mazel tov cocktail
@afertig.bsky.social
Lover of #mapoli, #jewsky. Celtics fan. He/him, views my own etc etc Love books, travel and a good cup of coffee. Gathering dreams at dreamsofthesetimes.com
Really feel like he’s missing the bigger issues here
Sean Duffy, the U.S. transportation secretary, has been urging people for the past week to dress and comport themselves better as a way of restoring “civility” to air travel. On Tuesday, he added another item to his list of concerns: the quality of the snacks handed out on commercial flights.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Wants Healthier In-Flight Snack Options
Sean Duffy, who has been promoting greater decorum among air travelers, said he would like to see choices besides salty pretzels and buttery cookies.
nyti.ms
November 26, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Really feel like he’s missing the bigger issues here
Every time I read about Allison Mack I keep thinking we are talking about Alex Mack, who is, let’s be clear, a fictional character with the power to turn into a pile of goo. (yes, I watched too much Nickelodeon in the 1990s)
November 25, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Every time I read about Allison Mack I keep thinking we are talking about Alex Mack, who is, let’s be clear, a fictional character with the power to turn into a pile of goo. (yes, I watched too much Nickelodeon in the 1990s)
I would be good money that most regular folks -- including journalists who are not tech journalists couldn't tell you the difference between machine learning and LLM
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 25, 2025 at 7:44 PM
I would be good money that most regular folks -- including journalists who are not tech journalists couldn't tell you the difference between machine learning and LLM
Sometimes I wonder what Chotiner makes of this sort of excellent joke about Chotiner’s interviewing talents. Somebody should really do an interview
November 25, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Sometimes I wonder what Chotiner makes of this sort of excellent joke about Chotiner’s interviewing talents. Somebody should really do an interview
I am 100% stealing this
“I refuse to pretend that both of us are dumber than we are” is a tour de force insult, simultaneously respectful and brutal
If Isaac Chotiner ever said this to me, I would move to the woods.
November 25, 2025 at 1:55 AM
I am 100% stealing this
My Star Wars take is that I will see any movie that is “canon” but I will not watch tv or movies that are midrash or fanfiction. So for example, I will not see “Solo: A Star Wars Story” or, alas, Andor as they are fanfiction and midrash respectively. But I did enjoy Rogue One, as that is now canon.
November 24, 2025 at 10:11 PM
My Star Wars take is that I will see any movie that is “canon” but I will not watch tv or movies that are midrash or fanfiction. So for example, I will not see “Solo: A Star Wars Story” or, alas, Andor as they are fanfiction and midrash respectively. But I did enjoy Rogue One, as that is now canon.
Not sure why you would get dragged for this take, because...this is obviously correct?
I’m sure I’m gonna get dragged for this, but I think AI is bad. AI has completely ruined Google search and it’s created a lot more slop that needs to be avoided on the Internet.
November 24, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Not sure why you would get dragged for this take, because...this is obviously correct?
TAX THE RICH
A 15,000-square-foot waterfront home in Edgartown has sold for $37.5 million, narrowly surpassing the previous mark and becoming at least the fourth home on the Vineyard or Nantucket to sell for more than $30 million this year. on.nbcboston.com/Jn4NPuD
$37.5M home sale on Martha's Vineyard sets new record
$37.5M home sale on Martha’s Vineyard sets new record
on.nbcboston.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:07 PM
TAX THE RICH
I mentioned the word subtext to Liz and our kid was like “what’s subtext” so I tried to explain and I did a poor job and now he’s going around saying “I’m bored! The subtext of that is I’m REALLY bored” and I’m like that’s just text and he goes “well subtext is boring.”
November 24, 2025 at 12:54 PM
I mentioned the word subtext to Liz and our kid was like “what’s subtext” so I tried to explain and I did a poor job and now he’s going around saying “I’m bored! The subtext of that is I’m REALLY bored” and I’m like that’s just text and he goes “well subtext is boring.”
Watched a movie and WHAT happened? I cannot keep up
November 22, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Watched a movie and WHAT happened? I cannot keep up
Reposted by mazel tov cocktail
For all the laughable moments of Mamdani/Trump meeting, I do think it matters that someone, Mamdani, said Israel is committing genocide in the Oval Office during a press conference.
November 22, 2025 at 12:29 AM
For all the laughable moments of Mamdani/Trump meeting, I do think it matters that someone, Mamdani, said Israel is committing genocide in the Oval Office during a press conference.
Reposted by mazel tov cocktail
Mamdani just played Trump without sacrificing immigrants, Muslims, workers, or the LGBTQ.
Trump did his transactional charm offensive, Mamdani countered without compromising.
He won big and this is the man the Democratic Establishment still won't embrace.
What more do people need to see?
Trump did his transactional charm offensive, Mamdani countered without compromising.
He won big and this is the man the Democratic Establishment still won't embrace.
What more do people need to see?
November 21, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Mamdani just played Trump without sacrificing immigrants, Muslims, workers, or the LGBTQ.
Trump did his transactional charm offensive, Mamdani countered without compromising.
He won big and this is the man the Democratic Establishment still won't embrace.
What more do people need to see?
Trump did his transactional charm offensive, Mamdani countered without compromising.
He won big and this is the man the Democratic Establishment still won't embrace.
What more do people need to see?
Genuinely not sure if Mamdani is trapping Trump or if Trump is trapping Mamdani here
November 21, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Genuinely not sure if Mamdani is trapping Trump or if Trump is trapping Mamdani here
Reposted by mazel tov cocktail
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Reposted by mazel tov cocktail
#BREAKING: A student intern at Rhode Island Superior Court was briefly taken into custody by ICE this afternoon before a judge intervened, 12 News has learned. Story by @jusolyn.bsky.social and @timwhiteri.bsky.social: ⤵️
RI judge intervenes after ICE mistakenly detains Superior Court intern
A teenager was nearly taken into federal immigration custody in Providence Thursday afternoon before a Superior Court judge intervened, according to the Rhode Island Judiciary.
www.wpri.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:51 PM
#BREAKING: A student intern at Rhode Island Superior Court was briefly taken into custody by ICE this afternoon before a judge intervened, 12 News has learned. Story by @jusolyn.bsky.social and @timwhiteri.bsky.social: ⤵️
I would like to see my fellow Jews who freaked out about Mamdani show half as much anxiety when the federal government is blatantly antisemitic
November 21, 2025 at 12:07 PM
I would like to see my fellow Jews who freaked out about Mamdani show half as much anxiety when the federal government is blatantly antisemitic
Reposted by mazel tov cocktail
The party that promised "free speech on campus" has made sure there can be no free speech on campuses.
This week, I withdrew from a speaking engagement at a public university because they sent me a list of prohibited “words & concepts.” I will not humor this censorship. It does a disservice to the stories I’m discussing & the audience, who deserve unfettered access to information & conversation.
November 21, 2025 at 4:25 AM
The party that promised "free speech on campus" has made sure there can be no free speech on campuses.
Never write what you can say, never say what you can nod, never nod what you could wink…
One of the few things I learned in law school that still holds up is the principle that you shouldn’t put anything in writing (as in, say, an email) that you wouldn’t want published in the newspaper
November 20, 2025 at 4:47 AM
Never write what you can say, never say what you can nod, never nod what you could wink…
BRB giving away money from my checking account and sending it to my savings account , philanthropically
November 19, 2025 at 9:27 PM
BRB giving away money from my checking account and sending it to my savings account , philanthropically
Reposted by mazel tov cocktail
Every day a new scandal from the past to the present erupts. The pattern is not some commentary on a set of institutions or leaders.
It is about the rot at the core of almost all our institutions and our leadership.
At its core, this is why fascism is here. The rot has rotted.
It is about the rot at the core of almost all our institutions and our leadership.
At its core, this is why fascism is here. The rot has rotted.
November 18, 2025 at 5:41 AM
Every day a new scandal from the past to the present erupts. The pattern is not some commentary on a set of institutions or leaders.
It is about the rot at the core of almost all our institutions and our leadership.
At its core, this is why fascism is here. The rot has rotted.
It is about the rot at the core of almost all our institutions and our leadership.
At its core, this is why fascism is here. The rot has rotted.
Could we not
Scientist Vik Bajaj, who previously worked at Google X, the tech giant’s secretive research arm, will serve as co-CEO of the new company.
Jeff Bezos Launching $6.2 Billion AI Startup He Will Co-Lead, Report Says
Scientist Vik Bajaj, who previously worked at Google X, the tech giant’s secretive research arm, will serve as co-CEO of the new company.
www.forbes.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Could we not
Other people’s minds are complete mysteries to me. *I* would never. But then, I’m not swimming in that soup. This story makes it clear how much other people’s experiences are completely alien to me in every way
I just can’t imagine being a 27 year old woman living the high life in New York like “ you know where I gotta go and who I gotta go bang? South Carolina. Mark Sanford.”
November 18, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Other people’s minds are complete mysteries to me. *I* would never. But then, I’m not swimming in that soup. This story makes it clear how much other people’s experiences are completely alien to me in every way
Goddam every time I find out more about the world the less I want to be in it
November 16, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Goddam every time I find out more about the world the less I want to be in it
I’m horrified. I’m not in academia and until this thread and the replies I did not know about this practice. Like, actually did not know. (Weirdly admonishing myself for not knowing but also….Why would I know?) This is so CREEPY! They couldn’t find, like, office space?
I thing I sometimes thing about is that university departments were still doing job interviews in hotel rooms in the mid aughts
November 16, 2025 at 9:44 PM
I’m horrified. I’m not in academia and until this thread and the replies I did not know about this practice. Like, actually did not know. (Weirdly admonishing myself for not knowing but also….Why would I know?) This is so CREEPY! They couldn’t find, like, office space?