Josh K
@kempner.net
Husband, dad, software developer, soccer nut, and defender of Oxford commas
Reposted by Josh K
and what are the consequences, Senator?
December 19, 2025 at 9:28 PM
and what are the consequences, Senator?
As soon as Ovalle scored this goal it was a lock for the award. It almost seemed pointless to nominate any other goals.
JACQUIE OVALLE'S SCORPION KICK WINS MARTA AWARD 🏆
The Orlando Pride and former Tigres forward wins the 2025 FIFA Marta Award, given to the goal of the year in women's soccer. Magic from'La Maga' ⚽️🪄🇲🇽
The Orlando Pride and former Tigres forward wins the 2025 FIFA Marta Award, given to the goal of the year in women's soccer. Magic from'La Maga' ⚽️🪄🇲🇽
December 16, 2025 at 4:48 PM
As soon as Ovalle scored this goal it was a lock for the award. It almost seemed pointless to nominate any other goals.
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.
December 7, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.
Reposted by Josh K
The entire debate over birthright citizenship is anti-constitutional because the purpose, intent, and text of the 14th Amendment were designed to foreclose any argument about who counts as an American citizen.
December 5, 2025 at 6:54 PM
The entire debate over birthright citizenship is anti-constitutional because the purpose, intent, and text of the 14th Amendment were designed to foreclose any argument about who counts as an American citizen.
Persistent bacterial infection that repeatedly resists treatment?
Problematic phage gap.
Problematic phage gap.
The theater goes silent for exactly four minutes and thirty-three seconds during a concert?
Problematic Cage gap.
Problematic Cage gap.
Your thanksgiving stuffing doesn’t taste right?
Problematic sage gap.
Problematic sage gap.
November 20, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Persistent bacterial infection that repeatedly resists treatment?
Problematic phage gap.
Problematic phage gap.
“They”
Trump: "Christians and more, think of this, more than twice as likely foster care they'll adopt the general population. They adopt to it so easily. When they get out, they adopt to it like it's become second nature. It's amazing."
November 14, 2025 at 1:00 AM
“They”
Reposted by Josh K
Democrats ran a variety of candidates in 2025, who tailored campaigns to their constituents—all anti-Trump, but offering different economic specifics based on their locales.
It was a big tent approach and did well with voters everywhere. Presenting that as infighting is an effort to generate drama.
It was a big tent approach and did well with voters everywhere. Presenting that as infighting is an effort to generate drama.
This NYT framing is ludicrously overstated. Sure, there are primaries. But if anything, the results showed a lot of Dems that there's a way to unify the factions around anti-Trump and affordability politics (as I try to argue in the piece/thread below).
November 9, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Democrats ran a variety of candidates in 2025, who tailored campaigns to their constituents—all anti-Trump, but offering different economic specifics based on their locales.
It was a big tent approach and did well with voters everywhere. Presenting that as infighting is an effort to generate drama.
It was a big tent approach and did well with voters everywhere. Presenting that as infighting is an effort to generate drama.
Reposted by Josh K
That Yohannes backheel on the lead up to the first goal was ridiculous
October 30, 2025 at 1:02 AM
That Yohannes backheel on the lead up to the first goal was ridiculous
Reposted by Josh K
There is no difference between Trump destroying the East Wing and using a wrecking ball on the Washington Monument or Smithsonian. Just because he (temporarily) lives there doesn't give him the right to demolish the White House without Congressional approval.
a live look at the demolition of the White House's East Wing for Trump's ballroom
October 22, 2025 at 7:12 PM
There is no difference between Trump destroying the East Wing and using a wrecking ball on the Washington Monument or Smithsonian. Just because he (temporarily) lives there doesn't give him the right to demolish the White House without Congressional approval.
We have Charles Martin Hall, who hailed from the opposite end of Ohio from @scalzi.com, to thank for making aluminum cheaper. One of those weird bits of history that is hard to avoid learning as a science student at Oberlin.
The irony is once upon a time aluminum was more valuable than gold because it was initially much more difficult to refine, thus aluminum cutlery, etc was a sign of significant wealth, also this motherfucker is tacky as shit, with or without casting aspersions on aluminum
I hate to break it to you John, but gold is the new aluminum.
October 13, 2025 at 8:02 PM
We have Charles Martin Hall, who hailed from the opposite end of Ohio from @scalzi.com, to thank for making aluminum cheaper. One of those weird bits of history that is hard to avoid learning as a science student at Oberlin.
Reposted by Josh K
If Bill Kristol can come out and make public statements like this, shouldn't we expect at least as much from 100% of our elected Democrats?
Shouldn't we expect at least as much from Gavin Newsom?
Shouldn't we expect at least as much from Gavin Newsom?
It should be needless to say, but it is perhaps at this moment worth saying, that transgender individuals have the same right as anyone else to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
September 14, 2025 at 2:37 PM
If Bill Kristol can come out and make public statements like this, shouldn't we expect at least as much from 100% of our elected Democrats?
Shouldn't we expect at least as much from Gavin Newsom?
Shouldn't we expect at least as much from Gavin Newsom?
This was a great read. Taking up the theme, a few of my faves of the last 25-ish years: Perdido St Station (Mieville); Stone Sky trilogy (Jemison); This Is How You Lose the Time War (El-Mohtar+Gladstone); Ancillary trilogy (Leckie); A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Chambers); none great for kids, alas.
I have gone ahead and written up a more organized piece about why I think recommending decades-old genre "classics" to young people new to the space is not, shall we say, a great thing to do
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/11/p...
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/11/p...
Poking the Discourse Bear Re: “Classic” Science Fiction
Over on Bluesky I got a lot of guff about the above post, but you know what? I 100% stand by it. I’m 56 now, and if you’re recommending the same science fiction books to a ten-year-old …
whatever.scalzi.com
August 11, 2025 at 9:39 PM
This was a great read. Taking up the theme, a few of my faves of the last 25-ish years: Perdido St Station (Mieville); Stone Sky trilogy (Jemison); This Is How You Lose the Time War (El-Mohtar+Gladstone); Ancillary trilogy (Leckie); A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Chambers); none great for kids, alas.
Orson Scott Card
Here’s a question: who is the artist with politics you disagree strongly with, whose politics *do* (in your view) influence their art, that you still think is talented and whose work you enjoy?
August 9, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Orson Scott Card
The most surprising part of this for me was the discrepancy between devs’ estimates of how long tasks took and how long they actually took. Developers are notoriously bad at estimating how long something *will* take, but being that wrong retrospectively was an eye opener.
We ran a randomized controlled trial to see how much AI coding tools speed up experienced open-source developers.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
July 11, 2025 at 1:21 AM
The most surprising part of this for me was the discrepancy between devs’ estimates of how long tasks took and how long they actually took. Developers are notoriously bad at estimating how long something *will* take, but being that wrong retrospectively was an eye opener.
Reposted by Josh K
We ran a randomized controlled trial to see how much AI coding tools speed up experienced open-source developers.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
July 10, 2025 at 7:47 PM
We ran a randomized controlled trial to see how much AI coding tools speed up experienced open-source developers.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
@nvalvo.name did you visit this as part of the film you made at Oberlin?
Inspired by @scalzi.com ‘s latest book, we took a road trip to the Neil Armstrong museum in Wapakoneta, OH.
June 29, 2025 at 8:21 PM
@nvalvo.name did you visit this as part of the film you made at Oberlin?
The small observatory next to the garden where we got married was not a small factor in the choice of venue.
Okay, the nerdiest thing at your wedding. Go!
STORYTIME.
At our wedding, my astronomer husband and I had a planetarium show (YES NERDS WE KNOW). The MC told everyone to get drunk first. During the show my drunk aunt-in-law shouted "SHOW US URANUS" and he had a whole BIT about how Uranus got rammed by something hard and let out a lot of gas. 😂
At our wedding, my astronomer husband and I had a planetarium show (YES NERDS WE KNOW). The MC told everyone to get drunk first. During the show my drunk aunt-in-law shouted "SHOW US URANUS" and he had a whole BIT about how Uranus got rammed by something hard and let out a lot of gas. 😂
May 11, 2025 at 3:06 PM
The small observatory next to the garden where we got married was not a small factor in the choice of venue.
The headline I want to see today, and which unfortunately few news organizations would be willing to use: “Trump Blinks.”
January 30, 2025 at 1:16 AM
The headline I want to see today, and which unfortunately few news organizations would be willing to use: “Trump Blinks.”
Reposted by Josh K
also maintain the best strategy for dems is to get mcconnellpilled. "no" to everything and run on how much he sucks in the midterms
things i think as we enter another 4 years in the funhouse:
1/ trump doesn't have the horses or the discipline to end democracy and stuff
2/ trump's agenda is going to be very unpopular when it's actually implemented
3/ this is still gonna be a nightmare
1/ trump doesn't have the horses or the discipline to end democracy and stuff
2/ trump's agenda is going to be very unpopular when it's actually implemented
3/ this is still gonna be a nightmare
January 20, 2025 at 5:25 PM
also maintain the best strategy for dems is to get mcconnellpilled. "no" to everything and run on how much he sucks in the midterms
This captures a lot of the misgivings I have about AI, but much more eloquently and coherently than I ever could. It feels fundamentally wrong to call deep learning models and LLMs “AI” when they have no agency. We’re not prepared as a society for “true” AI as Leckie presents so well here.
Seen a few folks astonished by my lack of support for ChatGPT and similar. Because AI, right?
Yeah, no. What we have right now is glorified autocorrect. Glorified autocorrect that takes the energy of an entire city to do what it does, plus half of Lake Erie to cool down while it's doing it.
Yeah, no. What we have right now is glorified autocorrect. Glorified autocorrect that takes the energy of an entire city to do what it does, plus half of Lake Erie to cool down while it's doing it.
December 28, 2024 at 6:22 PM
This captures a lot of the misgivings I have about AI, but much more eloquently and coherently than I ever could. It feels fundamentally wrong to call deep learning models and LLMs “AI” when they have no agency. We’re not prepared as a society for “true” AI as Leckie presents so well here.
Reposted by Josh K
The struggle is real.
December 24, 2024 at 4:24 PM
The struggle is real.
Reposted by Josh K
when you have anti-DEI proponents openly going after black military officers for recruiting from HBCUs and suing schools for their black and Hispanic enrollment *even after the schools ended any racial preferences* then the only honest label for these people is "segregationist"
I genuinely think we should start calling businesses and schools falling to the anti-DEI movement “segregationists” because they are re-segregating. And earlier rounds of segregationists *also* explained their preferred policy in race-neutral terms (“state’s rights” and “freedom of association”).
December 22, 2024 at 4:26 PM
when you have anti-DEI proponents openly going after black military officers for recruiting from HBCUs and suing schools for their black and Hispanic enrollment *even after the schools ended any racial preferences* then the only honest label for these people is "segregationist"
Reposted by Josh K
I am begging people to add some nuance when they talk about AI.
AI is a huge field filled with actual groundbreaking things like programs that detect cancer.
Saying "I hate AI" when you mean you hate *generative AI* is as inaccurate as saying "I hate animals" when you mean you hate mosquitoes.
AI is a huge field filled with actual groundbreaking things like programs that detect cancer.
Saying "I hate AI" when you mean you hate *generative AI* is as inaccurate as saying "I hate animals" when you mean you hate mosquitoes.
November 23, 2024 at 2:03 PM
I am begging people to add some nuance when they talk about AI.
AI is a huge field filled with actual groundbreaking things like programs that detect cancer.
Saying "I hate AI" when you mean you hate *generative AI* is as inaccurate as saying "I hate animals" when you mean you hate mosquitoes.
AI is a huge field filled with actual groundbreaking things like programs that detect cancer.
Saying "I hate AI" when you mean you hate *generative AI* is as inaccurate as saying "I hate animals" when you mean you hate mosquitoes.
Reposted by Josh K
Let me say something that is controversial because our brains are broken:
Vaccines are a miracle and amazing
Vaccines are a miracle and amazing
November 15, 2024 at 2:12 AM
Let me say something that is controversial because our brains are broken:
Vaccines are a miracle and amazing
Vaccines are a miracle and amazing