Sean O'Hara
@noculottes.bsky.social
Author, translator. Polyglot, polyamorous, polygonal. Knower of things. Mostly real.
My posts may be licensed for training data in large language models and generative AI at a cost of US $1000 per word.
My posts may be licensed for training data in large language models and generative AI at a cost of US $1000 per word.
Pinned
Sean O'Hara
@noculottes.bsky.social
· Feb 22
New short story available on Amazon/Kindle Unlimited: A Portion for Foxes.
Bronze age refugees find their migration blocked by neolithic warriors. In generations to come, the outcome of their confrontation will give rise to a mighty empire.
amzn.to/3QuZE44
Bronze age refugees find their migration blocked by neolithic warriors. In generations to come, the outcome of their confrontation will give rise to a mighty empire.
amzn.to/3QuZE44
Reposted by Sean O'Hara
One day a billionaire will decide to make flying cars a thing even though they're annoying, hard to operate, and require constant maintenance, but we'll be told they're the inevitable future of technology, dealerships will phase out actual cars and the government will do nothing to regulate.
January 18, 2026 at 5:32 PM
One day a billionaire will decide to make flying cars a thing even though they're annoying, hard to operate, and require constant maintenance, but we'll be told they're the inevitable future of technology, dealerships will phase out actual cars and the government will do nothing to regulate.
"Every understanding of law [about] territorial control..." Mate, the US position violates half the provisions of the Helsinki Accords.
January 17, 2026 at 1:40 PM
"Every understanding of law [about] territorial control..." Mate, the US position violates half the provisions of the Helsinki Accords.
Prostate cancer is a horrible way to die. Absolutely terrible. Every day an unending agony that makes life seem a hollow shell that you can barely tolerate until you yearn for the sweet release of death.
What I'm trying to say here is that Scott Adams died too soon.
What I'm trying to say here is that Scott Adams died too soon.
January 14, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Prostate cancer is a horrible way to die. Absolutely terrible. Every day an unending agony that makes life seem a hollow shell that you can barely tolerate until you yearn for the sweet release of death.
What I'm trying to say here is that Scott Adams died too soon.
What I'm trying to say here is that Scott Adams died too soon.
Slightly diminish a band:
Aerojourneyman
Aerojourneyman
Slightly diminish a band:
They Might Be Pretty Tall
They Might Be Pretty Tall
Slightly diminish a band
Concerning Straits
Concerning Straits
January 10, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Slightly diminish a band:
Aerojourneyman
Aerojourneyman
Reposted by Sean O'Hara
/8 A huge part of what makes it very hard to convict Jonathan Ross for murder was baked into America generations before Trump was President. That’s the primary factor that lets law enforcement kill with impunity, not Trump.
Dick Wolf has killed more black men than Leopold II.
Dick Wolf has killed more black men than Leopold II.
January 9, 2026 at 6:46 PM
/8 A huge part of what makes it very hard to convict Jonathan Ross for murder was baked into America generations before Trump was President. That’s the primary factor that lets law enforcement kill with impunity, not Trump.
Dick Wolf has killed more black men than Leopold II.
Dick Wolf has killed more black men than Leopold II.
Man, Gerard Butler picked a bad week to release a movie called Greenland II.
January 7, 2026 at 4:49 AM
Man, Gerard Butler picked a bad week to release a movie called Greenland II.
This is some South Park level shit.
January 3, 2026 at 6:24 PM
This is some South Park level shit.
How stupid are Democrats if a ranking member of a major committee believed the assurances that we weren't going to overthrow Maduro when the evidence was plain to everyone paying attention that we were going to overthrow Maduro?
From the House Intelligence Committee’s ranking Democrat:
January 3, 2026 at 5:40 PM
How stupid are Democrats if a ranking member of a major committee believed the assurances that we weren't going to overthrow Maduro when the evidence was plain to everyone paying attention that we were going to overthrow Maduro?
Apropos of nothing, did you know that the Roman Senate, despite becoming little more than a social club, continued to meet for the entire history of the Empire and didn't cease until a full century after the last Emperor was deposed?
January 3, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Apropos of nothing, did you know that the Roman Senate, despite becoming little more than a social club, continued to meet for the entire history of the Empire and didn't cease until a full century after the last Emperor was deposed?
Have you ever stopped to think that somebody who is truly immortal would live to see the end of humanity, the death of the sun and ultimately the heat death of the universe? Their earthly life would be a brief moment followed by trillions of years drifting through a dying void.
January 1, 2026 at 8:57 PM
Have you ever stopped to think that somebody who is truly immortal would live to see the end of humanity, the death of the sun and ultimately the heat death of the universe? Their earthly life would be a brief moment followed by trillions of years drifting through a dying void.
Just saw a Substack post that began with a plea to become a paying subscriber because the article is 19,000 words long, and all I can think is the writer needs to trim his stuff to under 4000 words before I'll even consider it.
December 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Just saw a Substack post that began with a plea to become a paying subscriber because the article is 19,000 words long, and all I can think is the writer needs to trim his stuff to under 4000 words before I'll even consider it.
Reposted by Sean O'Hara
In retrospect, Philip K. Dick and Douglas Adams were the real hard sci-fi writers, and guys like Clarke and Heinlein were writing fantasy novels.
December 18, 2025 at 5:15 PM
In retrospect, Philip K. Dick and Douglas Adams were the real hard sci-fi writers, and guys like Clarke and Heinlein were writing fantasy novels.
This is like hyping artificial insem8nation as a replacement for sex. "You won't need to go through the physical exertion anymore."
But also the semen is stored inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
But also the semen is stored inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
I have grown to believe that excessive wealth does something to your brain that is analogous to a serious head injury
December 15, 2025 at 7:30 PM
This is like hyping artificial insem8nation as a replacement for sex. "You won't need to go through the physical exertion anymore."
But also the semen is stored inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
But also the semen is stored inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
Never mind movies you’ve watched multiple times, name a movie you’ve watched once and would never watch again.
I Stand Alone.
I Stand Alone.
Never mind movies you’ve watched multiple times, name a movie you’ve watched once and would never watch again.
Slither
Slither
Never mind movies you’ve watched multiple times, name a movie you’ve watched once and would never watch again.
Interstellar.
Interstellar.
December 11, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Never mind movies you’ve watched multiple times, name a movie you’ve watched once and would never watch again.
I Stand Alone.
I Stand Alone.
Reading Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep for the third time. Weird how my view of it has changed over the years.
1990s: Usenet in space? Awesome \m/
2000s: Usenet in space? What a ridiculous anachronism.
2020s: Whatever the protocol, Vinge totally nailed the use of social media to organize genocide.
1990s: Usenet in space? Awesome \m/
2000s: Usenet in space? What a ridiculous anachronism.
2020s: Whatever the protocol, Vinge totally nailed the use of social media to organize genocide.
December 10, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Reading Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep for the third time. Weird how my view of it has changed over the years.
1990s: Usenet in space? Awesome \m/
2000s: Usenet in space? What a ridiculous anachronism.
2020s: Whatever the protocol, Vinge totally nailed the use of social media to organize genocide.
1990s: Usenet in space? Awesome \m/
2000s: Usenet in space? What a ridiculous anachronism.
2020s: Whatever the protocol, Vinge totally nailed the use of social media to organize genocide.
What skill did you master that you will never, ever use again?
As a one hour photo tech, I had to load photographic test strips into a cartridge by touch while they were in a light-proof bag.
As a one hour photo tech, I had to load photographic test strips into a cartridge by touch while they were in a light-proof bag.
What skill did you master that you will never, ever use again?
When I was a radio producer in graduate school I became expert at editing interviews on a reel-to-reel tape recorder - cutting bits of sound with a xacto razor and splicing the tape together again with special editing tape.
When I was a radio producer in graduate school I became expert at editing interviews on a reel-to-reel tape recorder - cutting bits of sound with a xacto razor and splicing the tape together again with special editing tape.
December 8, 2025 at 1:44 PM
What skill did you master that you will never, ever use again?
As a one hour photo tech, I had to load photographic test strips into a cartridge by touch while they were in a light-proof bag.
As a one hour photo tech, I had to load photographic test strips into a cartridge by touch while they were in a light-proof bag.
I've come to the horrifying realization that Olivia Nuzzi is what Rory Gilmore would have become if Logan's dad hadn't told her she sucked at journalism.
December 7, 2025 at 12:32 AM
I've come to the horrifying realization that Olivia Nuzzi is what Rory Gilmore would have become if Logan's dad hadn't told her she sucked at journalism.
Bringing back station wagons would be good because they were designed for highways with a maximum speed of 55mph. Let's make traffic slow again.
Sean Duffy on slashing fuel economy standards: "This rule will actually allow you to bring back the 1970s station wagon. Maybe a little wood paneling on the side. We can bring back choice to consumers."
December 4, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Bringing back station wagons would be good because they were designed for highways with a maximum speed of 55mph. Let's make traffic slow again.
There is only one eugenic rule that is actually good, and that's the one we had before we knew about genetics: Don't have kids with close relatives.
December 4, 2025 at 1:44 PM
There is only one eugenic rule that is actually good, and that's the one we had before we knew about genetics: Don't have kids with close relatives.
Listening to some high school students grapple with the concept of retro-futurism and fighting the urge to explain that Star Trek was plain futuristic, not retro.
December 3, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Listening to some high school students grapple with the concept of retro-futurism and fighting the urge to explain that Star Trek was plain futuristic, not retro.
Always funny when people claim that "Black Friday" is supposed to be positive descriptor and not an indictment of holiday commercialization.
November 28, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Always funny when people claim that "Black Friday" is supposed to be positive descriptor and not an indictment of holiday commercialization.