Garrett Wollman
@gwollman.bsky.social
@garrett_wollman from the Bad Place
@[email protected]
I make the network go, and stop, and go again at @csail.mit.edu. Usually located somewhere in eastern Massachusetts.
Not actually a colander full of beans. He/him (or they/them).
@[email protected]
I make the network go, and stop, and go again at @csail.mit.edu. Usually located somewhere in eastern Massachusetts.
Not actually a colander full of beans. He/him (or they/them).
Pinned
Ok, with only one #gpfigure event left to go in the season, time to remind folks of my "All ISU figure" feed tracking all of the major competitions from JGP to Euros to Worlds. bsky.app/profile/did:...
Fucking idiots at BofA are now forcing me into the mobile skin on my desktop.
November 29, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Fucking idiots at BofA are now forcing me into the mobile skin on my desktop.
No idea what this bus driver has on the radio but in the space of 25 minutes it's gone from twangy country to early 80s soft AC to Christmas music.
November 29, 2025 at 12:01 AM
No idea what this bus driver has on the radio but in the space of 25 minutes it's gone from twangy country to early 80s soft AC to Christmas music.
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
And I don't know if the answer is: everyone is too traumatized to do work and we need to reinvent society. Or if it's more like: generations are losing their cognitive abilities and willpower due to destructive technologies. Or: we all have post-viral brain damage. Or: all of the above.
November 28, 2025 at 11:34 PM
And I don't know if the answer is: everyone is too traumatized to do work and we need to reinvent society. Or if it's more like: generations are losing their cognitive abilities and willpower due to destructive technologies. Or: we all have post-viral brain damage. Or: all of the above.
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
And I swear, once again, this is not dunking on kids. We are seeing this at all levels--even grad students. AI + social media has had a profound impact on how we think and process our world, and we can't stop to reflect on it, because billionaires keep hurling addictive tech at us.
November 28, 2025 at 10:34 PM
And I swear, once again, this is not dunking on kids. We are seeing this at all levels--even grad students. AI + social media has had a profound impact on how we think and process our world, and we can't stop to reflect on it, because billionaires keep hurling addictive tech at us.
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 28, 2025 at 10:15 PM
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
Gallup Nov. Trump approval: 36% approve, 60% disapprove, a 5 point drop in approval and 6 point increase in disapproval since Oct. Several points below my approval trend across all polls which puts approval at 40.5%, disapproval at 56.1%
Here is Gallup approval history since FDR
Here is Gallup approval history since FDR
November 28, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Gallup Nov. Trump approval: 36% approve, 60% disapprove, a 5 point drop in approval and 6 point increase in disapproval since Oct. Several points below my approval trend across all polls which puts approval at 40.5%, disapproval at 56.1%
Here is Gallup approval history since FDR
Here is Gallup approval history since FDR
For some reason, the 18:30 Logan Express to Framingham fell off the Massport arrival time tracker. They were making me think I had to wait another half hour.
November 28, 2025 at 11:35 PM
For some reason, the 18:30 Logan Express to Framingham fell off the Massport arrival time tracker. They were making me think I had to wait another half hour.
Uneventful departure on DAL2595 from KATL rwy 27R en route to KBOS. Estimated flying time 2:02 which will barely make a dent in my podcast backlog.
November 28, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Uneventful departure on DAL2595 from KATL rwy 27R en route to KBOS. Estimated flying time 2:02 which will barely make a dent in my podcast backlog.
Sometimes just writing the post is enough to figure out the answer to the question and hitting the "Post" button is unnecessary.
Today I was wondering about the power outlets on an A321. I suppose the assumption is that anything you plug in on a plane will be a low-power auto-ranging SMPS.
Today I was wondering about the power outlets on an A321. I suppose the assumption is that anything you plug in on a plane will be a low-power auto-ranging SMPS.
November 28, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Sometimes just writing the post is enough to figure out the answer to the question and hitting the "Post" button is unnecessary.
Today I was wondering about the power outlets on an A321. I suppose the assumption is that anything you plug in on a plane will be a low-power auto-ranging SMPS.
Today I was wondering about the power outlets on an A321. I suppose the assumption is that anything you plug in on a plane will be a low-power auto-ranging SMPS.
Looks like departures to the west this afternoon at KATL. Soon to include me on the trip back home. The Friday after Thanksgiving is always the cheapest and least hassle day to return home. (Sshh, don't tell anyone!)
November 28, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Looks like departures to the west this afternoon at KATL. Soon to include me on the trip back home. The Friday after Thanksgiving is always the cheapest and least hassle day to return home. (Sshh, don't tell anyone!)
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
An interesting article illustrating why we go to the effort to make extra narrowband lasers
…AND a cautionary tale about using LLMs to write alt text!
…AND a cautionary tale about using LLMs to write alt text!
November 28, 2025 at 4:50 PM
An interesting article illustrating why we go to the effort to make extra narrowband lasers
…AND a cautionary tale about using LLMs to write alt text!
…AND a cautionary tale about using LLMs to write alt text!
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
AI generated content of any kind undermines the credibility of whatever is being communicated
I don’t know if anyone else notices or cares, but when I see a presentation in which the speaker uses obviously generated-AI images to illustrate their slides, it makes me immediately less confident in whatever other content they’re presenting.
November 28, 2025 at 5:48 PM
AI generated content of any kind undermines the credibility of whatever is being communicated
This evening, after my mother went to bed, my father (79) took me aside to talk. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as I feared, but he's declining, noticeably even to him. His line ends with me, and he wanted me to know his wishes for the inevitable.
November 28, 2025 at 5:35 AM
This evening, after my mother went to bed, my father (79) took me aside to talk. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as I feared, but he's declining, noticeably even to him. His line ends with me, and he wanted me to know his wishes for the inevitable.
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
"In general, furries show no significant deviations from the general population in terms of mental health. On scores of well-being, however, they tend to score higher."
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) The Kids are Alright: Furry Well-Being and Mental Health
PDF | We begin this chapter with a short introduction to well-being and how to measure it. Next, we compare furries to other groups on measures of... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on...
www.researchgate.net
November 28, 2025 at 5:16 AM
"In general, furries show no significant deviations from the general population in terms of mental health. On scores of well-being, however, they tend to score higher."
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
so our government made a big deal about banning speed cameras but one city left theirs running to see what difference the ban would make and you are not going to believe this
November 28, 2025 at 12:56 AM
so our government made a big deal about banning speed cameras but one city left theirs running to see what difference the ban would make and you are not going to believe this
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
Soviet stuff. Chinese cultural revolution stuff. Here in the USA, with media shrugging and grinning.
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
DOGE was not a money-saving effort. It was an effort to chase down and prove right-wing conspiracy theories. They went after USAID to prove conspiracy theories about foreign aid. Then they went after SSA to, again, pursue conspiracy theories about Dems paying "illegals" to vote. 1/2
November 27, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Soviet stuff. Chinese cultural revolution stuff. Here in the USA, with media shrugging and grinning.
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
This is who we're deporting while we're importing sex traffickers like the Tate brothers and white supremacists who are nostalgic for Apartheid.
I feel much safer today knowing that we deported a Babson College student back to a country where she hasn't lived since childhood.
She wasn't even flying internationally. She was flying to Texas.
She wasn't even flying internationally. She was flying to Texas.
A Babson College student wanted to surprise her family for Thanksgiving. She was deported instead. - The Boston Globe
Any Lucia Lopez Belloza was at Logan to catch a flight to Texas when immigration authorities detained her as she was about to board the plane.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:58 PM
This is who we're deporting while we're importing sex traffickers like the Tate brothers and white supremacists who are nostalgic for Apartheid.
I didn't take a picture of Thanksgiving dinner (which was four hours ago anyway). We had a green bean salad, a sausage dressing (made with croissants of all things), garlic mashed potatoes, and a classic Cook's Illustrated gravy. (The bird was also an old CI recipe but we didn't do their stuffing.)
November 28, 2025 at 2:32 AM
I didn't take a picture of Thanksgiving dinner (which was four hours ago anyway). We had a green bean salad, a sausage dressing (made with croissants of all things), garlic mashed potatoes, and a classic Cook's Illustrated gravy. (The bird was also an old CI recipe but we didn't do their stuffing.)
I don't think I've seen five musicals. I probably have seen five concerts but it's not necessarily easy to remember.
November 27, 2025 at 11:52 PM
I don't think I've seen five musicals. I probably have seen five concerts but it's not necessarily easy to remember.
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
Sharing this "scientific paper" with Bsky because misery loves company: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 27, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Sharing this "scientific paper" with Bsky because misery loves company: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
Opposition to Garadasil was always predicated on the notion that sex should always be unhealthy, dangerous, and possibly fatal. Eliminating the risks of sex eliminates the fear-based incentives that enforce a conservative point of view.
A *huge* vaccine victory. I've been writing on this for years; Australia has seen remarkable progress in cervical cancer prevention with the HPV vaccine. I love seeing science triumph like this.
Australia recorded ZERO cases of cervical cancer in women under 25 for the first time since they started tracking the cancer in the 80s.
This is the power of vaccines.
The HPV vaccine is extremely effective at preventing cancer.
Viruses can be oncogenic. Get your vaccines and protect yourself!
This is the power of vaccines.
The HPV vaccine is extremely effective at preventing cancer.
Viruses can be oncogenic. Get your vaccines and protect yourself!
November 27, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Opposition to Garadasil was always predicated on the notion that sex should always be unhealthy, dangerous, and possibly fatal. Eliminating the risks of sex eliminates the fear-based incentives that enforce a conservative point of view.
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
"You have a professional and personal obligation to ask: what do you know, what should you know, and how big the gap is between them before embarking on creating an IT system."
"The opaqueness of AI-driven systems makes it harder to challenge them."
spectrum.ieee.org/it-managemen...
"The opaqueness of AI-driven systems makes it harder to challenge them."
spectrum.ieee.org/it-managemen...
Trillions Spent and Big Software Projects Are Still Failing
Why do software failures persist despite soaring IT budgets? Dive into the complexities that keep success elusive.
spectrum.ieee.org
November 26, 2025 at 8:05 PM
"You have a professional and personal obligation to ask: what do you know, what should you know, and how big the gap is between them before embarking on creating an IT system."
"The opaqueness of AI-driven systems makes it harder to challenge them."
spectrum.ieee.org/it-managemen...
"The opaqueness of AI-driven systems makes it harder to challenge them."
spectrum.ieee.org/it-managemen...
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
AND supporting your local library is super important! If you actually DO want books to be available to everyone, the library *already exists* and is staffed by the people who are deep in the trenches of fighting censorship! Supporting the library is doing actual good for your community!
TAPS SCREEN
For like the zillionth time: Libraries are FREE for you, but WE still get compensated for our work!!
For like the zillionth time: Libraries are FREE for you, but WE still get compensated for our work!!
Just saw someone claim that authors who want to be paid for their work are "class traitors" because we "only let the wealthy" read our books, and I think I need to go into the woods to scream into the night for a bit.
It's $5, not your first-born child! I need that $5 for health insurance!
It's $5, not your first-born child! I need that $5 for health insurance!
November 26, 2025 at 8:01 PM
AND supporting your local library is super important! If you actually DO want books to be available to everyone, the library *already exists* and is staffed by the people who are deep in the trenches of fighting censorship! Supporting the library is doing actual good for your community!
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
And this price hike is coming at a time when NPS visits have declined because of a decline in visits overall from overseas - nobody wants to come here and risk being detained. Fascism isn't a selling point for tourism
Utah national parks and their gateway towns are feeling a summer tourism slump
Visitation is down at all of Utah’s parks, driven by a decline in international visitors. Economic uncertainty and political rhetoric may be keeping them away, with big implications for local economie...
www.kuer.org
November 26, 2025 at 2:32 PM
And this price hike is coming at a time when NPS visits have declined because of a decline in visits overall from overseas - nobody wants to come here and risk being detained. Fascism isn't a selling point for tourism
Reposted by Garrett Wollman
Books don't sell nearly as many copies as you think they do. Every sale has significance. This is especially true of preorders and first week of publication orders. These move mountains for authors.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 26, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Books don't sell nearly as many copies as you think they do. Every sale has significance. This is especially true of preorders and first week of publication orders. These move mountains for authors.