicles, but the army of human labour used to fine tune generative AI.
Reposted by EssayWells
On my flight today, a chatty lady said, “I can’t go to New York with all that’s going on over there.” And I said, “What? Free child care?” And she stopped talking to me.
February 12, 2026 at 5:14 AM
On my flight today, a chatty lady said, “I can’t go to New York with all that’s going on over there.” And I said, “What? Free child care?” And she stopped talking to me.
Reposted by EssayWells
Most people don’t know this: Heat pumps REDUCE gas consumption even if running 100% on electricity from a gas fired power plant.
More here in my piece for @carbonbrief.org👇
interactive.carbonbrief.org/factcheck/he...
More here in my piece for @carbonbrief.org👇
interactive.carbonbrief.org/factcheck/he...
February 11, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Most people don’t know this: Heat pumps REDUCE gas consumption even if running 100% on electricity from a gas fired power plant.
More here in my piece for @carbonbrief.org👇
interactive.carbonbrief.org/factcheck/he...
More here in my piece for @carbonbrief.org👇
interactive.carbonbrief.org/factcheck/he...
Reposted by EssayWells
If it's so fucking useful then go do that useful thing with it! Make something that doesn't look like lazy shit! File a bunch of legal briefs that don't make a judge want to vaporize you where you stand! Fuck off!
February 12, 2026 at 3:04 AM
If it's so fucking useful then go do that useful thing with it! Make something that doesn't look like lazy shit! File a bunch of legal briefs that don't make a judge want to vaporize you where you stand! Fuck off!
Reposted by EssayWells
Just a couple years ago it was "have fun being poor," "your job is going away, you're being replaced loser," "you better reskill because this is the only thing that matters now." So yeah I'm hostile to the idea and I think everyone into it is a thief and a loser
February 12, 2026 at 2:52 AM
Just a couple years ago it was "have fun being poor," "your job is going away, you're being replaced loser," "you better reskill because this is the only thing that matters now." So yeah I'm hostile to the idea and I think everyone into it is a thief and a loser
Reposted by EssayWells
Man I'm so goddamn sick of ai. "Wahhh you can't have a reasonable conversation about ai on here," yeah maybe be mad about the two year parade of scam artists and financial charlatans and environmental ruiners who have radicalized everyone against the spell check that agrees with you
February 12, 2026 at 2:45 AM
Man I'm so goddamn sick of ai. "Wahhh you can't have a reasonable conversation about ai on here," yeah maybe be mad about the two year parade of scam artists and financial charlatans and environmental ruiners who have radicalized everyone against the spell check that agrees with you
Reposted by EssayWells
Conclusion: either ‘seeing’ swirls/static when your eyes are closed is pretty normal and common, OR significant numbers of Bluesky users aren’t representative of the normal population (non-zero chance it’s this one 😆)
I just saw a video with a doctor (?) claiming that “most” people see pitch black when they close their eyes, but some see static/swirls/sparkles. The person (I’m increasingly doubtful) in the video linked this to visual snow syndrome, but as far as I can tell, that happens with eyes open AND closed
February 12, 2026 at 8:04 AM
Conclusion: either ‘seeing’ swirls/static when your eyes are closed is pretty normal and common, OR significant numbers of Bluesky users aren’t representative of the normal population (non-zero chance it’s this one 😆)
Reposted by EssayWells
It took more than 6 months, but it turns out you can grind low level trash mobs in real life too. aftermath.site/switch-2-citib...
My Grueling Quest To Buy A Switch 2 By Riding Citi Bikes
After roughly 495 bike rides and interrupted by a broken foot, I have a Nintendo Switch 2 from riding Citi Bike points. Was that work?
aftermath.site
February 11, 2026 at 8:01 PM
It took more than 6 months, but it turns out you can grind low level trash mobs in real life too. aftermath.site/switch-2-citib...
Reposted by EssayWells
My take on the AI selfhood debate is that it is a deeply dehumanising distraction technique. Real horrors are happening every day to people whose sentience is not a matter of scientific or philosophical debate but LOOK THE MACHINE I DESIGNED TO LOOK LIKE IT'S THINKING LOOKS LIKE IT'S THINKING!
1/
1/
February 11, 2026 at 9:40 PM
My take on the AI selfhood debate is that it is a deeply dehumanising distraction technique. Real horrors are happening every day to people whose sentience is not a matter of scientific or philosophical debate but LOOK THE MACHINE I DESIGNED TO LOOK LIKE IT'S THINKING LOOKS LIKE IT'S THINKING!
1/
1/
Reposted by EssayWells
Sorry but metaphysically I do not think this is possible.
February 12, 2026 at 7:21 AM
Sorry but metaphysically I do not think this is possible.
Reposted by EssayWells
I called up one of the White House's "special government employees" involved in the Fulton County FBI raid.
I ended up on the phone for almost two hours hearing about the "deep state" "cabal," "Satanists," poison soda, and the "pure evil" of "gay pride." talkingpointsmemo.com/news/meet-th...
I ended up on the phone for almost two hours hearing about the "deep state" "cabal," "Satanists," poison soda, and the "pure evil" of "gay pride." talkingpointsmemo.com/news/meet-th...
February 11, 2026 at 11:53 PM
I called up one of the White House's "special government employees" involved in the Fulton County FBI raid.
I ended up on the phone for almost two hours hearing about the "deep state" "cabal," "Satanists," poison soda, and the "pure evil" of "gay pride." talkingpointsmemo.com/news/meet-th...
I ended up on the phone for almost two hours hearing about the "deep state" "cabal," "Satanists," poison soda, and the "pure evil" of "gay pride." talkingpointsmemo.com/news/meet-th...
Reposted by EssayWells
The spend figures I am hearing from people and organizations who have really gone all-in on agentic coding practices are simply staggering, and the results... mostly fail to speak for themselves because they don't exist to do so.
Coding by hand is cheaper &, I'm convinced, a competitive advantage
Coding by hand is cheaper &, I'm convinced, a competitive advantage
The average price I hear quoted from “serious” devs for LLM coding agent subscriptions is $1000-$2000 a month, literally a mortgage payment, and some of the cheap priced leading coding models just doubled their prices overnight.
February 11, 2026 at 11:37 PM
The spend figures I am hearing from people and organizations who have really gone all-in on agentic coding practices are simply staggering, and the results... mostly fail to speak for themselves because they don't exist to do so.
Coding by hand is cheaper &, I'm convinced, a competitive advantage
Coding by hand is cheaper &, I'm convinced, a competitive advantage
Reposted by EssayWells
What is going on???
February 11, 2026 at 11:33 PM
What is going on???
Reposted by EssayWells
So DOD risked civilian airspace to obliterate some fucking balloons; when FAA found out and asked them to stop they refused; FAA did what it had to keep people safe; when the public rightly freaked out, DOD relented, lied, and blamed the FAA.
Sounds like Hegseth!
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
Sounds like Hegseth!
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
February 11, 2026 at 10:58 PM
So DOD risked civilian airspace to obliterate some fucking balloons; when FAA found out and asked them to stop they refused; FAA did what it had to keep people safe; when the public rightly freaked out, DOD relented, lied, and blamed the FAA.
Sounds like Hegseth!
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
Sounds like Hegseth!
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
Reposted by EssayWells
Over on threads someone just use ai;dr and we all need to adopt that right quick
February 11, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Over on threads someone just use ai;dr and we all need to adopt that right quick
Reposted by EssayWells
"If anything, my time with the Epstein Files has only further convinced me that the worst of us deserve the truth most of all"
and we're gonna give it to them good and hard
and we're gonna give it to them good and hard
Part One of my exploration of Jeffery Epstein's relationship with the Musk brothers is now live.
Unpacking the first year or so of the documented relationship, it shows how Epstein pursued Elon through connections and "girls," and hints at possible motivations.
niedermeyer.online/2026/02/10/m...
Unpacking the first year or so of the documented relationship, it shows how Epstein pursued Elon through connections and "girls," and hints at possible motivations.
niedermeyer.online/2026/02/10/m...
There's more than a whiff of Musk in the Epstein Files
Explore the relationship between Elon Musk and Jeffrey Epstein, as documented in the Epstein Files.
niedermeyer.online
February 11, 2026 at 10:24 PM
"If anything, my time with the Epstein Files has only further convinced me that the worst of us deserve the truth most of all"
and we're gonna give it to them good and hard
and we're gonna give it to them good and hard
Reposted by EssayWells
Once again: people are angry for very good reason, and this brand of post is perhaps one of the most tedious and bewildering. Practically every social media platform is rabidly pro-‘AI’ so are govts, academia, companies. This one small space being critical of AI is okay, I think.
February 11, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Once again: people are angry for very good reason, and this brand of post is perhaps one of the most tedious and bewildering. Practically every social media platform is rabidly pro-‘AI’ so are govts, academia, companies. This one small space being critical of AI is okay, I think.
Reposted by EssayWells
"It's really unfortunate that people don't share my near-religious faith in the robot god, and bog my evangelism down with concerns about the robot god being an uncontrollable demon, and, like, it's totally not, I don't know why you won't just believe, no I won't address your concerns at all."
Once again: people are angry for very good reason, and this brand of post is perhaps one of the most tedious and bewildering. Practically every social media platform is rabidly pro-‘AI’ so are govts, academia, companies. This one small space being critical of AI is okay, I think.
February 11, 2026 at 10:31 PM
"It's really unfortunate that people don't share my near-religious faith in the robot god, and bog my evangelism down with concerns about the robot god being an uncontrollable demon, and, like, it's totally not, I don't know why you won't just believe, no I won't address your concerns at all."
Reposted by EssayWells
Damn, @ryanhatesthis.bsky.social's got hands today.
February 11, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Damn, @ryanhatesthis.bsky.social's got hands today.
Reposted by EssayWells
I think the greatest gift college professors in the humanities can give to students right now is a seminar room where, for 80 minutes twice a week, nothing that happens to them is a sales pitch for an AI product.
February 11, 2026 at 8:45 PM
I think the greatest gift college professors in the humanities can give to students right now is a seminar room where, for 80 minutes twice a week, nothing that happens to them is a sales pitch for an AI product.