Christo Silvia
@christosilvia.bsky.social
Housing 🏘️, transit🚇, walking🚶♂️ and cycling 🚲 advocate in Woburn, MA, USA
Car lite advocate, ebike owner
Historic 🏠 owner, renovation amateur, and marriage enthusiast
Vegetarian
Senior RF Design Eng
The opinions on this account do not represent my employer
Car lite advocate, ebike owner
Historic 🏠 owner, renovation amateur, and marriage enthusiast
Vegetarian
Senior RF Design Eng
The opinions on this account do not represent my employer
Reposted by Christo Silvia
Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is how when a driver does something wrong, the public and media don't smear all drivers as reckless assholes. But when a cyclist — and especially an e-biker — does something wrong, all bicyclists get attacked and blamed.
November 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is how when a driver does something wrong, the public and media don't smear all drivers as reckless assholes. But when a cyclist — and especially an e-biker — does something wrong, all bicyclists get attacked and blamed.
Reposted by Christo Silvia
I think another weird facet to this is if you say "I was driving today & there are so many terrible, dangerous drivers," people tend to be like "ugh, I know" but if you say "I was cycling today & there are so many terrible, dangerous drivers," they furiously disagree & imply it was your own fault.
Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is how when a driver does something wrong, the public and media don't smear all drivers as reckless assholes. But when a cyclist — and especially an e-biker — does something wrong, all bicyclists get attacked and blamed.
December 1, 2025 at 6:23 PM
I think another weird facet to this is if you say "I was driving today & there are so many terrible, dangerous drivers," people tend to be like "ugh, I know" but if you say "I was cycling today & there are so many terrible, dangerous drivers," they furiously disagree & imply it was your own fault.
Reposted by Christo Silvia
Great example of motonormativity
I think another weird facet to this is if you say "I was driving today & there are so many terrible, dangerous drivers," people tend to be like "ugh, I know" but if you say "I was cycling today & there are so many terrible, dangerous drivers," they furiously disagree & imply it was your own fault.
Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is how when a driver does something wrong, the public and media don't smear all drivers as reckless assholes. But when a cyclist — and especially an e-biker — does something wrong, all bicyclists get attacked and blamed.
December 1, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Great example of motonormativity
Reposted by Christo Silvia
one of my hotter takes is that i don’t think RFK, jr. believes in his anti-vax shit in a way that any of us would understand the word “believes”. he understands that flogging it gives him power and notoriety, and that’s all he believes in.
confirmation bias is a hell of a drug, but lizza’s stupid update today characterizes RFK, jr. in exactly the ways i have always suspected him to be, like, with a shocking degree of accuracy
December 1, 2025 at 10:06 PM
one of my hotter takes is that i don’t think RFK, jr. believes in his anti-vax shit in a way that any of us would understand the word “believes”. he understands that flogging it gives him power and notoriety, and that’s all he believes in.
Reposted by Christo Silvia
Whenever I mention AI on here, I am encouraged to note the difference between AI in the form of large language models (LLMs), which everyone hates, and AI in the form of machine learning (ML), which everyone seems to feel is just fine.
Question: is there a clear distinction or is it a spectrum?
Question: is there a clear distinction or is it a spectrum?
December 1, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Whenever I mention AI on here, I am encouraged to note the difference between AI in the form of large language models (LLMs), which everyone hates, and AI in the form of machine learning (ML), which everyone seems to feel is just fine.
Question: is there a clear distinction or is it a spectrum?
Question: is there a clear distinction or is it a spectrum?
Reposted by Christo Silvia
Pretty impressive that through this entire scandal and press blitz, RFK Jr. hasn't lost focus on his life's work of shortening the life expectancy of the average American and endangering the lives of children.
December 1, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Pretty impressive that through this entire scandal and press blitz, RFK Jr. hasn't lost focus on his life's work of shortening the life expectancy of the average American and endangering the lives of children.
Reposted by Christo Silvia
Pete Hegseth should’ve been fired a long time ago
December 1, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Pete Hegseth should’ve been fired a long time ago
Reposted by Christo Silvia
i miss believing, as i did as a grad student and for a few years following, that whitman was over-assigned, over-studied
December 1, 2025 at 8:14 PM
i miss believing, as i did as a grad student and for a few years following, that whitman was over-assigned, over-studied
Reposted by Christo Silvia
we could do worse than give thoreau, emerson, whitman another look - we'd probably all feel better about things, even
i miss believing, as i did as a grad student and for a few years following, that whitman was over-assigned, over-studied
December 1, 2025 at 8:54 PM
we could do worse than give thoreau, emerson, whitman another look - we'd probably all feel better about things, even
Reposted by Christo Silvia
Back in college (class of '92) I was assigned Walden but remembered nothing about it, other than the professor hated him & agreed with the class consensus he was worthless. I reread it & read Cape Cod a year or two ago & loved them. I've still never read Leaves of Grass, yes I'm remedying that.
we could do worse than give thoreau, emerson, whitman another look - we'd probably all feel better about things, even
i miss believing, as i did as a grad student and for a few years following, that whitman was over-assigned, over-studied
December 1, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Back in college (class of '92) I was assigned Walden but remembered nothing about it, other than the professor hated him & agreed with the class consensus he was worthless. I reread it & read Cape Cod a year or two ago & loved them. I've still never read Leaves of Grass, yes I'm remedying that.
Reposted by Christo Silvia
Original sin is Eisenhower bowing to English demand to coup mossadegh even though he’d cast off the English a couple years later with Suez
December 1, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Original sin is Eisenhower bowing to English demand to coup mossadegh even though he’d cast off the English a couple years later with Suez
Reposted by Christo Silvia
A great deal of the mass death we've seen in the Middle East in the past couple years can be directly traced to Trump's decision to end the Iran deal, and before that, to Bush's decision to include Iran in the 'axis of evil'
A Trump I essay particularly relevant in the Trump II era: The second major lost opportunity with Iran of my lifetime (the first I would argue was with George W Bush), a mistake we and the Iranian people are still paying for
The Lost Opportunity in Iran
The assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani by US drone strikes on Friday, the third of January, sent a shockwave across the world. The United States, leading superpower in the world, had mu...
www.liberalcurrents.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:05 PM
A great deal of the mass death we've seen in the Middle East in the past couple years can be directly traced to Trump's decision to end the Iran deal, and before that, to Bush's decision to include Iran in the 'axis of evil'
Reposted by Christo Silvia
i wrote this up for the distinction between "generative" and non-"generative" AI, where "generative" generally embraces LLMs, video, image, music generation.
other technical people may differ, i think the majority opinion is that there's no meaningful difference
www.verysane.ai/p/what-makes...
other technical people may differ, i think the majority opinion is that there's no meaningful difference
www.verysane.ai/p/what-makes...
What Makes AI "Generative"?
To "generate" is to create, either from nothing (The Book of Genesis), or from very different or relatively inactive materials (an electrical generator, generating offspring).
www.verysane.ai
December 1, 2025 at 10:01 PM
i wrote this up for the distinction between "generative" and non-"generative" AI, where "generative" generally embraces LLMs, video, image, music generation.
other technical people may differ, i think the majority opinion is that there's no meaningful difference
www.verysane.ai/p/what-makes...
other technical people may differ, i think the majority opinion is that there's no meaningful difference
www.verysane.ai/p/what-makes...
Reposted by Christo Silvia
"This is not a serious person" is a line I'd like to see Democrats employ more.
Kelly: He runs around on stage talking about lethality and the warrior ethos.. That’s not the message that should be coming from the Secretary of Defense… He runs around on a stage like he’s a 12 year old playing army. It’s embarrassing.
December 1, 2025 at 10:00 PM
"This is not a serious person" is a line I'd like to see Democrats employ more.
Reposted by Christo Silvia
be the bitch doing something yourself that you want to see in the world
there’s a scene in the new documentary where Elizabeth Taylor is talking about the stigma of AIDS and how she got involved in the movement and it’s fucking everything
December 1, 2025 at 8:54 PM
be the bitch doing something yourself that you want to see in the world
Reposted by Christo Silvia
Reposted by Christo Silvia
oh dear chulhu the nineties were 35 years ago
/me: crumbles to dust
/me: crumbles to dust
December 1, 2025 at 12:50 PM
oh dear chulhu the nineties were 35 years ago
/me: crumbles to dust
/me: crumbles to dust
Reposted by Christo Silvia
When I lived in London, I enjoyed telling people that I was from Canada but it was the furthest north I’d ever lived. [I grew up at 44N, and just moved from Boston (42N) to Vancouver (49N). London is at 51N, and Edinburgh and Glasgow are at about 55N — north of Edmonton, south of most of Scotland.]
Your annual reminder that the most revealing difference between Irish and Scottish Gaelic is definitely in the words for December: Mí na Nollag (Month of Christmas) in Ireland, and An Dubhlachd (the Blackness) in Scotland. So once again may I wish you all a lovely Blackness.
December 1, 2025 at 9:44 PM
When I lived in London, I enjoyed telling people that I was from Canada but it was the furthest north I’d ever lived. [I grew up at 44N, and just moved from Boston (42N) to Vancouver (49N). London is at 51N, and Edinburgh and Glasgow are at about 55N — north of Edmonton, south of most of Scotland.]
Reposted by Christo Silvia
Proffsssor Plummm, in the master roksn, with the candlcstrikk
December 1, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Proffsssor Plummm, in the master roksn, with the candlcstrikk
Reposted by Christo Silvia
Producing electricity is about basic economics. The end user doesn't care how the electricity is created but they sure care about what it costs.
The Indian state of Rajasthan produces more solar than any other. It has rejected a 3.2 GW coal power plant, because the bids to build it were more expensive than bundling renewables with batteries.
🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
India’s Desert State Reignites Coal-Fired Power Debate
The competitive cost of batteries is making clean energy a viable alternative to coal in parts of the country.
www.bloomberg.com
December 1, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Producing electricity is about basic economics. The end user doesn't care how the electricity is created but they sure care about what it costs.
Reposted by Christo Silvia
They have a ton of sun down there as it happens.
Dominican Republic brings Caribbean’s largest solar plant online www.pv-magazine.com/2025/12/01/d... - great PV development in the Caribbean - see a comprehensive view on the energy transition in the Caribbean: doi.org/10.1016/j.rs... ; doi.org/10.1049/rpg2...
Dominican Republic brings Caribbean’s largest solar plant online
The Dominican Republic has switched on the 162.6 MW Cotoperí Solar complex, developed by Acciona Energía and local investors. It is the largest PV installation in Central America and the Caribbean.
www.pv-magazine.com
December 1, 2025 at 9:49 PM
They have a ton of sun down there as it happens.
Reposted by Christo Silvia
explaining pathfinder like "it's pepsi for D&D" and making my norwegian friends nod along with approval (norway has one of the highest rates of pepsi consumption in the world)
December 1, 2025 at 5:25 PM
explaining pathfinder like "it's pepsi for D&D" and making my norwegian friends nod along with approval (norway has one of the highest rates of pepsi consumption in the world)
Reposted by Christo Silvia
Look back on the controversial nominations that Trump muscled through. Hegseth, RFK, Patel. Disasters every one.
December 1, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Look back on the controversial nominations that Trump muscled through. Hegseth, RFK, Patel. Disasters every one.
Reposted by Christo Silvia
The proposal included provisions requiring Ukraine to accept “full amnesty for Russians accused of war crimes” as part of a wider settlement framework.
This encompasses people already under ICC investigation or indictment because the clause did not exclude senior officials or specific offenses.
This encompasses people already under ICC investigation or indictment because the clause did not exclude senior officials or specific offenses.
🚨A leaked early draft of a U.S. peace plan under President Donald Trump sought broad amnesty for Russians accused of war crimes, in a way that legal experts say could also cover indicted officials such as Vladimir Putin.
open.substack.com/pub/theintel...
open.substack.com/pub/theintel...
Leaked Trump Russia–Ukraine Peace Draft Required Amnesty for Russians Accused of War Crimes
An early Trump peace draft sought legal amnesty for Russians accused of war crimes, which legal experts say would also cover indicted officials such as Vladimir Putin.
open.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 9:49 PM
The proposal included provisions requiring Ukraine to accept “full amnesty for Russians accused of war crimes” as part of a wider settlement framework.
This encompasses people already under ICC investigation or indictment because the clause did not exclude senior officials or specific offenses.
This encompasses people already under ICC investigation or indictment because the clause did not exclude senior officials or specific offenses.