Froissart claimed that knights said to him afterward, "If the Sire de Coucy had been in command, the result would have been different." This is unlikely. Although lack of command structure played a part in the outcome, what principally vitiated the siege of Barbary was lack of a vital interest. When that was present, when the stakes were serious, as in the recovery of France under Charles V, a strategy compatible with its object was imposed, recklessness and improvidence disallowed. For the French, the Tunisian campaign was merely chivalric adventure with a religious overlay. What moved knights to war was desire to do deeds of valor augmented by zeal for the faith, not the gaining of a political end by force of arms. They were concerned with the action, not the goal-which was why the given goal was so rarely attained.

“What moved knights to war was desire to do deeds of valor augmented by zeal for the faith, not the gaining of a political end by force of arms. They were concerned with the action, not the goal—which was why the given goal was so rarely attained.” (Barbara Tuchman, A Distant Mirror)

Lovely chapter. Totally relatable as someone living in a small rural community

Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect - npj Mental Health Research npj Mental Health Research - Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect

@uneheuredepeine.bsky.social est-ce que tu as vu cet article ? www.nature.com/articles/s44...

"A female experimenter, appearing pregnant, boarded the train. Passengers were significantly more likely to offer their seat when Batman was present (67.21% vs. 37.66%)."

From my friend Kyle. This is essential reading for all Americans. aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...

The official home of the Python Programming Language

TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/NSF-...
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More than *anything* the people who actually know how technology works, who actually build things, wish that people would treat LLMs like every other technology, and be normal about them. Don't build a religion about them, don't force them on people, don't ignore the problems. Just be normal.

Ruby Central said some really concerning things today. I don’t think they’re representing the situation accurately. andre.arko.net/2025/10/09/t...

What a tirefire

Do you have one that ends in bookish0d@icloud.com?

I wonder if it’s because I’m already subscribed, and “that email address doesn’t work” is a response which doesn’t leak information:)

Looks like button down isn’t letting me use an iCloud email address?

Yay!

Totoro in Paris Street: Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte.

Two image meme. Top image shows a ferocious tyrannosaurus rex roaring in the street with the text "Democrats fighting Zohran Mamdani" Bottom image shows Barney the Purple Dinosaur, beloved children's mascot, with the text, "Democrats fighting Donald Trump".

The meme folks got it

It’s a good thing Congress isn’t alive to see this

We're about 3 lines deep into the "first they came for" poem. It's not a very long poem, folks

🎯

THREAD: We recently heard that the Trump administration was leaning on the government of Gambia to help Elon Musk. For weeks, our team made phone calls, wrote letters and knocked on folks’ doors to try to confirm it. But we were stuck.

So our reporters got on a plane to Banjul. 1/

Movie you've watched more than six times using gifs.

(“Hard mode” no Star Wars, Star Trek, or LoTR)

Screenshot of All The President’s Men, of “Deep Throat” (Hal Holbrook) smoking a cigarette in a dark parking lot with the subtitles “The truth is, these aren't very bright guys, and things got out of hand."

Forever timeless

And so on…

I couldn’t find my email what address did you get confirmation from?

“Red’s in the head, Newton said”. So said my vision phd advisor

How long should I expect til delivery? I ordered a while back.

Ok, my brand-new friends (and my old ones too!)

Let's do this.

Use the code BLUESKY for 25% off Every Bird prints to celebrate our collective... collectiveness?

Get some nice art, support bird rescue, and help me avoid getting a real job.

www.jerthorp.me/every-bird