Michael Scott Balch, PhD
@uqprofessional.bsky.social
I sell VVUQ and VVUQ accessories. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspa.2018.0565
Pinned
Fuck it.
Just chisel this into my tombstone.
Just chisel this into my tombstone.
Sliding Doors (1998) is a movie about contingency vs structural forces, where the structural force in question is this one guy being a total weenis.
January 24, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Sliding Doors (1998) is a movie about contingency vs structural forces, where the structural force in question is this one guy being a total weenis.
Reposted by Michael Scott Balch, PhD
Jonathan Ross *is* ICE training. He’s the person who trains ICE officers. They send ICE officers *to him* to be trained. If they increase the training from 47 stupid days, the ICE officers get more Jonathon Ross days. I can’t understand why scared Dems fail to see this basic fact.
January 23, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Jonathan Ross *is* ICE training. He’s the person who trains ICE officers. They send ICE officers *to him* to be trained. If they increase the training from 47 stupid days, the ICE officers get more Jonathon Ross days. I can’t understand why scared Dems fail to see this basic fact.
I love the "inevitability" argument for a wretched product that burns money.
It's over. Go away.
It's over. Go away.
AI sits in billions of phones. Refusing to engage won't stop it, just leaves vulnerable people without knowledge. Demand ownership and control, not abstinence.
Abstinence From AI Is Not the Answer
Opinion | Refusing to use AI won’t protect society. Responsible resistance must include gaining knowledge about it.
f.mtr.cool
January 24, 2026 at 2:07 AM
I love the "inevitability" argument for a wretched product that burns money.
It's over. Go away.
It's over. Go away.
Reposted by Michael Scott Balch, PhD
They always call the people cops kill ‘the suspect.’
January 24, 2026 at 12:17 AM
They always call the people cops kill ‘the suspect.’
What if "coalition of the willing" but somehow both more openly corrupt and stultifyingly bureaucratic?
The other fascinating thing about the "Board of Peace" is that it's a collection of mainly small and weak states, with a couple wealthy ones and Turkey as the only middle power so far.
So it's more akin to China's x+1 formats than truly multilateral fora like the G7, G20 & BRICS, let alone the UN.
So it's more akin to China's x+1 formats than truly multilateral fora like the G7, G20 & BRICS, let alone the UN.
January 22, 2026 at 2:51 PM
What if "coalition of the willing" but somehow both more openly corrupt and stultifyingly bureaucratic?
People defending their neighbors in Minnesota is as reflective of human nature as anything you will ever see in your life.
January 22, 2026 at 2:30 PM
People defending their neighbors in Minnesota is as reflective of human nature as anything you will ever see in your life.
"Data center but in space" is the single most "this guy dropped out of engineering school in his freshman year" idea that anyone has ever had ever.
January 22, 2026 at 1:19 PM
"Data center but in space" is the single most "this guy dropped out of engineering school in his freshman year" idea that anyone has ever had ever.
Even if you had anti-gravity to get it up there for free and cold fusion to power it for free, it would still be a bad idea because heat dissipation.
is there any actual advantage to space data centers or is this just a weird brainworm?
January 22, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Even if you had anti-gravity to get it up there for free and cold fusion to power it for free, it would still be a bad idea because heat dissipation.
Starlink is an espionage coms network, not the future of aerospace.
Cryptocurrency is one ponzi scheme after another, not the future of money.
AI is a disinformation generator, not the future of intellect.
There is a pattern here.
Cryptocurrency is one ponzi scheme after another, not the future of money.
AI is a disinformation generator, not the future of intellect.
There is a pattern here.
January 22, 2026 at 2:11 AM
Starlink is an espionage coms network, not the future of aerospace.
Cryptocurrency is one ponzi scheme after another, not the future of money.
AI is a disinformation generator, not the future of intellect.
There is a pattern here.
Cryptocurrency is one ponzi scheme after another, not the future of money.
AI is a disinformation generator, not the future of intellect.
There is a pattern here.
I didn't watch his little speech today. Is he looking that bad?
not doom scrolling I just want to be here when it happens alright
January 21, 2026 at 12:48 AM
I didn't watch his little speech today. Is he looking that bad?
There was no Lactaid at the Costco, and my first instinct is to blame RFK Jr.
January 20, 2026 at 6:07 PM
There was no Lactaid at the Costco, and my first instinct is to blame RFK Jr.
(1) The US military is not particularly good at counter-insurgency.
(2) Historically, this type of deployment has radicalized militaries against the regimes they ostensibly serve.
(2) Historically, this type of deployment has radicalized militaries against the regimes they ostensibly serve.
January 19, 2026 at 10:41 PM
(1) The US military is not particularly good at counter-insurgency.
(2) Historically, this type of deployment has radicalized militaries against the regimes they ostensibly serve.
(2) Historically, this type of deployment has radicalized militaries against the regimes they ostensibly serve.
The war on protein is over.
January 19, 2026 at 10:26 PM
The war on protein is over.
I made a high-protein chicken and cheese dip. The secret ingredients are chicken and cheese.
Isn't Chipotle high-protein by default? It's a wad of meat and beans and cheese.
January 18, 2026 at 7:02 PM
I made a high-protein chicken and cheese dip. The secret ingredients are chicken and cheese.
Reposted by Michael Scott Balch, PhD
Many accusations of spinelessness are overly optimistic.
January 18, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Many accusations of spinelessness are overly optimistic.
Reposted by Michael Scott Balch, PhD
Polling is not a loss of legitimacy. This is.
This makes me feel more patriotic than the national anthem ever could
January 17, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Polling is not a loss of legitimacy. This is.
"How will fascist oppression affect the elections?"
I don't know, man. Kinda seems like the least salient feature of fascist oppression.
I don't know, man. Kinda seems like the least salient feature of fascist oppression.
January 17, 2026 at 5:20 PM
"How will fascist oppression affect the elections?"
I don't know, man. Kinda seems like the least salient feature of fascist oppression.
I don't know, man. Kinda seems like the least salient feature of fascist oppression.
These 1940s movies are scandalous, such frank depictions of adultery.
January 17, 2026 at 5:06 PM
These 1940s movies are scandalous, such frank depictions of adultery.
Oh, no! Our Global Empire!
January 16, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Oh, no! Our Global Empire!
Do you ever wonder about the people on the Nobel Peace Prize committee? Do you think they're ashamed that their choice is a bootlicking warmonger? Do they believe in the American Empire THAT much? Are they scared that bad things will happen to them if they don't comply?
What is their interior life?
What is their interior life?
January 16, 2026 at 11:02 AM
Do you ever wonder about the people on the Nobel Peace Prize committee? Do you think they're ashamed that their choice is a bootlicking warmonger? Do they believe in the American Empire THAT much? Are they scared that bad things will happen to them if they don't comply?
What is their interior life?
What is their interior life?
Pedophile Tsar, warmonger boyars.
January 16, 2026 at 10:49 AM
Pedophile Tsar, warmonger boyars.
NBC is grasping at any explanation for why ICE is terrible, so long as it doesn't involve ICE's core purpose.
January 16, 2026 at 3:06 AM
NBC is grasping at any explanation for why ICE is terrible, so long as it doesn't involve ICE's core purpose.
At this rate, the Justice Department is going to get a zero for the semester.
It's 25 days past the deadline to release the Epstein files.
January 15, 2026 at 11:23 PM
At this rate, the Justice Department is going to get a zero for the semester.
Oh, fuck. Oh, shit. You just described Lenin.
I respect him for what he's doing now up here, but just because we're working together doesn't mean he isn't still an arrogant prick with a persecution complex that cannot tolerate being disagreed with.
January 15, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Oh, fuck. Oh, shit. You just described Lenin.
If your highest hope in life is to save these institutions from themselves, then all the pessimism you can muster is warranted.
January 15, 2026 at 8:52 PM
If your highest hope in life is to save these institutions from themselves, then all the pessimism you can muster is warranted.