WanderingDumbass
wanderingdumbass.bsky.social
WanderingDumbass
@wanderingdumbass.bsky.social
Itinerant fool, writer aspirant, and general science fiction nerd.

Website I am more or leasing from a corporation.
https://www.moonlightauthor.net/
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
lol "dynamic pricing" if they don't gtfo with these fucking euphemisms for "How can we squeeze the last drop of blood from this stone?"
Yeah, the "dynamic pricing" in big box stores is the same. Depending on who is looking at the tag, time of day, etc. the price for items can literally change from the shelf to the register. 😤 Freaking DISNEY is even going to start using it! deadline.com/2025/11/disn...
Disney Will Bring Dynamic Pricing Similar To Airline Model To Domestic Theme Parks, Says CFO
Disney will bring dynamic pricing similar to the model used by airlines to its domestic theme parks as the company looks to boost incremental revenue.
deadline.com
November 30, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
Sounds like we need smarter executives who aren't so lazy.
The numbers in here are hilarious.

Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: 87%
Managers: 57%
Workers: 27%

Planned investment by 2030: $5T
"Necessary" annual revenue to justify that spend: $650B
Current annual revenue: $50B
Three years into the generative-AI wave, demand for the technology seems surprisingly flimsy
November 30, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Honestly, it feels validating for scientist to say something I have been feeling more and more over the last decade:
Integrating ecological triaging into the conversation vs conservation alone, as world governments seem to do not enough to prevent climate change.
November 28, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio
GitHub - alanrogers/popgen: A course on population genetics
A course on population genetics. Contribute to alanrogers/popgen development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:10 PM
NGL, I kind of enjoying being away from home for Thanksgiving.
November 27, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
And the folks who are actually writing full-time generally only got there after years of day jobs, family support, or both.

The point of sharing this is not to demoralize anyone, but to let emerging writers know they're not failing if they can't make a living off writing alone. Almost no one can.
almost every novelist you read who's not from the airport fiction or bestseller sections is working a full on day job, including multi-award winners and absolute legends, or they have a spouse or trust that supports them. virtually across the board. just normalize in your mind that's how it works.
I know we know this, but authors need to get better at talking about how they actually make their money. Stop pretending it's from the books.
November 25, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
95% of authors are not making a living through book publishing. The public needs to understand this.
November 25, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Because of this, and tying all the features I use pre-AI (i.e. tabs) ti this new AI, I am probably going to move over a lot of my important email senders to my proton email, leave all the *fat* in my gmail account.
Google has started automatically opting you in to let it read your stuff to train AI. You need to turn this off in SEVERAL places in your settings (not just for Gmail), if you want to maintain privacy and confidentiality.
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
Gmail can read your emails and attachments to train its AI, unless you opt out
A new Gmail update may allow Google to use your private messages and attachments for AI training. Here's how to turn it off.
www.malwarebytes.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
1/ Today, ProPublica is running a piece I've been working on for a bit. It's about what happened with a devastating wave of bird flu earlier this year, as egg prices hit record highs.

And it's a story that illuminates the ways the U.S. is failing to control what could become the next pandemic. 🧵
November 18, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
Like the Koch brothers and other conservative billionaires, Dunn and Wilks want to slash regulations and taxes.

Their endgame, however, is more radical: not just to limit the government but also to steer it toward Christian rule.

(Published Oct. 2024)
A Pair of Billionaire Preachers Built the Most Powerful Political Machine in Texas. That’s Just the Start.
Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks are poised to take their Christian nationalist agenda nationwide.
www.propublica.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
the way basic human decency hits these days is crazy
So the streamer Ludwig recently found out that one of his earliest regular viewers, who was trans, passed away and tonight he's doing a charity stream for the Trevor Project. So far he's raised over $46,000 in about 5 hours. www.twitch.tv/ludwig
November 14, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
BREAKING: Scorpion Bites Frog Immediately and Repeatedly
November 11, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
Delayed air travel is probably the only element of the government shutdown that actually inconvenienced dems in Congress, unsurprising that they folded basically immediately
November 10, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
The coordinated nature of this—none are facing voters in 2026—means that either Schumer approved it or failed in his job as Senate Majority Leader to stop it.

Dems voting "no" get zero credit until they demand a change in leadership. Schumer out as Leader, Durbin out as Whip.
so currently defectors are:

Kaine (2030)
Shaheen (Retiring)
Hasan (2028)
Fetterman (2028)
Durbin (Retiring)
CCM (2028)
Rosen (2030)
King (2030)
November 10, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
Following up on this. This remains a ‘cave is minutes or hours away’ situation. If you want to impact how this plays out you need to contact senators literally now. I want to add additional points of context. What I’m relaying is what I’ve picked up from highly reliable sources.
Sounds like the squishes in the senate caucus are ready to pull the plug with no ACA changes. This is real. If you want to register your opinion you shld call yr senator in the next hour. They not only want to reopen w/nothing. They want cover from their colleagues who still want to hold out.
November 9, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
[redacted] to these people
The Flex Loan, a new type of payday loan pioneered by Advance Financial in Tennessee, allows residents to borrow up to $4,000 at a 279.5% interest rate.

It has burdened low-income borrowers while generating huge profits for lenders.

(Published May with @tennesseelookout.com)
This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them.
The Flex Loan, a type of payday loan pioneered by Advance Financial, has burdened low-income borrowers while generating huge profits for lenders. Tennessee lawmakers declined to rein in the lending bu...
www.propublica.org
November 8, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
Post the good news when you see it…
By studying the process through which a soil bacterium naturally produces a well-known drug, scientists have discovered a powerful antibiotic that could help to fight drug-resistant infections

go.nature.com/4hJ4d7K
Powerful new antibiotic that can kill superbugs discovered in soil bacteria
Nature - Surprise discovery could pave the way for new treatments against drug-resistant infections.
go.nature.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
Inconceivable!
On the other site, an 18-year-old Zohran canvasser described the legendary Wallace Shawn as "the actor who plays Dr. Sturgis on Young Sheldon" which is honestly adorable
November 2, 2025 at 8:46 PM
NGL, it is so easy to do some historical lay up jokes on people who don't know shit.
🧵 This is trending on Korean socials
November 2, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
Food banks have already been contending with higher food prices and increased need. Administrators say demand will skyrocket if federal nutrition benefits stop in a few days because of the government shutdown.
'The helpers need help'. Food banks brace for impact as SNAP cliff looms
Food banks have already been contending with higher food prices and increased need. Administrators say demand will skyrocket if federal nutrition benefits stop in a few days because of the government shutdown.
n.pr
November 1, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.

Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.

They are not the same.
October 30, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
I realize this isn't breaking news but it's insane that voting has begun and Chuck Schumer — leader of the Democratic party — is straight-up refusing to endorse the Democratic nominee for mayor, whose opponent is an alleged serial sexual abuser funded by Trump-allied billionaires
October 29, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by WanderingDumbass
if you're wondering why starfield was boring it's because it was made by people so creatively bankrupt that they can't imagine space being cool and interesting.
Starfield is a "good game", says former designer, but "space is inherently boring"

www.eurogamer.net/starfield-is...
October 22, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Someone who did gardening the pandemic at his parent's place, anyone suggests gardening in place of snap of benefits is unrealistic.
On Threads, the usual suspects are telling ppl about to lose SNAP benefits to just start a garden. As a gardener, I had to laugh. You need at LEAST an acre of land to feed a family of 4. Start-up costs are enormous. But yes, subsistence farming on the balcony of your rental apartment is the answer
October 23, 2025 at 5:18 PM