Karl Appuhn
@appuhn.bsky.social
Historian of Renaissance Italian trees, critters, medical practitioners, and assorted other stuff. Californian in exile. Veteran. Semi-pro Curmudgeon.
I named my fists Principia and Mathematica because I'm about to send you into orbit.
I named my fists Moby and Dick because I am about to whale on you.
I named my fists Chekhov and Gun because you know they're coming but you don't know when
December 1, 2025 at 1:53 PM
I named my fists Principia and Mathematica because I'm about to send you into orbit.
This right here.
something i'll note is that if nuzzi ran catch-and-kill ops for rfk jr and lizza knew this prior to him being appointed as HHS, and instead of telling anyone, he decided to save it for his substack long after rfk jr had made communicable disease into federal policy, that's completely fucked
November 22, 2025 at 6:48 PM
This right here.
People on here are dragging the Harvard and Yale players as if the Chicago Bears franchise record for interceptions isn't held by a Yale grad who was one of the anchors of those 1980s Bears defenses. It ain't the SEC, but you might want to slow your roll anyway.
November 22, 2025 at 6:36 PM
People on here are dragging the Harvard and Yale players as if the Chicago Bears franchise record for interceptions isn't held by a Yale grad who was one of the anchors of those 1980s Bears defenses. It ain't the SEC, but you might want to slow your roll anyway.
Happy Veterans Day. But I wish the radio stations would stop playing fucking Lee Greenwood. Speaking only for this veteran, I hate that song. It's shitty on the merits, and shittier because of who has appropriated it.
November 11, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Happy Veterans Day. But I wish the radio stations would stop playing fucking Lee Greenwood. Speaking only for this veteran, I hate that song. It's shitty on the merits, and shittier because of who has appropriated it.
Exactly. Having the self-resepct to be a decent person shouldn't be such a heavy lift that we have to reframe it as something else.
I think we need to stop calling it empathy and go back to calling it decency. It isn't a favour you're doing someone else, it's you proving that you aren't a fucking ghoul
November 7, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Exactly. Having the self-resepct to be a decent person shouldn't be such a heavy lift that we have to reframe it as something else.
Given the Roger Revelle legacy, it makes sense that UCSD would do this. Definitely one of those moments when I am proud to be an alum.
Climate change ‘is the new liberal arts’: Colleges build environmental lessons into degrees.
University of California, San Diego, requires all students to learn about climate change, while other schools have added environmental sustainability requirements.
grist.org/solutions/cl...
#CA
University of California, San Diego, requires all students to learn about climate change, while other schools have added environmental sustainability requirements.
grist.org/solutions/cl...
#CA
Climate change ‘is the new liberal arts’: Colleges build environmental lessons into degrees
University of California, San Diego, requires all students to learn about climate change, while other schools have added environmental sustainability requirements.
grist.org
November 5, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Given the Roger Revelle legacy, it makes sense that UCSD would do this. Definitely one of those moments when I am proud to be an alum.
That tracks. Sliwa is an asshole with integrity. The other two are just assholes.
Zohran Mamdani says on NY1 he didn't get a congratulatory call from either Andrew Cuomo or Eric Adams last night.
He says he got a congratulatory call from Curtis Sliwa, though.
He says he got a congratulatory call from Curtis Sliwa, though.
November 5, 2025 at 2:12 PM
That tracks. Sliwa is an asshole with integrity. The other two are just assholes.
I could smell the mustard and the onions
November 5, 2025 at 1:34 AM
I could smell the mustard and the onions
I could smell the mustard and the onions
November 5, 2025 at 1:18 AM
I could smell the mustard and the onions
Has anyone else seen the Cuomo campaign truck with the jumbotron screen that says you should vote for Cuomo because "the drug dealers are already in the schools?" I saw it in my Bronx neighborhood yesterday morning but didn't get a picture.
October 31, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Has anyone else seen the Cuomo campaign truck with the jumbotron screen that says you should vote for Cuomo because "the drug dealers are already in the schools?" I saw it in my Bronx neighborhood yesterday morning but didn't get a picture.
Man, a Lomborg endorsement should make anyone reconsider their life choices.
“'I think it's great. I think it's also brave,' political scientist Bjorn Lomborg said of Gates’ essay."
That says all you need to know about Bill Gates' latest call to just surrender to climate change. When the climate denialists love you, you're doing it wrong
www.newsweek.com/bill-gates-d...
That says all you need to know about Bill Gates' latest call to just surrender to climate change. When the climate denialists love you, you're doing it wrong
www.newsweek.com/bill-gates-d...
Bill Gates Delivers ‘Tough Truths’ on Climate Just Before Big U.N. Talks
Bill Gates argues against focusing on emissions goals in favor of measures of human development.
www.newsweek.com
October 28, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Man, a Lomborg endorsement should make anyone reconsider their life choices.
Maybe we could organize a trade. The three West Coast states plus New England and New York to Canada and Alberta and its tar sands to the US.
Not sure if the political science literature covers cases where one province in a democratic federal system becomes a hybrid regime, but I think that's what we're seeing in Canada as Alberta sees astonishing democratic backsliding under the UCP.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Striking Alberta teachers forced back to work by fast-tracked legislation, notwithstanding clause | CBC News
Bill 2 passed early Tuesday morning after a long night for lawmakers in the provincial legislature. Premier Danielle Smith’s government introduced the legislation the day before.
www.cbc.ca
October 28, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Maybe we could organize a trade. The three West Coast states plus New England and New York to Canada and Alberta and its tar sands to the US.
I don't want to brag or anything, but the doctors said that they don't give dementia screening to just anyone.
October 27, 2025 at 12:39 PM
I don't want to brag or anything, but the doctors said that they don't give dementia screening to just anyone.
"Are the radiators going full tilt?"
“well the good news is i almost *never* use the stove”
October 26, 2025 at 11:22 PM
"Are the radiators going full tilt?"
That's a given. The whole point of the ballroom is for him to make money. There's no reason why an official state dinner should have more than 140 people in attendance. These are, by definition, restricted events. He wants extra seats so he can sell tickets to the highest bidder.
Who also thinks that Trump will sell the naming rights to this hideous, tacky ballroom (or even parts of it)?
“The Amazon Ballroom at the White House.”
“The Hard Rock International Foyer at the Trump Ballroom.”
So. Many. Options!
“The Amazon Ballroom at the White House.”
“The Hard Rock International Foyer at the Trump Ballroom.”
So. Many. Options!
October 25, 2025 at 12:55 PM
That's a given. The whole point of the ballroom is for him to make money. There's no reason why an official state dinner should have more than 140 people in attendance. These are, by definition, restricted events. He wants extra seats so he can sell tickets to the highest bidder.
Asbestos? What asbestos?
The White House's East Wing construction rubble was taken to East Potomac Golf Course. It was reported that the rubble will be used to create mounds on the golf course.
Read more: bit.ly/4oa2tXA
Read more: bit.ly/4oa2tXA
October 24, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Asbestos? What asbestos?
If the East Wing was never built, you can't be criticized for tearing it down.
October 24, 2025 at 4:50 PM
If the East Wing was never built, you can't be criticized for tearing it down.
Is there even a question here?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO0V...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO0V...
October 23, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Is there even a question here?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO0V...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO0V...
So was the Washington Place game held in the back of the NYU ID Card office, or the back of the Campus Security Office. Just curious.
READ the NBA gambling indictment here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
October 23, 2025 at 5:34 PM
So was the Washington Place game held in the back of the NYU ID Card office, or the back of the Campus Security Office. Just curious.
Reposted by Karl Appuhn
It can't, and it won't.
It's the continuation of our burning of fossil fuels, or stopping it ASAP, that will either save the world or destroy it.
It's the continuation of our burning of fossil fuels, or stopping it ASAP, that will either save the world or destroy it.
The humble plant that could save the world — or destroy it
Clean energy expansion could destroy this crucial climate solution.
grist.org
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
It can't, and it won't.
It's the continuation of our burning of fossil fuels, or stopping it ASAP, that will either save the world or destroy it.
It's the continuation of our burning of fossil fuels, or stopping it ASAP, that will either save the world or destroy it.
I can easily imagine, as a vet myself, that he picked it out of a sample book at random. But he evidently figured out what it was eventually. That he didn't have it removed or covered up once he figured it out is where it moved from dumb mistake to active choice. He can't come back from that.
October 21, 2025 at 8:19 PM
I can easily imagine, as a vet myself, that he picked it out of a sample book at random. But he evidently figured out what it was eventually. That he didn't have it removed or covered up once he figured it out is where it moved from dumb mistake to active choice. He can't come back from that.
Talmon clearly has rocks in his head, but I don't think that the fact that he majored in History has anything to do with it. If he'd majored in Econ, he'd still have rocks in his head.
October 20, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Talmon clearly has rocks in his head, but I don't think that the fact that he majored in History has anything to do with it. If he'd majored in Econ, he'd still have rocks in his head.
Evil-doers beware. He's on the case.
This photo accompanying a news story about the heist at the Louvre is perfection.
October 20, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Evil-doers beware. He's on the case.
To be fair to Altman, whose only occupation seems to consist of producing over hyped press releases, Chat GPT can definitely do his job.
OK, and also, if ChatGPT could ACTUALLY do your job, I might agree. The things is, it can't, and the only people who think it can, are people who don't understand what you do and wouldn't be able to do it themselves if you put a gun to their heads and also think they know everything.
So, Altman.
So, Altman.
So that's where we're at.
October 13, 2025 at 1:49 PM
To be fair to Altman, whose only occupation seems to consist of producing over hyped press releases, Chat GPT can definitely do his job.