Mark Madsen
@markmadsen.bsky.social
Decision support, design, 30 years of data, architecture, augmenting human analysis, systems, cybernetics, safety, resilience, GOFAI, data cleaning & prep, engineering management, urban planning, botany, history, art, dada
At a conference listening to a vendor keynote. Lost me talking about moore’s law and showing that “ai compute” is growing faster without recognizing the comparison of apples and pumpkins. He then failed to recognize that the obstacles to progress are not amount of data or compute resources 🤦♂️
November 17, 2025 at 1:16 PM
At a conference listening to a vendor keynote. Lost me talking about moore’s law and showing that “ai compute” is growing faster without recognizing the comparison of apples and pumpkins. He then failed to recognize that the obstacles to progress are not amount of data or compute resources 🤦♂️
It takes young people to do something the politicians repeatedly fail at
Incredible video from Reddit (too large to upload the screencap). CBP agents attempt to detain a flower vendor and end up getting chased into a vacant lot by a crowd of teenagers. What a bunch of impotent sad sacks.
www.reddit.com/r/EyesOnIce/...
www.reddit.com/r/EyesOnIce/...
November 17, 2025 at 4:01 AM
It takes young people to do something the politicians repeatedly fail at
Reposted by Mark Madsen
I am sorry hold up a second. Are we all going to blow past that Chuck Schumer was listed in the Epstein files?
Everyone hates this guy and suddenly all the prominent people calling for his ouster are silent?
Everyone hates this guy and suddenly all the prominent people calling for his ouster are silent?
November 17, 2025 at 2:27 AM
I am sorry hold up a second. Are we all going to blow past that Chuck Schumer was listed in the Epstein files?
Everyone hates this guy and suddenly all the prominent people calling for his ouster are silent?
Everyone hates this guy and suddenly all the prominent people calling for his ouster are silent?
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Here's an homage to Mumford I wrote a few months ago. The man was way ahead of his time.
The first lesson we have to learn is that the city exists, not for the facile passage of motorcars, but for the care and culture of men."
The first lesson we have to learn is that the city exists, not for the facile passage of motorcars, but for the care and culture of men."
The Dark Prophet of Car-Clogged Cities
70 years before congestion pricing landed in New York City, Lewis Mumford sounded the alarm on letting automobiles run amok in America’s downtowns.
www.bloomberg.com
November 16, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Here's an homage to Mumford I wrote a few months ago. The man was way ahead of his time.
The first lesson we have to learn is that the city exists, not for the facile passage of motorcars, but for the care and culture of men."
The first lesson we have to learn is that the city exists, not for the facile passage of motorcars, but for the care and culture of men."
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Very disappointed none of you told me that Lewis Mumford made a 1963 film about car dependency, and it's available on YouTube.
"The motor car inflates our private ego, proclaims our social status, and provides us with the illusion of freedom and power."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIKZ...
"The motor car inflates our private ego, proclaims our social status, and provides us with the illusion of freedom and power."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIKZ...
November 16, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Very disappointed none of you told me that Lewis Mumford made a 1963 film about car dependency, and it's available on YouTube.
"The motor car inflates our private ego, proclaims our social status, and provides us with the illusion of freedom and power."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIKZ...
"The motor car inflates our private ego, proclaims our social status, and provides us with the illusion of freedom and power."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIKZ...
Reposted by Mark Madsen
A modest proposal for university leadership: over the past 50 years local and federal governments gave up funding them enough to do their jobs. So leadership had to become a wing of fundraising: boards and presidents were there to please donors. But we haven't drawn the logical conclusion: 1/4
i remain shocked at just how badly elite higher ed admins have stewarded universities. these presidents and chancellors and provosts, supposedly accomplished people, have collectively overseen a staggering nationwide collapse in every respect.
One reason why elite schools (Columbia, Brown, Cornell) caving to Trump’s illegal impoundment and extortion is so galling — a betrayal, really — is that they would have won had they fought. By giving up, they guaranteed every other school will have to fight harder.
November 16, 2025 at 2:40 PM
A modest proposal for university leadership: over the past 50 years local and federal governments gave up funding them enough to do their jobs. So leadership had to become a wing of fundraising: boards and presidents were there to please donors. But we haven't drawn the logical conclusion: 1/4
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Rodney King Riot Videos Reveal a Lost Los Angeles
November 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Rodney King Riot Videos Reveal a Lost Los Angeles
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Foreign military invasion strikes Charlotte, NC, as residents fend for themselves.
5 headlines tonight on Charlotte Observer’s homepage:
“Manolo's Bakery closes to protect customers”
“Church members flee as federal agents arrive”
“Super G executive describes agents dragging out teen employee”
“Border Patrol questions people at Walmart”
“Border Patrol sweep sparks fear”
“Manolo's Bakery closes to protect customers”
“Church members flee as federal agents arrive”
“Super G executive describes agents dragging out teen employee”
“Border Patrol questions people at Walmart”
“Border Patrol sweep sparks fear”
November 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Foreign military invasion strikes Charlotte, NC, as residents fend for themselves.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
I just saw someone post about an app being marketed as ”letting people continue relationships with dead relatives” and this was my response:
This was LITERALLY presented as an exploitative scam in a Max Headroom episode. Right down to the simulation saying “That’s wonderful!” in response to a grieving widow/scam victim.
archive.org/details/max-...
archive.org/details/max-...
archive.org
November 15, 2025 at 2:11 PM
I just saw someone post about an app being marketed as ”letting people continue relationships with dead relatives” and this was my response:
Reposted by Mark Madsen
The thing she didn't do was business legally
November 16, 2025 at 5:26 AM
The thing she didn't do was business legally
Reposted by Mark Madsen
It's become abundantly clear that the wealthy are incapable of happiness, which makes the fact that so much of our society is structured around trying to make them happy particularly obscene.
November 16, 2025 at 5:31 AM
It's become abundantly clear that the wealthy are incapable of happiness, which makes the fact that so much of our society is structured around trying to make them happy particularly obscene.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
A quick study of Equestrian portrait of Louis XIV
I took some shrimperties 🦐
I took some shrimperties 🦐
November 14, 2025 at 9:40 AM
A quick study of Equestrian portrait of Louis XIV
I took some shrimperties 🦐
I took some shrimperties 🦐
Reposted by Mark Madsen
I really don't like systems that force libraries to pay-per-use and I wish libraries themselves were more upfront with users about how much every movie you take out from Hoopla or Kanopy is costing the library.
May 26, 2025 at 4:10 PM
I really don't like systems that force libraries to pay-per-use and I wish libraries themselves were more upfront with users about how much every movie you take out from Hoopla or Kanopy is costing the library.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
15 years ago @jevinwest.bsky.social and I talked about how we needed a data scientists’ code of ethics like the Hippocratic oath.
We still do.
We still do.
November 15, 2025 at 7:41 PM
15 years ago @jevinwest.bsky.social and I talked about how we needed a data scientists’ code of ethics like the Hippocratic oath.
We still do.
We still do.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
This is funny because it's true.
Posts that explain other people’s jokes do good here
This is funny because there is a whole genre of posts on here that link to a joke from elsewhere and restate it in simpler terms and buddy they ALWAYS do numbers
November 15, 2025 at 8:31 PM
This is funny because it's true.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Matthew McConaughey is on the Texas sideline, which implies that they're losing because they're not using Agentforce, the powerful new AI from Salesforce
November 16, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Matthew McConaughey is on the Texas sideline, which implies that they're losing because they're not using Agentforce, the powerful new AI from Salesforce
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Time after time we see that capitulation to the administration doesn’t work, but when we stand up to the bullies, we can win.
This is a huge win for academic freedom and free expression.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
This is a huge win for academic freedom and free expression.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Judge blocks Trump administration push to fine UCLA $1.2 billion for alleged antisemitism
A federal judge late Friday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from imposing a $1.2-billion fine on UCLA for alleged civil rights violations over antisemitism, its recog...
www.latimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Time after time we see that capitulation to the administration doesn’t work, but when we stand up to the bullies, we can win.
This is a huge win for academic freedom and free expression.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
This is a huge win for academic freedom and free expression.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Reposted by Mark Madsen
LP, LP, ➜, LK, HP. I went back redid my Homer Akuma. This time with synched mouth and tweaks.
November 15, 2025 at 9:12 PM
LP, LP, ➜, LK, HP. I went back redid my Homer Akuma. This time with synched mouth and tweaks.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
John Hopkins University will no longer charge tuition to students from families earning less than $200,000 per year.
Means-testing may be less than ideal, but this is certainly very far along the right track.
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
Means-testing may be less than ideal, but this is certainly very far along the right track.
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
November 16, 2025 at 1:23 AM
John Hopkins University will no longer charge tuition to students from families earning less than $200,000 per year.
Means-testing may be less than ideal, but this is certainly very far along the right track.
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
Means-testing may be less than ideal, but this is certainly very far along the right track.
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Going back in time and killing Reagan in like 1974 would solve a shocking number of issues
it's fascinating that you can see when exactly the Reagan revolution happened
November 16, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Going back in time and killing Reagan in like 1974 would solve a shocking number of issues
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Border Patrol agent who went viral over arrest video died of overdose, lawyer says
Border Patrol agent who went viral over arrest video died of overdose, lawyer says
www.independent.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Border Patrol agent who went viral over arrest video died of overdose, lawyer says
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Reminder for folks if you click that gear will icon on the bottom right of your bluesky dashboard (on browser. Mobile you may have to hit a button first to pop it out), then select the moderation option then "muted words and tags" you can mute words and phrases from 24hrs to forever.
November 16, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Reminder for folks if you click that gear will icon on the bottom right of your bluesky dashboard (on browser. Mobile you may have to hit a button first to pop it out), then select the moderation option then "muted words and tags" you can mute words and phrases from 24hrs to forever.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Pretty much all the "Oh the Democrats are NOT as bad as the Republicans" nonsense goes out the window when you realize Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, and Amy Klobuchar actually planned Trump's inauguration.
November 16, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Pretty much all the "Oh the Democrats are NOT as bad as the Republicans" nonsense goes out the window when you realize Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, and Amy Klobuchar actually planned Trump's inauguration.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
At #HSS2025 and happened to see this post which feels appropriate to share.
During the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, a marble statue of Louis Agassiz fell from 2nd floor of Stanford's Zoology building into main quad.
Professor Frank Angell reportedly quipped:
"Agassiz was great in the abstract but not in the concrete."
The statue was unharmed, returned to its perch...
Professor Frank Angell reportedly quipped:
"Agassiz was great in the abstract but not in the concrete."
The statue was unharmed, returned to its perch...
November 14, 2025 at 9:55 PM
At #HSS2025 and happened to see this post which feels appropriate to share.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Valencius calls attention to Project Gasbuggy--a #ColdWar attempt to use underground nuclear explosions to harvest oil & natural gas. Those experiments proved unsuccessful & any petroleum extracted was too radioactive for consumer use.
More on Gasbuggy: aoghs.org/technology/p...
#HSS2025
More on Gasbuggy: aoghs.org/technology/p...
#HSS2025
November 15, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Valencius calls attention to Project Gasbuggy--a #ColdWar attempt to use underground nuclear explosions to harvest oil & natural gas. Those experiments proved unsuccessful & any petroleum extracted was too radioactive for consumer use.
More on Gasbuggy: aoghs.org/technology/p...
#HSS2025
More on Gasbuggy: aoghs.org/technology/p...
#HSS2025