Tab Combs
@drtcombs.bsky.social
Transport-Equity-Resilience PhD.
Road Harm Reducer.
Villagist.
She/hers. Occasional outbursts about dogs, kids, Davidson hoops, & gardening. My opinions are mine.
Please read pinned post before following.
Road Harm Reducer.
Villagist.
She/hers. Occasional outbursts about dogs, kids, Davidson hoops, & gardening. My opinions are mine.
Please read pinned post before following.
Pinned
Tab Combs
@drtcombs.bsky.social
· Feb 19
You may be a very nice person but if you have no profile description, no posts, no profile pic (doesn't even have to be of you!), and follow a bazillion accounts, please don't follow me.
I bought a bunch of notebooks and gel pens and offered them up to my students on the first day of class this week. You'd think I'd brought them all pizzas.
Funny how we assume the kids are just gonna do everything online because that's the world we've created for them.
Funny how we assume the kids are just gonna do everything online because that's the world we've created for them.
January 10, 2026 at 2:10 AM
I bought a bunch of notebooks and gel pens and offered them up to my students on the first day of class this week. You'd think I'd brought them all pizzas.
Funny how we assume the kids are just gonna do everything online because that's the world we've created for them.
Funny how we assume the kids are just gonna do everything online because that's the world we've created for them.
y'all, for real. If your credit card company offers virtual card numbers for online purchases, use them.
Sure, I got 13 text alerts today, but I did not get hit with a $3000+ charge for gaming equipment.
Sure, I got 13 text alerts today, but I did not get hit with a $3000+ charge for gaming equipment.
Also, people who hack native wildflower seed stores and try to buy computer parts with stolen credit card information also ruin everything. Jokes on you asshole because I use virtual cards!!!
(Also everybody should be using virtual credit cards for online purchases)
(Also everybody should be using virtual credit cards for online purchases)
January 7, 2026 at 9:12 PM
y'all, for real. If your credit card company offers virtual card numbers for online purchases, use them.
Sure, I got 13 text alerts today, but I did not get hit with a $3000+ charge for gaming equipment.
Sure, I got 13 text alerts today, but I did not get hit with a $3000+ charge for gaming equipment.
Cars ruin everything.
January 7, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Cars ruin everything.
Reposted by Tab Combs
the daily mental yo yo'ing of feeling complete despair with the horrifying state of the entire world then laughing at something funny you saw about a dog is totally bonkers.
January 7, 2026 at 7:05 PM
the daily mental yo yo'ing of feeling complete despair with the horrifying state of the entire world then laughing at something funny you saw about a dog is totally bonkers.
ok this is a totally niche question but...
does anyone know where to get a good weekly family planner #calendar in the US?
we've used this one for a few years but it's no longer available here. And our family's gonna implode without it.
www.a-journal.nl/p/a-journal-...
does anyone know where to get a good weekly family planner #calendar in the US?
we've used this one for a few years but it's no longer available here. And our family's gonna implode without it.
www.a-journal.nl/p/a-journal-...
A-Journal Family Planner 2026 - Beige - A-Journal
Zonder goede familieplanner kunnen we eigenlijk niet meer. Ons drukke bestaan vraagt om structuur. Dat geeft rust en houvast. Daarom hebben we de A-Journal familieplanner 2026 ontwikkeld. Een strak de...
www.a-journal.nl
January 6, 2026 at 8:55 PM
ok this is a totally niche question but...
does anyone know where to get a good weekly family planner #calendar in the US?
we've used this one for a few years but it's no longer available here. And our family's gonna implode without it.
www.a-journal.nl/p/a-journal-...
does anyone know where to get a good weekly family planner #calendar in the US?
we've used this one for a few years but it's no longer available here. And our family's gonna implode without it.
www.a-journal.nl/p/a-journal-...
see, this is what happens whenever I sit down and try to write a literature review.
what's it called when standard lexicon of a field consistently conflates the meaning of one term for another one, to the detriment of understanding of anyone outside the field?
like saying "improve safety" when you mean "reduce liability"
or "demand" when you mean "consumption"
like saying "improve safety" when you mean "reduce liability"
or "demand" when you mean "consumption"
January 6, 2026 at 2:09 PM
see, this is what happens whenever I sit down and try to write a literature review.
what's it called when standard lexicon of a field consistently conflates the meaning of one term for another one, to the detriment of understanding of anyone outside the field?
like saying "improve safety" when you mean "reduce liability"
or "demand" when you mean "consumption"
like saying "improve safety" when you mean "reduce liability"
or "demand" when you mean "consumption"
January 6, 2026 at 1:32 PM
what's it called when standard lexicon of a field consistently conflates the meaning of one term for another one, to the detriment of understanding of anyone outside the field?
like saying "improve safety" when you mean "reduce liability"
or "demand" when you mean "consumption"
like saying "improve safety" when you mean "reduce liability"
or "demand" when you mean "consumption"
Randomly remembering the kid in my high school who got a perfect score on the SAT and then went on a church burning spree
January 2, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Randomly remembering the kid in my high school who got a perfect score on the SAT and then went on a church burning spree
Reposted by Tab Combs
OpenAI Co-Founder Donates $25M To Trump Super PAC
OpenAI Co-Founder Donates $25M To Trump Super PAC
OpenAI Co-Founder Donates $25M To Trump Super PAC
www.huffpost.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:06 PM
OpenAI Co-Founder Donates $25M To Trump Super PAC
Ah yes, the old "I know you therefore you cannot be an expert" logic
December 30, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Ah yes, the old "I know you therefore you cannot be an expert" logic
We are up to 3.
Three #ticks from one short traipse in the woods in late December in NC, two weeks after a very hard freeze.
Three #ticks from one short traipse in the woods in late December in NC, two weeks after a very hard freeze.
Make that two of us. Two ticks in two days in December.
One of us pulled off a tick.
In December.
In North Carolina.
In December.
In North Carolina.
December 29, 2025 at 12:32 PM
We are up to 3.
Three #ticks from one short traipse in the woods in late December in NC, two weeks after a very hard freeze.
Three #ticks from one short traipse in the woods in late December in NC, two weeks after a very hard freeze.
Make that two of us. Two ticks in two days in December.
December 28, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Make that two of us. Two ticks in two days in December.
One of us pulled off a tick.
In December.
In North Carolina.
In December.
In North Carolina.
December 28, 2025 at 12:09 AM
One of us pulled off a tick.
In December.
In North Carolina.
In December.
In North Carolina.
I grew up hating Nebraska. Anyone from Nebraska could not be trusted. Anyone who voluntarily went to Nebraska could not be saved.
I didn't spend time thinking about Nebraska, but any mention of the state got my spidey senses up.
🧵
I didn't spend time thinking about Nebraska, but any mention of the state got my spidey senses up.
🧵
December 26, 2025 at 10:45 PM
I grew up hating Nebraska. Anyone from Nebraska could not be trusted. Anyone who voluntarily went to Nebraska could not be saved.
I didn't spend time thinking about Nebraska, but any mention of the state got my spidey senses up.
🧵
I didn't spend time thinking about Nebraska, but any mention of the state got my spidey senses up.
🧵
Reposted by Tab Combs
It is EXHAUSTING not only being made responsible for coming up with new kinds of assignments for our students; it's also tedious reading op-eds that suggest the core problem is a crisis in teaching. But, as Chris and I lay out here, this isn't a crisis in teaching; it's an attack on learning.
"We envision a resistance that is...a repudiation of the efficiencies that automated algorithmic education falsely promises: a resistance comprising the collective force of small acts of friction."
"How to Resist AI in Education" by me & @cnygren.bsky.social
www.publicbooks.org/four-frictio...
"How to Resist AI in Education" by me & @cnygren.bsky.social
www.publicbooks.org/four-frictio...
Four Frictions: or, How to Resist AI in Education - Public Books
We are calling for resistance to the AI industry’s ongoing capture of higher education.
www.publicbooks.org
December 24, 2025 at 7:39 PM
It is EXHAUSTING not only being made responsible for coming up with new kinds of assignments for our students; it's also tedious reading op-eds that suggest the core problem is a crisis in teaching. But, as Chris and I lay out here, this isn't a crisis in teaching; it's an attack on learning.
I am enjoying watching the niblings trying to wrap their heads around the fact that I have the Muppets Christmas Carol on VHS.
#LightTheLampNotTheRat
#LightTheLampNotTheRat
December 25, 2025 at 6:38 PM
I am enjoying watching the niblings trying to wrap their heads around the fact that I have the Muppets Christmas Carol on VHS.
#LightTheLampNotTheRat
#LightTheLampNotTheRat
What if we all just keeping telling gmail's spam filter that emails from gemini are spam
December 20, 2025 at 3:45 PM
What if we all just keeping telling gmail's spam filter that emails from gemini are spam
Admittedly small sample size, but my research suggests 6th graders vastly prefer icing, off-brand m&ms, and gummy Lifesavers to homemade chocolate chip cookies, high dollar cake, and fresh fruit
Most of the icing has been ingested
December 20, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Admittedly small sample size, but my research suggests 6th graders vastly prefer icing, off-brand m&ms, and gummy Lifesavers to homemade chocolate chip cookies, high dollar cake, and fresh fruit
Three 6th graders are attempting to make gingerbread houses in my kitchen without adult supervision
December 20, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Three 6th graders are attempting to make gingerbread houses in my kitchen without adult supervision
Reposted by Tab Combs
NHTSA released estimates of traffic fatalities in the first half of 2025, so I made a quick visual to show that bicyclists are one of only two categories with increasing fatalities
Data: crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/V...
Visual: www.datawrapper.de/_/EFpSk/
Data: crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/V...
Visual: www.datawrapper.de/_/EFpSk/
Early Estimates of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities and Fatality Rate by Sub-Categories For the First Half (January-June) of 2025 | Created with Datawrapper
For the first half of 2025, NHTSA estimates a decrease of about 8.2 percent as compared to the first half of 2024. Only two reported subcategories showed an increase in reported fatalities - pedalcycl...
www.datawrapper.de
December 19, 2025 at 7:41 PM
NHTSA released estimates of traffic fatalities in the first half of 2025, so I made a quick visual to show that bicyclists are one of only two categories with increasing fatalities
Data: crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/V...
Visual: www.datawrapper.de/_/EFpSk/
Data: crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/V...
Visual: www.datawrapper.de/_/EFpSk/
Giving a 10 year old a Chromebook with constant WiFi access and saying, "only use this for school work" is like giving a dog a steak and saying, "just nibble around the edges"
If you're not prepared to be their guardrails, you can't expect them not to eat the whole steak.
If you're not prepared to be their guardrails, you can't expect them not to eat the whole steak.
December 19, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Giving a 10 year old a Chromebook with constant WiFi access and saying, "only use this for school work" is like giving a dog a steak and saying, "just nibble around the edges"
If you're not prepared to be their guardrails, you can't expect them not to eat the whole steak.
If you're not prepared to be their guardrails, you can't expect them not to eat the whole steak.
one of the coolest parts about all this #AI stuff is when it emails you a paper in a pay-to-play journal that is basically your paper but with someone else's name on it, on a topic in which you are the seminal author, and doesn't cite any of your work
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
December 19, 2025 at 4:30 PM
one of the coolest parts about all this #AI stuff is when it emails you a paper in a pay-to-play journal that is basically your paper but with someone else's name on it, on a topic in which you are the seminal author, and doesn't cite any of your work
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
We need more of the kind of people who can singlehandedly wrangle 3 middle school orchestras and 4 middle school bands into one 90 minute concert
December 19, 2025 at 3:32 AM
We need more of the kind of people who can singlehandedly wrangle 3 middle school orchestras and 4 middle school bands into one 90 minute concert
