Prof Colin
@owtytrof.bsky.social
Tennis / baseball / travel / movies / academia
Shambolic Rube
Shambolic Rube
Was the Yugo "well-made"? My recollection at the time was that the Hyundai Excel - at $4995 vs. $3995 for the Yugo - was regarded as the far more reliable option
November 28, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Was the Yugo "well-made"? My recollection at the time was that the Hyundai Excel - at $4995 vs. $3995 for the Yugo - was regarded as the far more reliable option
I've spent decades creating my own teaching materials because I found those created by publishers to be sub-par. But at least those were created by humans. Now if I were to consider using those I'd have to set aside time just to go through everything and fact-check it for hallucinations
November 27, 2025 at 4:04 PM
I've spent decades creating my own teaching materials because I found those created by publishers to be sub-par. But at least those were created by humans. Now if I were to consider using those I'd have to set aside time just to go through everything and fact-check it for hallucinations
I don't use it for work because the domains where I could use it are the parts of my work I actually like and it can't do the parts I hate
November 27, 2025 at 3:11 PM
I don't use it for work because the domains where I could use it are the parts of my work I actually like and it can't do the parts I hate
GOP is helped by the fact that no matter his badly they fuck up to lose power the voters will forget two years later and start giving it back
November 26, 2025 at 4:30 PM
GOP is helped by the fact that no matter his badly they fuck up to lose power the voters will forget two years later and start giving it back
(They also specialize in "Thanks for electing us, still can't do anything because filibuster, sorry but whatchagonnado?")
November 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM
(They also specialize in "Thanks for electing us, still can't do anything because filibuster, sorry but whatchagonnado?")
GOP philosophy is "Do stuff when you have power in case you lose it next election." Dem approach is "Don't do stuff or you might lose the next election". So they never do stuff, but they also lose elections
November 26, 2025 at 4:00 PM
GOP philosophy is "Do stuff when you have power in case you lose it next election." Dem approach is "Don't do stuff or you might lose the next election". So they never do stuff, but they also lose elections
Party leaders/pundits are invested in defining themselves by what they are not (MAGA/left), but they never articulate new policies they are for. They defend existing stuff, but I can't recall the last time I heard a new policy idea from Dem leaders to improve people's lives, centrist or otherwise
November 26, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Party leaders/pundits are invested in defining themselves by what they are not (MAGA/left), but they never articulate new policies they are for. They defend existing stuff, but I can't recall the last time I heard a new policy idea from Dem leaders to improve people's lives, centrist or otherwise
Since the 8th spot is a wild card I’ve wondered about the possibility of it going to Shang, especially if Fonseca/Mensik choose to not play. Unlikely, but I think there’s a good case for him
November 26, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Since the 8th spot is a wild card I’ve wondered about the possibility of it going to Shang, especially if Fonseca/Mensik choose to not play. Unlikely, but I think there’s a good case for him
And not only is this a viable strategy, it seems to me like an optimal one. Candidates who take this approach and speak in humane terms are succeeding
November 24, 2025 at 10:58 PM
And not only is this a viable strategy, it seems to me like an optimal one. Candidates who take this approach and speak in humane terms are succeeding
I think everything James Carville writes tells us more about James Carville than about what works in politics in 2025
November 24, 2025 at 10:58 PM
I think everything James Carville writes tells us more about James Carville than about what works in politics in 2025
Or: phone makers and app designers aren’t innovating in a way that makes upgrades compelling
(Looking at you, Apple Intelligence)
(Looking at you, Apple Intelligence)
November 24, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Or: phone makers and app designers aren’t innovating in a way that makes upgrades compelling
(Looking at you, Apple Intelligence)
(Looking at you, Apple Intelligence)
Oh, they believe critical thinking is a worthwhile investment, we see that when they choose colleges for their own kids. The question is whether they think other people's kids - especially kids from lower-income families - deserve the same quality education, and evidence so far suggests they do not
November 23, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Oh, they believe critical thinking is a worthwhile investment, we see that when they choose colleges for their own kids. The question is whether they think other people's kids - especially kids from lower-income families - deserve the same quality education, and evidence so far suggests they do not
Lazy and contemptuous of their critics on the left, thus they dismiss "blueskyism" and defend the bot farm
November 23, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Lazy and contemptuous of their critics on the left, thus they dismiss "blueskyism" and defend the bot farm
Yup. Easiest way to tell what the elites (including the college presidents destroying the humanities) really believe is where they send their own kids, and none of them ever send their own kids to schools that are replacing humanities with AI
November 23, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Yup. Easiest way to tell what the elites (including the college presidents destroying the humanities) really believe is where they send their own kids, and none of them ever send their own kids to schools that are replacing humanities with AI
Too many media folks are invested in their follower account on X, happy with the feedback loop they get from their peers, and too lazy to do the work of rebuilding a following elsewhere - particularly an elsewhere that doesn't kiss their ass. So, they keep pretending X isn't just a big bot farm
November 23, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Too many media folks are invested in their follower account on X, happy with the feedback loop they get from their peers, and too lazy to do the work of rebuilding a following elsewhere - particularly an elsewhere that doesn't kiss their ass. So, they keep pretending X isn't just a big bot farm
If these are private businesses then they should have to pay hefty licensing fees to universities for the use of university names and branding. Otherwise they're just freeloading minor league teams
November 23, 2025 at 2:25 AM
If these are private businesses then they should have to pay hefty licensing fees to universities for the use of university names and branding. Otherwise they're just freeloading minor league teams
I think this is where it's incumbent on us to make the case to our students. Not that all will receive that lesson, but we must try. And that doesn't just need to be purely highfalutin' intellectual, it also can be explained in terms of students' self-interest
November 21, 2025 at 4:32 PM
I think this is where it's incumbent on us to make the case to our students. Not that all will receive that lesson, but we must try. And that doesn't just need to be purely highfalutin' intellectual, it also can be explained in terms of students' self-interest
I did same as an undergrad - 30 hrs/week work, 40hrs/week every break, 18 credit hrs/semester. Certainly an obstacle for many.
November 21, 2025 at 4:30 PM
I did same as an undergrad - 30 hrs/week work, 40hrs/week every break, 18 credit hrs/semester. Certainly an obstacle for many.
Many students everywhere don't think about that, for many reasons-some are intimidated by profs just as a role, some profs are intimidating by demeanor, some underestimate just how damn good their profs are. First-gens may not have educated parents telling them about hidden curriculum opportunities
November 21, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Many students everywhere don't think about that, for many reasons-some are intimidated by profs just as a role, some profs are intimidating by demeanor, some underestimate just how damn good their profs are. First-gens may not have educated parents telling them about hidden curriculum opportunities
His minions are swatting Republicans who voted to not redistrict in Indiana, essentially attempting murder by cop
November 20, 2025 at 7:45 PM
His minions are swatting Republicans who voted to not redistrict in Indiana, essentially attempting murder by cop
My gosh this is so, so good. That closing paragraph is 🔥, and hits hard as a first-gen student who made it from poverty as an adolescent to the upper middle class through education
November 20, 2025 at 3:42 PM
My gosh this is so, so good. That closing paragraph is 🔥, and hits hard as a first-gen student who made it from poverty as an adolescent to the upper middle class through education
The thing that scares NYT pundits more than anything - more than fascism, more than war - is the possibility that one day they may find themselves outside the club and slumming it with those of us who have normal jobs. So they cannot allow any precedent that an elite experiences a consequence
November 20, 2025 at 3:29 PM
The thing that scares NYT pundits more than anything - more than fascism, more than war - is the possibility that one day they may find themselves outside the club and slumming it with those of us who have normal jobs. So they cannot allow any precedent that an elite experiences a consequence
My body would punish me immediately for such a choice
November 20, 2025 at 2:11 AM
My body would punish me immediately for such a choice
I used to enter speech contests within Toastmasters and once won our district contest with a speech about the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia, waxing poetic about how great Domino's seemed when I was a poor college student and then realizing as an adult that Domino's sucks
November 19, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I used to enter speech contests within Toastmasters and once won our district contest with a speech about the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia, waxing poetic about how great Domino's seemed when I was a poor college student and then realizing as an adult that Domino's sucks