Jonathan Rigsby
@ridetrips.bsky.social
Author.
DRIVE: Scraping by in Uber's America, now in paperback!
Get your copy at https://bookshop.org/p/books/drive-scraping-by-in-uber-s-america-one-ride-at-a-time-jonathan-rigsby/20429413?ean=9780807016718&next=t
DRIVE: Scraping by in Uber's America, now in paperback!
Get your copy at https://bookshop.org/p/books/drive-scraping-by-in-uber-s-america-one-ride-at-a-time-jonathan-rigsby/20429413?ean=9780807016718&next=t
Pinned
Jonathan Rigsby
@ridetrips.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Okay Bluesky, here's a reminder of who I am and what I'm about. I'm the author of a memoir about working as an Uber driver after my divorce and how the gig economy lures in and exploits vulnerable people.
On some Friday nights, I do a ride-along thread where I post about people I'm meeting.
On some Friday nights, I do a ride-along thread where I post about people I'm meeting.
It's Small Business Saturday. If you'd like to support a small, local bookstore, may I recommend Midtown Reader?
Midtown Reader opened a new event space for authors and events this year. They serve a rotating collection of pies upstairs in the Piebrary. Truly a great place.
Midtown Reader opened a new event space for authors and events this year. They serve a rotating collection of pies upstairs in the Piebrary. Truly a great place.
Home Page
Home Page
midtownreader.com
November 29, 2025 at 2:25 PM
It's Small Business Saturday. If you'd like to support a small, local bookstore, may I recommend Midtown Reader?
Midtown Reader opened a new event space for authors and events this year. They serve a rotating collection of pies upstairs in the Piebrary. Truly a great place.
Midtown Reader opened a new event space for authors and events this year. They serve a rotating collection of pies upstairs in the Piebrary. Truly a great place.
Just a reminder that books make great Christmas gifts, and my book, Drive: Scraping by in Uber's America, is out now in paperback.
Drive: Scraping By in Uber's America, One Ride at a Time
Scraping By in Uber's America, One Ride at a Time
bookshop.org
November 28, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Just a reminder that books make great Christmas gifts, and my book, Drive: Scraping by in Uber's America, is out now in paperback.
This is full "blood and soil" stuff.
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 1:09 PM
This is full "blood and soil" stuff.
It's either "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" or it's eventually devolution back to this fascist mess.
We can either be one out of many, or we can slide backwards into the darkness again.
Migration built America. Everyone should be welcome here.
Always
We can either be one out of many, or we can slide backwards into the darkness again.
Migration built America. Everyone should be welcome here.
Always
The only antidote - and I do mean the ONLY one - to Trump and Miller's xenophobia is a full-throated defense of immigration and a full-throated attack on the racism and xenophobia currently guiding immigration policy. You can't half-ass this one, you can't Very Reasonable Limits this one.
November 28, 2025 at 1:04 PM
It's either "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" or it's eventually devolution back to this fascist mess.
We can either be one out of many, or we can slide backwards into the darkness again.
Migration built America. Everyone should be welcome here.
Always
We can either be one out of many, or we can slide backwards into the darkness again.
Migration built America. Everyone should be welcome here.
Always
My brother loves all the AI stuff and uses it all the time. He uses it at work. He used it to make this picture of his car doing a burnout in the parking lot of Casa Bonita.
The ethical implications do not bother him. He thinks I'm being a Luddite by refusing to use it.
The ethical implications do not bother him. He thinks I'm being a Luddite by refusing to use it.
November 27, 2025 at 1:56 AM
My brother loves all the AI stuff and uses it all the time. He uses it at work. He used it to make this picture of his car doing a burnout in the parking lot of Casa Bonita.
The ethical implications do not bother him. He thinks I'm being a Luddite by refusing to use it.
The ethical implications do not bother him. He thinks I'm being a Luddite by refusing to use it.
I've been in a slump of bad books. The last 3-4 I've read have been duds. Tell me the last thing you read that you really loved. I'm talking "this was so good, and I need to tell someone about it."
November 26, 2025 at 5:51 PM
I've been in a slump of bad books. The last 3-4 I've read have been duds. Tell me the last thing you read that you really loved. I'm talking "this was so good, and I need to tell someone about it."
Pecan is the best pie. I will not be answering questions about this rock-solid, indisputable fact.
November 25, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Pecan is the best pie. I will not be answering questions about this rock-solid, indisputable fact.
Reposted by Jonathan Rigsby
AARRGH. CHIROPRACTIC IS NOT MEDICINE, IT’S DANGEROUS BULLSHIT CREATED BY A FUCKING GROCER WHO THOUGHT HE COULD HEAL WITH MAGNETS. WHAT THE FUCK, AMERICA
Oh good, they left Chiropractors as professionals but not Nurses, NPs, PA’s or physical therapists
That’s infuriating
That’s infuriating
November 21, 2025 at 7:36 AM
AARRGH. CHIROPRACTIC IS NOT MEDICINE, IT’S DANGEROUS BULLSHIT CREATED BY A FUCKING GROCER WHO THOUGHT HE COULD HEAL WITH MAGNETS. WHAT THE FUCK, AMERICA
Holy shit. That's just... that's really, really bad.
I haven't had enough time to process this yet but,
I've studied the anti-vax movement for 7 years of my career and I can't believe I'm now at the point where I can't recommend the CDC as a trustworthy source of health information.
This is dangerous, insane, and embarrassing.
I've studied the anti-vax movement for 7 years of my career and I can't believe I'm now at the point where I can't recommend the CDC as a trustworthy source of health information.
This is dangerous, insane, and embarrassing.
November 20, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Holy shit. That's just... that's really, really bad.
Reposted by Jonathan Rigsby
I considered writing a long carefully constructed argument laying out the harms and limitations of AI, but instead I wrote about being a hater. Only humans can be haters.
I Am An AI Hater
I am an AI hater. This is considered rude, but I do not care, because I am a hater.
anthonymoser.github.io
August 27, 2025 at 5:04 PM
I considered writing a long carefully constructed argument laying out the harms and limitations of AI, but instead I wrote about being a hater. Only humans can be haters.
I am currently reviewing applications for the position I will leave behind when I go to nursing school. There is a writing exercise attached to the application. Nearly every one is written in exactly the same order using exactly the same words. They all describe things the same way. It is obnoxious.
Ah the 5-paragraph "your class is full, can I bypass the waitlist" email clearly written by AI, one of my favorite new takes on an old genre.
November 19, 2025 at 12:42 PM
I am currently reviewing applications for the position I will leave behind when I go to nursing school. There is a writing exercise attached to the application. Nearly every one is written in exactly the same order using exactly the same words. They all describe things the same way. It is obnoxious.
Counterpoint: everyone who did crimes should be prosecuted. This isn't a "tit-for-tat" thing. It's not retaliation to punish people for committing crimes.
It's the only way we're going to prevent this from happening again.
It's the only way we're going to prevent this from happening again.
November 17, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Counterpoint: everyone who did crimes should be prosecuted. This isn't a "tit-for-tat" thing. It's not retaliation to punish people for committing crimes.
It's the only way we're going to prevent this from happening again.
It's the only way we're going to prevent this from happening again.
Shannon Chakraborty is one of my favorite modern fantasy writers. Whether it's the Daevabad trilogy or The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, she has the talent, the craft, and the imagination to pull together incredible fiction.
I will 1000% be buying this.
I will 1000% be buying this.
Also, very early galleys of The Tapestry of Fate are in! I'm so excited to start seeing Amina's next adventure out in the wild
November 17, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Shannon Chakraborty is one of my favorite modern fantasy writers. Whether it's the Daevabad trilogy or The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, she has the talent, the craft, and the imagination to pull together incredible fiction.
I will 1000% be buying this.
I will 1000% be buying this.
Good thing Drive is out in paperback!
November 17, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Good thing Drive is out in paperback!
There is a player for Wrexham Football Club with the last name Windass, and I cannot imagine the hell that man lived through in adolescence.
November 14, 2025 at 12:27 AM
There is a player for Wrexham Football Club with the last name Windass, and I cannot imagine the hell that man lived through in adolescence.
There's a nearby state park with a waterfall, but it warns on the website that the flow is rainfall dependent and to call for details. I just had a conversation with an amused park ranger that began with, "Hello... I'm calling to inquire about the status of the waterfall."
(it is currently dry)
(it is currently dry)
November 13, 2025 at 5:50 PM
There's a nearby state park with a waterfall, but it warns on the website that the flow is rainfall dependent and to call for details. I just had a conversation with an amused park ranger that began with, "Hello... I'm calling to inquire about the status of the waterfall."
(it is currently dry)
(it is currently dry)
If you are not familiar with the time they disposed of a 40 ton whale carcass by blowing it up with dynamite, I urge you to watch the video.
There are very few moments in history where a tremendously bad decision is covered live, and this one is truly amazing.
There are very few moments in history where a tremendously bad decision is covered live, and this one is truly amazing.
🚨 EXPLODING WHALE DAY🚨
November 12, 1970:
A 40 ton whale carcass lays, rotting, on an Oregon beach.
A crowd has gathered to watch the whale carcass be dynamited to dispose of it.
HILARITY*. ENSUES.
*”blubber snowstorm”
REMASTERED VIDEO!
www.youtube.com/embed/V6CLum...
November 12, 1970:
A 40 ton whale carcass lays, rotting, on an Oregon beach.
A crowd has gathered to watch the whale carcass be dynamited to dispose of it.
HILARITY*. ENSUES.
*”blubber snowstorm”
REMASTERED VIDEO!
www.youtube.com/embed/V6CLum...
November 12, 2025 at 4:23 PM
If you are not familiar with the time they disposed of a 40 ton whale carcass by blowing it up with dynamite, I urge you to watch the video.
There are very few moments in history where a tremendously bad decision is covered live, and this one is truly amazing.
There are very few moments in history where a tremendously bad decision is covered live, and this one is truly amazing.
Okay, but I lost count of the number of times as an Uber driver I had to scold college kids not to have sex in my backseat.
I always tell people there were two things that never happened in my car: no one ever pulled a gun on me, and no one ever successfully had sex. Doesn't mean they didn't try.
I always tell people there were two things that never happened in my car: no one ever pulled a gun on me, and no one ever successfully had sex. Doesn't mean they didn't try.
November 12, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Okay, but I lost count of the number of times as an Uber driver I had to scold college kids not to have sex in my backseat.
I always tell people there were two things that never happened in my car: no one ever pulled a gun on me, and no one ever successfully had sex. Doesn't mean they didn't try.
I always tell people there were two things that never happened in my car: no one ever pulled a gun on me, and no one ever successfully had sex. Doesn't mean they didn't try.
Baristas will pull 200 shots of espresso during a shift, and each one will be perfect. This is somehow classified as unskilled labor.
it's not that i ever doubted that being a barista was a skilled position, but my year-long effort to try to produce a half-decent latte at home has convinced me that a good barista is easily more skilled than virtually every c-suite executive on the planet
November 11, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Baristas will pull 200 shots of espresso during a shift, and each one will be perfect. This is somehow classified as unskilled labor.
At the beginning of the year, I stocked up on things that I thought would go up in price under tariffs. Specifically, clothing. Undershirts, socks, underwear, shoes, etc.
I am now discovering that nursing school will mean re-buying all of these things in white. 🙃
I am now discovering that nursing school will mean re-buying all of these things in white. 🙃
November 11, 2025 at 4:25 PM
At the beginning of the year, I stocked up on things that I thought would go up in price under tariffs. Specifically, clothing. Undershirts, socks, underwear, shoes, etc.
I am now discovering that nursing school will mean re-buying all of these things in white. 🙃
I am now discovering that nursing school will mean re-buying all of these things in white. 🙃
The idea that serving in the US military doesn't automatically confer citizenship has always seemed bizarre to me. You offered to die for this country if necessary, and when you're done, it's "get out, you filthy illegal."
At 17, Jose Barco was the youngest in his unit in Iraq. After a 2004 car bomb near Fallujah, he saved two fellow soldiers, suffering severe burns and earning a Purple Heart. Now he faces deportation.
Read more here: www.csmonitor.com/World/Americ...
Read more here: www.csmonitor.com/World/Americ...
Should a war hero be deported? The complex dilemma around one convicted vet.
When noncitizen veterans make bad choices after their time in the military, they serve prison sentences and then face deportation. Is that fair?
www.csmonitor.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:47 PM
The idea that serving in the US military doesn't automatically confer citizenship has always seemed bizarre to me. You offered to die for this country if necessary, and when you're done, it's "get out, you filthy illegal."
13 years ago I decided I was going to wear a Hawaiian shirt to work every Friday.
I haven't missed a Friday yet.
I haven't missed a Friday yet.
One thing people kind of tell you, but not really, about middle age:
One day you'll be like "oh [thing] looks fun but people will think I'm a loser" about a thing
And then you'll say. Wait a second.
Fuck 'em
One day you'll be like "oh [thing] looks fun but people will think I'm a loser" about a thing
And then you'll say. Wait a second.
Fuck 'em
Darn Tough turned me on to Cute Socks and I've never looked back
November 11, 2025 at 1:59 AM
13 years ago I decided I was going to wear a Hawaiian shirt to work every Friday.
I haven't missed a Friday yet.
I haven't missed a Friday yet.
This was so popular growing up that there were club remixes.
November 10, 2025 at 11:47 PM
This was so popular growing up that there were club remixes.
Counterpoint: if you have extraordinary leverage, you get to make extraordinary demands.
Democrats could have waited until planes were falling out of the sky on a daily basis and the entire federal workforce was ready to revolt, and everyone would know it was Trump's fault.
Instead...
Democrats could have waited until planes were falling out of the sky on a daily basis and the entire federal workforce was ready to revolt, and everyone would know it was Trump's fault.
Instead...
November 10, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Counterpoint: if you have extraordinary leverage, you get to make extraordinary demands.
Democrats could have waited until planes were falling out of the sky on a daily basis and the entire federal workforce was ready to revolt, and everyone would know it was Trump's fault.
Instead...
Democrats could have waited until planes were falling out of the sky on a daily basis and the entire federal workforce was ready to revolt, and everyone would know it was Trump's fault.
Instead...
Democrats could have had "Trump cancelled Thanksgiving" and instead decided to lose.
November 10, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Democrats could have had "Trump cancelled Thanksgiving" and instead decided to lose.