Rory Solomon
@rorshock.bsky.social
Mesh networks, media infrastructure, software engineering, ham/CB radio (KD2QGX); Asst Prof The New School, Director of Code as a Liberal Art; “very clear & cool, simple but intricate”; he/him
Pinned
Rory Solomon
@rorshock.bsky.social
· Nov 12
All views expressed here are my own and don’t represent those of my employer, but working together we can change that
Reposted by Rory Solomon
“They didn’t just walk in chasing one person, they went into multiple rooms asking and looking for teachers while children were present,” Ramirez said. “This is an agency that has gone rogue and it an agency that believes that as long as they can cover their face, they can get away with anything.”
Families "horrified" after daycare teacher pulled out of school by federal agents.
The incident happened in front of parents and children at Rayito de Sol in North Center, a parent said. They believe the employee, who cares for infants, is legally allowed to work in the United State...
www.chalkbeat.org
November 6, 2025 at 11:14 AM
“They didn’t just walk in chasing one person, they went into multiple rooms asking and looking for teachers while children were present,” Ramirez said. “This is an agency that has gone rogue and it an agency that believes that as long as they can cover their face, they can get away with anything.”
Reposted by Rory Solomon
Fellow NYC residents, if you haven't yet sent a letter to your City Council member demanding that they support @nycplan.org's call to increase and stabilize NYC public library funding, please do. It will take 30 seconds: actionnetwork.org/letters/city...
City Council, we demand half a percent of the overall city budget for libraries!
In response to the NYC FY2026 Budget, adopted this June, the Brooklyn Public Library, the New York Public Library, and the Queens Public Library released a joint statement thanking City Leaders for in...
actionnetwork.org
November 2, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Fellow NYC residents, if you haven't yet sent a letter to your City Council member demanding that they support @nycplan.org's call to increase and stabilize NYC public library funding, please do. It will take 30 seconds: actionnetwork.org/letters/city...
Reposted by Rory Solomon
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Experimental evidence of the effects of large language models versus web search on depth of learning
Abstract. The effects of using large language models (LLMs) versus traditional web search on depth of learning are explored. A theory is proposed that when
academic.oup.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:14 PM
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Many higher ed faculty could learn quite a bit from these students
Purdue to the rescue of IU student newspaper, whose institution was attempting censorship. Details in alt!
October 19, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Many higher ed faculty could learn quite a bit from these students
Reposted by Rory Solomon
Did you know that the federal court system is hacked by the Russians? To the point that the courts are afraid to put documents into their own computer systems.
Exclusive: Chief Justice “Stonewalls Congress" on PACER Hack, Senator Says
The Courts sidestep a congressional request for independent review. Post-hack procedures have significantly reduced transparency in the judicial system.
www.courtwatch.news
October 11, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Did you know that the federal court system is hacked by the Russians? To the point that the courts are afraid to put documents into their own computer systems.
Antifa is now what we used to call “soccer moms”
Folks playing some thematic standoff music now.
Really just cannot express how non-threatening this small group of neighbors appears at the moment, and how absurd this massive police presence appears in comparison.
Really just cannot express how non-threatening this small group of neighbors appears at the moment, and how absurd this massive police presence appears in comparison.
October 11, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Antifa is now what we used to call “soccer moms”
I’ve had similar conversations with people about writing my book.
… They went in similar directions.
… They went in similar directions.
October 10, 2025 at 4:36 AM
I’ve had similar conversations with people about writing my book.
… They went in similar directions.
… They went in similar directions.
5ecretPa55word!
oops
oops
October 3, 2025 at 9:16 PM
5ecretPa55word!
oops
oops
So the legacy of this regime will not be "many as one" or anything like that, but instead a motto we'll all look back on as the order he attempted to issue to the body politic. It might as well say "WAGE CIVIL WAR"
a person at Treasury gave Defector a rundown of how this process—which appears to be against the law—was expedited in order to avoid public scrutiny
defector.com/treasury-dep...
defector.com/treasury-dep...
Treasury Department Has Plans To Mint Dollar Coin Featuring Donald Trump's Likeness | Defector
The United States Department of the Treasury has developed, to the brink of production, a dollar coin that features the face and likeness of President Donald Trump, according to a source within the Tr...
defector.com
October 3, 2025 at 7:00 PM
So the legacy of this regime will not be "many as one" or anything like that, but instead a motto we'll all look back on as the order he attempted to issue to the body politic. It might as well say "WAGE CIVIL WAR"
Reposted by Rory Solomon
Hadn't seen this "Cartography of Generative AI" before. From Estampa, a collective of programmers, filmmakers and researchers working in the fields of audiovisual media and digital environments: cartography-of-generative-ai.net
October 3, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Hadn't seen this "Cartography of Generative AI" before. From Estampa, a collective of programmers, filmmakers and researchers working in the fields of audiovisual media and digital environments: cartography-of-generative-ai.net
Reposted by Rory Solomon
ICE is running around Chicago harassing people for not being white.
Just a year ago, that was illegal in the United States and now it’s commonplace.
That’s not making America great again.
Just a year ago, that was illegal in the United States and now it’s commonplace.
That’s not making America great again.
South Shore Residents Return To Ransacked Apartments After ICE Raid: 'It Looks Like Hell'
A "now renting" sign outside touts granite countertops. Inside, residents are trying to make sense of the raid that made their already neglected building even worse.
blockclubchicago.org
October 2, 2025 at 11:58 PM
ICE is running around Chicago harassing people for not being white.
Just a year ago, that was illegal in the United States and now it’s commonplace.
That’s not making America great again.
Just a year ago, that was illegal in the United States and now it’s commonplace.
That’s not making America great again.
Reposted by Rory Solomon
Apple removes ICEBlock, an app for anonymously reporting ICE official sightings, from the App Store; AG Pam Bondi says the DOJ requested its removal (Ashley Oliver/Fox Business)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
October 3, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Apple removes ICEBlock, an app for anonymously reporting ICE official sightings, from the App Store; AG Pam Bondi says the DOJ requested its removal (Ashley Oliver/Fox Business)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Reposted by Rory Solomon
I always pay attention to what stories People Magazine and other consumer media outlets cover. That's how you can tell that something has broken through the usual political and news bubbles. This horrific Chicago story has broken through. people.com/ice-agents-o...
ICE Agents Rappel from Helicopter in Overnight Chicago Raid, Dragging Kids from Beds to U-Hauls
Overnight on Tuesday, Sept. 30, federal agents from different agencies raided an apartment building on the South Side of Chicago, pulling men, women and children — some of them allegedly naked — from ...
people.com
October 2, 2025 at 11:59 PM
I always pay attention to what stories People Magazine and other consumer media outlets cover. That's how you can tell that something has broken through the usual political and news bubbles. This horrific Chicago story has broken through. people.com/ice-agents-o...
Reposted by Rory Solomon
"Tomelilla is the first local government to attempt to deliver infrastructure and education using doughnut economics" www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘It feels cool to be a cog in change’: how doughnut economics is reshaping a Swedish town
A casual mention of Kate Raworth’s theory has grown into the basis for decision making in Tomelilla
www.theguardian.com
October 2, 2025 at 11:34 AM
"Tomelilla is the first local government to attempt to deliver infrastructure and education using doughnut economics" www.theguardian.com/environment/...
I get the point of this & agree. But
I actually think shattering norms is the most consequential of these three things. The Constitution sets up a legal framework & laws codify our values. But norms dictate whether we (individuals & institutions) even follow laws. We once did - atm not so much
I actually think shattering norms is the most consequential of these three things. The Constitution sets up a legal framework & laws codify our values. But norms dictate whether we (individuals & institutions) even follow laws. We once did - atm not so much
Why do headlines say "norms shattered" when what is meant is "laws broken" or "Constitution violated"?
September 29, 2025 at 3:49 AM
I get the point of this & agree. But
I actually think shattering norms is the most consequential of these three things. The Constitution sets up a legal framework & laws codify our values. But norms dictate whether we (individuals & institutions) even follow laws. We once did - atm not so much
I actually think shattering norms is the most consequential of these three things. The Constitution sets up a legal framework & laws codify our values. But norms dictate whether we (individuals & institutions) even follow laws. We once did - atm not so much
Ta-Nahisi Coates was so careful, so gentle, so sympathetic and still Ezra Klein comes out of that conversation looking so completely clueless. So embarrassing for him.
I just wish once Coates would’ve simply asked him to explain who he means by the “we” he kept referring to.
I just wish once Coates would’ve simply asked him to explain who he means by the “we” he kept referring to.
September 29, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Ta-Nahisi Coates was so careful, so gentle, so sympathetic and still Ezra Klein comes out of that conversation looking so completely clueless. So embarrassing for him.
I just wish once Coates would’ve simply asked him to explain who he means by the “we” he kept referring to.
I just wish once Coates would’ve simply asked him to explain who he means by the “we” he kept referring to.
Reposted by Rory Solomon
Someday people will start noticing that the most eminent roboticist in the world has an uninterrupted multi-decade record of deep skepticism about almost all uses of robotics and “AI” that has been proven uniformly correct
‘Renowned roboticist Rodney Brooks has a wake-up call for investors funneling billions into humanoid robot startups: you’re wasting your money.’
techcrunch.com/2025/09/26/f...
techcrunch.com/2025/09/26/f...
Famed roboticist says humanoid robot bubble is doomed to burst | TechCrunch
Brooks, who co-founded iRobot and spent decades at MIT, is particularly skeptical of companies like Tesla and Figure trying to teach robots dexterity by showing them videos of humans doing tasks. In a...
techcrunch.com
September 28, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Someday people will start noticing that the most eminent roboticist in the world has an uninterrupted multi-decade record of deep skepticism about almost all uses of robotics and “AI” that has been proven uniformly correct
This makes me so mad I'm going to resubscribe to Hulu just so I can cancel again with a new angry note
September 26, 2025 at 7:08 PM
This makes me so mad I'm going to resubscribe to Hulu just so I can cancel again with a new angry note
What the fuck.
Excellent reporting from Heated and Atmos.
It looks like some of the biggest investors in the anti-trans movement are fossil fuel billionaires who are trying to use trans issues to ensure that Republicans pass policies favorable to their industry.
heated.world/p/fossil-fue...
It looks like some of the biggest investors in the anti-trans movement are fossil fuel billionaires who are trying to use trans issues to ensure that Republicans pass policies favorable to their industry.
heated.world/p/fossil-fue...
Fossil fuel billionaires are bankrolling the anti-trans movement
An investigation shared exclusively with Atmos and HEATED finds that 80% of anti-trans organizations receive fossil fuel funding.
heated.world
September 26, 2025 at 3:51 AM
What the fuck.
Powerful 3-part piece from back in June/July about the war in Israel-Palestine by @matthewcassel.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/world/series...
www.theguardian.com/world/series...
Along the Green Line | The Guardian
<p>In this three-part series, the reporter Matthew Cassel travels along the 1949 Armistice border, or ‘Green Line’, once seen as the best hope for a resolution to the conflict between Israelis and Pal...
www.theguardian.com
September 26, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Powerful 3-part piece from back in June/July about the war in Israel-Palestine by @matthewcassel.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/world/series...
www.theguardian.com/world/series...
Reposted by Rory Solomon
We should have a lot of debates about whether this a good idea but it’s also important to be 100% clear this was not a chatbot but a purpose built model. ”AI” models are incredibly powerful but chatbots are an intellectual and societal dead end and a whole lot of provosts are distracted by them
"The study, by Hie, King and colleagues, was posted on the preprint server bioRxiv on 17 September and is not yet peer reviewed"
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
World’s first AI-designed viruses a step towards AI-generated life
Scientists used AI to write coherent viral genomes, using them to synthesize bacteriophages capable of killing resistant strains of bacteria.
www.nature.com
September 21, 2025 at 12:30 PM
We should have a lot of debates about whether this a good idea but it’s also important to be 100% clear this was not a chatbot but a purpose built model. ”AI” models are incredibly powerful but chatbots are an intellectual and societal dead end and a whole lot of provosts are distracted by them
Reposted by Rory Solomon
"I think the advice I would offer is to remember that leadership is a service role. Your job as a leader is to support the people who work for you, to protect them, to listen to them, & prioritize them."
ARL Views with John Unsworth, UVA University Librarian 2016-2025
www.arl.org/blog/john-un...
ARL Views with John Unsworth, UVA University Librarian 2016-2025
www.arl.org/blog/john-un...
September 12, 2025 at 3:07 PM
"I think the advice I would offer is to remember that leadership is a service role. Your job as a leader is to support the people who work for you, to protect them, to listen to them, & prioritize them."
ARL Views with John Unsworth, UVA University Librarian 2016-2025
www.arl.org/blog/john-un...
ARL Views with John Unsworth, UVA University Librarian 2016-2025
www.arl.org/blog/john-un...
Democrats are going to go to jail for this, right? To be held without bail while ambiguous accusations of involvement are looked into. Or they’re going to open investigations against people just to harass & tarnish their image. I hope Zohran is ready
Trump: "For years those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism we're seeing in our country & it must stop right now. My admin will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity"
September 11, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Democrats are going to go to jail for this, right? To be held without bail while ambiguous accusations of involvement are looked into. Or they’re going to open investigations against people just to harass & tarnish their image. I hope Zohran is ready