John Dumas
@johndumas.bsky.social
Gay man. Likes art, photography, cooking. Esperanto. Science adjacent. Probably should write a better bio.
Anthony Geary has died at 78. I remember when young women of my age group were swooning over him. Condolences to his husband. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/a...
Anthony Geary, Luke on ‘General Hospital,’ Dies at 78
www.nytimes.com
December 16, 2025 at 5:54 AM
Anthony Geary has died at 78. I remember when young women of my age group were swooning over him. Condolences to his husband. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/a...
Feĵiĉan Zamenhof-tagon al ĉiuj kiuj festas!
December 16, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Feĵiĉan Zamenhof-tagon al ĉiuj kiuj festas!
I dislike both Times New Roman and Calibri. I'm not sure where that puts me. www.nytimes.com/interactive/... #typefaces #type
Is Times New Roman Better Than Calibri for the State Department?
Type designers weigh in on the recent decision to replace Calibri with Times New Roman in official documents.
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2025 at 6:01 PM
I dislike both Times New Roman and Calibri. I'm not sure where that puts me. www.nytimes.com/interactive/... #typefaces #type
I knitted these socks four years ago, started another pair, then stopped knitting. I wore them today as I'm contemplating getting back into knitting. They're really nice. I need to make more.
December 14, 2025 at 8:44 AM
I knitted these socks four years ago, started another pair, then stopped knitting. I wore them today as I'm contemplating getting back into knitting. They're really nice. I need to make more.
La krokodilo estas memoraĵo de Brno.
December 14, 2025 at 8:29 AM
La krokodilo estas memoraĵo de Brno.
Comment dit-on "what a bummer." On Duolingo Lily wanted to talk about my happy memories of primary school. Yeah, I was small and the other kids bullied me. My French is good enough to say "I have no happy memories of my primary school" (je n'ai aucun souvenir heureux de mon école primaire).
December 14, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Comment dit-on "what a bummer." On Duolingo Lily wanted to talk about my happy memories of primary school. Yeah, I was small and the other kids bullied me. My French is good enough to say "I have no happy memories of my primary school" (je n'ai aucun souvenir heureux de mon école primaire).
Uh oh. Are the pencil police coming for me?
Let's tell those kindergarteners that they don't need the box of crayons with 64 colors.
Is the MAGA crayon box just 2 or 3 shades of white?
Let's tell those kindergarteners that they don't need the box of crayons with 64 colors.
Is the MAGA crayon box just 2 or 3 shades of white?
December 10, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Uh oh. Are the pencil police coming for me?
Let's tell those kindergarteners that they don't need the box of crayons with 64 colors.
Is the MAGA crayon box just 2 or 3 shades of white?
Let's tell those kindergarteners that they don't need the box of crayons with 64 colors.
Is the MAGA crayon box just 2 or 3 shades of white?
When these stamps were affixed to an envelope it probably seemed a good idea.
December 9, 2025 at 3:24 AM
When these stamps were affixed to an envelope it probably seemed a good idea.
Sad news, BIC, the corporate parent of Rocketbook, has decided to cease operations of that division. BIC should have made a pen that actually worked with Rocketbooks, which would have better tied them to the product.
December 9, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Sad news, BIC, the corporate parent of Rocketbook, has decided to cease operations of that division. BIC should have made a pen that actually worked with Rocketbooks, which would have better tied them to the product.
Clearly my oven gloves need to be opera length. Ouch. #kitchenMishaps
December 6, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Clearly my oven gloves need to be opera length. Ouch. #kitchenMishaps
"Willingly and enthusiastically." Seriously. The headline makes it sound like he realized one day he was in a racist chat group. "How'd I get here?" He wasn't a bystander, but one of the people making racist comments.
December 4, 2025 at 6:45 AM
"Willingly and enthusiastically." Seriously. The headline makes it sound like he realized one day he was in a racist chat group. "How'd I get here?" He wasn't a bystander, but one of the people making racist comments.
Reposted by John Dumas
New Commentary by Cory Doctorow: Show Me the Incentive, I’ll Show You the Outcome
Commentary: Cory Doctorow: Show Me the Incentive, I’ll Show You the Outcome
Who are we to blame for enshittification? That is, who is at fault for the pandemic of platform decay, in which the platforms we depend on, where we congregate, trade, perform, sell, buy, connect, …
locusmag.com
November 30, 2025 at 7:10 PM
New Commentary by Cory Doctorow: Show Me the Incentive, I’ll Show You the Outcome
November 26, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Reposted by John Dumas
This is true. It is the best email I got this year.
November 26, 2025 at 9:50 PM
This is true. It is the best email I got this year.
Since pie questions are coming up, I want to speak in defense of pumpkin pie. It's the Thanksgiving dish. When Thanksgiving became a national holiday after the Civil War, Southerners weren't too keen on it. Pumpkin pie was heavy in abolitionist symbolism. Pumpkins are a good smallholder crop.
November 26, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Since pie questions are coming up, I want to speak in defense of pumpkin pie. It's the Thanksgiving dish. When Thanksgiving became a national holiday after the Civil War, Southerners weren't too keen on it. Pumpkin pie was heavy in abolitionist symbolism. Pumpkins are a good smallholder crop.
Reposted by John Dumas
Unearthed by three brothers cleaning out their late mother's attic, the copy netted $9.12 million this month at a Texas auction house which says it is the most expensive comic book ever sold. n.pr/3M5Rxfj
A rare 'Superman No. 1' comic book found in an attic fetches $9.12M
Unearthed by three brothers cleaning out their late mother's attic, the copy netted $9.12 million this month at a Texas auction house which says it is the most expensive comic book ever sold.
n.pr
November 25, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Unearthed by three brothers cleaning out their late mother's attic, the copy netted $9.12 million this month at a Texas auction house which says it is the most expensive comic book ever sold. n.pr/3M5Rxfj
While thinking about the clothes I will need for an upcoming trip to France, I realized that there is no difference in sound between "vêtements d'hiver" (winter clothing) and "vêtements divers." (IPA for "hiver" is /i.vɛʁ/ and for "divers" /di.vɛʁ/) #French
November 25, 2025 at 6:48 AM
While thinking about the clothes I will need for an upcoming trip to France, I realized that there is no difference in sound between "vêtements d'hiver" (winter clothing) and "vêtements divers." (IPA for "hiver" is /i.vɛʁ/ and for "divers" /di.vɛʁ/) #French
Reposted by John Dumas
Gorgeous colorizations of trans history images,
and a lot of incredible stories, including many lesser-known to many (A Zapatista colonel, a "transvestite pass" issued in 1928, the Scottish nobleman who the courts ruled should inherit his baronetcy in the 60s... for example...)
and a lot of incredible stories, including many lesser-known to many (A Zapatista colonel, a "transvestite pass" issued in 1928, the Scottish nobleman who the courts ruled should inherit his baronetcy in the 60s... for example...)
Coloring the Past - Eli Erlick
Using recent breakthroughs in photo editing techniques, Eli colorizes, restores, and digitizes photos from queer and trans history. The following images are originally from 1897-1973.
elierlick.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Gorgeous colorizations of trans history images,
and a lot of incredible stories, including many lesser-known to many (A Zapatista colonel, a "transvestite pass" issued in 1928, the Scottish nobleman who the courts ruled should inherit his baronetcy in the 60s... for example...)
and a lot of incredible stories, including many lesser-known to many (A Zapatista colonel, a "transvestite pass" issued in 1928, the Scottish nobleman who the courts ruled should inherit his baronetcy in the 60s... for example...)
How could anyone had predicted such a thing, other than by reading the many articles the @nytimes.com has published in which we heard of people who were lead by AI bots into mental breakdown or suicide?
Almost as soon as a consumer advocacy group began testing an A.I.-enabled toy bear, trouble began. Instead of chatting about homework or bedtime, testers said it sometimes spoke of knives and sexual topics. They warned that toys like it could allow children to stray into inappropriate exchanges.
A.I. Toy Bear Speaks of Sex, Knives and Pills, Consumer Group Warns
The chatter left startled adults unsure whether they heard correctly. Testers warned that interactive toys like this one could allow children to stray into inappropriate exchanges.
nyti.ms
November 23, 2025 at 6:43 AM
How could anyone had predicted such a thing, other than by reading the many articles the @nytimes.com has published in which we heard of people who were lead by AI bots into mental breakdown or suicide?
I've spent more time today reading an old Agatha Christie novel than reading the news, because it's easier to deal with the murder of Roger Ackroyd (don't tell who's responsible) than the murder of American democracy (we know who's responsible).
November 23, 2025 at 1:26 AM
I've spent more time today reading an old Agatha Christie novel than reading the news, because it's easier to deal with the murder of Roger Ackroyd (don't tell who's responsible) than the murder of American democracy (we know who's responsible).
We watched the first episode of "Pluribus," and we enjoyed it immensely, Carol.
November 12, 2025 at 6:02 AM
We watched the first episode of "Pluribus," and we enjoyed it immensely, Carol.
It’s so obvious. The Republicans won’t go for one year on the ACA subsidies?
Speak out loudly. Go to the press. Tell them that the NEW negotiation point is TWO years of ACA subsidies.
Speak out loudly. Go to the press. Tell them that the NEW negotiation point is TWO years of ACA subsidies.
November 10, 2025 at 4:32 AM
It’s so obvious. The Republicans won’t go for one year on the ACA subsidies?
Speak out loudly. Go to the press. Tell them that the NEW negotiation point is TWO years of ACA subsidies.
Speak out loudly. Go to the press. Tell them that the NEW negotiation point is TWO years of ACA subsidies.
Life when you’re married to a professor. Word has it that the spec midterm was “epic.”
November 10, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Life when you’re married to a professor. Word has it that the spec midterm was “epic.”
Reposted by John Dumas
I don't use AI for the same reason I don't eat tapeworms... I don't like parasites.
November 8, 2025 at 5:01 PM
I don't use AI for the same reason I don't eat tapeworms... I don't like parasites.