Ben
@nebcinema.bsky.social
Creative technologist, epicurean, and dreamer. Makes stuff, cooks stuff, and thinks (mostly about art, autism and food :p).
What’s a great way to actually help autistic people?
Defeat the stigma.
Hire us. Give us jobs. Pay for us to go to school. Openly work with us to find sustainable balances of productivity, stress, and life.
Defeat the stigma.
Hire us. Give us jobs. Pay for us to go to school. Openly work with us to find sustainable balances of productivity, stress, and life.
September 23, 2025 at 3:05 PM
What’s a great way to actually help autistic people?
Defeat the stigma.
Hire us. Give us jobs. Pay for us to go to school. Openly work with us to find sustainable balances of productivity, stress, and life.
Defeat the stigma.
Hire us. Give us jobs. Pay for us to go to school. Openly work with us to find sustainable balances of productivity, stress, and life.
Eh. Ugh. Yet again. Folks, please.
Tylenol doesn’t cause autism. Vaccines don’t cause autism.
Leucovorin *might* help some if you have a folate metabolism or transport deficiency. You can check for that with certain antibody and genetic tests.
open.substack.com/pub/drrubin/...
Tylenol doesn’t cause autism. Vaccines don’t cause autism.
Leucovorin *might* help some if you have a folate metabolism or transport deficiency. You can check for that with certain antibody and genetic tests.
open.substack.com/pub/drrubin/...
Tylenol, Vaccines, and Leucovorin: What Trump and RFK Jr. Got Wrong
At a White House event, President Trump, flanked by HHS Secretary Robert F.
open.substack.com
September 23, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Eh. Ugh. Yet again. Folks, please.
Tylenol doesn’t cause autism. Vaccines don’t cause autism.
Leucovorin *might* help some if you have a folate metabolism or transport deficiency. You can check for that with certain antibody and genetic tests.
open.substack.com/pub/drrubin/...
Tylenol doesn’t cause autism. Vaccines don’t cause autism.
Leucovorin *might* help some if you have a folate metabolism or transport deficiency. You can check for that with certain antibody and genetic tests.
open.substack.com/pub/drrubin/...
Well, meh. Been trying to get my blood-sugar up this evening. Full stomach, still not happening. :(
August 16, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Well, meh. Been trying to get my blood-sugar up this evening. Full stomach, still not happening. :(
RFKJ’s vaccine press release was complete and utter nonsense, compromising one of the greatest medical advances in history.
The covid vaccine was a triumph, with more to come. Many will die unnecessarily for this utter madness.
arstechnica.com/health/2025/...
The covid vaccine was a triumph, with more to come. Many will die unnecessarily for this utter madness.
arstechnica.com/health/2025/...
RFK Jr. defends $500M cut for mRNA vaccines with pseudoscience gobbledygook
He clearly has no idea what antigenic shift means.
arstechnica.com
August 8, 2025 at 1:31 AM
RFKJ’s vaccine press release was complete and utter nonsense, compromising one of the greatest medical advances in history.
The covid vaccine was a triumph, with more to come. Many will die unnecessarily for this utter madness.
arstechnica.com/health/2025/...
The covid vaccine was a triumph, with more to come. Many will die unnecessarily for this utter madness.
arstechnica.com/health/2025/...
Science denialism is like cutting the break line on your car to drive faster.
Guess we’re getting to find out what it’s like when you’re gov’t does it for you…
Guess we’re getting to find out what it’s like when you’re gov’t does it for you…
August 4, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Science denialism is like cutting the break line on your car to drive faster.
Guess we’re getting to find out what it’s like when you’re gov’t does it for you…
Guess we’re getting to find out what it’s like when you’re gov’t does it for you…
So, been “trying harder” for 40+ years now. Doesn’t seem to be working.
What’s next?
What’s next?
July 23, 2025 at 1:38 AM
So, been “trying harder” for 40+ years now. Doesn’t seem to be working.
What’s next?
What’s next?
“Autism epidemic” notions dangerously misrepresent how difficult it is to identify autistic youth.
A recent study of how masking impacts autistic teenagers found nearly half mask highly enough to go undetected in both the classroom and casual social interactions.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A recent study of how masking impacts autistic teenagers found nearly half mask highly enough to go undetected in both the classroom and casual social interactions.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Automatic and affective processing of faces as mechanisms of passing as non-autistic in adolescence - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Automatic and affective processing of faces as mechanisms of passing as non-autistic in adolescence
www.nature.com
July 21, 2025 at 9:26 PM
“Autism epidemic” notions dangerously misrepresent how difficult it is to identify autistic youth.
A recent study of how masking impacts autistic teenagers found nearly half mask highly enough to go undetected in both the classroom and casual social interactions.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A recent study of how masking impacts autistic teenagers found nearly half mask highly enough to go undetected in both the classroom and casual social interactions.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Yeezus. Rice cakes spike my blood-sugar like a candy bar. Three Wishes cereal, not so much.
With hyper-processed foods, you never really know what you’re getting.
What we eat drives how we feel, how our bodies work. Giving up that control to big corps’ profit motive is pretty sketchy.
With hyper-processed foods, you never really know what you’re getting.
What we eat drives how we feel, how our bodies work. Giving up that control to big corps’ profit motive is pretty sketchy.
July 18, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Yeezus. Rice cakes spike my blood-sugar like a candy bar. Three Wishes cereal, not so much.
With hyper-processed foods, you never really know what you’re getting.
What we eat drives how we feel, how our bodies work. Giving up that control to big corps’ profit motive is pretty sketchy.
With hyper-processed foods, you never really know what you’re getting.
What we eat drives how we feel, how our bodies work. Giving up that control to big corps’ profit motive is pretty sketchy.
RFKJ actively wants those that are most at risk to preventable disease to die.
He literally wrote a book about it.
You should be terrified of the miasma of suffering that will follow in the wake of these lunatics’ whims.
He literally wrote a book about it.
You should be terrified of the miasma of suffering that will follow in the wake of these lunatics’ whims.
This is a travesty & a nightmare. The US was a founder of @gavi.org. It lowers global vaccine costs, has vaccinated 1B children, & averted 19M deaths. This pull out will cost 100s of thousands of children's lives a year - and RFK Jr will be personally responsible.
www.politico.com/news/2025/06...
www.politico.com/news/2025/06...
RFK Jr. says US won’t donate to global vaccine effort
Kennedy ripped into Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in a video address at its pledging summit.
www.politico.com
June 26, 2025 at 2:05 AM
RFKJ actively wants those that are most at risk to preventable disease to die.
He literally wrote a book about it.
You should be terrified of the miasma of suffering that will follow in the wake of these lunatics’ whims.
He literally wrote a book about it.
You should be terrified of the miasma of suffering that will follow in the wake of these lunatics’ whims.
Healthcare work requirements are cruel.
Most disabled folk do not, cannot, choose to *have* work.
No amount of willpower, or discipline, or commitment changes the reality that someone else:
- Makes/requests the job
- Hires you
- Pays you (or not!)
- Decides, arbitrarily, if you keep that job
Most disabled folk do not, cannot, choose to *have* work.
No amount of willpower, or discipline, or commitment changes the reality that someone else:
- Makes/requests the job
- Hires you
- Pays you (or not!)
- Decides, arbitrarily, if you keep that job
Call them what they are: job loss penalties.
So-called “work requirements” don’t help people find jobs. They punish poverty, strip Medicaid from those who lose work or miss paperwork, and disproportionately harm disabled people, caregivers, and low-wage workers. (1/10)
So-called “work requirements” don’t help people find jobs. They punish poverty, strip Medicaid from those who lose work or miss paperwork, and disproportionately harm disabled people, caregivers, and low-wage workers. (1/10)
June 16, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Healthcare work requirements are cruel.
Most disabled folk do not, cannot, choose to *have* work.
No amount of willpower, or discipline, or commitment changes the reality that someone else:
- Makes/requests the job
- Hires you
- Pays you (or not!)
- Decides, arbitrarily, if you keep that job
Most disabled folk do not, cannot, choose to *have* work.
No amount of willpower, or discipline, or commitment changes the reality that someone else:
- Makes/requests the job
- Hires you
- Pays you (or not!)
- Decides, arbitrarily, if you keep that job
Last year, nearly 10-20% of children diagnosed with covid developed “long covid”.
Long covid wrecks the mind and body. Potentially debilitating, with a 3% recovery rate.
The covid vaccine dramatically reduces long covid rates. By stopping future vaccines, RFKJ is crushing millions of lives away.
Long covid wrecks the mind and body. Potentially debilitating, with a 3% recovery rate.
The covid vaccine dramatically reduces long covid rates. By stopping future vaccines, RFKJ is crushing millions of lives away.
More than 98% of families in this country choose to vaccinate their young children. But now, vaccine policy is being shaped by the small, extreme minority that doesn’t. This decision doesn’t reflect, protect or support families.
June 14, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Last year, nearly 10-20% of children diagnosed with covid developed “long covid”.
Long covid wrecks the mind and body. Potentially debilitating, with a 3% recovery rate.
The covid vaccine dramatically reduces long covid rates. By stopping future vaccines, RFKJ is crushing millions of lives away.
Long covid wrecks the mind and body. Potentially debilitating, with a 3% recovery rate.
The covid vaccine dramatically reduces long covid rates. By stopping future vaccines, RFKJ is crushing millions of lives away.
As I get older, watching as the brightest lights travel yonder, the losses dig like splinters into the world.
RIP Diana Hayes. You were a great inspiration to me and so many others.
It was an honor to work with you.
RIP Diana Hayes. You were a great inspiration to me and so many others.
It was an honor to work with you.
June 14, 2025 at 5:46 AM
As I get older, watching as the brightest lights travel yonder, the losses dig like splinters into the world.
RIP Diana Hayes. You were a great inspiration to me and so many others.
It was an honor to work with you.
RIP Diana Hayes. You were a great inspiration to me and so many others.
It was an honor to work with you.
At UNCA, a classmate once said: “I’d rather be dead than autistic”.
Straight blond, neat makeup, designer fit, narcissist.
Imagine she has an autistic kid. Not adapting, nurturing, she cultivates self-pity—burying her kid in “cures” & lies.
Antivaxxers I’ve met are petty and inhumane. Be afraid.
Straight blond, neat makeup, designer fit, narcissist.
Imagine she has an autistic kid. Not adapting, nurturing, she cultivates self-pity—burying her kid in “cures” & lies.
Antivaxxers I’ve met are petty and inhumane. Be afraid.
Learned some more about a few of these dangerous new ACIP people
June 12, 2025 at 4:22 AM
At UNCA, a classmate once said: “I’d rather be dead than autistic”.
Straight blond, neat makeup, designer fit, narcissist.
Imagine she has an autistic kid. Not adapting, nurturing, she cultivates self-pity—burying her kid in “cures” & lies.
Antivaxxers I’ve met are petty and inhumane. Be afraid.
Straight blond, neat makeup, designer fit, narcissist.
Imagine she has an autistic kid. Not adapting, nurturing, she cultivates self-pity—burying her kid in “cures” & lies.
Antivaxxers I’ve met are petty and inhumane. Be afraid.
Every war is lost twice: in lives torn and futures scorned.
Every flashbang could instead be a meal for a poor kid. Every hotel room for a National Guardsman deployed to fire at our neighbors could house a homeless vet. Every "less-than-lethal" bullet pulled from a journalist's eye could be already needed healthcare for anyone else. All of this is a choice.
June 12, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Every war is lost twice: in lives torn and futures scorned.
All of us, together, depend on national institutions to protect our health and way of life.
Cancer research, vaccines, Alzheimer therapy, infectious disease control, food safety, extreme weather warnings—all have been gutted, alongside crippling cuts to vital research programs across the country.
Cancer research, vaccines, Alzheimer therapy, infectious disease control, food safety, extreme weather warnings—all have been gutted, alongside crippling cuts to vital research programs across the country.
Today, my NIH colleagues and I did something scary but really important. We spoke up about egregious harms we are seeing happen to research participants and public health through thoughtless and politicized policies at NIH. 🧵1/3
apnews.com/article/nih-...
apnews.com/article/nih-...
June 10, 2025 at 11:05 PM
All of us, together, depend on national institutions to protect our health and way of life.
Cancer research, vaccines, Alzheimer therapy, infectious disease control, food safety, extreme weather warnings—all have been gutted, alongside crippling cuts to vital research programs across the country.
Cancer research, vaccines, Alzheimer therapy, infectious disease control, food safety, extreme weather warnings—all have been gutted, alongside crippling cuts to vital research programs across the country.
After months of massive cuts to science, research programs and institutions, “This EO… sets the stage for political appointees to exercise total control over science and throw out evidence that doesn’t suit the ideological viewpoints of this administration.”
blog.ucs.org/kellickson/f...
blog.ucs.org/kellickson/f...
Fool’s Gold: The Trump Administration’s New Executive Order Is a Bad-Faith Attack on Science
The danger here is that this executive order creates pathways for science to be influenced for political and financial gain.
blog.ucs.org
June 6, 2025 at 6:06 PM
After months of massive cuts to science, research programs and institutions, “This EO… sets the stage for political appointees to exercise total control over science and throw out evidence that doesn’t suit the ideological viewpoints of this administration.”
blog.ucs.org/kellickson/f...
blog.ucs.org/kellickson/f...
Passed a big Dunkin’ on the trip back from Charlotte. Apparently, they like their coffee *strong* in the city… :p
June 5, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Passed a big Dunkin’ on the trip back from Charlotte. Apparently, they like their coffee *strong* in the city… :p
Reposted by Ben
Trump’s NIH cuts aren’t just numbers. They are delayed cures, abandoned treatments, futures stolen, lives that will be lost. This is why we Stand Up For Science.
#StandUpForScience
#SummerFightForScience
#StandUpForScience
#SummerFightForScience
“I would like to cure brain cancer. I think that's not particularly controversial.” Be that as it may, the NIH terminated that scientist's grant. Here's a huge survey of the 2,500 grants that NIH has killed or delayed...so far. Gift link: nyti.ms/43Jz1yJ
June 4, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Trump’s NIH cuts aren’t just numbers. They are delayed cures, abandoned treatments, futures stolen, lives that will be lost. This is why we Stand Up For Science.
#StandUpForScience
#SummerFightForScience
#StandUpForScience
#SummerFightForScience
I’ve been saying precisely this for weeks.
Now that the big money (trillions) is on AI, the core players are dialing the hype train to eleven.
They’ve got CEOs drunk on free-labor pipe-dreams, and preemptive labor reduction mandates.
Now that the big money (trillions) is on AI, the core players are dialing the hype train to eleven.
They’ve got CEOs drunk on free-labor pipe-dreams, and preemptive labor reduction mandates.
The “AI jobs apocalypse” heralded by AI CEOs like Dario Amodei and Sam Altman is a story with one particular audience in mind: the bosses who are eager to see it happen
The "AI jobs apocalypse" is for the bosses
As Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei forecasts mass job loss, Business Insider lays off staff and embraces AI
www.bloodinthemachine.com
June 4, 2025 at 2:38 AM
I’ve been saying precisely this for weeks.
Now that the big money (trillions) is on AI, the core players are dialing the hype train to eleven.
They’ve got CEOs drunk on free-labor pipe-dreams, and preemptive labor reduction mandates.
Now that the big money (trillions) is on AI, the core players are dialing the hype train to eleven.
They’ve got CEOs drunk on free-labor pipe-dreams, and preemptive labor reduction mandates.
TLDR: Energy costs of inference are massive and growing, dire need for oversight and regulation.
ImageGen most efficient, video least. Model size matters a lot.
Text varies, as "...one query [can be] thousands of times more energy-intensive than another."
www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1...
ImageGen most efficient, video least. Model size matters a lot.
Text varies, as "...one query [can be] thousands of times more energy-intensive than another."
www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1...
We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. Here’s the story you haven’t heard.
The emissions from individual AI text, image, and video queries seem small—until you add up what the industry isn’t tracking and consider where it’s heading next.
www.technologyreview.com
June 2, 2025 at 4:09 PM
TLDR: Energy costs of inference are massive and growing, dire need for oversight and regulation.
ImageGen most efficient, video least. Model size matters a lot.
Text varies, as "...one query [can be] thousands of times more energy-intensive than another."
www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1...
ImageGen most efficient, video least. Model size matters a lot.
Text varies, as "...one query [can be] thousands of times more energy-intensive than another."
www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1...
Reposted by Ben
Heavy stuff.
The Regime desires to completely eliminate the Forest Service’s R&D division.
Shocking.
R&D is statutorily mandated.
R&D is part and parcel to management of the forests.
It’s how we keep communities & firefighters safe.
How we plan for the future.
This is wrong.
And unlawful.
The Regime desires to completely eliminate the Forest Service’s R&D division.
Shocking.
R&D is statutorily mandated.
R&D is part and parcel to management of the forests.
It’s how we keep communities & firefighters safe.
How we plan for the future.
This is wrong.
And unlawful.
![Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978
[Public Law 95-307; Approved June 30, 1978]
As Amended Through P.L. 115-334, Enacted December 20, 2018]
The official version of Federal law is found in the United States Statutes at Large and in the United States Code. The legal effect to be given to the Statutes at Large and the United States Code is established by statute (1 U.S.C. 112, 204).J
AN ACT To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out forest and rangeland renewable resources research, and for other purposes
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress
assembled, That [16
U.S.C.1641 notel this Act may be cited as the "Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978"
SEC. 2. [16 U.S.C. 1641] FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Forests and rangeland, and the resources of forests and rangeland, are of strategic economic and ecological importance to the United States, and the Federal Government has an important and substantial role in ensuring the continued health, productivity, and sustainability of the forests and rangeland of the United States.
(2) Over 75 percent of the productive commercial forest land in the United States is privately owned, with some 60 percent owned by small nonindustrial private owners. These 10,000,000 nonindustrial private owners are critical to providing both commodity and noncommodity values to the citizens of the United States.
half of the standing softwoods inventory located on that land.
Dramatic changes in Federal agency policy during the early 1990's have significantly curtailed the management of this vast timber resource, causing abrupt shifts in the supply of timber from public to private ownership. As a result of these shifts in supply, some 60 percent of total wood production in the Unitec States is now coming from private forest land in the southern United States.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nha4spv3om6bp274j4a3z7gq/bafkreien36dcklgcz4mspjpclozi3iuucwprcfepailbeg5u5iewhc67bm@jpeg)
June 1, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Heavy stuff.
The Regime desires to completely eliminate the Forest Service’s R&D division.
Shocking.
R&D is statutorily mandated.
R&D is part and parcel to management of the forests.
It’s how we keep communities & firefighters safe.
How we plan for the future.
This is wrong.
And unlawful.
The Regime desires to completely eliminate the Forest Service’s R&D division.
Shocking.
R&D is statutorily mandated.
R&D is part and parcel to management of the forests.
It’s how we keep communities & firefighters safe.
How we plan for the future.
This is wrong.
And unlawful.
I’ve often wondered why I’ve always felt less productive than my peers.
Lately, I suspect it’s because I’m not contributing to the amphetamine shortage. :p
Lately, I suspect it’s because I’m not contributing to the amphetamine shortage. :p
May 31, 2025 at 10:35 PM
I’ve often wondered why I’ve always felt less productive than my peers.
Lately, I suspect it’s because I’m not contributing to the amphetamine shortage. :p
Lately, I suspect it’s because I’m not contributing to the amphetamine shortage. :p
The worst part of chronic pain (besides the pain :p) is the loss of motivation.
Over time, it becomes harder to judge the difficulty of everyday tasks, and executive function starts looking for the exit. :/
Over time, it becomes harder to judge the difficulty of everyday tasks, and executive function starts looking for the exit. :/
May 31, 2025 at 2:41 AM
The worst part of chronic pain (besides the pain :p) is the loss of motivation.
Over time, it becomes harder to judge the difficulty of everyday tasks, and executive function starts looking for the exit. :/
Over time, it becomes harder to judge the difficulty of everyday tasks, and executive function starts looking for the exit. :/
A nuanced breakdown of Google DeepMind's Veo 3, how it works, and examples of where it falls short.
Note how emotionally neutral these examples are vs provocative compilations doing the rounds. Consider how strongly creator's intent influences impact and effect.
arstechnica.com/ai/2025/05/a...
Note how emotionally neutral these examples are vs provocative compilations doing the rounds. Consider how strongly creator's intent influences impact and effect.
arstechnica.com/ai/2025/05/a...
AI video just took a startling leap in realism. Are we doomed?
Google’s Veo 3 delivers AI videos of realistic people with sound and music. We put it to the test.
arstechnica.com
May 29, 2025 at 11:47 PM
A nuanced breakdown of Google DeepMind's Veo 3, how it works, and examples of where it falls short.
Note how emotionally neutral these examples are vs provocative compilations doing the rounds. Consider how strongly creator's intent influences impact and effect.
arstechnica.com/ai/2025/05/a...
Note how emotionally neutral these examples are vs provocative compilations doing the rounds. Consider how strongly creator's intent influences impact and effect.
arstechnica.com/ai/2025/05/a...
So, this is what it looks like when your gov’t is *actually* lying to you.
Also, when we say “bad science”, this is usually what we mean.
Also, when we say “bad science”, this is usually what we mean.
The MAHA Report cites studies that don’t exist.
W/ @emilykennard.bsky.social:
www.notus.org/health-scien...
W/ @emilykennard.bsky.social:
www.notus.org/health-scien...
The MAHA Report Cites Studies That Don’t Exist
The Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” report misinterprets some studies and cites others that don’t exist, according to the listed authors.
www.notus.org
May 29, 2025 at 4:38 PM
So, this is what it looks like when your gov’t is *actually* lying to you.
Also, when we say “bad science”, this is usually what we mean.
Also, when we say “bad science”, this is usually what we mean.