Cranky Otter
@crankyotter.bsky.social
Distractible disabled engineer seeks distractions. Reader. Not actually an otter.
#inclusive #diverse #gender #bias
#inclusive #diverse #gender #bias
Pinned
Cranky Otter
@crankyotter.bsky.social
· Jan 18
The iPhone14 camera plus a new light bulb in the bathroom & I FINALLY get a picture of my glow in the dark tile grout!!!
The day before I move out😭
The day before I move out😭
Reposted by Cranky Otter
New Zealand's libertarian/ populist/ right wing coalition Government is trying to follow Wesley Streeting's lead in banning puberty blockers.
This is what the New Zealand High Court has just decided (www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases...).
This is what the New Zealand High Court has just decided (www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases...).
![[17] There is also no evidence of a particular need to act urgently to prevent new prescriptions because of some immediate risk to physical health if young people commence treatment. [18] Puberty blockers are reversible. There is no evidence that they affect fertility. If they did, they would hardly be prescribed for children with precocious puberty and they have been prescribed for that purpose for decades. They may alleviate distress for a child who is simply not ready to cope with puberty either because they are too young or because their mental health is such that a delay is recommended. The only evidence-based impact on physical health is on bone density and that impact results from long term use. A period of months until the Judicial Review can be heard is not said to create any issues with bone density for a young person commencing treatment. [19] The evidence relating to mental health outcomes suggests negative outcomes from a ban are a far more immediate concern.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xurjtu2wa2akyi64gab34ahg/bafkreih3dcnwld4y5s4wqdtgps3fdhnnw2jcetmvkit4ictclmkfixiese@jpeg)
December 17, 2025 at 9:59 AM
New Zealand's libertarian/ populist/ right wing coalition Government is trying to follow Wesley Streeting's lead in banning puberty blockers.
This is what the New Zealand High Court has just decided (www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases...).
This is what the New Zealand High Court has just decided (www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases...).
Reposted by Cranky Otter
Power and privilege rot the brain and soul.
These are not smart people.
They are simply people for whom consequences do not typically apply
These are not smart people.
They are simply people for whom consequences do not typically apply
December 17, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Power and privilege rot the brain and soul.
These are not smart people.
They are simply people for whom consequences do not typically apply
These are not smart people.
They are simply people for whom consequences do not typically apply
Reposted by Cranky Otter
I cannot wrap my head around the let's strategy of conceding that the right is correct about everything and offering a more tepid version of it.
Who is that supposed to appeal to?
Who is that supposed to appeal to?
December 17, 2025 at 1:27 PM
I cannot wrap my head around the let's strategy of conceding that the right is correct about everything and offering a more tepid version of it.
Who is that supposed to appeal to?
Who is that supposed to appeal to?
Reposted by Cranky Otter
Again, the big feature of modern capitalism/mercantilism is that The User Is Not The Customer. The customer is the one who's buying the service, and *they* are the one who has to be satisfied with the result. If the user (or the viewer, or the reader) has a less-satisfying experience, well, too bad!
December 12, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Again, the big feature of modern capitalism/mercantilism is that The User Is Not The Customer. The customer is the one who's buying the service, and *they* are the one who has to be satisfied with the result. If the user (or the viewer, or the reader) has a less-satisfying experience, well, too bad!
Reposted by Cranky Otter
Thanks to @jomc.bsky.social, who edited this installment, and will be helping with the next few.
AS ALWAYS, if AI has killed (or diminished, disrupted, transformed, degraded, or impacted) your job, please get in touch and share your story:
[email protected]
AS ALWAYS, if AI has killed (or diminished, disrupted, transformed, degraded, or impacted) your job, please get in touch and share your story:
[email protected]
December 12, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Thanks to @jomc.bsky.social, who edited this installment, and will be helping with the next few.
AS ALWAYS, if AI has killed (or diminished, disrupted, transformed, degraded, or impacted) your job, please get in touch and share your story:
[email protected]
AS ALWAYS, if AI has killed (or diminished, disrupted, transformed, degraded, or impacted) your job, please get in touch and share your story:
[email protected]
Reposted by Cranky Otter
I love that we're reporting on a defendant vigorously, straightforwardly, and responsibly defending itself in a spurious lawsuit as a "twist." As if it's crazy and unheard of for litigants to do this as opposed to just bending over like the CBS, Facebook, and all the others have done.
Pulitzer Board Demands Trump’s Tax and Psych Records in Lawsuit Twist
Donald Trump isn’t going to be happy about this one.
newrepublic.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:12 PM
I love that we're reporting on a defendant vigorously, straightforwardly, and responsibly defending itself in a spurious lawsuit as a "twist." As if it's crazy and unheard of for litigants to do this as opposed to just bending over like the CBS, Facebook, and all the others have done.
Reposted by Cranky Otter
7 Dems joined House Republicans in voting for a bill that would enable ICE agents to strip search 12-year-olds.
Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
Don Davis (NC-01)
Laura Gillen (NY-04)
Jared Golden (ME-02)
Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34)
Adam Gray (CA-13)
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03)
Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
Don Davis (NC-01)
Laura Gillen (NY-04)
Jared Golden (ME-02)
Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34)
Adam Gray (CA-13)
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03)
December 17, 2025 at 4:26 AM
7 Dems joined House Republicans in voting for a bill that would enable ICE agents to strip search 12-year-olds.
Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
Don Davis (NC-01)
Laura Gillen (NY-04)
Jared Golden (ME-02)
Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34)
Adam Gray (CA-13)
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03)
Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
Don Davis (NC-01)
Laura Gillen (NY-04)
Jared Golden (ME-02)
Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34)
Adam Gray (CA-13)
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03)
Article points out US divestment in public education since the 1980s, with private contributions plugging (some) gaps, and consistent efforts to make teaching “more efficient” with tech.
But the learning process is not (immediately) efficient. It takes time & attention from people to educate.
But the learning process is not (immediately) efficient. It takes time & attention from people to educate.
"We envision a resistance that is...a repudiation of the efficiencies that automated algorithmic education falsely promises: a resistance comprising the collective force of small acts of friction."
"How to Resist AI in Education" by me & @cnygren.bsky.social
www.publicbooks.org/four-frictio...
"How to Resist AI in Education" by me & @cnygren.bsky.social
www.publicbooks.org/four-frictio...
Four Frictions: or, How to Resist AI in Education - Public Books
We are calling for resistance to the AI industry’s ongoing capture of higher education.
www.publicbooks.org
December 17, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Article points out US divestment in public education since the 1980s, with private contributions plugging (some) gaps, and consistent efforts to make teaching “more efficient” with tech.
But the learning process is not (immediately) efficient. It takes time & attention from people to educate.
But the learning process is not (immediately) efficient. It takes time & attention from people to educate.
Reposted by Cranky Otter
Literally day one of my “equity, ethics, and social justice in educational technology” class is explaining that our designs express and enact our values. If you’re not considering your values in the design of tech, yes you are. 😕
December 17, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Literally day one of my “equity, ethics, and social justice in educational technology” class is explaining that our designs express and enact our values. If you’re not considering your values in the design of tech, yes you are. 😕
Reposted by Cranky Otter
One is reminded, as ever, of the aristocratic exiles dragging their prejudices back into power in 1815, having learned nothing & forgotten nothing, with nothing to offer but resentment for the brief time in which someone else tried to insist they were not the natural rulers of society.
If you are a white man in media and STILL whining about all the Black/poc/women who "took your jobs" after the absolute bloodbath/backlash and almost violent re-whitening of media, punditry and academia in the past year, you should go to therapy, find god/gods or take up knitting
Just my two cents
Just my two cents
![In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, newsrooms tripped over themselves to stage a “reckoning.” The New York Times solemnly promised “sweeping” reforms—on top of the sweeping reforms it had already promised. The Washington Post declared it would become “the most diverse and inclusive newsroom in the country.” CNN pledged a “sustained commitment” to race coverage, while Bon Appétit confessed that “our mastheads have been far too white for far too long” and that the magazine had “tokenize[d] many BIPOC staffers and contributors.” NPR went further still, declaring that diversity was nothing less than its “North Star.”
These weren’t empty slogans, either. In 2021, new hires at Condé Nast were just 25 percent male and 49 percent white; at the California Times, parent company of The Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune, they were just 39 percent male and 31 percent white. That year ProPublica hired 66 percent women and 58 percent people of color; at NPR, 78 percent of new hires were people of color.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7a4j47j42ezdr3au7pxdlzjt/bafkreiahipy4vqeqt4ik5ls3tnmm4glmal2njjqp6mp3loikkvtsfu2b7i@jpeg)
December 17, 2025 at 1:35 PM
One is reminded, as ever, of the aristocratic exiles dragging their prejudices back into power in 1815, having learned nothing & forgotten nothing, with nothing to offer but resentment for the brief time in which someone else tried to insist they were not the natural rulers of society.
My mom, with a recent AL-amyloidosis diagnosis, went for her chemo to treat it & they sent her to the ER. 10 medical people got involved. Hopefully one of they can figure something out.
She gets good care in MN once they decide she needs care but that threshold is too high.
She gets good care in MN once they decide she needs care but that threshold is too high.
December 17, 2025 at 6:57 PM
My mom, with a recent AL-amyloidosis diagnosis, went for her chemo to treat it & they sent her to the ER. 10 medical people got involved. Hopefully one of they can figure something out.
She gets good care in MN once they decide she needs care but that threshold is too high.
She gets good care in MN once they decide she needs care but that threshold is too high.
Reposted by Cranky Otter
I try to focus on posting about art and comics and not my complaints about the state of everything but GOOD GRIEF
December 17, 2025 at 5:47 AM
I try to focus on posting about art and comics and not my complaints about the state of everything but GOOD GRIEF
Reposted by Cranky Otter
This is the sort of contract that if you were entertaining signing it, your friends should smash through a window, do roll on the floor, leap up in a feral pounce and slap it out of your hands
Behold, if you will, the...astonishing...contract from Shadow Light Press. A rolling 10-year term...payment on profit (but only after costs are recouped)...appropriation of the author's universe if they can't continue the series...and more www.reddit.com/r/Progressio...
From the ProgressionFantasy community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the ProgressionFantasy community
www.reddit.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:50 PM
This is the sort of contract that if you were entertaining signing it, your friends should smash through a window, do roll on the floor, leap up in a feral pounce and slap it out of your hands
Reposted by Cranky Otter
I hear there's discourse about race and employment in the US
December 17, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I hear there's discourse about race and employment in the US
www.wired.com/story/scient...
I have long thought genetics may play a role in susceptibility to disease without being the cause. But genetics research derails other causes
TCE can _cause_ Parkinson’s
(Article doesn’t mention that Covid & other viruses also cause or exacerbate health problems 🫤)
I have long thought genetics may play a role in susceptibility to disease without being the cause. But genetics research derails other causes
TCE can _cause_ Parkinson’s
(Article doesn’t mention that Covid & other viruses also cause or exacerbate health problems 🫤)
Scientists Thought Parkinson’s Was in Our Genes. It Might Be in the Water
New ideas about chronic illness could revolutionize treatment, if we take the research seriously.
www.wired.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:58 PM
www.wired.com/story/scient...
I have long thought genetics may play a role in susceptibility to disease without being the cause. But genetics research derails other causes
TCE can _cause_ Parkinson’s
(Article doesn’t mention that Covid & other viruses also cause or exacerbate health problems 🫤)
I have long thought genetics may play a role in susceptibility to disease without being the cause. But genetics research derails other causes
TCE can _cause_ Parkinson’s
(Article doesn’t mention that Covid & other viruses also cause or exacerbate health problems 🫤)
This is lovely. Always pleased when people make the effort to portray cultures appropriately.
I do think they might have nixed “Alyosha” as Alexei’s nickname because it would confuse English speaking audiences, if it’s not an outright error.
I do think they might have nixed “Alyosha” as Alexei’s nickname because it would confuse English speaking audiences, if it’s not an outright error.
anyway, to make myself stop thinking about awful things, I have written a post about the portrayal of Russians & Russia in Heated Rivalry: www.tumblr.com/ziusik/80292...
December 17, 2025 at 1:59 AM
This is lovely. Always pleased when people make the effort to portray cultures appropriately.
I do think they might have nixed “Alyosha” as Alexei’s nickname because it would confuse English speaking audiences, if it’s not an outright error.
I do think they might have nixed “Alyosha” as Alexei’s nickname because it would confuse English speaking audiences, if it’s not an outright error.
Reposted by Cranky Otter
If you’re a Heated Rivalry fan or member of the LGBTQ community and want to learn a little more about the Russian queer experience right now, here is a little 🧵.
#HeatedRivalry
#HeatedRivalry
Can we talk about how the Heated Rivalry community is making a safe space for queer Russians? I am so intrigued because it’s not a demographic we ever get to hear from and it is making them feel seen 🥰 and safe for once.
December 16, 2025 at 2:21 PM
If you’re a Heated Rivalry fan or member of the LGBTQ community and want to learn a little more about the Russian queer experience right now, here is a little 🧵.
#HeatedRivalry
#HeatedRivalry
Reposted by Cranky Otter
I gave sign languages their own cluster. I have mixed feelings about whether they should visualized that way or branches of a parent spoken language, and want input from people fluent in one.
December 17, 2025 at 12:55 AM
I gave sign languages their own cluster. I have mixed feelings about whether they should visualized that way or branches of a parent spoken language, and want input from people fluent in one.
Reposted by Cranky Otter
I know this is a bold stance in America, but I simply do not believe we should be declaring war on another country for “stealing our oil” when the oil is, in fact, under the ground of that other country
December 17, 2025 at 1:01 AM
I know this is a bold stance in America, but I simply do not believe we should be declaring war on another country for “stealing our oil” when the oil is, in fact, under the ground of that other country
Reposted by Cranky Otter
I keep saying this but no one is connecting the dots. The war is to satisfy legal preconditions for mass removal *domestically* of Latinos (i.e., suddenly a lot of people are going to be “Venezuelan” for purposes of removal). This is 100% Stephen Miller…oil claim is to make grandpa go along
There is no national security logic that would impel the US to want to do regime change in Venezuela. It's simply not that important. I'm not even sure wag the dog is the right metaphor for what's happening here. Seems like an insane misallocation of US national security assets and attention.
Trump: "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled ... It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the USA all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us."
December 17, 2025 at 12:47 AM
I keep saying this but no one is connecting the dots. The war is to satisfy legal preconditions for mass removal *domestically* of Latinos (i.e., suddenly a lot of people are going to be “Venezuelan” for purposes of removal). This is 100% Stephen Miller…oil claim is to make grandpa go along
Reposted by Cranky Otter
NO WAR WITH VENEZUELA
December 17, 2025 at 1:03 AM
NO WAR WITH VENEZUELA
I’m wondering if this is a dynamic pricing fail or something else. I viewed the new Travis Baldree book on my audible app & they offered it for $9.99 (pic 1), which is < 1 credit by enough that I tried to buy it. The transaction went screwy & book didn’t load. My purchase history says it was $10.49.
December 11, 2025 at 9:14 PM
I’m wondering if this is a dynamic pricing fail or something else. I viewed the new Travis Baldree book on my audible app & they offered it for $9.99 (pic 1), which is < 1 credit by enough that I tried to buy it. The transaction went screwy & book didn’t load. My purchase history says it was $10.49.
Reposted by Cranky Otter
The first two bullet points are jargon-dense :(
The key takeaway: Getting a booster that's different from your original shots, and choosing the updated versions that target current variants, gave people substantially better protection against COVID-19 infection
The key takeaway: Getting a booster that's different from your original shots, and choosing the updated versions that target current variants, gave people substantially better protection against COVID-19 infection
December 6, 2025 at 5:58 PM
The first two bullet points are jargon-dense :(
The key takeaway: Getting a booster that's different from your original shots, and choosing the updated versions that target current variants, gave people substantially better protection against COVID-19 infection
The key takeaway: Getting a booster that's different from your original shots, and choosing the updated versions that target current variants, gave people substantially better protection against COVID-19 infection
Reposted by Cranky Otter
"Vaccination sequence matters: Vaccination-first pathways consistently outperformed infection-first pathways."
December 6, 2025 at 5:06 PM
"Vaccination sequence matters: Vaccination-first pathways consistently outperformed infection-first pathways."
Reposted by Cranky Otter
No we're Vax+ers
We absolutely want vaccines but they're the second line of defence not the first.
We know Covid could have been ended in Summer 2020 because several countries did it. They were eventually brought down by the mass of OECD countries refusing to be sane.
We absolutely want vaccines but they're the second line of defence not the first.
We know Covid could have been ended in Summer 2020 because several countries did it. They were eventually brought down by the mass of OECD countries refusing to be sane.
December 7, 2025 at 11:03 AM
No we're Vax+ers
We absolutely want vaccines but they're the second line of defence not the first.
We know Covid could have been ended in Summer 2020 because several countries did it. They were eventually brought down by the mass of OECD countries refusing to be sane.
We absolutely want vaccines but they're the second line of defence not the first.
We know Covid could have been ended in Summer 2020 because several countries did it. They were eventually brought down by the mass of OECD countries refusing to be sane.