Stephen Shankland
@stshank.bsky.social
Head of Content at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a company commercializing fusion energy: clean, safe, affordable, secure. Former science and technology journalist. Bird nerd. Assigned to the Conehead clique as a teenager.
A northern flicker — pretty early this morning. Amazing how well they cling with those toes. Relatively common and my favorite woodpecker. #birds #NewMexico 🐦
January 2, 2026 at 3:09 AM
A northern flicker — pretty early this morning. Amazing how well they cling with those toes. Relatively common and my favorite woodpecker. #birds #NewMexico 🐦
I'm looking forward to this. Anybody who might be concerned — please note that these will not be my jokes, so it should be safe to attend. #CES
Fusion energy coming to #CES2026 shows it's the next big thing in tech.
To celebrate this massive debut, we’re doing something a little different: hosting a live comedy show about fusion energy. Why comedy? 1/2
#FusionEnergy #CleanTech
To celebrate this massive debut, we’re doing something a little different: hosting a live comedy show about fusion energy. Why comedy? 1/2
#FusionEnergy #CleanTech
December 30, 2025 at 10:17 PM
I'm looking forward to this. Anybody who might be concerned — please note that these will not be my jokes, so it should be safe to attend. #CES
The Nazi Plunder of Church Bells Changed the Sound of Europe
www.nytimes.com
December 28, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Sunrise over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains this morning. #NewMexico
December 25, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Sunrise over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains this morning. #NewMexico
I started looking into transformer shortages when writing about Carrington events. Replacing them isn't easy, especially big ones. Now they're of course a supply constraint for grid upgrades, indutstry, and data centers. www.wsj.com/business/the...
The Factory Workers Who Build the Power Grid by Hand
The large transformers needed to power the AI boom are made partly by hand and take four to six weeks to build, leading to a yearslong wait list.
www.wsj.com
December 16, 2025 at 6:42 PM
I started looking into transformer shortages when writing about Carrington events. Replacing them isn't easy, especially big ones. Now they're of course a supply constraint for grid upgrades, indutstry, and data centers. www.wsj.com/business/the...
No, really:
"on tenterhooks"
"champing at the bit"
"linchpin"
"on tenterhooks"
"champing at the bit"
"linchpin"
December 16, 2025 at 1:05 AM
No, really:
"on tenterhooks"
"champing at the bit"
"linchpin"
"on tenterhooks"
"champing at the bit"
"linchpin"
Reposted by Stephen Shankland
Exclusive from @amyaharder.bsky.social: Fusion hasn't actually arrived in reality, but a bipartisan group of lawmakers is already looking to make sure it sticks around in Washington.
www.axios.com/2025/12/15/f...
www.axios.com/2025/12/15/f...
Exclusive: New bill shows both parties are all-in on fusion
It would codify an Office of Fusion at the Energy Department.
www.axios.com
December 15, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Exclusive from @amyaharder.bsky.social: Fusion hasn't actually arrived in reality, but a bipartisan group of lawmakers is already looking to make sure it sticks around in Washington.
www.axios.com/2025/12/15/f...
www.axios.com/2025/12/15/f...
Reposted by Stephen Shankland
Devens-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems and other fusion-focused firms have met with U.S. Department of Energy leadership to discuss accelerating growth of the promising new energy source in the country.
Devens firm meets with DOE to accelerate fusion energy development
Devens-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems and other fusion-focused firms have met with U.S. Department of Energy leadership to discuss accelerating growth of the promising new energy source in the…
wbjournal.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Devens-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems and other fusion-focused firms have met with U.S. Department of Energy leadership to discuss accelerating growth of the promising new energy source in the country.
Worthwhile NYT piece on China's fusion efforts, including satellite photo then-and-now comparisons, quotes from Chinese fusion officials, informed commentary, and a good look at what's at stake.
#FusionEnergy #China #Energy
#FusionEnergy #China #Energy
“China’s government has made fusion a national priority, marshaling resources at daunting speed. Fusion could change the calculus for both nations and the globe. Whoever conquers it could build plants around the world and forge new alliances with energy-hungry countries.” 🧵 1/3
#FusionEnergy #China
#FusionEnergy #China
December 14, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Worthwhile NYT piece on China's fusion efforts, including satellite photo then-and-now comparisons, quotes from Chinese fusion officials, informed commentary, and a good look at what's at stake.
#FusionEnergy #China #Energy
#FusionEnergy #China #Energy
Happy that Google is improving Gemini's synthetic voice, but I wish they'd fix Android's speech-to-text conversion so it doesn't insert all the incorrect grammar — thinking I'm done with a sentence when I'm not and indeed sometimes didn't even pause. blog.google/products/gem...
Improved Gemini audio models for powerful voice interactions
An upgraded Gemini 2.5 Native Audio model across Google products and live speech translation in the Google Translate app.
blog.google
December 12, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Happy that Google is improving Gemini's synthetic voice, but I wish they'd fix Android's speech-to-text conversion so it doesn't insert all the incorrect grammar — thinking I'm done with a sentence when I'm not and indeed sometimes didn't even pause. blog.google/products/gem...
"Morgan Stanley forecasts that China will spend $560B on grid projects through 2030, up 45% from the previous five years. Goldman Sachs predicts that by 2030, China will have about 400 gigawatts of spare capacity, about three times the world’s expected data-center power demand at that time."
China’s AI Power Play: Cheap Electricity From World’s Biggest Grid
Government push for power supremacy transforms Inner Mongolia. Tech leaders worry about a U.S.-China “electron gap.”
www.wsj.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:56 PM
"Morgan Stanley forecasts that China will spend $560B on grid projects through 2030, up 45% from the previous five years. Goldman Sachs predicts that by 2030, China will have about 400 gigawatts of spare capacity, about three times the world’s expected data-center power demand at that time."
Temporal time sounds way better than the usual version. Does this mean I'll be able to push back some of my deadlines?
(No. This is for improving some handling of time-related matters in JavaScript / on the web, like daylight saving time. Also, TIL about the Proleptic Gregorian Calendar.)
(No. This is for improving some handling of time-related matters in JavaScript / on the web, like daylight saving time. Also, TIL about the Proleptic Gregorian Calendar.)
Chrome 144 beta is out now→ goo.gle/48zbLpB
This release includes the Temporal API for better JavaScript dates, the element, @scroll-state container queries, and more.
This release includes the Temporal API for better JavaScript dates, the
December 9, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Temporal time sounds way better than the usual version. Does this mean I'll be able to push back some of my deadlines?
(No. This is for improving some handling of time-related matters in JavaScript / on the web, like daylight saving time. Also, TIL about the Proleptic Gregorian Calendar.)
(No. This is for improving some handling of time-related matters in JavaScript / on the web, like daylight saving time. Also, TIL about the Proleptic Gregorian Calendar.)
Personal expression through laptop stickers: stickertop.art
stickertop.art - Discover Laptop Sticker Art
Discover a unique collection of laptops adorned with creative stickers from around the world. Each laptop tells a story through its stickers.
stickertop.art
December 8, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Personal expression through laptop stickers: stickertop.art
Good piece on the literal and figurative ups and downs of smartwatch fall detection in the wilderness. www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adve...
When a Hiker Fell Down a Colorado Mountain, His Apple Watch Called for Help
The propagation of fall-detection technology has led to an uptick in false alarms. But this hiker is glad that his device made an SOS call after a terrifying mishap.
www.outsideonline.com
December 5, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Good piece on the literal and figurative ups and downs of smartwatch fall detection in the wilderness. www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adve...
Job opening at @cfs.energy: Manufacturing engineer, weekend shift. If you are an engineer, you will find a sizeable group of like-minded folks at CFS making fusion energy real. jobs.lever.co/cfsenergy/35...
#JobAlert #FusionEnergy #Engineering
#JobAlert #FusionEnergy #Engineering
Commonwealth Fusion Systems - Manufacturing Engineer - Weekend Shift
Join the power movement as a Manufacturing Engineer We are seeking a detail-oriented, innovative, and results-driven Manufacturing Engineer to join our team. The successful candidate will be responsib...
jobs.lever.co
December 5, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Job opening at @cfs.energy: Manufacturing engineer, weekend shift. If you are an engineer, you will find a sizeable group of like-minded folks at CFS making fusion energy real. jobs.lever.co/cfsenergy/35...
#JobAlert #FusionEnergy #Engineering
#JobAlert #FusionEnergy #Engineering
Every time I see Lever's favicon I think it's for Slashdot.
December 5, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Every time I see Lever's favicon I think it's for Slashdot.
Another hot job opening in the world of fusion energy — not plasma physics this time, but instead fuel cycle modeling for our ARC power plant.
jobs.lever.co/cfsenergy/d7...
#JobAlert #FusionEnergy #Science
jobs.lever.co/cfsenergy/d7...
#JobAlert #FusionEnergy #Science
Commonwealth Fusion Systems - Senior Multiphysics Modeler
Join the power movement as a Senior Multiphysics Modeler The Senior Multiphysics Modeler will work closely with the CFS tritium program and process engineering team to develop a fuel cycle model for t...
jobs.lever.co
December 4, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Another hot job opening in the world of fusion energy — not plasma physics this time, but instead fuel cycle modeling for our ARC power plant.
jobs.lever.co/cfsenergy/d7...
#JobAlert #FusionEnergy #Science
jobs.lever.co/cfsenergy/d7...
#JobAlert #FusionEnergy #Science
Another hot fusion job — this one at Google DeepMind: job-boards.greenhouse.io/deepmind/job...
Research Scientist, Fusion
London, UK
job-boards.greenhouse.io
December 4, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Another hot fusion job — this one at Google DeepMind: job-boards.greenhouse.io/deepmind/job...
“In the past technologies flowed to the global South from the West, but now more and more comes from China, especially in the clean energy area. This facilitates China’s trade and investment ties. Then, political influence follows, of course.” –Wu Xinbo, Fudan University in Shanghai
A Newly Confident China Is Jockeying for More Global Clout as Trump Pulls Back
Feeling empowered after a clash over trade, Beijing is looking to exploit America’s inward turn.
www.wsj.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:38 PM
“In the past technologies flowed to the global South from the West, but now more and more comes from China, especially in the clean energy area. This facilitates China’s trade and investment ties. Then, political influence follows, of course.” –Wu Xinbo, Fudan University in Shanghai
A trend WeWork can cash in on? www.scmp.com/news/people-...
China ‘pretend work’ firm offers office space for US$4 a day, aids personal growth
Companies drive fake job boom with make-believe interviews, charge clients up to US$7-a-day for a ‘working’ spot.
www.scmp.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:07 PM
A trend WeWork can cash in on? www.scmp.com/news/people-...
To the delight of any journalist who has to cover Silicon Valley, "roadmap" is approaching "road map" in popular usage. (Historically, English coins new words by squishing two commonly paired words together, e.g. "backyard.") trends.google.com/trends/explo...
Google Trends
Explore search interest for road map, roadmap by time, location and popularity on Google Trends
trends.google.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:03 PM
To the delight of any journalist who has to cover Silicon Valley, "roadmap" is approaching "road map" in popular usage. (Historically, English coins new words by squishing two commonly paired words together, e.g. "backyard.") trends.google.com/trends/explo...
"If Waymo’s results are indicative of the broader future of autonomous vehicles, we may be on the path to eliminating traffic deaths as a leading cause of mortality in the United States. While many see this as a tech story, I view it as a public health breakthrough."
Opinion | The Data on Self-Driving Cars Is Clear. We Have to Change Course.
www.nytimes.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:58 PM
"If Waymo’s results are indicative of the broader future of autonomous vehicles, we may be on the path to eliminating traffic deaths as a leading cause of mortality in the United States. While many see this as a tech story, I view it as a public health breakthrough."