Chris Groskopf
@onyxfish.bsky.social
Storytelling with data @ CDC. Ex- FiveThirtyEight, NPR, Enigma, etc. Parenting, hiking, climbing, reading, and buying too much art. Oakland, CA. (This is a personal account.)
Pinned
Chris Groskopf
@onyxfish.bsky.social
· Nov 19
Current reading, and a pretty good indication of what I'm about these days. Less code, more systems. Less math, more art. The rest hasn't changed much!
Reposted by Chris Groskopf
She's here 😭😭😭
New research backs up what gamers have thought for years: cozy video games can be an antidote to stress and anxiety. Don't believe it? We made an adorable world for you to explore (and yes, there is gardening)
www.reuters.com/graphics/VID...
www.reuters.com/graphics/VID...
Cozy video games can quell stress and anxiety.
Explore a charming town, meet quirky villagers, and take in the cozy vibes!
www.reuters.com
January 27, 2025 at 12:54 PM
She's here 😭😭😭
Nosferatu (2024): Meh, but enjoyed spending two hours trying to figure out which old masters Eggers had been studying. I'm sure there was a lot of German Romantic stuff I missed but I appreciated the Dutch classics. The Vermeer was particularly nice!
January 22, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Nosferatu (2024): Meh, but enjoyed spending two hours trying to figure out which old masters Eggers had been studying. I'm sure there was a lot of German Romantic stuff I missed but I appreciated the Dutch classics. The Vermeer was particularly nice!
As an amateur genealogist and occasional art detective I've probably spent more time trying to decipher 19th century cursive than just about any other related activity. It's legit hard.
The National Archives is looking for volunteers with an increasingly rare skill: Reading cursive.
Can you read cursive? It's a superpower the National Archives is looking for.
The National Archives is looking for volunteers with an increasingly rare skill: Reading cursive.
www.usatoday.com
January 17, 2025 at 5:28 AM
As an amateur genealogist and occasional art detective I've probably spent more time trying to decipher 19th century cursive than just about any other related activity. It's legit hard.
Reposted by Chris Groskopf
Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has been criminally indicted by a federal grand jury following an FBI corruption investigation, a source familiar with the matter told the Chronicle.
Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has been criminally indicted
Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has been criminally indicted by a federal grand jury following an FBI corruption investigation.
www.sfchronicle.com
January 16, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has been criminally indicted by a federal grand jury following an FBI corruption investigation, a source familiar with the matter told the Chronicle.
Reposted by Chris Groskopf
Reposted by Chris Groskopf
News nerds particularly may know the kind and talented @jazzmyth.bsky.social . Jasmine Mithani's parents and three-legged cat Shiloh lost their home in the Eaton Fire, which caused so much damage to Altadena, California.
www.gofundme.com/f/help-mitha...
www.gofundme.com/f/help-mitha...
Donate to Help Mithani family rebuild after Eaton Fire, organized by Jasmine Mithani
Hi all,
It’s Jasmine. Like many, many people, my parents Mike and Jan… Jasmine Mithani needs your support for Help Mithani family rebuild after Eaton Fire
www.gofundme.com
January 14, 2025 at 1:31 AM
News nerds particularly may know the kind and talented @jazzmyth.bsky.social . Jasmine Mithani's parents and three-legged cat Shiloh lost their home in the Eaton Fire, which caused so much damage to Altadena, California.
www.gofundme.com/f/help-mitha...
www.gofundme.com/f/help-mitha...
Reposted by Chris Groskopf
Live in Oakland?
Tell the city what it should prioritize as its drafts its next 2-year budget (2025-2027). What programs or departments should absorb cuts? What needs more funding?
oaklandside.org/2025/01/10/o...
Tell the city what it should prioritize as its drafts its next 2-year budget (2025-2027). What programs or departments should absorb cuts? What needs more funding?
oaklandside.org/2025/01/10/o...
Concerned about Oakland’s budget crisis? The city wants your ideas
An advisory commission is collecting feedback from residents about what to focus on in Oakland’s next spending plan for 2025-2027.
oaklandside.org
January 10, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Live in Oakland?
Tell the city what it should prioritize as its drafts its next 2-year budget (2025-2027). What programs or departments should absorb cuts? What needs more funding?
oaklandside.org/2025/01/10/o...
Tell the city what it should prioritize as its drafts its next 2-year budget (2025-2027). What programs or departments should absorb cuts? What needs more funding?
oaklandside.org/2025/01/10/o...
Reposted by Chris Groskopf
Guys, C-SPAN is momentarily in a state of lawless anarchy.
January 3, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Guys, C-SPAN is momentarily in a state of lawless anarchy.
Reposted by Chris Groskopf
I think everyone who has an opnion, good or bad, about LLMs, should read how @simonwillison.net has summer up what’s happened in the space this year. He’s the most credible, most independent, most honest, and most technically fluent person watching the space. simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/31/...
Things we learned about LLMs in 2024
A lot has happened in the world of Large Language Models over the course of 2024. Here’s a review of things we figured out about the field in the past …
simonwillison.net
December 31, 2024 at 9:37 PM
I think everyone who has an opnion, good or bad, about LLMs, should read how @simonwillison.net has summer up what’s happened in the space this year. He’s the most credible, most independent, most honest, and most technically fluent person watching the space. simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/31/...
The metric by which I would like my 2024 to be evaluated: I checked out 559 books from the Oakland Library.
December 31, 2024 at 2:16 AM
The metric by which I would like my 2024 to be evaluated: I checked out 559 books from the Oakland Library.
People are doing some really delightful things with Range headers these days! protomaps.com
A free and open source map of the world
Protomaps is an alternative to Map APIs that you run on your own cloud storage.
protomaps.com
December 30, 2024 at 5:46 PM
People are doing some really delightful things with Range headers these days! protomaps.com
The kicker here is so important: "Veterans were the lone group among whom homelessness declined last year, the report found. That continues a long-term trend driven by bipartisan support for services and housing..." There are strategies for fixing this problem that have shown success.
Breaking News: Homelessness in the U.S. hit a record level in 2024, driven by a surge in migrants, a housing crisis and an end to pandemic-era measures. nyti.ms/3PdWGAl
December 27, 2024 at 7:20 PM
The kicker here is so important: "Veterans were the lone group among whom homelessness declined last year, the report found. That continues a long-term trend driven by bipartisan support for services and housing..." There are strategies for fixing this problem that have shown success.
Topology has always been my favorite branch of math to dip into and this video is a fabulous demonstration of why. The shapes of things are encodings of mathematical properties!
New* video! If you’ve ever wondered what topology is, this problem is one of the best examples I know of to give an authentic sense of what it’s all about: youtu.be/IQqtsm-bBRU
December 27, 2024 at 4:57 PM
Topology has always been my favorite branch of math to dip into and this video is a fabulous demonstration of why. The shapes of things are encodings of mathematical properties!
Toddler didn’t so much as sneeze for two months, but comes home from the last day of regular daycare looking like a plague victim.
December 21, 2024 at 1:47 AM
Toddler didn’t so much as sneeze for two months, but comes home from the last day of regular daycare looking like a plague victim.
Reposted by Chris Groskopf
End of the year! ✨🎄🎇 So here we've got a special Data Vis Dispatch for you: it comes from the whole Datawrapper team. We're sharing our favorite visualizations of 2024. Take a look here 🎁 https://blog.datawrapper.de/data-vis-dispatch-december-17-2024/ and tell us: what were your favorites?
December 17, 2024 at 4:33 PM
End of the year! ✨🎄🎇 So here we've got a special Data Vis Dispatch for you: it comes from the whole Datawrapper team. We're sharing our favorite visualizations of 2024. Take a look here 🎁 https://blog.datawrapper.de/data-vis-dispatch-december-17-2024/ and tell us: what were your favorites?
Reposted by Chris Groskopf
incredible piece, especially in how it handles both the truth and the fiction (🎁) www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/m...
What Alice Munro Knew (Gift Article)
The Nobel-winning author’s husband was a pedophile who targeted her daughter and other children. Why did she stay silent?
www.nytimes.com
December 8, 2024 at 3:35 PM
incredible piece, especially in how it handles both the truth and the fiction (🎁) www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/m...
The version I heard from my friends that took this path: All the problems that look like easy technology problems are actually hard legal or regulatory problems. Certainly resonates with my experience working in government!
One of the first things I heard when I began my graduate studies in Public Administration was this: "All of the easy problems have been solved already, the only ones left are the hard ones."
I think about that a lot when I talk to people new to #CivicTech. We've fixed all the easy stuff already.
I think about that a lot when I talk to people new to #CivicTech. We've fixed all the easy stuff already.
December 6, 2024 at 4:16 PM
The version I heard from my friends that took this path: All the problems that look like easy technology problems are actually hard legal or regulatory problems. Certainly resonates with my experience working in government!
Reposted by Chris Groskopf
This story is uh, insane www.cbsnews.com/news/police-...
December 5, 2024 at 12:52 PM
This story is uh, insane www.cbsnews.com/news/police-...
Bluesky has unexpectedly resurrected an old problem: There is way more good internet than I have time for!
December 4, 2024 at 3:18 PM
Bluesky has unexpectedly resurrected an old problem: There is way more good internet than I have time for!
A short list of things I experience only on my annual pilgrimage home:
* Sandstone rocks
* Satellite TV
* Little Critter books
* Folgers coffee
* Ice scrapers
* Vintage Tupperware
* Ancestral tintypes
* Shotgun fire at dawn and dusk
* Sandstone rocks
* Satellite TV
* Little Critter books
* Folgers coffee
* Ice scrapers
* Vintage Tupperware
* Ancestral tintypes
* Shotgun fire at dawn and dusk
December 1, 2024 at 2:28 PM
A short list of things I experience only on my annual pilgrimage home:
* Sandstone rocks
* Satellite TV
* Little Critter books
* Folgers coffee
* Ice scrapers
* Vintage Tupperware
* Ancestral tintypes
* Shotgun fire at dawn and dusk
* Sandstone rocks
* Satellite TV
* Little Critter books
* Folgers coffee
* Ice scrapers
* Vintage Tupperware
* Ancestral tintypes
* Shotgun fire at dawn and dusk
Reposted by Chris Groskopf
A fluke lab discovery has led to the creation of the world's first "superblack" wood. Researchers are hoping it can upend our need to import endangered darkwoods — a thriving underground market.
ambrook.com/research/tec...
ambrook.com/research/tec...
Meet Superblack Wood - Ambrook Research
A fluke lab discovery could upend our need to import endangered wood — a thriving underground market.
ambrook.com
November 30, 2024 at 9:58 PM
A fluke lab discovery has led to the creation of the world's first "superblack" wood. Researchers are hoping it can upend our need to import endangered darkwoods — a thriving underground market.
ambrook.com/research/tec...
ambrook.com/research/tec...
Reposted by Chris Groskopf
Some 303 previously uncharted geoglyphs made by the Nazca, a pre-Inca civilization in present-day Peru dating from 200 BC to 700 AD, were identified with the help of drones and A.I.
Hundreds More Nazca Lines Emerge in Peru’s Desert
With drones and A.I., researchers managed to double the number of mysterious geoglyphs in a matter of months.
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2024 at 1:02 AM
Some 303 previously uncharted geoglyphs made by the Nazca, a pre-Inca civilization in present-day Peru dating from 200 BC to 700 AD, were identified with the help of drones and A.I.
Reposted by Chris Groskopf
The books machine is back!
I don’t always have good news to share first thing in the morning BUT…
IT’S BOOKS WE LOVE DAY!!!!!
apps.npr.org/best-books/#...
IT’S BOOKS WE LOVE DAY!!!!!
apps.npr.org/best-books/#...
Books We Love
Here are 350+ great reads from 2024 hand-picked just for you by NPR staff and trusted critics.
apps.npr.org
November 25, 2024 at 2:05 PM
The books machine is back!
The main character arc in Gladiator II is more of a character angle.
November 23, 2024 at 6:40 AM
The main character arc in Gladiator II is more of a character angle.
This is great news for all of us trying to make government services more response to the people the serve.
They fixed one of the worst things about the Paperwork Reduction Act! www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing...
Ensuring Effective and Timely Usability Research | OMB | The White House
By OIRA Administrator Richard L. Revesz Cumbersome and poorly designed forms can be frustrating for people interacting with the Federal government. Beyond frustration, a poorly designed form may keep ...
www.whitehouse.gov
November 22, 2024 at 5:06 AM
This is great news for all of us trying to make government services more response to the people the serve.