Maik Zumstrull
@maik.zumstrull.net
Writer of code turned wrangler of coders. Drinker of coffee. Fan of reliable systems.
The simple, three steps Labour plan to get what you want:
1. Work hard every day to create the exact opposite of what you want
2. ???
3. Get what you want
1. Work hard every day to create the exact opposite of what you want
2. ???
3. Get what you want
I'm no political strategist but has anyone in Labour considered *not* alienating any huge chunk of their base? I just feel like they tried alienating the left and the centre left and the public sector workers and the academics, and none of those things worked great, so maybe give my idea a whirl?
February 12, 2026 at 3:13 PM
The simple, three steps Labour plan to get what you want:
1. Work hard every day to create the exact opposite of what you want
2. ???
3. Get what you want
1. Work hard every day to create the exact opposite of what you want
2. ???
3. Get what you want
One thing I love about Claire North novels is the moment when you think, “Well that was quite a ride but now the story is clearly coming to an end” and then you look down and your device says you're 23% through the book.
February 7, 2026 at 4:02 PM
One thing I love about Claire North novels is the moment when you think, “Well that was quite a ride but now the story is clearly coming to an end” and then you look down and your device says you're 23% through the book.
Not at all bizarre to me that someone whose paid full time job is pretending AI is real still thinks there's something there.
Just bizarre to me that there is such a large market for "AI will go away on its own" at this stage. And that so few people who serve that market seem to have updated their beliefs at all in the past year, even as key tasks like coding have already started to change beyond recognition.
February 2, 2026 at 10:55 AM
Not at all bizarre to me that someone whose paid full time job is pretending AI is real still thinks there's something there.
And just generally, anyone who ever complains about “splitting the vote” but refuses to say FPTP needs to go can get in the sea.
To those saying, "but the Greens will split the vote":
1. Things have changed.
2. It's not the Green's fault that Starmer has the Merdas Touch (turns everything to shit)
3. When the Greens offer the only inspiring option, perhaps we should see the Labour candidate as splitting the vote.
1. Things have changed.
2. It's not the Green's fault that Starmer has the Merdas Touch (turns everything to shit)
3. When the Greens offer the only inspiring option, perhaps we should see the Labour candidate as splitting the vote.
January 30, 2026 at 4:03 PM
And just generally, anyone who ever complains about “splitting the vote” but refuses to say FPTP needs to go can get in the sea.
Amazing illustration work at en.wiktionary.org/wiki/English..., those are the main two
January 29, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Amazing illustration work at en.wiktionary.org/wiki/English..., those are the main two
Reposted by Maik Zumstrull
Our planning system essentially has no friend/enemy distinction (i.e. it has no way to differentiate between 'I really do want this railway built but I also want you to double-glaze my window for the extra noise' and 'I will find any pretext to stop this railway')
Build the rail! Save the snails! — Labour Together
Why does British infrastructure cost so much? This paper, by economist Dan Davies, argues that Britain’s adversarial planning system forces developers to gold-plate solutions to hypothetical problems....
www.labourtogether.uk
January 28, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Our planning system essentially has no friend/enemy distinction (i.e. it has no way to differentiate between 'I really do want this railway built but I also want you to double-glaze my window for the extra noise' and 'I will find any pretext to stop this railway')
“Please, please, please don't leak this, though, especially not to A. Sorkin at the NYT before end of business today,” added the PR team.
Internal Slack message: Sam Altman tells OpenAI staff that "What's happening with ICE is going too far" and he hopes President Trump "will rise to this moment" (New York Times)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
January 27, 2026 at 2:23 PM
“Please, please, please don't leak this, though, especially not to A. Sorkin at the NYT before end of business today,” added the PR team.
Asking a random text generator “Tell me what it feels like to be you” and being amazed it will generate some text
You know, science!
You know, science!
Read sth, about the Anthropic house philosopher stating that we still don't know if "AI" can feel and got pissed off about that level of drivel only to realize that she said it on the Hard Fork Podcast of course.
This is so "tech discourse in 2026" that I don't even know how to respond or react.
This is so "tech discourse in 2026" that I don't even know how to respond or react.
January 26, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Asking a random text generator “Tell me what it feels like to be you” and being amazed it will generate some text
You know, science!
You know, science!
Just heard another talking head say that “The problem with the internet is it's completely unregulated” and I can't believe it's 2026.
Can the media please finally figure out that saying something this idiotic is completely disqualifying, and you need to drop the segment with this “expert”?
Can the media please finally figure out that saying something this idiotic is completely disqualifying, and you need to drop the segment with this “expert”?
January 24, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Just heard another talking head say that “The problem with the internet is it's completely unregulated” and I can't believe it's 2026.
Can the media please finally figure out that saying something this idiotic is completely disqualifying, and you need to drop the segment with this “expert”?
Can the media please finally figure out that saying something this idiotic is completely disqualifying, and you need to drop the segment with this “expert”?
I just learned that this exists and I need @iwriteok.bsky.social to do a review episode.
Make @jamesstout.bsky.social watch it! He's vaguely British!
Make @jamesstout.bsky.social watch it! He's vaguely British!
The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 23, 2026 at 11:01 PM
I just learned that this exists and I need @iwriteok.bsky.social to do a review episode.
Make @jamesstout.bsky.social watch it! He's vaguely British!
Make @jamesstout.bsky.social watch it! He's vaguely British!
The alignment stuff is the main reason I'm skeptical of the term “AI Research”. A lot of it seems to be astrology-style tinkering with things they've made up that they don't understand don't exist. It's cosplay, not science.
What is this?? Claude should have “good personal values”??? What does that even mean???
Arghhghgfhffh
www.anthropic.com/constitution
Arghhghgfhffh
www.anthropic.com/constitution
Claude's Constitution
Anthropic is an AI safety and research company that's working to build reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems.
www.anthropic.com
January 22, 2026 at 9:40 AM
The alignment stuff is the main reason I'm skeptical of the term “AI Research”. A lot of it seems to be astrology-style tinkering with things they've made up that they don't understand don't exist. It's cosplay, not science.
Please do this!
If any employee using ChatGPT for anything poisons everything your company does with patent claims from OpenAI, ChatGPT becomes the most banned product in history overnight.
If any employee using ChatGPT for anything poisons everything your company does with patent claims from OpenAI, ChatGPT becomes the most banned product in history overnight.
OpenAI has absolutely zero ideas. They have no business. This is not a real business line and it’s so utterly vague and specious, I’m shocked at the credulousness to just print it without saying “there is no logical way this works of course” or talking about how the CFO of OpenAI is saying nonsense
January 20, 2026 at 7:43 AM
Please do this!
If any employee using ChatGPT for anything poisons everything your company does with patent claims from OpenAI, ChatGPT becomes the most banned product in history overnight.
If any employee using ChatGPT for anything poisons everything your company does with patent claims from OpenAI, ChatGPT becomes the most banned product in history overnight.
Reposted by Maik Zumstrull
“The truth always lies somewhere in the middle” has to be one of my least favorite phrases. Sometimes, one side is actually truthful and one side is actually malicious and lying!
January 19, 2026 at 8:34 PM
“The truth always lies somewhere in the middle” has to be one of my least favorite phrases. Sometimes, one side is actually truthful and one side is actually malicious and lying!
Have the @bsky.app folks explained anywhere how Trending works, specifically if everyone sees the same list? There don't seem to be settings for it, but does it use your location or your languages or something to customize? Can enthusiastic Brazil/Japan users make something trend in the US?
January 17, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Have the @bsky.app folks explained anywhere how Trending works, specifically if everyone sees the same list? There don't seem to be settings for it, but does it use your location or your languages or something to customize? Can enthusiastic Brazil/Japan users make something trend in the US?
Reposted by Maik Zumstrull
It makes me so angry because these are not serious people and we are forced to pretend they are or get scolded for being elitists insufficiently open to new stalls in the marketplace of ideas when we point out a prerequisite for the debate stage should be understanding how literally anything works.
January 16, 2026 at 10:25 PM
It makes me so angry because these are not serious people and we are forced to pretend they are or get scolded for being elitists insufficiently open to new stalls in the marketplace of ideas when we point out a prerequisite for the debate stage should be understanding how literally anything works.
Make something a market that should obviously be a public service, or make something a state-run service that should obviously be a free market: the two types of policy errors.
So many of HE’s problems are the product of these efforts to generate market structures that just simply don’t work because the conditions that markets need to work really aren’t there, and all they do is create uncertainty (and financial problems) for students, staff, and institutions.
The single biggest thing (in cost terms) I’ve changed my mind about is UK tuition fees. Dreadful system, need to scrap it.
January 15, 2026 at 11:33 PM
Make something a market that should obviously be a public service, or make something a state-run service that should obviously be a free market: the two types of policy errors.
Ja, ganz wichtiger Punkt:
Es ist nicht so, dass Steuerhinterzieher öffentliche Infrastruktur nicht brauchen oder nicht nutzen. Es soll nur bitte jemand anderes dafür bezahlen. Das ist asozial.
Es ist nicht so, dass Steuerhinterzieher öffentliche Infrastruktur nicht brauchen oder nicht nutzen. Es soll nur bitte jemand anderes dafür bezahlen. Das ist asozial.
Oft wird das in politischen Debatten nicht explizit benannt. Vielleicht, weil es zu offensichtlich ist für einige. Trotzdem sollten wir es immer wieder klar sagen. Gerade marktradikale Akteure setzen auf die Erzählung vom „sinnlosen Staat“ vs. „effiziente Unternehmen“, um gegen Steuern zu wettern.
January 14, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Ja, ganz wichtiger Punkt:
Es ist nicht so, dass Steuerhinterzieher öffentliche Infrastruktur nicht brauchen oder nicht nutzen. Es soll nur bitte jemand anderes dafür bezahlen. Das ist asozial.
Es ist nicht so, dass Steuerhinterzieher öffentliche Infrastruktur nicht brauchen oder nicht nutzen. Es soll nur bitte jemand anderes dafür bezahlen. Das ist asozial.
Imagine you're a FIFA official who took bribes to hold world cups in Russia and Qatar.
You would never guess that the US would end up being an even more controversial pick just a few years later.
You would never guess that the US would end up being an even more controversial pick just a few years later.
Since last night, 16,800 fans have cancelled their FIFA World Cup 2026 tickets.
In addition FIFA has scheduled an emergency meeting next week to address the escalating protesting and how it relates to safety and political concerns.
In addition FIFA has scheduled an emergency meeting next week to address the escalating protesting and how it relates to safety and political concerns.
January 13, 2026 at 11:46 AM
Imagine you're a FIFA official who took bribes to hold world cups in Russia and Qatar.
You would never guess that the US would end up being an even more controversial pick just a few years later.
You would never guess that the US would end up being an even more controversial pick just a few years later.
I love that we have so many politicians now who constantly make us go, “Well he or she is genuinely very stupid, but also a relentless liar, which is it this time?”
It's good and cool.
It's good and cool.
Mandelson is either ignorant, or pretending to be. The US already has military bases in Greenland.
It's very kind of Lord Mandelson to remind everyone that, come on guys, the Trump administration in the US doesn't *need* to use military force in Greenland or against Nato allies because, well just look what happened to Venezuela.
January 11, 2026 at 5:16 PM
I love that we have so many politicians now who constantly make us go, “Well he or she is genuinely very stupid, but also a relentless liar, which is it this time?”
It's good and cool.
It's good and cool.
Simply ignoring any and all prompts that include the word bikini isn't good or sustainable content moderation, but any normal PR team would insist on it just to reduce the size of the immediate fire.
But for these people, performative impunity is the point. They want to be seen not fixing it.
But for these people, performative impunity is the point. They want to be seen not fixing it.
Just seen Grok putting the body of the victim of the ICE shooting in Minneapolis into a bikini. Digital corpse desecration now available to the public.
January 8, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Simply ignoring any and all prompts that include the word bikini isn't good or sustainable content moderation, but any normal PR team would insist on it just to reduce the size of the immediate fire.
But for these people, performative impunity is the point. They want to be seen not fixing it.
But for these people, performative impunity is the point. They want to be seen not fixing it.
This fails to debunk what it's trying to debunk – nobody was claiming that *everyone* using airport assistance is faking it.
The constructive suggestions at the end are very good though. There should be options between "no assistance" and "do the whole thing in a wheelchair" available.
The constructive suggestions at the end are very good though. There should be options between "no assistance" and "do the whole thing in a wheelchair" available.
We're back — and our first feature of the year is a meticulous dissection of "Jetway Jesus", the "airport wheelchair miracle", and the people who perpetuate this insidious and persistent myth.
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
Disabled passengers, airport wheelchairs and the pernicious myth of “Jetway Jesus”
Clickbait hacks aside, perpetuating inaccuracies about disabled passengers and wheelchair users is wrong — and counterproductive for aviation
theupfront.media
January 5, 2026 at 1:03 PM
This fails to debunk what it's trying to debunk – nobody was claiming that *everyone* using airport assistance is faking it.
The constructive suggestions at the end are very good though. There should be options between "no assistance" and "do the whole thing in a wheelchair" available.
The constructive suggestions at the end are very good though. There should be options between "no assistance" and "do the whole thing in a wheelchair" available.
Reposted by Maik Zumstrull
“I’m gonna do an evil playthrough this time”
[15 minutes of gameplay later]
“Being mean is not nice”
[15 minutes of gameplay later]
“Being mean is not nice”
I don't know why i always end up playing the Paragon/good side in RPGs, even though I sometimes plan to do the darker/bad choices
it happens every time.
it happens every time.
December 29, 2025 at 5:12 PM
“I’m gonna do an evil playthrough this time”
[15 minutes of gameplay later]
“Being mean is not nice”
[15 minutes of gameplay later]
“Being mean is not nice”
Off to see Santa.
Technically five minutes behind schedule, but with a 5 am wake-up time I'm allowed to prioritize caffeine.
Technically five minutes behind schedule, but with a 5 am wake-up time I'm allowed to prioritize caffeine.
December 23, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Off to see Santa.
Technically five minutes behind schedule, but with a 5 am wake-up time I'm allowed to prioritize caffeine.
Technically five minutes behind schedule, but with a 5 am wake-up time I'm allowed to prioritize caffeine.
It remains very funny how the “liberal” media are enabling and normalizing the fash harder than anybody and it buys them absolutely zero favor.
Trump is now calling the New York Times a national security threat and says they “must be dealt with and stopped.”
December 23, 2025 at 6:13 AM
It remains very funny how the “liberal” media are enabling and normalizing the fash harder than anybody and it buys them absolutely zero favor.
A good illustration of why HR speak around “respect,” “professionalism”, “assume good intentions”, “appropriate tone” etc makes me 🤮.
It's almost always profoundly bad faith and only ever used to shield the bullies and abusers.
It's almost always profoundly bad faith and only ever used to shield the bullies and abusers.
this, from Bari Weiss's 9pm editorial call, is just complete and utter horseshit. she can't even do damage control right
December 22, 2025 at 4:06 PM
A good illustration of why HR speak around “respect,” “professionalism”, “assume good intentions”, “appropriate tone” etc makes me 🤮.
It's almost always profoundly bad faith and only ever used to shield the bullies and abusers.
It's almost always profoundly bad faith and only ever used to shield the bullies and abusers.