Orc Wizard
@orcwizard.bsky.social
Gaming, science, higher ed, all things nerdy.
Change a letter, ruin a film
The Whining
The Whining
Change a letter, ruin a film
The Darn Crystal
The Darn Crystal
Change a letter, ruin a film
The Silence of the Lamps
The Silence of the Lamps
January 26, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Change a letter, ruin a film
The Whining
The Whining
It’s a crisp -7F here in WNY.
Hope it’s warmer wherever you are.
Hope it’s warmer wherever you are.
January 24, 2026 at 1:32 PM
It’s a crisp -7F here in WNY.
Hope it’s warmer wherever you are.
Hope it’s warmer wherever you are.
Reposted by Orc Wizard
It's inevitable, you simply must adapt to it and use it, you have no choice, but also please use it more or it's going to die
AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns
AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns
Big tech boss tells delegates at Davos that broader global use is essential if technology is to deliver lasting growth
www.irishtimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 4:22 PM
It's inevitable, you simply must adapt to it and use it, you have no choice, but also please use it more or it's going to die
So in other news my laptop died and it’s at the shop.
I got my backup laptop running but the adapter just flared out in a shower of sparks. Plenty entertaining for other patrons at the coffee shop this morning.
I got my backup laptop running but the adapter just flared out in a shower of sparks. Plenty entertaining for other patrons at the coffee shop this morning.
January 20, 2026 at 4:48 PM
So in other news my laptop died and it’s at the shop.
I got my backup laptop running but the adapter just flared out in a shower of sparks. Plenty entertaining for other patrons at the coffee shop this morning.
I got my backup laptop running but the adapter just flared out in a shower of sparks. Plenty entertaining for other patrons at the coffee shop this morning.
The title and the headings in the article understate how bad this administration has been for higher Ed.
4 Takeaways From Trump’s First Year in Office
Higher ed faced upheaval and uncertainty as the president sought to overhaul colleges and universities. Some leaders hope for a more stable year two, but significant changes loom. https://bit.ly/3NuWRtt
Higher ed faced upheaval and uncertainty as the president sought to overhaul colleges and universities. Some leaders hope for a more stable year two, but significant changes loom. https://bit.ly/3NuWRtt
January 20, 2026 at 4:45 PM
The title and the headings in the article understate how bad this administration has been for higher Ed.
I stand corrected.
January 19, 2026 at 11:43 PM
I stand corrected.
It’s ironic that in Plato’s Republic, the argument is made that a government should censor works that don’t fit its views. I guess TX is just following his recommendation.
Every paragraph of this describes a situation that just gets more and more bonkers. Texas A&M is not a university. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Plato Censored as Texas A&M Carries Out Course Review
A&M officials have also instructed English faculty not to teach books in core classes that have major plotlines concerning gay, lesbian or transgender identities.
www.insidehighered.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:38 PM
It’s ironic that in Plato’s Republic, the argument is made that a government should censor works that don’t fit its views. I guess TX is just following his recommendation.
To think, I wasted years of meals eating fruits and vegetables, when I could have been eating healthy Philly cheese steaks all along!
January 8, 2026 at 12:42 PM
To think, I wasted years of meals eating fruits and vegetables, when I could have been eating healthy Philly cheese steaks all along!
How exactly would a hospital buying its own insurance to cover patients’ care going to work?
Or do they mean just patients should haggle with healthcare providers? When you’re unconscious in an ambulance you’re not really in a strong negotiating position.
Or do they mean just patients should haggle with healthcare providers? When you’re unconscious in an ambulance you’re not really in a strong negotiating position.
BARTIROMO: What is the GOP's healthcare plan?
RICK SCOTT: Many times you can buy it way cheaper by just going directly to a doctor or a hospital or surgery center rather than going through the insurance product. Let them buy their own insurance.
RICK SCOTT: Many times you can buy it way cheaper by just going directly to a doctor or a hospital or surgery center rather than going through the insurance product. Let them buy their own insurance.
January 7, 2026 at 2:01 PM
How exactly would a hospital buying its own insurance to cover patients’ care going to work?
Or do they mean just patients should haggle with healthcare providers? When you’re unconscious in an ambulance you’re not really in a strong negotiating position.
Or do they mean just patients should haggle with healthcare providers? When you’re unconscious in an ambulance you’re not really in a strong negotiating position.
International and foreign language programs are not a priority… sheesh.
No, why bother trying to understand and communicate with other nations and cultures? How myopic.
No, why bother trying to understand and communicate with other nations and cultures? How myopic.
And now, since our Dean wrote this (www.jsonline.com/story/opinio...), we've all received letters informing us year 4 of our NRC/FLAS grants has been cancelled.
International & foreign language education is "not a priority of the administration."
The party of national security something something
International & foreign language education is "not a priority of the administration."
The party of national security something something
January 6, 2026 at 10:06 PM
International and foreign language programs are not a priority… sheesh.
No, why bother trying to understand and communicate with other nations and cultures? How myopic.
No, why bother trying to understand and communicate with other nations and cultures? How myopic.
I am really glad to hear these materials documenting the attempted violent overthrow of an American election are being preserved. Esp. given the current administrations attempts to whitewash its history and pardoning its perpetrators.
NPR's Jan. 6 archive brings together reporting, video, documents and testimony to show what really happened during the Capitol riot. Explore the timeline, cases and evidence behind the attack.
Jan. 6, 2021: A visual archive of the Capitol attack
NPR’s Jan. 6 archive brings together reporting, video, documents and testimony to show what really happened during the Capitol riot. Explore the timeline, cases and evidence behind the attack.
n.pr
January 5, 2026 at 1:34 PM
I am really glad to hear these materials documenting the attempted violent overthrow of an American election are being preserved. Esp. given the current administrations attempts to whitewash its history and pardoning its perpetrators.
This is terrible, just terrible. Peer reviewers for journal articles should also check on each source cited, if they weren’t doing so already. And lay off the damn AI.
Academic articles from authors using large language models are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself.
AI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don't Exist -- And They're Being Cited in Real Journals
bit.ly
December 22, 2025 at 3:08 PM
This is terrible, just terrible. Peer reviewers for journal articles should also check on each source cited, if they weren’t doing so already. And lay off the damn AI.
Reposted by Orc Wizard
Reposted by Orc Wizard
Some More Font Upgrades, After Yesterday’s Calibri News www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
December 11, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Some More Font Upgrades, After Yesterday’s Calibri News www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
My humanities class has a creative project. Correlation is not causation, but I do think it’s a little suspicious that I get more short stories (over art projects) as genAI has become more mainstream.
I mean, dammit, this was a chance for students to do something authentic and original.
I mean, dammit, this was a chance for students to do something authentic and original.
December 12, 2025 at 2:03 PM
My humanities class has a creative project. Correlation is not causation, but I do think it’s a little suspicious that I get more short stories (over art projects) as genAI has become more mainstream.
I mean, dammit, this was a chance for students to do something authentic and original.
I mean, dammit, this was a chance for students to do something authentic and original.
Context: Disney, infamously protective of their IP, agreed to license their characters for OpenAI.
Me: "I wish Disney would stop being so draconian and protective of their IP"
a cartoon hand reaching out towards a purple object
ALT: a cartoon hand reaching out towards a purple object
media.tenor.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Context: Disney, infamously protective of their IP, agreed to license their characters for OpenAI.
This is a good article. Yes higher ed is in crisis. Not sure some of the remedies are what it needs.
Wish the article addressed online offerings. I knew a few colleges pre-Covid that tried to survive by suddenly offering online programs. The remedy tended to be too late to save them though.
Wish the article addressed online offerings. I knew a few colleges pre-Covid that tried to survive by suddenly offering online programs. The remedy tended to be too late to save them though.
For a couple of years now, I've been fascinated with what's happening at small liberal arts colleges, which are running out of money for reasons unrelated to Trump funding cuts. Businessweek let me go deep on the problems, and one college that's trying to blaze a new trail.
Why a College Fighting for Survival Is Slashing Econ and Physics Majors
At Albright in Pennsylvania, the new president is cutting programs, selling art and real estate, and vowing not to hire anyone with tenure. Is this the way forward for liberal arts colleges?
www.bloomberg.com
December 9, 2025 at 6:37 PM
This is a good article. Yes higher ed is in crisis. Not sure some of the remedies are what it needs.
Wish the article addressed online offerings. I knew a few colleges pre-Covid that tried to survive by suddenly offering online programs. The remedy tended to be too late to save them though.
Wish the article addressed online offerings. I knew a few colleges pre-Covid that tried to survive by suddenly offering online programs. The remedy tended to be too late to save them though.
I’d like to know when my faculty powers kick in.
Seriously though you should treat students fairly and help them succeed, but they’re not “customers”. That’s a bad model for colleges and universities.
Seriously though you should treat students fairly and help them succeed, but they’re not “customers”. That’s a bad model for colleges and universities.
Yes we all agree that this is the reason colleges are in trouble
December 9, 2025 at 6:01 PM
I’d like to know when my faculty powers kick in.
Seriously though you should treat students fairly and help them succeed, but they’re not “customers”. That’s a bad model for colleges and universities.
Seriously though you should treat students fairly and help them succeed, but they’re not “customers”. That’s a bad model for colleges and universities.
Reposted by Orc Wizard
I found a tiny octopus on the tide pool🐙✨️
Small as it is, it’s every bit an octopus ... and absolutely adorable!!
It even shoots ink🫧 ͛.*
Small as it is, it’s every bit an octopus ... and absolutely adorable!!
It even shoots ink🫧 ͛.*
December 8, 2025 at 12:41 PM
I found a tiny octopus on the tide pool🐙✨️
Small as it is, it’s every bit an octopus ... and absolutely adorable!!
It even shoots ink🫧 ͛.*
Small as it is, it’s every bit an octopus ... and absolutely adorable!!
It even shoots ink🫧 ͛.*
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.
December 8, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.
Reposted by Orc Wizard
What is the meaning of life?
December 5, 2025 at 5:15 PM
What is the meaning of life?
I’ve met some monks who seemed genuinely serious about their spirituality. I’ve also met some who weren’t, and were interested in worldly ends. Any institution with influence is going to attract some of the wrong people.
Buddhism isn't something you can project your perceptions on. It is a religion with movements and reactionary waves like all the others
The dangerous rise of Buddhist extremism: ‘Attaining nirvana can wait’
December 4, 2025 at 10:41 PM
I’ve met some monks who seemed genuinely serious about their spirituality. I’ve also met some who weren’t, and were interested in worldly ends. Any institution with influence is going to attract some of the wrong people.
Where’s my “I’d rather be gaming” bumper sticker?
November 30, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Where’s my “I’d rather be gaming” bumper sticker?
This thread speaks to me. I’m grading final papers and I know many are written by AI. Rarely are students grappling with the actual texts their papers are on; there’s this sloppy gloss like AI word-vomited a bunch of points about their topics.
1/2
1/2
At this point, our intro comp/first-year English course has been so heavily revised, it no longer includes a novel, or "extended reading" of any kind, no "specialized" or "historical" reading, mostly in-class assignments, no research essay...and we are still seeing a 40-50% rate of AI misconduct.
November 30, 2025 at 10:44 PM
This thread speaks to me. I’m grading final papers and I know many are written by AI. Rarely are students grappling with the actual texts their papers are on; there’s this sloppy gloss like AI word-vomited a bunch of points about their topics.
1/2
1/2
“The perfect caption doesn’t exi- …”
Oh. Yes it does.
Oh. Yes it does.
November 29, 2025 at 10:42 PM
“The perfect caption doesn’t exi- …”
Oh. Yes it does.
Oh. Yes it does.