🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
@gobsmacked.bsky.social
Your basic Bay Area boy: flâneur, film buff, hiker, foodie, culture vulture, PhD dropout. Underemployed and over-caffeinated.
Liberté, Egalité, Flâneurité!
Liberté, Egalité, Flâneurité!
Adjusted for inflation, Andrew Carnegie spent... about $1 billion dollars building libraries in America. Which had a profound positive effect that continues to this day.
Imagine - imagine! - what good this clown could have done with that $70b if he had cared to.
Imagine - imagine! - what good this clown could have done with that $70b if he had cared to.
Reality Labs spent $70 billion+ over the past 4 years, per @mikeisaac.bsky.social, without developing, launching, & scaling any killer app for Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for a #metaverse. Now, Meta is pivoting from virtual reality to smartglasses with AI to augment our vision. (I expect to see… ads.)
Meta Weighs Cuts to Its Metaverse Unit
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Adjusted for inflation, Andrew Carnegie spent... about $1 billion dollars building libraries in America. Which had a profound positive effect that continues to this day.
Imagine - imagine! - what good this clown could have done with that $70b if he had cared to.
Imagine - imagine! - what good this clown could have done with that $70b if he had cared to.
Where are the wild hogs, the colour-shifting dresses of yesteryear
It's been a rough year, but as it winds down let's all remember the most heartwarming thing to have happened: when everyone was clowning on katy perry et al "going to space."
December 5, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Where are the wild hogs, the colour-shifting dresses of yesteryear
Reposted by 🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
The first school to market itself as AI free is going to corner the market on people interested in actually learning. And I would not be surprised if rich families and the children of people creating this tech were the first movers.
My employer, Dartmouth College, today boasts it's 1st Ivy "to launch AI at an institutional scale." It is doing this by partnering--"more than a collaboration"--with Anthropic, a company that stole the books of many faculty, me included, which many of us are suing.
December 5, 2025 at 1:40 AM
The first school to market itself as AI free is going to corner the market on people interested in actually learning. And I would not be surprised if rich families and the children of people creating this tech were the first movers.
School districts across the country appear to be overpaying for basic supplies because of Amazon contracts that bind them to dynamic pricing
US schools face big price swings for basics under Amazon’s ‘dynamic pricing’, report claims
Amazon calls the report ‘flawed and misleading’ and says it offers lower prices than competitors
buff.ly
December 4, 2025 at 8:11 PM
School districts across the country appear to be overpaying for basic supplies because of Amazon contracts that bind them to dynamic pricing
Reposted by 🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
I wrote a bit for McSweeney's about Isaac Chotiner interviewing Santa Claus. Just a little something for the holiday season. Enjoy!
The New Yorker’s Isaac Chotiner Interviews Santa Claus
For several centuries, Santa Claus has been one of the most prolific mythical gift-givers in the world. Formerly known as Saint Nicholas of Myra, a...
www.mcsweeneys.net
December 4, 2025 at 7:02 PM
I wrote a bit for McSweeney's about Isaac Chotiner interviewing Santa Claus. Just a little something for the holiday season. Enjoy!
The Doctor and Susan or The Doctor and Susan
(Would have been fun to have a real schoolgirl in the series)
(Would have been fun to have a real schoolgirl in the series)
December 4, 2025 at 5:26 PM
The Doctor and Susan or The Doctor and Susan
(Would have been fun to have a real schoolgirl in the series)
(Would have been fun to have a real schoolgirl in the series)
Possibly a false alarm?
December 4, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Possibly a false alarm?
Big earthquake in Nevada
December 4, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Big earthquake in Nevada
You see someone and their profile is SPORTS with a profile pic of a white dude, scowling, in shades and a baseball hat....
and then the posts are all guillotines and anti-racism
that's encouraging
and then the posts are all guillotines and anti-racism
that's encouraging
December 4, 2025 at 2:53 PM
You see someone and their profile is SPORTS with a profile pic of a white dude, scowling, in shades and a baseball hat....
and then the posts are all guillotines and anti-racism
that's encouraging
and then the posts are all guillotines and anti-racism
that's encouraging
Reposted by 🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
"The full moon rises on Thursday, Dec. 4, the third supermoon of 2025. In the Mohican tradition of New England, it’s called the “Long Night” moon, marking some of the longest times of darkness." Tonight’s moon over Inverness.
December 4, 2025 at 6:05 AM
"The full moon rises on Thursday, Dec. 4, the third supermoon of 2025. In the Mohican tradition of New England, it’s called the “Long Night” moon, marking some of the longest times of darkness." Tonight’s moon over Inverness.
Reposted by 🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
hey so that sounds like total shit. really fucking awful. bleak. soul and society destroying. world eating levels of bad.
The co-founder of Kalshi says: " The long-term vision is to financialize everything and create a tradable asset out of any difference in opinion."
December 4, 2025 at 12:30 AM
hey so that sounds like total shit. really fucking awful. bleak. soul and society destroying. world eating levels of bad.
Reposted by 🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
This Pluribus ad on a fridge caused a schizophrenic woman named Carol to be hospitalized.
December 4, 2025 at 3:08 AM
This Pluribus ad on a fridge caused a schizophrenic woman named Carol to be hospitalized.
Reposted by 🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
“Delaying the first hepatitis B vaccine dose beyond the newborn period introduces risks that have lifelong detrimental consequences and no measurable health benefit.”
Important and timely piece by an amazing team - Mike Abers, Angela Ulrich, & Rochelle Walensky. 👏👏
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Important and timely piece by an amazing team - Mike Abers, Angela Ulrich, & Rochelle Walensky. 👏👏
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Risks of Revising Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccination Recommendation
This Viewpoint from infectious disease experts cautions about the consequences of rescinding the ACIP policy to immunize all newborns against hepatitis B.
jamanetwork.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:49 AM
“Delaying the first hepatitis B vaccine dose beyond the newborn period introduces risks that have lifelong detrimental consequences and no measurable health benefit.”
Important and timely piece by an amazing team - Mike Abers, Angela Ulrich, & Rochelle Walensky. 👏👏
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Important and timely piece by an amazing team - Mike Abers, Angela Ulrich, & Rochelle Walensky. 👏👏
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Reposted by 🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
As a kid who used to love to sit up late in my rural county peering into the vastness of space, I find it almost physically painful to stare into the cluttered sky and find my gaze constantly interrupted by all of this disposable litter. This graph does not indicate progress to me.
Humankind has launch more satellites in the past four years (2021 - 2025) than in the previous seven decades.
75% of the currently active satellites belong to a single operator (SpaceX).
75% of the currently active satellites belong to a single operator (SpaceX).
December 4, 2025 at 2:09 AM
As a kid who used to love to sit up late in my rural county peering into the vastness of space, I find it almost physically painful to stare into the cluttered sky and find my gaze constantly interrupted by all of this disposable litter. This graph does not indicate progress to me.
Australia v England: Ashes second Test, day one – live
buff.ly/ukogdVc
buff.ly/ukogdVc
Australia v England: Ashes second Test, day one – live
Over-by-over report: The Ashes resume with a day-night Test in Brisbane. Join our writers for the latest updates
www.theguardian.com
December 4, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Australia v England: Ashes second Test, day one – live
buff.ly/ukogdVc
buff.ly/ukogdVc
“more culturally normal”
December 4, 2025 at 2:49 AM
“more culturally normal”
Reposted by 🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
Friends, vikings, countrymen: lend me your eyes. May I present what just happened an hour ago in Iceland?
It was an early, short substorm, but it was a good one. Literal space weather!
#northernlights #aurora
It was an early, short substorm, but it was a good one. Literal space weather!
#northernlights #aurora
December 3, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Friends, vikings, countrymen: lend me your eyes. May I present what just happened an hour ago in Iceland?
It was an early, short substorm, but it was a good one. Literal space weather!
#northernlights #aurora
It was an early, short substorm, but it was a good one. Literal space weather!
#northernlights #aurora
Reposted by 🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
All super rich guys sound the same now. It’s all “I sleep four hours a night and spend the other twenty hours a day developing a product that’s going to bring us the best widespread poverty anyone’s ever seen.”
December 3, 2025 at 9:53 PM
All super rich guys sound the same now. It’s all “I sleep four hours a night and spend the other twenty hours a day developing a product that’s going to bring us the best widespread poverty anyone’s ever seen.”
Reposted by 🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
Happy birthday to the Frenchman in sunglasses, Jean-Luc Godard.
"It's not where you take things from - it's where you take them to."
"It's not where you take things from - it's where you take them to."
December 3, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Happy birthday to the Frenchman in sunglasses, Jean-Luc Godard.
"It's not where you take things from - it's where you take them to."
"It's not where you take things from - it's where you take them to."
Four Christmas movies to know me by:
December 3, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Four Christmas movies to know me by:
Reposted by 🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
A touch of #NorthernLights over #Orkney earlier this evening.
December 3, 2025 at 9:00 PM
A touch of #NorthernLights over #Orkney earlier this evening.
From the Tate strike in London to a major unionization push at the Met in New York, museum workers are fighting for livable wages and job security. news.artnet.com/art-world/mu...
Workers Major Museums, Including Tate, Strike for Fairer Pay
The Tate staff strike and the new Met union are signs of continued discontent among the museum labor force, which is continuing to organize.
news.artnet.com
December 3, 2025 at 8:41 PM
From the Tate strike in London to a major unionization push at the Met in New York, museum workers are fighting for livable wages and job security. news.artnet.com/art-world/mu...
Reposted by 🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
Don't cross the picket line at the British Library, their staff are on strike and need our support.
Good. Keep it up @pcsunion.bsky.social!
December 2, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Don't cross the picket line at the British Library, their staff are on strike and need our support.
Reposted by 🌲Gobsmacked ye merry, gentlemen🌲
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has proposed disastrous cuts to our city's libraries while setting aside $5M for a ShotSpotter replacement. As library associate Sara Heymann told me, “Libraries embody everything we need to fight back against fascism.” My piece on what’s at stake and how to fight back:
You Can’t Fight Fascism While Defunding Libraries
“Libraries embody everything that we need right now to fight back against fascism," says Sara Heymann.
organizingmythoughts.org
December 3, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has proposed disastrous cuts to our city's libraries while setting aside $5M for a ShotSpotter replacement. As library associate Sara Heymann told me, “Libraries embody everything we need to fight back against fascism.” My piece on what’s at stake and how to fight back: