Ocha the Muse
@ochalla.bsky.social
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
We're half a decade into studies finding that improving airflow in classrooms will reduce disease transmission enormously, and that bleaching surfaces etc. does very little. And yet nothing changes. Waves of flu and colds wash over schools, and the schools pretend it's an act of God.
The relative contribution of close-proximity contacts, shared classroom exposure and indoor air quality to respiratory virus transmission in schools - Nature Communications
The relative importance of close-proximity interactions, shared space and air quality to the transmission of respiratory viruses is not well understood. Here, the authors investigate this question by ...
www.nature.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:23 AM
We're half a decade into studies finding that improving airflow in classrooms will reduce disease transmission enormously, and that bleaching surfaces etc. does very little. And yet nothing changes. Waves of flu and colds wash over schools, and the schools pretend it's an act of God.
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
It is December which means that it is once again time to share that the Yiddish word for marshmallow is “shney-kishele,” literally LITTLE SNOW PILLOW
December 7, 2025 at 10:32 PM
It is December which means that it is once again time to share that the Yiddish word for marshmallow is “shney-kishele,” literally LITTLE SNOW PILLOW
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
These Pygmy Fruit-eating Bats are another one of my neighbors here at @casabentbill.bsky.social #CostaRica
They cut along the midrib of banana leaves to make them collapse into a protected little house. And then they cuddle with each other and wonder why this strange man is looking at them.
#bats
They cut along the midrib of banana leaves to make them collapse into a protected little house. And then they cuddle with each other and wonder why this strange man is looking at them.
#bats
December 8, 2025 at 12:17 AM
These Pygmy Fruit-eating Bats are another one of my neighbors here at @casabentbill.bsky.social #CostaRica
They cut along the midrib of banana leaves to make them collapse into a protected little house. And then they cuddle with each other and wonder why this strange man is looking at them.
#bats
They cut along the midrib of banana leaves to make them collapse into a protected little house. And then they cuddle with each other and wonder why this strange man is looking at them.
#bats
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.
December 7, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
For comparison, every robotic mission NASA has ever sent in its history, from the dawn of the Space Age 65 years ago to today, from Mercury to Pluto and beyond, has cost less than $40B.
I know which one has done more for humankind and which one should be dismantled.
I know which one has done more for humankind and which one should be dismantled.
Mark Zuckerberg’s gamble on the ‘Metaverse’ has cost Meta more than $77B
The company now plans to cut spending on it and shift focus to AI wearables instead
(via WSJ)
The company now plans to cut spending on it and shift focus to AI wearables instead
(via WSJ)
December 7, 2025 at 2:03 AM
For comparison, every robotic mission NASA has ever sent in its history, from the dawn of the Space Age 65 years ago to today, from Mercury to Pluto and beyond, has cost less than $40B.
I know which one has done more for humankind and which one should be dismantled.
I know which one has done more for humankind and which one should be dismantled.
Fellow tea witches unite
I like to think of tea as having broadly three potential roles in witchcraft: "Surrounding," "Creating," and "Inhabiting." Let's break it down.
www.fridaytea.com/blogs/friday...
www.fridaytea.com/blogs/friday...
How to be a Tea Witch
We take our tea witchery very seriously around here (jk we're full of whimsy) and I am here today to teach you to incorporate tea into your craft! Welcome to Friday's super easy basic intro course on....
www.fridaytea.com
December 7, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Fellow tea witches unite
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
@handsoffnyc.bsky.social is training thousands of New Yorkers on how to protect their neighbors from ICE. Today, they are currently running two trainings in Brooklyn and the Bronx, both of which hit capacity because interest was so high.
This is the way, y’all—we protect each other, and we know it.
This is the way, y’all—we protect each other, and we know it.
December 6, 2025 at 7:10 PM
@handsoffnyc.bsky.social is training thousands of New Yorkers on how to protect their neighbors from ICE. Today, they are currently running two trainings in Brooklyn and the Bronx, both of which hit capacity because interest was so high.
This is the way, y’all—we protect each other, and we know it.
This is the way, y’all—we protect each other, and we know it.
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
Family Not Sure What to Do with Other Trees in Costco Christmas 6-Pack: tinyurl.com/2kywaau5
December 3, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Family Not Sure What to Do with Other Trees in Costco Christmas 6-Pack: tinyurl.com/2kywaau5
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
for World AIDS Day, a 1988 cartoon from the Advocate's Gerald Donelan
December 1, 2025 at 4:20 PM
for World AIDS Day, a 1988 cartoon from the Advocate's Gerald Donelan
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
It was six years ago today that a man in Wuhan, China began feeling ill.
He would become the first known COVID case.
Covid is still with us. It’s still killing and disabling.
Clean the air. Wear a mask. Get your boosters.
Public health is a social justice issue.
He would become the first known COVID case.
Covid is still with us. It’s still killing and disabling.
Clean the air. Wear a mask. Get your boosters.
Public health is a social justice issue.
November 30, 2025 at 11:11 PM
It was six years ago today that a man in Wuhan, China began feeling ill.
He would become the first known COVID case.
Covid is still with us. It’s still killing and disabling.
Clean the air. Wear a mask. Get your boosters.
Public health is a social justice issue.
He would become the first known COVID case.
Covid is still with us. It’s still killing and disabling.
Clean the air. Wear a mask. Get your boosters.
Public health is a social justice issue.
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
Since people find being hopeful and optimistic so cringe these days, let me remind you once again that there isn’t a single liberation movement in the world that wasn’t built on hope and optimism.
November 28, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Since people find being hopeful and optimistic so cringe these days, let me remind you once again that there isn’t a single liberation movement in the world that wasn’t built on hope and optimism.
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
This is one of the clearest explanations I've ever read.
You don't consult the weather forecast for a collection of words.
You consult the weather forecast to get the most accurate idea of what conditions are likely to *be*.
You don't consult the weather forecast for a collection of words.
You consult the weather forecast to get the most accurate idea of what conditions are likely to *be*.
And this is why I prefer "predictive models"
A predictive model trained on weather data predicting weather data? Can be useful
Put weather words into a text prediction model and it will predict weather words because it doesn't understand anything
A predictive model trained on weather data predicting weather data? Can be useful
Put weather words into a text prediction model and it will predict weather words because it doesn't understand anything
This is a legitimate scientific revolution in meteorology.
Also, to be clear, these models are not the AI LLMs that most people are familiar with. They are machine learning algorithms trained on observations (actually reanalysis).
Also, to be clear, these models are not the AI LLMs that most people are familiar with. They are machine learning algorithms trained on observations (actually reanalysis).
November 30, 2025 at 6:55 PM
This is one of the clearest explanations I've ever read.
You don't consult the weather forecast for a collection of words.
You consult the weather forecast to get the most accurate idea of what conditions are likely to *be*.
You don't consult the weather forecast for a collection of words.
You consult the weather forecast to get the most accurate idea of what conditions are likely to *be*.
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
Authors win discovery ruling in lawsuit against Open AI that could help prove willful copyright infringement (over the use of pirated datasets for AI training)
The OpenAI ruling writers should know about 👀 (if your work was scraped for LLM training, this affects you). www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...
OpenAI Loses Key Discovery Battle as It Cedes Ground to Authors in AI Lawsuits
The issue has been a major battleground in discovery. OpenAI could be on the hook for hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars if it was aware it was infringing on copyrighted material.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
November 29, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Authors win discovery ruling in lawsuit against Open AI that could help prove willful copyright infringement (over the use of pirated datasets for AI training)
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
A reminder that eels are critically endangered and are still a major part of the licit and illicit economy in Asia, Europe, and parts of the US (lookin’ at you, Maine)
Valuable eels are in decline all over the world, leading to a new push for restrictions on trade to try to help stave off extinction.
Eel populations are falling, and new protections were defeated. Japan and the US opposed them
Valuable eels are in decline all over the world, leading to a new push for restrictions on trade to try to help stave off extinction.
bit.ly
November 28, 2025 at 8:08 PM
A reminder that eels are critically endangered and are still a major part of the licit and illicit economy in Asia, Europe, and parts of the US (lookin’ at you, Maine)
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
After 404 Media's months-long reporting and pressure from lawmakers, the data broker owned by the U.S.’s major airlines will now shut down a program in which it sold access to hundreds of millions of flight records to the government and let agencies track peoples’ movements without a warrant.
November 18, 2025 at 9:39 PM
After 404 Media's months-long reporting and pressure from lawmakers, the data broker owned by the U.S.’s major airlines will now shut down a program in which it sold access to hundreds of millions of flight records to the government and let agencies track peoples’ movements without a warrant.
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
I've seen this go by a few times on TikTok now and I have to say, I love this idea. We need a way to convince people to keep running even if they don't win, maybe building the loss into it as a troll move is the secret.
November 6, 2025 at 12:49 AM
I've seen this go by a few times on TikTok now and I have to say, I love this idea. We need a way to convince people to keep running even if they don't win, maybe building the loss into it as a troll move is the secret.
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
Not what people ANYWHERE on the Pacific coast need. #akwx #AlaskaSky
"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is halting a contract that makes it possible for the federal agency to…monitor for potential tsunamis…and quickly warn at-risk communities."
alaskapublic.org/news/alaska-...
"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is halting a contract that makes it possible for the federal agency to…monitor for potential tsunamis…and quickly warn at-risk communities."
alaskapublic.org/news/alaska-...
NOAA cancels funding for data collection crucial to tsunami warning systems
The Alaska Earthquake Center has long provided NOAA with seismic data for tsunami monitoring and warning purposes. That work will wind down in November, after the federal agency said it can no longer ...
alaskapublic.org
November 2, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Not what people ANYWHERE on the Pacific coast need. #akwx #AlaskaSky
"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is halting a contract that makes it possible for the federal agency to…monitor for potential tsunamis…and quickly warn at-risk communities."
alaskapublic.org/news/alaska-...
"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is halting a contract that makes it possible for the federal agency to…monitor for potential tsunamis…and quickly warn at-risk communities."
alaskapublic.org/news/alaska-...
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
If 1% of the people who die each day became a ghost, that would mean that each day, the earth would gain about 1700 new ghosts... or about 620,000 a year.
#ghostmath #surrounded #ghosts
#ghostmath #surrounded #ghosts
November 4, 2025 at 3:38 AM
If 1% of the people who die each day became a ghost, that would mean that each day, the earth would gain about 1700 new ghosts... or about 620,000 a year.
#ghostmath #surrounded #ghosts
#ghostmath #surrounded #ghosts
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
Folks should be very careful on Tuesday to not spread rumors or AI slop. No one should deter voters from showing up.
But if you *do* see something, document it. Take pictures and video. And then lawyers like me can take all necessary steps to protect voters from intimidation.
But if you *do* see something, document it. Take pictures and video. And then lawyers like me can take all necessary steps to protect voters from intimidation.
If ICE agents begins harassing voters on the way to vote on Tuesday, we need local prosecutors to charge the ICE officers with state law crimes. We need to send a message for 2026 that they will be swiftly arrested.
November 3, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Folks should be very careful on Tuesday to not spread rumors or AI slop. No one should deter voters from showing up.
But if you *do* see something, document it. Take pictures and video. And then lawyers like me can take all necessary steps to protect voters from intimidation.
But if you *do* see something, document it. Take pictures and video. And then lawyers like me can take all necessary steps to protect voters from intimidation.
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
Reposted by Ocha the Muse
“If you’re angry about THIS, but not about THAT—“
Bro I’m gonna have to stop you there, I am angry about so many things all of the time, I have never in my life been angry about just one thing at a time, my capacity for “things to be angry about” is as wide and as deep as the sea
Bro I’m gonna have to stop you there, I am angry about so many things all of the time, I have never in my life been angry about just one thing at a time, my capacity for “things to be angry about” is as wide and as deep as the sea
November 4, 2023 at 12:30 AM
“If you’re angry about THIS, but not about THAT—“
Bro I’m gonna have to stop you there, I am angry about so many things all of the time, I have never in my life been angry about just one thing at a time, my capacity for “things to be angry about” is as wide and as deep as the sea
Bro I’m gonna have to stop you there, I am angry about so many things all of the time, I have never in my life been angry about just one thing at a time, my capacity for “things to be angry about” is as wide and as deep as the sea
