Jon Webb
@jonawebb.bsky.social
Quaker living in Philly. Married to @jwebbster.
If you are rude you will be blocked.
He/him.
If you are rude you will be blocked.
He/him.
Remember back in April when Trump said he was going to impose crazy high tariffs and all the economists said they would crash the economy and the stock market tumbled and Trump backed off and the economy didn't crash, and then people said the economists were wrong yet again?
December 12, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Remember back in April when Trump said he was going to impose crazy high tariffs and all the economists said they would crash the economy and the stock market tumbled and Trump backed off and the economy didn't crash, and then people said the economists were wrong yet again?
I had the experience of showing a MAGA friend of mine, who happens to be Hispanic, the arrest by ICE of a Hispanic man outside a courthouse here. I think he was shocked. "That's fucked up. He has work boots on. He's doing everything right." I don't think he knew this was going on.
December 12, 2025 at 2:30 AM
I had the experience of showing a MAGA friend of mine, who happens to be Hispanic, the arrest by ICE of a Hispanic man outside a courthouse here. I think he was shocked. "That's fucked up. He has work boots on. He's doing everything right." I don't think he knew this was going on.
I witnessed and video'd an ICE abduction just now. They grabbed a guy outside the courthouse here in Philly. My barber happens to be MAGA and also Hispanic. I showed him the video. He said, "that's fucked up. Look, he's wearing work boots. He's trying to do the right thing."
December 11, 2025 at 5:35 PM
I witnessed and video'd an ICE abduction just now. They grabbed a guy outside the courthouse here in Philly. My barber happens to be MAGA and also Hispanic. I showed him the video. He said, "that's fucked up. Look, he's wearing work boots. He's trying to do the right thing."
This is fascinating. Until relatively recently, in Europe (though not the Islamic world) it was thought that space (the "firmament") outside Earth was sky blue. The blue sky extended out indefinitely. The only dark part was from the shadow of the earth.
www.newscientist.com/article/2497...
www.newscientist.com/article/2497...
Why we only recently discovered space is dark not bright
For centuries, Europeans thought that eternal daylight saturated the cosmos. The shift to a dark universe has had a profound psychological impact upon us
www.newscientist.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:22 AM
This is fascinating. Until relatively recently, in Europe (though not the Islamic world) it was thought that space (the "firmament") outside Earth was sky blue. The blue sky extended out indefinitely. The only dark part was from the shadow of the earth.
www.newscientist.com/article/2497...
www.newscientist.com/article/2497...
LLMs, at this point, are being trained on all the digitized text in the world. That text is the combined work of millions, trying to record knowledge, so it's understandable that an LLM trained on it is intelligent. But to go beyond that recorded text, and create something new, is wholly different.
December 10, 2025 at 1:46 AM
LLMs, at this point, are being trained on all the digitized text in the world. That text is the combined work of millions, trying to record knowledge, so it's understandable that an LLM trained on it is intelligent. But to go beyond that recorded text, and create something new, is wholly different.
I've been a vegetarian for decades so this is no longer an issue for me but I find it horrifying that quahogs, commonly used in clam chowder in this country, can live for hundreds of years. You're eating beings that have been around longer than this country.
www.newscientist.com/article/2497...
www.newscientist.com/article/2497...
The surprising longevity lessons from the world’s oldest animal
Scientists were amazed to discover a 507-year-old clam that was already 100 in Shakespeare’s day, but why did it live so long and what can we learn from it?
www.newscientist.com
December 9, 2025 at 9:59 PM
I've been a vegetarian for decades so this is no longer an issue for me but I find it horrifying that quahogs, commonly used in clam chowder in this country, can live for hundreds of years. You're eating beings that have been around longer than this country.
www.newscientist.com/article/2497...
www.newscientist.com/article/2497...
The thing about Trump is, his ambitions are so small. I mean, he's divided the country, ceded global leadership to China, betrayed Ukraine, destroyed humanitarian programs that we're saving millions, and to what end? So he could make a few billion dollars and spread his gilt bad taste crap over DC.
December 8, 2025 at 3:11 AM
The thing about Trump is, his ambitions are so small. I mean, he's divided the country, ceded global leadership to China, betrayed Ukraine, destroyed humanitarian programs that we're saving millions, and to what end? So he could make a few billion dollars and spread his gilt bad taste crap over DC.
Today I finally achieved Queen Bee on the NYT spelling game!
I would not normally post about this, since it's silly, but it occurred to me that this is more prestigious than the FIFA peace prize, which only requires giving US assets to FIFA. So here goes.
www.nytimes.com/badges/games...
I would not normally post about this, since it's silly, but it occurred to me that this is more prestigious than the FIFA peace prize, which only requires giving US assets to FIFA. So here goes.
www.nytimes.com/badges/games...
I got Queen Bee!
How many words can you make with 7 letters?
www.nytimes.com
December 7, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Today I finally achieved Queen Bee on the NYT spelling game!
I would not normally post about this, since it's silly, but it occurred to me that this is more prestigious than the FIFA peace prize, which only requires giving US assets to FIFA. So here goes.
www.nytimes.com/badges/games...
I would not normally post about this, since it's silly, but it occurred to me that this is more prestigious than the FIFA peace prize, which only requires giving US assets to FIFA. So here goes.
www.nytimes.com/badges/games...
I just stumbled across "Dispatches from Elsewhere", a strange sci-fi which uses familiar Philly locations and makes them look like weird movie sets. What an interesting, fun idea!
December 6, 2025 at 2:52 AM
I just stumbled across "Dispatches from Elsewhere", a strange sci-fi which uses familiar Philly locations and makes them look like weird movie sets. What an interesting, fun idea!
I think we've established that the military won't act as a bulwark when the President orders them to do something illegal, huh.
December 1, 2025 at 11:39 PM
I think we've established that the military won't act as a bulwark when the President orders them to do something illegal, huh.
There's a particularly beautiful song from opera that I've been trying for years to learn the name of. I've been assuming it was by Mozart or somebody. But I never heard it.
But i finally found it in an episode of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
Never give up.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%B4...
But i finally found it in an episode of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
Never give up.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%B4...
Dôme épais le jasmin - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 1, 2025 at 10:06 PM
There's a particularly beautiful song from opera that I've been trying for years to learn the name of. I've been assuming it was by Mozart or somebody. But I never heard it.
But i finally found it in an episode of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
Never give up.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%B4...
But i finally found it in an episode of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
Never give up.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%B4...
Reposted by Jon Webb
Three years ago, OpenAI released ChatGPT—the rare tech product to actually change everything, @cwarzel.bsky.social writes:
The World Still Hasn’t Made Sense of ChatGPT
OpenAI’s chaos machine turns three.
bit.ly
December 1, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Three years ago, OpenAI released ChatGPT—the rare tech product to actually change everything, @cwarzel.bsky.social writes:
Reposted by Jon Webb
First Marjorie Taylor Greene, now Troy Nehls. Another Republican is leaving Congress, and the GOP exits will just keep coming.
#GOPExodus
#USDemocracy
#Pinks
www.alternet.org/trump-republ...
#GOPExodus
#USDemocracy
#Pinks
www.alternet.org/trump-republ...
'Rumors were true' as another Republican quits Congress after Greene
The suspicion that other Republican lawmakers might follow MAGA firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene out of Congress appears to have some foundation. U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) announced on Satur...
www.alternet.org
November 29, 2025 at 8:54 PM
First Marjorie Taylor Greene, now Troy Nehls. Another Republican is leaving Congress, and the GOP exits will just keep coming.
#GOPExodus
#USDemocracy
#Pinks
www.alternet.org/trump-republ...
#GOPExodus
#USDemocracy
#Pinks
www.alternet.org/trump-republ...
It's funny how the NYT can't figure out the motivation behind these disparate acts since they're both motivated by the same thing: profit.
Selling pardons = profit
Invading an oil rich nation = profit
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u...
Selling pardons = profit
Invading an oil rich nation = profit
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u...
In Announcing Pardon of Drug Trafficker While Threatening Venezuela, Trump Displays Contradictions
www.nytimes.com
November 29, 2025 at 11:28 PM
It's funny how the NYT can't figure out the motivation behind these disparate acts since they're both motivated by the same thing: profit.
Selling pardons = profit
Invading an oil rich nation = profit
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u...
Selling pardons = profit
Invading an oil rich nation = profit
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u...
War crimes are the sort of thing that sticks around. I don't like the idea of the next administration spending too much time prosecuting the crimes of the Trump administration, but some things can't be ignored.
www.msn.com/en-us/news/u...
www.msn.com/en-us/news/u...
MSN
www.msn.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:35 PM
War crimes are the sort of thing that sticks around. I don't like the idea of the next administration spending too much time prosecuting the crimes of the Trump administration, but some things can't be ignored.
www.msn.com/en-us/news/u...
www.msn.com/en-us/news/u...
Cats reached Europe only in the last two thousand years, during Roman times. And they didn't reach China until around 1300 years ago, in the Tang dynasty.
www.newscientist.com/article/2506...
www.newscientist.com/article/2506...
Origin story of domestic cats rewritten by genetic analysis
Domestic cats originated in North Africa and spread to Europe in the past 2000 years, according to DNA evidence, while in China a different species of cat lived alongside people much earlier
www.newscientist.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Cats reached Europe only in the last two thousand years, during Roman times. And they didn't reach China until around 1300 years ago, in the Tang dynasty.
www.newscientist.com/article/2506...
www.newscientist.com/article/2506...
Waiting for the President to find out about the Hong Kong fire and say how dangerous living in apartments is, only stupid people would do it, everyone should live in mansions like him.
November 29, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Waiting for the President to find out about the Hong Kong fire and say how dangerous living in apartments is, only stupid people would do it, everyone should live in mansions like him.
I don't feel a need to find a reason for this or any other prominent shooting. If you flood a country with guns, and make violence a part of its culture, you will have endless, terrible, tragedies. End of story.
November 28, 2025 at 6:11 PM
I don't feel a need to find a reason for this or any other prominent shooting. If you flood a country with guns, and make violence a part of its culture, you will have endless, terrible, tragedies. End of story.
Given what a hard time a big strong man like Mike Johnson is having being Speaker with a slim majority after two years, it's obvious no woman could ever handle the job more than two months.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
‘In Triage Every Day’: A Beleaguered Speaker Says He’s Overwhelmed
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Given what a hard time a big strong man like Mike Johnson is having being Speaker with a slim majority after two years, it's obvious no woman could ever handle the job more than two months.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
There's a class of things that feel good but obviously don't do anything (e.g., calling for impeachment), a class that probably don't do a lot, but are still a good idea (e.g., No Kings marches), and a class that strike at the heart of things (interfering with ICE). I'm interested in the 3rd class.
November 27, 2025 at 2:13 AM
There's a class of things that feel good but obviously don't do anything (e.g., calling for impeachment), a class that probably don't do a lot, but are still a good idea (e.g., No Kings marches), and a class that strike at the heart of things (interfering with ICE). I'm interested in the 3rd class.
My cat enjoying his new chair (actually for our granddaughter).
November 27, 2025 at 12:52 AM
My cat enjoying his new chair (actually for our granddaughter).
Democratic PLAN TO WIN:
1. Do something that stands up to Trump!
2. Send out text messages asking for donations!
3. Send out more text messages asking for donations!
...
1. Do something that stands up to Trump!
2. Send out text messages asking for donations!
3. Send out more text messages asking for donations!
...
November 26, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Democratic PLAN TO WIN:
1. Do something that stands up to Trump!
2. Send out text messages asking for donations!
3. Send out more text messages asking for donations!
...
1. Do something that stands up to Trump!
2. Send out text messages asking for donations!
3. Send out more text messages asking for donations!
...
Arguing about whether LLMs are intelligent is kind of like, after the invention of the steam engine, arguing about whether we can now fly to the moon. Steam engines were incredibly useful. No need to think we've solved all transport problems.
November 26, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Arguing about whether LLMs are intelligent is kind of like, after the invention of the steam engine, arguing about whether we can now fly to the moon. Steam engines were incredibly useful. No need to think we've solved all transport problems.
My niece making clothes for Nicole freaking Kidman is a unexpected surprise.
November 26, 2025 at 1:00 AM
My niece making clothes for Nicole freaking Kidman is a unexpected surprise.
I went to one (1) Boy Scout meeting in my life, and immediately recognized that it was a fascist organization. So I guess Pete Hegseth is antifa now.
November 25, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I went to one (1) Boy Scout meeting in my life, and immediately recognized that it was a fascist organization. So I guess Pete Hegseth is antifa now.