Jen O’
@satijen.bsky.social
GenX Hoo-mon that gives a 💩
☕️ 🧶 🏔️ 🛶 🍙 🌏📚🐈🖖🇺🇦🎮
Currently watching: Fisk, Knight of Westeros, Tomodachi Life Nintendo Direct on loop.
Playing: Metroid Prime 4 Beyond (kinda. Sad it’s not that fun)
Reading: Katabasis
☕️ 🧶 🏔️ 🛶 🍙 🌏📚🐈🖖🇺🇦🎮
Currently watching: Fisk, Knight of Westeros, Tomodachi Life Nintendo Direct on loop.
Playing: Metroid Prime 4 Beyond (kinda. Sad it’s not that fun)
Reading: Katabasis
For those who think Dems don’t do anything. After our landslide election last Nov, VA dems are killing it in this year’s legislative session. Worth noting that when we first took both houses back in 2017, they were similarly productive.
virginiamercury.com/2026/02/18/w...
virginiamercury.com/2026/02/18/w...
What’s alive and what’s dead at the Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 midway point • Virginia Mercury
Democrats advance constitutional amendments, gun restrictions, immigration limits and a minimum wage hike as budget negotiations loom in session’s second half.
virginiamercury.com
February 18, 2026 at 3:25 PM
For those who think Dems don’t do anything. After our landslide election last Nov, VA dems are killing it in this year’s legislative session. Worth noting that when we first took both houses back in 2017, they were similarly productive.
virginiamercury.com/2026/02/18/w...
virginiamercury.com/2026/02/18/w...
Saw a car today with an actual LED sign attached to the back window of his car (something I’ve always wished for). The scrolling message read: I just wish the ‘orange man’ would act like a president.
To which I replied: dream bigger, my guy!
To which I replied: dream bigger, my guy!
February 18, 2026 at 2:08 AM
Saw a car today with an actual LED sign attached to the back window of his car (something I’ve always wished for). The scrolling message read: I just wish the ‘orange man’ would act like a president.
To which I replied: dream bigger, my guy!
To which I replied: dream bigger, my guy!
Reposted by Jen O’
This describes but one reason why I find AI chatbots terminally frustrating.
This brief and trenchant opinion piece by Claudio Nastruzzi describes the lexical and intellectual flattening resulting from applying LLM tools to prose, due to their tendency to return everything to the statistical mean of their training data.
www.theregister.com/2026/02/16/s...
www.theregister.com/2026/02/16/s...
Semantic ablation: Why AI writing is boring and dangerous
opinion: The subtractive bias we're ignoring
www.theregister.com
February 17, 2026 at 3:03 PM
This describes but one reason why I find AI chatbots terminally frustrating.
My brain is having trouble processing a frozen over great lake
February 15, 2026 at 9:12 PM
My brain is having trouble processing a frozen over great lake
Can we just state the obvious: Trump cannot "repeal" a scientific finding. He can direct his administration to ignore it, but he can't make it untrue.
Do better, headline writers.
Do better, headline writers.
February 13, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Can we just state the obvious: Trump cannot "repeal" a scientific finding. He can direct his administration to ignore it, but he can't make it untrue.
Do better, headline writers.
Do better, headline writers.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Also why are the leasing dozens of offices and warehouses around the country?
This isn’t the end of it.
Also why are the leasing dozens of offices and warehouses around the country?
This isn’t the end of it.
White House border czar Tom Homan said the ICE surge in Minnesota will end soon, saying a “significant drawdown” of federal forces will continue into next week.
Live: Border czar says ICE surge in Minnesota will soon end
Minnesota officials are testifying before the Senate Homeland Security committee in Washington Thursday morning.
www.startribune.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:37 PM
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Also why are the leasing dozens of offices and warehouses around the country?
This isn’t the end of it.
Also why are the leasing dozens of offices and warehouses around the country?
This isn’t the end of it.
Hmm... we've got a SCOTUS judge who cried on global TV about how much he loves beer and now this. I'm starting to think the legal profession isn't as prestigious as they'd like us to think.
PS Raskin wrote my kid's constitutional law textbook
PS Raskin wrote my kid's constitutional law textbook
Pam Bondi and Dems clashed at a House Judiciary hearing.
“You don’t tell me anything, washed-up loser lawyer,” she shouted at ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
The anger and insults over the Epstein files and immigration crackdown in Playbook PM 👇
“You don’t tell me anything, washed-up loser lawyer,” she shouted at ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
The anger and insults over the Epstein files and immigration crackdown in Playbook PM 👇
Anger spills over in Bondi hearing
And the January jobs report comes in unexpectedly hot.
politi.co
February 11, 2026 at 9:38 PM
Hmm... we've got a SCOTUS judge who cried on global TV about how much he loves beer and now this. I'm starting to think the legal profession isn't as prestigious as they'd like us to think.
PS Raskin wrote my kid's constitutional law textbook
PS Raskin wrote my kid's constitutional law textbook
Cuz nothing matters as long as *some* people are getting rich.
Bondi crashes out over Epstein: "The Dow is over 50,000 dollars! I don't know why you're laughing. You're a great stock trader as I hear, Raskin. The Dow is over 50,000 right now. The S&P at almost 7,000, and the Nasdaq smashing records. That's what we should be talking about."
February 11, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Cuz nothing matters as long as *some* people are getting rich.
I don't think Beyer is up for representing such a large swath of constituents under the new map. He currently ignores Annandale as it is. If you're not wealthy ALX or ARL he forgets he represents you.
Beyer faces challenges on his age and possible redistricting shakeup in reelection bid
Beyer faces challenges on his age and possible redistricting shakeup in reelection bid | ARLnow.com
U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) is taking on challenges about his age and the possibility of a dramatically different constituency as he seeks reelection. Beyer, who turns 76 in June, addressed the age issue...
www.arlnow.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:31 PM
I don't think Beyer is up for representing such a large swath of constituents under the new map. He currently ignores Annandale as it is. If you're not wealthy ALX or ARL he forgets he represents you.
Trying to figure out how to see the peace monks is making me feel un-peaceful.
February 8, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Trying to figure out how to see the peace monks is making me feel un-peaceful.
I’m usually the last person to complain about Apple’s UI updates but 26 has many usability problems beyond the dumb glassy look. Guess I won’t be texting anyone anymore.
February 8, 2026 at 1:53 PM
I’m usually the last person to complain about Apple’s UI updates but 26 has many usability problems beyond the dumb glassy look. Guess I won’t be texting anyone anymore.
The Walking Peace Monks existing alongside (and sharing space with) the dizzying complexity and reach of the pedo cabal is very confusing.
February 6, 2026 at 4:15 PM
The Walking Peace Monks existing alongside (and sharing space with) the dizzying complexity and reach of the pedo cabal is very confusing.
I’m sorry but if the Clintons know enough about all things Epstein and Trump to cause panic in the WH, then why have they sat on that info all this time??
Either what they know isn’t that much or they are as bad as the rest of them for keeping quiet.
Either what they know isn’t that much or they are as bad as the rest of them for keeping quiet.
February 6, 2026 at 3:01 PM
I’m sorry but if the Clintons know enough about all things Epstein and Trump to cause panic in the WH, then why have they sat on that info all this time??
Either what they know isn’t that much or they are as bad as the rest of them for keeping quiet.
Either what they know isn’t that much or they are as bad as the rest of them for keeping quiet.
Welp. The excesses of my youth have caught up to me. Doc says: I don’t normally see this amt of hearing loss in someone your age.
I don’t regret a second of it. I’ve seen a lot of the best bands ever.
Tho part of me wonders what kinda kickbacks they get from the hearing aid industry.
I don’t regret a second of it. I’ve seen a lot of the best bands ever.
Tho part of me wonders what kinda kickbacks they get from the hearing aid industry.
February 5, 2026 at 1:50 AM
Welp. The excesses of my youth have caught up to me. Doc says: I don’t normally see this amt of hearing loss in someone your age.
I don’t regret a second of it. I’ve seen a lot of the best bands ever.
Tho part of me wonders what kinda kickbacks they get from the hearing aid industry.
I don’t regret a second of it. I’ve seen a lot of the best bands ever.
Tho part of me wonders what kinda kickbacks they get from the hearing aid industry.
Booking a hotel in a tiny college town that lists "toilet paper" as an included amenity.
We are high rollers now, baby!
We are high rollers now, baby!
February 4, 2026 at 3:27 AM
Booking a hotel in a tiny college town that lists "toilet paper" as an included amenity.
We are high rollers now, baby!
We are high rollers now, baby!
Given all of the things, I feel weird complaining about this. But for those of us who live in the area, this is heartbreaking. We have a lot of memories seeing events there, including my kid's first concert (age 3ish) to see their preschool teacher's band play.
Can't anyone stop this madman?
Can't anyone stop this madman?
Q: Do you plan on tearing the Kennedy Center down and how much will all of the renovations cost?
TRUMP: Probably around $200 million. I'm not ripping it down. I'll be using the steel. So we're using the structure. We're using some of the marble.
TRUMP: Probably around $200 million. I'm not ripping it down. I'll be using the steel. So we're using the structure. We're using some of the marble.
February 2, 2026 at 10:28 PM
Given all of the things, I feel weird complaining about this. But for those of us who live in the area, this is heartbreaking. We have a lot of memories seeing events there, including my kid's first concert (age 3ish) to see their preschool teacher's band play.
Can't anyone stop this madman?
Can't anyone stop this madman?
I am dragging my anchor.
February 2, 2026 at 12:11 PM
I am dragging my anchor.
I got an #openpressproject postcard press for Xmas. First time printing anything in decades. I prefer linocut and screen printing but this #tetrapak was kinda fun. Can’t mess up tho.
Happy Imbolc!
Happy Imbolc!
January 31, 2026 at 11:09 PM
I got an #openpressproject postcard press for Xmas. First time printing anything in decades. I prefer linocut and screen printing but this #tetrapak was kinda fun. Can’t mess up tho.
Happy Imbolc!
Happy Imbolc!
What up #knitsky. I’ve been slowly at this & still not sure. The first time I knit the chart it came out too tight so I restarted w larger needles. But when I switched to stockinette, the fabric was too open & running big. So ripped back to chart & went down a needle size. Might still be too big.
January 31, 2026 at 1:31 PM
What up #knitsky. I’ve been slowly at this & still not sure. The first time I knit the chart it came out too tight so I restarted w larger needles. But when I switched to stockinette, the fabric was too open & running big. So ripped back to chart & went down a needle size. Might still be too big.
Two out of three members of this household would invite Hugh Morris to be our housemate.
January 30, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Two out of three members of this household would invite Hugh Morris to be our housemate.
Dearest Gentle Reader. I shall go along with the farce that Benedict Bridgerton became love struck but for the steaminess that is to come.
But this author does not buy that this particular rake would find a young girl gaping at a chandelier alluring. Esp not after spending his evening with Louis.
But this author does not buy that this particular rake would find a young girl gaping at a chandelier alluring. Esp not after spending his evening with Louis.
January 30, 2026 at 2:07 AM
Dearest Gentle Reader. I shall go along with the farce that Benedict Bridgerton became love struck but for the steaminess that is to come.
But this author does not buy that this particular rake would find a young girl gaping at a chandelier alluring. Esp not after spending his evening with Louis.
But this author does not buy that this particular rake would find a young girl gaping at a chandelier alluring. Esp not after spending his evening with Louis.
Our gov has a history of acting insanely against protestors. My mom was a nursing student in Birmingham when police hosed down peaceful marchers.
But these devices are compact, mobile, & cause perm damage to anyone nearby. Imagine if they drive through a dense area blasting it.
Horrifying.
But these devices are compact, mobile, & cause perm damage to anyone nearby. Imagine if they drive through a dense area blasting it.
Horrifying.
What the hell?
Is this really the Minnesota State Police testing LRAD on protestors?
LRAD is a long-range acoustic device. Sound as a weapon.
Testing weapons on civilians is a war crime.
If this is legit, it means weapons of war against US citizens.
Is this really the Minnesota State Police testing LRAD on protestors?
LRAD is a long-range acoustic device. Sound as a weapon.
Testing weapons on civilians is a war crime.
If this is legit, it means weapons of war against US citizens.
January 29, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Our gov has a history of acting insanely against protestors. My mom was a nursing student in Birmingham when police hosed down peaceful marchers.
But these devices are compact, mobile, & cause perm damage to anyone nearby. Imagine if they drive through a dense area blasting it.
Horrifying.
But these devices are compact, mobile, & cause perm damage to anyone nearby. Imagine if they drive through a dense area blasting it.
Horrifying.
heads up #northernvirginia
County Board members advise calling 911 if residents see ICE in Arlington
County Board members advise calling 911 if residents see ICE in Arlington | ARLnow.com
If Arlington residents see immigration enforcement operating in the county, some local elected officials are advising them to call 911. County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti and Board member Takis Karantonis...
www.arlnow.com
January 27, 2026 at 1:49 AM
heads up #northernvirginia