Tom McNamara
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mrtpsm.bsky.social
Tom McNamara
@mrtpsm.bsky.social
Semi-anonymous profile of UCLA graduate who also has a Master from USC.

No shortage of opinions, but I try only to comment on college football or what I read in The Economist.
Pinned
What’s interesting about Blue Sky’s rise is that it follows long-stand pattern of social media platforms starting out by attracting college-educated and highbrow users.

In the past, that would fade as Facebook et al. couldn’t be as picky.

This time, it feels different.
I agree with this column…but not sure how they support this while arguing earlier in the newspaper UK universities are inefficient and trying to be “world-class”…what else do they think would make Britain attractive to Americans?

Learning how to use the metric system?
Disillusioned American boffins and global talent that might once have chosen America are looking across the pond for jobs. Will Britain seize the opportunity?
Britain has a rare opportunity to lure American talent
Pricey visas might scupper its chances
econ.st
July 19, 2025 at 12:00 AM
The fallout from Zelenksyy’s visit to the White House makes me realize that it’s clear X’s business model relies in part on having bots paying to disseminate misinformation.

I have never been more thankful other options exist.
What’s interesting about Blue Sky’s rise is that it follows long-stand pattern of social media platforms starting out by attracting college-educated and highbrow users.

In the past, that would fade as Facebook et al. couldn’t be as picky.

This time, it feels different.
March 3, 2025 at 2:50 AM
I think @dlknowles.bsky.social needs to grab @birdyword.bsky.social and some recording equipment to take the next California Zephyr to Utah and report on this evolving story about American supply-side economics again being on life-support, lol:

www.kpcw.org/ski-resorts/...
Park City ski patrol union reports progress after 8 days on strike
“We've seen more movement in the last few days than we feel like we've seen over the past many months," the union's business manager said.
www.kpcw.org
January 5, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Probably the most important article written in The Economist all year…

…at least because of how much it sounds like what life is like in California.
December 13, 2024 at 5:11 PM
Oops.
December 10, 2024 at 5:24 AM
Cheers to David Rennie (@dsorennie.bsky.social) for writing a truly unsettling column that exposes America’s dependence on the EU to provide sufficient “soft power” to protect our interests in the post Cold War world:
Will the West betray or save anti-Putin protesters in Georgia?
Democratic activists in Russia’s near-abroad pin their hopes on admission by the EU and NATO
www.economist.com
December 6, 2024 at 5:54 AM
The driver assistance software team isn’t based in the factory that builds that particular model, right?
December 5, 2024 at 5:10 AM
Media coverage about this tragedy leaves out a surprising detail:

the Cybertruck was the only Tesla model without “Full Self-Driving” until September. Buyers had to pay for the feature ahead of time as an option without knowing when it would be activated…

abc7news.com/post/nhtsa-l...
NHTSA launches inquiry into Piedmont Cybertruck crash that killed 3 college students
The NHTSA, in general, often investigates crashes involving electric vehicles with self-driving features. Piedmont officials said last week that speeding is possibly a contributing factor, but they di...
abc7news.com
December 4, 2024 at 4:58 PM
This Facebook internal memo from 2022 shows that the die already has been cast for social media:

Try to be like TikTok, or try something new.

www.theverge.com/2022/6/15/23...
How Facebook plans to become more like TikTok
Get ready for more random videos in your feed.
www.theverge.com
November 21, 2024 at 6:26 AM
What’s interesting about Blue Sky’s rise is that it follows long-stand pattern of social media platforms starting out by attracting college-educated and highbrow users.

In the past, that would fade as Facebook et al. couldn’t be as picky.

This time, it feels different.
November 20, 2024 at 4:18 AM
Currently using this as a bomb shelter to survive after X implodes…
November 14, 2024 at 3:56 AM