I think every single day about “The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t.”
@teachernerd.com
Software engineer and former journalism teacher with a background in tech, English literature, and cognitive science. Occasional writer, photographer, and musician. This is a personal account. Any views expressed here are solely my own.
I think every single day about “The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t.”
What does this announcement from Polymarket even mean???
Scoop: Ring's CEO told staff Search Party is not going to be just for dogs, according to a leaked email I obtained. Said it is "first for finding dogs" before suggesting it would be expanded to be used for crime:
www.404media.co/leaked-email...
Thanks to @sarabethb.bsky.social and @theajp.bsky.social for supporting local news efforts around the country and building public awareness about the progress that is being made. @deepsouthtoday.org is proud to be part of the AJP portfolio of nonprofit newsrooms.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/o...
A recurring “AI” evangelist tactic is using it for tasks that were already solved by tech that is more deterministic, faster, and uses less energy, but has been downgraded or de-emphasised in recent years by software companies
Like, we genuinely used to have better search and spellcheck.
To include some numbers here, StackOverflow in Dec 2025 had 3862 new questions. The last time SO had this few questions was in *Aug 2008*, the first full month that SO was in operations!
In its peak month (March 2014), SO had 207,493 new questions!
I wrote this column about the aggressive pushback our reporters have received for doing their jobs.
Our Reporters Reached Out for Comment. They Were Accused of Stalking and Intimidation.
Alabama’s two Democratic U.S. representatives want the University of Alabama to reinstate two student magazines suspended earlier this month.
via @alabamareflector.com
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/sewe...
The newest "Stories from the States" podcast features Ayman Soliman, a former Cincinnati Children’s Hospital chaplain who was detained by ICE for 73 days; AND our reporter from @statesnewsroom.com DC @arianalfigueroa.bsky.social -- listen here www.newsfromthestates.com/episode/73-d...
A non-profit has built a massive internet database—and served training data to AI firms despite pleas from publishers to stop, Alex Reisner reports:
3 times in the past 2 weeks, a WashPost editorial "has taken on matters in which Bezos has a financial or corporate interest without noting his stake. In each case, the Post's editorial line landed in sync with its owner's interests"
Via @davidfolkenflik.bsky.social
www.npr.org/2025/10/28/n...
I did not enjoy writing this; it can't even serve as an ad for my newsletter, which I've suspended due to an overbilling situation that has me almost regretting leaving Substack. But, you know, it's evidence for the piece I just didn't get to include.
talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/patro...
THREAD 🧵
News overwhelm is real.
So we at States Newsroom are launching a podcast to help you make sense of the dizzying flurry of headlines coming from Washington and across the U.S.
“We called it the George Santos prevention program.” www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/rebu...
Take a dip into our @statesnewsroom.com live blog for #nokings day with reports from on the ground across the nation, state after state
www.newsfromthestates.com/live-feed/no...
Oh no. Zombie sites are resurging. I haven't seen much since the Daily Tidings story by @opb.org but it sounds like zombie sites are alive and well, according to @niemanlab.org.
Stay vigilant out there, readers.
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/ai-g...
NPR’s Tom Bowman explains why media organizations on both sides of the ideological spectrum are refusing to sign the Pentagon’s new press agreement.
An incredibly detailed and informative review!
I’m so glad all our electric bills are going up so we can have calculators that don’t work.
Screenshot of a New York Times headline. The main headline reads, “A fish falls from the sky and sparks a brush fire in British Columbia.” The secondary headline reads, “Officials say a flying osprey dropped its catch, which then struck power lines, causing sparks that ignited dry grass.”
You read this headline and think to yourself, “What??” Then you read the secondary headline and you’re like, “Oh, okay. But also…what??”
NYC Mass Shooting Was Nearly Impossible to Prevent, Experts Say
Holy shit, they did it. They wrote the headline.
I decided to turn my blog into a "serverless," (mostly) static website to reduce costs and security/maintenance overhead. Read my latest post to see how I used a WordPress plugin, a Cloudflare Worker, and some JavaScript to replicate the original setup, including contact forms and a search function.
Tune in now to our @statesnewsroom.com event w The Pew Charitable Trusts. Former Govs. Steve Bullock and Larry Hogan are talking w @wordsbywillis.bsky.social
www.pewtrusts.org/en/about/eve...
A sprawling, textured field of galaxies scattered across the deep black of space. It is filled with the delicate smudges and glowing cores of galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the bright multi-colored points of stars. The image focuses on a collection of interacting galaxies connected by delicate streams of stars. At top center lies a large elliptical galaxy that is dense and smooth, like a polished stone glowing with golden light. Like delicate spider silk or stretched taffy, these stellar bridges link the large elliptical to the few larger galaxies beneath, evidence of past collisions. All throughout the image, thousands of galaxies gather in clusters or are spread throughout, like glittering gems strewn on a table. Some are sharp-edged and spiral, like coiled ribbons; others round and diffuse, like polished pebbles. Still others are just smudges of various colors against the black of space. The background is peppered with pinpoint stars in reds, yellows, and blues, crisp against the velvet black.
A cosmic tapestry of glowing tan and pink gas clouds with dark dust lanes. In the upper right, the Trifid Nebula resembles a small flower in space. Its soft, pinkish gas petals are surrounded by blue gas, and streaked with dark, finger-like veins of dust that divide it into three parts. It radiates a gentle, misty glow, diffuse and soft like the warmth of breath on a cold hand. To the lower left, the much larger Lagoon Nebula stretches wide like a churning sea of magenta gas, with bright blue, knotted clumps sprinkled throughout where new stars are born. Both nebulae are embedded in a soft tan backdrop of gas that is brighter on the left than on the right, etched with dark tendrils of dust and sprinkled with the pinpricks of millions of stars.
A sprawling, textured field of galaxies scattered across the deep black of space. It is filled with the delicate smudges and glowing cores of galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the bright multi-colored points of stars. To the lower left is a region filled with the hundreds of golden glittering gems of a distant galaxy cluster. In the foreground, below and right of center, two blue spiral galaxies look like eyes beneath the entangled mass of a triple galaxy merger in the upper right. A few bright blue points of foreground stars pierce the glittering tapestry. All throughout the image, thousands of galaxies gather in clusters or are spread throughout, like glittering gems strewn on a table. Some are sharp-edged and spiral, like coiled ribbons; others round and diffuse, like polished pebbles. Still others are just smudges of various colors against the black of space. The background is peppered with pinpoint stars in reds, yellows, and blues, crisp against the velvet black.
Introducing...your sneak peek at the cosmos captured by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory!
Can you guess these regions of sky?
This is just a small peek...join us at 11am US EDT for your full First Look at how Rubin will #CaptureTheCosmos! 🔭🧪
#RubinFirstLook
ls.st/rubin-first-look-livestream
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has just released some of its first images. Its powerful new telescope will be able to quickly spot previously unseen astronomical objects. https://n.pr/405DN8P
I've been noticing this since yesterday. I'm also seeing wonky UI issues when trying to check on the status of Actions. I filed a support ticket in the meantime.