draglikepull
@draglikepull.bsky.social
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I wonder how much of "doom posting" is untreated/undiagnosed clinical depression. Because if you've ever dealt with depression, either in yourself or in someone close to you, the way that doom posters talk often sounds exactly like the way someone in the depths of a depressive episode talks.
February 5, 2026 at 2:04 PM
I wonder how much of "doom posting" is untreated/undiagnosed clinical depression. Because if you've ever dealt with depression, either in yourself or in someone close to you, the way that doom posters talk often sounds exactly like the way someone in the depths of a depressive episode talks.
I know I am preaching to the choir here but statistical models are very much *not* unbiased. They are, in fact, excellent at reproducing biases at scale.
Canada did a consultation on a new national AI strategy, formed an expert task force to write 32 reports, then used AI to analyze the responses & reports. The result is a summary that strings together 100s of vague action items & flattens nuance and policy trade-offs into false consensus
February 5, 2026 at 1:39 AM
I know I am preaching to the choir here but statistical models are very much *not* unbiased. They are, in fact, excellent at reproducing biases at scale.
Wait, what?
"[Toronto police] officers are accused of trafficking, leaking addresses to hitmen, and leaking police officer addresses, the sources said."
"[Toronto police] officers are accused of trafficking, leaking addresses to hitmen, and leaking police officer addresses, the sources said."
9 Toronto police officers facing charges related to tow-truck violence: source | CBC News
Nine Toronto police officers are facing charges related to violent incidents involving tow trucks and operators across the Greater Toronto Area, multiple sources tell CBC News.
www.cbc.ca
February 5, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Wait, what?
"[Toronto police] officers are accused of trafficking, leaking addresses to hitmen, and leaking police officer addresses, the sources said."
"[Toronto police] officers are accused of trafficking, leaking addresses to hitmen, and leaking police officer addresses, the sources said."
Every time there's bad news about journalism, a lot of folks propose that one solution is letting people pay per article, and I very much understand the appeal of that idea, but I don't think the economics add up, which is why no one's done it.
February 4, 2026 at 8:23 PM
Every time there's bad news about journalism, a lot of folks propose that one solution is letting people pay per article, and I very much understand the appeal of that idea, but I don't think the economics add up, which is why no one's done it.
Reposted by draglikepull
Oh hey. It's me. I'm back. I wanted to talk to all the devs who took the war chest from their popular games (and YouTube careers!) and turned it into a publishing studio to find out what they're doing differently and if its working out for them.
Turns out...yeah seems like its going good!
Turns out...yeah seems like its going good!
Meet the unconventional publishers trying to unfuck the games industry: aftermath.site/indie-game-pub...
February 4, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Oh hey. It's me. I'm back. I wanted to talk to all the devs who took the war chest from their popular games (and YouTube careers!) and turned it into a publishing studio to find out what they're doing differently and if its working out for them.
Turns out...yeah seems like its going good!
Turns out...yeah seems like its going good!
Also true of musicians. Too many people view music (and news) as a thing that magically shows up on their computer, and somebody somewhere should probably pay for it I guess, but not me.
journalists are workers who deserve to be paid fairly for our labor and I think that far too few consumers of media recognize or even care about this fact
February 4, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Also true of musicians. Too many people view music (and news) as a thing that magically shows up on their computer, and somebody somewhere should probably pay for it I guess, but not me.
Reposted by draglikepull
journalists are workers who deserve to be paid fairly for our labor and I think that far too few consumers of media recognize or even care about this fact
February 4, 2026 at 5:20 PM
journalists are workers who deserve to be paid fairly for our labor and I think that far too few consumers of media recognize or even care about this fact
So it turns out I was wrong about this. There actually is a pretty big movement in the UK to move to proportional representation. PR polls very well in the UK, Labour's party conference has voted to endorse it, as have a majority of their MPs. But the party leadership doesn't want to do it.
February 4, 2026 at 4:00 PM
So it turns out I was wrong about this. There actually is a pretty big movement in the UK to move to proportional representation. PR polls very well in the UK, Labour's party conference has voted to endorse it, as have a majority of their MPs. But the party leadership doesn't want to do it.
Reposted by draglikepull
A lot of people cannot just start a paid newsletter or become freelancers to sustain their careers. The sports, metro, and international desks did work that requires *team* resources, like legal checks, documents, access to archives, and long-term beat experience.
February 4, 2026 at 2:42 PM
A lot of people cannot just start a paid newsletter or become freelancers to sustain their careers. The sports, metro, and international desks did work that requires *team* resources, like legal checks, documents, access to archives, and long-term beat experience.
Reposted by draglikepull
Remember last year when the absolute incompetents that run the Washington Post set a completely unrealistic goal of 200 million paid subscribers? Who wants to wager on whether they lost their jobs today? www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/b...
February 4, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Remember last year when the absolute incompetents that run the Washington Post set a completely unrealistic goal of 200 million paid subscribers? Who wants to wager on whether they lost their jobs today? www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/b...
Really sad what Bezos is doing to the Washington Post. At this rate you wonder if there's going to be a newspaper at all 5 or 10 years from now. Who even is their target audience at this point?
February 4, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Really sad what Bezos is doing to the Washington Post. At this rate you wonder if there's going to be a newspaper at all 5 or 10 years from now. Who even is their target audience at this point?
Good thread from George. Like many leftists who went to college around the turn of the century I was once a keen reader of Chomsky, but for all the reasons laid out here I don't think anyone who is committed to progressive ideals should view Chomsky as an ally.
1. Noam Chomsky's response to the first tranche of Epstein docs - arrogant, high-handed, obfuscatory and, we now know, dishonest - reminded me of something: his response to my questions about genocide denial, 15 years ago. 🧵
www.monbiot.com/2012/05/21/2...
www.monbiot.com/2012/05/21/2...
Correspondence with Noam Chomsky
This is supporting material for the article See No Evil.
www.monbiot.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Good thread from George. Like many leftists who went to college around the turn of the century I was once a keen reader of Chomsky, but for all the reasons laid out here I don't think anyone who is committed to progressive ideals should view Chomsky as an ally.
Reposted by draglikepull
Floored by this story. A man wrote a pollite email to a federal prosecutor objecting to the deportation of an Afghan seeking asylum. DHS responded with an administrative warrant to get the man's info from Google, then visited his home to intimidate him.
DHS Hunts Down 67-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Who Criticized Them in Email
The Department of Homeland Security is using a little-known tool to go after its critics.
newrepublic.com
February 3, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Floored by this story. A man wrote a pollite email to a federal prosecutor objecting to the deportation of an Afghan seeking asylum. DHS responded with an administrative warrant to get the man's info from Google, then visited his home to intimidate him.
One of the best innovations in video games in recent years: The demo save file that lets you pick up where the demo ends if you buy the full game.
February 3, 2026 at 10:39 PM
One of the best innovations in video games in recent years: The demo save file that lets you pick up where the demo ends if you buy the full game.
I don't know anything about the NBA salary cap but every NBA trade is something like "The LA Lakers are acquiring John Doe for fourteen first round picks. They will be invoking the Tiberius Clause in order to avoid triggering Proxima Ceiling penalties."
February 3, 2026 at 8:34 PM
I don't know anything about the NBA salary cap but every NBA trade is something like "The LA Lakers are acquiring John Doe for fourteen first round picks. They will be invoking the Tiberius Clause in order to avoid triggering Proxima Ceiling penalties."
There are 194,999 bands registered in the Encyclopaedia Metallum, and somehow not one of them is called Render Unto Caesar. So, someone should get on that. Great band name just sitting there, unused.
February 3, 2026 at 7:55 PM
There are 194,999 bands registered in the Encyclopaedia Metallum, and somehow not one of them is called Render Unto Caesar. So, someone should get on that. Great band name just sitting there, unused.
The security risks of agentic AI seem pretty substantial.
From magic to malware: How OpenClaw's agent skills become an attack surface | 1Password
The same capabilities that make OpenClaw a groundbreaking tool also make it an urgent security risk. This blog contains confirmed examples of agent skills being used as malware vectors, and advice on ...
1password.com
February 3, 2026 at 6:14 PM
The security risks of agentic AI seem pretty substantial.
But what are we supposed to do with the medians and modes of production?
February 3, 2026 at 5:51 PM
But what are we supposed to do with the medians and modes of production?
I'm curious/confused by the $570K price cap in HRM. It's not *impossible* to find a house for that price, but the vast majority of listings under $600K are condos.
New First-Time Homebuyers Program Reduces Minimum Down Payment news.novascotia.ca/en/2026/02/0...
New First-Time Homebuyers Program Reduces Minimum Down Payment
news.novascotia.ca
February 3, 2026 at 4:21 PM
I'm curious/confused by the $570K price cap in HRM. It's not *impossible* to find a house for that price, but the vast majority of listings under $600K are condos.
I think one illuminating thing that has become increasingly apparent in recent years is how many rich dudes are delusional cranks. These are not evil masterminds, they're garden-variety conspiracy theorists who happen to have a lot of money.
I read thousands of pages of Epstein files this weekend trying to understand what he wanted out of his meeting with 4chan's Christopher Poole. Here's everything we know about Epstein's plans to dismantle the internet and, eventually, democracy.
www.garbageday.email/p/here-s-how...
www.garbageday.email/p/here-s-how...
February 3, 2026 at 3:04 PM
I think one illuminating thing that has become increasingly apparent in recent years is how many rich dudes are delusional cranks. These are not evil masterminds, they're garden-variety conspiracy theorists who happen to have a lot of money.
Reposted by draglikepull
New: Together with colleagues I’ve been testing Grok.
The chatbot still produces sexualized images —
even when told the subjects don’t consent.
even when told the photos will be used for public humiliation.
even when told the subjects are survivors of abuse.
www.reuters.com/business/des...
The chatbot still produces sexualized images —
even when told the subjects don’t consent.
even when told the photos will be used for public humiliation.
even when told the subjects are survivors of abuse.
www.reuters.com/business/des...
Exclusive: Despite new curbs, Elon Musk’s Grok at times produces sexualized images - even when told subjects didn’t consent
Elon Musk’s flagship artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, continues to generate sexualized images of people even when users explicitly warn that the subjects do not consent, Reuters has found.
www.reuters.com
February 3, 2026 at 11:37 AM
New: Together with colleagues I’ve been testing Grok.
The chatbot still produces sexualized images —
even when told the subjects don’t consent.
even when told the photos will be used for public humiliation.
even when told the subjects are survivors of abuse.
www.reuters.com/business/des...
The chatbot still produces sexualized images —
even when told the subjects don’t consent.
even when told the photos will be used for public humiliation.
even when told the subjects are survivors of abuse.
www.reuters.com/business/des...
Reposted by draglikepull
The French offices of Elon Musk's X have been raided by the Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit, as part of an investigation into suspected offences including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child pornography.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Musk's X office in France raided by Paris prosecutor
The raid, involving cyber-crime officers, represents a dramatic escalation of an investigation that began in January 2025.
www.bbc.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:25 PM
The French offices of Elon Musk's X have been raided by the Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit, as part of an investigation into suspected offences including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child pornography.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
I doubt the guy quoted in this article actually cares, but people *have* been moving to the cities outside the GTA. Why do you think it costs $600K for a detached home in Guelph or $725K in Cambridge?
"Maybe the city's full" says the man living in a 2.7 million dollar house on Palmerston, while sipping $170 scotch after defeating a multiplex proposal across the street.
www.pressreader.com/canada/toron...
www.pressreader.com/canada/toron...
February 2, 2026 at 9:00 PM
I doubt the guy quoted in this article actually cares, but people *have* been moving to the cities outside the GTA. Why do you think it costs $600K for a detached home in Guelph or $725K in Cambridge?
Reviews of the Dragon Quest 7 remake are saying it's around 40 hours to complete, so it looks like this might be the first Dragon Quest game I actually see the ending of. Most of the DQ games are a lot of fun but just too long.
February 2, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Reviews of the Dragon Quest 7 remake are saying it's around 40 hours to complete, so it looks like this might be the first Dragon Quest game I actually see the ending of. Most of the DQ games are a lot of fun but just too long.
The usage of CE/BCE instead of AD/BC in describing dates is so weird to me. If you think our method of counting time should be free of religious references, do not look up where the names of the months or days come from.
February 2, 2026 at 2:36 PM
The usage of CE/BCE instead of AD/BC in describing dates is so weird to me. If you think our method of counting time should be free of religious references, do not look up where the names of the months or days come from.