Stephen May
@idhrendur.com
Software engineer, Tolkien nerd, reader of books. The paradox converter guy. Probably fae.
http://stephendanielmay.com
idhrendur most places online
http://stephendanielmay.com
idhrendur most places online
Pinned
Stephen May
@idhrendur.com
· Jul 23
Joining the fun.
1 like = 1 opinion of mine
1 like = 1 opinion of mine
I'm a day-and-a-half late to the party, so you all are probably tired of opinions by now, but
1 like = 1 opinion of mine
1 like = 1 opinion of mine
Sure, fine, me too. It'll get me writing non-angry things on here I think.
1 like = 1 opinion of mine
1 like = 1 opinion of mine
Reposted by Stephen May
Reposted by Stephen May
Guess who is once again displaying their ability to hyperfocus on being a hater?
It's me, I spent all evening writing my own compilation of all the reasons I think AI sucks so I can post it under genAI-made FB posts.
Work-in-progress, suggestions welcome!
www.skwinnicki.com/single-post/...
It's me, I spent all evening writing my own compilation of all the reasons I think AI sucks so I can post it under genAI-made FB posts.
Work-in-progress, suggestions welcome!
www.skwinnicki.com/single-post/...
February 5, 2026 at 3:32 AM
Guess who is once again displaying their ability to hyperfocus on being a hater?
It's me, I spent all evening writing my own compilation of all the reasons I think AI sucks so I can post it under genAI-made FB posts.
Work-in-progress, suggestions welcome!
www.skwinnicki.com/single-post/...
It's me, I spent all evening writing my own compilation of all the reasons I think AI sucks so I can post it under genAI-made FB posts.
Work-in-progress, suggestions welcome!
www.skwinnicki.com/single-post/...
Reposted by Stephen May
I taught a class on “hope” last year and the few theorists who’ve written on it all point out that hope is the harder choice - that despair is easy and too often fashionable
Too many people on Bluesky think that relentless expressions of despair are a sign of intellectual sophistication.
February 4, 2026 at 9:24 PM
I taught a class on “hope” last year and the few theorists who’ve written on it all point out that hope is the harder choice - that despair is easy and too often fashionable
Reposted by Stephen May
98 out of 435 House districts have a Partisan Voting Index between R+5 and D+5. Another 90 are +6 to +10. My math says you'd have to roughly double ICE and CBP's current combined headcount to send *one* goon to each polling place in each of those 188 districts.
They. Do. Not. Have. Enough. Goons.
They. Do. Not. Have. Enough. Goons.
February 5, 2026 at 4:54 AM
98 out of 435 House districts have a Partisan Voting Index between R+5 and D+5. Another 90 are +6 to +10. My math says you'd have to roughly double ICE and CBP's current combined headcount to send *one* goon to each polling place in each of those 188 districts.
They. Do. Not. Have. Enough. Goons.
They. Do. Not. Have. Enough. Goons.
Reposted by Stephen May
Don't enter this. You'll lose all rights to your story. Period.
Competitions like this need to be called out, so they learn their good reputation shouldn't be used to steal the bread from writers' mouths. And that we're not all clueless rubes waiting to be taken advantage of.
Competitions like this need to be called out, so they learn their good reputation shouldn't be used to steal the bread from writers' mouths. And that we're not all clueless rubes waiting to be taken advantage of.
Venerable magazine Harper's Bazaar is running its short story contest again, with the winner receiving "the chance" of publication in the magazine. Just one catch: per the wording of the guidelines, _just by entering_ you transfer copyright ownership of your story to Harper's parent, Hearst. 1/3
February 5, 2026 at 12:16 AM
Don't enter this. You'll lose all rights to your story. Period.
Competitions like this need to be called out, so they learn their good reputation shouldn't be used to steal the bread from writers' mouths. And that we're not all clueless rubes waiting to be taken advantage of.
Competitions like this need to be called out, so they learn their good reputation shouldn't be used to steal the bread from writers' mouths. And that we're not all clueless rubes waiting to be taken advantage of.
Reposted by Stephen May
The regime has proposed two rules intended to make it extremely difficult (if not impossible) for trans youth to receive the healthcare they need.
Here’s how you can help fight back: Though your public comments won't sway this transphobic regime, they will be very important for future lawsuits. 👇
Here’s how you can help fight back: Though your public comments won't sway this transphobic regime, they will be very important for future lawsuits. 👇
Submit Public Comments
act.hrc.org
February 5, 2026 at 1:21 AM
The regime has proposed two rules intended to make it extremely difficult (if not impossible) for trans youth to receive the healthcare they need.
Here’s how you can help fight back: Though your public comments won't sway this transphobic regime, they will be very important for future lawsuits. 👇
Here’s how you can help fight back: Though your public comments won't sway this transphobic regime, they will be very important for future lawsuits. 👇
Reposted by Stephen May
It's true it seems, with no warning or explanation CIA simply discontinued and removed the World Factbook this week.
I imagine they'd say we have wikipedia now wo who needs it, but check the footnotes and see how many wiki entries get their data from the CIA factbook. Lots.
I imagine they'd say we have wikipedia now wo who needs it, but check the footnotes and see how many wiki entries get their data from the CIA factbook. Lots.
They closed the CIA World Factbook and deleted it entirely.
February 4, 2026 at 10:11 PM
It's true it seems, with no warning or explanation CIA simply discontinued and removed the World Factbook this week.
I imagine they'd say we have wikipedia now wo who needs it, but check the footnotes and see how many wiki entries get their data from the CIA factbook. Lots.
I imagine they'd say we have wikipedia now wo who needs it, but check the footnotes and see how many wiki entries get their data from the CIA factbook. Lots.
Reposted by Stephen May
Boom!
JUST IN: SCOTUS declines to take up challenge to Gov. Newsom's redistricting effort in California.
February 4, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Boom!
Reposted by Stephen May
little item for the Senate Dems to ponder: which of the reforms you’re currently floating is going to stop this?
🚨BREAKING: Steve Bannon said Tuesday that the federal government is planning to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to patrol polling stations during this year’s midterm elections. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Steve Bannon says ICE will ‘surround the polls’ as Trump doubles down on taking over elections
Trump doubled down on his comments to nationalize voting Tuesday during an Oval Office press conference. “If you think about it, a state is an agent for the federal government in elections,” Trump sai...
www.democracydocket.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:41 PM
little item for the Senate Dems to ponder: which of the reforms you’re currently floating is going to stop this?
Reposted by Stephen May
Striking from new Quinnipiac poll:
*Voters prefer path to legalization over deportations for most undocs by 59-34. Among independents it's 61-33
*Majority says Trump on immigration is making America less safe
Again, there's broad rejection of the whole project, not just ICE tactics (see below)
*Voters prefer path to legalization over deportations for most undocs by 59-34. Among independents it's 61-33
*Majority says Trump on immigration is making America less safe
Again, there's broad rejection of the whole project, not just ICE tactics (see below)
February 4, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Striking from new Quinnipiac poll:
*Voters prefer path to legalization over deportations for most undocs by 59-34. Among independents it's 61-33
*Majority says Trump on immigration is making America less safe
Again, there's broad rejection of the whole project, not just ICE tactics (see below)
*Voters prefer path to legalization over deportations for most undocs by 59-34. Among independents it's 61-33
*Majority says Trump on immigration is making America less safe
Again, there's broad rejection of the whole project, not just ICE tactics (see below)
I finally got around to watching the latest @techconnectify.bsky.social video, and it deserves every bit of praise it's been getting. Definitely for the first 2/3, but especially for the last 1/3.
And no, none of it was a surprise, but it sure is nice to hear it said explicitly.
And no, none of it was a surprise, but it sure is nice to hear it said explicitly.
February 4, 2026 at 7:23 PM
I finally got around to watching the latest @techconnectify.bsky.social video, and it deserves every bit of praise it's been getting. Definitely for the first 2/3, but especially for the last 1/3.
And no, none of it was a surprise, but it sure is nice to hear it said explicitly.
And no, none of it was a surprise, but it sure is nice to hear it said explicitly.
Reposted by Stephen May
After a lengthy appeals process and productive discussion with the Blue Sky safety team I will no loinger be sending George Thorogood lyrics to beautiful women on here via DM. Thank you all
February 4, 2026 at 5:02 PM
After a lengthy appeals process and productive discussion with the Blue Sky safety team I will no loinger be sending George Thorogood lyrics to beautiful women on here via DM. Thank you all
Reposted by Stephen May
Crazy story: A bank analyst published a report showing Kalshi users lose money even faster than sports gamblers, so Kalshi first tried to pressure the data provider to change their data and then accused them and the analyst of conspiring to extort them when that doesn’t work.
February 4, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Crazy story: A bank analyst published a report showing Kalshi users lose money even faster than sports gamblers, so Kalshi first tried to pressure the data provider to change their data and then accused them and the analyst of conspiring to extort them when that doesn’t work.
Reposted by Stephen May
Incidentally, a large percentage of Ohrdruf’s victims were those “too sick to work”. Watch what this administration says and does re: illness and work.
Another portion: those who were inadequately sheltered from the elements and succumbed. Remember this when victims are released barefoot in snow.
Another portion: those who were inadequately sheltered from the elements and succumbed. Remember this when victims are released barefoot in snow.
Ohrdruf’s mayor and his wife died by suicide after being made to view what they enabled at the nearby subcamp.
If you go to Ohrdruf’s Wikipedia page, there is a section that reads “gas chambers: none.” Nevertheless, thousands were murdered and tortured there.
If you go to Ohrdruf’s Wikipedia page, there is a section that reads “gas chambers: none.” Nevertheless, thousands were murdered and tortured there.
Highlighting the speaker who stood in front of the Surprise mayor and told him to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf must’ve thought before he died by suicide: “He might have thought ‘how is this my fault I had no jurisdiction over this’ maybe he said ‘this site was not subject to local zoning.’”
February 4, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Incidentally, a large percentage of Ohrdruf’s victims were those “too sick to work”. Watch what this administration says and does re: illness and work.
Another portion: those who were inadequately sheltered from the elements and succumbed. Remember this when victims are released barefoot in snow.
Another portion: those who were inadequately sheltered from the elements and succumbed. Remember this when victims are released barefoot in snow.
Girl math is being married to one of the people working on one of the most significant early computers, being the person who helps visitors input their math into the machine (that is, being one of the earliest programmers), and being the first person to code up a Monte Carlo simulation.
Girl math is writing what is generally considered the first non-trivial computer program, being the first to write about the possibility of programming errors that would cause incorrect results,
Girl math is being a computer for NACA (later NASA) and being a major player in developing the math for suborbital and orbital mechanics, and directly calculating trajectories for several Mercury missions and the Apollo 11 mission.
February 4, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Girl math is being married to one of the people working on one of the most significant early computers, being the person who helps visitors input their math into the machine (that is, being one of the earliest programmers), and being the first person to code up a Monte Carlo simulation.
Reposted by Stephen May
i keep seeing "protestors" referred to again and again in ICE coverage and I wish the media would understand that is right-wing framing and just call them what they actually are which is *residents*
February 4, 2026 at 2:42 PM
i keep seeing "protestors" referred to again and again in ICE coverage and I wish the media would understand that is right-wing framing and just call them what they actually are which is *residents*
Reposted by Stephen May
Five rings for the sports lords in their halls of snow
the olympic rings are shown in various colors
Alt: the olympic rings are shown in various colors
media.tenor.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Five rings for the sports lords in their halls of snow
Reposted by Stephen May
His job was to make sense of the world, and there were times when he wished that the world would meet him halfway.
- Terry Pratchett, Snuff
- Terry Pratchett, Snuff
February 4, 2026 at 12:52 PM
His job was to make sense of the world, and there were times when he wished that the world would meet him halfway.
- Terry Pratchett, Snuff
- Terry Pratchett, Snuff
Reposted by Stephen May
every so often I encounter someone whose theory of change is just "endure" and okay but I think we can set the floor a little higher
February 4, 2026 at 2:10 PM
every so often I encounter someone whose theory of change is just "endure" and okay but I think we can set the floor a little higher
Reposted by Stephen May
every awful trend on the internet for the last decade came out of GamerGate and they were all readily visible from the very early days
if you couldn’t see it you weren’t paying attention, and everyone who coddled the movement bears responsibility for where we are today
if you couldn’t see it you weren’t paying attention, and everyone who coddled the movement bears responsibility for where we are today
hey remember when I got shit on for years for trying to warn people that GamerGate was just Nazis and not just about harassing women and not just about some “consumer revolt”
The Epstein files reveal what powerful people see in video games: profit, coercion, and control
aftermath.site/jeffrey-epstei...
aftermath.site/jeffrey-epstei...
February 4, 2026 at 1:26 AM
every awful trend on the internet for the last decade came out of GamerGate and they were all readily visible from the very early days
if you couldn’t see it you weren’t paying attention, and everyone who coddled the movement bears responsibility for where we are today
if you couldn’t see it you weren’t paying attention, and everyone who coddled the movement bears responsibility for where we are today
Reposted by Stephen May
People who hoard wealth are dragons, and dragons have a moral obligation to be slain.
December 15, 2024 at 8:01 AM
People who hoard wealth are dragons, and dragons have a moral obligation to be slain.
Reposted by Stephen May
No, Democrats want ICE abolished and for ICE agents to be prosecuted for domestic terrorism. Fuck off with this "commonsense reform" bullshit. Senator and staff, you are pretending you haven't seen the polls saying the majority of Democrats want ICE abolished, which is so cowardly.
February 4, 2026 at 12:14 AM
No, Democrats want ICE abolished and for ICE agents to be prosecuted for domestic terrorism. Fuck off with this "commonsense reform" bullshit. Senator and staff, you are pretending you haven't seen the polls saying the majority of Democrats want ICE abolished, which is so cowardly.
Reposted by Stephen May
The SoCaliquendi Smial is a group of fans in the Southern California Region, brought together by the enjoyment, exploration, and study of the life and works of J.R.R Tolkien. All fans are welcome!
Linktree: linktr.ee/socaliquendi
Discord: discord.gg/tzcbDfT2uF
Instagram: instagram.com/SoCaliquendi
Linktree: linktr.ee/socaliquendi
Discord: discord.gg/tzcbDfT2uF
Instagram: instagram.com/SoCaliquendi
February 4, 2026 at 6:13 AM
The SoCaliquendi Smial is a group of fans in the Southern California Region, brought together by the enjoyment, exploration, and study of the life and works of J.R.R Tolkien. All fans are welcome!
Linktree: linktr.ee/socaliquendi
Discord: discord.gg/tzcbDfT2uF
Instagram: instagram.com/SoCaliquendi
Linktree: linktr.ee/socaliquendi
Discord: discord.gg/tzcbDfT2uF
Instagram: instagram.com/SoCaliquendi
Reposted by Stephen May
Counterpoint: Democrats want ICE razed more thoroughly than Carthage in 146 BC, the ideological territory in which it operates salted so thoroughly it never grows again, and every single one of these goons in front of a judge to face justice for their crimes.
Democrats want commonsense reform for ICE:
End the roving patrols and racial profiling.
Take accountability and abide by the same rules as local police.
Masks need to come off, body cameras need to stay on—no secret police in the United States of America.
End the roving patrols and racial profiling.
Take accountability and abide by the same rules as local police.
Masks need to come off, body cameras need to stay on—no secret police in the United States of America.
February 3, 2026 at 11:17 PM
Counterpoint: Democrats want ICE razed more thoroughly than Carthage in 146 BC, the ideological territory in which it operates salted so thoroughly it never grows again, and every single one of these goons in front of a judge to face justice for their crimes.
Reposted by Stephen May
this is literally Hegseth having a crash out drunky melt down because they let girls into the tree fort, the US Military is beefing with school children because the SecDef hates women so much its unreal.
Breaking news: The Pentagon issued a warning to Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts, saying the organization risks losing its long-standing partnership with the U.S. military unless it rapidly implements “core value reforms.”
Pentagon warns Scouts to restore ‘core values’ or lose military support
The relationship dates back decades, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has criticized the organization for allowing girls to join and changing its name from Boy Scouts.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:44 PM
this is literally Hegseth having a crash out drunky melt down because they let girls into the tree fort, the US Military is beefing with school children because the SecDef hates women so much its unreal.