RDS (formerly shawphd)
@rds773.myatproto.social
Former historian, current indexer. She/her, cis. Cats, nature, crafts, sci fi/fantasy. Covid aware. Chicago parent. GenX. West Coast ex-pat. I block & mute freely.
shawrd773@zirk.us
Need an index for your book in the humanities or social sciences? DM me.
shawrd773@zirk.us
Need an index for your book in the humanities or social sciences? DM me.
Pinned
What is common knowledge in your field but shocks outsiders?
More than half the CO₂ emissions of the Industrial Age have been pumped into the atmosphere since 1990.
More than half the CO₂ emissions of the Industrial Age have been pumped into the atmosphere since 1990.
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?
Literally nothing is 'carbon neutral'. It is a physical impossibility. If someone's telling you their product has zero climate impact, they're actively deciding to lie to you.
Literally nothing is 'carbon neutral'. It is a physical impossibility. If someone's telling you their product has zero climate impact, they're actively deciding to lie to you.
What is common knowledge in your field but shocks outsiders?
Indexes in books are written by actual humans and cannot be done automatically by computers
Indexes in books are written by actual humans and cannot be done automatically by computers
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
if you want schumer out, you might consider donating to stratton's campaign. she is cash poor, and the leader with all the money is a centrist asshole who I think would legit be worse than Durbin.
@julianastratton.bsky.social is the only one in the IL senate race who has said she would not vote for Schumer as leader. www.foxnews.com/politics/ill...
Illinois Dem Senate candidates split on backing Schumer as leader
Growing Democratic revolt against Schumer emerges as Illinois Senate hopefuls split on leadership support during primary debate ahead of 2026 election.
www.foxnews.com
February 16, 2026 at 3:59 AM
if you want schumer out, you might consider donating to stratton's campaign. she is cash poor, and the leader with all the money is a centrist asshole who I think would legit be worse than Durbin.
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
I’m going to say again, infecting your allies with a potentially debilitating and deadly illness is extremely foolish behavior in any kind of movement. You’re doing work for the other guys.
PMC COVlD Report, Week of Feb 16, 2026 (U.S.)
14 states are still experiencing High/Very High COVlD levels amid a lingering 12th wave.
Minnesota may be at an all-time high.
THREAD 1 of 4 🧵
14 states are still experiencing High/Very High COVlD levels amid a lingering 12th wave.
Minnesota may be at an all-time high.
THREAD 1 of 4 🧵
February 16, 2026 at 5:47 AM
I’m going to say again, infecting your allies with a potentially debilitating and deadly illness is extremely foolish behavior in any kind of movement. You’re doing work for the other guys.
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
FYIJ Secret Santa for @lsdolphin.bsky.social ! 🐰🌲
What a super lovely character and extremely fun piece to do- Lamonte and Tulip are so lovely :)
What a super lovely character and extremely fun piece to do- Lamonte and Tulip are so lovely :)
February 15, 2026 at 9:14 PM
FYIJ Secret Santa for @lsdolphin.bsky.social ! 🐰🌲
What a super lovely character and extremely fun piece to do- Lamonte and Tulip are so lovely :)
What a super lovely character and extremely fun piece to do- Lamonte and Tulip are so lovely :)
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
I think this is true of almost everyone who talks about electoral strategy, from posters to pundits. Their prescription for winning elections is gonna be conspicuously aligned with their own preferences.
i think most (not all) of the "you must vote for Newsom" people are just Newsom supporters who want him to win because they like him and his policies, not because they have high minded ideas about harm reduction.
February 16, 2026 at 7:30 AM
I think this is true of almost everyone who talks about electoral strategy, from posters to pundits. Their prescription for winning elections is gonna be conspicuously aligned with their own preferences.
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
Also, by reducing professorship to just the teaching, that makes it much easier to replace with contingent labor. After which it's that much easier to tell them what to teach.
What I need people to understand is when legislators argue that professors should teach more and research less, it's not because they think our research is actually worthless. It's because they don't want anyone to be able to develop or disseminate expertise that goes against their party line.
February 15, 2026 at 6:10 PM
Also, by reducing professorship to just the teaching, that makes it much easier to replace with contingent labor. After which it's that much easier to tell them what to teach.
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
Tech companies and policy-makers are currently rolling out online safety mechanisms for protecting children that directly conflict with all of the copious research and expert opinion on what they should be doing instead to prevent child harms. No one cares about the research.
February 16, 2026 at 7:31 AM
Tech companies and policy-makers are currently rolling out online safety mechanisms for protecting children that directly conflict with all of the copious research and expert opinion on what they should be doing instead to prevent child harms. No one cares about the research.
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
This is something we should think about across all writing intensive fields. Even if you're using the AI to turn notes into drafts, you are offloading the kinds of creative and epistemic decisions that drive the organization of your writing to a machine.
Thinking about the many decisions that get made when you turn your notes into a draft and what that looks like when the bot is making all of those decisions, even if you get the "final say" after the decisions have been made. www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02...
February 16, 2026 at 4:52 AM
This is something we should think about across all writing intensive fields. Even if you're using the AI to turn notes into drafts, you are offloading the kinds of creative and epistemic decisions that drive the organization of your writing to a machine.
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
See, I don't even know that Trump cares that much about the suffering of the oppressed.
I think the masses (including immigrants) are just ants to him, our suffering is too low stakes to be interesting.
Subordinates and enemies, sure, he enjoys that. But idk about the Noem torture stuff
I think the masses (including immigrants) are just ants to him, our suffering is too low stakes to be interesting.
Subordinates and enemies, sure, he enjoys that. But idk about the Noem torture stuff
The blowback is pissing off Trump. He, like them, gets off on the suffering. He wants them to do it but also be loved
The fact that they are pissing off Trump with their ham-handed efforts also means they are endangering Miller's pet torture and concentration camp project, which lives and dies by its impact on Trump's poll numbers.
February 16, 2026 at 2:39 AM
See, I don't even know that Trump cares that much about the suffering of the oppressed.
I think the masses (including immigrants) are just ants to him, our suffering is too low stakes to be interesting.
Subordinates and enemies, sure, he enjoys that. But idk about the Noem torture stuff
I think the masses (including immigrants) are just ants to him, our suffering is too low stakes to be interesting.
Subordinates and enemies, sure, he enjoys that. But idk about the Noem torture stuff
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
The quote here is from someone talking about tech bros trying to maximize AI agent productivity, and.
I would add that the metaphor of "whips" driving "labor" suggests power over a VERY specific sort of body that is subjugated under a VERY specific system of labor
I would add that the metaphor of "whips" driving "labor" suggests power over a VERY specific sort of body that is subjugated under a VERY specific system of labor
"Invisible whips directing invisible labor." This really gives the game away.The agent-orati are getting a dopamine hit from the power over automation, docile bodies.
"Reading a novel feels indulgent." As if enriching oneself is a waste. You could be exercising your power over something instead.
"Reading a novel feels indulgent." As if enriching oneself is a waste. You could be exercising your power over something instead.
February 16, 2026 at 2:27 AM
The quote here is from someone talking about tech bros trying to maximize AI agent productivity, and.
I would add that the metaphor of "whips" driving "labor" suggests power over a VERY specific sort of body that is subjugated under a VERY specific system of labor
I would add that the metaphor of "whips" driving "labor" suggests power over a VERY specific sort of body that is subjugated under a VERY specific system of labor
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
Meanwhile, when allegations involve extreme harm and immense power, the process often looks slower, more opaque, more cautious. Or non-existent.
It exposes something deeper than any one case.
Our system doesn’t respond to harm. It responds to status, narrative, and power.
It exposes something deeper than any one case.
Our system doesn’t respond to harm. It responds to status, narrative, and power.
February 15, 2026 at 1:45 AM
Meanwhile, when allegations involve extreme harm and immense power, the process often looks slower, more opaque, more cautious. Or non-existent.
It exposes something deeper than any one case.
Our system doesn’t respond to harm. It responds to status, narrative, and power.
It exposes something deeper than any one case.
Our system doesn’t respond to harm. It responds to status, narrative, and power.
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
As a former public defender who represented thousands of people, I can’t stop thinking about the contrast the Epstein files raise.
I watched 1000s face swift, devastating punishment for far less serious conduct — poor, marginalized, & presumed dangerous from the start.
I watched 1000s face swift, devastating punishment for far less serious conduct — poor, marginalized, & presumed dangerous from the start.
February 15, 2026 at 1:45 AM
As a former public defender who represented thousands of people, I can’t stop thinking about the contrast the Epstein files raise.
I watched 1000s face swift, devastating punishment for far less serious conduct — poor, marginalized, & presumed dangerous from the start.
I watched 1000s face swift, devastating punishment for far less serious conduct — poor, marginalized, & presumed dangerous from the start.
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
"the economy" is the language of modern politics. this is why reactionaries who are mad that a woman didn't smile at them tweet endlessly about how the economy will be so based and chad once we institute breeding camps
"I'm sad all the time and I don't know why" isn't a polling category and also doesn't sound serious, but "the economy is bad" does.
February 16, 2026 at 12:58 AM
"the economy" is the language of modern politics. this is why reactionaries who are mad that a woman didn't smile at them tweet endlessly about how the economy will be so based and chad once we institute breeding camps
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
"People were doing materially better in significant ways but economic sentiment was in the toilet during COVID" really feels like maybe the issue is COVID and not other stuff.
February 15, 2026 at 11:45 PM
"People were doing materially better in significant ways but economic sentiment was in the toilet during COVID" really feels like maybe the issue is COVID and not other stuff.
Omg 😍
February 16, 2026 at 2:41 AM
Omg 😍
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
A little while ago I saw one at Belmont & Damen, parked in front of a restaurant, probably waiting to get a delivery. A couple at the bus stop said they saw a bus hit one the other day; video of that would be the best thing ever
We all gathered around to bully a delivery robot on the sidewalk
February 16, 2026 at 2:02 AM
A little while ago I saw one at Belmont & Damen, parked in front of a restaurant, probably waiting to get a delivery. A couple at the bus stop said they saw a bus hit one the other day; video of that would be the best thing ever
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
I don’t think the conceptual framework of “mis/disinformation” begins to approach what the nature of this problem looks like. It’s the utter disintegration of a society’s ability to know of the world. The tower of babel. A self-induced borgesian nightmare.
February 15, 2026 at 10:32 PM
I don’t think the conceptual framework of “mis/disinformation” begins to approach what the nature of this problem looks like. It’s the utter disintegration of a society’s ability to know of the world. The tower of babel. A self-induced borgesian nightmare.
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
The snake eating its own tail effect of AI agents isn’t so much a problem of training data model collapse as the collapse of the social epistemic foundations by which human sense-making can be carried out at all—and which AI agents *also* rely on for whatever facsimile of sense-making they conduct.
February 15, 2026 at 10:19 PM
The snake eating its own tail effect of AI agents isn’t so much a problem of training data model collapse as the collapse of the social epistemic foundations by which human sense-making can be carried out at all—and which AI agents *also* rely on for whatever facsimile of sense-making they conduct.
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
The pace at which US wealth concentration is rising is simply staggering
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
February 15, 2026 at 2:47 PM
The pace at which US wealth concentration is rising is simply staggering
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
Renato Zechetto @renatozechetto.bsky.social
February 16, 2026 at 1:15 AM
Renato Zechetto @renatozechetto.bsky.social
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
I feel like basically every Bird Collective design is targeted toward me but my goodness look at this one www.birdcollective.com/products/mig...
Migration Is An Earth Right Sweatshirt
Ecosystems depend on interconnection. We're honoring immigrant communities—neighbors, families, workers, and leaders who are integral to our shared world.
www.birdcollective.com
February 16, 2026 at 1:38 AM
I feel like basically every Bird Collective design is targeted toward me but my goodness look at this one www.birdcollective.com/products/mig...
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
Meet my newest creation: Mabel the Interdimensional Spider and Builder of Haunted Labyrinths. I designed and hand-sewed her, and I hand-embroidered all her flowers and markings.
jeremycreature.bigcartel.com
jeremycreature.bigcartel.com
February 16, 2026 at 1:44 AM
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
Article in Slate, circa July 2028: Why the Principle of Harm Reduction Means It’s Important We All Vote for Garshub the World-Eater
February 16, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Article in Slate, circa July 2028: Why the Principle of Harm Reduction Means It’s Important We All Vote for Garshub the World-Eater
Thinking about how everyone my generation trained ourselves to save after every paragraph or page in the days before autosave because we ALL had that one awful experience of a time when we didn’t and lost everything
I visited my family for Easter in 2016 while deep in post-defense dissertation revision hell, and I left the room for a minute and came back to find my laptop unresponsive. I borrowed an old laptop from my sister, downloaded the files from my cloud backup, and got back to work. 😵💫
One of my PhD students ONLY had her doctoral dissertation in her laptop’s hard drive. Told her to email me the most recent version. She forgot. Her laptop was fried by the evening. She had to rewrite the entire thing.
Luckily I had some of the source/draft documents, which I sent her.
Luckily I had some of the source/draft documents, which I sent her.
February 16, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Thinking about how everyone my generation trained ourselves to save after every paragraph or page in the days before autosave because we ALL had that one awful experience of a time when we didn’t and lost everything
Reposted by RDS (formerly shawphd)
Even in Feb, 60° in Chicago always signals beach weather 😎
February 15, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Even in Feb, 60° in Chicago always signals beach weather 😎
Ooo
Nasal COVID vaccine boost increases IgA responses linked to variant neutralisation.
"A novel nasal booster approach may help close the gap between systemic vaccination and infection-blocking mucosal immunity, offering fresh insight into next-generation COVID vaccine strategies."
"A novel nasal booster approach may help close the gap between systemic vaccination and infection-blocking mucosal immunity, offering fresh insight into next-generation COVID vaccine strategies."
Nasal COVID vaccine boost increases IgA responses linked to variant neutralisation
Intranasal boosting after prior intramuscular COVID vaccination induced strong mucosal IgA responses in a small human cohort. These antibodies showed markedly enhanced neutralising activity against Om...
www.news-medical.net
February 16, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Ooo