Rothaí
@rothaiocht.bsky.social
I am an emigrant who writes love letters. Ireland :: California
Pinned
Came back to Bluesky briefly. The onset of insomnia, anxiety, and despair was comically fast. Even with a curated feed, this is self-harm now.
Back to good books, classic films, & news from KQED/ New Yorker/ Oaklandside.
Back to neighbors, local orgs, and bugging the school board. Take care! 💚
Back to good books, classic films, & news from KQED/ New Yorker/ Oaklandside.
Back to neighbors, local orgs, and bugging the school board. Take care! 💚
I once took part in a workshop for dozens of retiring athletes trying to transition into post-Olympic careers.
Came away thinking I would never, ever let my kid train for the Olympics.
The winter athletes were notably stranded and pitiful, because season timing wrecked their education.
Came away thinking I would never, ever let my kid train for the Olympics.
The winter athletes were notably stranded and pitiful, because season timing wrecked their education.
February 12, 2026 at 5:43 PM
I once took part in a workshop for dozens of retiring athletes trying to transition into post-Olympic careers.
Came away thinking I would never, ever let my kid train for the Olympics.
The winter athletes were notably stranded and pitiful, because season timing wrecked their education.
Came away thinking I would never, ever let my kid train for the Olympics.
The winter athletes were notably stranded and pitiful, because season timing wrecked their education.
Bless HG Wells‘ 1938 optimism in predicting the distributed intelligence of “World Brain“ would “have at once, the concentration of a craniate animal and the diffused vitality of an amoeba."
The internet has given our bodies the vitality of a heap of skulls and the concentration of an amoeba.
The internet has given our bodies the vitality of a heap of skulls and the concentration of an amoeba.
February 11, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Bless HG Wells‘ 1938 optimism in predicting the distributed intelligence of “World Brain“ would “have at once, the concentration of a craniate animal and the diffused vitality of an amoeba."
The internet has given our bodies the vitality of a heap of skulls and the concentration of an amoeba.
The internet has given our bodies the vitality of a heap of skulls and the concentration of an amoeba.
George Dyson laid out where the people driving AI were headed 21 years ago—of all places, on the site funded by a predator to suck in intellectually vain billionaires and creepy tenured scientists. (The fawning intro about Larry, Sergey, and Eric is by his publisher.)
www.edge.org/conversation...
www.edge.org/conversation...
TURING'S CATHEDRAL | Edge.org
www.edge.org
February 11, 2026 at 4:06 PM
George Dyson laid out where the people driving AI were headed 21 years ago—of all places, on the site funded by a predator to suck in intellectually vain billionaires and creepy tenured scientists. (The fawning intro about Larry, Sergey, and Eric is by his publisher.)
www.edge.org/conversation...
www.edge.org/conversation...
Reposted by Rothaí
I keep saying to people in my life that the problem with writing in these days is that you sound absolutely off your nut for simply saying what is happening.
February 4, 2026 at 2:29 AM
I keep saying to people in my life that the problem with writing in these days is that you sound absolutely off your nut for simply saying what is happening.
Reposted by Rothaí
Soooo what’s this thing where people are pushing back so hard on calling their civil disobedience “protest”, like it’s a slur?
February 4, 2026 at 2:46 PM
Soooo what’s this thing where people are pushing back so hard on calling their civil disobedience “protest”, like it’s a slur?
Reposted by Rothaí
And I’ve seen a lot of these posts distinguishing between protest and what’s happening in Minneapolis. The subtext feels to me that they're distinguishing the protests and uprisings of 2020 with what's happening now. "We're not protesting, it's something more noble!"
January 25, 2026 at 3:46 PM
And I’ve seen a lot of these posts distinguishing between protest and what’s happening in Minneapolis. The subtext feels to me that they're distinguishing the protests and uprisings of 2020 with what's happening now. "We're not protesting, it's something more noble!"
Came back to Bluesky briefly. The onset of insomnia, anxiety, and despair was comically fast. Even with a curated feed, this is self-harm now.
Back to good books, classic films, & news from KQED/ New Yorker/ Oaklandside.
Back to neighbors, local orgs, and bugging the school board. Take care! 💚
Back to good books, classic films, & news from KQED/ New Yorker/ Oaklandside.
Back to neighbors, local orgs, and bugging the school board. Take care! 💚
February 4, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Came back to Bluesky briefly. The onset of insomnia, anxiety, and despair was comically fast. Even with a curated feed, this is self-harm now.
Back to good books, classic films, & news from KQED/ New Yorker/ Oaklandside.
Back to neighbors, local orgs, and bugging the school board. Take care! 💚
Back to good books, classic films, & news from KQED/ New Yorker/ Oaklandside.
Back to neighbors, local orgs, and bugging the school board. Take care! 💚
I’m moved by this @josephoneill.bsky.social story.
He wrote the first strong 9/11 fiction I read, and now he‘s captured the Mamdani Era of turning toward each other with bruised hope.
Grateful to live in a similarly dirty, untranquil city with a large population of fine souls.
is.gd/ihRLHJ
He wrote the first strong 9/11 fiction I read, and now he‘s captured the Mamdani Era of turning toward each other with bruised hope.
Grateful to live in a similarly dirty, untranquil city with a large population of fine souls.
is.gd/ihRLHJ
“Light Secrets,” by Joseph O’Neill
Everyone’s done something good that’s hidden—the opposite of a dark secret.
is.gd
January 19, 2026 at 5:13 AM
I’m moved by this @josephoneill.bsky.social story.
He wrote the first strong 9/11 fiction I read, and now he‘s captured the Mamdani Era of turning toward each other with bruised hope.
Grateful to live in a similarly dirty, untranquil city with a large population of fine souls.
is.gd/ihRLHJ
He wrote the first strong 9/11 fiction I read, and now he‘s captured the Mamdani Era of turning toward each other with bruised hope.
Grateful to live in a similarly dirty, untranquil city with a large population of fine souls.
is.gd/ihRLHJ
Reposted by Rothaí
The media needs to recognize that there is a marked difference between the endemic problem of CSAM being posted to social media platforms and a platform giving users a tool to actively create CSAM.
January 2, 2026 at 6:02 PM
The media needs to recognize that there is a marked difference between the endemic problem of CSAM being posted to social media platforms and a platform giving users a tool to actively create CSAM.
Reposted by Rothaí
Most of last year was about The Book, but I did lots more science writing, too! Here's a 🧵of a few of my favorite stories, one for each month of 2025. The first is about geochemists solving a centuries old "cold case," identifying the volcano that erupted in 1831 and cooled the planet 🧪
‘Mystery volcano’ that erupted and cooled Earth in 1831 has finally been identified | CNN
Scientists have identified the “mystery volcano” that erupted in 1831 and cooled Earth’s climate. They have linked it to an island volcano in the northwest Pacific Ocean.
www.cnn.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Most of last year was about The Book, but I did lots more science writing, too! Here's a 🧵of a few of my favorite stories, one for each month of 2025. The first is about geochemists solving a centuries old "cold case," identifying the volcano that erupted in 1831 and cooled the planet 🧪
Reposted by Rothaí
Today, foreign-born people make up more than 20 percent of the population of the Republic Ireland—until recently one of the world’s classic “nations of emigrants”—and more than 75 percent in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait. 🧵3/10
January 2, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Today, foreign-born people make up more than 20 percent of the population of the Republic Ireland—until recently one of the world’s classic “nations of emigrants”—and more than 75 percent in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait. 🧵3/10
Reposted by Rothaí
Ex-Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun has Lunch with the FT and in one of those instances so rare that you know he didn't sign an NDA, says exactly why as.ft.com/r/e503690d-8...
January 2, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Ex-Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun has Lunch with the FT and in one of those instances so rare that you know he didn't sign an NDA, says exactly why as.ft.com/r/e503690d-8...
Reposted by Rothaí
call me crazy but it really feels like “World’s Richest Man Creates AI Chatbot That Generates Child Porn” would’ve been a huge international outrage requiring a governmental crackdown not even 24 months ago
January 2, 2026 at 7:06 AM
call me crazy but it really feels like “World’s Richest Man Creates AI Chatbot That Generates Child Porn” would’ve been a huge international outrage requiring a governmental crackdown not even 24 months ago
Reposted by Rothaí
Did you know Phylicia Rashad made a disco concept album honoring Josephine Baker? During her marriage to one of the Village People. youtu.be/hKBx1dF_nmc?...
January 1, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Did you know Phylicia Rashad made a disco concept album honoring Josephine Baker? During her marriage to one of the Village People. youtu.be/hKBx1dF_nmc?...
I hope the Microsoft Word AI guy on here reads this.
In what's now become an annual tradition, I've written another piece for The Gist about how and why I hate A.I.
On a bubble about to burst, a future rotted to its core, and the limits of the Mrs Doyle Theory of artificial intelligence.
www.thegist.ie/guest-gist-2...
On a bubble about to burst, a future rotted to its core, and the limits of the Mrs Doyle Theory of artificial intelligence.
www.thegist.ie/guest-gist-2...
Guest Gist: 2026, Our Already Rotting Future
Seamus O'Reilly warns of AI maximum bubbledrive this year.
www.thegist.ie
January 2, 2026 at 2:50 PM
I hope the Microsoft Word AI guy on here reads this.
Reposted by Rothaí
Was just thinking that Gone With the Wind will be public domain in 6 years.
Considering the tantrum the Mitchell estate threw about The Wind Done Gone, I think you all know what to do with that information.
Considering the tantrum the Mitchell estate threw about The Wind Done Gone, I think you all know what to do with that information.
January 2, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Was just thinking that Gone With the Wind will be public domain in 6 years.
Considering the tantrum the Mitchell estate threw about The Wind Done Gone, I think you all know what to do with that information.
Considering the tantrum the Mitchell estate threw about The Wind Done Gone, I think you all know what to do with that information.
The freeze frame at the end of Spinsl Tap 2 hits hard now. The End Continues.
January 2, 2026 at 2:06 PM
The freeze frame at the end of Spinsl Tap 2 hits hard now. The End Continues.
My kid never met her bio grandfather, but at her age—10—he was put on a train alone to migrate from the Indian Punjab to what Mountbatten’s incompetent partition designated as Muslim Pakistan.
That migration killed 3 million.
Fucked-up borders & withdrawals shaped her Irish & Pakistani sides.
That migration killed 3 million.
Fucked-up borders & withdrawals shaped her Irish & Pakistani sides.
January 2, 2026 at 7:38 AM
My kid never met her bio grandfather, but at her age—10—he was put on a train alone to migrate from the Indian Punjab to what Mountbatten’s incompetent partition designated as Muslim Pakistan.
That migration killed 3 million.
Fucked-up borders & withdrawals shaped her Irish & Pakistani sides.
That migration killed 3 million.
Fucked-up borders & withdrawals shaped her Irish & Pakistani sides.
Let’s rally around new surnames in politics willing to work around legacy donor lists and fintech puppeteers.
And recognize how brave it is to sign up for the abuse public servants face today.
And recognize how brave it is to sign up for the abuse public servants face today.
Mamdani: I have been told that this is the occasion to reset expectations, that I should use this opportunity to encourage the people of New York to ask for little and expect even less. I will do no such thing. The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations.
January 2, 2026 at 7:18 AM
Let’s rally around new surnames in politics willing to work around legacy donor lists and fintech puppeteers.
And recognize how brave it is to sign up for the abuse public servants face today.
And recognize how brave it is to sign up for the abuse public servants face today.
A Tale of Two Cities (with the stately Simon Callow narration) always puts this low, dishonest decade into the historical sweep of low, dishonest decades.
January 2, 2026 at 7:11 AM
A Tale of Two Cities (with the stately Simon Callow narration) always puts this low, dishonest decade into the historical sweep of low, dishonest decades.
Love Bernie. 💚💚💚
Nice touch - the trans announcer from the subway (“Stand clear of the platform edge”) is doing the announcing
January 1, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Love Bernie. 💚💚💚
Reposted by Rothaí
Mandy Patinkin just showed up at City Hall ahead of Zohran Mamdani's inauguration and sung with a bunch of kids from the PS22 chorus.
January 1, 2026 at 3:27 PM
Mandy Patinkin just showed up at City Hall ahead of Zohran Mamdani's inauguration and sung with a bunch of kids from the PS22 chorus.
Reposted by Rothaí
5 million-plus kindergartners now live in counties where schools don’t have “herd immunity” for measles, Washington Post reporters found.
WaPo also built a tool to look up your own county.
Exceptional, and alarming work by @laurenweberhp.bsky.social @caitlingilbert.bsky.social et al.
(Gift link.)
WaPo also built a tool to look up your own county.
Exceptional, and alarming work by @laurenweberhp.bsky.social @caitlingilbert.bsky.social et al.
(Gift link.)
U.S. vaccination rates are plunging. Look up where your school stands.
Take a look to see what the kindergarten measles vaccination rates are in your area.
wapo.st
January 1, 2026 at 2:46 AM
5 million-plus kindergartners now live in counties where schools don’t have “herd immunity” for measles, Washington Post reporters found.
WaPo also built a tool to look up your own county.
Exceptional, and alarming work by @laurenweberhp.bsky.social @caitlingilbert.bsky.social et al.
(Gift link.)
WaPo also built a tool to look up your own county.
Exceptional, and alarming work by @laurenweberhp.bsky.social @caitlingilbert.bsky.social et al.
(Gift link.)
Reposted by Rothaí
E-cargo bikes sound pretty amazing in this new UK study:
"Parents’ and children’s enjoyment, curiosity, and sense of adventure encouraged additional travel, transforming routine journeys into playful and memorable family experiences."
doi.org/10.1016/j.tb...
"Parents’ and children’s enjoyment, curiosity, and sense of adventure encouraged additional travel, transforming routine journeys into playful and memorable family experiences."
doi.org/10.1016/j.tb...
December 31, 2025 at 2:43 PM
E-cargo bikes sound pretty amazing in this new UK study:
"Parents’ and children’s enjoyment, curiosity, and sense of adventure encouraged additional travel, transforming routine journeys into playful and memorable family experiences."
doi.org/10.1016/j.tb...
"Parents’ and children’s enjoyment, curiosity, and sense of adventure encouraged additional travel, transforming routine journeys into playful and memorable family experiences."
doi.org/10.1016/j.tb...
Reposted by Rothaí
I am sad indeed to learn of the untimely death of Mike Fossey, a pioneer in online funniness. Pls read this tribute by
@lukeoneil47.bsky.social: flaminghydra.com/in-post-memo...
@lukeoneil47.bsky.social: flaminghydra.com/in-post-memo...
December 31, 2025 at 11:26 PM
I am sad indeed to learn of the untimely death of Mike Fossey, a pioneer in online funniness. Pls read this tribute by
@lukeoneil47.bsky.social: flaminghydra.com/in-post-memo...
@lukeoneil47.bsky.social: flaminghydra.com/in-post-memo...