Alex Hughes ( Capell )
@alexhughescapell.bsky.social
Professional ghostwriter. Penguin published author of Mindspace (telepath detective in future) & other SF/F. Nerd. Spoonie. Fan of nuance and complex things.
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
since the "google is now training gemini on your email contents" thing keeps bumping around here: it's _not happening_. I say this not to defend google but because I know a lot of people that have broken their filtering and made their lives much more annoying from sheer misinformation.
The malwarebytes Google opting-your-emails-into-ai-training thing is not true. The post is based on one bad tweet.
I know anti-tech lamenting is a Bluesky core principle, but please use the same judgement you would for any other clickbait.
www.theverge.com/news/826902/...
I know anti-tech lamenting is a Bluesky core principle, but please use the same judgement you would for any other clickbait.
www.theverge.com/news/826902/...
Google denies ‘misleading’ reports of Gmail using your emails to train AI
Google says “we do not use your Gmail content for training our Gemini AI model.”
www.theverge.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:30 PM
since the "google is now training gemini on your email contents" thing keeps bumping around here: it's _not happening_. I say this not to defend google but because I know a lot of people that have broken their filtering and made their lives much more annoying from sheer misinformation.
I have an idea for a one-off novella in the Mindspace world with completely new characters.
November 19, 2025 at 12:21 AM
I have an idea for a one-off novella in the Mindspace world with completely new characters.
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
for the 13-year-old taken from Everett last week: gofund.me/aea77a5ab
Donate to Our 13-Year-Old Son Was Taken by ICE — Help Bring Him Back, organized by Josiele Silva
English:
Our 13-Year-Old Son Was Taken by ICE — Please He… Josiele Silva needs your support for Our 13-Year-Old Son Was Taken by ICE — Help Bring Him Back
gofund.me
October 13, 2025 at 10:36 PM
for the 13-year-old taken from Everett last week: gofund.me/aea77a5ab
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
this Somerville neighbor, taken by ICE earlier this summer, was denied asylum at his hearing yesterday. he’s going to be deported and now his family has to finish paying the lawyer: gofund.me/63eead5d1
Donate to Help Everton Get Home - Ajude o Everton a Voltar para Casa, organized by Gessiene Amaral
UPDATE: Everton had his court hearing yesterday, Oct 2nd, and… Gessiene Amaral needs your support for Help Everton Get Home - Ajude o Everton a Voltar para Casa
gofund.me
October 3, 2025 at 8:36 PM
this Somerville neighbor, taken by ICE earlier this summer, was denied asylum at his hearing yesterday. he’s going to be deported and now his family has to finish paying the lawyer: gofund.me/63eead5d1
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
A Medford neighbor who was abducted by ICE needs help covering legal fees for a hearing coming up this Thursday: gofund.me/d4696e2bf
Donate to Help bring Clemente Home, organized by Tracy S
In late July, Clemente was abducted by ICE and has since been detained in Wyatt Detention Center. His… Tracy S needs your support for Help bring Clemente Home
gofund.me
November 18, 2025 at 11:48 PM
A Medford neighbor who was abducted by ICE needs help covering legal fees for a hearing coming up this Thursday: gofund.me/d4696e2bf
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
KEEP SHARING YOUR STORIES about increased ACA premiums due to the disappearance of subsidies. The stories clearly are having an impact, they help people feel less helpless, and they create solidarity that leads to action.
Mine went from $395→ $821. What happened for you?
Mine went from $395→ $821. What happened for you?
November 18, 2025 at 3:28 PM
KEEP SHARING YOUR STORIES about increased ACA premiums due to the disappearance of subsidies. The stories clearly are having an impact, they help people feel less helpless, and they create solidarity that leads to action.
Mine went from $395→ $821. What happened for you?
Mine went from $395→ $821. What happened for you?
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
Three short bursts, repeated as needed = ICE is nearby or has just arrived
One long continuous burst = ICE is actively kidnapping people
One long continuous burst = ICE is actively kidnapping people
November 16, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Three short bursts, repeated as needed = ICE is nearby or has just arrived
One long continuous burst = ICE is actively kidnapping people
One long continuous burst = ICE is actively kidnapping people
What's a book you're reading lately and love?
Mine is Dungeon Crawler Carl. It's bonkers but clever, fast-paced, and fun.
Mine is Dungeon Crawler Carl. It's bonkers but clever, fast-paced, and fun.
November 11, 2025 at 7:15 PM
What's a book you're reading lately and love?
Mine is Dungeon Crawler Carl. It's bonkers but clever, fast-paced, and fun.
Mine is Dungeon Crawler Carl. It's bonkers but clever, fast-paced, and fun.
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
Hooray, an @xkcd.com about tides! Although only little ones, round here we can get a tidal range of 10 *metres* .
xkcd.com/3135/
xkcd.com/3135/
![[Single frame, with Megan and Cueball standing at a coastline with grass, with water and waves visible. They are looking at the ocean and are standing together.]
Cueball: Hey, where's that big island we were looking at this morning?
Megan: Oh, it's underwater. The ocean's depth here goes up and down by like ten feet every day.
Cueball: What?
Megan: It's because the planet has a big moon orbiting near the surface. It causes weird gravity effects.
Cueball: What???
[Caption below the frame:]
People here are used to them, but tides are one of the weirdest and most sci-fi elements of life on Earth.
Transcript thanks to explainxkcd](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:d67aicqw6nicsf7cjauvzuo3/bafkreibnctesneis67q7qz6tgdszao5vn2zzjlqzdblcy4h6vygipyclni@jpeg)
August 30, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Hooray, an @xkcd.com about tides! Although only little ones, round here we can get a tidal range of 10 *metres* .
xkcd.com/3135/
xkcd.com/3135/
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
Here's the thread. Find a #FoodBank in your area and donate. $1 = $2 at most food banks, they can stretch money further than canned food donations. #NoHunger
Donated to the Atlanta Community Food Bank this morning in case anyone wants join on a food bank donation train
find a food bank in your area here: www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-lo...
find a food bank in your area here: www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-lo...
October 24, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Yesterday (while sick) I spent a lovely 7 hour rabbit trail reading about the economics and labor realities of pre-modern peasants.
As a former history major and science fiction worldbuilder, I cannot recommend this site and series enough. acoup.blog/category/col...
The past was *different* y'all
As a former history major and science fiction worldbuilder, I cannot recommend this site and series enough. acoup.blog/category/col...
The past was *different* y'all
The Peasant – A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
Posts about The Peasant written by Bret Devereaux
acoup.blog
November 11, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Yesterday (while sick) I spent a lovely 7 hour rabbit trail reading about the economics and labor realities of pre-modern peasants.
As a former history major and science fiction worldbuilder, I cannot recommend this site and series enough. acoup.blog/category/col...
The past was *different* y'all
As a former history major and science fiction worldbuilder, I cannot recommend this site and series enough. acoup.blog/category/col...
The past was *different* y'all
Excited that the first book I've worked on as managing editor for Palfrey Press has just dropped. It's a genealogical history book of British royals and British history. With a meticulously researched family tree! :)
www.linkedin.com/posts/palfre...
www.linkedin.com/posts/palfre...
#genealogy #royalhistory #heraldry #kingcharlesiii #booklaunch #palfreypress | Palfrey Press
Palfrey Press is thrilled to announce the publication of All the King’s Fathers: The Paternal Ancestry of King Charles III and the House of Glücksburg by Edward Hilary Davis — a sweeping, richly detai...
www.linkedin.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Excited that the first book I've worked on as managing editor for Palfrey Press has just dropped. It's a genealogical history book of British royals and British history. With a meticulously researched family tree! :)
www.linkedin.com/posts/palfre...
www.linkedin.com/posts/palfre...
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
they used to print floral patterns on sacks of grain & feed because that's the material that women back in the early 20th century used to make their dresses; employers would often let workers take the sacks home because it was the only thing cheap enough to sew. google 'flour sack dresses'!
November 9, 2025 at 8:16 PM
they used to print floral patterns on sacks of grain & feed because that's the material that women back in the early 20th century used to make their dresses; employers would often let workers take the sacks home because it was the only thing cheap enough to sew. google 'flour sack dresses'!
Why a data center in space is a terrible idea—for the geeks in the crowd, with detailed explanations :)
wlockett.medium.com/musks-most-m...
wlockett.medium.com/musks-most-m...
Musk’s Most Moronic Idea To Date
Data centres, but in space!
wlockett.medium.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Why a data center in space is a terrible idea—for the geeks in the crowd, with detailed explanations :)
wlockett.medium.com/musks-most-m...
wlockett.medium.com/musks-most-m...
Autocorrect just turned skin crème into skin crime in a text and I have questions.
November 6, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Autocorrect just turned skin crème into skin crime in a text and I have questions.
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
Once again: cleverness is not a thing that keeps you out of cults. Much more often, it’s the thing that keeps you *in* a cult – because if you’re clever, it’s easy to come up with rationalizations.
People go “Well these pundits are smart enough to see what Twitter is doing to their brains” but I assure you many cannot. That’s because the thing that determines whether your brain gets cooked isn’t SMARTNESS but SELF-SECURITY.
October 26, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Once again: cleverness is not a thing that keeps you out of cults. Much more often, it’s the thing that keeps you *in* a cult – because if you’re clever, it’s easy to come up with rationalizations.
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
![Barbie crying [edited]: He thinks I'm megafauna? I don't suppress the growth of woody vegetation or stabilize the abundance of smaller animals.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wpdti66qcvzywaum55sucghw/bafkreid33rymnixdez3rme5jbyhrvmymugiq7bqfnyxmz2pjh6tpoicrnq@jpeg)
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
Also, on the subject of women not liking science fiction, you can bite me. Mary Shelly invented the genre, and women have ALWAYS been here.
October 24, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Also, on the subject of women not liking science fiction, you can bite me. Mary Shelly invented the genre, and women have ALWAYS been here.
Wow. Did this man even watch Star Trek? Gene Roddenberry put a Russian on the deck of the Starship Enterprise in the middle of a friggin’ Cold War. “Infinite wonders in infinite varieties.”
Inclusion is kinda the point, my dude.
Inclusion is kinda the point, my dude.
I take it back. He’s not 15. He’s 12 and dumb as an effing stump.
“Trekkies are and always have been men. Women are not usually interested in science fiction, but that’s doubly true of Star Trek in particular.”
www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/scifi/mo...
“Trekkies are and always have been men. Women are not usually interested in science fiction, but that’s doubly true of Star Trek in particular.”
www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/scifi/mo...
Most Trekkies Are Republicans, Star Trek Can Embrace It Or Die
Star Trek has always had a specific audience, and it has never had much appeal outside that group. Now it’s … Continue reading "Most Trekkies Are Republicans, Star Trek Can Embrace It Or Die"
www.giantfreakinrobot.com
October 24, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Wow. Did this man even watch Star Trek? Gene Roddenberry put a Russian on the deck of the Starship Enterprise in the middle of a friggin’ Cold War. “Infinite wonders in infinite varieties.”
Inclusion is kinda the point, my dude.
Inclusion is kinda the point, my dude.
As a reminder, with the government shut down, food banks are about to be overrun. if you have a few dollars to spare, consider giving it to your local food bank. They can stretch dollars into meals better than we can imagine.
October 22, 2025 at 12:48 AM
As a reminder, with the government shut down, food banks are about to be overrun. if you have a few dollars to spare, consider giving it to your local food bank. They can stretch dollars into meals better than we can imagine.
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
If you want to pursue something, don't be discouraged by how long it may take. The time is going to go by anyway. You can either be moving toward something you want to see happen, or not.
Those who are 35+, what advice do you have for people just entering their 30s?
October 22, 2025 at 12:28 AM
If you want to pursue something, don't be discouraged by how long it may take. The time is going to go by anyway. You can either be moving toward something you want to see happen, or not.
apparently a real thing and well worth the read: Robot priests.
www.vox.com/future-perfe...
www.vox.com/future-perfe...
Robot priests can bless you, advise you, and even perform your funeral
AI religion is upon us. Welcome to the future.
www.vox.com
September 29, 2025 at 10:54 AM
apparently a real thing and well worth the read: Robot priests.
www.vox.com/future-perfe...
www.vox.com/future-perfe...
World class movie with the best lighting in film. Lighting was a character. Writing was excellent. Acting great. Plus Claudia Black of Farscape also stars.
Seriously if you haven’t seen it, see it.
Seriously if you haven’t seen it, see it.
Never not thinking about the clickyclicky teeth 'n claws guys from PITCH BLACK just A+ creature design love them dearly very creepy
August 21, 2025 at 6:40 PM
World class movie with the best lighting in film. Lighting was a character. Writing was excellent. Acting great. Plus Claudia Black of Farscape also stars.
Seriously if you haven’t seen it, see it.
Seriously if you haven’t seen it, see it.
Reposted by Alex Hughes ( Capell )
GOOD NEWS! Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a UNIVERSAL vaccine that dramatically BOOSTS the immune system’s ability to fight tumors- even WITHOUT targeting a SPECIFIC cancer type. It has the potential to do away with chemotherapy, surgery AND radiation treatment.
August 21, 2025 at 4:00 PM
GOOD NEWS! Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a UNIVERSAL vaccine that dramatically BOOSTS the immune system’s ability to fight tumors- even WITHOUT targeting a SPECIFIC cancer type. It has the potential to do away with chemotherapy, surgery AND radiation treatment.