Arete Zayin
@aretezayin.bsky.social
The smartest man to ever put a paperclip in an electrical socket.
(he/they)
(he/they)
Is Gandalf a grand wizard bigot in white robes?
In the Fellowship of the Ring, Gimli suggests the Mines of Moria and Gandalf says he will not go unless it is the only way. This implies that Gandalf is Dwarf racist, or that he knew it was destroyed. He is surprised the Balrog shows up though. So...
In the Fellowship of the Ring, Gimli suggests the Mines of Moria and Gandalf says he will not go unless it is the only way. This implies that Gandalf is Dwarf racist, or that he knew it was destroyed. He is surprised the Balrog shows up though. So...
February 7, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Is Gandalf a grand wizard bigot in white robes?
In the Fellowship of the Ring, Gimli suggests the Mines of Moria and Gandalf says he will not go unless it is the only way. This implies that Gandalf is Dwarf racist, or that he knew it was destroyed. He is surprised the Balrog shows up though. So...
In the Fellowship of the Ring, Gimli suggests the Mines of Moria and Gandalf says he will not go unless it is the only way. This implies that Gandalf is Dwarf racist, or that he knew it was destroyed. He is surprised the Balrog shows up though. So...
Much of the difficulty in giving yourself permission to be happy is that we have to extend to ourselves the same compassion and kindness we would show a stranger when we know ourselves and our shortcomings most of all.
December 29, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Much of the difficulty in giving yourself permission to be happy is that we have to extend to ourselves the same compassion and kindness we would show a stranger when we know ourselves and our shortcomings most of all.
December 13, 2025 at 4:57 AM
When would you need whale repellent? You couldn't even use it on porpoise for orcas.
November 24, 2025 at 9:50 PM
When would you need whale repellent? You couldn't even use it on porpoise for orcas.
That's wild.
you can say whatever you want without getting banned by claiming you just overheard a guy say what you want to say and adding 'that's wild' after it. online trick
November 15, 2025 at 3:26 AM
That's wild.
I'm going to be so annoyed if the thing that knocks down this house of cards is an octogenarian being outed as bisexual and not any of the CVS receipt length list of ACTUAL crimes.
November 15, 2025 at 3:14 AM
I'm going to be so annoyed if the thing that knocks down this house of cards is an octogenarian being outed as bisexual and not any of the CVS receipt length list of ACTUAL crimes.
\@grok what is with the blue and orange serif text only AI images on blue sky today?
November 9, 2025 at 5:18 AM
\@grok what is with the blue and orange serif text only AI images on blue sky today?
My Europa Universalis 5 hot take is that they shouldn't have broken the time down by the hour. This isn't Hearts of Iron where it takes place over a narrow window. This is over 500 years and it slows down the rate of play on an already slow game, considerably.
November 5, 2025 at 6:44 PM
My Europa Universalis 5 hot take is that they shouldn't have broken the time down by the hour. This isn't Hearts of Iron where it takes place over a narrow window. This is over 500 years and it slows down the rate of play on an already slow game, considerably.
Reposted by Arete Zayin
@thelibbiegrant.bsky.social ayyy finally came in
October 11, 2025 at 4:57 AM
@thelibbiegrant.bsky.social ayyy finally came in
Why was the Rapture supposed to be today? Wrong answers only.
September 24, 2025 at 5:27 AM
Why was the Rapture supposed to be today? Wrong answers only.
I love the response to billion dollar company, famous for doing shitty things, doing a shitty thing, as a collective "vote with your wallet" like that has ever worked on a monster that big.
You could copy paste this every two weeks changeless. Your eyes are what feed the beast. Not your money.
You could copy paste this every two weeks changeless. Your eyes are what feed the beast. Not your money.
September 21, 2025 at 3:57 AM
I love the response to billion dollar company, famous for doing shitty things, doing a shitty thing, as a collective "vote with your wallet" like that has ever worked on a monster that big.
You could copy paste this every two weeks changeless. Your eyes are what feed the beast. Not your money.
You could copy paste this every two weeks changeless. Your eyes are what feed the beast. Not your money.
Grief is just bleeding from the heart without blood. Every other emotion can have some purpose. Fear can keep you safe from danger, anger can help you respond to threats, anxiety even has the veneer of value.
I miss my dog who isn't even gone yet.
I miss my dog who isn't even gone yet.
September 4, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Grief is just bleeding from the heart without blood. Every other emotion can have some purpose. Fear can keep you safe from danger, anger can help you respond to threats, anxiety even has the veneer of value.
I miss my dog who isn't even gone yet.
I miss my dog who isn't even gone yet.
Today's PKM addition is the 'pantheism controversy.' From Enlightenment era German #philosophy it was a public cat fight of nerds over the seemingly heretical monism advocated by Baruch Spinoza.
September 3, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Today's PKM addition is the 'pantheism controversy.' From Enlightenment era German #philosophy it was a public cat fight of nerds over the seemingly heretical monism advocated by Baruch Spinoza.
Working on my Obsidian PKM today and added jihad. I was surprised to learn it doesn't mean holy war is is closer to meaning a struggle or effort made in service of Allah. If someone spots something wrong or to add/change, let me know! Feedback is welcome.
#islam #obsidian #pkm #theology
#islam #obsidian #pkm #theology
September 3, 2025 at 12:20 AM
While not the origin of the phrase the "I can only see so far because I stand on the shoulders of giants." is attributed commonly to Isaac Newton. He was talking about people like Da Vinci and Plato. This was one of the best and most influential scientists of all time, 300 years ago.
September 2, 2025 at 4:13 PM
While not the origin of the phrase the "I can only see so far because I stand on the shoulders of giants." is attributed commonly to Isaac Newton. He was talking about people like Da Vinci and Plato. This was one of the best and most influential scientists of all time, 300 years ago.
"Things are bad! Yay!" Is so unnatural of an incentive structure that it's odd to me that we still haven't learned this tulip lesson
Stock markets responded to the shakedown and partial nationalization of a $100 billion company by hitting record highs.
August 24, 2025 at 4:59 AM
"Things are bad! Yay!" Is so unnatural of an incentive structure that it's odd to me that we still haven't learned this tulip lesson
Just imagine you're behind the veil of ignorance and turn your phone off?
I’m grumpy because the Internet is making me want to defend Rawls. This is distracting me from the paper attacking Rawls I’m trying to write.
August 24, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Just imagine you're behind the veil of ignorance and turn your phone off?
Hubris fills the Leger today! The whole stock market is up because the Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, said the economy was doing poorly and so -might- lower interest rates.
That is flagrantly perverse. "Things are bad! Yay!" should clue humans into that something is wrong with this picture.
That is flagrantly perverse. "Things are bad! Yay!" should clue humans into that something is wrong with this picture.
August 22, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Hubris fills the Leger today! The whole stock market is up because the Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, said the economy was doing poorly and so -might- lower interest rates.
That is flagrantly perverse. "Things are bad! Yay!" should clue humans into that something is wrong with this picture.
That is flagrantly perverse. "Things are bad! Yay!" should clue humans into that something is wrong with this picture.
Pictured: Pokemaster cowboy out on the range waiting for espresso with their posse.
Miss you already Seattle. But glad to be home.
Miss you already Seattle. But glad to be home.
August 20, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Pictured: Pokemaster cowboy out on the range waiting for espresso with their posse.
Miss you already Seattle. But glad to be home.
Miss you already Seattle. But glad to be home.
Not that anyone asked, but if you name something "Pioneer Square," I don't expect there to be covered wagons. But I expect there to at least be a square.
August 17, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Not that anyone asked, but if you name something "Pioneer Square," I don't expect there to be covered wagons. But I expect there to at least be a square.
If you see me at the club this is what you find.
August 17, 2025 at 4:40 AM
If you see me at the club this is what you find.
Gender is a lie by Big Baby to sell more suffering.
August 17, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Gender is a lie by Big Baby to sell more suffering.
Happy Hugo's y'all.
August 17, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Happy Hugo's y'all.
I was at this panel at WorldCon and this is a really good write up of it. I agree with what the presenter suggested that a tiered semi-supervised learning system supporting other lower ranked but specialized unsupervised models.
Controversies over the use of #AI generated buzz in advance of Seattle #Worldcon 2025, this week's big sci-fi convention. They're also a big topic at the event, and not just because intelligent machines are common science-fiction plot devices. www.geekwire.com/2025/worldco... H/T @seattlein2025.org
Sci-fi fans voice real-world concerns about how AI is changing the information ecosystem
The real-world effects of AI are creating a lot of buzz at the world's premier sci-fi convention, taking place this week in Seattle.
www.geekwire.com
August 14, 2025 at 12:42 AM
I was at this panel at WorldCon and this is a really good write up of it. I agree with what the presenter suggested that a tiered semi-supervised learning system supporting other lower ranked but specialized unsupervised models.