Chris Zubak-Skees
@zubakskees.bsky.social
Data journalist and software engineer https://zubak-skees.dev
This is 90% of email for me now.
January 24, 2026 at 9:42 AM
This is 90% of email for me now.
Notice the way "database" is being used in this context.
ICE agent asked why he's taking pictures of a legal observer's car, replies: "Cuz we have a nice little database and now you're considered a domestic terrorist. So have fun with that."
January 24, 2026 at 4:19 AM
Notice the way "database" is being used in this context.
Reposted by Chris Zubak-Skees
BREAKING: Immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, a memo obtained by AP says.
Immigration officers assert sweeping power to enter homes without a judge's warrant, memo says
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press reveals that the agency allows immigration officers to forcibly enter homes to make arrests without a judicial warrant.
bit.ly
January 21, 2026 at 9:32 PM
BREAKING: Immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, a memo obtained by AP says.
Reposted by Chris Zubak-Skees
For the first time, #Copernicus Sentinel-2A has captured night‑time images of Earth, spotting gas flares in the Middle East, wildfires in India and even fishing boats in South Korea.
The results from these tests are being used to prepare for Sentinel‑2 Next Generation.
The results from these tests are being used to prepare for Sentinel‑2 Next Generation.
January 15, 2026 at 8:41 AM
For the first time, #Copernicus Sentinel-2A has captured night‑time images of Earth, spotting gas flares in the Middle East, wildfires in India and even fishing boats in South Korea.
The results from these tests are being used to prepare for Sentinel‑2 Next Generation.
The results from these tests are being used to prepare for Sentinel‑2 Next Generation.
Reposted by Chris Zubak-Skees
Actually, I'm sensing a theme
www.economist.com/briefing/202...
www.economist.com/briefing/202...
January 10, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Actually, I'm sensing a theme
www.economist.com/briefing/202...
www.economist.com/briefing/202...
Reposted by Chris Zubak-Skees
January 8, 2026 at 12:44 PM
"Let's confirm you are human," I shout, as I hold up the whole party and make them identify stoplights.
January 1, 2026 at 4:46 AM
"Let's confirm you are human," I shout, as I hold up the whole party and make them identify stoplights.
What a year, huh?
December 31, 2025 at 4:05 PM
What a year, huh?
Who'd have guessed the clean, well-lighted place was McDonald's.
December 25, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Who'd have guessed the clean, well-lighted place was McDonald's.
Reposted by Chris Zubak-Skees
I just published Potato, a new pansharpening package. It aims to render certain kinds of satellite imagery more clearly and accurately than what’s for sale and on satellite maps today: github.com/celoyd/potato/
GitHub - celoyd/potato: A small pansharpening model
A small pansharpening model. Contribute to celoyd/potato development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
December 23, 2025 at 7:39 PM
I just published Potato, a new pansharpening package. It aims to render certain kinds of satellite imagery more clearly and accurately than what’s for sale and on satellite maps today: github.com/celoyd/potato/
A streaming comes across Bluesky.
December 24, 2025 at 7:01 AM
A streaming comes across Bluesky.
You can start to understand why someone put the brakes on this release, initially.
it is absolutely maximumly chaotic that there are an absurd amount of likely unnecessary redactions in all these files and then also just throwing out unconfirmed FBI Intake tipline stuff w/ no context about how/if it was vetted or what. just wild stuff.
December 23, 2025 at 7:58 PM
You can start to understand why someone put the brakes on this release, initially.
Reposted by Chris Zubak-Skees
Ok. Now had a chance to check and, well, at least some docs do appear to be straight up classic redaction fail. And there are some *interesting* bits here.
www.justice.gov/multimedia/C...
www.justice.gov/multimedia/C...
December 23, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Ok. Now had a chance to check and, well, at least some docs do appear to be straight up classic redaction fail. And there are some *interesting* bits here.
www.justice.gov/multimedia/C...
www.justice.gov/multimedia/C...
Believe it or not, this is transparency working. A simple model is they'll release all the files and you'll know all the things. More realistic is that people with things to hide will identify those by omission and that becomes a political and legal lever to demand more.
December 21, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Believe it or not, this is transparency working. A simple model is they'll release all the files and you'll know all the things. More realistic is that people with things to hide will identify those by omission and that becomes a political and legal lever to demand more.
Reposted by Chris Zubak-Skees
New @propublica.org:
@emsimani.bsky.social analyzed nonprofit tax filings and found that more than 1,000 charities have stripped DEI-related language from their mission statements this year.
www.propublica.org/article/dele...
@emsimani.bsky.social analyzed nonprofit tax filings and found that more than 1,000 charities have stripped DEI-related language from their mission statements this year.
www.propublica.org/article/dele...
December 17, 2025 at 11:43 AM
New @propublica.org:
@emsimani.bsky.social analyzed nonprofit tax filings and found that more than 1,000 charities have stripped DEI-related language from their mission statements this year.
www.propublica.org/article/dele...
@emsimani.bsky.social analyzed nonprofit tax filings and found that more than 1,000 charities have stripped DEI-related language from their mission statements this year.
www.propublica.org/article/dele...
We think of engineering cultures as high tech and carefully organized, but every day it's sustained by an oral culture of repetitive storytelling.
December 17, 2025 at 9:05 AM
We think of engineering cultures as high tech and carefully organized, but every day it's sustained by an oral culture of repetitive storytelling.
There's this sustained illusion that we're all together in one little global community, in which notable people and places form our imagined social circle, and then three notable things happen at once and you realize it's 8 billion people and many things are happening.
December 15, 2025 at 5:56 AM
There's this sustained illusion that we're all together in one little global community, in which notable people and places form our imagined social circle, and then three notable things happen at once and you realize it's 8 billion people and many things are happening.
Reposted by Chris Zubak-Skees
The third-country removal tracker has been updated with this week's transfer deportation/chain refoulement. Egypt took Russians in ICE custody and forced them onto a plane to Moscow; Kuwait took Iranians in ICE custody and forced them onto a plane to Tehran. hardghistory.ghost.io/tracking-all...
December 12, 2025 at 7:48 PM
The third-country removal tracker has been updated with this week's transfer deportation/chain refoulement. Egypt took Russians in ICE custody and forced them onto a plane to Moscow; Kuwait took Iranians in ICE custody and forced them onto a plane to Tehran. hardghistory.ghost.io/tracking-all...
Reposted by Chris Zubak-Skees
An investigation by @peter.andringa.me worth reading that also serves as a reminder of a well-known yet always uncomfortable truth: OSINT tools used for accountability (geolocation, facial recognition, data cross-referencing) are embedded in ICE’s deportation machinery.
December 10, 2025 at 9:18 AM
An investigation by @peter.andringa.me worth reading that also serves as a reminder of a well-known yet always uncomfortable truth: OSINT tools used for accountability (geolocation, facial recognition, data cross-referencing) are embedded in ICE’s deportation machinery.
Small indicator: I now append short instructions to the AI to my Google searches.
My Nieman Lab prediction for 2026: The AI bubble may pop but people’s use of AI for information won’t and it's better if we start taking this seriously.
December 6, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Small indicator: I now append short instructions to the AI to my Google searches.
Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder whose drone you are.
December 2, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder whose drone you are.
"this poem is not a place of honor"
this is quite the detail
December 1, 2025 at 5:29 AM
"this poem is not a place of honor"
What Was Code
He’s right! You don’t have to use it—but it’s going to sweep through codeworld like a purifying fire. You may not care! But it’s not like when it draws you a bad picture of a large-breasted elf. It’s more like it shreds the foundation of what makes tech “valuable.”
At the risk of starting the flame war to end all flame wars...
Modern LLMs (GPT-5.1, Claude 4.5, Gemini 3) produce excellent code and can be a significant productivity boost to software engineers who take the time to learn how to effectively apply them - especially if used with coding agent tools
Modern LLMs (GPT-5.1, Claude 4.5, Gemini 3) produce excellent code and can be a significant productivity boost to software engineers who take the time to learn how to effectively apply them - especially if used with coding agent tools
December 1, 2025 at 5:07 AM
What Was Code
Reposted by Chris Zubak-Skees
The Boston Globe identified the companies in Massachusetts that employ the most SNAP recipients. A key stat: "In Massachusetts, 74% of working-age recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are employed, half of them full-time."
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
November 29, 2025 at 3:55 PM
The Boston Globe identified the companies in Massachusetts that employ the most SNAP recipients. A key stat: "In Massachusetts, 74% of working-age recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are employed, half of them full-time."
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...