Tom Swanson
@swansontea.bsky.social
Retired clockmaker of the atomic persuasion. Formerly at the US Naval Observatory.
“A man becomes preeminent, he's expected to have enthusiasms. Enthusiasms, enthusiasms.”
November 29, 2025 at 2:21 PM
“A man becomes preeminent, he's expected to have enthusiasms. Enthusiasms, enthusiasms.”
One thing this tells you is that this hasn’t gone through any kind of approval process. You need a design before it can be approved.
“.. What started as a 500-seat ballroom connected to the East Wing grew to 650 seats. Next, he wanted a 999-seat ballroom, then room for 1,350.” 🤡
@nytimes.com @lukebroadwater.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u...
@nytimes.com @lukebroadwater.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u...
November 29, 2025 at 2:13 PM
One thing this tells you is that this hasn’t gone through any kind of approval process. You need a design before it can be approved.
Sounds like he was bribed.
“Additionally, I Will be granting a Full and Complete Pardon to Former President Juan Orlando Hernandez who has been, according to many people that | greatly respect, treated very harshly and unfairly.”
November 29, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Sounds like he was bribed.
We’re finding out which schools have origami majors at their helm
BREAKING: Northwestern University has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury $75 million, over the course of three years as part of an agreement with the federal government to restore funding and end investigations into the university
Full statement from NU below:
Full statement from NU below:
November 29, 2025 at 1:50 AM
We’re finding out which schools have origami majors at their helm
Reposted by Tom Swanson
Needing ChatGPT to tell you make pasta for a first date as though dudes haven’t been doing that since the beginning of time
November 27, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Needing ChatGPT to tell you make pasta for a first date as though dudes haven’t been doing that since the beginning of time
“I wonder if they could make Home Alone again now or does the ubiquity of cell phones preclude a lot of the dramatic tension the film relies on?”
Mom confiscates Kevin’s phone b/c he was being a little shit; it’s in her purse on the trip. The have no landline. That solves part (most?) of it.
Mom confiscates Kevin’s phone b/c he was being a little shit; it’s in her purse on the trip. The have no landline. That solves part (most?) of it.
Macaulay Culkin’s kids love Home Alone and don’t know their dad is Kevin. [kottke.org]
Macaulay Culkin Watches Home Alone With His Kids Who Don’t Realize He’s Kevin
On tour for the 35th anniversary of Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin said his kids love the movie, but don’t know he’s Kevin. They’re only three and four years old, so this makes sense, but it’s still hilarious.
And while th
kottke.org
November 28, 2025 at 10:20 PM
“I wonder if they could make Home Alone again now or does the ubiquity of cell phones preclude a lot of the dramatic tension the film relies on?”
Mom confiscates Kevin’s phone b/c he was being a little shit; it’s in her purse on the trip. The have no landline. That solves part (most?) of it.
Mom confiscates Kevin’s phone b/c he was being a little shit; it’s in her purse on the trip. The have no landline. That solves part (most?) of it.
November 28, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Tom Swanson
The guy shot two random people with a gun, I don't think you can say he wasn't assimilating into our culture
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 3:23 PM
The guy shot two random people with a gun, I don't think you can say he wasn't assimilating into our culture
I would have expected some Wagner
Trump entered the Mar-a-Lago ballroom for his Thanksgiving feast to the song “We Are the World,” a song used to raise money to help starving children.
Trump himself has cut aid to address global famine and has fought for the right to cut food stamps from American families.
Trump himself has cut aid to address global famine and has fought for the right to cut food stamps from American families.
November 28, 2025 at 8:28 PM
I would have expected some Wagner
“I’ve developed a real taste for losing”
November 28, 2025 at 8:04 PM
“I’ve developed a real taste for losing”
Reposted by Tom Swanson
Happy Gävlebocken season! Every year since 1966, Gävle, Sweden, has erected a massive version of Scandinavia's traditional straw Yule goat. It is so attractive to vandals—particularly arsonists—that in the previous 59 years, only 17 goats have survived fully intact. Good luck in 2025, Gävlebocken!
The Gävlebocken cam is live folks, this is not a drill
The Gävle Goat LIVE 2025 | Lofi Christmas mix
YouTube video by Gävle Goat LIVE
www.youtube.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Happy Gävlebocken season! Every year since 1966, Gävle, Sweden, has erected a massive version of Scandinavia's traditional straw Yule goat. It is so attractive to vandals—particularly arsonists—that in the previous 59 years, only 17 goats have survived fully intact. Good luck in 2025, Gävlebocken!
Reposted by Tom Swanson
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Reposted by Tom Swanson
ROBOT: You cannot defeat us.
ENGLISH TEACHER: Why's the ch pronounced differently in orchid than in orchard?
ROBOT: [twitch, spark]
ENGLISH TEACHER: Why's the ch pronounced differently in orchid than in orchard?
ROBOT: [twitch, spark]
November 28, 2025 at 6:07 PM
ROBOT: You cannot defeat us.
ENGLISH TEACHER: Why's the ch pronounced differently in orchid than in orchard?
ROBOT: [twitch, spark]
ENGLISH TEACHER: Why's the ch pronounced differently in orchid than in orchard?
ROBOT: [twitch, spark]
Forecast was for a quarter-inch of snow, ending around 11AM. Just shoveled a bit at 1PM, and had around 4 inches. And it started snowing again. Weather map shows more on the way.
November 28, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Forecast was for a quarter-inch of snow, ending around 11AM. Just shoveled a bit at 1PM, and had around 4 inches. And it started snowing again. Weather map shows more on the way.
Reposted by Tom Swanson
~* it’s beginning to look a lot like gay cardinal season *~
November 26, 2025 at 9:53 PM
~* it’s beginning to look a lot like gay cardinal season *~
👇 👇 👇 👇
They were always going to unleash full-on ethnic cleansing. They were just waiting for a plausible excuse.
Trump: “I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries … denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.“
November 28, 2025 at 5:01 PM
👇 👇 👇 👇
There’s also Wilbur, the other Whitemeatt
James Whitemeatt
England and Wales, Census, 1841
England and Wales, Census, 1841
November 28, 2025 at 2:58 PM
There’s also Wilbur, the other Whitemeatt
“Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!”
(one translator saw two words of this and had to be hospitalised for several weeks)
(one translator saw two words of this and had to be hospitalised for several weeks)
"...the researchers tell WIRED that the verse is too dangerous to share with the public."
📃✍️💥👀
📃✍️💥👀
It turns out all the guardrails in the world won’t protect a chatbot from meter and rhyme. www.wired.com/story/poems-...
November 28, 2025 at 2:52 PM
“Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!”
(one translator saw two words of this and had to be hospitalised for several weeks)
(one translator saw two words of this and had to be hospitalised for several weeks)
Never seen this, but I have friends who would occasionally have a pie party the Saturday before Thanksgiving, where a unity ratio was approached. (the rationale was that you couldn’t properly enjoy pie on Thanksgiving because you were too full. Also, just an excuse to have a party and eat pie)
I think this is a record. We have twenty-two pies for eighteen people.
November 28, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Never seen this, but I have friends who would occasionally have a pie party the Saturday before Thanksgiving, where a unity ratio was approached. (the rationale was that you couldn’t properly enjoy pie on Thanksgiving because you were too full. Also, just an excuse to have a party and eat pie)
If Canadian porn can be made from artificial Canadian, what’s the point of buying Canadian porn?
I had no idea our pornography was subject to Canadian content quotas to begin with and I have so many questions
November 28, 2025 at 1:08 PM
If Canadian porn can be made from artificial Canadian, what’s the point of buying Canadian porn?
Reposted by Tom Swanson
🌲
It would be awesome if we could stop re-inventing every awful thing from the past, unlearning every brutal lesson, dismantling every hard-won solution
November 28, 2025 at 2:32 AM
🌲
Did Romo just say “Nantztrodamus”?
November 27, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Did Romo just say “Nantztrodamus”?
Did the heist involve a truck-mounted electric ladder?
Thieves have stolen €90,000 worth of fine French snails destined for some of the country’s most prestigious restaurants
Thieves take €90,000 of snails meant for Michelin-starred restaurants
French police are on the trail of ‘experienced’ criminals who stole a whole year’s worth of produce from Jean-Mathieu Dauvergne’s L’Escargot des Grands Crus
www.thetimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Did the heist involve a truck-mounted electric ladder?
Reposted by Tom Swanson
BOAT STUCK HOLIDAY EDITION
November 27, 2025 at 4:43 PM
BOAT STUCK HOLIDAY EDITION