Evan Roberts | Lightnews

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 6h

This is harder, especially if you want all those numbers in the right place in the table. But there's really been incredible progress.

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 6h

This will work

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 6h

And it was 5 years away in 2005 ... and 2010. When @snblickhan.bsky.social and Ben Wiggins and I applied for an NEH grant for citizen science transcription in 2020 it still seemed reasonable to say it was 5 years away. Probably came in 4 ... As @scottbot.bsky.social says it won't always work

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 6h

As someone working in historical demography the speed of transforming handwriting into data is an important constraint on how much we can do with the vast quantities of old demographic and health information. When I started grad school handwriting in 2000 handwriting recognition was 5 years away

scott b. weingart @scottbot.bsky.social · 14h

Nearly-perfect printed and handwritten text recognition is the most consequential technical contribution to the study of human culture of the last fifteen years, and it's not even close.

It fundamentally changes our (both lay and expert) relationship with the written past.

Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · 15h

New issue of my newsletter: "The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition" — One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved, and it's a good use of AI newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 6h

Yeah, I would guess NZ would be around there too. Ireland's cultural evolution on many things over the past 30 years has been astonishing.

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 6h

Ireland's views compared to the rest of the Anglosphere 👀 (parochial, but sure would have been interesting to have NZ in there to get a sense of how far the right wing attitudes are circulating between English-language media in different countries)

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 7h

“WASHINGTON—Citing that a majority of Americans are irresponsible, easily distracted people who have little regard for other human beings, a new Dept of Transportation report revealed that it’s ‘actually kind of crazy’ that U.S. citizens are allowed to drive automobiles.”

The Onion strikes again.

Report: It Pretty Incredible That Americans Entrusted With Driving Cars

WASHINGTON—Citing that a majority of Americans are irresponsible, easily distracted people who have little regard for other human beings, a new Department of Transportation report revealed Wednesday t...

theonion.com

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 13h

To double the area where multifamily housing is allowed? (from 3% of the city to 6%)

scott b. weingart @scottbot.bsky.social · 14h

Nearly-perfect printed and handwritten text recognition is the most consequential technical contribution to the study of human culture of the last fifteen years, and it's not even close.

It fundamentally changes our (both lay and expert) relationship with the written past.

Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · 15h

New issue of my newsletter: "The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition" — One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved, and it's a good use of AI newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...

The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition

One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved

newsletter.dancohen.org

Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · 15h

New issue of my newsletter: "The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition" — One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved, and it's a good use of AI newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...

The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition

One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved

newsletter.dancohen.org

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 16h

The best biscuits you will find at Costco! Australasia's finest. Would be even better if we had access to all the flavors, but maybe that would make trips home less special?

Hill @hillohbeanz.bsky.social · 17h

Costco has big boxes of TimTams for not very much money and it's the best thing that's happened in a while

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 16h

Richard Attenborough voice: even when directed to the native Minnesotan prefers to die via starvation than experience the social death of eating the last one.

The Ugly Machine @theuglymachine.bsky.social · 17h

My HOA president Totoro

Hill @hillohbeanz.bsky.social · 17h

Costco has big boxes of TimTams for not very much money and it's the best thing that's happened in a while

Doug Mack @douglasmack.bsky.social · 1d

* New Zealand takes pies (namely, handheld meat pies) so seriously that there are National Pie Awards that get major media coverage. The New Zealand National Library has a whole dedicated category for “Pies — Competitions.”

Pie.

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 1d

“We estimate that from the mid-2000s to 2022, exposure to the opioid epidemic continuously increased the Republican vote share in House, presidential, and gubernatorial elections.”

The Quarterly Journal of Economics @qjeharvard.bsky.social · 2d

Recently accepted by #QJE, “Republican Support and Economic Hardship: The Enduring Effects of the Opioid Epidemic,” by Arteaga (@caroartc.bsky.social) and Barone (@vickybarone.bsky.social): doi.org/10.1093/qje/...

Republican Support and Economic Hardship: The Enduring Effects Of the Opioid Epidemic

Abstract. In this paper, we establish a causal connection between two of the most salient social developments in the United States over the past decades: t

doi.org

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 1d

those are rats. the article talks about possums, and all the other critters. I think the Australian possums have better fur than American possums, so they got that going for them.

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 1d

The traditions of my home country are that all possums must die. Painfully. Peacefully. Whatever. Maybe it's different here 😀
www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...

The Big Kill

Conservationists hope that a bloody campaign to exterminate invasive mammals will forestall an ecological crisis. Elizabeth Kolbert reports.

www.newyorker.com

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 1d

footnote: what do I mean by different weights. Between the two extremes of everyone's driving drunk all the time, and we never go anywhere because it's too dangerous there's a lot of combinations of "how much can you drink before we might pull you over" to go around.

drunk driving may kill a lot of people, but it also helps a lot of people get to work on time, so, it;s impossible to say if its bad or not,

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 1d

This is not an "always and everywhere" situation, but a broad tendency. I suspect this is because planning has developed narrative and legal modes of argument, grounded in "these are the ordinances we have". By contrast other parts of social and economic policy reason statistically and economically

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 1d

The article also does a great job of surfacing this aspect of planning as public policy. I started out my career in social policy evaluation. It's striking to me how a lot of city planning comes to the public with a favored alternative and reasons for it, with relatively little discussion of options

Planning staff tend to view hearings as opportunities to present expert analysis and receive affirmation of their professional recommendations. They expect their technical expertise, institutional knowledge, and application of adopted policies to carry dispositive weight.

But staff often fail to acknowledge that their “technical” analysis embeds contestable value judgments. When planners characterize traffic impacts as excessive or environmental harm as significant, they’re making normative claims disguised as empirical findings. Their expectations of deference are frustrated when officials ignore recommendations based on political considerations.

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 1d

With that set-up it's a tribute to elected officials, volunteer leaders from various civic groups, and public staff that these things run well at all. And not all meetings are alike, leading to understandable public confusion about what is allowed and germane at the various kinds of meetings.

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 1d

I've flown on the 787 and 777 in this color scheme. There's a ATR72 as well, I think.

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 1d

Public meetings about development bring together people with different
* underlying value systems
* weights for different components of the project
* knowledge of the proposal
* degrees of real skin in the game
to discuss abstract proposals with uncertain outcomes
ggwash.org/view/101548/...

What are planning hearings actually for?

Opinion: There’s an idea that if we could just get the “right” people into the room, public input would improve decision quality and legitimacy. Casey Anderson, Montgomery County’s former planning boa...

ggwash.org

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 1d

Can you just put it in neutral and push if you're within pushing distance and gradient of home? (have done this with petrol powered cars ...)

Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 1d

So - it's becoming clear that the endgame for our zoning advocacy should be a "kit of parts" for both buildings + zoning rules. A toolbox that works on all lot sizes (including small lots).

It will be 2 pieces:
1. Town centres (attached here, w no side yard)
2. Distributed (w side yards)

Matt Grossmann @mattgrossmann.bsky.social · 1d

University students who were provided with a free gym card (in a randomized experiment) exercised more and had a significant improvement in academic performance. The treated students were also less likely to drop out of classes
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....

University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent

www.journals.uchicago.edu

Steven @stevevance.net · 1d

Of all the major cities in the United States, Chicago provides the greatest value, with robust amenities and culture without correlated housing costs. But if Chicago wants to retain that status, some things need to change.

op-ed by me, Stef, and Jasmine (co-leads for @abundanthousingil.bsky.social)

Commentary: Make 2026 the year to achieve real progress on reforming housing affordability

Growth in and around Chicago depends on lawmakers getting it done, write leaders of Abundant Housing Illinois.

www.chicagobusiness.com

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 1d

US *and* UK governments doing everything they can to push international students seeking English-language instruction to Australia and New Zealand. Which are fine places to receive an undergraduate education etc ... but US/UK policies are still so dumb
www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/11/new-...

Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 1d

The existence of sub-urban areas implies the existence of dom-urban areas.
(tip o' the hat to @akhilrao.bsky.social for this genre of post)

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