Eric M. Murphy
@ericmmurphy.bsky.social
Birds, Math, Literature, & Airpower. BoD Member @Strategy_Bridge, #Strategy, #Development, #NationalSecurity, #MilitaryAffairs. Repost is not endorsement. Nothing interesting to say.
Pinned
Eric M. Murphy
@ericmmurphy.bsky.social
· Aug 19
I’m led back to this: “Of all sins, the greatest is certainty.”
And, for the record and to head off the inevitable cleverness from the peanut gallery, of this and other things I am not certain.
And, for the record and to head off the inevitable cleverness from the peanut gallery, of this and other things I am not certain.
I don’t often have really hot takes, but here’s a candidate:
The playing of national anthems at sporting events not involving national teams (e.g., Olympics or World Cup) is profoundly stupid, jingoistic, performative nonsense.
Just. Fucking. Stop.
The playing of national anthems at sporting events not involving national teams (e.g., Olympics or World Cup) is profoundly stupid, jingoistic, performative nonsense.
Just. Fucking. Stop.
a man is holding a stop sign on a highway
ALT: a man is holding a stop sign on a highway
media.tenor.com
December 3, 2025 at 12:31 AM
I don’t often have really hot takes, but here’s a candidate:
The playing of national anthems at sporting events not involving national teams (e.g., Olympics or World Cup) is profoundly stupid, jingoistic, performative nonsense.
Just. Fucking. Stop.
The playing of national anthems at sporting events not involving national teams (e.g., Olympics or World Cup) is profoundly stupid, jingoistic, performative nonsense.
Just. Fucking. Stop.
I just realized...I've been at this for over a year. I wonder what I'll put on the shelf in 2026? Maybe some spice from home--fiction, poetry, math, etc.? Maybe more conflict-specific stuff? Maybe more regional studies or domain-specific content?
It's funny how much fun I have with this each month.
It's funny how much fun I have with this each month.
I think I’ll change the titles on this little shelf each month.
Here are a few IR favorites from my shelves at work.
Here are a few IR favorites from my shelves at work.
December 2, 2025 at 1:29 AM
I just realized...I've been at this for over a year. I wonder what I'll put on the shelf in 2026? Maybe some spice from home--fiction, poetry, math, etc.? Maybe more conflict-specific stuff? Maybe more regional studies or domain-specific content?
It's funny how much fun I have with this each month.
It's funny how much fun I have with this each month.
Reposted by Eric M. Murphy
Realists: The Melian Dialogue demonstrates the logic of realism.
December 1, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Realists: The Melian Dialogue demonstrates the logic of realism.
I get the feeling that people who should have read Thucydides did not, so they summarize him with one line from the middle of the book, and know nothing about the war and what Athens did to itself.
Of course these are the clowns “reforming” PME.
Of course these are the clowns “reforming” PME.
Of Course Jim Carrey GIF
ALT: Of Course Jim Carrey GIF
media.tenor.com
December 1, 2025 at 11:43 AM
I get the feeling that people who should have read Thucydides did not, so they summarize him with one line from the middle of the book, and know nothing about the war and what Athens did to itself.
Of course these are the clowns “reforming” PME.
Of course these are the clowns “reforming” PME.
This. It’s possible to be skeptical and critical without being a whack jobbing illiterate asshat bent on murdering millions.
Science is about skepticism at some level, but that’s not an “I believe what I believe…cuz Google” get-out-of-jail-free card.
RFK Jr: Stupid, illiterate, AND mendacious.
Science is about skepticism at some level, but that’s not an “I believe what I believe…cuz Google” get-out-of-jail-free card.
RFK Jr: Stupid, illiterate, AND mendacious.
I really wish we'd stop calling them climate "skeptics" or "vaccine skeptics", if you jump off a cliff we don't call you a "gravity skeptic"
November 25, 2025 at 10:57 PM
This. It’s possible to be skeptical and critical without being a whack jobbing illiterate asshat bent on murdering millions.
Science is about skepticism at some level, but that’s not an “I believe what I believe…cuz Google” get-out-of-jail-free card.
RFK Jr: Stupid, illiterate, AND mendacious.
Science is about skepticism at some level, but that’s not an “I believe what I believe…cuz Google” get-out-of-jail-free card.
RFK Jr: Stupid, illiterate, AND mendacious.
Another rollicking Friday night.
November 22, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Another rollicking Friday night.
Remiss have I been, as ever, I’m making sure the people for whom I care know that I do. I think maybe I’m just a bad person.
@queenofthinair.bsky.social & @tyrellmayfield.bsky.social…
“Splash, over.”
#GreatPostcardWar2025 #GPW25
@queenofthinair.bsky.social & @tyrellmayfield.bsky.social…
“Splash, over.”
#GreatPostcardWar2025 #GPW25
November 20, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Remiss have I been, as ever, I’m making sure the people for whom I care know that I do. I think maybe I’m just a bad person.
@queenofthinair.bsky.social & @tyrellmayfield.bsky.social…
“Splash, over.”
#GreatPostcardWar2025 #GPW25
@queenofthinair.bsky.social & @tyrellmayfield.bsky.social…
“Splash, over.”
#GreatPostcardWar2025 #GPW25
This episode is “old,” but it is lovely…and it hits two of my hobbies—birds and board games. If it had included beer, battlefields, math, and poetry…I might have exploded.
BL: Wingspan is a delightful game.
BL: Wingspan is a delightful game.
09-47: Birds and Board Games with Elizabeth Hargrave
Podcast Episode · The American Birding Podcast · 11/20/2025 · 30m
podcasts.apple.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:17 PM
This episode is “old,” but it is lovely…and it hits two of my hobbies—birds and board games. If it had included beer, battlefields, math, and poetry…I might have exploded.
BL: Wingspan is a delightful game.
BL: Wingspan is a delightful game.
A solid 10 Nov deep cut.
I have eaten
the sailors
that were in
the ore ship
and which
you were probably
saving
for Lake Huron
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
the sailors
that were in
the ore ship
and which
you were probably
saving
for Lake Huron
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
November 11, 2025 at 2:44 AM
A solid 10 Nov deep cut.
Welcome to the DoD, where we SYSTEMATICALLY underinvest in IT (in ways that would get a real CIO in the real world fired).
These chipmunks pushed a mandatory update, and I’m now LITERALLY mission fail, when I’m the shutdown single point of failure for a fuck load, with no tech support.
FUUUUUUCK!
These chipmunks pushed a mandatory update, and I’m now LITERALLY mission fail, when I’m the shutdown single point of failure for a fuck load, with no tech support.
FUUUUUUCK!
a man in a suit and tie points at the camera with the words where 's my gun
ALT: a man in a suit and tie points at the camera with the words where 's my gun
media.tenor.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Welcome to the DoD, where we SYSTEMATICALLY underinvest in IT (in ways that would get a real CIO in the real world fired).
These chipmunks pushed a mandatory update, and I’m now LITERALLY mission fail, when I’m the shutdown single point of failure for a fuck load, with no tech support.
FUUUUUUCK!
These chipmunks pushed a mandatory update, and I’m now LITERALLY mission fail, when I’m the shutdown single point of failure for a fuck load, with no tech support.
FUUUUUUCK!
Right now, I want just one thing in life. I want use of the phrase “laser focused” to be made a felony.
a bald man is sitting at a desk giving a peace sign and the word laser is behind him .
ALT: a bald man is sitting at a desk giving a peace sign and the word laser is behind him .
media.tenor.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Right now, I want just one thing in life. I want use of the phrase “laser focused” to be made a felony.
“Can you be a true bird-watcher if your main source of joy is not, you know, the birds?…The audience of Listers is made to understand the tragedy of many of these men and women who look and act like birders but whose primary love is no longer the birds themselves…”
Part of why I don’t keep a list.
Part of why I don’t keep a list.
The Unexpected Profundity of a Movie About Bird-Watching
Listers understands how technology can corrupt our leisure activities.
www.theatlantic.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:53 AM
“Can you be a true bird-watcher if your main source of joy is not, you know, the birds?…The audience of Listers is made to understand the tragedy of many of these men and women who look and act like birders but whose primary love is no longer the birds themselves…”
Part of why I don’t keep a list.
Part of why I don’t keep a list.
Sunday night is for football and “Carcassonne of the South Seas.”
November 2, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Sunday night is for football and “Carcassonne of the South Seas.”
I only watched 4 of the 5 @mls.bsky.social playoff games today, but in those the @proreferees.bsky.social representatives were universally not up to the challenge.
THEY. ARE. NOT. GOOD. ENOUGH.
Their incompetence and inconsistency leads to problems they’re not competent to manage.
THEY. ARE. NOT. GOOD. ENOUGH.
Their incompetence and inconsistency leads to problems they’re not competent to manage.
November 2, 2025 at 4:22 AM
I only watched 4 of the 5 @mls.bsky.social playoff games today, but in those the @proreferees.bsky.social representatives were universally not up to the challenge.
THEY. ARE. NOT. GOOD. ENOUGH.
Their incompetence and inconsistency leads to problems they’re not competent to manage.
THEY. ARE. NOT. GOOD. ENOUGH.
Their incompetence and inconsistency leads to problems they’re not competent to manage.
Fun. It can’t be worse than this.
a picture of a woman with the words " you 're off too ... the pit of despair ! "
ALT: a picture of a woman with the words " you 're off too ... the pit of despair ! "
media.tenor.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Fun. It can’t be worse than this.
What do you do when you leave work at 2130 (after 14 hrs), can’t go home, have to “camp out” for work tomorrow (so you can do it again), and your brain is fried?
Tonight, I watch old episodes of @wilwheaton.net’s TableTop.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=DpsQ...
Tonight, I watch old episodes of @wilwheaton.net’s TableTop.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=DpsQ...
Alhambra: Dodger Leigh, Ashley Johnson, and Shane Nickerson join Wil on TableTop, episode 17
YouTube video by Geek & Sundry
m.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:02 AM
What do you do when you leave work at 2130 (after 14 hrs), can’t go home, have to “camp out” for work tomorrow (so you can do it again), and your brain is fried?
Tonight, I watch old episodes of @wilwheaton.net’s TableTop.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=DpsQ...
Tonight, I watch old episodes of @wilwheaton.net’s TableTop.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=DpsQ...
I love @99pi.org’s podcast and @romanmars.bsky.social, and I’m glad they’re telling this story, but it reminds me of Stephen Bloom’s “Postville.”
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9...
October 24, 2025 at 8:55 PM
I love @99pi.org’s podcast and @romanmars.bsky.social, and I’m glad they’re telling this story, but it reminds me of Stephen Bloom’s “Postville.”
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9...
The thing I struggle with, the thing with which I’ve struggled my entire life, is whether I matter.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPGB...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPGB...
Believe - Ted Lasso | Powerful Motivational Speech
YouTube video by Zen 禅
m.youtube.com
October 24, 2025 at 4:51 AM
The thing I struggle with, the thing with which I’ve struggled my entire life, is whether I matter.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPGB...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPGB...
I haven’t done the math to know if this is definitionally hyperinflation…but it isn’t good.
Charts show Argentine peso to US dollar exchange rate.
Fiscal and monetary policy so janky it outruns the 2025 US dollar this way is an epic self-own.
Charts show Argentine peso to US dollar exchange rate.
Fiscal and monetary policy so janky it outruns the 2025 US dollar this way is an epic self-own.
October 22, 2025 at 3:21 AM
I haven’t done the math to know if this is definitionally hyperinflation…but it isn’t good.
Charts show Argentine peso to US dollar exchange rate.
Fiscal and monetary policy so janky it outruns the 2025 US dollar this way is an epic self-own.
Charts show Argentine peso to US dollar exchange rate.
Fiscal and monetary policy so janky it outruns the 2025 US dollar this way is an epic self-own.
Ok…I’m stealing this thread and sharing (with attribution) with every student and advisor where I teach.
How to write a thesis statement in just 7 easy steps?
The SECRET to a strong dissertation.
Don't announce instead of argue.
Don't observe instead of claim.
Don't ramble instead of focus.
A thesis statement is the central claim of an article.
The SECRET to a strong dissertation.
Don't announce instead of argue.
Don't observe instead of claim.
Don't ramble instead of focus.
A thesis statement is the central claim of an article.
October 22, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Ok…I’m stealing this thread and sharing (with attribution) with every student and advisor where I teach.
Look at these clowns, celebrating past glory. Since @dcunitedofficial.bsky.social let Olsen go in 2020, here are some other numbers:
5x seasons
4x head coaches
4x GMs
2x wooden spoons
0x playoff appearances
~120 DIFFERENT players
The GM, head coach, and players are not the problem. #SellTheTeam
5x seasons
4x head coaches
4x GMs
2x wooden spoons
0x playoff appearances
~120 DIFFERENT players
The GM, head coach, and players are not the problem. #SellTheTeam
October 19, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Look at these clowns, celebrating past glory. Since @dcunitedofficial.bsky.social let Olsen go in 2020, here are some other numbers:
5x seasons
4x head coaches
4x GMs
2x wooden spoons
0x playoff appearances
~120 DIFFERENT players
The GM, head coach, and players are not the problem. #SellTheTeam
5x seasons
4x head coaches
4x GMs
2x wooden spoons
0x playoff appearances
~120 DIFFERENT players
The GM, head coach, and players are not the problem. #SellTheTeam
Looking forward to cracking open this new arrival from @iantb.bsky.social.
October 18, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Looking forward to cracking open this new arrival from @iantb.bsky.social.
“What Would I Do Without This World Faceless Incurious”
Samuel Beckett
www.best-poems.net/samuel_becke...
Samuel Beckett
www.best-poems.net/samuel_becke...
October 15, 2025 at 10:34 AM
“What Would I Do Without This World Faceless Incurious”
Samuel Beckett
www.best-poems.net/samuel_becke...
Samuel Beckett
www.best-poems.net/samuel_becke...
A thought for journalists (looking at you, @nytimes.com):
If one source says it’s raining, & another source says it isn’t, you don’t report both uncritically. YOU GO THE HELL OUTSIDE & report how the assertions correspond to the evidence.
You’re reporters for fuck sake, not stenographers!
If one source says it’s raining, & another source says it isn’t, you don’t report both uncritically. YOU GO THE HELL OUTSIDE & report how the assertions correspond to the evidence.
You’re reporters for fuck sake, not stenographers!
a man with an umbrella is walking through a puddle
ALT: a man with an umbrella is walking through a puddle
media.tenor.com
October 12, 2025 at 5:01 PM
A thought for journalists (looking at you, @nytimes.com):
If one source says it’s raining, & another source says it isn’t, you don’t report both uncritically. YOU GO THE HELL OUTSIDE & report how the assertions correspond to the evidence.
You’re reporters for fuck sake, not stenographers!
If one source says it’s raining, & another source says it isn’t, you don’t report both uncritically. YOU GO THE HELL OUTSIDE & report how the assertions correspond to the evidence.
You’re reporters for fuck sake, not stenographers!