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Reposted by Rod Van Meter

Gavin Schmidt @climateofgavin.bsky.social · 31m

Expert here. The weird thing is I don't expect people to trust me (on my specialty) just because. Expertise is all about knowing the broader context of new results, what's clear & what's not, and most experts are happy to help people through this if they're interested in 'doing their own research'.

Barbara Sobel @barbarasobel.bsky.social · 7h

RFK Jr: We need to stop trusting the experts... Trusting the experts is not a feature of science or democracy, it's a feature of religion and totalitarianism.

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 9h

Point taken. I'd say Kirk is even worse, but yes, he has already defiled it.

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 18h

Momentarily we switch to the low-bandwidth channel again. 8th inning or a playoff game but it's less important than some random TV series.

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 18h

Aaaannd we strand two more.
#BayStars with our signature move.
Eight hits and no runs.

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 19h

The Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The one that goes to people like Jonas Salk.
Maya Angelou.
Neil Armstrong.
THAT Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Has now been awarded to Charlie Kirk.

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Reposted by Rod Van Meter

Santiago Mayer @santiagomayer.com · 1d

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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Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 20h

Today is the deadline for proposing for observations with JWST. Across the globe, scientists are furiously putting the finishing touches on ideas spanning the nearest planets and stars to the most distant galaxies. Only ~10% of proposals will be accepted, and the science will be amazing. 🧪☄️

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Reposted by Rod Van Meter

Earl Campbell @quantumearl.bsky.social · 22h

Coming out of social media hibernation to ask:

Are you interested in hosting a future QEC conf?

We are looking for detailed bids for QEC27 over the next month (provisional deadline 21st November). For more info: DM or email me.

QEC26 will be in Santa Barbara

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Reposted by Rod Van Meter

Luke Plunkett @lukeplunkett.com · 22h

kids teacher just sent this home as part of an assignment he's doing and i want to smash every computer at the school

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duke.Spook 👻 @dukeluke11.bsky.social · 22h

I love that the end result of decades of criticizing the industrial-era education system that we grew up with is an even worse thing

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 1d

Big vocabulary. Quick wit. Persuasive sentences. Those are aspects of intelligence. But she's missing my number one: a talent for asking the right questions.
More importantly, she's missing the ability to put herself in the place of other people. You know, empathy...that weakness.

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Ben Brown @benbrown.bsky.social · 1d

Are you a graduate student looking for experience working on the theoretical problems we need to solve to build a quantum computer? We are currently accepting applications for internship positions in the quantum computing theory team at IBM for summer 2026.

ibmglobal.avature.net/en_US/career...

Intern 2026: Quantum Computing Theory

ibmglobal.avature.net

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 2d

Whenever I hear him say, "I was in Kansas City last week, and people told me..." I always wonder who he's actually talking to. Certainly not the people in the laundromat doing socks.

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Kendra, regular version @kendrawcandraw.bsky.social · 2d

You can't logic your way out of being burnt out. Unless you're me. Who should be able to do it and it's a personal failing that I can't

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 2d

Over Catch-22? A big call! I need to reread both (or all, if you're in for the series).

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Phil Plait @philplait.bsky.social · 2d

Holy crap. This is terrible.

The article states it's "not related to the current U.S. government shutdown". But of course it is: they are both connected by the GOP destroying everything good about this country from the top down and the bottom up.

Reuters @reuters.com · 2d

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to lay off about 550 workers reut.rs/4302N2L

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to lay off about 550 workers

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on Monday it will cut nearly 550 jobs as part of a restructuring, not related to the current U.S. government shutdown.

reut.rs

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 2d

a little girl is asking why not both while standing in a kitchen .

ALT: a little girl is asking why not both while standing in a kitchen .

media.tenor.com

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 2d

I'm reading an article about Mary Tyler Moore's wardrobe and The Hat, and realizing that I think I walked past her statue in Minneapolis (during the APS March Meeting) without recognizing what it is.

youtu.be/mb6_WbxdH7A?...

The Mary Tyler Moore Show Opening Credits Season 1

YouTube video by TV Themesongs

youtu.be

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bleary @bleary.off-the-records.com · 2d

If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.

Did people really memorize phone numbers before cell phones, or is that just a movie thing?
2? Questions
I was watching some old shows from the 90s and noticed people would just dial numbers from memory - like they'd call their friends or family without looking anything up.
Made me wonder if that was actually normal back then? Did people genuinely have all their important numbers memorized, or did most folks keep a little address book or written list nearby?

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 2d

Koonin is a brilliant physicist, former Caltech provost. Some of my friends and I were baffled when he went to BP. Not sure how much of their Koolaid he drank, versus homebrew, but he seems to have imbibed an unfortunate amount.

Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 2d

This guy proposes changes to the NPB playoff system that ultimately require expanding the leagues. He suggests Niigata, Hokuriku, Shikoku and Shizuoka. I'm in favor, but what about Okinawa?
クライマックスシリーズでぶっちぎり優勝チームに漂う不公平感と興行面での面白さを両立させる手段とは（坂東太郎） - エキスパート - Yahoo!ニュース share.google/rLuH7mIwgEfP...

クライマックスシリーズでぶっちぎり優勝チームに漂う不公平感と興行面での面白さを両立させる手段とは（坂東太郎） - エキスパート - Yahoo!ニュース

14日からプロ野球セ・パ両リーグの日本シリーズ出場権をかけた「クライマックスシリーズ」（ＣＳ）が始まります。　毎年、この時期になるとレギュラーシーズンで優勝したチームが２・３位チームに出場権を奪われ

share.google

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 2d

Sadly, I'm not there. Must be nice!

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Reposted by Rod Van Meter

James Wootton @decodoku.bsky.social · 2d

Anyone in Geneva for Swiss Quantum Week?

I'm around today and tomorrow if anyone wants to catch up.

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 3d

White guy, of course.

I asked my dad before he died where the Black men in town got their hair cut, and he didn't know.

Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 3d

You can get a 75-year-old barber in a classic old but clean barbershop stacked with Guns & Ammo and car mags and a glass bottle Coca Cola vending machine in southern West Virginia for twenty bucks.

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