Ed Pichon
@edpichon.bsky.social
Tech geek, standards engineering consultant, dad, lapsed physicist, hubby to a real engineer, cat attendant.
Apparently it wasn’t Twain who said “It is easier to fool a man, than to convince him he has been fooled.” But this is another fine example. Easier to blame your idiot, evil employees that are robbing you are to blame…than admit you’ve been conned.
AI cannot fail, it can only be sabotaged. You must stay ever-vigilant against Trotskyist wreckers.
November 13, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Apparently it wasn’t Twain who said “It is easier to fool a man, than to convince him he has been fooled.” But this is another fine example. Easier to blame your idiot, evil employees that are robbing you are to blame…than admit you’ve been conned.
Proposition - pandemics create a surge of xenophobia in affected societies. It takes a few years to percolate through the political system, but it seems to be a pretty consistent response.
Surely there’s a paper on this…ah: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Surely there’s a paper on this…ah: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Impact of infectious disease epidemics on xenophobia: A systematic review
Xenophobia has a significant impact on the health of international migrants. During an infectious disease outbreak, stigma and prejudice are highly pronounced. Migrants, often seen as disease carriers, are socially rejected during epidemics. Ensure ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
November 3, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Proposition - pandemics create a surge of xenophobia in affected societies. It takes a few years to percolate through the political system, but it seems to be a pretty consistent response.
Surely there’s a paper on this…ah: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Surely there’s a paper on this…ah: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
If history is any guide, the next decade or two is going to be interesting. Post pandemic, post collapse of an empire, and a couple of decades since the last time the Europeans decided to throw down on a global scale. Plus the wildcard of an unprecedented demographic inversion.
Gulp. Buckle up!
Gulp. Buckle up!
October 21, 2025 at 11:24 PM
If history is any guide, the next decade or two is going to be interesting. Post pandemic, post collapse of an empire, and a couple of decades since the last time the Europeans decided to throw down on a global scale. Plus the wildcard of an unprecedented demographic inversion.
Gulp. Buckle up!
Gulp. Buckle up!
When is prudence cowardice? Asking for me.
October 17, 2025 at 8:08 PM
When is prudence cowardice? Asking for me.
Reposted by Ed Pichon
Administrators at Indiana University baselessly fired the student media director and ordered the student paper to cease its print edition, so it'd sure be a shame if this excellent digital front page were to be widely shared today
issuu.com/idsnews/docs...
issuu.com/idsnews/docs...
October 17, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Administrators at Indiana University baselessly fired the student media director and ordered the student paper to cease its print edition, so it'd sure be a shame if this excellent digital front page were to be widely shared today
issuu.com/idsnews/docs...
issuu.com/idsnews/docs...
After the constant bitching about “foreign aid is bankrupting the US!” I expect there will be swift condemnation from the right.
I’ll wait.
I’ll wait.
20 billion dollars from the US Treasury **was not enough**. So now it's 40 billion dollars! And why stop there?
All while the US government is shut down.
"America First," amirite?
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
All while the US government is shut down.
"America First," amirite?
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Bessent says bailout for Argentina will double to boost U.S. influence in region
The Trump administration is working to arrange private sector financing for Argentina that would double the total U.S. financial lifeline for the embattled Latin nation.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 15, 2025 at 10:45 PM
After the constant bitching about “foreign aid is bankrupting the US!” I expect there will be swift condemnation from the right.
I’ll wait.
I’ll wait.
One upside to the current political situation - the villains are pretty easy to identify. Not sure who the good guys are, but the bad guys are really easy to spot.
Alas, mirrors don’t really seem to work against them.
Alas, mirrors don’t really seem to work against them.
October 15, 2025 at 10:24 PM
One upside to the current political situation - the villains are pretty easy to identify. Not sure who the good guys are, but the bad guys are really easy to spot.
Alas, mirrors don’t really seem to work against them.
Alas, mirrors don’t really seem to work against them.
It’s really disheartening to see those people who spoke rightly about bravery in the face of fear, the nobility of resisting corrupt use of power, holding fast to the important virtues… reduced to jibbering terror while defending a man who views violence and wealth as the chief virtues.
October 15, 2025 at 7:57 PM
It’s really disheartening to see those people who spoke rightly about bravery in the face of fear, the nobility of resisting corrupt use of power, holding fast to the important virtues… reduced to jibbering terror while defending a man who views violence and wealth as the chief virtues.
What Trump says is fine. But democrats quoting what Trump is inflammatory, and completely unfair.
Sadly, this makes complete sense to some people.
“How dare those satanic pedophiles say that we are calling them satanic pedophiles!”
Sadly, this makes complete sense to some people.
“How dare those satanic pedophiles say that we are calling them satanic pedophiles!”
October 3, 2025 at 6:39 PM
What Trump says is fine. But democrats quoting what Trump is inflammatory, and completely unfair.
Sadly, this makes complete sense to some people.
“How dare those satanic pedophiles say that we are calling them satanic pedophiles!”
Sadly, this makes complete sense to some people.
“How dare those satanic pedophiles say that we are calling them satanic pedophiles!”
Minor quibble amidst the outrageous - they aren’t warriors. They are soldiers. One is a predator. The other is a protector. Any fool with an anger management problem can call themselves a warrior. A soldier is a very different, and far superior, calling, worthy of respect and admiration.
October 1, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Minor quibble amidst the outrageous - they aren’t warriors. They are soldiers. One is a predator. The other is a protector. Any fool with an anger management problem can call themselves a warrior. A soldier is a very different, and far superior, calling, worthy of respect and admiration.
It does take some serious balls for this administration to call out lying as a criminal act.
I’d say it took serious cajones, but that might get me deported.
I’d say it took serious cajones, but that might get me deported.
September 26, 2025 at 1:15 AM
It does take some serious balls for this administration to call out lying as a criminal act.
I’d say it took serious cajones, but that might get me deported.
I’d say it took serious cajones, but that might get me deported.
Liberty - where the state tells you what words you can say, what clothes you can wear, where you go to the bathroom, who you can marry, what religions you can follow, where you can travel, and what you are allowed to buy.
Thank heavens for small government conservatives!
Thank heavens for small government conservatives!
September 21, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Liberty - where the state tells you what words you can say, what clothes you can wear, where you go to the bathroom, who you can marry, what religions you can follow, where you can travel, and what you are allowed to buy.
Thank heavens for small government conservatives!
Thank heavens for small government conservatives!
Preach!
September 12, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Preach!
The heart of the problem is - some people are looking to foment political violence. Some are trying to avoid it. It may not be possible. But it is likely to get a lot more difficult after today.
September 11, 2025 at 2:17 AM
The heart of the problem is - some people are looking to foment political violence. Some are trying to avoid it. It may not be possible. But it is likely to get a lot more difficult after today.
Stupid. Stupid. Wrong. Wrong. Evil. Evil.
Counterproductive too, as this will only make things worse. But that's way down the list.
Counterproductive too, as this will only make things worse. But that's way down the list.
September 10, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Stupid. Stupid. Wrong. Wrong. Evil. Evil.
Counterproductive too, as this will only make things worse. But that's way down the list.
Counterproductive too, as this will only make things worse. But that's way down the list.
A Tech BS, Google Edition - “we value you as a customer. That’s why we are downgrading your devices to make you buy new ones.”
Translated into English - “F$&@ you.”
Translated into English - “F$&@ you.”
September 6, 2025 at 4:05 PM
A Tech BS, Google Edition - “we value you as a customer. That’s why we are downgrading your devices to make you buy new ones.”
Translated into English - “F$&@ you.”
Translated into English - “F$&@ you.”
It’s nice to see examples of real courage, dignity and honor. In a place mostly defined by the cowardice, venality, and corruption of our elected “leaders”.
That it took real horror to generate it is, obviously, awful. But dang, those women rock.
That it took real horror to generate it is, obviously, awful. But dang, those women rock.
Davies: And his biggest brag forever was that he was very good friends with Donald Trump. He had an eight by ten framed picture of him on his desk with the two of them, like they were very close.
September 3, 2025 at 7:20 PM
It’s nice to see examples of real courage, dignity and honor. In a place mostly defined by the cowardice, venality, and corruption of our elected “leaders”.
That it took real horror to generate it is, obviously, awful. But dang, those women rock.
That it took real horror to generate it is, obviously, awful. But dang, those women rock.
We are so f$&@ed here in the US. We now have tacit social conventions on reaching out to folks who may have been impacted by yet another massacre. On a personal level we should have no idea how to respond. Now it’s “this again…who do I know with kids in X?”
August 27, 2025 at 5:15 PM
We are so f$&@ed here in the US. We now have tacit social conventions on reaching out to folks who may have been impacted by yet another massacre. On a personal level we should have no idea how to respond. Now it’s “this again…who do I know with kids in X?”
I love it when someone's name conjures a mental image that is spot on. Probably some kind of bias or "ism", but it makes me happy. Like when you see someone you've only ever heard before, and they look like they sound.
Almost as happy as when the mental image is completely and utterly wrong.
Almost as happy as when the mental image is completely and utterly wrong.
August 25, 2025 at 5:40 PM
I love it when someone's name conjures a mental image that is spot on. Probably some kind of bias or "ism", but it makes me happy. Like when you see someone you've only ever heard before, and they look like they sound.
Almost as happy as when the mental image is completely and utterly wrong.
Almost as happy as when the mental image is completely and utterly wrong.
I’m…just…no. Some wars do end with negotiation. Maybe even a majority of them. But WW2?
JD Vance: "This is how wars ultimately get settled. If you go back to World War 2, if you go back to every major conflict in human history, they all end with some kind of negotiation."
August 24, 2025 at 7:11 PM
I’m…just…no. Some wars do end with negotiation. Maybe even a majority of them. But WW2?
I find it profound that many of the same techniques we use to assess generative AI images/movies are the same ones that lore and myth provide for identifying the fair folk - count the teeth, count the fingers, etc. Like the "uncanny valley" reaction it implies deep connections. 1/6
August 22, 2025 at 4:05 PM
I find it profound that many of the same techniques we use to assess generative AI images/movies are the same ones that lore and myth provide for identifying the fair folk - count the teeth, count the fingers, etc. Like the "uncanny valley" reaction it implies deep connections. 1/6
Preach!
LLMs are more fairy-tale than technology. Eating all the words in the world, and yet it’s not enough to stave its hunger or give it true knowledge of the real world. Never to become a real boy, no matter how many libraries its fathers steal. Speaking to it drives men mad, and its gifts…
August 22, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Preach!
Dear company - Yes, I purchased a cat fountain from you. This may come as a surprise, but my interest in cat fountains comes only from the need to get water in my cats. I do not need weekly emails keeping me up to date on all the latest feline hydration products and developments. Please stop.
August 16, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Dear company - Yes, I purchased a cat fountain from you. This may come as a surprise, but my interest in cat fountains comes only from the need to get water in my cats. I do not need weekly emails keeping me up to date on all the latest feline hydration products and developments. Please stop.