Dave Thomer
@davethomer.bsky.social
I teach kids about history and I hang out with my family. Still brainstorming on the profile pic and header. He/him
I want to like the Paradox games but I don't have time for the six month immersive course I feel like I would need to understand the mechanics enough to feel like I know what I'm doing.
November 14, 2025 at 3:49 PM
I want to like the Paradox games but I don't have time for the six month immersive course I feel like I would need to understand the mechanics enough to feel like I know what I'm doing.
And now we get to go home!
November 14, 2025 at 12:57 AM
And now we get to go home!
That would require him to listen to his loved ones, and there's a pretty good chance that he's not doing that.
November 13, 2025 at 8:05 PM
That would require him to listen to his loved ones, and there's a pretty good chance that he's not doing that.
All of this is great. I think you could go all the way back to Iron Man if you wanted to show that the MCU has never had a consistent idea of what SHIELD is supposed to be, and how that connects to the MCU deciding relatively early to ditch the Nolan-esque “realistic” approach.
November 12, 2025 at 10:41 PM
All of this is great. I think you could go all the way back to Iron Man if you wanted to show that the MCU has never had a consistent idea of what SHIELD is supposed to be, and how that connects to the MCU deciding relatively early to ditch the Nolan-esque “realistic” approach.
I still buy digitally and download in part to have fewer things in my house and in part because my computer no longer has an internal CD drive to rip MP3s. But I recognize that I am an oddball who should not be used to identify trends in music.
Unless we can get more music I like that way.
Unless we can get more music I like that way.
November 11, 2025 at 10:57 PM
I still buy digitally and download in part to have fewer things in my house and in part because my computer no longer has an internal CD drive to rip MP3s. But I recognize that I am an oddball who should not be used to identify trends in music.
Unless we can get more music I like that way.
Unless we can get more music I like that way.
We have had about 30 years now of the Internet changing the way we read and interact with text.
In the US we have had at least 20 years of high stakes standardized tests that assess reading skills in ways that encourage people to skim short passages quickly.
In the US we have had at least 20 years of high stakes standardized tests that assess reading skills in ways that encourage people to skim short passages quickly.
November 11, 2025 at 10:51 PM
We have had about 30 years now of the Internet changing the way we read and interact with text.
In the US we have had at least 20 years of high stakes standardized tests that assess reading skills in ways that encourage people to skim short passages quickly.
In the US we have had at least 20 years of high stakes standardized tests that assess reading skills in ways that encourage people to skim short passages quickly.
I teach 12th graders about civics and economics and the crisis in reading skills is very real. At the same time I am concerned that this story is overemphasizing one teaching method as a cause of the problem.
Other countries are also seeing literacy problems, and not just in young readers.
Other countries are also seeing literacy problems, and not just in young readers.
November 11, 2025 at 10:51 PM
I teach 12th graders about civics and economics and the crisis in reading skills is very real. At the same time I am concerned that this story is overemphasizing one teaching method as a cause of the problem.
Other countries are also seeing literacy problems, and not just in young readers.
Other countries are also seeing literacy problems, and not just in young readers.
Definitely different but it seems like the shutdown and the end of ACA subsidies are things that are both causing suffering and damaging the GOP politically, and Dems are stuck trying to figure out which pain to stop and which to allow in pursuit of things they think are long term needs.
November 10, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Definitely different but it seems like the shutdown and the end of ACA subsidies are things that are both causing suffering and damaging the GOP politically, and Dems are stuck trying to figure out which pain to stop and which to allow in pursuit of things they think are long term needs.
Your point about the credit Pelosi deserves for working to improve conditions during dire emergencies under Republican presidents even though it would help the Republican party politically is worth thinking about now even more than it was when I read it this morning.
November 10, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Your point about the credit Pelosi deserves for working to improve conditions during dire emergencies under Republican presidents even though it would help the Republican party politically is worth thinking about now even more than it was when I read it this morning.
My Apple station is currently playing Summertime and yep, it is that good. :)
November 10, 2025 at 2:31 AM
My Apple station is currently playing Summertime and yep, it is that good. :)
I currently think all the hardship is on the GOP because they could end this at any time by nuking the filibuster and they haven’t because they like the filibuster. So I agree that the filibuster getting nuked would mean that the Dems got something out of the shutdown.
November 9, 2025 at 10:36 PM
I currently think all the hardship is on the GOP because they could end this at any time by nuking the filibuster and they haven’t because they like the filibuster. So I agree that the filibuster getting nuked would mean that the Dems got something out of the shutdown.
Not to disagree with your larger point but there is one scenario in which Senate Dems don’t have to vote for something, right? If the Senate GOP nukes the filibuster the Senate Dems wouldn’t need to vote on anything. I know the Senate GOP doesn’t want to do that, but it is an option they have.
November 9, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Not to disagree with your larger point but there is one scenario in which Senate Dems don’t have to vote for something, right? If the Senate GOP nukes the filibuster the Senate Dems wouldn’t need to vote on anything. I know the Senate GOP doesn’t want to do that, but it is an option they have.
I’m not saying the skeptics I read were right about everything, and obviously computers can do more now than they could 30 years ago, but the skeptics were pointing out then that machines-that-think-like-people had been just around the corner for decades.
November 9, 2025 at 5:10 PM
I’m not saying the skeptics I read were right about everything, and obviously computers can do more now than they could 30 years ago, but the skeptics were pointing out then that machines-that-think-like-people had been just around the corner for decades.
My undergraduate senior thesis in 1996 was about AI and philosophy of mind. It feels like many people today are running around in the same circles folks were then to justify claims that thinking machines are imminent.
November 9, 2025 at 3:36 PM
My undergraduate senior thesis in 1996 was about AI and philosophy of mind. It feels like many people today are running around in the same circles folks were then to justify claims that thinking machines are imminent.
Reposted by Dave Thomer
The word "icon" gets tossed around recklessly, but Cyndi Lauper, for my generation, completely. Really powerful moment during "True Colors" when she belted "and don't be AFRAID!" and she and the band paused for about 15 seconds, fists to the sky.
We all need strength now. Music binds us together.
We all need strength now. Music binds us together.
November 9, 2025 at 4:53 AM
The word "icon" gets tossed around recklessly, but Cyndi Lauper, for my generation, completely. Really powerful moment during "True Colors" when she belted "and don't be AFRAID!" and she and the band paused for about 15 seconds, fists to the sky.
We all need strength now. Music binds us together.
We all need strength now. Music binds us together.
Sometimes I think to myself "I really admire Lincoln" and then I see one of your posts and realize, no, I am a mere amateur. :)
November 8, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Sometimes I think to myself "I really admire Lincoln" and then I see one of your posts and realize, no, I am a mere amateur. :)
Slide decks showing the data trend on number of students tazed per year should really bring it home.
November 7, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Slide decks showing the data trend on number of students tazed per year should really bring it home.
If I put a lesson about these tradeoffs into my 12th grade civics curriculum, you think that’ll do it?
November 7, 2025 at 9:08 PM
If I put a lesson about these tradeoffs into my 12th grade civics curriculum, you think that’ll do it?
I'd say in Philly the district folks do a lot of that constituent service stuff - and exercise way too much control over zoning in their districts - while the at large folks tend to have a particular constituency that they champion while they try to maintain support throughout the city.
November 7, 2025 at 3:56 AM
I'd say in Philly the district folks do a lot of that constituent service stuff - and exercise way too much control over zoning in their districts - while the at large folks tend to have a particular constituency that they champion while they try to maintain support throughout the city.
Being around Jesuits is certainly how I learned that theodicy is a word!
November 4, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Being around Jesuits is certainly how I learned that theodicy is a word!