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Reposted by Peter Clines

Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 22h

...oh holy crap.

preternia @preternia.com · 22h

LEGO Speed Champions Time Machine from Back to The Future is up for preorder at Amazon ($27.99) - buff.ly/aAZKunC #ad

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Santiago Mayer @santiagomayer.com · 10h

JD Vance can dismiss the Young Republicans as a college group chat.

But let's be clear: the group chat includes a State Senator, a Trump Admin official, and multiple Republican staffers — and some of the worst comments came from folks associated with Mike Johnson, Elise Stefanik, and Mike Lawler.

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Richard Kadrey @richardkadrey.bsky.social · 1d

Spotify is running recruitment ads for ICE and their owner is helping to develop military AI. Maybe hit that "cancel my account" button?

Santiago Mayer @santiagomayer.com · 1d

Spotify is now running recruitment ads for ICE.

It’s time to cancel your account.

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Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 10h

This is a fantastic story. 🙂

Lili Saintcrow @lilithsaintcrow.com · 11h

"Between 1936 and 1947, the man known as the “Harry Houdini of Japan” pulled off four daring prison escapes, earning a legend’s status among escape artists."

Yoshie Shiratori’s Remarkable Prison Escapes

At the foot of Mount Tento in Hokkaido stands the Abashiri Prison Museum, a place where Japan’s harsh penal past is preserved in timber and iron. The open-air museum—once an actual prison—now houses the original cell blocks, administration offices, and chapel, all of which were relocated and restored to show what life was like behind its cold wooden walls.

www.amusingplanet.com

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Reposted by Peter Clines

Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 16h

What's that? Only four more weeks until GOD'S JUNK DRAWER is out?

(listen to Gnash--preorder now!)

A hardcover copy of GOD'S JUNK DRAWER stands on an olive-green, rough surface. Numerous plants surround it. An allosaurus head fills the upper corner of the frame, mostly just teeth and nostrils.

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Matt Ortega @mattortega.com · 14h

They want to kill people. Trump's lawyers argued he could kill his political opponents without criminal prosecution. He praised Duterte's mass murder of "drug dealers." He's ordering extrajudicial killings of fishermen at sea.

Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 14h

The administration is reframing migrants and gang members as “terrorists”, so DHS wannabe operators can do GWOT-style night raids here in the U.S. of A.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 16h

Remember when Stephen Miller claimed the Chicago apartment raid was on a building “filled with Tren de Aragua terrorists”?

Well, DHS has now dropped the number of alleged TdA members arrested in the building from 2 to 1.

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Stephen Blackmoore @stephenblackmoore.com · 14h

DO THIS OR FOREVER BE DAMNED

Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 15h

Okay, yes, every month about this time I tell you "hey, you should sign up for my newsletter." But you should REALLY sign up for the newsletter because it's going out tomorrow with information about GOD'S JUNK DRAWER signings, some other events, and an offer just for newsletter subscribers...

The Uncanny Cosmic Horror Zombie Almanac

More-or-less monthly updates on things from author Peter Clines

buttondown.com

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Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 15h

Okay, yes, every month about this time I tell you "hey, you should sign up for my newsletter." But you should REALLY sign up for the newsletter because it's going out tomorrow with information about GOD'S JUNK DRAWER signings, some other events, and an offer just for newsletter subscribers...

The Uncanny Cosmic Horror Zombie Almanac

More-or-less monthly updates on things from author Peter Clines

buttondown.com

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Reposted by Peter Clines

Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 15h

Consumer-facing "A.i." fucking sucks and you're embarrassing yourself if you pass it off for your actual thoughts.

Adam Mallinger @bitterscriptreader.bsky.social · 15h

“The humans won hands down when it came to notes, which require actual analysis rather than just distillation. The AI programs were ‘an almost total fail across the board.’”

Nice to know I wouldn’t have been so easily replaced at my old job by an A.I.

variety.com/2025/film/ne...

Hollywood Script Readers Fear They Could be Replaced by AI. They Set Up a Test to See Who Gives Better Feedback

Fearing they could be replaced, Hollywood script readers face off against AI programs to see who gives better feedback.

variety.com

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Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 16h

What's that? Only four more weeks until GOD'S JUNK DRAWER is out?

(listen to Gnash--preorder now!)

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Reposted by Peter Clines

Democracy Docket @democracydocket.com · 19h

NEW: Huntington Beach, California passed an anti-voting resolution using false data from an election conspiracy group to stoke baseless fears about election integrity, underscoring how anti-voting groups' efforts are tightening voting rules even at the state and local level.

California City Passes Anti-Voting Measure Based on Election Conspiracy Group’s False Data

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

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Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 19h

Sam Altman went from “AI will cure cancer" to "ChatGPT porn" in less than a month

ChatGPT boss predicts when AI could cure cancer

We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues. We realize this made it less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems, but given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right.

Now that we have been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools, we are going to be able to safely relax the restrictions in most cases.

In a few weeks, we plan to put out a new version of ChatGPT that allows people to have a personality that behaves more like what people liked about 4o (we hope it will be better!). If you want your ChatGPT to respond in a very human-like way, or use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend, ChatGPT should do it (but only if you want it, not because we are usage-maxxing).

In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our “treat adult users like adults” principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults.
12:02 PM · Oct 14, 2025
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Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 19h

For those who may have missed it last week...

Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 5d

Over on the ranty writing blog this week I'm rambling on about word count, cutting whole chapters, and whether or not Wakko's actually doing anything useful.

If any of that piques your interest...

Massive Cuts!

Running a little late with this one, sorry. This fall/ early winter’s going to be very chaotic for me. Last month when I was guest-hosting the Coffeehouse, we talked a bit about word count. Not in the...

www.peterclines.com

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Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 21h

Just to hammer this home- there are no societal problems for tech to solve. We already solved then. We know how to do clean energy. We know how to cut emissions. We have the resources to feed and house everyone. We've shown UBI and univ. healthcare work.

We just need to care enough to DO all of it.

Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 21h

The greatest difference we could make to our future generations is not…any of the shit we hear people saying about tech.

It is learning how to care for each other enough to create and hold a real, lasting peace.

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Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 22h

A good book lets you meet new people.

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Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 22h

...oh holy crap.

preternia @preternia.com · 22h

LEGO Speed Champions Time Machine from Back to The Future is up for preorder at Amazon ($27.99) - buff.ly/aAZKunC #ad

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Reposted by Peter Clines

Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 1d

Honestly don't know why any company would still have a Twitter account. Publishers, cars, toys, electronics, games, anything. This is what your brand's going to be associated with.

Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com · 6d

“I still can’t believe how unhinged the last update was. Not only the nudity but the motions, boobs bounces more realistically, it’s incredible.”

Elon Musk's xAI seems to have relaxed filters on Grok's video generation, allowing users to create and share explicit AI pornography.

Musk's AI Is Being Used to Make Hardcore Porn: 'Grok Is Learning Genitalia Really Fast!'

bit.ly

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Reposted by Peter Clines

Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 1d

Okay, so the big book tour for GOD'S JUNK DRAWER isn't going to reach the east coast, but if you're familiar with the Strand bookstore in New York and their Pick of the Month... you might be interested in signing up for their November sci-fi choice.

(and it'll be scribbled in!)

Shop Pick of the Month | Explore Monthly book picks & More

Don’t miss our Pick of the Month, staff-recommended must-reads updated monthly. Discover standout stories and new favorites. See what’s trending now.

www.strandbooks.com

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Reposted by Peter Clines

Adam P. Knave @adampknave.com · 1d

Just about everyone thinks they can write. And they CAN. They can even do it well with practice add learning if they want. But telling stories? That’s what humans do. And we all ingest them. Writing isn’t some special locked away skill it’s a very human accessible thing anyone can do.

Rachel Feder @rachelfeder.bsky.social · 2d

Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat

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Lisa Will @dustchick.bsky.social · 1d

Seeing folks rightfully angry that #APOD isn't being updated due to the government shutdown. A reminder that there is a mirror site hosted here: www.star.ucl.ac.uk/~apod/apod/

APOD: 2025 October 13 – Lemmon Tree

A different astronomy and space science related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.

www.star.ucl.ac.uk

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Reposted by Peter Clines

Eric Reinhart @eric-reinhart.com · 1d

Why are your electric bills suddenly 30-50% higher, you ask?

Eric Reinhart @eric-reinhart.com · 1d

This is an alarming compression of the planetary destruction timeline: with the massive growth of the AI bubble, data centers are expected to consume up to 12% of total US electricity by 2028, up from 4.4% in 2023.
www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/t...

Sora 2 and ChatGPT are consuming so much power that OpenAI just did another 10 gigawatt deal | CNN Business

OpenAI is partnering with Broadcom to design and develop 10 gigawatts of custom AI chips and systems, a massive amount of power that will use as much electricity as a large city. The move further high...

www.cnn.com

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Reposted by Peter Clines

Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 1d

More stuff from BBTS unboxed and on my desk.

A tiny Onell Pirate Captain figure stands in front of a miniature TRON arcade game, resting one hand on the joystick. Other action figures loom behind then, along with a (relatively) huge blue police box.

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Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 1d

More stuff from BBTS unboxed and on my desk.

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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 1d

Defending against bioterrorism? Sounds pretty woke to me. I’m glad Trump finally fired those people.

Dozens of fired staff members at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, a federal health agency, included individuals with top-secret clearance who work with intelligence agencies on biodefense issues such as pandemics and weaponized pathogens, said a former Department of Health and Human Services official who has been in contact with those dismissed.

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Peter Clines @peterclines.bsky.social · 1d

In related news...

Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · 1d

Was worried that this was going to be *yet another* of the "people should all go back to Twitter" nonsense pieces, but @ianbetteridge.com's law of headlines rarely fails. The answer here is a clear "no" with good reasons:

Well – no. Bluesky may or may not be, as one centre-right friend who felt unwelcome put it, “self-righteous island”. But the idea that that is the reason why we went is nonsense. That I’ve largely stopped posting on a site that’s done more to shape my career and social circle than the rest of the internet combined is less about avoiding rival opinions (I love arguing with people who are wrong) than with the fact the site simply became unusable. It stopped generating the things (good jokes, interesting debate, clicks) I wanted; it became extremely good at generating the things (racists, pornbots, racist pornbots) I did not.

Those who stayed behind have lost something, too: the ability to not have their worldview shaped by some of the maddest people on the internet. One of the Tories’ big conference announcements was the promise of an Ice-style border force that would deport [citation needed] 150,000 people a year. That mass deportations of most existing migrants is not actually popular in the UK – that such a policy places yet more distance between the Tories and the mainstream centre which deserted them last year – seems not to have occurred.

It’s hard not to connect this to the fact that much of the political class remains on a platform now dominated by the political extremes. They might do well to remember: Twitter is not the real world.

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