Pat Scaramuzza
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genocideman.bsky.social
Pat Scaramuzza
@genocideman.bsky.social
620 followers 180 following 730 posts
Scientist, author, artist, madman. He/Him.

Creator of the comic 'Genocide Man', which is a celebration of life, believe it or not.

Day job is a calibration physicist for the USGS Landsat program. But here I'm mostly about art, writing, and politics.
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genocideman.bsky.social
Woke up in afib, I guess;
heart rate 154, pain in my chest.
Got it to 50, then normal 75,
so I guess I'm still alive.

Should sleep some more, I guess.
Hard to do when death's within your chest.
Two steps forward and I'll be fine.
When I take a step back, forgive my whine.
November 19, 2025 at 3:55 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
I know I'm going to make enemies of people I admire, but I think this is the precisely wrong take on generative AI. 🧵
November 18, 2025 at 3:34 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
Breaking news: I'm hearing reports that Ghislane Maxwell had a horse named Bubba, and I can't stop laughing about it. 😆 #Bubba #WhoisBubba
November 15, 2025 at 3:09 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
Convincing you to read my novel by the first sentence. Share yours if you want!
Manifold and Tribune Have you been paying attention to Earth like I have? Here, check out their feeds: TRANSCEND! Are you still mortal? WHY? Tribune Section 1, "World News", Headline: 'Seven transmortals for every human being.' Underheading: 'What are they waiting for?' query / curiosity / archival: chameleon research, earth: status? No, no, no. Use Human modes. You won't understand them or the results of my research if you don't at least try to communicate like they do. TRANSCEND! All this: -- holo of Sol system (Dyson sphere edited out), zoom out to galaxy, tickle pineal gland with 17 Hz subsonics -- Could be yours! Contact the nearest representative of the Manifold, they'll help choose a species that's right for you!
November 11, 2025 at 2:58 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
I'm honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand:

Errata is never published.
kithrup.bsky.social Sean Eric Fagan @kithrup.bsky.social · Oct 12
In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand:

The drives were clicking.
October 12, 2025 at 9:52 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
I've just been cocooning in games lately, and I made a mistake with Rimworld. It's a fine game, but if you've played Dwarf Fortress then Rimworld is deeply boring. Yes, lots of things can happen but you'll never see anything like that insanity of a dwarf fortress spiral.
September 7, 2025 at 6:34 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
Quote this with a book you read way too young that explains why you are the way you are.

Hahahaha! I think I was eleven when I read this. Soft porn -- and *weird* porn -- definitely had an effect on this young boy's development.
The pulp-art cover of 'Venus on the Half-Shell', showing a spaceman wearing red briefs, black knee-length boots, a bubble helmet -- and nothing else. There is also a woman wearing somewhat less. They are stanging on an oyster shell, floating in space, with a dog and an owl (the spaceman's pets) and a space station in the distance.
August 12, 2025 at 3:39 AM
genocideman.bsky.social
Someone -- and her grandmother -- is getting her first pedicure.

Hey grandfather, namely me, does not need anyone touching his feet, thank you.
Interior of a nail salon. A lady is sitting next to a four year old girl while both are being attended to. The girl has animal crackers in her mouth and a somewhat skeptical look.
August 4, 2025 at 5:53 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
Just wanted to point out that we are on the timeline that now has an 'Official Porn Bot of the United States Government'.

So that's FUN.
July 15, 2025 at 1:27 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
You all know that I'm avoiding the news,
and I fell into a hole of Rap Battles on YouTube.
The flows are pretty good and the disses are fine,
but I'm worried that these songs are affecting my mind.
I'm talking in a rhythm and what's even worse,
everything I say is in two-line rhyme verse! 😁
July 12, 2025 at 10:40 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
Post a picture of when your pet was little.
My dog Ripley, so young that his black spots are just coming in, sleeping in the sunlight on our leather couch.
June 22, 2025 at 5:20 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
My second submission. I think I prefer this one. Graphics can be misunderstood; words are clearer, and being a quote from a famous advocate of liberty gives a strong impression.
A protest poster bearing the words, "Of more worth is one honest man to society and in the sight of God, then all the crowned ruffians that ever lived. Thomas Paine" The 'No Kings' logo is in the lower right corner.
June 13, 2025 at 4:59 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
Pour a bottle out for Landsat 7. At 1808z today, they switched my boy off.

L7 was the first satellite program I worked in and the first space launch I attended. While L7 had its problems I'm proud of the work we did calibrating it into the most accurate land cover satellite of its era. Vale, L7!
June 4, 2025 at 7:28 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
This kid is just weird, and I approve!
My granddaughter Delaney, a four-year-old weirdo, holding a sign with a skull wearing an eyepatch and the saying, "The beatings will continue 'til morale improves". She's holding up her other hand with her finger as a hook, and I'm told she said 'Yaaar!' when the picture was taken.
May 19, 2025 at 8:27 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
Here are two versions of a promo I made for Narrativity, the best little writing convention in the Midwest. Which one do you like better?

Narrativity is June 26-29 in Minneapolis this year! Hope to see some of you there! www.narrativity.fun
Line art of an anthropomorphic weasel sitting at a table with a laptop, their fingers raised as they type, obviously enjoying themselves. A bookcase behind them shows titles from Narrativity authors. There's a window with a black cat, and a mug labeled 'PJF'. Line art of a feral weasel standing on a stack of books and a table with a laptop, their fingers raised as they type, obviously enjoying themselves. A bookcase behind them shows titles from Narrativity authors. There's a window with a black cat, and a mug labeled 'PJF'.
May 11, 2025 at 1:22 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
You can hate the MCU movies all you like, but Thunderbolts* was an excellent film that was the most emotional sci-fi work I've seen a long while. Thoughtful, timely (since everyone is depressed these days), and with fantastic emotive acting. Gotta give the MCU makers credit on this one!
May 7, 2025 at 6:27 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
It's the First of May, and you all know what that means! Passing around this song is mandatory:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1GD...
Jonathan Coulton - First of May (Lyrics)
YouTube video by Jonathan SK
www.youtube.com
May 1, 2025 at 1:00 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
I call this composition, "Grandpa is watching me this morning."
Picture of my granddaughter Delaney, sitting in a sunny bay window, with water, milk, cookies, a plushie, and an expression that says, "I'm not sure what I can get away with but I'm gonna test the boundaries."
April 26, 2025 at 6:56 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
By the way, the perfect ratio for Paas Easter egg colors is one color tablet, one teaspoon of baking soda, and then one half cup of vinegar. You get the fun volcanic explosion (mix this in at least a two cup container) and then you're left with a useable dye.
April 17, 2025 at 8:10 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
Easter eggs colored. Any embellishment in black sharpie is mine; everything else is straight from the four year-old granddaughter.
A dozen Easter eggs in various pastel colors. Some have colored lines circling them and some have black drawings of faces, including a cat, dog, Spider-Man, and members of our family.
April 17, 2025 at 8:07 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
Gonna ride out the end times in here.
The painting Diogenes and his Barrel, by Jean-Léon Gérôme. It shows the mostly naked philosopher Diogenes sitting in an overturned barrel holding a lantern. Three dogs watch him from outside. A prosperous marble city is in the distance.
April 5, 2025 at 7:17 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
This may be a hot take, but aside from the entertainment of their incompetence I don't care what Trump's administration does with the economy. The economy can be fixed. It's a sideshow.

I care about the damage Trump does to civil rights and democracy. Everything, everything else is a distraction.
April 4, 2025 at 5:28 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
Ha, ha! This barrel of stupidity has no bottom.
stemthebleeding.bsky.social STEMthebleeding @stemthebleeding.bsky.social · Apr 2
He put tarrifs on BIOT.

BIOT is now Diego Garcia, an American military base.

He tariffed a fucking US military base.
donmoyn.bsky.social Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · Apr 2
Dead people telling the President to pursue a trade war with an uninhabited island is real George III territory
April 3, 2025 at 2:44 PM
genocideman.bsky.social
Um, it needs to be widely known that the US administration is asking policy advice from ChatGPT. Like, everyone needs to know this is how it was done. Historians need to engrave this on certain tombstones.
amyhoy.bsky.social Amy Hoy @amyhoy.bsky.social · Apr 3
guess where they got their weird trade deficit math from?

i went to the pit for y'all and brought back the screenshots with alt text
chatgpt log: What would be an easy way to calculate the tariffs that should be imposed on other countries so that the US is on even-playing fields when it comes to trade deficit? Set minimum at 10%. Reasoned about trade tariffs and deficits for 10 seconds v A straightforward (if naïve) method is to set the tariff rate for each trading partner equal to the percentage share of the trade deficit relative to that country's total imports-always no less than 10%. In formula form: Tariff Rate (%) = max(10, (Trade Deficit ÷ Total Imports) * 100) For example, if the US runs a $20 billion deficit on $100 billion worth of imports from a country, the calculated rate is (20/100)×100 = 20%. If the deficit were only 5%, you'd still impose a 10% floor. This method ignores the intricate dynamics of international trade-such as elasticities, retaliatory measures, and supply chain nuances-but it provides a blunt, proportional rule to "level the playing field." One might implement it in Python like so: [code] Gemini answer: Okay, let's break down the idea of using tariffs to achieve an "even playing field" defined as eliminating the US trade deficit. While the goal of balancing trade is understandable, devising an "easy way" to calculate tariffs to achieve this is extremely complex, and most economists would argue it's not feasible or desirable for several reasons. However, let's outline a highly simplified conceptual approach based only on the numbers, ignoring the vast real-world complexities and consequences: Simplified (and Problematic) Calculation Idea: 1. Identify the Bilateral Deficit: Determine the trade deficit the US has with a specific country (Country X). Deficit_X = Value of Imports from X - Value of • Exports to X 2. Target Reduction: The goal is to reduce imports from Country X (or increase their cost to US buyers) by the amount of the deficit, so that the value effectively balances out. 3. Calculate Required Tariff (Ignoring Economics): • If you assume, very unrealistically, that a tariff directly reduces the value of imports by a corresponding percentage (which it doesn't - it increases the price), you could try: Required Reduction % = Deficit_X / Value of • Imports from X Claude: What would be an easy way to calculate the tariffs that should be imposed on other countries so that the US is on even-playing fields when it comes to trade deficit? Set minimum at 10%. To calculate tariffs that could theoretically level the playing field for trade deficits, I'd suggest a straightforward approach based on the trade imbalance percentage: 1. Calculate the bilateral trade deficit with each trading partner: Trade Deficit - US Imports from Country - US Exports to Country 2. Express this as a percentage of total bilateral trade: Deficit Percentage - (Trade Deficit / Total Bilateral Trade) × 100 3. Apply a tariff rate that corresponds to this percentage, with your minimum 10% floor: Tariff Rate = max(Deficit Percentage, 10%) This creates a proportional response where countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher tariffs. For example: • If Country A has a 25% trade surplus with the US (meaning the US has a 25% deficit), apply a 25% tariff • If Country B has a 5% trade surplus with the US, apply the minimum 10% tariff This method is relatively simple to calculate and directly ties tariff levels to trade imbalances. However, I should note that economists generally caution that trade deficits alone don't necessarily indicate unfair trade practices, and tariffs can have complex economic consequences including increased consumer prices and potential retaliation. Would you like me to elaborate on any part of this approach or discuss potential refinements to make it more sophisticated? Grok: the deficit. The deficit as a percentage of total trade is $295B/$582B = 50.69%. Using the formula Tariff% = 10% + (Deficit% × Scaling Factor), we choose a scaling factor of 50 for illustration: • Tariff = 10% + (50.69% × 50) = 10% + 25.345% = 35.345%, rounded to 35.3%. This means a 35.3% tariff on Chinese goods could be proposed to offset the imbalance, aiming to reduce imports and encourage domestic production or exports. Extending to Other Countries To provide a broader view, here's a table of top US trading partners with 2024 deficits, using data from The Motley Fool and similar calculations (assuming scaling factor of 50 for consistency): [data table headings] Country Deficit (USD Billion) Total Trade (USD Billion) Deficit % Calculate d Tariff % China -295 582 50.69% 35.3% Mexico -172 840 20.48% 20.2% Vietnam -123 (Data incomplet e, estimate) ~30% 25.0% Ireland -87 (Data incomplet e, estimate) ~25% 22.5% Germany -85 (Data incomplete estimate) ~20% 20.0%
April 3, 2025 at 4:33 AM
genocideman.bsky.social
"Whatever helps us stay productive is what really matters right now. There’s still plenty of time left for 1933 to be our year. Politics will come and go, but I’m sure when I look back on this period, what I’ll remember most will be the work that I completed on schedule."
I’m a German Citizen in 1933, and Is It Just Me or Is It Really Hard to Get Any Work Done Right Now?
Guten tag. I’m just wondering if anybody else can relate to this feeling I’ve been having that I just can’t shake. It’s only Tuesday, but what a we...
www.mcsweeneys.net
April 3, 2025 at 4:30 AM