Ryan O
@rohlson.bsky.social
Lifelong Chicagoan. Lover of reading, baseball, board games, live music, and beer.
Reposted by Ryan O
i think if you ride public transit enough you learn that most weird behavior is not dangerous, and conversely i think driving a car teaches you that everyone is trying to kill you at all times
October 29, 2025 at 4:49 PM
i think if you ride public transit enough you learn that most weird behavior is not dangerous, and conversely i think driving a car teaches you that everyone is trying to kill you at all times
Reposted by Ryan O
i like how whenever the baseball men need to calm down they take a lil walk
October 28, 2025 at 1:23 AM
i like how whenever the baseball men need to calm down they take a lil walk
Reposted by Ryan O
If I had explain American history in one sentence, I could do worse than "John Brown was hung for treason, but Robert E. Lee was not."
John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry began on this day in 1859.
October 16, 2025 at 11:29 PM
If I had explain American history in one sentence, I could do worse than "John Brown was hung for treason, but Robert E. Lee was not."
Reposted by Ryan O
Predictive text models do not ever "answer your question"
They predict what an answer to your question would probably look like.
Which is very, very, very different
They predict what an answer to your question would probably look like.
Which is very, very, very different
I don’t think it can be emphasized enough that large language models were never intended to do math or know facts; literally all they do is attempt to sound like the text they’re given, which may or may not include math or facts. They don’t do logic or fact checking — they’re just not built for that
Unfortunately, it repeatedly offers incorrect answers for straightforward math questions. 🧪
March 18, 2024 at 12:45 PM
Predictive text models do not ever "answer your question"
They predict what an answer to your question would probably look like.
Which is very, very, very different
They predict what an answer to your question would probably look like.
Which is very, very, very different
Reposted by Ryan O
Made the kids watch Sneakers with me for Fathers' Day last night and man does it hold up. Criminally slept-on film.
June 16, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Made the kids watch Sneakers with me for Fathers' Day last night and man does it hold up. Criminally slept-on film.
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This seems like it should all be one crawl actually
I'm sure pub crawls are fun, but can we please normalize library crawls, bakery crawls, and bookstore crawls?
May 6, 2025 at 1:50 PM
This seems like it should all be one crawl actually
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Opinion: This is a perfect distillation of how suburbanites feel entitled to the benefits our world-class city offers despite not contributing to the tax base that pays for such amenities
Opinion:
"The Chicago Public Library is trying to keep the world from checking out all its ebooks. Suburbanites will have to show grit to preserve access to services," Neil Steinberg writes.
"The Chicago Public Library is trying to keep the world from checking out all its ebooks. Suburbanites will have to show grit to preserve access to services," Neil Steinberg writes.
Why should suburbanites have to bang on the Chicago library door, pleading to be let in?
The Chicago Public Library is trying to keep the world from checking out all its ebooks. Suburbanites will have to show grit to preserve access to services.
buff.ly
April 27, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Opinion: This is a perfect distillation of how suburbanites feel entitled to the benefits our world-class city offers despite not contributing to the tax base that pays for such amenities
Reposted by Ryan O
160 years ago today, the traitor Jefferson Davis and his treasonous cabinet abandoned Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, spelling the beginning of the end of the Civil War. A day for all patriots to celebrate.
April 2, 2025 at 4:55 PM
160 years ago today, the traitor Jefferson Davis and his treasonous cabinet abandoned Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, spelling the beginning of the end of the Civil War. A day for all patriots to celebrate.
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people that live in chicago love to be like “i love living in chicago”
February 26, 2025 at 11:10 PM
people that live in chicago love to be like “i love living in chicago”
Reposted by Ryan O
What's happening in America is that, in the most literal sense, internet trolls have taken over the government.
February 8, 2025 at 3:59 PM
What's happening in America is that, in the most literal sense, internet trolls have taken over the government.
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Sometimes I accidentally click on a website's AI button, and it always makes me recoil like I stepped in a puddle of shower water with fresh socks on.
February 6, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Sometimes I accidentally click on a website's AI button, and it always makes me recoil like I stepped in a puddle of shower water with fresh socks on.
Reposted by Ryan O
Great Lakes secession now more than ever
February 3, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Great Lakes secession now more than ever
Reposted by Ryan O
Yes, this administration is dangerous and cruel, but they are also shockingly dim and incompetent.
Opportunities are everywhere.
Make everything as hard as possible. Resist every demand. Refuse entry without a warrant. Don’t take the buyout. Their problem solving skills are 📉
Opportunities are everywhere.
Make everything as hard as possible. Resist every demand. Refuse entry without a warrant. Don’t take the buyout. Their problem solving skills are 📉
January 30, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Yes, this administration is dangerous and cruel, but they are also shockingly dim and incompetent.
Opportunities are everywhere.
Make everything as hard as possible. Resist every demand. Refuse entry without a warrant. Don’t take the buyout. Their problem solving skills are 📉
Opportunities are everywhere.
Make everything as hard as possible. Resist every demand. Refuse entry without a warrant. Don’t take the buyout. Their problem solving skills are 📉
Reposted by Ryan O
What an absolutely wild swing the Lord of the Rings trilogy was. If they'd been bad or unpopular movies it would have been a world-historical cinematic catastrophe. Instead it's a 12-hour parade of the most bitchin' shit you've ever seen in your life.
Cried so hard through the end of The Return of the King that my son kept apologizing to me for not doing so
January 13, 2025 at 2:40 AM
What an absolutely wild swing the Lord of the Rings trilogy was. If they'd been bad or unpopular movies it would have been a world-historical cinematic catastrophe. Instead it's a 12-hour parade of the most bitchin' shit you've ever seen in your life.
Reposted by Ryan O
the McConaughey/Harrelson Salesforce commercial has to be the most nonsensical one going. Literally no part of it makes any sense.
January 13, 2025 at 3:49 AM
the McConaughey/Harrelson Salesforce commercial has to be the most nonsensical one going. Literally no part of it makes any sense.
Reposted by Ryan O
Mister Rogers never misses
January 2, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Mister Rogers never misses
Another year of excellent taste in music
December 4, 2024 at 4:50 PM
Another year of excellent taste in music
Reposted by Ryan O
They Might Be Giants have existed for *ten times as long* as the Confederacy
It’s fun to note that the Confederacy lasted less time than many bands you may never have heard of.
The Confederacy: 4 years.
Dexy’s Midnight Runners: 8 years.
The Confederacy: 4 years.
Dexy’s Midnight Runners: 8 years.
October 14, 2024 at 4:34 AM
They Might Be Giants have existed for *ten times as long* as the Confederacy
Ten (actually an even dozen) writers of whom I've read more than five books:
Neil Gaiman
Ursula K LeGuin
Tom Clancy
James SA Corey
Robert Jordan
Brandon Sanderson
NK Jemisin
CS Lewis
Terry Pratchett
Kim Stanley Robinson
John Scalzi
Neal Stephenson
Neil Gaiman
Ursula K LeGuin
Tom Clancy
James SA Corey
Robert Jordan
Brandon Sanderson
NK Jemisin
CS Lewis
Terry Pratchett
Kim Stanley Robinson
John Scalzi
Neal Stephenson
Ten writers of whom I’ve read more than five books:
Aimee Bender
Gabriel García Márquez
Anne Carson
Anne Rice
Virginia Woolf
Ernest Hemingway
Kurt Vonnegut
R.L. Stine
K.A. Applegate
Mo Willems
Damn. There are like 10 writers I’ve read 3-4 books of, but I had to struggle for this
Aimee Bender
Gabriel García Márquez
Anne Carson
Anne Rice
Virginia Woolf
Ernest Hemingway
Kurt Vonnegut
R.L. Stine
K.A. Applegate
Mo Willems
Damn. There are like 10 writers I’ve read 3-4 books of, but I had to struggle for this
January 4, 2024 at 7:11 PM
Ten (actually an even dozen) writers of whom I've read more than five books:
Neil Gaiman
Ursula K LeGuin
Tom Clancy
James SA Corey
Robert Jordan
Brandon Sanderson
NK Jemisin
CS Lewis
Terry Pratchett
Kim Stanley Robinson
John Scalzi
Neal Stephenson
Neil Gaiman
Ursula K LeGuin
Tom Clancy
James SA Corey
Robert Jordan
Brandon Sanderson
NK Jemisin
CS Lewis
Terry Pratchett
Kim Stanley Robinson
John Scalzi
Neal Stephenson
The Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. LeGuin, or The Expanse if we are sticking to tv/movies
no star trek or star wars allowed: name your fav sci-fi franchise
September 29, 2023 at 3:45 AM
The Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. LeGuin, or The Expanse if we are sticking to tv/movies