David Faden
@util.bsky.social
Father, husband, software engineer, and analyst, interested in California native plants, Bayes, utilitarianism. Trying to stay curious about many things.
Reposted by David Faden
Tonight’s dumb napkin cartoon…
December 22, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Tonight’s dumb napkin cartoon…
Reposted by David Faden
I met Melissa Hortman in October of 2024. She was smart and kind. I heard about her murder in a LA hotel room and it dropped me to my knees. So I went to Minnesota and talked to her kids, parents, and friends. This is not true crime, this is Melissa in real life. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Melissa Hortman Died in a Shocking Act of Political Violence. This Is the Story of Her Life
Melissa Hortman died in a shocking act of political violence. This is her story
www.rollingstone.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:13 PM
I met Melissa Hortman in October of 2024. She was smart and kind. I heard about her murder in a LA hotel room and it dropped me to my knees. So I went to Minnesota and talked to her kids, parents, and friends. This is not true crime, this is Melissa in real life. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by David Faden
Read this from Ben Santer (very famous climate scientist for those who don’t know) about what NCAR means and what dismantling it will do.
Threatening NCAR, Trump administration seeks to extinguish a beacon of climate science
The Trump administration’s world view is that the US doesn’t need a climate science brain trust because it doesn’t like what the brains say.
thebulletin.org
December 20, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Read this from Ben Santer (very famous climate scientist for those who don’t know) about what NCAR means and what dismantling it will do.
Impressively comprehensive reporting.
20,000 words, 150 footnotes, 100+ timeline events = our attempt at documenting and synthesizing all the ways that the federal government has attempted to destroy access to gender-affirming care since January unbreaking.org/issues/trans...
Transgender Healthcare: Explainer — Unbreaking
How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.
unbreaking.org
December 20, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Impressively comprehensive reporting.
One bit of happiness today: seeing a hummingbird feeding on a chaparral currant that we planted a year or two ago. It started blooming nicely in the past few weeks. calscape.org/Ribes-malvac...
December 12, 2025 at 1:45 AM
One bit of happiness today: seeing a hummingbird feeding on a chaparral currant that we planted a year or two ago. It started blooming nicely in the past few weeks. calscape.org/Ribes-malvac...
Loving seeing these baby plant photos: www.reddit.com/r/Ceanothus/...
From the Ceanothus community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Ceanothus community
www.reddit.com
December 7, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Loving seeing these baby plant photos: www.reddit.com/r/Ceanothus/...
Reposted by David Faden
While pregnant, Tierra Walker had a cascade of health complications that threatened her life.
Of more than 90 doctors who were involved in her care, not one offered her an abortion, according to medical records.
Of more than 90 doctors who were involved in her care, not one offered her an abortion, according to medical records.
“Ticking Time Bomb”: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas.
Walker is one of several women ProPublica found with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.
www.propublica.org
November 22, 2025 at 4:00 AM
While pregnant, Tierra Walker had a cascade of health complications that threatened her life.
Of more than 90 doctors who were involved in her care, not one offered her an abortion, according to medical records.
Of more than 90 doctors who were involved in her care, not one offered her an abortion, according to medical records.
Reposted by David Faden
A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination
Audio recordings, intercepted phone calls and other intelligence link Mohammed bin Salman to killing that Saudis say was conducted by rogue elements.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:05 PM
A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
Another book for the reading list. Anyone tracking all of the censorship going on at the parks? www.sfgate.com/national-par...
Trump admin to ban book from Yosemite National Park, says author
The Trump administration's censorship directive has reportedly targeted Obi Kaufmann.
www.sfgate.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Another book for the reading list. Anyone tracking all of the censorship going on at the parks? www.sfgate.com/national-par...
Say you've had a cooking mishap, the house is a little smokey, and an alarm is going off. Which way should you point a box fan to clear the smoke the fastest? Pointing in, drawing air in, or out?
November 3, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Say you've had a cooking mishap, the house is a little smokey, and an alarm is going off. Which way should you point a box fan to clear the smoke the fastest? Pointing in, drawing air in, or out?
Finished "Rainbow's End" last night, 3rd book I've read from Vernor Vinge. I liked it. Would be curious to get a retrospective from the author reassessing it with the changes in tech since its 2006 publication date. I thank @moultano.bsky.social for introducing me to Vinge's work via a post here.
October 30, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Finished "Rainbow's End" last night, 3rd book I've read from Vernor Vinge. I liked it. Would be curious to get a retrospective from the author reassessing it with the changes in tech since its 2006 publication date. I thank @moultano.bsky.social for introducing me to Vinge's work via a post here.
Reminds me of "Brothers Home": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother.... I'm sure there are many other historical echoes. Adding Goldstone's "There Is No Place for Us" to my reading list.
October 29, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Reminds me of "Brothers Home": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother.... I'm sure there are many other historical echoes. Adding Goldstone's "There Is No Place for Us" to my reading list.
Also happy to see what I think is soap plant popping up. I wasn't sure if it had survived or not. calscape.org/Chlorogalum-... I believe this one came from nativeherenursery.org in Berkeley.
October 29, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Also happy to see what I think is soap plant popping up. I wasn't sure if it had survived or not. calscape.org/Chlorogalum-... I believe this one came from nativeherenursery.org in Berkeley.
Something that cheered me up yesterday: Idaho fescue sprouts! calscape.org/Festuca-idah... An earlier batch of the same seed failed to sprout at all earlier in the summer. Too warm?
October 29, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Something that cheered me up yesterday: Idaho fescue sprouts! calscape.org/Festuca-idah... An earlier batch of the same seed failed to sprout at all earlier in the summer. Too warm?
Reposted by David Faden
Talking of which, give this a (free to) read
on.ft.com/48JYzji
on.ft.com/48JYzji
October 27, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Talking of which, give this a (free to) read
on.ft.com/48JYzji
on.ft.com/48JYzji
Reposted by David Faden
To Haunt and Be Haunted: On the Exhumation of Edgar Allan Poe
Ed Simon Explores the Terror of Being Buried Alive and Americanism in Poe’s Work
lithub.com/to-haunt-and...
Edgar Allan Poe at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...
#books #literature
Ed Simon Explores the Terror of Being Buried Alive and Americanism in Poe’s Work
lithub.com/to-haunt-and...
Edgar Allan Poe at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...
#books #literature
October 27, 2025 at 9:58 AM
To Haunt and Be Haunted: On the Exhumation of Edgar Allan Poe
Ed Simon Explores the Terror of Being Buried Alive and Americanism in Poe’s Work
lithub.com/to-haunt-and...
Edgar Allan Poe at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...
#books #literature
Ed Simon Explores the Terror of Being Buried Alive and Americanism in Poe’s Work
lithub.com/to-haunt-and...
Edgar Allan Poe at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...
#books #literature
Maybe I'm being pedantic (or just wrongheaded), but this line from "The Great Mental Models" bugs me: "If you had perfect information, you would always make the best decision." Shouldn't that be "perfect information" plus "perfect reasoning"?
October 25, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Maybe I'm being pedantic (or just wrongheaded), but this line from "The Great Mental Models" bugs me: "If you had perfect information, you would always make the best decision." Shouldn't that be "perfect information" plus "perfect reasoning"?
Having fun looking at the submitted code for benchmarksgame-team.pages.debian.net/benchmarksga.... First time hearing of chapel-lang.org?
Measured : Which programming language is fastest? (Benchmarks Game)
Fastest program measurements by programming language implementation.
benchmarksgame-team.pages.debian.net
October 23, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Having fun looking at the submitted code for benchmarksgame-team.pages.debian.net/benchmarksga.... First time hearing of chapel-lang.org?
When I knew him as a coworker, Sean always had great insights, and I know plaid a central role in a lot of metrics and eval work at Google. I'm looking forward to reading more from him. seantime.substack.com/p/the-metric...
The Metric is Not the Product
or, The Map is Not the Territory
seantime.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 6:41 PM
When I knew him as a coworker, Sean always had great insights, and I know plaid a central role in a lot of metrics and eval work at Google. I'm looking forward to reading more from him. seantime.substack.com/p/the-metric...
It'd be fun to glom this together with something that speaks IPA aloud: cohenpr-xpf.github.io/XPF/Convert-...
Convert to IPA
cohenpr-xpf.github.io
October 21, 2025 at 5:01 AM
It'd be fun to glom this together with something that speaks IPA aloud: cohenpr-xpf.github.io/XPF/Convert-...
Happy to have come across Project Gutenberg on here.
How Close Did We Come to Losing Beowulf Forever?
Robert Bartlett on a Vital Work of the Western Canon That Barely Survived Multiple Disasters
lithub.com/how-close-di...
Beowulf at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subje...
#books #literature #old_manuscripts
Robert Bartlett on a Vital Work of the Western Canon That Barely Survived Multiple Disasters
lithub.com/how-close-di...
Beowulf at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subje...
#books #literature #old_manuscripts
![The first folio of the heroic epic poem Beowulf, written primarily in the West Saxon dialect of Old English. Part of the Cotton MS Vitellius A XV manuscript currently located within the British Library. This is a digital photographic copy of the folio. Text shown according to https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43521/beowulf-old-english-version:
WE GARDE na in geardagum, þeodcyninga, [129] þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah, egsode eorlas. Then the feast was found, he asked for it, grew under the clouds, the gods, until each of those sitting around him heard the sound of the horn, gomban gyldan. That was a good king. After that, he was remembered, walking in the fields, the good one sent to the king; the fire on the king who had long been dead. His life, the ruler of the people, the lord of the world, was taken away; Beowulf was quick to spring forth, Scyld's son, into the lands of the dead. Thus shall men go forth to good deeds, from pious gifts to their fathers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf#/media/File:Beowulf_Cotton_MS_Vitellius_A_XV_f._132r.jpg](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:53dildgigsgky47b45hm4lbz/bafkreid7tfl4notflbqzttym6kux3hgnrxwtfejv5hgk7pijxyu352e2ci@jpeg)
October 21, 2025 at 4:40 AM
Happy to have come across Project Gutenberg on here.
Watching this online now. Resonates with me as someone who once dreamed of being a journalist. Also credit on the great sound track. Neat to hear of it via a post from someone involved with the production of it. Also fun to see that some of the journalists interviewed are on Bluesky.
If you think you know why US newspapers died, this feature documentary now streaming for free on PBS might surprise you. It wasn't the Internet. Newspapers were specifically targeted by vulture capitalists.
I composed the score for the film, which features electric cello & Crowfoot guitars.
I composed the score for the film, which features electric cello & Crowfoot guitars.
Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink
A handful of journalists rebel against a hedge fund that is gutting newspapers nationwide.
www.pbs.org
October 12, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Watching this online now. Resonates with me as someone who once dreamed of being a journalist. Also credit on the great sound track. Neat to hear of it via a post from someone involved with the production of it. Also fun to see that some of the journalists interviewed are on Bluesky.
Possible title: "blue sky divided". One benefit for me of using this site is that I like to imagine sharing nice photos of a blue sky, which gets me to look up at the sky and appreciate it more.
October 10, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Possible title: "blue sky divided". One benefit for me of using this site is that I like to imagine sharing nice photos of a blue sky, which gets me to look up at the sky and appreciate it more.
Reposted by David Faden
Gary Larson actually visited Jane Goodall in Tanzania and got attacked by a famously belligerent chimp named Frodo:
www.cracked.com/article_4363...
www.cracked.com/article_4363...
October 2, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Gary Larson actually visited Jane Goodall in Tanzania and got attacked by a famously belligerent chimp named Frodo:
www.cracked.com/article_4363...
www.cracked.com/article_4363...