Travicissitudes
@leitko.bsky.social
Paralyzed by the enormity of it all, but I like you. Keep it up.
Reposted by Travicissitudes
it drives me crazy that the preferred solution for these guys to ostensibly avoid war is to return to the world order and social structures that gave us 100% of prior World Wars
December 16, 2025 at 1:04 AM
it drives me crazy that the preferred solution for these guys to ostensibly avoid war is to return to the world order and social structures that gave us 100% of prior World Wars
Reposted by Travicissitudes
My humanities dept was relevant. Majors were up. Courses were 100% enrolled. Revenue positive, GE serving, etc etc. We were still eliminated.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
'For humanities departments to continue to matter, they must challenge the modern world rather than accommodate it. Indeed, the most useful lesson the humanities have to offer today is a profoundly countercultural one: Difficulty is good, an end in its own right.' 2/2
December 15, 2025 at 1:24 PM
My humanities dept was relevant. Majors were up. Courses were 100% enrolled. Revenue positive, GE serving, etc etc. We were still eliminated.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
Reposted by Travicissitudes
A few months ago, Larry Ellison briefly passed Elon as the world's richest man. Today, on paper, Elon is, by himself, worth more than *all of Oracle*, the company from which Ellison's vast wealth is derived.
Markets are not always rational.
Markets are not always rational.
Elon Musk's fortune has soared to $600B+ on new valuation for SpaceX
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Musk’s Fortune Soars Above $600 Billion on New SpaceX Valuation
Elon Musk’s wealth has reached a new high, topping $600 billion for the first time on the back of a new valuation for SpaceX.
www.bloomberg.com
December 16, 2025 at 12:13 AM
A few months ago, Larry Ellison briefly passed Elon as the world's richest man. Today, on paper, Elon is, by himself, worth more than *all of Oracle*, the company from which Ellison's vast wealth is derived.
Markets are not always rational.
Markets are not always rational.
Reposted by Travicissitudes
we can kill them all if we just work together and ✨believe💫
December 15, 2025 at 5:11 PM
we can kill them all if we just work together and ✨believe💫
Reposted by Travicissitudes
annoyance theory is a good one (that I invented) but if you are more annoyed by one group and the other group is dangerous and runs the government well
I think the best way to explain the X vs Bluesky preference is whether a person thinks the left is more annoying than the right is dangerous.
The reason so many Noah Smiths end up on the X side of that equation is that while the left annoys them personally, the right mostly endangers other people.
The reason so many Noah Smiths end up on the X side of that equation is that while the left annoys them personally, the right mostly endangers other people.
December 15, 2025 at 7:21 PM
annoyance theory is a good one (that I invented) but if you are more annoyed by one group and the other group is dangerous and runs the government well
Reposted by Travicissitudes
they said it. they actually said it.
Opinion | As a conservative, I’m beginning to wonder: Are we the bad guys?
Republican bigotry, tariffs and defense spending, through readers’ eyes.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 14, 2025 at 6:08 AM
they said it. they actually said it.
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“We’re living in a strange paradox: the U.S. is willing to sell China the “brains” that power advanced AI systems (because it pays), while blocking Chinese-made “eyes” like DJI camera drones under the banner of security and human rights.“
I agree. This is all incredibly dumb.
I agree. This is all incredibly dumb.
U.S. Sells China AI “Brains” But Blocks DJI Drone “Eyes” As A Security Threat
We're living in a strange paradox: the U.S. is willing to sell China the "brains" that power advanced AI systems (because it pays), while blocking
dronexl.co
December 13, 2025 at 2:51 PM
“We’re living in a strange paradox: the U.S. is willing to sell China the “brains” that power advanced AI systems (because it pays), while blocking Chinese-made “eyes” like DJI camera drones under the banner of security and human rights.“
I agree. This is all incredibly dumb.
I agree. This is all incredibly dumb.
Reposted by Travicissitudes
They should be pounding on Trump’s culture of corruption instead of creating their own.
"House Democrats on Thursday voted to return Rep. Henry Cuellar to his leadership role on the House Appropriations Committee following his presidential pardon on federal corruption charges."
JICYMI - Shameful, repulsive move by House Democrats and their leaders. Disgraceful.
JICYMI - Shameful, repulsive move by House Democrats and their leaders. Disgraceful.
Democrats Return Henry Cuellar to Powerful Spending Post After Trump Pardon
“We got ratified,” Cuellar told reporters after the vote.
www.notus.org
December 12, 2025 at 10:46 PM
They should be pounding on Trump’s culture of corruption instead of creating their own.
Reposted by Travicissitudes
live your life in a way that your supposed friends and loved ones aren't tearing other to shreds over how best to exploit you before your body is cold
ultimately, no one even grieved Charlie Kirk. he was just another thing for the worst people on earth to get outraged over. and when the outrage of real events wasn't enough, they invented new ones.
not even his wife saw his death as anything other than an opportunity.
not even his wife saw his death as anything other than an opportunity.
my read is they were trying to whip up the usual frenzy, but then the effort got blown up by Candace Owens saying The Jews did it
December 12, 2025 at 6:16 PM
live your life in a way that your supposed friends and loved ones aren't tearing other to shreds over how best to exploit you before your body is cold
Reposted by Travicissitudes
note to everyone else they're trying to intimidate: telling the administration to fuck off remains the single most effective response
Lol the US just abandoned their effort to get mad at the guy that threw Bolsonaro in prison. Big "my toddler tantrum didn't get me nothing so we're done here" energy.
*US REMOVES BRAZIL'S MORAES FROM SANCTIONS LIST
*US ALSO DELETES VIVIANE BARCI DE MORAES FROM SANCTIONS LIST
*US REMOVES BRAZIL'S MORAES FROM SANCTIONS LIST
*US ALSO DELETES VIVIANE BARCI DE MORAES FROM SANCTIONS LIST
December 12, 2025 at 5:48 PM
note to everyone else they're trying to intimidate: telling the administration to fuck off remains the single most effective response
Reposted by Travicissitudes
It's fitting that the cover on AI mindlessly apes an earlier creation and also displaces workers while elevating Silicon Valley plutocrats.
December 12, 2025 at 3:40 AM
It's fitting that the cover on AI mindlessly apes an earlier creation and also displaces workers while elevating Silicon Valley plutocrats.
Reposted by Travicissitudes
Pretty good glimpse at the kind of massive scale that would be required for the golden dome boondoggle.
This caveat—that $1.1T is procurement only and doesn’t include R&D, O&M, or personnel—is important bc it would take 10s, maybe 100s of thousands of (additional) personnel to run all this.
This caveat—that $1.1T is procurement only and doesn’t include R&D, O&M, or personnel—is important bc it would take 10s, maybe 100s of thousands of (additional) personnel to run all this.
December 12, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Pretty good glimpse at the kind of massive scale that would be required for the golden dome boondoggle.
This caveat—that $1.1T is procurement only and doesn’t include R&D, O&M, or personnel—is important bc it would take 10s, maybe 100s of thousands of (additional) personnel to run all this.
This caveat—that $1.1T is procurement only and doesn’t include R&D, O&M, or personnel—is important bc it would take 10s, maybe 100s of thousands of (additional) personnel to run all this.
Reposted by Travicissitudes
I see this mostly as "Rivian is humoring Wall Street". Robotaxis will turn out to be a dumb low-margin-high-hassle business for any company not named Waymo, I suspect.
NEW: Rivian is adding self-driving capability to its EVs -- including laser lidar -- and may eventually jump into the robotaxi space #rivian #selfdrivingvehicles www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...
December 12, 2025 at 12:34 PM
I see this mostly as "Rivian is humoring Wall Street". Robotaxis will turn out to be a dumb low-margin-high-hassle business for any company not named Waymo, I suspect.
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Sam Altman: hey I made a machine that stole literally all your stuff in order to make CSAM of your child actors, sometimes it encourages people to kill themselves
Disney: Holy shit here's a billion dollars
Altman: the machine loses more than that each week but thank you. Soon it will become god.
Disney: Holy shit here's a billion dollars
Altman: the machine loses more than that each week but thank you. Soon it will become god.
December 12, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Sam Altman: hey I made a machine that stole literally all your stuff in order to make CSAM of your child actors, sometimes it encourages people to kill themselves
Disney: Holy shit here's a billion dollars
Altman: the machine loses more than that each week but thank you. Soon it will become god.
Disney: Holy shit here's a billion dollars
Altman: the machine loses more than that each week but thank you. Soon it will become god.
Reposted by Travicissitudes
Perfect encapsulation of the entire diseased industry. Save the real news for the self-serving, brand-building book deal, which gets released months or years after it might have affected world events only to be read by dozens of fellow Beltway gossip addicts.
The cosmic body horror version of that.
The cosmic body horror version of that.
“American Canto,” one of the most hyped political books of the year, flopped in bookstores.
Olivia Nuzzi’s ‘Canto’ Sells Just 1,200 Print Copies In First Week
“American Canto,” one of the most hyped political books of the year, flopped in bookstores.
www.forbes.com
December 12, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Perfect encapsulation of the entire diseased industry. Save the real news for the self-serving, brand-building book deal, which gets released months or years after it might have affected world events only to be read by dozens of fellow Beltway gossip addicts.
The cosmic body horror version of that.
The cosmic body horror version of that.
Reposted by Travicissitudes
Ryan Coogler explains why he declined the invitation to join the Academy www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/m...
December 10, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Ryan Coogler explains why he declined the invitation to join the Academy www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/m...
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one thing worth observing here is that so many of these pundits aren't earnestly trying to understand what happened in the world as much as they are shadowboxing with people they don't like on the internet. stringinamaze.net/p/the-pundit...
December 3, 2025 at 2:40 AM
one thing worth observing here is that so many of these pundits aren't earnestly trying to understand what happened in the world as much as they are shadowboxing with people they don't like on the internet. stringinamaze.net/p/the-pundit...
Reposted by Travicissitudes
Very sensitive intelligence methods like murdering the shit out of shipwrecked mariners.
House Intel Chair Rick Crawford on why he doesn't want video of the second Sept 2 boat strike released: "What the trained eye can detect from these videos may reveal sources and methods that would imperil troops." (But releasing video of the first strike didn't?)
December 11, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Very sensitive intelligence methods like murdering the shit out of shipwrecked mariners.
Reposted by Travicissitudes
One annoying thing about the incessant ads for AI features and products is that companies will label their ad topics however they want. This was from a Google Gemini ad. It’s listed under “Vacuum cleaners and accessories.” I’ve seen these ads listed as Books, Games, Dating, Visual Art, and more.
December 10, 2025 at 4:37 PM
One annoying thing about the incessant ads for AI features and products is that companies will label their ad topics however they want. This was from a Google Gemini ad. It’s listed under “Vacuum cleaners and accessories.” I’ve seen these ads listed as Books, Games, Dating, Visual Art, and more.
Reposted by Travicissitudes
I’ve found it’s more visually appealing to just paste in his head at the inflection points
April 29, 2025 at 10:26 PM
I’ve found it’s more visually appealing to just paste in his head at the inflection points
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The Republicans really haven’t given healthcare policy even a few moments of thought. Every idea is just “take what insurance already is and make it less.”
Marshall on the GOP healthcare plan: "The other thing I would do is establish an invisible high-risk insurance pool, a reinsurance pool. And when people reach a certain amount of spending, say for cancer, they would go into this reinsurance pool & that protects everybody from a preexisting issue"
December 10, 2025 at 12:12 AM
The Republicans really haven’t given healthcare policy even a few moments of thought. Every idea is just “take what insurance already is and make it less.”
Reposted by Travicissitudes
this is such a baffling own goal
I mean, I guess it makes some sense in that they’re trying to convince business leaders that their bots are capable of replacing workers, but the overarching message from Big AI has been “AI will take all your jobs”
of course people hate that and hate you
I mean, I guess it makes some sense in that they’re trying to convince business leaders that their bots are capable of replacing workers, but the overarching message from Big AI has been “AI will take all your jobs”
of course people hate that and hate you
I continue to have no sympathy left for whinging about how the public are rude about AI and feel threatened by it when the biggest players in the AI space have spent years very vocally and constantly *threatening the public*
December 10, 2025 at 12:13 AM
this is such a baffling own goal
I mean, I guess it makes some sense in that they’re trying to convince business leaders that their bots are capable of replacing workers, but the overarching message from Big AI has been “AI will take all your jobs”
of course people hate that and hate you
I mean, I guess it makes some sense in that they’re trying to convince business leaders that their bots are capable of replacing workers, but the overarching message from Big AI has been “AI will take all your jobs”
of course people hate that and hate you