Richard Higgins
@zen0effect.com
Software developer for libraries and academic research. PhD-haver. Former contingent faculty in English and InfoSci. Fan of good metadata, long novels, and due process.
Pinned
Reposted by Richard Higgins
Humans: capable of building entire skyscrapers but still afraid to put the scary number on one of the floors
November 10, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Humans: capable of building entire skyscrapers but still afraid to put the scary number on one of the floors
Reposted by Richard Higgins
Opening the government with no concessions from GOP merely to alleviate airline cancellations - when Congress has been dragging its feet for years on chronic FAA staffing issues - is a lame ass choice.
Also, doing it while the House refuses to work is appalling.
Also, doing it while the House refuses to work is appalling.
November 9, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Opening the government with no concessions from GOP merely to alleviate airline cancellations - when Congress has been dragging its feet for years on chronic FAA staffing issues - is a lame ass choice.
Also, doing it while the House refuses to work is appalling.
Also, doing it while the House refuses to work is appalling.
Reposted by Richard Higgins
Solidarity forever! ‘UC workers are going to end up homeless’: 86,000 University of California employees plan massive strike
www.sfchronicle.com/health/artic...
www.sfchronicle.com/health/artic...
‘UC workers are going to end up homeless’: 86,000 University of California employees plan massive strike
In what could become one of the largest labor actions in the University of California’s history, more than 86,000 UC nurses, health care professionals and campus workers plan to walk off the job.
www.sfchronicle.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:09 AM
Solidarity forever! ‘UC workers are going to end up homeless’: 86,000 University of California employees plan massive strike
www.sfchronicle.com/health/artic...
www.sfchronicle.com/health/artic...
😪
Cornell agrees to include Bondi's anti-DEI/anti-trans memo as a "training resource to faculty and staff" (see: www.justice.gov/ag/media/140...)
November 7, 2025 at 5:34 PM
😪
Reposted by Richard Higgins
“I feel very strongly that we need to do all we can to stand against the notion that there is anything good about making compromises of the sort the Trump administration is asking universities to do."
— Maria Bucur, AAUP Indiana University Bloomington
— Maria Bucur, AAUP Indiana University Bloomington
Bloomington Faculty Council urges IU to reject Trump’s higher education compact
The resolution passed with overwhelming support.
www.idsnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:32 PM
“I feel very strongly that we need to do all we can to stand against the notion that there is anything good about making compromises of the sort the Trump administration is asking universities to do."
— Maria Bucur, AAUP Indiana University Bloomington
— Maria Bucur, AAUP Indiana University Bloomington
Reposted by Richard Higgins
Reposted by Richard Higgins
If you’re wondering what the future of the Democratic Party looks like, watch the young, brown democratic socialist on the TV right now.
November 5, 2025 at 4:41 AM
If you’re wondering what the future of the Democratic Party looks like, watch the young, brown democratic socialist on the TV right now.
Reposted by Richard Higgins
Polls are barely closed and VA, GA and NJ are already called for Dems -- a "Fuck MAGA" election
November 5, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Polls are barely closed and VA, GA and NJ are already called for Dems -- a "Fuck MAGA" election
Hmm
NEW: Common Crawl, the massive archiver of the web, has gotten cozy with AI companies and is providing paywalled articles for training data. They’re also lying to publishers who have asked for material to be removed. “The robots are people too,” CC’s exec director told us when we asked about this.
The Nonprofit Feeding the Entire Internet to AI Companies
Common Crawl claims to provide a public benefit, but it lies to publishers about its activities.
www.theatlantic.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Hmm
Reposted by Richard Higgins
Dick Cheney’s legacy is that he turned 9/11 from a national tragedy into a global disaster. He did so through a mixture of arrogance, stupidity and greed and blighted the last quarter century.
November 4, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Dick Cheney’s legacy is that he turned 9/11 from a national tragedy into a global disaster. He did so through a mixture of arrogance, stupidity and greed and blighted the last quarter century.
Reposted by Richard Higgins
U.S. Citizen Shot From Behind as He Warned ICE Agents About Children Gathering at Bus Stop
His attorneys said an ICE agent shot Carlos Jimenez from behind. The U.S. citizen and father-of-three was charged with assault on a federal officer and released on bond Friday, with a bullet in his shoulder.
His attorneys said an ICE agent shot Carlos Jimenez from behind. The U.S. citizen and father-of-three was charged with assault on a federal officer and released on bond Friday, with a bullet in his shoulder.
US citizen shot from behind as he warned ICE agents children would be coming to get bus, lawyers say
U.S. citizen shot from behind as he warned ICE agents about children gathering at bus stop, lawyers say
Lawyers for Carlos Jimenez said he was in fear after an agent threatened him with chemical spray, then pointed a gun at him.
www.latimes.com
November 2, 2025 at 11:34 PM
U.S. Citizen Shot From Behind as He Warned ICE Agents About Children Gathering at Bus Stop
His attorneys said an ICE agent shot Carlos Jimenez from behind. The U.S. citizen and father-of-three was charged with assault on a federal officer and released on bond Friday, with a bullet in his shoulder.
His attorneys said an ICE agent shot Carlos Jimenez from behind. The U.S. citizen and father-of-three was charged with assault on a federal officer and released on bond Friday, with a bullet in his shoulder.
Reposted by Richard Higgins
As a parent of a trans kid, part of what shatters my heart is that The Discourse around trans kids is just loud and constant. She has good framing, but the barrage of hate is exhausting. Every day for her is so much more work than for her peers, because she has to hold up her shields constantly.
November 2, 2025 at 4:56 PM
As a parent of a trans kid, part of what shatters my heart is that The Discourse around trans kids is just loud and constant. She has good framing, but the barrage of hate is exhausting. Every day for her is so much more work than for her peers, because she has to hold up her shields constantly.
Reposted by Richard Higgins
Did not expect one of the best paragraphs I’d read about baseball would come from an Irish newspaper
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
November 2, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Did not expect one of the best paragraphs I’d read about baseball would come from an Irish newspaper
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
Reposted by Richard Higgins
Could all the university professors in the USA get normal and cool about unions right now please
October 31, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Could all the university professors in the USA get normal and cool about unions right now please
"I'm a long gone daddy in the USA."
-- Bruce Springsteen
-- Bruce Springsteen
October 30, 2025 at 8:50 PM
"I'm a long gone daddy in the USA."
-- Bruce Springsteen
-- Bruce Springsteen
When your deconfliction plan fails
October 30, 2025 at 2:23 PM
When your deconfliction plan fails
Reposted by Richard Higgins
JD Vance claims that diversity weakens unions, as people end up distrusting each other and not organizing.
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
October 30, 2025 at 8:07 AM
JD Vance claims that diversity weakens unions, as people end up distrusting each other and not organizing.
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
Reposted by Richard Higgins
Republicans cheering children going hungry is never going to leave my memory, and it shouldn't leave yours, either.
Shunning works.
And people with plenty denying children anything deserve shunning.
Shunning works.
And people with plenty denying children anything deserve shunning.
October 30, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Republicans cheering children going hungry is never going to leave my memory, and it shouldn't leave yours, either.
Shunning works.
And people with plenty denying children anything deserve shunning.
Shunning works.
And people with plenty denying children anything deserve shunning.
Reposted by Richard Higgins
You’ve probably heard but I have been federally indicted by Trump’s DOJ.
We now have to cover the costs of a campaign *and* a legal battle to preserve our First Amendment rights.
Help us win this fight by chipping in at katforillinois.com/legal
We now have to cover the costs of a campaign *and* a legal battle to preserve our First Amendment rights.
Help us win this fight by chipping in at katforillinois.com/legal
Defend Kat Against Unjust Charges
Show your support with a contribution.
katforillinois.com
October 29, 2025 at 11:11 PM
You’ve probably heard but I have been federally indicted by Trump’s DOJ.
We now have to cover the costs of a campaign *and* a legal battle to preserve our First Amendment rights.
Help us win this fight by chipping in at katforillinois.com/legal
We now have to cover the costs of a campaign *and* a legal battle to preserve our First Amendment rights.
Help us win this fight by chipping in at katforillinois.com/legal
Reposted by Richard Higgins
Trump’s DOJ unsealed an indictment against six protesters—including Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, for allegedly impeding an ICE officer outside of a detention facility.
The move is a stunning continuation of Trump’s weaponization of judicial and police power to crush dissent.
The move is a stunning continuation of Trump’s weaponization of judicial and police power to crush dissent.
House candidate Kat Abughazaleh calls her indictment for protesting a "political prosecution”
“This case is a major push by the Trump administration to criminalize protest and punish anyone who speaks out against them.”
www.motherjones.com
October 29, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Trump’s DOJ unsealed an indictment against six protesters—including Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, for allegedly impeding an ICE officer outside of a detention facility.
The move is a stunning continuation of Trump’s weaponization of judicial and police power to crush dissent.
The move is a stunning continuation of Trump’s weaponization of judicial and police power to crush dissent.
AWS postmortem on the recent outage includes the phrase "congestive collapse" to describe a cascading failure. www.theregister.com/2025/10/23/a...
A single DNS race condition brought AWS to its knees
: Fault in DynamoDB system cascaded through AWS services, knocking major sites offline for hours
www.theregister.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:32 PM
AWS postmortem on the recent outage includes the phrase "congestive collapse" to describe a cascading failure. www.theregister.com/2025/10/23/a...
Reposted by Richard Higgins
Upcoming free webinar - #OpenPublishing professional development opportunity October 30 9 AM PT
Open around the world!
For journal editors, managers, educators, learners, and anyone interested in furthering their knowledge of community-led open publishing
www.eventbrite.ca/e/shaping-th...
Open around the world!
For journal editors, managers, educators, learners, and anyone interested in furthering their knowledge of community-led open publishing
www.eventbrite.ca/e/shaping-th...
Shaping the Future of Open Publishing: Introducing New Online Courses
Join us to learn about the Open Publishing Courses offered through PKP + SFU with registration open to non-credit students around the world.
www.eventbrite.ca
October 29, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Upcoming free webinar - #OpenPublishing professional development opportunity October 30 9 AM PT
Open around the world!
For journal editors, managers, educators, learners, and anyone interested in furthering their knowledge of community-led open publishing
www.eventbrite.ca/e/shaping-th...
Open around the world!
For journal editors, managers, educators, learners, and anyone interested in furthering their knowledge of community-led open publishing
www.eventbrite.ca/e/shaping-th...
Mayonnaise thread ❤️
I also find it annoying when people are over-dramatic about the existence of mayonnaise, thank you, Reddit
www.reddit.com/r/PetPeeves/...
www.reddit.com/r/PetPeeves/...
From the PetPeeves community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the PetPeeves community
www.reddit.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Mayonnaise thread ❤️
Bluesky is my primary social platform for a lot of reasons. But the trans-friendly community is the most important. My daughter has been out for several years now and I will fight you if you don't understand that trans rights are human rights.
October 28, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Bluesky is my primary social platform for a lot of reasons. But the trans-friendly community is the most important. My daughter has been out for several years now and I will fight you if you don't understand that trans rights are human rights.
Reposted by Richard Higgins
stellan skarsgård seems like a good dude
October 27, 2025 at 11:48 PM
stellan skarsgård seems like a good dude