Brent
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bk4us.com
Brent
@bk4us.com
230 followers 110 following 310 posts
Responsible citizen, curious mind.
More than a dilettante, less than an expert.
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bk4us.com
stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you happiness
Alexander Skarsgård as Murderbot with David Dastmalchian as Gurathin.
October 21, 2025 at 11:25 PM
bk4us.com
A Cold War liberal at #NoKings, celebrating the Four Freedoms and FDR, the Democratic President who led America in its first victory over fascism
A picture of myself at a local No Kings protest waving the Four Freedoms flag (four vertical red stripes on a white background)
October 18, 2025 at 9:12 PM
bk4us.com
I had to use highlighters to parse this sentence.

First, nine lines in red for a single clause starting with "even though".

Then five lines in green for the subject of the sentence.

The blue shows the verb and object of the sentence—just two lines.
A screenshot of a poorly written sentence. Various lines are highlighted to show the structure of the sentence. The sentence and the highlighting are described in the post.
August 4, 2025 at 8:37 PM
bk4us.com
If you see this, quote with a robot that isn't from Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, or Transformers
Picture of Number Five, AKA Johnny Five, from the movie Short Circuit, released in 1986.
July 10, 2025 at 12:24 AM
bk4us.com
Submitted for your consideration...
(Hat tip to @washingtonpost.com's Early Brief)
Tweet by Donald Trump on November 10, 2013: Remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly—not skilled!
June 23, 2025 at 5:56 PM
bk4us.com
Sci-Fi Author: In my book I invented the Torment Nexus as a cautionary tale. Tech company: At long last we have created the Torment Nexus from the classic sci-fi novel Don't Create the Torment Nexus
June 19, 2025 at 3:40 PM
bk4us.com
This is my final answer.
A picture of a tumblr post titled "Why I do toilet paper the wrong way". The post shows a comic in two frames. In the first frame a cat is playing with a roll of toilet paper hanging in the 'over' orientation and gradually unspooling the entire roll onto the floor. In the second frame, a cat is playing with a roll of toilet paper hanging in the 'under' orientation; in this case no unspooling occurs. Another tumblr user responds with "That's valid." Yet another responds "Okay I'll accept that, but you're on thing ice."
June 10, 2025 at 12:56 AM
bk4us.com
Screenshot from The Onion's "American Voices" about Trump's phone call with Zelensky that led to his first impeachment. It reads "Fine, but show me anywhere on that transcript where he says 'I hereby proclaim quid pro quo!'"
May 12, 2025 at 3:36 PM
bk4us.com
Recently went through my downloads folder and found this relevant meme:
April 12, 2025 at 10:28 PM
bk4us.com
I don't remember if this is where I learned that fact, but I have to recommend "Fascists" by Michael Mann. It's style is highly academic, but worth working through. It was written in 2004, but the conclusion feels like a prescient description of our present-day politics!
Cover of the book "Fascists" by Michael Mann
March 20, 2025 at 12:46 AM
bk4us.com
Google, if you really want to spend money on the ridiculous amounts of energy it takes to annoy an AI with my search queries, well... it's your money! But when I search for "fourier transform of my cat", maybe you can let your AI sit this one out and just give me the web comic I wanted instead.
Screenshot of Google AI results for "fourier transform of my cat": A "Fourier transform" is a complex mathematical tool used to break down a signal into its constituent frequencies, essentially revealing the different "tones" within a signal, while "your cat" is a living feline creature; meaning if you had to choose between the two, your cat is the more tangible and relatable option as it's a real animal, not an abstract mathematical concept.
February 21, 2025 at 10:27 PM
bk4us.com
I'm sure this isn't far off:
An image made in in the style of an executive order on the White House website. It reads, "Presidential Actions. Nothing is ever my fault and blaming me is illegal.
January 30, 2025 at 11:03 PM
bk4us.com
Some historical context for DEI programs in the military:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_...
From the Wikipedia page "": 1950s desegregation. In 1948, President Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which declared a policy of equal treatment and opportunity, but did not mention desegregation. He ordered: "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale." Only the Air Force used the opportunity to integrate its units. The Army was especially resistant to the order, and only cooperated when a shortage of troops in the Korean War required that black soldiers serve alongside their white counterparts. Military units were officially desegregated after the Korean War in 1954. However, racial tensions continued to give rise to segregation and in fighting amongst various units, especially during the Vietnam War. The military inefficiencies caused by this internal conflict incentivized military leaders to seek to establish more harmonious racial relationships in the Army. One scholar argued that, in being forced to actively root out institutional racial tensions, "the military radically revised the moral contract governing relations between it and its members."
January 29, 2025 at 3:34 AM
bk4us.com
My theory: most reporters don't understand the issues they cover, so they rely on lazy tropes they see other reporters using. That creates an illusion of broad consensus that the public - including other reporters - repeat as their own understanding to look well-informed.

As Michael Crichton said:
Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect is as follows. You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray's case, physics. In mine, show business. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward—reversing cause and effect. I call these the "wet streets cause rain" stories. Paper's full of them. In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about Palestine than the baloney you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know.
January 5, 2025 at 11:23 PM
bk4us.com
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#booksky #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
Day 20
Cover from "Gun, With Occasional Music" by Jonathan Lethem
December 13, 2024 at 8:29 PM
bk4us.com
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#booksky #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
Day 19
Cover from "The Shadow of the Torturer" by Gene Wolfe
December 12, 2024 at 3:39 AM
bk4us.com
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#booksky #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
Day 18

(Probably a good book to re-read in 2025.)
Cover from volume one of "Politics of Nonviolent Action" by Gene Sharp
December 11, 2024 at 3:52 AM
bk4us.com
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#booksky #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
Day 17
Cover from "Exhalation" by Ted Chiang
December 10, 2024 at 4:12 AM
bk4us.com
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#booksky #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
Day 16
Cover for "Buddhism is Not What You Think" by Steven Hagen
December 8, 2024 at 9:11 PM
bk4us.com
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#booksky #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
Day 15
Cover from "Bushido: The Soul of Japan" by Inazo Nitobe
December 8, 2024 at 12:00 AM
bk4us.com
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#booksky #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
Day 14 (a little late)
Cover from "Leviathan Wakes", the first book in "The Expanse" series by James S.A. Corey
December 7, 2024 at 11:57 PM
bk4us.com
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#booksky #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
Day 13
Cover for "The Sickness unto Death" by Søren Kierkegaard
December 6, 2024 at 4:35 AM
bk4us.com
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#booksky #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
Day 12
Cover from "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson
December 5, 2024 at 12:17 AM
bk4us.com
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#booksky #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge
Day 11
Cover for "Introduction to the Theory of Computation" by Michael Sipser
December 4, 2024 at 3:38 AM
bk4us.com
Do you want to know more?
Cover for "Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook" by Edward Luttwak
December 3, 2024 at 10:28 PM