Kurt Raschke
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kurtraschke.com
Kurt Raschke
@kurtraschke.com
they/them

Transit and technology, mostly. Prone to ranting.

Reposts and favorites are not endorsements. Posts are solely my own.

ABATE NOXIOUS STIMULI.
Reposted by Kurt Raschke
"you look happier"
thanks i took the bus here
February 18, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Reposted by Kurt Raschke
The Board is here to serve you. If you have a matter in need of judgement or investigation, refer it to us. Email board at whimsygov.org
Home | Whimsy Governance Board
The Whimsy Governance Board investigates matters regarding whimsy in all parts of life. You can refer a matter to the board by emailing board (at) whimsygov.org.
whimsygov.org
February 16, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Kurt Raschke
Reposted by Kurt Raschke
The Whimsy Governance Board has issued its first finding, on the matter of fake orphan sources: whimsygov.org/dockets/26-0...
26-002: Fake orphan source | Whimsy Governance Board
The Whimsy Governance Board investigates matters regarding whimsy in all parts of life. You can refer a matter to the board by emailing board (at) whimsygov.org.
whimsygov.org
February 15, 2026 at 9:19 PM
line added to the "networking dos and donts" slide of the polycule onboarding deck:

* switches and switch-like things must implement STP and must implement it properly (yes, this includes your Proxmox box; just add `bridge-stp on`)
WHO WOULD WIN?
- $2500+ of enterprise IT infrastructure
- one $25 amazon slop device which doesn’t correctly implement the Spanning Tree Protocol
👏stop👏plugging👏weird👏shit👏into👏my👏network👏
February 14, 2026 at 11:39 PM
an observation: there’s an egg emoji (🥚) but no emoji for a cracked or broken egg.
February 13, 2026 at 1:00 PM
See, this is why my friends and I have established a Whimsy Governance Board.

Making people fear they have an orphan source event on their hands: not whimsical.
i don't think you should make "drop and run" metal cylinders even for laughs because i work in e-waste recycling and if i find something in the waste stream that says "drop and run" i don't want to have to carefully consider whether it means it or not
February 10, 2026 at 12:14 PM
This is something I want to get better at, especially as the recent cold snap in New York has proven that my current approach to outerwear is not suitable.

What I need to understand, though, is what, in garment terms, these "thin layers" are supposed to be!

bsky.app/profile/nort...
for everyone who moved to chicago in the last few years from somewhere warm and is experiencing an extended period of harsh winter weather for the first time: lots of thin layers trap warm air between them and will keep you warmer than one thick puffy coat. layer properly!!
February 8, 2026 at 8:42 PM
Before you say you are too old for something, remember that last year astronaut Don Pettit returned from seven months aboard the International Space Station ON THE DAY HE TURNED SEVENTY!

www.bbc.com/news/article...
Oldest serving US astronaut returns to Earth on 70th birthday
A capsule with Don Pettit and his two Russian crewmates lands in Kazakhstan after a space station mission.
www.bbc.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:29 AM
It’s incredibly amusing to me how the phrase “speeds and feeds” has escaped containment from the machining world.
February 4, 2026 at 3:06 PM
well, sheesh, if I had known, I would have held on to one from back when I had computers with serial ports...
Idk if trans kids these days know this but back in my day you could just walk into a RadioShack and walk out with one of these puppies
February 3, 2026 at 12:17 AM
(looks in Signal)
(sees several group chats about CBTC (and trains more generally))

"hmm, checks out."
If you think you're an expert in a thing and you haven't been invited into some sort of group chat about that thing then either nobody believes you're an expert in that thing or nobody likes you
January 31, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Kurt Raschke
The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality.

And trans lives are grounded in reality.

We see y'all. No matter what.

www.popsci.com/science/tran...
First-of-a-kind study shows encouraging data for trans kids who socially transition
Ninety-four percent of participants in a new study stood firm in their trans identity after five years, and "detransitioning" is rare.
www.popsci.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Kurt Raschke
me, emotionally writing an essay on the use of force by federal agents: ok but what if i packaged this in the most insane way possible www.theverge.com/policy/86857...
Best gas masks
“How did these people go out and get gas masks?” AG Bondi asked.
www.theverge.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Kurt Raschke
41 years ago this poster was hung in some IBM office somewhere

40 years ago NASA learned the hard way that defect prevention matters
January 28, 2026 at 3:38 PM
WINTER STORMS DO NOT HAVE NAMES.
January 28, 2026 at 1:44 AM
Today in 1967, the Apollo 1 fire claimed the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee.

Flight Director Gene Kranz's words of wisdom in the wake of the incident are as relevant now as they were in 1967: toughandcompetent.space
Tough and Competent
The Kranz Dictum: from this day forward, Flight Control will be known by two words: “Tough and Competent.”
toughandcompetent.space
January 27, 2026 at 5:43 PM
some unsolicited advice for, i suppose, younger me, and perhaps anyone else, but particularly techy folks whose neurodivergence gives them a rigid rule-following streak: when you get to these screens in the Debian installer, you can do whatever you want!
January 24, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Reposted by Kurt Raschke
Say hello to a truly connected region on March 28! The Crosslake Connection is opening two new stations and a world of new possibilities for the Eastside, Seattle and beyond. 🚊✨
 
Explore this highly anticipated new connection and get ready to ride! 🎉

www.soundtransit.org/crosslake
Crosslake Connection | Sound Transit
www.soundtransit.org
January 23, 2026 at 6:35 PM
I am having a Good Day today. In fact, a really excellent day. Why am I telling you, dear reader, about this? Not to gloat or to brag, I assure you, but rather for accountability. At some point in the future, there is going to be a Bad Day.
January 21, 2026 at 5:50 PM
TIL that host-managed SMR is a thing...

zonedstorage.io/docs/getting...
January 16, 2026 at 1:53 AM
Reposted by Kurt Raschke
I've remastered my old SelTrac meme, based on the (false) assertion that the trains "talk to each other," as is oft repeated in public statements about CBTC
January 7, 2026 at 11:07 PM
Reposted by Kurt Raschke
Earlier this fall, I noticed something odd going on with rail service on Los Angeles's C line. So, I wrote about it, because I could not have asked for a more perfect encapsulation of how schedule design can drive service outcomes.

homesignalblog.wordpress.com/2026/01/03/a...
A Study in Schedule Design
From time to time, I enjoy browsing the LA Metro subreddit. A creature of the East Coast, I am forever fascinated by the Los Angeles’s preculiar mix of ambition and ambivalence around transit…
homesignalblog.wordpress.com
January 3, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Reposted by Kurt Raschke
1. try not to post things that will get you arrested
2. try not to post things that will make your friends want to off themselves
January 3, 2026 at 9:33 AM
Reposted by Kurt Raschke
One thing I wrote about here is how technology has made buses *way* more convenient while techno-futurists were obsessed with flying taxis and self-driving cars.
January 2, 2026 at 2:17 PM