caoimhín mac samhain
@kbmcgowan.bsky.social
phonetician, linguist, associate professor, musician, gen x nerd, he/him
Pinned
"woke" is an admirable, aspirational quality and using it as a slur is always an own goal
tip: if you’re baking something and need half an egg, just use a small one. the recipe doesn’t have to know how many shells your egg came out of.
November 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM
tip: if you’re baking something and need half an egg, just use a small one. the recipe doesn’t have to know how many shells your egg came out of.
Trying to explain to my kids that there used to be stores you could just go to and buy things in person and that packages took 6 to 8 weeks for delivery but were *events* when they arrived as we walk past multiple neighbors who haven’t bothered to bring in their Amazon, Chewy, or Target orders yet
November 22, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Trying to explain to my kids that there used to be stores you could just go to and buy things in person and that packages took 6 to 8 weeks for delivery but were *events* when they arrived as we walk past multiple neighbors who haven’t bothered to bring in their Amazon, Chewy, or Target orders yet
Reposted by caoimhín mac samhain
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
I bet Trump used an autopen to sign the Epstein Transparency Act.
November 20, 2025 at 3:16 PM
I bet Trump used an autopen to sign the Epstein Transparency Act.
Reposted by caoimhín mac samhain
It’s here! The 2026 LSA Annual Meeting Program is live!
Huge thanks to everyone who submitted abstracts, the 200+ reviewers, and the 2026 Program Committee for making this possible! Start planning your New Orleans experience! We can’t wait to see you there! #LSA2026 web.cvent.com/event/d45318...
Huge thanks to everyone who submitted abstracts, the 200+ reviewers, and the 2026 Program Committee for making this possible! Start planning your New Orleans experience! We can’t wait to see you there! #LSA2026 web.cvent.com/event/d45318...
November 18, 2025 at 7:30 PM
It’s here! The 2026 LSA Annual Meeting Program is live!
Huge thanks to everyone who submitted abstracts, the 200+ reviewers, and the 2026 Program Committee for making this possible! Start planning your New Orleans experience! We can’t wait to see you there! #LSA2026 web.cvent.com/event/d45318...
Huge thanks to everyone who submitted abstracts, the 200+ reviewers, and the 2026 Program Committee for making this possible! Start planning your New Orleans experience! We can’t wait to see you there! #LSA2026 web.cvent.com/event/d45318...
bought 9 foods at the grocery store in Trump’s America, where people chose the promise of low prices over not electing a rapist and swindler, and spent over $100: spinach, feta cheese, ricotta, scallions, carrots, potatoes, phyllo sheets, cocoa powder, and cat food. $107
November 14, 2025 at 2:01 PM
bought 9 foods at the grocery store in Trump’s America, where people chose the promise of low prices over not electing a rapist and swindler, and spent over $100: spinach, feta cheese, ricotta, scallions, carrots, potatoes, phyllo sheets, cocoa powder, and cat food. $107
Reposted by caoimhín mac samhain
For folks (and journalists) who want to search the Oversight Committee email texts, I made a database for searching the 20k text files:
splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
Epstein Document Search
splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
November 13, 2025 at 1:12 AM
For folks (and journalists) who want to search the Oversight Committee email texts, I made a database for searching the 20k text files:
splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
write what you mean, you cowards! stop saying listeners are “confronted” with variation or “perceive speech despite variation.” Just come out and say that you think variation attacks people in dark alleys, steals their shit, and leaves them for dead.
November 12, 2025 at 5:25 PM
write what you mean, you cowards! stop saying listeners are “confronted” with variation or “perceive speech despite variation.” Just come out and say that you think variation attacks people in dark alleys, steals their shit, and leaves them for dead.
today just felt like it lasted ALL DAY long, you know?
November 12, 2025 at 2:54 AM
today just felt like it lasted ALL DAY long, you know?
meant to type: "please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions" but managed to type: "please do not hcontact me if you have any questions" and am tempted just to remove the 'h'
November 10, 2025 at 5:17 PM
meant to type: "please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions" but managed to type: "please do not hcontact me if you have any questions" and am tempted just to remove the 'h'
Reposted by caoimhín mac samhain
American politics makes a lot more sense when you realize that the GOP is afraid of pissing off the GOP base, and the Dems are afraid of pissing off the GOP base, but neither party is afraid of pissing off the Dem base.
March 14, 2025 at 10:24 PM
American politics makes a lot more sense when you realize that the GOP is afraid of pissing off the GOP base, and the Dems are afraid of pissing off the GOP base, but neither party is afraid of pissing off the Dem base.
Chuck Schumer looks at the Maginot Line and thinks, “perfect strategy, no notes, there’s no getting through that!"
November 10, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Chuck Schumer looks at the Maginot Line and thinks, “perfect strategy, no notes, there’s no getting through that!"
Reposted by caoimhín mac samhain
“woke” is when you acknowledge that black people have contributed to the united states
Two panels commemorating the contribution of Black American soldiers towards the liberation of the Netherlands in World War Two have been quietly removed from a cemetery in Limburg. It follows a complaint by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission.
November 8, 2025 at 9:01 PM
“woke” is when you acknowledge that black people have contributed to the united states
No one wants your small, picky correction to their fun little bluesky post. This is particularly true if you don't know them from Adam. Anybody CAN interact, but you should not.
November 7, 2025 at 9:52 PM
No one wants your small, picky correction to their fun little bluesky post. This is particularly true if you don't know them from Adam. Anybody CAN interact, but you should not.
Subway could run the funniest promotion right now
November 6, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Subway could run the funniest promotion right now
géar is exhausted from all the winning yesterday
November 6, 2025 at 2:24 AM
géar is exhausted from all the winning yesterday
Reposted by caoimhín mac samhain
"He essentially said, 'I’m not going to hide who I am to make you comfortable.' In doing so Mamdani delivered a raciolinguistic reality check that refuses the idea that politicians of color need to translate themselves into whiteness to be viable."
educationallinguist.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/z...
educationallinguist.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/z...
Zohran Mamdani Just Gave American Politics a Raciolinguistic Reality Check
Zohran Mamdani just won the New York City mayoral race, and it’s a big deal for reasons that will no doubt be dissected for years to come. But what really stands out to me is how this moment shifts…
educationallinguist.wordpress.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:50 PM
"He essentially said, 'I’m not going to hide who I am to make you comfortable.' In doing so Mamdani delivered a raciolinguistic reality check that refuses the idea that politicians of color need to translate themselves into whiteness to be viable."
educationallinguist.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/z...
educationallinguist.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/z...
Apparently “the Dodgers left Brooklyn and now play in Los Angeles” is such common knowledge that my elder child *snorted* at me for not knowing it. Also, probably you know this, but the baseball Stanley Cup thing just happened recently and Brooklyn *definitely* didn’t win.
November 5, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Apparently “the Dodgers left Brooklyn and now play in Los Angeles” is such common knowledge that my elder child *snorted* at me for not knowing it. Also, probably you know this, but the baseball Stanley Cup thing just happened recently and Brooklyn *definitely* didn’t win.
Reposted by caoimhín mac samhain
no evidence whatsoever that mike johnson knows a single thing youtu.be/YR2WiILR6XE
Does Mike Johnson Know...Anything? Anything At All?
YouTube video by Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie
youtu.be
November 4, 2025 at 1:31 AM
no evidence whatsoever that mike johnson knows a single thing youtu.be/YR2WiILR6XE
The NYT will gladly pay a dumdum to spout humdingers like the recent little gumdrop that English speakers should have trouble pronouncing Mamdani because articulating an ‘m’ before a ‘d’ like that is not humdrum.
November 2, 2025 at 1:39 PM
The NYT will gladly pay a dumdum to spout humdingers like the recent little gumdrop that English speakers should have trouble pronouncing Mamdani because articulating an ‘m’ before a ‘d’ like that is not humdrum.
On further reflection, handing operation of our Universities over to a professional administrative class with no personal investment in the educational mission of the university or the creation and maintenance of knowledge might have been somewhat in error.
October 31, 2025 at 4:42 PM
On further reflection, handing operation of our Universities over to a professional administrative class with no personal investment in the educational mission of the university or the creation and maintenance of knowledge might have been somewhat in error.
Reposted by caoimhín mac samhain
gonna move next door to JD Vance and only speak Cherokee
October 29, 2025 at 7:06 PM
gonna move next door to JD Vance and only speak Cherokee
My university is forcing all of us faculty to label everything we put on canvas and provide rich, structured descriptions of everything and it’s because of the Trump administration’s high esteem for and normal adherence to the ADA and has nothing at all to do with LLMs needing labeled data.
October 29, 2025 at 7:19 PM
My university is forcing all of us faculty to label everything we put on canvas and provide rich, structured descriptions of everything and it’s because of the Trump administration’s high esteem for and normal adherence to the ADA and has nothing at all to do with LLMs needing labeled data.