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Clive Thompson

@clivethompson.bsky.social

7.2K followers 1.2K following 1K posts

Writer, musician, hobbyist coder. Journalist with Wired / New York Times Magazine / Mother Jones, author of "Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World". Blog at clivethompson.medium.com. Built https://www.weirdoldbookfinder.net/

www.weirdoldbookfinder.net

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Reposted by Clive Thompson

Emily Nussbaum @emilynussbaum.bsky.social · 1d

My profile of the delightful Keri Russell, the darkly funny, surprisingly introverted former New Mickey Mouse Club member who—even after Felicity, The Americans and The Diplomat!—has never fully embraced the idea of herself as an actress: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Keri Russell’s Emotional Transparency Has Anchored Three Decades of TV

But, offscreen, she’s not even sure that she wants to be an actress.

www.newyorker.com

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Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 11d

ack! that is a brutal energy bill ... I'm so sorry

Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 11d

it's certainly worked for me

Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 11d

yeah quite possibly

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Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 11d

precisely

they need to make it sweeter for landlords

also, an intelligent federal government would work hard to create safety standards for "balcony solar", like Germany did -- so renters can buy panels that drape out a window or a balcony: www.wired.com/story/why-ba...

cool stuff if done right!

Why Balcony Solar Panels Haven’t Taken Off in the US

In countries like Germany, balcony-mounted solar panels are all the rage. But from breaker-masking to voltage mismatches, America’s grid isn’t ready for it—yet.

www.wired.com

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Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 11d

lol

I dunno, for me it's definitely worth paying something to have a grid managed

grids are good things! they need to be modernized, but as a technology they're key for clean-energy resilience

Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 11d

that would kind of make a badass sci fi story reall

The Day The Sun Never Rose

Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 11d

oh, they do regular on-the-surface-of-the-roof installs too, I think! But I don't know if they serve connecticut

Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 11d

it really isn't

technically were I ever to sell the place, it'd add to the value, so amortization is not really a big issue in the first place

Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 11d

and oh yeah, my sense is that a lot of these solar door-to-door sales are often for sketchy companies

particularly the ones where you don't own the panels -- the company owns 'em, so there's no/little money upfront

me, I was lucky, I could afford to just *buy* mine, from a legit dealer

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Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 11d

Brooklyn SolarWorks! They're a terrific longtime local company, with amazing leadership and service

they pioneered the "canopy" style -- i.e. panels mounted high off the surface of a flat roof, so you can get lots of panels but leave room for the fire dept to walk around if there's a fire

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Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 11d

(that former post is courtesy of the "tell me you're late-filing your taxes without telling me you're late-filing your taxes")

Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 11d

holy crap, solar panels are productive! even in Brooklyn

our electric bill for all 2024, for an entire house:

$499.29

($240 of this is the monthly connection charge, so: only $260 for actual electricity)

installed in 2018, the panels amortized last year, so now it's just crazy-cheap juice

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Reposted by Clive Thompson

Emily Nussbaum @emilynussbaum.bsky.social · 12d

Excited to head out to Minneapolis for The Minnpost Festival on Saturday! www.minnpost.com/festival-2025/

MinnPost Festival - MinnPost

Tickets on sale now for MinnPost Festival 2025 on Sept. 27. A full day on conversations with local and national newsmakers on Minnesota's future.

www.minnpost.com

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Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 12d

yep yep

New Yorkers are *busy* and in a *rush*, which gets mistaken for rude

but if you really need help they step up immediately

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Reposted by Clive Thompson

Plenary Popehat Power @kenwhite.bsky.social · 12d

If a government tells you that you can’t call it authoritarian, it’s authoritarian.

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Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 12d

Yes! Stuff like this happens all the time — very similar things have happened to me

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Reposted by Clive Thompson

Mo Ryan @moryan.bsky.social · 12d

Anyone who thinks NYC is a crime ridden hellhole… anecdata but still data: I did not realize that I lost my credit card in a large market. Not only did an employee notice & keep it, she gave it to the manager of the mall, who called me back on her personal cell phone to make sure I got it back. 💚🍎

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Reposted by Clive Thompson

Freddy Tran Nager @professorfreddy.bsky.social · 12d

Let there NOT be light… or at least so much of it. Good news about night-friendly street lighting coming to Pittsburgh. Would love to see this emulated by other cities. (Hello, L.A....)

#environment #sustainability

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/c... cc @crosstownla.bsky.social

Why This Pennsylvania City Put Its Streetlights on a Dimmer

www.nytimes.com

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Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 12d

Aha, @metafilter.bsky.social has discovered my "Linkfest" newsletter!

www.metafilter.com/210445/The-o...

that's fun, the newsletter definitely has a metafilterian vibe lol

The opposite of doomscrolling: Clive Thompson's Linkfest

'The opposite of doomscrolling: Every two weeks (roughly) I [Clive Thompson] send you a collection of the best Internet reading I've found -- links to culture, technology, art and science that...

www.metafilter.com

Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 12d

Oh my goodness, this essay: defector.com/i-played-in-...

the writer is super thoughtful and self-reflective, which is great

but my own father was incredibly sporty, played amateur hockey, and was *crushed* that I had zero interest (aversion, really) to sports

kinda drove a wedge between us, tbh

I Played In The NFL. Should I Care If My Son Doesn't Like Football? | Defector

“Look! Over there! That was my first apartment when I moved here to play for the Broncos.” My son could not have cared less about the “playing for the Broncos” part. “Were you on the top floor?” he as...

defector.com

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Reposted by Clive Thompson

Tony Blow @tonyblow.com · 13d

@clivethompson.bsky.social Have you seen this yet?

Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 13d

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 🧵)

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Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 13d

Holy crap I hadn’t seen that!!

the mortal enemies of the briny deep

caught on film

Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 13d

wooo, glad you enjoyed it!

Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · 13d

aha, super cool!