Beth Linker
@blinker617.bsky.social
Boston-area working parent, tech nerd, knitter, avid reader. Watched women’s sports before it was cool. Cat person. Pronouns: they/them. 🏳️🌈✡️🇺🇸🧶
After reading this chilling horror-show of a story, I told my kids they’re not allowed to use ChatGPT. If they want to cheat on their homework, they’ll need to do it the old-fashioned way.
Adam Raine, 16, died from suicide in April after months on ChatGPT discussing plans to end his life. His parents have filed the first known case against OpenAI for wrongful death.
Overwhelming at times to work on this story, but here it is. My latest on AI chatbots: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/t...
Overwhelming at times to work on this story, but here it is. My latest on AI chatbots: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/t...
A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In.
www.nytimes.com
August 27, 2025 at 1:58 PM
After reading this chilling horror-show of a story, I told my kids they’re not allowed to use ChatGPT. If they want to cheat on their homework, they’ll need to do it the old-fashioned way.
As a queer parent, can I ask that my children opt out of classes where the books have straight characters? Seems only fair.
JUST IN: The Supreme Court rules in favor of parents who want to opt out of classes that use books with LGBTQ characters.
Supreme Court rules for religious opt-outs for kids in public schools
At issue was whether school systems are required to provide parents with an "opt-out" option when parents claim their religious beliefs conflict with their children's course material.
n.pr
June 28, 2025 at 1:39 AM
As a queer parent, can I ask that my children opt out of classes where the books have straight characters? Seems only fair.
Reposted by Beth Linker
Hey, who wants something nice?
So I was on tour this month, and when I was doing my event for the Princeton University Library and the Princeton Public Library, I ended up at the graveyard, where I found this gravestone:
So I was on tour this month, and when I was doing my event for the Princeton University Library and the Princeton Public Library, I ended up at the graveyard, where I found this gravestone:
May 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Hey, who wants something nice?
So I was on tour this month, and when I was doing my event for the Princeton University Library and the Princeton Public Library, I ended up at the graveyard, where I found this gravestone:
So I was on tour this month, and when I was doing my event for the Princeton University Library and the Princeton Public Library, I ended up at the graveyard, where I found this gravestone:
Both this article and Blum’s book are very worthwhile reads if you are a person who eats food in the US on a regular basis.
Today: I talked to one of my absolute heroes, @deborahb.bsky.social, about RFK Jr., how the US got food purity laws, the wild west of American food in the 19th century... and how to avoid going back to the days of formaldehyde milk and brick-dust spices.
buttondown.com/theswordandt...
buttondown.com/theswordandt...
How to Not Get Poisoned in America
The minute I saw that Robert Kennedy Jr., a notorious disease-loving health crank, was going to be responsible for the nation’s health—and the health of its...
buttondown.com
May 1, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Both this article and Blum’s book are very worthwhile reads if you are a person who eats food in the US on a regular basis.
Nailed it
Please Select All That Apply:
- I am Jewish
- I am Israeli
- I practice Judaism
- I am Jew-ish
- I'll fast on Yom Kippur, but that's it
- Call me crazy, but I kind of like gefilte fish
buff.ly/JuiLaZH
- I am Jewish
- I am Israeli
- I practice Judaism
- I am Jew-ish
- I'll fast on Yom Kippur, but that's it
- Call me crazy, but I kind of like gefilte fish
buff.ly/JuiLaZH
The U.S. Government’s Follow-Up Text to Barnard College Employees
“U.S. texts Barnard employees and asks if they are Jewish…. The texts, which faculty members said appeared to have gone to nearly all Barnard staff...
www.mcsweeneys.net
April 26, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Nailed it
Looking forward to the debate over whether it counts as sexual harassment if you are harassing an AI.
April 22, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Looking forward to the debate over whether it counts as sexual harassment if you are harassing an AI.
Oat and date soda bread (recipe from the Guardian’s Feast app), easy and quick and got a big thumbs up from the kid who eats everything.
March 16, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Oat and date soda bread (recipe from the Guardian’s Feast app), easy and quick and got a big thumbs up from the kid who eats everything.
Excellent photos here.
March 3, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Excellent photos here.
NY Times recipe for buffalo
white beans, with a few mods suggested by the comments section. My wife is skeptical but it smells really good.
white beans, with a few mods suggested by the comments section. My wife is skeptical but it smells really good.
February 9, 2025 at 10:49 PM
NY Times recipe for buffalo
white beans, with a few mods suggested by the comments section. My wife is skeptical but it smells really good.
white beans, with a few mods suggested by the comments section. My wife is skeptical but it smells really good.
Microsoft Teams recently updated its calendar to look more like the Outlook calendar. Neat.
Pop-up in my Teams app this morning: Enjoying Calendar?
Me: It's Friday and I have 10 meetings, so...not especially?
Pop-up in my Teams app this morning: Enjoying Calendar?
Me: It's Friday and I have 10 meetings, so...not especially?
February 7, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Microsoft Teams recently updated its calendar to look more like the Outlook calendar. Neat.
Pop-up in my Teams app this morning: Enjoying Calendar?
Me: It's Friday and I have 10 meetings, so...not especially?
Pop-up in my Teams app this morning: Enjoying Calendar?
Me: It's Friday and I have 10 meetings, so...not especially?
Great article from @404media.co about how Hoopla is making it impossible to keep crappy AI content out of library catalogs.
www.404media.co/email/7a1109...
www.404media.co/email/7a1109...
AI-Generated Slop Is Already In Your Public Library
Librarians say that taxpayers are already paying for low quality AI-generated ebooks in public libraries.
www.404media.co
February 4, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Great article from @404media.co about how Hoopla is making it impossible to keep crappy AI content out of library catalogs.
www.404media.co/email/7a1109...
www.404media.co/email/7a1109...
This exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston was a good antidote for the last week. Highly recommended if you can make it there.
January 25, 2025 at 5:27 PM
This exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston was a good antidote for the last week. Highly recommended if you can make it there.
Reposted by Beth Linker
Happy last day of the darkest weeks of the year!
January 22, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Happy last day of the darkest weeks of the year!
Today’s NYT crossword features two separate Spice Girls themed clues, which seems excessive somehow.
January 21, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Today’s NYT crossword features two separate Spice Girls themed clues, which seems excessive somehow.
It’s an excellent night for making soup. (Hat tip to Clover Food Labs for sharing their coconut lentil soup recipe)
January 19, 2025 at 10:50 PM
It’s an excellent night for making soup. (Hat tip to Clover Food Labs for sharing their coconut lentil soup recipe)
This has to be ordered online and comes with a can of real soup, suggesting that Progresso isn’t totally sure if it’s a real product or an early April Fools joke.
Comfort Food Goes Portable with Progresso’s Limited-Edition ‘Soup Drops’
The General Mills-owned brand wants to "wow your tastebuds" by introducing a whole new way to enjoy chicken noodle soup on the go. Here's what it has in store.
www.foodandwine.com
January 17, 2025 at 1:00 PM
This has to be ordered online and comes with a can of real soup, suggesting that Progresso isn’t totally sure if it’s a real product or an early April Fools joke.
If you were wondering how AI art is doing at respecting intellectual property rights, I spent some time asking Google to make chess sets (a thread)
Google’s new chess game lets you customize pieces with AI
Google’s new chess game lets you customize pieces with AI
You should probably still play on Chess.com, though.
buff.ly
November 28, 2024 at 4:11 PM
If you were wondering how AI art is doing at respecting intellectual property rights, I spent some time asking Google to make chess sets (a thread)
Sharing so I can remember to tell the kids not to be such librocubicularists on school days.
Word of the day is ‘librocubicularist’: one who loves nothing better than reading in bed.
(Not easy to say, but I’m glad to know it exists).
(Not easy to say, but I’m glad to know it exists).
November 24, 2024 at 1:17 PM
Sharing so I can remember to tell the kids not to be such librocubicularists on school days.
This is amazing, even if you don’t do embroidery
does everybody know about my favorite website, the embroidery tips page that forgot to close its <h3> tags
Embroidery Trouble Shooting Page
Embroidery Trouble Shooting Answers to all your questions about Embroidery problems
web.archive.org
October 26, 2024 at 12:18 PM
This is amazing, even if you don’t do embroidery
You homophobe like that in Texas, I send $ to your opponent’s campaign. (His name is Colin Allred, look him up and help him out.)
On the trail w Ted Cruz today. A riff I hadn’t heard before — making fun of how Tim Walz waves his hand w a swishy motion.
“You wave like that in Texas, you get your ass kicked!”
“You wave like that in Texas, you get your ass kicked!”
October 8, 2024 at 9:42 AM
You homophobe like that in Texas, I send $ to your opponent’s campaign. (His name is Colin Allred, look him up and help him out.)
This. The transition from “betting on sports is the worst” to “all the sports broadcasters never shut up about DraftKings” is not progress.
The best way we can all honor the memory of Pete Rose is by banning sports betting again
October 1, 2024 at 12:05 PM
This. The transition from “betting on sports is the worst” to “all the sports broadcasters never shut up about DraftKings” is not progress.
My new coffee mug from @effinbirds.com arrived! Much excite!
September 20, 2024 at 7:37 PM
My new coffee mug from @effinbirds.com arrived! Much excite!
This East Coast liberal will be cooking up some Samosa Chaatdish in honor of the new ticket as soon as possible: www.worthypause.com/blog/2018/3/...
August 6, 2024 at 5:36 PM
This East Coast liberal will be cooking up some Samosa Chaatdish in honor of the new ticket as soon as possible: www.worthypause.com/blog/2018/3/...
In retrospect, today was a bad day to set up my BlueSky account. It will take a long time for the algorithm to correctly estimate my level of interest in Minnesota.
August 6, 2024 at 4:25 PM
In retrospect, today was a bad day to set up my BlueSky account. It will take a long time for the algorithm to correctly estimate my level of interest in Minnesota.
New airplane game: read the transcript of a meeting I missed and see how many different ways MS Teams transcribes “MISRA”:
Misery, ministry, Missy, Miss Rosie, miseries, Mr, Miss, Mister
It got it right a few times too, but mostly not.
Misery, ministry, Missy, Miss Rosie, miseries, Mr, Miss, Mister
It got it right a few times too, but mostly not.
August 6, 2024 at 4:12 PM
New airplane game: read the transcript of a meeting I missed and see how many different ways MS Teams transcribes “MISRA”:
Misery, ministry, Missy, Miss Rosie, miseries, Mr, Miss, Mister
It got it right a few times too, but mostly not.
Misery, ministry, Missy, Miss Rosie, miseries, Mr, Miss, Mister
It got it right a few times too, but mostly not.