Mark Madsen
@markmadsen.bsky.social
Decision support, design, 30 years of data, architecture, augmenting human analysis, systems, cybernetics, safety, resilience, GOFAI, data cleaning & prep, engineering management, urban planning, botany, history, art, dada
Reposted by Mark Madsen
i’m sorry what the fuck are you tryna sell me?
November 26, 2025 at 7:29 PM
i’m sorry what the fuck are you tryna sell me?
Reposted by Mark Madsen
While there are often some ethical issues with making free PDFs of paywalled content, in this case it seems entirely justifiable, given the author, the subject, and the journalistic imperative to provide the widest possible audience for the verb "Michael Wolffed"
gofile.io/d/Ap4v35
gofile.io/d/Ap4v35
November 26, 2025 at 11:06 PM
While there are often some ethical issues with making free PDFs of paywalled content, in this case it seems entirely justifiable, given the author, the subject, and the journalistic imperative to provide the widest possible audience for the verb "Michael Wolffed"
gofile.io/d/Ap4v35
gofile.io/d/Ap4v35
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Screw you, taxpayer (complimentary)
Canada made weird tv shows because it was all being done with government funded art grant money so they fell in this wacky middle ground between “shoestring budget” and “no expectation to generate shareholder value” which is really the best way to make art
November 27, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Screw you, taxpayer (complimentary)
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Reminder that we have Hide Posts (in the ... menu) and muting by keywords (Settings -> Moderation -> Muted words and tags) on here.
November 27, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Reminder that we have Hide Posts (in the ... menu) and muting by keywords (Settings -> Moderation -> Muted words and tags) on here.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
13,000 of the DDoSecrets-released Epstein emails are now public. (again: these are DISTINCT from the Congress-released ones.)
ddosecrets.com/article/epst...
ddosecrets.com/article/epst...
November 27, 2025 at 12:54 AM
13,000 of the DDoSecrets-released Epstein emails are now public. (again: these are DISTINCT from the Congress-released ones.)
ddosecrets.com/article/epst...
ddosecrets.com/article/epst...
Reposted by Mark Madsen
8. CALLING BULLSHIT (Carl Bergstrom & Jevin West). I'm not really the target audience for this book, because, as @carlbergstrom.com can attest to, I already call bullshit on many things regularly. But it was a fun read all the same, entertaining, inquisitive, etc
November 27, 2025 at 12:15 AM
8. CALLING BULLSHIT (Carl Bergstrom & Jevin West). I'm not really the target audience for this book, because, as @carlbergstrom.com can attest to, I already call bullshit on many things regularly. But it was a fun read all the same, entertaining, inquisitive, etc
Reposted by Mark Madsen
"Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea" -- @davelevitan.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 1:26 PM
"Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea" -- @davelevitan.bsky.social
Reposted by Mark Madsen
big late breaking news: the market monitor for the largest energy grid in the u.s., covering much of the midwest and mid-atlantic, has called to block new data centers connections to the grid, saying current course of growth assures regular blackouts
No more PJM data centers unless they can be reliably served: market monitor
The PJM Interconnection’s market monitor urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to rule that large data centers can only come online if the grid operator can still meet reliability metrics.
www.utilitydive.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:17 AM
big late breaking news: the market monitor for the largest energy grid in the u.s., covering much of the midwest and mid-atlantic, has called to block new data centers connections to the grid, saying current course of growth assures regular blackouts
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Just a reminder that the people who run AI companies talk like this when amongst themselves and when you ask me if I'm anti-AI, well, I'm anti whatever the fuck this is
November 27, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Just a reminder that the people who run AI companies talk like this when amongst themselves and when you ask me if I'm anti-AI, well, I'm anti whatever the fuck this is
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Campbell's soup VP caught on tape trashing his own brand. Oof. www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2...
November 24, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Campbell's soup VP caught on tape trashing his own brand. Oof. www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2...
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Tired: Tech founders inventing the bus
Wired: AI music guys inventing the radio
Wired: AI music guys inventing the radio
November 27, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Tired: Tech founders inventing the bus
Wired: AI music guys inventing the radio
Wired: AI music guys inventing the radio
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Let's put this into context:
There were 15,149 violent crimes in Winnipeg in 2024 (StatsCan).
284 of them took place on or near transit. That's 1/168,229 journeys.
Meanwhile the average risk of being involved in a violent crime in Winnipeg in any given day was 1/20,326.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
There were 15,149 violent crimes in Winnipeg in 2024 (StatsCan).
284 of them took place on or near transit. That's 1/168,229 journeys.
Meanwhile the average risk of being involved in a violent crime in Winnipeg in any given day was 1/20,326.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Winnipeg's rise in transit violence among the sharpest in Canada, data shows | CBC News
Winnipeg has seen one of the sharpest increases in violence on its transit network among Canadian cities, and although the number of reported incidents dipped slightly last year, violence across the s...
www.cbc.ca
November 26, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Let's put this into context:
There were 15,149 violent crimes in Winnipeg in 2024 (StatsCan).
284 of them took place on or near transit. That's 1/168,229 journeys.
Meanwhile the average risk of being involved in a violent crime in Winnipeg in any given day was 1/20,326.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
There were 15,149 violent crimes in Winnipeg in 2024 (StatsCan).
284 of them took place on or near transit. That's 1/168,229 journeys.
Meanwhile the average risk of being involved in a violent crime in Winnipeg in any given day was 1/20,326.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
We are a nation of laws.
Absurd, ridiculous laws.
Laws that contradict each other as they are crafted to get around the intent of other laws.
Laws that only apply to some people, and can be ignored when they inconvenience the people who want to enforce them.
Absurd, ridiculous laws.
Laws that contradict each other as they are crafted to get around the intent of other laws.
Laws that only apply to some people, and can be ignored when they inconvenience the people who want to enforce them.
The Pentagon’s statement, posted on social media, cited a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the defense secretary for possible court-martial or other measures.
Pentagon Threatens to Court Martial US Senator
The Pentagon announced Monday it is investigating Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona over possible breaches of military law.
buff.ly
November 25, 2025 at 9:15 PM
We are a nation of laws.
Absurd, ridiculous laws.
Laws that contradict each other as they are crafted to get around the intent of other laws.
Laws that only apply to some people, and can be ignored when they inconvenience the people who want to enforce them.
Absurd, ridiculous laws.
Laws that contradict each other as they are crafted to get around the intent of other laws.
Laws that only apply to some people, and can be ignored when they inconvenience the people who want to enforce them.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Clown Train is MAJOR upgrade on a mere clown car.
Enough with "I'm running on COMMON SENSE values." I want absurd values. Clowns on every train. Possum cops. The government pays in live goats. Worms in every gas tank. A war on clouds. It can't go any wronger than what we've already got going on, here.
November 25, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Clown Train is MAJOR upgrade on a mere clown car.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back into a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.”
It costs a lot less to house people.
It costs a lot less to house people.
Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need - scoop.me
In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Why? The country applies the "Housing First" concept agains homelessness.
thebetter.news
November 24, 2025 at 8:01 AM
“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back into a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.”
It costs a lot less to house people.
It costs a lot less to house people.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Anderson Cooper: So it's more expensive to have a chronically homeless person living on the streets than it is to actually subsidize an apartment for them?
Answer: Yes, we’re paying more as taxpayers to walk past that person on the street and do nothing… #HousingFirst
Answer: Yes, we’re paying more as taxpayers to walk past that person on the street and do nothing… #HousingFirst
100,000 Homes: Housing the homeless saves money?
Giving apartments to the chronically homeless can save taxpayer dollars, advocates say
www.cbsnews.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Anderson Cooper: So it's more expensive to have a chronically homeless person living on the streets than it is to actually subsidize an apartment for them?
Answer: Yes, we’re paying more as taxpayers to walk past that person on the street and do nothing… #HousingFirst
Answer: Yes, we’re paying more as taxpayers to walk past that person on the street and do nothing… #HousingFirst
“Since 2006, private equity funds’ returns on investments have failed to outperform the stock market
…In recent years, such buyout funds have struggled to exit their investments, instead passing them on in a sector-wide game of hot potatoes”
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/ame...
…In recent years, such buyout funds have struggled to exit their investments, instead passing them on in a sector-wide game of hot potatoes”
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/ame...
America’s Braudelian Autumn | Benjamin Braun & Cédric Durand
Factions of capital in the second Trump administration
www.phenomenalworld.org
November 25, 2025 at 8:03 PM
“Since 2006, private equity funds’ returns on investments have failed to outperform the stock market
…In recent years, such buyout funds have struggled to exit their investments, instead passing them on in a sector-wide game of hot potatoes”
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/ame...
…In recent years, such buyout funds have struggled to exit their investments, instead passing them on in a sector-wide game of hot potatoes”
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/ame...
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Great article.
I was told last year not to mention vaccines, SARS-CoV-2, or masking around the MAGA in-laws.
This year, I'm not sure there are any 'safe topics' in science at all. Everything from science funding, women's health to Tylenol is a political minefield.
I was told last year not to mention vaccines, SARS-CoV-2, or masking around the MAGA in-laws.
This year, I'm not sure there are any 'safe topics' in science at all. Everything from science funding, women's health to Tylenol is a political minefield.
Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly.
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
“Why Are We Funding This?”
Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.
www.americanscientist.org
November 25, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Great article.
I was told last year not to mention vaccines, SARS-CoV-2, or masking around the MAGA in-laws.
This year, I'm not sure there are any 'safe topics' in science at all. Everything from science funding, women's health to Tylenol is a political minefield.
I was told last year not to mention vaccines, SARS-CoV-2, or masking around the MAGA in-laws.
This year, I'm not sure there are any 'safe topics' in science at all. Everything from science funding, women's health to Tylenol is a political minefield.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Well-written essay from Anand Giridharadas, showing how power and influence corrupt completely, regardless of party or affiliation.
Gift article below:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Gift article below:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Opinion | How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Well-written essay from Anand Giridharadas, showing how power and influence corrupt completely, regardless of party or affiliation.
Gift article below:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Gift article below:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Reposted by Mark Madsen
U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Fuentes, in dismissing Midway Blitz-related charges against Dana Briggs last week, said he was lifting restrictions on relevant video.
Today he made the video available through the clerk's office at no cost to the public. Here's the first.
Today he made the video available through the clerk's office at no cost to the public. Here's the first.
November 24, 2025 at 9:58 PM
U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Fuentes, in dismissing Midway Blitz-related charges against Dana Briggs last week, said he was lifting restrictions on relevant video.
Today he made the video available through the clerk's office at no cost to the public. Here's the first.
Today he made the video available through the clerk's office at no cost to the public. Here's the first.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
lmaooooo.
I hadn’t even considered this. They’d be ok with being lied to if it was a white guy doing it. Insane stuff.
I hadn’t even considered this. They’d be ok with being lied to if it was a white guy doing it. Insane stuff.
"This has all been especially painful for X users who are, as a baseline, extremely racist. And they are now suffering through the psychic torment of learning that users, predominately from the Global South, are behind some of the bigger right-wing accounts on the site."
Republicans astroturfed themselves
Read to the end for a good Thanksgiving reminder
www.garbageday.email
November 24, 2025 at 7:44 PM
lmaooooo.
I hadn’t even considered this. They’d be ok with being lied to if it was a white guy doing it. Insane stuff.
I hadn’t even considered this. They’d be ok with being lied to if it was a white guy doing it. Insane stuff.
Reposted by Mark Madsen
How broken is today's frontend culture?
A friend points out that the median *mobile* page is now larger than a copy of DOOM (2.6 MiB vs. 2.48 MiB), the 75th percentile page is more than 2 DOOMs, and the P90 mobile page is 4.5x the size of DOOM:
httparchive.org/reports/page...
A friend points out that the median *mobile* page is now larger than a copy of DOOM (2.6 MiB vs. 2.48 MiB), the 75th percentile page is more than 2 DOOMs, and the P90 mobile page is 4.5x the size of DOOM:
httparchive.org/reports/page...
HTTP Archive: Page Weight
This report tracks the size and quantity of many popular web page resources. Sizes represent the number of bytes sent over the network, which may be compressed.
httparchive.org
November 23, 2025 at 10:43 PM
How broken is today's frontend culture?
A friend points out that the median *mobile* page is now larger than a copy of DOOM (2.6 MiB vs. 2.48 MiB), the 75th percentile page is more than 2 DOOMs, and the P90 mobile page is 4.5x the size of DOOM:
httparchive.org/reports/page...
A friend points out that the median *mobile* page is now larger than a copy of DOOM (2.6 MiB vs. 2.48 MiB), the 75th percentile page is more than 2 DOOMs, and the P90 mobile page is 4.5x the size of DOOM:
httparchive.org/reports/page...
Excellent presentation. I was watching it out of interest in resilience and system theory. He goes a lot further. I was interested because I keep debating people about “agentic AI” and its dependence on coordination and communication, neither of which get much attention. His talk applies to this too
“why the red team keeps winning: not because they are stronger—but because the blue team keeps mistaking comfort for capability.” — @treyka.bsky.social reveals wisdom in history, physics, & Rick & Morty in his brilliant Bsides Lisbon keynote
youtu.be/egg_83hh0ZA
youtu.be/egg_83hh0ZA
[BSL2025] KEYNOTE Trey Darley - Rick & Morty Walk Across Mordor
YouTube video by BSides Lisbon
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Excellent presentation. I was watching it out of interest in resilience and system theory. He goes a lot further. I was interested because I keep debating people about “agentic AI” and its dependence on coordination and communication, neither of which get much attention. His talk applies to this too
Reposted by Mark Madsen
Timelapse compilation for it here:
November 24, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Timelapse compilation for it here: