George Armstrong
@thedataferret.bsky.social
Data Science, ML, Analytics Engineering and holding people while they cry, because this stuff is HARD.
Reposted by George Armstrong
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone hiding in a bathroom as long as possible to escape family who you can hear asking where you are.
November 27, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone hiding in a bathroom as long as possible to escape family who you can hear asking where you are.
Reposted by George Armstrong
"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
I bet this is how we got Reboot!
November 27, 2025 at 7:42 AM
I bet this is how we got Reboot!
Reposted by George Armstrong
I'm old.
If you're not, listen to this.
Get a guitar or some drums, or a trumpet. Pick up a brush, a pencil, some clay or a welder.
Just make shit. It doesn't have to be good (eventually it will be) just make music, art or write or whatever.
It's literally never been more important.
If you're not, listen to this.
Get a guitar or some drums, or a trumpet. Pick up a brush, a pencil, some clay or a welder.
Just make shit. It doesn't have to be good (eventually it will be) just make music, art or write or whatever.
It's literally never been more important.
November 27, 2025 at 4:21 AM
I'm old.
If you're not, listen to this.
Get a guitar or some drums, or a trumpet. Pick up a brush, a pencil, some clay or a welder.
Just make shit. It doesn't have to be good (eventually it will be) just make music, art or write or whatever.
It's literally never been more important.
If you're not, listen to this.
Get a guitar or some drums, or a trumpet. Pick up a brush, a pencil, some clay or a welder.
Just make shit. It doesn't have to be good (eventually it will be) just make music, art or write or whatever.
It's literally never been more important.
Reposted by George Armstrong
Reposted by George Armstrong
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
Reposted by George Armstrong
squirrel: *points gun*
me: what do you want me to do?
squirrel: *gestures at sign*
me: alright, i get it *opens book drop*
squirrel: *makes hurry-up motion*
me: NOT A SQUIRREL!
squirrel: *disappears into book drop*
me: *whispers* forgive me, keith
me: what do you want me to do?
squirrel: *gestures at sign*
me: alright, i get it *opens book drop*
squirrel: *makes hurry-up motion*
me: NOT A SQUIRREL!
squirrel: *disappears into book drop*
me: *whispers* forgive me, keith
November 19, 2025 at 1:41 PM
squirrel: *points gun*
me: what do you want me to do?
squirrel: *gestures at sign*
me: alright, i get it *opens book drop*
squirrel: *makes hurry-up motion*
me: NOT A SQUIRREL!
squirrel: *disappears into book drop*
me: *whispers* forgive me, keith
me: what do you want me to do?
squirrel: *gestures at sign*
me: alright, i get it *opens book drop*
squirrel: *makes hurry-up motion*
me: NOT A SQUIRREL!
squirrel: *disappears into book drop*
me: *whispers* forgive me, keith
A world without Caesars apparently still has lèse-majesté laws.
October 6, 2025 at 5:28 PM
A world without Caesars apparently still has lèse-majesté laws.
Reminds me of Elon a few years back.
WAFFLES
October 6, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reminds me of Elon a few years back.
Reposted by George Armstrong
Every few months now I re-read this "Who Goes Nazi?" piece from 1941 and am blown away by how it captures the people we are dealing with 80 years later.
harpers.org/archive/1941...
harpers.org/archive/1941...
Who Goes Nazi?, by Dorothy Thompson
harpers.org
October 1, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Every few months now I re-read this "Who Goes Nazi?" piece from 1941 and am blown away by how it captures the people we are dealing with 80 years later.
harpers.org/archive/1941...
harpers.org/archive/1941...
Reposted by George Armstrong
Just saw this comment with regard to Pete Hegseth's love for fun socks.
I will tell you why fun socks are bad in a tailored outfit. 🧵
I will tell you why fun socks are bad in a tailored outfit. 🧵
October 1, 2025 at 4:34 AM
Just saw this comment with regard to Pete Hegseth's love for fun socks.
I will tell you why fun socks are bad in a tailored outfit. 🧵
I will tell you why fun socks are bad in a tailored outfit. 🧵
Reposted by George Armstrong
“Techno libertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect.” 🔥
2/ In 2001, Borsook said tech "libertarianism" reflected an adolescent mindset, with a craving for unchecked independence & resistance to constraint.
She warned that tech libertarians wanted an anti-human world that worked more like a computer. From "Cyberselfish," a book based on her 90s writing:
She warned that tech libertarians wanted an anti-human world that worked more like a computer. From "Cyberselfish," a book based on her 90s writing:
September 25, 2025 at 2:41 AM
“Techno libertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect.” 🔥
The ocean is horror.
I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA
10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
September 25, 2025 at 6:25 AM
The ocean is horror.
Reposted by George Armstrong
I have taken
the Tylenol
that was in
the medicine cabinet
and which
they think probably
is the reason
you like trains
forgive me
but that’s bullshit
you got autism
from your dad
the Tylenol
that was in
the medicine cabinet
and which
they think probably
is the reason
you like trains
forgive me
but that’s bullshit
you got autism
from your dad
September 23, 2025 at 12:02 AM
I have taken
the Tylenol
that was in
the medicine cabinet
and which
they think probably
is the reason
you like trains
forgive me
but that’s bullshit
you got autism
from your dad
the Tylenol
that was in
the medicine cabinet
and which
they think probably
is the reason
you like trains
forgive me
but that’s bullshit
you got autism
from your dad
Reposted by George Armstrong
Pulitzer Feeling Increasingly Out Of Place In Washington Post Office
September 15, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Pulitzer Feeling Increasingly Out Of Place In Washington Post Office
Reposted by George Armstrong
May as well say that Radio Rwanda was doing politics the right way if you’re definition of “right” is fully agnostic as to content and impact
September 13, 2025 at 7:29 AM
May as well say that Radio Rwanda was doing politics the right way if you’re definition of “right” is fully agnostic as to content and impact
Reposted by George Armstrong
Kudos and gratitude to @seashepherdglobal.bsky.social : "Since early July, the volunteers of campaign group Sea Shepherd, backed by regional authorities, have pulled up thousands of traps and saved more than 1,500 octopuses." #octopus #nature #conservation #animals #ocean
The crew on the hunt for Greece's illegal octopus traps
"Octopus!" shouted the crew of the Sea Eagle vessel as a slippery cephalopod squirmed out of a plastic pot they had hauled from the seabed off northern Greece.
www.reuters.com
September 11, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Kudos and gratitude to @seashepherdglobal.bsky.social : "Since early July, the volunteers of campaign group Sea Shepherd, backed by regional authorities, have pulled up thousands of traps and saved more than 1,500 octopuses." #octopus #nature #conservation #animals #ocean
Reposted by George Armstrong
Melissa Hortman practiced politics the right way.
September 11, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Melissa Hortman practiced politics the right way.
Reposted by George Armstrong
This is a Melissa Hortman appreciation account for the next 24 hours.
Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman remembered as funny, savvy and 'a true leader'
Friends and colleagues remembered her as grounded, kind and compassionate.
www.pbs.org
September 10, 2025 at 11:39 PM
This is a Melissa Hortman appreciation account for the next 24 hours.
Reposted by George Armstrong
"Japan loves its summer baseball too much to ask why the grass at Koshien looks so green. It’s fertilized after all, with silence, sacrifice, and the tears, sweat and blood of boys who learned the hard way that in Japanese high school baseball, honor’s just another word for winning"
Incredible read
Incredible read
Baseball Battles Without Honor or Humanity: The Dark Side of High School Yakyu (Op-Ed)
High school baseball is akin to a religion in Japan - which is why Koryo High's systemic violence went unchecked for years. 3 strikes? Not an out when you're bashing freshmen with a bat in a dorm.
open.substack.com
September 7, 2025 at 8:47 AM
"Japan loves its summer baseball too much to ask why the grass at Koshien looks so green. It’s fertilized after all, with silence, sacrifice, and the tears, sweat and blood of boys who learned the hard way that in Japanese high school baseball, honor’s just another word for winning"
Incredible read
Incredible read
Reposted by George Armstrong
Remember this. The Nazis were defeated by geologists and car mechanics and school teachers and milkmen. Ordinary people from all over the world who risked their own lives to put the fascists in the ground where they belong.
the real glory of world war two was that it involved a warrior cult being ground down and beaten to a pulp by people who would rather have been doing something else.
Hegseth: "Maximum lethality -- not tepid legality. Violent effect, not politically correct. We're gonna raise up warriors. Not just defenders."
September 6, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Remember this. The Nazis were defeated by geologists and car mechanics and school teachers and milkmen. Ordinary people from all over the world who risked their own lives to put the fascists in the ground where they belong.
Reposted by George Armstrong
UK phones will sound an emergency alert test tomorrow (Sunday 7th September 2025 at 3pm).
For those who need to keep a device private (e.g. survivors of abuse), you can switch these alerts off (steps in image below).
Please share this information widely.
More here - www.gov.uk/alerts/optin...
For those who need to keep a device private (e.g. survivors of abuse), you can switch these alerts off (steps in image below).
Please share this information widely.
More here - www.gov.uk/alerts/optin...
September 6, 2025 at 1:58 PM
UK phones will sound an emergency alert test tomorrow (Sunday 7th September 2025 at 3pm).
For those who need to keep a device private (e.g. survivors of abuse), you can switch these alerts off (steps in image below).
Please share this information widely.
More here - www.gov.uk/alerts/optin...
For those who need to keep a device private (e.g. survivors of abuse), you can switch these alerts off (steps in image below).
Please share this information widely.
More here - www.gov.uk/alerts/optin...
Reposted by George Armstrong
Changing the name of the Department of Defense will cost billions.We could build units for all unhoused veterans. Or give service members a pay raise so 35K active duty members wouldn’t have to rely on food stamps. Or… or… or…
September 6, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Changing the name of the Department of Defense will cost billions.We could build units for all unhoused veterans. Or give service members a pay raise so 35K active duty members wouldn’t have to rely on food stamps. Or… or… or…
Reposted by George Armstrong
