Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Kristine Smith

Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 1d

Flatterers up the *ss of the rich man. Some things never change! Here in 1592 by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, whose day is today.

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Reposted by Kristine Smith

Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 2d

People like Shapiro really say much, much more about themselves by even asking this question. And it keeps happening!

Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 2d

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

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Reposted by Kristine Smith

Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · May 12

OK, this is wild.

In September 2023, geophysicists across the world started monitoring a very odd signal coming from the ground under them.

It was picked up in the Arctic. And Antarctica. It was detected everywhere, every 90 seconds, as regular as a metronome, for *nine days*.

What the HELL?

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Unsplash image of the Earth, mostly the nightside with a tracery of city lights on every continent.

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Jonathan @renewableenergy.bsky.social · 4d

Huge historic turning point — Renewables surpassed coal as the world’s leading electricity source for the first half of 2025!

#greensky #energysky #renewableenergy

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Reposted by Kristine Smith

Eddy Conroy He/Him @econroy.bsky.social · 4d

We just got a $50 a month increase this year.

Really sick of having to pay through the nose for the power needs of multi billion dollar companies.

Nick Cunningham @nickcunningham.bsky.social · 5d

“By 2028, an average family in the region will be paying around $70 a month extra on their electricity bills because of forecasted data center growth”

I'm once again asking why ratepayers are subsidizing AI titans?

www.eenews.net/articles/dat...

Data center boom sparks sticker shock for PJM ratepayers

New analyses show that costs passed on to utility customers to guarantee future electricity demand are rising rapidly.

www.eenews.net

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Kristine Smith @ksmithsf.bsky.social · 6d

Explain your username:

First name initial + last name + what I write (spec fic)

Nunsense & Shenunigans @annaleehq.bsky.social · 6d

explain your username:

I heve trible woth vewels

boofus 🎃 @te-kanawa.bsky.social · 6d

explain your username:

um, it's me

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Kristine Smith @ksmithsf.bsky.social · 6d

I should print multiple copies of this and stick them all around my house

mindi @flawdbizkit.bsky.social · 6d

🖤

panda laying down looking exhausted, with the words: shut up mind, thoughts are not facts.

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Kristine Smith @ksmithsf.bsky.social · 6d

a white dog laying on a wooden table with a person 's hands on it

Alt: a white dog (maybe a yellow Lab?) watching the person seated across from them. When that person crosses their arms at the wrists, the dog crosses their paws.

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Kristine Smith

Adam Rose @adamrose.bsky.social · 8d

How bad are tariffs going?

I paid for $32 of shaving cream from Canada. Unique stuff I’ve used for years, nothing like it in US. Small family business.

UPS guy came to my door today with box and said I have to pay additional $120 before he can hand it to me.

That makes it 5x more expensive!!! 🤯

Screenshot of message from UPS:

Hi Adam,
All import fees must be paid prior to delivery.
Save time - prepay online for your FREIGHTCOM shipment. If import fees are not paid before delivery, an additional surcharge will be applied.
Total Amount Due
119.20 USD
Additional charges may have been applied based on recent tariff policy changes.
Pay Now ›

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darth™️ @darthbluesky.bsky.social · 8d

"just upload a scanned image of your drivers license no big deal"

The Verge @theverge.com · 8d

Discord customer service data breach leaks user info and scanned photo IDs

An “unauthorized party” may have accessed the names of users, the last four digits of credit card numbers, and more.

buff.ly

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 8d

There's a really great MinutePhysics video about the aesthetics- and physics-based reasons for the number of wind turbine blades: youtu.be/pgqkti7yePk

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Reposted by Kristine Smith

Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 9d

For more tips, check out EFF’s guide to protecting yourself from location data brokers: www.eff.org/deeplinks/2....

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Kristine Smith @ksmithsf.bsky.social · 9d

Agreed. New Costco member so I appreciate the info.

Reposted by Kristine Smith

Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 11d

This is why we fund scientists to study things like oyster slobber even if you don’t think it sounds important

Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 12d

⚠️ Chinese researchers have invented bone glue that mimics how oysters stick to surfaces underwater.

The adhesive can reportedly repair orthopedic fractures in 2-3 minutes, even in blood-rich environments, and is bioabsorbable.

interestingengineering.com/science/chin...

China's oyster-inspired 'bone glue' bonds fractures in minutes

A new oyster-inspired Bone-02 adhesive can revolutionize bone repair without metal fasteners.

interestingengineering.com

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Kristine Smith @ksmithsf.bsky.social · 9d

Since I've heard folks discuss the possibility of opting out, I found this informative.

The Questionable Authority @questauthority.bsky.social · 9d

This is discussing the Anthropic settlement, and the idea that authors might be able to opt out and get more as a single plaintiff. I'm not quoting this to dunk, but because it's a common misconception that deserves clarification.

You are very unlikely to get lawyers to take this on contingency.

Clypheous @clypheous.com · 9d

Nah, almost certainly you could find one who would take this on contingency for the possibility of winning the lottery against a billion dollar AI company.

Reposted by Kristine Smith

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 9d

NEW: November general elections are around the corner, so it’s time to launch my cheat sheet of what’s on the ballot this fall!

I guide you thru the *185* elections I'm watching, & why: lawmakers, governors, judges, DAs, mayors, school boards, & dozens of ballot measures.

Explore, share, save:

Your Cheat Sheet to the 2025 General Elections - Bolts

Four contests have come to largely define the 2025 elections: the elections to lead New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City, plus California’s redistricting measure. But there’s so much else... Read M...

boltsmag.org

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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 15d

Premium newsletter: Based on my estimates and analysis, OpenAI needs one trillion dollars in the next four years to build 17GW of data centers and other commitments, with at least $500 billion needed for company operations. There is not enough capital to do this.

www.wheresyoured.at/openai-onetr...

OpenAI Needs A Trillion Dollars In The Next Four Years

Shortly before publishing this newsletter, I spoke with analyst Gil Luria, Managing Director and Analyst at D.A. Davidson, and asked him whether the capital was there to build the 17 Gigawatts of capa...

www.wheresyoured.at

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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 9d

Playing around with Sora 2 and it is the same warmed up dogshit OpenAI always slings. I also got it to cough up direct copies of Naruto and Demon Slayer *with audio from the shows*. It’s obvious they have ingested a ton of copyrighted material

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Reposted by Kristine Smith

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 9d

Now that’s bleak.

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 9d

NEW—US Department of Education sent out standard Out of Office language to employees on Wednesday in light of shutdown. Later yesterday, workers tell me they found someone had updated their auto-responses without consent to a new one blaming Democrats.

Version of original on left, updated on right:

Thank you for your email. There is a temporary shutdown of the U.S. government due to a lapse in appropriations. I will respond to your message as soon as possible after the temporary shutdown ends. Please visit ED.gov for the latest information on the
Department's operational status.
Thank you.

Thank you for contacting me. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations. Due to the lapse in appropriations I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume.

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Kristine Smith @ksmithsf.bsky.social · 9d

"What is happening in this country is happening because science is bad for tyrants and always has been."

Science Vs @sciencevs.bsky.social · 10d

This moment from our latest episode with science writer @edyong209.bsky.social is 🔥

We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪

Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇

open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...

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Kristine Smith @ksmithsf.bsky.social · 9d

I checked after the initial list went out. All my books are registered except for one.

It probably means that the other books were downloaded after the cutoff date of ‘forgot exact date 2021’ and so weren’t included in the settlement.

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Reposted by Kristine Smith

Jessica Kant @jessdkant.bsky.social · 9d

Machine learning is a neat tool, but clearly companies are desperate to give “AI” credit for what human scholars accomplish in part because companies have bet the farm on the idea that human ingenuity is expendable. This historian is extraordinary and deserves the real credit.

Waitman Wade Beorn, PhD, FRHistS @waitmanwbeorn.com · 9d

Oh, man. After reading the article, what it actually says is that an historian did a lot of archival work and spatial research to determine the site of a killing and then the family of the likely perpetrator stepped forward with photographs to confirm identity.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Historian uses AI to help identify Nazi in notorious Holocaust murder image

Jürgen Matthäus has for years been investigating the killer – and is confident he has finally solved the mystery

www.theguardian.com

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Kristine Smith @ksmithsf.bsky.social · 9d

First pass search shows that several of my books that were on the initial list of downloads weren’t on this list. Iirc that means they weren’t used in the actual training?

I feel simply downloading showed intent and should’ve been considered but ianal.

Jason Sanford @jasonsanford.bsky.social · 9d

The official database of works eligible for the Anthropic AI settlement has been released and, as I suspected, many authors are screwed. Basically, if your books weren't officially registered with the US Copyright Office you're out of luck. 1/ secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/results

Welcome to the Anthropic Copyright Settlement Website
Are you the legal or beneficial copyright owner of a book included in the Anthropic Copyright Settlement?
You could get a payment from the $1.5 billion Settlement.

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Kristine Smith @ksmithsf.bsky.social · 9d

I wondered how they’d handle short stories.

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Kristine Smith @ksmithsf.bsky.social · 9d

Buying the dvd as soon as it’s released.

Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof @evanbernick.bsky.social · 9d

Kill Bill: The Whole
Bloody Affair
NR 4hr 7m