Rachel Wente-Chaney
@rachelwente.com
Skeptic. CIO. Central Oregon.
Interested in the security, access, mobility, usability, and history of information.
https://rachelwente.com
Interested in the security, access, mobility, usability, and history of information.
https://rachelwente.com
Elphaba, putting her hand out for broom.
Magical aurora.
Magical aurora.
The aurora last night in Beaver, Alaska was just incredible. This is a real-time video (not sped up) of the crazy motion I saw. Also, look how BRIGHT it is, wow!
February 8, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Elphaba, putting her hand out for broom.
Magical aurora.
Magical aurora.
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
what i can appreciate about claude code in the terminal versus the chatbot stuff is that i feel i am talking to computer to make it do computer. whereas the chatbot stuff feels much more like a thing pretending to be human. feels more like using a power tool than going to therapy if that makes sense
Spending more time with Claude Code tonight and I do think one basic reality is that AI skeptics need to update their priors: Plenty of cause for concern, plenty of room to hit these companies for unethical behavior, resource demands, etc, but we are so, so far past the era of "stochastic parrots"
Move Over, ChatGPT
You are about to hear a lot more about Claude Code.
www.theatlantic.com
January 29, 2026 at 4:38 AM
what i can appreciate about claude code in the terminal versus the chatbot stuff is that i feel i am talking to computer to make it do computer. whereas the chatbot stuff feels much more like a thing pretending to be human. feels more like using a power tool than going to therapy if that makes sense
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
I remember when the Internet was a major plot point in the 1986 movie 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' and the witchcraft of people in New York and Eastern Europe talking to each other instantaneously using computers was mindblowing.
In 1995, Sandra Bullock was the first person ever to buy movie theater tickets online, in promotion for her new film THE NET.
January 3, 2026 at 3:44 AM
I remember when the Internet was a major plot point in the 1986 movie 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' and the witchcraft of people in New York and Eastern Europe talking to each other instantaneously using computers was mindblowing.
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
The time is right for a new version of Desk Set. But EMERAC would be AI. Of course.
December 23, 2025 at 9:06 PM
The time is right for a new version of Desk Set. But EMERAC would be AI. Of course.
AI reminders this evening on distinction between language and understanding.
1. Raye’s adorable post with her grandma, that “AI” gets so wrong.
2. Annual Christmas “Desk Set” viewing. I cackle by the time Hepburn gets to “Basil Underwood must die.”
Desk Set, especially, is extra relevant rn.
1. Raye’s adorable post with her grandma, that “AI” gets so wrong.
2. Annual Christmas “Desk Set” viewing. I cackle by the time Hepburn gets to “Basil Underwood must die.”
Desk Set, especially, is extra relevant rn.
December 26, 2025 at 7:03 AM
AI reminders this evening on distinction between language and understanding.
1. Raye’s adorable post with her grandma, that “AI” gets so wrong.
2. Annual Christmas “Desk Set” viewing. I cackle by the time Hepburn gets to “Basil Underwood must die.”
Desk Set, especially, is extra relevant rn.
1. Raye’s adorable post with her grandma, that “AI” gets so wrong.
2. Annual Christmas “Desk Set” viewing. I cackle by the time Hepburn gets to “Basil Underwood must die.”
Desk Set, especially, is extra relevant rn.
I don’t *know*, Margo.
And why is the carpet all wet, TODD?
December 24, 2025 at 4:06 AM
I don’t *know*, Margo.
Mine too. And the Maya gif is the absolute perfect choice.
This is true and wildly frustrating. My bird cam uses "AI bird recognition" and I'm like...
December 23, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Mine too. And the Maya gif is the absolute perfect choice.
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
Wildly different things, tasks, techniques, subspecialties being lumped into "AI" and then being conflated with each other, doesn't help. Different types of models vs the techniques to train them vs the tasks they are supposed to accomplish, all under "AI".
December 22, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Wildly different things, tasks, techniques, subspecialties being lumped into "AI" and then being conflated with each other, doesn't help. Different types of models vs the techniques to train them vs the tasks they are supposed to accomplish, all under "AI".
Done. Such a value. Thanks for your heart, brain, wit, and snark Parker. ⚾️🧢🗳️🐶🎥🎸
Real talk: I would really appreciate it if you'd all consider subscribing to my newsletter (free or paid) (www.readtpa.com) or becoming a paid subscriber to my Patreon (patreon.com/parkermolloy). It's been a difficult year work-wise. If you enjoy my writing, please support it. Thanks!
December 23, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Done. Such a value. Thanks for your heart, brain, wit, and snark Parker. ⚾️🧢🗳️🐶🎥🎸
Heartbreaking #longread.
“But in a letter, he asked the chief coroner that an instruction be distributed urging his peers to consider toxic-fume exposure when conducting autopsies on relatively young pilots or flight attendants who died in atypical circumstances.”
www.wsj.com/business/air...
“But in a letter, he asked the chief coroner that an instruction be distributed urging his peers to consider toxic-fume exposure when conducting autopsies on relatively young pilots or flight attendants who died in atypical circumstances.”
www.wsj.com/business/air...
‘He Was Poisoned.’ Toxic Fumes on Planes Blamed for Deaths of Pilots and Crew
Doctors and researchers increasingly see a link between exposures to contaminated cabin air and fatal illnesses.
www.wsj.com
December 22, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Heartbreaking #longread.
“But in a letter, he asked the chief coroner that an instruction be distributed urging his peers to consider toxic-fume exposure when conducting autopsies on relatively young pilots or flight attendants who died in atypical circumstances.”
www.wsj.com/business/air...
“But in a letter, he asked the chief coroner that an instruction be distributed urging his peers to consider toxic-fume exposure when conducting autopsies on relatively young pilots or flight attendants who died in atypical circumstances.”
www.wsj.com/business/air...
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
I read a talk by @audreywatters.bsky.social where she starts naming the griefs:
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/ai-grief-obs...
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/ai-grief-obs...
November 26, 2025 at 12:51 AM
I read a talk by @audreywatters.bsky.social where she starts naming the griefs:
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/ai-grief-obs...
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/ai-grief-obs...
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
Easy choice if you're a deer deciding where to buy a house
November 17, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Easy choice if you're a deer deciding where to buy a house
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
“Without human literacy, you might assume that words and their order are all that matter.” I happened on this @eryk.bsky.social post from way back in August and love the move to put human literacies up against AI literacies. mail.cyberneticforests.com/human-litera...
a man in a suit and bow tie asks how did i get here
Alt: Clip from the Talking Heads music video for Once In A Lifetime, showing David Byrne in a suit and bow tie on his knees asking to the heavens with open arms: “How did i get here?”
media.tenor.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:22 PM
“Without human literacy, you might assume that words and their order are all that matter.” I happened on this @eryk.bsky.social post from way back in August and love the move to put human literacies up against AI literacies. mail.cyberneticforests.com/human-litera...
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
‘Death remains my intimate shadow partner. It has been with me since birth, always hovering close by. I understand one day we will finally waltz together into the ether. I hope when that time comes, I die with the satisfaction of a life well-lived, unapologetic, joyful, & full of love.’
—Alice Wong
—Alice Wong
November 15, 2025 at 6:12 AM
‘Death remains my intimate shadow partner. It has been with me since birth, always hovering close by. I understand one day we will finally waltz together into the ether. I hope when that time comes, I die with the satisfaction of a life well-lived, unapologetic, joyful, & full of love.’
—Alice Wong
—Alice Wong
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
On Australia Day in 1979, Melbourne University student Stuart McArthur published this map as an attempt to correct the northern hemisphere's tendency to make itself look more important.
It's now sold over 350,000 copies.
More on it here: everythingisamazing.substack.com/p/why-all-ou...
It's now sold over 350,000 copies.
More on it here: everythingisamazing.substack.com/p/why-all-ou...
November 13, 2025 at 11:15 PM
On Australia Day in 1979, Melbourne University student Stuart McArthur published this map as an attempt to correct the northern hemisphere's tendency to make itself look more important.
It's now sold over 350,000 copies.
More on it here: everythingisamazing.substack.com/p/why-all-ou...
It's now sold over 350,000 copies.
More on it here: everythingisamazing.substack.com/p/why-all-ou...
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
finding joy despite the world in 2025 is like this lol
November 12, 2025 at 3:34 PM
finding joy despite the world in 2025 is like this lol
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
spoke with the executive director of my local food bank today and got this really incredible line: "if you donate 1 can of green beans, we can give away 1 can of green beans. but if you donate a dollar, we can give away 6 cans of green beans"
November 10, 2025 at 7:32 PM
spoke with the executive director of my local food bank today and got this really incredible line: "if you donate 1 can of green beans, we can give away 1 can of green beans. but if you donate a dollar, we can give away 6 cans of green beans"
Brilliant. Borrowing this next time we have a “pardon the disruption,” i.e. tech issue moment.
November 11, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Brilliant. Borrowing this next time we have a “pardon the disruption,” i.e. tech issue moment.
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
This how I find out I have a son??
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux has become an internet sensation after an Associated Press photo captured him outside the Louvre on the day of a crown jewels heist.
apnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:13 PM
This how I find out I have a son??
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
My appreciation for KPop Demon Hunters increased by 1,000 percent after reading this smart, thoughtful @manishakrishnan.bsky.social interview with EJAE:
How ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Star EJAE Topped the Charts
Kids everywhere know her voice—if not her name. WIRED talks to the former SM trainee about her rise to global superstardom with her hit song “Golden.”
www.wired.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:07 PM
My appreciation for KPop Demon Hunters increased by 1,000 percent after reading this smart, thoughtful @manishakrishnan.bsky.social interview with EJAE:
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
Not with that attitude it won’t
October 22, 2025 at 5:52 AM
Not with that attitude it won’t
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
I spend a year plotting a mystery novel and then this happens.
October 20, 2025 at 1:56 AM
I spend a year plotting a mystery novel and then this happens.
Reposted by Rachel Wente-Chaney
all the anxiety human evolution developed to help me spot bears now kicks in when i have to answer emails
October 19, 2025 at 3:42 AM
all the anxiety human evolution developed to help me spot bears now kicks in when i have to answer emails