Josh
@eternallyrecurring.bsky.social
Writer, editor, explorer- examining the human condition as we walk through time.
https://linktr.ee/eternallyrecurring
https://linktr.ee/eternallyrecurring
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Josh
@eternallyrecurring.bsky.social
· Apr 13
Never be cruel, never be cowardly.
Hate is always foolish, and love is always wise.
Always try to be nice but never fail to be kind.
Laugh hard, run fast, be kind.
Hate is always foolish, and love is always wise.
Always try to be nice but never fail to be kind.
Laugh hard, run fast, be kind.
The Democratic Party is weak and ineffectual. At minimum they need new leadership with a new vision, but preferably we just need a new party.
January 6, 2026 at 3:55 PM
The Democratic Party is weak and ineffectual. At minimum they need new leadership with a new vision, but preferably we just need a new party.
I took a look at it and saw that all it did it badly scrape the exact instructions from Reddit.
Color me severely unimpressed.
Again: we should prioritize and value the human intellect, human effort and work, and human creativity.
Color me severely unimpressed.
Again: we should prioritize and value the human intellect, human effort and work, and human creativity.
December 12, 2025 at 4:13 PM
I took a look at it and saw that all it did it badly scrape the exact instructions from Reddit.
Color me severely unimpressed.
Again: we should prioritize and value the human intellect, human effort and work, and human creativity.
Color me severely unimpressed.
Again: we should prioritize and value the human intellect, human effort and work, and human creativity.
A coworker recently said that I was biased against AI when I leveled some fair criticisms about it. I replied "I am biased toward the human intellect."
He had showed me how one of them--probably Gemini--helped him set up a home network.
He had showed me how one of them--probably Gemini--helped him set up a home network.
December 12, 2025 at 4:13 PM
A coworker recently said that I was biased against AI when I leveled some fair criticisms about it. I replied "I am biased toward the human intellect."
He had showed me how one of them--probably Gemini--helped him set up a home network.
He had showed me how one of them--probably Gemini--helped him set up a home network.
I keep meaning to restart my blog but life keeps getting in the way.
Can someone invent a machine that adds more time to the day?
Call it a Time-Adder Device.
We can workshop the name.
Can someone invent a machine that adds more time to the day?
Call it a Time-Adder Device.
We can workshop the name.
December 3, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I keep meaning to restart my blog but life keeps getting in the way.
Can someone invent a machine that adds more time to the day?
Call it a Time-Adder Device.
We can workshop the name.
Can someone invent a machine that adds more time to the day?
Call it a Time-Adder Device.
We can workshop the name.
My love of liminal photography continues unabated.
December 2, 2025 at 4:42 PM
My love of liminal photography continues unabated.
I wrote a poem and I googled one of the stanzas to see if I was inadvertently copying something (imposter syndrome can pop up at random times). Google decided it would offer me some unwanted juvenile commentary.
December 1, 2025 at 4:13 PM
I wrote a poem and I googled one of the stanzas to see if I was inadvertently copying something (imposter syndrome can pop up at random times). Google decided it would offer me some unwanted juvenile commentary.
Speaking of physical stores--Barnes and Noble just opened a new location really close to me and I found it to be extremely gratifying that so many people were in there. I don't want to read too much into it, but a part of me believes that people might be yearning for that sense of community.
November 30, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Speaking of physical stores--Barnes and Noble just opened a new location really close to me and I found it to be extremely gratifying that so many people were in there. I don't want to read too much into it, but a part of me believes that people might be yearning for that sense of community.
Reposted by Josh
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
Bookselling is like the most "people go to the store and buy what looks cool to them without a particular agenda" type business left, and your purchases have a huge influence on what is ordered, what is displayed, and what is recommended.
November 29, 2025 at 6:44 PM
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
I like amateur #Standup because the people who are good at it are so energetic and it's fun to watch them find out who they are on stage.
November 25, 2025 at 2:37 PM
I like amateur #Standup because the people who are good at it are so energetic and it's fun to watch them find out who they are on stage.
My transition away from #Microsoft and to #Linux is going well. Lots of things have been easier to manage than I thought, but some difficulties remain. Mostly having to do with conveniences Microsoft gave me as a user that ended up making me a lazy computer user.
November 16, 2025 at 11:34 PM
My transition away from #Microsoft and to #Linux is going well. Lots of things have been easier to manage than I thought, but some difficulties remain. Mostly having to do with conveniences Microsoft gave me as a user that ended up making me a lazy computer user.
And this is why, I think, so many people misunderstand what these "AI" systems actually are and what they can do. The story does manage to ask an important question: what if they get it wrong?
But let's get at the real problem: how can we create meaningful human interaction when there's no human?
But let's get at the real problem: how can we create meaningful human interaction when there's no human?
November 16, 2025 at 3:37 PM
And this is why, I think, so many people misunderstand what these "AI" systems actually are and what they can do. The story does manage to ask an important question: what if they get it wrong?
But let's get at the real problem: how can we create meaningful human interaction when there's no human?
But let's get at the real problem: how can we create meaningful human interaction when there's no human?
I opened my email this morning and saw this headline from the NYT morning. There are so many things wrong with this. The most immediate question I have is: how do you define empathy as applied to a language model? It's not empathy, it's a simulation of empathy. #ChatGPT
November 16, 2025 at 3:37 PM
I opened my email this morning and saw this headline from the NYT morning. There are so many things wrong with this. The most immediate question I have is: how do you define empathy as applied to a language model? It's not empathy, it's a simulation of empathy. #ChatGPT
One of the key features of a functioning democracy is being able to hold the powerful and connected responsible for their crimes.
Can we do that, America?
Can we do that, America?
November 13, 2025 at 3:41 PM
One of the key features of a functioning democracy is being able to hold the powerful and connected responsible for their crimes.
Can we do that, America?
Can we do that, America?
The way to address the utter failure that is the #Democrats you must first organize to change its leadership. Obviously they are out of touch with the demands of their base.
November 11, 2025 at 12:31 AM
The way to address the utter failure that is the #Democrats you must first organize to change its leadership. Obviously they are out of touch with the demands of their base.
This is the weirdest LinkedIn sponsored message I have ever received.
Who... Advertises a matchmaking service on LinkedIn? This would be the equivalent of a matchmaking cold call.
Baffling.
Who... Advertises a matchmaking service on LinkedIn? This would be the equivalent of a matchmaking cold call.
Baffling.
October 26, 2025 at 5:59 PM
This is the weirdest LinkedIn sponsored message I have ever received.
Who... Advertises a matchmaking service on LinkedIn? This would be the equivalent of a matchmaking cold call.
Baffling.
Who... Advertises a matchmaking service on LinkedIn? This would be the equivalent of a matchmaking cold call.
Baffling.
I have so many thoughts about #AppleTV and their adaptation of #Foundation. I'm going back to the source matial and am planning a deep dive.
October 17, 2025 at 1:24 PM
I have so many thoughts about #AppleTV and their adaptation of #Foundation. I'm going back to the source matial and am planning a deep dive.
It is not un-American to say, "No kings."
Our country was founded on that.
Our country was founded on that.
October 14, 2025 at 10:16 PM
It is not un-American to say, "No kings."
Our country was founded on that.
Our country was founded on that.
Why are people surprised when billionaires and CEOs disconnected from the everyday struggles of normal people act like fools?
This should be expected.
This should be expected.
October 9, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Why are people surprised when billionaires and CEOs disconnected from the everyday struggles of normal people act like fools?
This should be expected.
This should be expected.
I've been reflecting on the power of narratives. And I think I am missing an important corollary: narratives can also be weak.
Using politics as an example: pointing out hypocracy in political ideology is often counterproductive. It helps to spread the original message.
Using politics as an example: pointing out hypocracy in political ideology is often counterproductive. It helps to spread the original message.
October 4, 2025 at 1:04 PM
I've been reflecting on the power of narratives. And I think I am missing an important corollary: narratives can also be weak.
Using politics as an example: pointing out hypocracy in political ideology is often counterproductive. It helps to spread the original message.
Using politics as an example: pointing out hypocracy in political ideology is often counterproductive. It helps to spread the original message.
Have hobbies that do not generate money or create some kind of value for anyone other than yourself. Enrich your life in ways that matter to you. At the end of the day, these ruthless vulture capitalists don't care about you any more than they care about a sprocket or a gear in a machine.
August 28, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Have hobbies that do not generate money or create some kind of value for anyone other than yourself. Enrich your life in ways that matter to you. At the end of the day, these ruthless vulture capitalists don't care about you any more than they care about a sprocket or a gear in a machine.
At some point the actual reason to live for a person must be more than "Make money" or "make someone else rich with your labor." What grinding culture really encourages is the enrichment of others through the exploitation of your body, your labor, your time.
August 28, 2025 at 1:01 PM
At some point the actual reason to live for a person must be more than "Make money" or "make someone else rich with your labor." What grinding culture really encourages is the enrichment of others through the exploitation of your body, your labor, your time.
Everything is commercialized. And we have even gotten to the point where we are pressured to commercialize our own private time. We can't rest; we must be productive little worker bees. We must be doing, working, grinding.
August 28, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Everything is commercialized. And we have even gotten to the point where we are pressured to commercialize our own private time. We can't rest; we must be productive little worker bees. We must be doing, working, grinding.
And this is actually a pretty trenchant observation about the commercialization of absolutely everything (and its consequences, like the enshittification of the internet).
August 28, 2025 at 1:01 PM
And this is actually a pretty trenchant observation about the commercialization of absolutely everything (and its consequences, like the enshittification of the internet).
The thing about Fallout series as a video game adaption is that it says what was always implicit about the central premise: the end of the world is commercialized.
August 28, 2025 at 1:01 PM
The thing about Fallout series as a video game adaption is that it says what was always implicit about the central premise: the end of the world is commercialized.
One of the lessons that 1984 tried to teach us is that when the meaning of words gets watered down, it allows for abuses to occur. When we disagree about reality, with signs, with the very definition of things... Well, we end up in a place where we have to relitigate slavery. Human-fucking-slavery.
August 20, 2025 at 1:31 PM
One of the lessons that 1984 tried to teach us is that when the meaning of words gets watered down, it allows for abuses to occur. When we disagree about reality, with signs, with the very definition of things... Well, we end up in a place where we have to relitigate slavery. Human-fucking-slavery.