Chris McLaren
@chrismclaren.com
I do not care to listen; obloquy injures my self-esteem and I am skeptical of praise.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
Me about to piss off a bunch of capitalists: If Bezos doesn’t want to pay his fair share in corporate taxes, I don’t see why we shouldn’t nationalise Amazon and make it a subsidiary of the post office.
November 25, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Me about to piss off a bunch of capitalists: If Bezos doesn’t want to pay his fair share in corporate taxes, I don’t see why we shouldn’t nationalise Amazon and make it a subsidiary of the post office.
This is a good one from @benjaminjriley.bsky.social. Plus points for the Rorty quote ("common sense is a collection of dead metaphors).
Even more plus points for making me realize that for all "a kick from the knee thing" is part of my vernacular…
Even more plus points for making me realize that for all "a kick from the knee thing" is part of my vernacular…
Is language the same as intelligence? The AI industry desperately needs it to be
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake.
www.theverge.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:35 PM
This is a good one from @benjaminjriley.bsky.social. Plus points for the Rorty quote ("common sense is a collection of dead metaphors).
Even more plus points for making me realize that for all "a kick from the knee thing" is part of my vernacular…
Even more plus points for making me realize that for all "a kick from the knee thing" is part of my vernacular…
Reposted by Chris McLaren
I am of the simple opinion that stuff like this is the peak of human endeavour and we can cut it out with the missiles and demonic computers in favour of getting really good at a cool little thing
November 25, 2025 at 4:44 PM
I am of the simple opinion that stuff like this is the peak of human endeavour and we can cut it out with the missiles and demonic computers in favour of getting really good at a cool little thing
Reposted by Chris McLaren
In English, someone who is being persistently annoying can be referred to as a “pain in the arse.” My favourite German equivalent is Nervensäge, which means “nerve saw”
November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
In English, someone who is being persistently annoying can be referred to as a “pain in the arse.” My favourite German equivalent is Nervensäge, which means “nerve saw”
Reposted by Chris McLaren
I can't speak for what was said at the protests, but seeing people react to an anodyne statement like "sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law" as if it were a vicious slur is clarifying.
Zohran Mamdani chastised a Manhattan synagogue that hosted an event promoting migration to Israel and settlements in occupied territories. His stance further tested his strained relationship with pro-Israel Jews in New York.
Mamdani Response to Protest Inflames Tensions with Jewish Leaders
The mayor-elect chastised a synagogue that hosted an event promoting migration to Israel and settlements in occupied territories. His stance further tested his strained relationship with pro-Israel Jews.
nyti.ms
November 25, 2025 at 2:35 PM
I can't speak for what was said at the protests, but seeing people react to an anodyne statement like "sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law" as if it were a vicious slur is clarifying.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Chris McLaren
I really try to make jokes and find fun ways to spin terrible news on here, but I read this and the only thing I have to say about it is that Doug Ford is a piece of shit who shouldn't be running an Arby's, let alone a province. Fuck you, Doug. share.google/gPPqvtiuqD0O...
Ford tells protesters to 'go find a job' as controversial housing bill passes at Queen's Park | CBC News
Shouts and chants rained down upon politicians at the Ontario legislature Monday as the government passed a housing bill that critics say makes it easier for landlords to evict tenants.
share.google
November 25, 2025 at 2:56 AM
I really try to make jokes and find fun ways to spin terrible news on here, but I read this and the only thing I have to say about it is that Doug Ford is a piece of shit who shouldn't be running an Arby's, let alone a province. Fuck you, Doug. share.google/gPPqvtiuqD0O...
A movie that takes place where you're from.
November 25, 2025 at 3:55 AM
A movie that takes place where you're from.
On a slight Kunitz kick.
November 25, 2025 at 3:40 AM
On a slight Kunitz kick.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
found a new image to burn into my personal philosophy
November 25, 2025 at 1:16 AM
found a new image to burn into my personal philosophy
Reposted by Chris McLaren
Carville’s advice remains the worst possible advice, the exact opposite of what Democrats need to do to actually win elections. Which isn’t too surprising, since he hasn’t backed a successful candidate since Bill Clinton.
November 25, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Carville’s advice remains the worst possible advice, the exact opposite of what Democrats need to do to actually win elections. Which isn’t too surprising, since he hasn’t backed a successful candidate since Bill Clinton.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Fifteen Years
xkcd.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:58 AM
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Reminder: COVID did not just "go away". Read the whole thread.
About 2.5% of people in Canada are infected and/or experiencing life activity-limiting long COVID this week.
The estimated cost of hospitalizations from this week's infections in Canada is $92.7M.
The estimated cost of hospitalizations from this week's infections in Canada is $92.7M.
November 25, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Reminder: COVID did not just "go away". Read the whole thread.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
What if we view legacy media not as an information-sharing system but as religion or mythology?
After all, it’s a machine to attach current events to an established narratives, just like saying something happened because of the moods of Zeus
After all, it’s a machine to attach current events to an established narratives, just like saying something happened because of the moods of Zeus
Part of the problem is that liberal media keeps pretending that the right has “intellectual standards” when the rights idea of intellectual standards is RFK “I Like Bathing In Sewage” Jr being in charge of all of America’s health.
The controversy over the Heritage Foundation illustrates the collapse of intellectual standards on the right—a profound problem that Donald Trump has exploited and exacerbated, @jonathanbchait.bsky.social argues.
November 25, 2025 at 12:11 AM
What if we view legacy media not as an information-sharing system but as religion or mythology?
After all, it’s a machine to attach current events to an established narratives, just like saying something happened because of the moods of Zeus
After all, it’s a machine to attach current events to an established narratives, just like saying something happened because of the moods of Zeus
Reposted by Chris McLaren
"We are throwing half of our money in a well that legend has it will reward our tributes by making our wishes come true. We simply do not have any choice but to now throw the other half of our money in there too."
One explanation for economic populism in the US is the recurring cycle of bubbles and bailouts that happens without any democratic input
November 25, 2025 at 12:17 AM
"We are throwing half of our money in a well that legend has it will reward our tributes by making our wishes come true. We simply do not have any choice but to now throw the other half of our money in there too."
"Legs are not usually a lizard-rich environment."
Read the 🧵
Read the 🧵
Like the day we got a call from a local urgent care. "There is a man here with a lizard in his leg. We need someone to come get the lizard." Naturally, we all assume that we've misheard. Legs are not usually a lizard-rich environment.
November 25, 2025 at 1:13 AM
"Legs are not usually a lizard-rich environment."
Read the 🧵
Read the 🧵
Reposted by Chris McLaren
Reposted by Chris McLaren
Coming in February from @tordotcom.bsky.social
“This story reminds me why I read science fiction. The Rainseekers is unflinching and profound, shedding light (and rain) on the search for purpose and wonder.” — @sarahpinsker.bsky.social Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author. @tordotcom.bsky.social
November 20, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Coming in February from @tordotcom.bsky.social
Reposted by Chris McLaren
In Chinese #mythology, the north isn’t just cold. It’s sacred.
Xuanwu, the Black Tortoise entwined with a serpent, guards this direction as a symbol of deep transformation. Earth and snake, stability and change, his dual nature reflects the tension we all navigate in life.
1/2
Xuanwu, the Black Tortoise entwined with a serpent, guards this direction as a symbol of deep transformation. Earth and snake, stability and change, his dual nature reflects the tension we all navigate in life.
1/2
November 23, 2025 at 5:01 PM
In Chinese #mythology, the north isn’t just cold. It’s sacred.
Xuanwu, the Black Tortoise entwined with a serpent, guards this direction as a symbol of deep transformation. Earth and snake, stability and change, his dual nature reflects the tension we all navigate in life.
1/2
Xuanwu, the Black Tortoise entwined with a serpent, guards this direction as a symbol of deep transformation. Earth and snake, stability and change, his dual nature reflects the tension we all navigate in life.
1/2
Reposted by Chris McLaren
Never fall for the scam that letting these llm merchants sink and die hurts anyone except the venture capitalists trying to manufacture consent for everyone else to subsidize their monumental failure at their own jobs
One explanation for economic populism in the US is the recurring cycle of bubbles and bailouts that happens without any democratic input
November 24, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Never fall for the scam that letting these llm merchants sink and die hurts anyone except the venture capitalists trying to manufacture consent for everyone else to subsidize their monumental failure at their own jobs
Reposted by Chris McLaren
We have gotten so used to Great Replacement becoming normalized that most people hardly noticed that a racist, antisemitic, xenophobic conspiracy theory popularized by mass shooters and 4chan trolls is now government policy.
The U.S. State Department is repeating a white nationalist conspiracy theory.
On Friday, it claimed that “mass migration poses an existential threat to Western civilization.”
That line comes straight from the Great Replacement myth: the lie that immigration is a plot to erase white populations.
On Friday, it claimed that “mass migration poses an existential threat to Western civilization.”
That line comes straight from the Great Replacement myth: the lie that immigration is a plot to erase white populations.
November 24, 2025 at 9:00 PM
We have gotten so used to Great Replacement becoming normalized that most people hardly noticed that a racist, antisemitic, xenophobic conspiracy theory popularized by mass shooters and 4chan trolls is now government policy.
Yeah, I have to cosign that.
Failure to understand the real problems that an organization wants their software to solve is pretty endemic. "Give me something that demos well, regardless of how well it addresses the actual problem" is astonishingly common.
Failure to understand the real problems that an organization wants their software to solve is pretty endemic. "Give me something that demos well, regardless of how well it addresses the actual problem" is astonishingly common.
One of my ongoing frustrations with software engineering as a professional practice is that LLMs were in no way the thing that caused this (though they do exacerbate it). Every company I’ve seen in my career fetishized producing solution-shaped objects for problems they didn’t (care to) understand.
"writing code to solve a problem" used to have "understanding the problem" as a prerequisite. but vibecoding allows solution-shaped objects to be produced without any of the hard-won understanding. beware of solution-shaped objects.
November 24, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Yeah, I have to cosign that.
Failure to understand the real problems that an organization wants their software to solve is pretty endemic. "Give me something that demos well, regardless of how well it addresses the actual problem" is astonishingly common.
Failure to understand the real problems that an organization wants their software to solve is pretty endemic. "Give me something that demos well, regardless of how well it addresses the actual problem" is astonishingly common.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
Broke: DOGE is dead
Woke: DOGE was specifically constructed in a way to avoid accountability partially by zombifying the USDS which still exists as an entity
Bespoke: Dead or not, there needs to be a blue ribbon committee and a massive internal cybersecurity review to root out all the damage.
Woke: DOGE was specifically constructed in a way to avoid accountability partially by zombifying the USDS which still exists as an entity
Bespoke: Dead or not, there needs to be a blue ribbon committee and a massive internal cybersecurity review to root out all the damage.
November 24, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Broke: DOGE is dead
Woke: DOGE was specifically constructed in a way to avoid accountability partially by zombifying the USDS which still exists as an entity
Bespoke: Dead or not, there needs to be a blue ribbon committee and a massive internal cybersecurity review to root out all the damage.
Woke: DOGE was specifically constructed in a way to avoid accountability partially by zombifying the USDS which still exists as an entity
Bespoke: Dead or not, there needs to be a blue ribbon committee and a massive internal cybersecurity review to root out all the damage.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
I cannot imagine what could possibly go wrong in trying to court-martial an astronaut and pilot decorated multiple times for valor and exceptional service, who is also a sitting senator, for correctly making the point that service members are obliged not to follow unlawful orders
Hegseth is now threatening to recall Sen. Mark Kelly to active duty in order to court martial him.
November 24, 2025 at 6:45 PM
I cannot imagine what could possibly go wrong in trying to court-martial an astronaut and pilot decorated multiple times for valor and exceptional service, who is also a sitting senator, for correctly making the point that service members are obliged not to follow unlawful orders
Share a 90s movie you think deserves more love... 🎥 🖤
"People think that Hell is fire and brimstone and the Devil poking you in the butt with a pitchfork, but it's not. Hell is when you should have walked away, but you didn't."
"People think that Hell is fire and brimstone and the Devil poking you in the butt with a pitchfork, but it's not. Hell is when you should have walked away, but you didn't."
November 24, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Share a 90s movie you think deserves more love... 🎥 🖤
"People think that Hell is fire and brimstone and the Devil poking you in the butt with a pitchfork, but it's not. Hell is when you should have walked away, but you didn't."
"People think that Hell is fire and brimstone and the Devil poking you in the butt with a pitchfork, but it's not. Hell is when you should have walked away, but you didn't."