Arvind (has towel, not panicking)
@avenk.bsky.social
design researcher, ritual technologist, neuroatypical in unsatisfactory ways. i sense and work towards emergent futures. let’s make the world a place of flourishing for all life.
Pinned
Every so often, I will issue a “for fucks’ sake” into the blue sky aether. There will not be a specified reason. This is because there are enough things to be going “for fuck’s sake” about.
That will be your reminder to notice, feel and release frustration at whatever nonsense you’re seeing.
That will be your reminder to notice, feel and release frustration at whatever nonsense you’re seeing.
Reposted by Arvind (has towel, not panicking)
GALADRIEL: (glowing green) In place of a hard roll, I would have whole wheat—beautiful and terrible to behold!
DELI GUY: #3 on wheat.
G: (coyly) You offer it to me freely.
DG: No, Galadriel. You have to pay. Every day with this
DELI GUY: #3 on wheat.
G: (coyly) You offer it to me freely.
DG: No, Galadriel. You have to pay. Every day with this
October 15, 2023 at 4:56 PM
GALADRIEL: (glowing green) In place of a hard roll, I would have whole wheat—beautiful and terrible to behold!
DELI GUY: #3 on wheat.
G: (coyly) You offer it to me freely.
DG: No, Galadriel. You have to pay. Every day with this
DELI GUY: #3 on wheat.
G: (coyly) You offer it to me freely.
DG: No, Galadriel. You have to pay. Every day with this
Questions already answered by the t-shirt dot gif
it's happening dot gif
November 24, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Questions already answered by the t-shirt dot gif
This is really useful and clear analysis that converts vibes into even more emotional facts.
Recommended reading for anyone who votes in North America.
Recommended reading for anyone who votes in North America.
"The Valley of Death: Why $100,000 Is the New Poor
Once I established that $136,500 is the real break-even point, I ran the numbers on what happens to a family climbing the ladder toward that number"
interesting analysis:
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Once I established that $136,500 is the real break-even point, I ran the numbers on what happens to a family climbing the ladder toward that number"
interesting analysis:
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie
How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America
www.yesigiveafig.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:47 PM
This is really useful and clear analysis that converts vibes into even more emotional facts.
Recommended reading for anyone who votes in North America.
Recommended reading for anyone who votes in North America.
I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you, Charlie Brown!
Would you like to play a game, Charlie Brown?
Hey, maybe you haven't been keeping up on current events, but we just got our asses kicked, Charlie Brown
November 24, 2025 at 5:40 PM
I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you, Charlie Brown!
Reposted by Arvind (has towel, not panicking)
very funny to read the responses here as someone who works in the data space in tech. tech people by and large have no theory of what data is or isn't, and mostly think of it as "objective recordings of the truth." it's rather horrifying! i hate it! (the responses here are great)
A question for scientists (construed as broadly as you like) of BlueSky: What makes something data?
(Question inspired by a talk I listened to this morning, and of course I have thoughts, but I wanted to throw this out there first.)
(Question inspired by a talk I listened to this morning, and of course I have thoughts, but I wanted to throw this out there first.)
November 22, 2025 at 3:18 PM
very funny to read the responses here as someone who works in the data space in tech. tech people by and large have no theory of what data is or isn't, and mostly think of it as "objective recordings of the truth." it's rather horrifying! i hate it! (the responses here are great)
As holiday season comes and more in-person gatherings happen, here's a reminder to reach out to your local mask bloc if you would like free masks / tests.
find your local one from maskbloc.org
SF / NorCal people can connect with linktr.ee/maskblocsuns...
find your local one from maskbloc.org
SF / NorCal people can connect with linktr.ee/maskblocsuns...
November 21, 2025 at 10:57 PM
As holiday season comes and more in-person gatherings happen, here's a reminder to reach out to your local mask bloc if you would like free masks / tests.
find your local one from maskbloc.org
SF / NorCal people can connect with linktr.ee/maskblocsuns...
find your local one from maskbloc.org
SF / NorCal people can connect with linktr.ee/maskblocsuns...
Please let us stop putting people whose only skill is debate in positions of massive power.
They do not know how to make things; they only know how to argue; their only recipe for conflict resolution is compromise; they cannot deal with losing a local optimum in order to gain a global optimum
They do not know how to make things; they only know how to argue; their only recipe for conflict resolution is compromise; they cannot deal with losing a local optimum in order to gain a global optimum
November 18, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Please let us stop putting people whose only skill is debate in positions of massive power.
They do not know how to make things; they only know how to argue; their only recipe for conflict resolution is compromise; they cannot deal with losing a local optimum in order to gain a global optimum
They do not know how to make things; they only know how to argue; their only recipe for conflict resolution is compromise; they cannot deal with losing a local optimum in order to gain a global optimum
I updated my phone to iOS 26 but that is nothing compared to how all of the news today has made me wish I had not been using my eyes.
November 15, 2025 at 4:17 AM
I updated my phone to iOS 26 but that is nothing compared to how all of the news today has made me wish I had not been using my eyes.
This is a whole new level of minimalism.
November 15, 2025 at 3:16 AM
This is a whole new level of minimalism.
Reposted by Arvind (has towel, not panicking)
Proudly comparing your app to both black mirror and squid games has to be a bit
November 14, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Proudly comparing your app to both black mirror and squid games has to be a bit
I went check in on the bad place and found that the url contains ‘logout’, which explains why I keep having to login on my monthly visits.
My guess is they’re force-logging people out to get them on the app.
Hostile AND incompetent, as usual.
My guess is they’re force-logging people out to get them on the app.
Hostile AND incompetent, as usual.
November 14, 2025 at 12:13 AM
I went check in on the bad place and found that the url contains ‘logout’, which explains why I keep having to login on my monthly visits.
My guess is they’re force-logging people out to get them on the app.
Hostile AND incompetent, as usual.
My guess is they’re force-logging people out to get them on the app.
Hostile AND incompetent, as usual.
I went on a stupid mental health walk for my stupid mental health and now I have to thank @danhon.com for the only usable frame I have ever found for doing this annoying activity.
November 13, 2025 at 4:13 AM
I went on a stupid mental health walk for my stupid mental health and now I have to thank @danhon.com for the only usable frame I have ever found for doing this annoying activity.
Reposted by Arvind (has towel, not panicking)
We've just launched the first large, site-less (home, direct to participant) randomized trial for treatment of #LongCovid, testing tirzepatide (a GLP-1 drug) vs placebo. Please help spread the word
www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...
www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...
Scripps Research scientists launch new digital clinical trial to test repurposed drug for long COVID symptom relief
www.scripps.edu
October 31, 2025 at 5:07 PM
We've just launched the first large, site-less (home, direct to participant) randomized trial for treatment of #LongCovid, testing tirzepatide (a GLP-1 drug) vs placebo. Please help spread the word
www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...
www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...
Reposted by Arvind (has towel, not panicking)
Started a thread in the other place and bringing it over here - I really think we should be more vocal about the opportunities that lay at the intersection of these two options!
So I'm starting a live thread of new roles as I become aware of them - feel free to add / extend / share :
So I'm starting a live thread of new roles as I become aware of them - feel free to add / extend / share :
Life situations are bleak right now for a lot of people. In tech, the "Venn Diagram" of (1) positive work and (2) making enough money to support your family is increasingly non-overlapping. We all do what we can.
This image has been living in my mind rent-free for months.
This image has been living in my mind rent-free for months.
October 29, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Started a thread in the other place and bringing it over here - I really think we should be more vocal about the opportunities that lay at the intersection of these two options!
So I'm starting a live thread of new roles as I become aware of them - feel free to add / extend / share :
So I'm starting a live thread of new roles as I become aware of them - feel free to add / extend / share :
Reposted by Arvind (has towel, not panicking)
Yeongno is the greatest mythical character.
A monster who must eat 100 corrupt politicians to get into heaven.
Why is it not more widely known? Despite being performed across Korea for centuries, no two towns can agree on what it looks like.
A monster who must eat 100 corrupt politicians to get into heaven.
Why is it not more widely known? Despite being performed across Korea for centuries, no two towns can agree on what it looks like.
October 25, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Crime in San Francisco is getting out of hand -
Giant skeletons are roaming the land.
People fear walking the streets at night
Lest they encounter fright – then delight!
Giant skeletons are roaming the land.
People fear walking the streets at night
Lest they encounter fright – then delight!
October 24, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Crime in San Francisco is getting out of hand -
Giant skeletons are roaming the land.
People fear walking the streets at night
Lest they encounter fright – then delight!
Giant skeletons are roaming the land.
People fear walking the streets at night
Lest they encounter fright – then delight!
Reposted by Arvind (has towel, not panicking)
Actually here’s another question: if you don’t cook/don’t cook much for reasons relating to your own knowledge/skill/confidence, what would help? What kinds of things would you like to learn? Reposts very welcome on this!
(I have been talking for AGES about making a site to teach super basics of cooking for people who struggle with following recipes because they assume basic knowledge that lots of people don’t have now, this would be part of the page design)
October 21, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Actually here’s another question: if you don’t cook/don’t cook much for reasons relating to your own knowledge/skill/confidence, what would help? What kinds of things would you like to learn? Reposts very welcome on this!
Reposted by Arvind (has towel, not panicking)
Write code to make being human easier. Rip code out if it makes being human harder. Write code to make caring for each other easier. Rip it out if it makes caring for each other harder.
Empathy driven development has literally never failed me. It’s done me better than everything else combined
Empathy driven development has literally never failed me. It’s done me better than everything else combined
October 21, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Write code to make being human easier. Rip code out if it makes being human harder. Write code to make caring for each other easier. Rip it out if it makes caring for each other harder.
Empathy driven development has literally never failed me. It’s done me better than everything else combined
Empathy driven development has literally never failed me. It’s done me better than everything else combined
You guys, this is not funny, an internet only does this is when it is in distress.
October 20, 2025 at 11:33 PM
You guys, this is not funny, an internet only does this is when it is in distress.
Reposted by Arvind (has towel, not panicking)
SNAP benefits are going to be paused on November 1. If you are able, now is a good time to give to food banks, food pantries, or local mutual aid groups.
October 20, 2025 at 2:10 PM
SNAP benefits are going to be paused on November 1. If you are able, now is a good time to give to food banks, food pantries, or local mutual aid groups.
Reposted by Arvind (has towel, not panicking)
Ooooh is your internet broken. Did someone's immaterial web of financial speculation and surveillance turn out to have a failure point in material infrastructure
October 20, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Ooooh is your internet broken. Did someone's immaterial web of financial speculation and surveillance turn out to have a failure point in material infrastructure
I’ll going to start calling any AI-enabled user / design research “vibe insights” unless an inductive analysis process can be demonstrated.
(Narrator: this could not, in fact, be demonstrated.)
(Narrator: this could not, in fact, be demonstrated.)
October 15, 2025 at 8:29 PM
I’ll going to start calling any AI-enabled user / design research “vibe insights” unless an inductive analysis process can be demonstrated.
(Narrator: this could not, in fact, be demonstrated.)
(Narrator: this could not, in fact, be demonstrated.)
Reposted by Arvind (has towel, not panicking)
Yesssss!!! Our lab has a new paper out, and it comes with an awesome story:
Kailua Beach, Hawai’i: The first time I laid eyes on a By-the-wind sailor, I stopped dead in my tracks, dusted the sand off my hands, grabbed my iphone and...
October 15, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Yesssss!!! Our lab has a new paper out, and it comes with an awesome story:
Reposted by Arvind (has towel, not panicking)
Them: need help doing things?
Me: yes
Them: we have a doing things medication
Me: ooh
Them: hahahahaha guess what you have to do to get it?
Me: oh no
Them: things.
Me: yes
Them: we have a doing things medication
Me: ooh
Them: hahahahaha guess what you have to do to get it?
Me: oh no
Them: things.
October 14, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Them: need help doing things?
Me: yes
Them: we have a doing things medication
Me: ooh
Them: hahahahaha guess what you have to do to get it?
Me: oh no
Them: things.
Me: yes
Them: we have a doing things medication
Me: ooh
Them: hahahahaha guess what you have to do to get it?
Me: oh no
Them: things.
(Not a dunk on Sage)
There are professionals whose entire skill set lies in understanding feedback deeply & making the truth of it accessible to the rest of the organizations w/o asking everyone to do emotional labour to deal with the anger and frustration that passionate users bring. Hire them!
There are professionals whose entire skill set lies in understanding feedback deeply & making the truth of it accessible to the rest of the organizations w/o asking everyone to do emotional labour to deal with the anger and frustration that passionate users bring. Hire them!
the default state for most people to give feedback online borders on toxic. if you want different behavior, you have to nurture it & build trust.
the first step for that is clear communication about both positive & negative events. these most recent issues compounded because of poor comms.
the first step for that is clear communication about both positive & negative events. these most recent issues compounded because of poor comms.
October 7, 2025 at 7:14 AM
(Not a dunk on Sage)
There are professionals whose entire skill set lies in understanding feedback deeply & making the truth of it accessible to the rest of the organizations w/o asking everyone to do emotional labour to deal with the anger and frustration that passionate users bring. Hire them!
There are professionals whose entire skill set lies in understanding feedback deeply & making the truth of it accessible to the rest of the organizations w/o asking everyone to do emotional labour to deal with the anger and frustration that passionate users bring. Hire them!