Ben Klemens
@b-k.bsky.social
I've stopped using "Economist" and have switched to "Computational Social Scientist". @b@xoxo.zone on Mastodon. He/him or they/them
Lawyers, is there any reason why I as an author shouldn't take the cash in the Anthropic settlement?
November 27, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Lawyers, is there any reason why I as an author shouldn't take the cash in the Anthropic settlement?
Good to know it's not just me. An Amtrak conductor once wouldn't let me board because I had a folding bike. I was prepared, and pulled out a printout of Amtrak's official policy. "That's just a piece of paper," he replied.
very funny to be scolded by a train conductor for having my bike in the wrong place, showing him the literal rule written on the amtrak website showing that i have my bike in the only place it is allowed to be, and being told that we’ll have to “agree to disagree”
November 20, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Good to know it's not just me. An Amtrak conductor once wouldn't let me board because I had a folding bike. I was prepared, and pulled out a printout of Amtrak's official policy. "That's just a piece of paper," he replied.
Reposted by Ben Klemens
Blog entry: The past-performance trap.
When government agencies need to have custom software built, as a matter of course they require that the bidding vendors have built that exact thing before. I understand why this seems like a good idea, but it’s a mistake.
When government agencies need to have custom software built, as a matter of course they require that the bidding vendors have built that exact thing before. I understand why this seems like a good idea, but it’s a mistake.
The past-performance trap.
When government agencies need to have custom software built, as a matter of course they require that the bidding vendors have built that exact thing before. This is a mistake.
waldo.jaquith.org
November 19, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Blog entry: The past-performance trap.
When government agencies need to have custom software built, as a matter of course they require that the bidding vendors have built that exact thing before. I understand why this seems like a good idea, but it’s a mistake.
When government agencies need to have custom software built, as a matter of course they require that the bidding vendors have built that exact thing before. I understand why this seems like a good idea, but it’s a mistake.
Reposted by Ben Klemens
I left CNN in 2014 but my interview with James Watson was still referenced in his obit (along with a shout-out to Rosalind Franklin)
www.cnn.com/2025/11/07/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/07/u...
James Watson, famous geneticist and Nobel Prize co-winner in the structure of DNA, dies at 97 | CNN
James Watson, a renowned molecular biologist and one of the Nobel Prize winners for discovering the structure of DNA, died Thursday after a brief illness, according to a statement from his former empl...
www.cnn.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:55 AM
I left CNN in 2014 but my interview with James Watson was still referenced in his obit (along with a shout-out to Rosalind Franklin)
www.cnn.com/2025/11/07/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/07/u...
Academic article pro tip: passing peer review means two reviewers thought the work was OK and the editor didn't say no. A stronger signal is the thanks on the front page: how many people did the authors circulate the draft to, who were in a position to comment, call out, and improve the work?
November 8, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Academic article pro tip: passing peer review means two reviewers thought the work was OK and the editor didn't say no. A stronger signal is the thanks on the front page: how many people did the authors circulate the draft to, who were in a position to comment, call out, and improve the work?
Reposted by Ben Klemens
For @techpolicypress.bsky.social I laid out a tech agenda for Mayor-elect zohrankmamdani.bsky.social that resists surveillance and extraction while advancing his goals for affordability, dignity, and justice.
Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social)
Mayor-Elect of New York City
zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 7:01 PM
For @techpolicypress.bsky.social I laid out a tech agenda for Mayor-elect zohrankmamdani.bsky.social that resists surveillance and extraction while advancing his goals for affordability, dignity, and justice.
Haven't mentioned it in a while, but I wrote a Greasemonkey script for Firefox which will remove opinion pieces from the front page, leaving a calm, blank space. github.com/b-k/tweets-a...
The Washington Post opinion section is a thing to behold today. (Don't worry, I canceled my subscription, but old habits die hard, and I tend to still navigate to their front page during my news reading in the morning.)
October 26, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Haven't mentioned it in a while, but I wrote a Greasemonkey script for Firefox which will remove opinion pieces from the front page, leaving a calm, blank space. github.com/b-k/tweets-a...
Reposted by Ben Klemens
My 14yr old is learning blender.
He already has a space capsule, rocket, and launch sequence. But this detail made my morning.
He already has a space capsule, rocket, and launch sequence. But this detail made my morning.
October 26, 2025 at 4:32 PM
My 14yr old is learning blender.
He already has a space capsule, rocket, and launch sequence. But this detail made my morning.
He already has a space capsule, rocket, and launch sequence. But this detail made my morning.
Reposted by Ben Klemens
If you are a federal scientist in the US and have a been served a RIF notice during the shutdown, experts say this is illegal. you can contact Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) confidentially via the Science Committee Democrats’ Whistleblower form democrats-science.house.gov/contact/whis... 🧪.
Science & Tech Whistleblower | House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
democrats-science.house.gov
October 20, 2025 at 9:59 PM
If you are a federal scientist in the US and have a been served a RIF notice during the shutdown, experts say this is illegal. you can contact Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) confidentially via the Science Committee Democrats’ Whistleblower form democrats-science.house.gov/contact/whis... 🧪.
Alvaro Bedoya, former FTC commissioner, has a lot to say, and he's worth listening to. "Maybe we punch up instead of punching the neighbor." newrepublic.com/article/2011...
How I Became a Populist
My time at the Federal Trade Commission—before Donald Trump fired me—totally changed the way I see our political divide.
newrepublic.com
October 17, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Alvaro Bedoya, former FTC commissioner, has a lot to say, and he's worth listening to. "Maybe we punch up instead of punching the neighbor." newrepublic.com/article/2011...
It's Bandcamp Friday, so here are some recommendations.
★ Oddissee, whom I will continue to refer to as "DC's own" even though he moved to Brooklyn.
oddiseemmg.bandcamp.com/album/en-route
★ Oddissee, whom I will continue to refer to as "DC's own" even though he moved to Brooklyn.
oddiseemmg.bandcamp.com/album/en-route
En Route, by Oddisee
4 track album
oddiseemmg.bandcamp.com
October 3, 2025 at 1:19 PM
It's Bandcamp Friday, so here are some recommendations.
★ Oddissee, whom I will continue to refer to as "DC's own" even though he moved to Brooklyn.
oddiseemmg.bandcamp.com/album/en-route
★ Oddissee, whom I will continue to refer to as "DC's own" even though he moved to Brooklyn.
oddiseemmg.bandcamp.com/album/en-route
Reposted by Ben Klemens
🧪🍎📃
It only took me 500 years to finish this 📊, but here it is 🎉
Grocery shops in many wealthy countries are oversupplied with animal-based foods. They stock far more meat and dairy than we need for human and planetary health.
🔗 www.lumipie.com/data-vis/pla...
It only took me 500 years to finish this 📊, but here it is 🎉
Grocery shops in many wealthy countries are oversupplied with animal-based foods. They stock far more meat and dairy than we need for human and planetary health.
🔗 www.lumipie.com/data-vis/pla...
September 30, 2025 at 6:08 PM
🧪🍎📃
It only took me 500 years to finish this 📊, but here it is 🎉
Grocery shops in many wealthy countries are oversupplied with animal-based foods. They stock far more meat and dairy than we need for human and planetary health.
🔗 www.lumipie.com/data-vis/pla...
It only took me 500 years to finish this 📊, but here it is 🎉
Grocery shops in many wealthy countries are oversupplied with animal-based foods. They stock far more meat and dairy than we need for human and planetary health.
🔗 www.lumipie.com/data-vis/pla...
Got my first electric bill since installing the solar panels: negative seventy bucks. I've never felt so good receiving a utility bill
September 25, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Got my first electric bill since installing the solar panels: negative seventy bucks. I've never felt so good receiving a utility bill
Reposted by Ben Klemens
Japanese girls playing basketball at Manzanar Incarceration Camp, Owens Valley, CA. Photo 1 by Francis Stewart. Photo 2 Merritt Photo Collection.
September 17, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Japanese girls playing basketball at Manzanar Incarceration Camp, Owens Valley, CA. Photo 1 by Francis Stewart. Photo 2 Merritt Photo Collection.
Reposted by Ben Klemens
In case you missed it: scientists found this sign of possible past life on Mars! My latest for Nat Geo:
www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
This is the best evidence yet for ancient life on Mars
NASA’s Perseverance rover found possible signs of ancient life in rocks on Mars, keeping scientists up at night.
www.nationalgeographic.com
September 17, 2025 at 2:25 AM
In case you missed it: scientists found this sign of possible past life on Mars! My latest for Nat Geo:
www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
What happens when a Nat'l Geographic animals editor goes for a nature walk:
Spotted this snake 🐍 in Shenandoah National Park on Saturday. Can anyone identify it?
September 9, 2025 at 1:48 AM
What happens when a Nat'l Geographic animals editor goes for a nature walk:
Reposted by Ben Klemens
Good morning! It’s Tuesday August 19th 2025! Already? Crikey!
(Out this very month in 1960, just 65 yrs ago, Tales To Astonish #13, with its cover featuring the mighty Groot by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg & Artie Simek.)
You be careful out there among them English, John Book.
(Out this very month in 1960, just 65 yrs ago, Tales To Astonish #13, with its cover featuring the mighty Groot by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg & Artie Simek.)
You be careful out there among them English, John Book.
August 19, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Good morning! It’s Tuesday August 19th 2025! Already? Crikey!
(Out this very month in 1960, just 65 yrs ago, Tales To Astonish #13, with its cover featuring the mighty Groot by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg & Artie Simek.)
You be careful out there among them English, John Book.
(Out this very month in 1960, just 65 yrs ago, Tales To Astonish #13, with its cover featuring the mighty Groot by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg & Artie Simek.)
You be careful out there among them English, John Book.
This is the logo for the now-decommissioned DataFerrett tool from the U.S. Census Bureau. Every bureaucracy should have a mascot.
August 16, 2025 at 6:52 PM
This is the logo for the now-decommissioned DataFerrett tool from the U.S. Census Bureau. Every bureaucracy should have a mascot.
Reposted by Ben Klemens
i'm probably not gonna buy a vintage tape machine on reverb
August 14, 2025 at 12:00 AM
i'm probably not gonna buy a vintage tape machine on reverb
Reposted by Ben Klemens
Washington DC has 702,000 people, is 45% Black and has 0 senators
Wyoming has 590,000 people, is 86% white and has 2 senators
DC needs a state with proper representation, not a military takeover
Wyoming has 590,000 people, is 86% white and has 2 senators
DC needs a state with proper representation, not a military takeover
August 11, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Washington DC has 702,000 people, is 45% Black and has 0 senators
Wyoming has 590,000 people, is 86% white and has 2 senators
DC needs a state with proper representation, not a military takeover
Wyoming has 590,000 people, is 86% white and has 2 senators
DC needs a state with proper representation, not a military takeover
Intrigued by the question, am reskeeting this in the hopes that one of you have insights.
ok so does anyone know why so many hand-cranked kitchen appurtenances have pentagonal shafts? This is a flour sifter, a pepper grinder, and a coffee grinder
August 6, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Intrigued by the question, am reskeeting this in the hopes that one of you have insights.
Reposted by Ben Klemens
I mentioned stardrift.live in the stream and just wanted to share it so you could see! it's a work in progress. it just creates randomized simulations right now that you can kinda watch unfold.
August 4, 2025 at 10:42 PM
I mentioned stardrift.live in the stream and just wanted to share it so you could see! it's a work in progress. it just creates randomized simulations right now that you can kinda watch unfold.