mRNA tech is some of the coolest, most powerful, most promising scifi shit humans are currently doing. They are being investigated to help with cancers, autoimmune diseases, M.S., stroke recovery, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and high cholesterol.
I like my lovers like I like my coffee, which is to say existing in the physical world
Doing good aside from the world. I wish there was something new going on. How are you doing? Your garden must be bursting by now!
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
Just a reminder that generative AI is theft of labor and intellectual property, uses vast amounts of energy/ water, provides at best mediocre results (if not outright lies or misinformation), actually affects your ability to think over time (mind duh), and is in general a really fucking bad idea.
We did a rewatch of the series and then the movie. The movie was essentially fan service, to me. Watch if you’re curious but I wouldn’t sit through it twice.
You know how I know MAGA is desperate and floundering? All they talk about is Joe Biden and strange conspiracies about his health.
Well, he isn't President, folks.
You know who is? A really old Donald Trump, who is 78, doesn't look healthy, and is underwater in the ratings.
I read this quartet a few years ago and still think about it. Remember that duck hunting scene? Just fantastic overall.
❤️
A list of bad-news headlines wrapped up with an Atlantic article headlined “Why are young people everywhere so unhappy?”
I don’t know man, what could it possibly be?
This may explain a lot.
NYT headline: “Kennedy Advises New Parents to ‘Do Your Own Research’ on Vaccines” Subheader: “In an interview with Dr. Phil, the health secretary offered false information about vaccine oversight and revealed a lack of basic understanding of new drug approvals.”
“And I’m like, what do you mean, you ‘do your own research’? You running a double-blind study in your living room, dawg?”
- A guy walking ahead of me with his friends on a NYC sidewalk in 2021, also my favorite overheard dialogue of the entire pandemic
this would be so funny if this guy wasn’t president
You’re getting good start.
I am so behind in everything booktube. Distracted by the world, I think.
The semester will be over soon, right?
Thanks, Cathie. Hope you’re doing well.
We share a birthday! Hope yours is wonderful.
This asshole raised prices and ruined your retirement savings, and now he's out golfing for the rest of the weekend.
Last Friday afternoon, I got my first message from Ryan Daniels, public affairs manager of strategic response at Meta. When I declined his invitation to talk by phone, he wrote back again: “I was wondering if the Washington Post was going to write a review about a book that’s coming out this upcoming week on Meta. Do you have a couple minutes to chat?” So, I called. Daniels said, “We don’t have the book,” but the company had prepared “preliminary statements” about it. Although he didn’t share those with me, he wrote to me again on Saturday and again on Monday trying to get information about our review plans. (In my 27 years of reviewing and editing newspaper books sections, no company has ever done this with me.)
Yesterday, when I reached out to Daniels for a response from Meta, he wrote back: “Do you plan to write something about it, or are you just curious how we’re responding?” It’s always about controlling the narrative. But apparently, that’s not going so well. This morning, “Careless People” is No. 3 on Amazon. I know this is a long item, the longest I’ve ever written for the Book Club newsletter. But when one of the world’s most powerful media companies tries to snuff out a book — amid other alarming attacks on free speech in America like this — it’s time to pull out all the stops.
WaPo's Ron Charles, in his Book Club newsletter, on Meta's repeated questions about his plans to review Sarah Wynn-Williams's "Careless People":
"In my 27 years of reviewing and editing newspaper books sections, no company has ever done this with me."
Show Up For Our Libraries! By eliminating the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, the Trump administration's Executive Order is cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer. ALA American Library Association. #ForOurLibraries
🚨NEW🚨: Donald Trump is attempting to strip away federal support for libraries. We will NOT let that happen.
Last night the President signed an order to gut the Institute of Museum & Library Services. But together, we know we can show up & defeat it.
Full EO: www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Hickenlooper has not distinguished himself as a senator. He is not an activist and he doesn’t appear to care about his constituents very much. I thought he was an OK governor but I am incredibly disappointed in his Senate role.
UPDATE from the AMA: new flu vaccines, updates on measles, bird flu, long COVID, and more.
The AMA is doing these weekly updates on YouTube because the orange freak has ordered the CDC to stop communicating with the public.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsBa...
We've got some big news: Heavyweight officially has a new home Pushkin Industries. Tell your friends, your exes… tell the strangers on the subway! And be sure to subscribe to the feed to hear about new episodes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/b...
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS IN CASE OF ICE: CONOCE TUS DERECHOS EN CASO DE ENCUENTRO CON ICE:
DO NOT OPEN YOUR DOOR. ICE cannot enter your home without a warrant signed by a judge. Tell the agents to show you the warrant by sliding it under the door. NO ABRAS TU PUERTA. ICE no puede entrar a tu casa sin una orden firmada por un juez. Diles a los agentes que te muestren la orden deslizándola debajo de la puerta.
ASK THEM TO LEAVE. If ICE doesn't have a warrant, tell them you do not consent for them to enter your home and ask them to leave. At work, ICE cannot enter employee-only areas without permission. 2 PÍDALES QUE SE VAYAN. Si ICE no tiene una orden judicial, diles que no das tu consentimiento para que entren a tu casa y pídeles que se vayan. En el trabajo, ICE no puede ingresar a áreas exclusivas para empleados sin permiso.
REMAIN SILENT. You have the right to remain silent. If the agents ask you questions, tell them, "I wish to remain silent." PERMANECE EN SILENCIO. Tienes derecho a permanecer en silencio. Si los agentes te hacen preguntas, diles: "Deseo permanecer en silencio".
It is perfectly legal to know your rights and to educate others about them, too.
EVERYONE in the United States, citizen or not, has rights. I will not allow this administration to intimidate us from helping you know about them.
Here’s our shareable guide ⬇️: (pt. 1/2)
FYI, Amazon will no longer enable the downloading of ebooks to exterior devices starting February 26th.
Here’s a tutorial on how to download your ebooks off of Amazon. You can use Calibre (free software) to reformat the kindle books to be used on other devices.
www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2DQuRqn/
Time for a parliamentary-style shadow cabinet.
AI is an insult
Good. It’s horrific how other platforms abused their reach to strangle local, independent, and national outlets alike.
I WANT to see news and actual vetted work and I WANT journalists to get rewarded for it.
Because I want to live in a thinking human world over some AI generated slop dystopia
That’s really pretty.