@markpalko.bsky.social
The job description says data scientist, but still just a simple country statistician at heart. Blogging at observationalepidemiology.blogspot.com
Andrew Gelman: "There's something wrong with the world that [Palko's] blog doesn't have a million readers."
Andrew Gelman: "There's something wrong with the world that [Palko's] blog doesn't have a million readers."
Pinned
Immigration was a winning issue for Trump in 2024, but no issue is so popular that it can't be turned toxic by sufficient evil, overreach, and incompetence.
talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-b...
talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-b...
Reposted
how did this guy run an investment bank?
December 24, 2025 at 4:16 PM
how did this guy run an investment bank?
Reposted
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses.
Rejoice! Carmakers Are Embracing Physical Buttons Again
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its…
wrd.cm
December 27, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses.
The consensus among engineers not on the payroll seems to be that virtually all use cases for bipedal humanoid robots is pointlessly inefficient. That's why only a handful of people were working on the tech before Elon put that dancing idiot in an I-Robot suit and promised us all unlimited abundance
December 28, 2025 at 2:39 AM
The consensus among engineers not on the payroll seems to be that virtually all use cases for bipedal humanoid robots is pointlessly inefficient. That's why only a handful of people were working on the tech before Elon put that dancing idiot in an I-Robot suit and promised us all unlimited abundance
Reposted
A reasonable interpretation of the Trump-Vance play is they are telling Europe that in unless it gifts Greenland to the US we will abandon Europe to Russia.
So our madman leader is now simultaneously attempting to take all of Venezuela's oil and a big chunk of mineral-rich European territory.
So our madman leader is now simultaneously attempting to take all of Venezuela's oil and a big chunk of mineral-rich European territory.
This dramatically enhanced pressure on Europe/Denmark and the new outrageous sanctions on info researchers coming at a time when Putin is escalating his physical attacks on Ukraine suggests that the US is now *coordinating* with Russia to weaken Europe and Ukraine.
bsky.app/profile/donm...
bsky.app/profile/donm...
Denmark lost more troops per capita in the post 9/11 war on Afghanistan. Saying they “are not a good ally” because they won’t surrender their territories to the US is lunacy. We are betraying our allies to satisfy the whims of a would-be Emperor for whom the US is not enough.
December 27, 2025 at 8:16 PM
A reasonable interpretation of the Trump-Vance play is they are telling Europe that in unless it gifts Greenland to the US we will abandon Europe to Russia.
So our madman leader is now simultaneously attempting to take all of Venezuela's oil and a big chunk of mineral-rich European territory.
So our madman leader is now simultaneously attempting to take all of Venezuela's oil and a big chunk of mineral-rich European territory.
The future of power...
Best response to fusion gag.
"I started working on fusion in 1966. I did my master’s thesis at MIT in plasma physics, and at that time people thought we’d have fusion by 1980. It was only 14 years away.
By 1980 it was 20 years away. By 2000 it was 35 years away."
firefusionpower.org/Fusion_Neede...
"I started working on fusion in 1966. I did my master’s thesis at MIT in plasma physics, and at that time people thought we’d have fusion by 1980. It was only 14 years away.
By 1980 it was 20 years away. By 2000 it was 35 years away."
firefusionpower.org/Fusion_Neede...
December 28, 2025 at 1:53 AM
The future of power...
Reposted
About 65% of registered voters in the US think that global heating is affecting the cost of living, according to the polling by Yale University.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US voters linking climate crisis to rising bills despite Trump’s ‘green scam’ claims
New polling shows 65% of registered US voters believe global heating is affecting cost of living
www.theguardian.com
December 27, 2025 at 11:31 PM
About 65% of registered voters in the US think that global heating is affecting the cost of living, according to the polling by Yale University.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
I'm not normally much of an activist investor but in March I moved most of my investments to European and Asian markets.
Still waiting for the big shoe to drop, but already feeling better about the decision.
Still waiting for the big shoe to drop, but already feeling better about the decision.
Context you rarely hear: global stocks are up about 30% over the past year. U.S. stocks? Around 18%. That means American investors underperformed the world by about 12 percentage points, even while headlines called it a “fantastic year.”
December 27, 2025 at 11:19 PM
I'm not normally much of an activist investor but in March I moved most of my investments to European and Asian markets.
Still waiting for the big shoe to drop, but already feeling better about the decision.
Still waiting for the big shoe to drop, but already feeling better about the decision.
2025 Christmas specials have gotten really dark.
ICE detain father shopping on Christmas Eve—then steal his family's groceries.
Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.
"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.
"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.
Yakima, Washington
Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.
"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.
"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.
Yakima, Washington
December 27, 2025 at 11:12 PM
2025 Christmas specials have gotten really dark.
Reposted
In Charlotte, hundreds of outraged and concerned community members crowded the pews of Dilworth United Methodist Church to learn how to use whistles to alert their immigrant neighbors of the unwelcome presence of mass deportation agents👇🏽 open.substack.com/pub/americas...
Americans Stood Up and Stood Strong for Their Immigrant Neighbors In 2025
Americans refused to give in to the Trump administration’s hate and stepped up to defend immigrant community members. Let’s carry that energy into the new year.
open.substack.com
December 27, 2025 at 2:47 PM
In Charlotte, hundreds of outraged and concerned community members crowded the pews of Dilworth United Methodist Church to learn how to use whistles to alert their immigrant neighbors of the unwelcome presence of mass deportation agents👇🏽 open.substack.com/pub/americas...
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Happy 14th anniversary to this youtube video
December 27, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Happy 14th anniversary to this youtube video
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He knows whereof he speaks
December 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM
He knows whereof he speaks
The Techno-optimist movement has always been explicitly built on the idea that expertise doesn't matter and experts are the enemy. This was, among other things, the justification for Doge.
It's almost as if there's something else that bothers Elon about this appointment.
It's almost as if there's something else that bothers Elon about this appointment.
December 27, 2025 at 10:59 PM
The Techno-optimist movement has always been explicitly built on the idea that expertise doesn't matter and experts are the enemy. This was, among other things, the justification for Doge.
It's almost as if there's something else that bothers Elon about this appointment.
It's almost as if there's something else that bothers Elon about this appointment.
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another robot highlight for 2025: man wearing humanoid mocap suit kicks himself in the balls
December 27, 2025 at 5:27 PM
another robot highlight for 2025: man wearing humanoid mocap suit kicks himself in the balls
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it's so deeply unfair that the NFT haters get content like this after barely a year of hype, and meanwhile the Tesla haters are dying of old age waiting for our time in the sun
December 27, 2025 at 7:35 PM
it's so deeply unfair that the NFT haters get content like this after barely a year of hype, and meanwhile the Tesla haters are dying of old age waiting for our time in the sun
Reposted
Doesn’t he live in Connecticut
“California is on a path to self-destruction,” wrote Bill Ackman, joining opposition to a tax proposal alongside Google’s cofounder and more.
Possible California Wealth Tax Causes Billionaire Freakout: Page, Thiel Threaten To Leave
“California is on a path to self-destruction,” wrote Bill Ackman, joining opposition to a tax proposal alongside Google’s cofounder and more.
www.forbes.com
December 27, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Doesn’t he live in Connecticut
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This is perfect. The DOJ's embarrassing snafu with disappearing redactions was the fault of Elon Musk. Musk cancelled government subscriptions to Adobe programs that would have made the redactions permanent. What a pack of fools.
December 26, 2025 at 9:02 PM
This is perfect. The DOJ's embarrassing snafu with disappearing redactions was the fault of Elon Musk. Musk cancelled government subscriptions to Adobe programs that would have made the redactions permanent. What a pack of fools.
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if not a bubble, definitely bubble-shaped www.nytimes.com/2025/12/26/b...
As A.I. Companies Borrow Billions, Debt Investors Grow Wary
Artificial intelligence companies looking to raise funds are being made to pay lofty interest rates, as debt investors become cautious.
www.nytimes.com
December 26, 2025 at 5:24 PM
if not a bubble, definitely bubble-shaped www.nytimes.com/2025/12/26/b...
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It was because a Randroid VP butchered the company internally to push an insane ideological agenda.
Only five Sears stores remain in the U.S., with the end likely near for what was once the mightiest American retailer. Here’s a look back at why the company’s last great hope was a promise that never materialized.
Why Sears’s Last Great Hope Was a Promise That Never Materialized
Only five Sears stores remain in the country, with the end likely near for what was once the mightiest American retailer.
nyti.ms
December 27, 2025 at 2:16 AM
It was because a Randroid VP butchered the company internally to push an insane ideological agenda.
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Musk doesn’t have to go to the DMV because he’s wealthy and has assistants who do that for him. Cheong doesn’t go to the DMV because he’s never lived in this country. If either of them had been inside a California DMV in the past decade they’d know that you can make an appointment and it’s painless.
December 26, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Musk doesn’t have to go to the DMV because he’s wealthy and has assistants who do that for him. Cheong doesn’t go to the DMV because he’s never lived in this country. If either of them had been inside a California DMV in the past decade they’d know that you can make an appointment and it’s painless.
Reposted
MechaHitler, M.D.
December 26, 2025 at 6:18 PM
MechaHitler, M.D.
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unfortunately tariffs plus mass deportation will cause the cost of housing construction to skyrocket
vital political priority to get blue states to stop refusing to build housing. not only giving up electoral college votes to the GOP but clearly pushing many people to the right
November 8, 2024 at 5:35 PM
unfortunately tariffs plus mass deportation will cause the cost of housing construction to skyrocket
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Lmao who could have seen this coming but every contractor with a fucking brain, sorry guys
“Construction can’t continue”: South Texas builders say ICE arrests have upended industry www.texastribune.org/2025/12/24/s...
South Texas homebuilders say ICE arrests have slowed work
More than 380 people attended an impromptu meeting that industry leaders in the Rio Grande Valley hosted to draw attention to the chilling effect ICE arrests have had on construction.
www.texastribune.org
December 25, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Lmao who could have seen this coming but every contractor with a fucking brain, sorry guys
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So, a version of IT"S A WONDERFUL LIFE on Amazon cuts 22 minutes of the movie including the entire Pottersville sequence.(via @pematson.bsky.social )
bleedingfool.com/blogs/buy-ph...
bleedingfool.com/blogs/buy-ph...
Physical Media for the Win: Amazon’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Cuts Pivotal Scenes
One tradition in my household is to watch It’s a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve. There is something about the story of a good man, George Bailey, and his realization that life is worth living and…
bleedingfool.com
December 26, 2025 at 12:22 AM
So, a version of IT"S A WONDERFUL LIFE on Amazon cuts 22 minutes of the movie including the entire Pottersville sequence.(via @pematson.bsky.social )
bleedingfool.com/blogs/buy-ph...
bleedingfool.com/blogs/buy-ph...
Reposted
We need to talk more about tires. (see also particulate pollution). www.pbs.org/newshour/hea...
One of the biggest microplastic pollution sources isn’t straws or grocery bags – it’s your tires
Every few years, the tires on your car wear thin and need to be replaced. But where does that lost tire material go? The answer, unfortunately, is often waterways, where the tiny microplastic particle...
www.pbs.org
December 25, 2025 at 5:26 AM
We need to talk more about tires. (see also particulate pollution). www.pbs.org/newshour/hea...