Jackofallbooks
@jackofallbooks.bsky.social
Sociology. Educator. Writer. Banjo Learner. 📚🪴 These interests intersect at my blog. May be time to start posting at my blog again! http://t.co/hu98anPpGf
Pinned
I found my sociology people! I teach at a community college and love helping students make meaningful connections in their lives. I’m really grappling with how (or whether) to use new AI tools with the students if anyone knows of any sociology resources…
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STRONG AGREE
The only correct pie take is that pies are like dogs—they’re all good, we just have stronger personal attachments to some than others.
November 25, 2025 at 11:29 PM
STRONG AGREE
I feel deprived now, as I’ve never had blueberry pie. I do love blueberry cobbler.
I think we can all agree that blueberry (made with fresh blueberries) is objectively the best pie.
Ok this take is unhinged BUT I have my own version of this, which is that I actually hate pumpkin pie.
November 25, 2025 at 10:52 PM
I feel deprived now, as I’ve never had blueberry pie. I do love blueberry cobbler.
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Of course they feel like they're talking to a real person. That's the point of the program. It mimics human language. It doesn't do anything else. It just sounds like a person.
November 25, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Of course they feel like they're talking to a real person. That's the point of the program. It mimics human language. It doesn't do anything else. It just sounds like a person.
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It's flu SZN, people
November 25, 2025 at 3:25 PM
It's flu SZN, people
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As we move into a major shopping weekend, filled with sales and exciting offers, I wanted to remind y'all about OMENS OF CHAOS, the first print Magic the Gathering novel since 2019!
November 25, 2025 at 5:09 PM
As we move into a major shopping weekend, filled with sales and exciting offers, I wanted to remind y'all about OMENS OF CHAOS, the first print Magic the Gathering novel since 2019!
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It's weird to not only have lived through an information revolution but also now living through its undoing, all within less than a generation.
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 12:19 PM
It's weird to not only have lived through an information revolution but also now living through its undoing, all within less than a generation.
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Not family, but one time in grad school, my now-husband and I hosted a holiday party for friends. There was an apple pie, and rather than cut a slice like a normal person, one of the guests took the serving spoon out of the baked ziti and--without cleaning it--scooped the *middle* out of the pie.
yes, hello, I would like to place an order for everyone’s funniest stories of holiday food-related family grudges / drama / chaotic incidents / lore
I feel like we need this
I feel like we need this
November 25, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Not family, but one time in grad school, my now-husband and I hosted a holiday party for friends. There was an apple pie, and rather than cut a slice like a normal person, one of the guests took the serving spoon out of the baked ziti and--without cleaning it--scooped the *middle* out of the pie.
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I caused a minor ham explosion prepping for Christmas Eve dinner.
And there was a whoomph and a visible fireball that actually blew the oven door open.
And there was a whoomph and a visible fireball that actually blew the oven door open.
November 25, 2025 at 2:04 AM
I caused a minor ham explosion prepping for Christmas Eve dinner.
And there was a whoomph and a visible fireball that actually blew the oven door open.
And there was a whoomph and a visible fireball that actually blew the oven door open.
Reposted by Jackofallbooks
yes, hello, I would like to place an order for everyone’s funniest stories of holiday food-related family grudges / drama / chaotic incidents / lore
I feel like we need this
I feel like we need this
November 24, 2025 at 11:39 PM
yes, hello, I would like to place an order for everyone’s funniest stories of holiday food-related family grudges / drama / chaotic incidents / lore
I feel like we need this
I feel like we need this
Reposted by Jackofallbooks
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
November 24, 2025 at 6:19 PM
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
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your moment of calm: a bald eagle in a tree
November 24, 2025 at 4:31 PM
your moment of calm: a bald eagle in a tree
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Twitter accounts are based in Russia. BlueSky accounts are based in homes with, frankly, too many books, plants, obsolete cables, and pieces of rustic pottery, that could do with a bit of a tidying up, to be honest.
November 23, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Twitter accounts are based in Russia. BlueSky accounts are based in homes with, frankly, too many books, plants, obsolete cables, and pieces of rustic pottery, that could do with a bit of a tidying up, to be honest.
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This is a deeply sexist take, given that ~2/3 of minimum wage workers in the US are women.
November 24, 2025 at 10:24 PM
This is a deeply sexist take, given that ~2/3 of minimum wage workers in the US are women.
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If you like an author's work, the best thing you can do is buy it. The second best thing you can do is ask your local library to buy it. Or, do both!
A reminder that the median book deal for a debut author in the UK is £7000, paid over 12-18 months. (from 2022 Society of Authors report). Some of your favourite writers are struggling. societyofauthors.org/2022/12/06/a....
A profession struggling to sustain itself - The Society of Authors
ALCS report on author incomes shows 60% drop in median incomes since 2006
societyofauthors.org
November 24, 2025 at 5:39 PM
If you like an author's work, the best thing you can do is buy it. The second best thing you can do is ask your local library to buy it. Or, do both!
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They grow bacteria on those hairy arms and then lick the bacteria off for a delightful snack, isn't that gross and cool?
November 24, 2025 at 7:12 PM
They grow bacteria on those hairy arms and then lick the bacteria off for a delightful snack, isn't that gross and cool?
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That’s the thing with regeneration; you never know what you’re going to get. #doctorwho #cats #kittens
November 23, 2025 at 7:59 PM
That’s the thing with regeneration; you never know what you’re going to get. #doctorwho #cats #kittens
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I’m calling it. The tariffs have clearly messed up my shows. There hasn’t been a new episode or edition of any cosy mysteries and cosy dramas in ages.
November 24, 2025 at 12:04 AM
I’m calling it. The tariffs have clearly messed up my shows. There hasn’t been a new episode or edition of any cosy mysteries and cosy dramas in ages.
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Honestly this is how I’ve felt all week. Not sad though just tiiirredddd
Taonius borealis has a special place in my heart because of this one photo. It looks so sad that it just tugs at the heart strings.
Why are you sad, Taonius borealis? I hope you feel better soon...
Why are you sad, Taonius borealis? I hope you feel better soon...
November 24, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Honestly this is how I’ve felt all week. Not sad though just tiiirredddd
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It’s blowing my mind that schools, universities, public services would run headlong into this. We spent 15 years documenting black boxes. This is a black box in a black hole!
I don't understand how anyone can watch how blatantly Grok is manipulated to answer the way ownership desires it to and then act like the other LLM chatbots couldn't possibly be similarly but less obviously compromised to produce responses in whatever way corporate interests and priorities dictate.
November 23, 2025 at 11:16 PM
It’s blowing my mind that schools, universities, public services would run headlong into this. We spent 15 years documenting black boxes. This is a black box in a black hole!
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Reposted by Jackofallbooks
It's time for everyone's favorite chronologically unanchored holiday, The Story of the Lizard in the Leg.
Because people keep asking, the Story of The Lizard In That Dude's Leg. Some caveats:
1. This happened more than twenty years ago. There are no pictures. There was a small article in a local paper with, again, no pictures (I'm assuming that's what the producers of 9-1-1: LONE STAR found).
1. This happened more than twenty years ago. There are no pictures. There was a small article in a local paper with, again, no pictures (I'm assuming that's what the producers of 9-1-1: LONE STAR found).
November 23, 2025 at 7:50 PM
It's time for everyone's favorite chronologically unanchored holiday, The Story of the Lizard in the Leg.
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"Elon Musk’s social media site X has rolled out a new feature in an effort to increase transparency — and unwittingly revealed that many of the site’s top MAGA influencers are actually foreign actors."
www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...
www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...
Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Actors
A new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given deeper insight into the online “America First” movement.
www.thedailybeast.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:44 PM
"Elon Musk’s social media site X has rolled out a new feature in an effort to increase transparency — and unwittingly revealed that many of the site’s top MAGA influencers are actually foreign actors."
www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...
www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...
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Although these findings from JWST are yet to be confirmed, they mark the closest astronomers have come to locating the universe’s most ancient stars
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
The James Webb Telescope May Have Seen the First Stars in the Universe
Although these findings from JWST are yet to be confirmed, they mark the closest astronomers have come to locating the universe’s most ancient stars
www.scientificamerican.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Although these findings from JWST are yet to be confirmed, they mark the closest astronomers have come to locating the universe’s most ancient stars
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
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These people are deep into committing election fraud, so they assume everyone else is too
"Every accusation is a confession" remains undefeated
"Every accusation is a confession" remains undefeated
Austin Smith, a former Republican state representative and onetime leader within Turning Point Action—the political arm of Turning Point USA—pleaded guilty to forging signatures on nominating petitions for his 2024 reelection bid.
open.substack.com/pub/theintel...
open.substack.com/pub/theintel...
November 23, 2025 at 3:08 PM
These people are deep into committing election fraud, so they assume everyone else is too
"Every accusation is a confession" remains undefeated
"Every accusation is a confession" remains undefeated
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Beautifully written & reasoned 3 min read. “To my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.”
Commentary from a cool prof in 🧵
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
Commentary from a cool prof in 🧵
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Beautifully written & reasoned 3 min read. “To my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.”
Commentary from a cool prof in 🧵
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
Commentary from a cool prof in 🧵
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...