@chrisvls.bsky.social
Reposted
Oldie but a goodie
In 2006 a high school English teacher asked students to write to a famous author & ask for advice.
KURT VONNEGUT - born 103yrs ago today - was the only one to respond.
His reply was a doozy.
KURT VONNEGUT - born 103yrs ago today - was the only one to respond.
His reply was a doozy.
November 11, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Oldie but a goodie
Reposted
I want to spell this out in case the implications aren't clear:
This means all public tools/webapps of GISAID data (all the ones you've been used to seeing thru the pandemic, as far as we can tell) are prohibited.
The file allowed this. Cut that - cut off all tools the public & others were using.
This means all public tools/webapps of GISAID data (all the ones you've been used to seeing thru the pandemic, as far as we can tell) are prohibited.
The file allowed this. Cut that - cut off all tools the public & others were using.
On Oct 1, 2025, GISAID informed us that they had ended updates to the flat file of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences and associated metadata that we had used to update Nextstrain analyses since Feb 2020. GISAID's stated rationale was that their "resources are limited". 1/5
November 7, 2025 at 2:41 PM
I want to spell this out in case the implications aren't clear:
This means all public tools/webapps of GISAID data (all the ones you've been used to seeing thru the pandemic, as far as we can tell) are prohibited.
The file allowed this. Cut that - cut off all tools the public & others were using.
This means all public tools/webapps of GISAID data (all the ones you've been used to seeing thru the pandemic, as far as we can tell) are prohibited.
The file allowed this. Cut that - cut off all tools the public & others were using.
Reposted
Reposted
Part of the reason why I’m so insistent about folks understanding AI capabilities is that they’re here to stay and we need to start thinking about what to do in such a world. Putting the genie back in the bottle is a pleasant fantasy that delays serious reckoning
November 9, 2025 at 5:29 AM
Part of the reason why I’m so insistent about folks understanding AI capabilities is that they’re here to stay and we need to start thinking about what to do in such a world. Putting the genie back in the bottle is a pleasant fantasy that delays serious reckoning
Reposted
It's a small graphic design detail, but the loitering guy on TTC signage is actually in front of the red slash, casually leaning against it, making him look *unbelievably* cool.
November 6, 2025 at 10:30 PM
It's a small graphic design detail, but the loitering guy on TTC signage is actually in front of the red slash, casually leaning against it, making him look *unbelievably* cool.
Reposted
the sandwich guy walking away from the court house and suddenly, his limp disappears
November 6, 2025 at 8:19 PM
the sandwich guy walking away from the court house and suddenly, his limp disappears
Reposted
Salt Typhoon was a recent direct attack on telcom infrastructure, probably from China, and probably exploiting "lawful access" wiretapping interfaces. It's pure insanity to relax security mandates right now.
I testified on this in Congress earlier this year: oversight.house.gov/wp-content/u...
I testified on this in Congress earlier this year: oversight.house.gov/wp-content/u...
oversight.house.gov
October 30, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Salt Typhoon was a recent direct attack on telcom infrastructure, probably from China, and probably exploiting "lawful access" wiretapping interfaces. It's pure insanity to relax security mandates right now.
I testified on this in Congress earlier this year: oversight.house.gov/wp-content/u...
I testified on this in Congress earlier this year: oversight.house.gov/wp-content/u...
Reposted
Dude is blowing up boats in foreign waters without due process, taking away food from 42 million Americans this weekend, randomly arresting American citizens, and tore down 1/3 of the White House without any push back or oversight.
But tell me again how he's "just trolling" about a third term.
But tell me again how he's "just trolling" about a third term.
October 30, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Dude is blowing up boats in foreign waters without due process, taking away food from 42 million Americans this weekend, randomly arresting American citizens, and tore down 1/3 of the White House without any push back or oversight.
But tell me again how he's "just trolling" about a third term.
But tell me again how he's "just trolling" about a third term.
Reposted
I regret to inform everyone that my pedantic brain couldn’t let me live until I knew whether or not dodger blue and blue jays blue are the same blue. They are ONE PANTONE NUMBER APART.
October 29, 2025 at 2:18 AM
I regret to inform everyone that my pedantic brain couldn’t let me live until I knew whether or not dodger blue and blue jays blue are the same blue. They are ONE PANTONE NUMBER APART.
Reposted
COUNT I
Kat Abughazaleh did, while law enforcement was in heated pursuit, paint what appeared to be the entrance to a cave on a sheer rock wall, causing law enforcement to forcibly bonk into said wall.
COUNT II
The same thing on a different wall, but then a train came out and ran us over???
Kat Abughazaleh did, while law enforcement was in heated pursuit, paint what appeared to be the entrance to a cave on a sheer rock wall, causing law enforcement to forcibly bonk into said wall.
COUNT II
The same thing on a different wall, but then a train came out and ran us over???
October 29, 2025 at 8:09 PM
COUNT I
Kat Abughazaleh did, while law enforcement was in heated pursuit, paint what appeared to be the entrance to a cave on a sheer rock wall, causing law enforcement to forcibly bonk into said wall.
COUNT II
The same thing on a different wall, but then a train came out and ran us over???
Kat Abughazaleh did, while law enforcement was in heated pursuit, paint what appeared to be the entrance to a cave on a sheer rock wall, causing law enforcement to forcibly bonk into said wall.
COUNT II
The same thing on a different wall, but then a train came out and ran us over???
I saw this as @annabower.bsky.social 's pinned post.
It's super interesting and just made me want to know...
Who is the administrator of DOGE?
Who is the administrator of DOGE?
Who is the administrator of DOGE?
It's super interesting and just made me want to know...
Who is the administrator of DOGE?
Who is the administrator of DOGE?
Who is the administrator of DOGE?
EXCLUSIVE: One Saturday afternoon in October, my phone lit up with a notification.
I glanced down at the message.
“Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began.
So began my text exchange with the woman who is prosecuting the president's perceived political enemies.
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
I glanced down at the message.
“Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began.
So began my text exchange with the woman who is prosecuting the president's perceived political enemies.
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
October 28, 2025 at 6:32 PM
I saw this as @annabower.bsky.social 's pinned post.
It's super interesting and just made me want to know...
Who is the administrator of DOGE?
Who is the administrator of DOGE?
Who is the administrator of DOGE?
It's super interesting and just made me want to know...
Who is the administrator of DOGE?
Who is the administrator of DOGE?
Who is the administrator of DOGE?
Reposted
Insightful piece from @matthewherper.bsky.social that captures both the hopes being made possible by medical innovation and the concerns facing both drugmakers and the public.
It's also in front of the @statnews.com paywall.
It's also in front of the @statnews.com paywall.
Sometimes the biggest moments at a conference happen backstage. At the annual #STATSummit, that kind of moment involved a pharma CEO and a toddler in a tuxedo. www.statnews.com/2025/10/24/p...
At a gathering of biopharma executives, a moment of wonder — and also of worry
Sometimes the biggest moments at a conference happen backstage. At the annual STAT Summit, that kind of moment involved a pharma CEO and a toddler in a tuxedo.
www.statnews.com
October 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Insightful piece from @matthewherper.bsky.social that captures both the hopes being made possible by medical innovation and the concerns facing both drugmakers and the public.
It's also in front of the @statnews.com paywall.
It's also in front of the @statnews.com paywall.
Reposted
October 23, 2025 at 6:54 AM
I can’t think of why these companies who are only three years away from the breakthrough they thought they were three years away from fifteen years ago can’t raise money in the private markets…
The visible hand
Exclusive: Several quantum-computing companies are in talks to give the Commerce Department equity stakes in exchange for federal funding.
October 23, 2025 at 7:09 AM
I can’t think of why these companies who are only three years away from the breakthrough they thought they were three years away from fifteen years ago can’t raise money in the private markets…
Reposted
Trump: “It won’t touch it”
It’s the Epstein Ballroom. Trump will let it touch whatever it wants.
It’s the Epstein Ballroom. Trump will let it touch whatever it wants.
October 22, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Trump: “It won’t touch it”
It’s the Epstein Ballroom. Trump will let it touch whatever it wants.
It’s the Epstein Ballroom. Trump will let it touch whatever it wants.
I don’t want to believe it, I guess I don’t believe it, but it has a real Occam’s Razor advantage…
Once you realize the NYT is trying to help him you can’t stop seeing it
It was an unrealistic promise, not a lie!
October 21, 2025 at 6:07 AM
I don’t want to believe it, I guess I don’t believe it, but it has a real Occam’s Razor advantage…
The root cause of the issue of Gaza is the two leaderships who have invested in building barriers to peace for a generation. A generation. That root cause is still in place. Outside forces could hold them to peace until they are replaced, but that requires a lot.
(AP) — Israel on Sunday struck targets in the southern Gaza Strip after it said its troops came under fire from Hamas militants, in the first major test of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire meant to halt more than two years of war.
@apnews.com #HisTriumph
apnews.com/article/isra...
@apnews.com #HisTriumph
apnews.com/article/isra...
October 19, 2025 at 2:44 PM
The root cause of the issue of Gaza is the two leaderships who have invested in building barriers to peace for a generation. A generation. That root cause is still in place. Outside forces could hold them to peace until they are replaced, but that requires a lot.
Reposted
(AP) — Israel on Sunday struck targets in the southern Gaza Strip after it said its troops came under fire from Hamas militants, in the first major test of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire meant to halt more than two years of war.
@apnews.com #HisTriumph
apnews.com/article/isra...
@apnews.com #HisTriumph
apnews.com/article/isra...
October 19, 2025 at 1:04 PM
(AP) — Israel on Sunday struck targets in the southern Gaza Strip after it said its troops came under fire from Hamas militants, in the first major test of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire meant to halt more than two years of war.
@apnews.com #HisTriumph
apnews.com/article/isra...
@apnews.com #HisTriumph
apnews.com/article/isra...
Reposted
Was trying to remember poop-themed artworks & suddenly remembered one of my all-time favorites: Jan Miense Molenaer's "The Five Senses: Smell," 1637—which in fact I saw just last week on a visit to the Mauritshuis www.mauritshuis.nl/en/our-colle...
October 19, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Was trying to remember poop-themed artworks & suddenly remembered one of my all-time favorites: Jan Miense Molenaer's "The Five Senses: Smell," 1637—which in fact I saw just last week on a visit to the Mauritshuis www.mauritshuis.nl/en/our-colle...
I have listened to one recent @economist.com The Intelligence episode about Argentina recently. So I have thought about this for about 7 minutes. And that's enough that I could have told you that Trump's comments were a terrible idea.
"Incredibly, Trump’s recent announcements have made the situation even worse. By declaring that U.S. economic support will only continue if Milei wins at the polls, he has galvanized the Argentine opposition to Milei, thus leading to more capital flight and skyrocketing interest rates."
America First? No, Billionaire Buddies First
Argentina: A very Trumpy debacle
paulkrugman.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 6:40 PM
I have listened to one recent @economist.com The Intelligence episode about Argentina recently. So I have thought about this for about 7 minutes. And that's enough that I could have told you that Trump's comments were a terrible idea.
Reposted
Governance is complicated. For example, you could reconvene the national legislature and act to ensure that millions don't see their health care costs double or triple, to allow information on which men fucked children to be aired, and to restore services to all Americans. Or not.
It's a grey area.
It's a grey area.
October 17, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Governance is complicated. For example, you could reconvene the national legislature and act to ensure that millions don't see their health care costs double or triple, to allow information on which men fucked children to be aired, and to restore services to all Americans. Or not.
It's a grey area.
It's a grey area.
Reposted
Reposted
This is a very good paragraph.
From "The Last Days of the Pentagon Press Corps" in The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
By Nancy A. Youssef
From "The Last Days of the Pentagon Press Corps" in The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
By Nancy A. Youssef
October 16, 2025 at 1:26 AM
This is a very good paragraph.
From "The Last Days of the Pentagon Press Corps" in The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
By Nancy A. Youssef
From "The Last Days of the Pentagon Press Corps" in The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
By Nancy A. Youssef
Catching MAGA friends in hypocrisy doesn't embarrass them because the hypocrisy is, to them, a feature, not a bug.
They believe that some people *should* have more rights than other people. That's the goal.
I don't remember who posted this, but it is key.
They believe that some people *should* have more rights than other people. That's the goal.
I don't remember who posted this, but it is key.
I’m old enough to remember when the idea of the government reaching out to social media companies to ask for moderation was a gigantic scandal
Statement from AG Pam Bondi:
October 14, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Catching MAGA friends in hypocrisy doesn't embarrass them because the hypocrisy is, to them, a feature, not a bug.
They believe that some people *should* have more rights than other people. That's the goal.
I don't remember who posted this, but it is key.
They believe that some people *should* have more rights than other people. That's the goal.
I don't remember who posted this, but it is key.
Reposted
I’m old enough to remember when the idea of the government reaching out to social media companies to ask for moderation was a gigantic scandal
October 14, 2025 at 3:51 PM
I’m old enough to remember when the idea of the government reaching out to social media companies to ask for moderation was a gigantic scandal