CrazyITGuy42
@crazyitguy42.bsky.social
Programmer, animal lover. Loves history, photography, birding, trains, planes.
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
I've waited 3 years to make this post
December 30, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I've waited 3 years to make this post
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
I was talking with my mom a while back about how her mother had lost a baby before my mom was born and she told me about how in the 70s she knew a woman who was going to a support group for infant loss and that my grandmother had disapproved of the entire concept.
“Get out of here and move forward. This never happened. It will shock you how much it never happened.” -- Don Draper
December 31, 2025 at 1:29 AM
I was talking with my mom a while back about how her mother had lost a baby before my mom was born and she told me about how in the 70s she knew a woman who was going to a support group for infant loss and that my grandmother had disapproved of the entire concept.
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
Counterpoint: the NYC subway Metrocard vending machine is unironically one of the single greatest technological achievements in modern history. It was designed to be used by people who had never encountered a computer before and could not read English. It's a genius design miracle and will be missed
December 30, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Counterpoint: the NYC subway Metrocard vending machine is unironically one of the single greatest technological achievements in modern history. It was designed to be used by people who had never encountered a computer before and could not read English. It's a genius design miracle and will be missed
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
I'm going to toot my own horn: I just won a motion to dismiss, after an 18 month wait, in one of my pet project cases. I've mentioned before that, while I practice every facet of wage and hour law, my particular specialty is public contracting. Cases like this are specifically what I mean. 1/x
iapps.courts.state.ny.us
December 29, 2025 at 11:20 PM
I'm going to toot my own horn: I just won a motion to dismiss, after an 18 month wait, in one of my pet project cases. I've mentioned before that, while I practice every facet of wage and hour law, my particular specialty is public contracting. Cases like this are specifically what I mean. 1/x
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
Trump is increasingly worried about his own mortality, and he's trying to use government to create a physical legacy that will outlive him.
Which is why every bit of it must be torn down and smashed to bits.
My latest at Public Notice: www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-rena...
Which is why every bit of it must be torn down and smashed to bits.
My latest at Public Notice: www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-rena...
December 29, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Trump is increasingly worried about his own mortality, and he's trying to use government to create a physical legacy that will outlive him.
Which is why every bit of it must be torn down and smashed to bits.
My latest at Public Notice: www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-rena...
Which is why every bit of it must be torn down and smashed to bits.
My latest at Public Notice: www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-rena...
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
64 days in Chicago: The story of Operation Midway Blitz. Our team fanned out to cover the before, during and after of the federal government’s months-long raid on an American city. This is worth your time to understand the United States today
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/28/c...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/28/c...
64 days in Chicago: The story of Operation Midway Blitz
President Donald Trump’s federal immigration enforcement operation led to most surreal autumn in Chicago history. What happened during those 64 days will be remembered for a long time.
www.chicagotribune.com
December 28, 2025 at 2:20 PM
64 days in Chicago: The story of Operation Midway Blitz. Our team fanned out to cover the before, during and after of the federal government’s months-long raid on an American city. This is worth your time to understand the United States today
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/28/c...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/28/c...
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
I don't know how many times it needs to be said that you absolutely should not let fucking "AI" anywhere near your legal contracts, either in creating them or evaluating them, but apparently it needs to be said at least one more time, so allow me to say it again, here, right now
December 28, 2025 at 5:27 PM
I don't know how many times it needs to be said that you absolutely should not let fucking "AI" anywhere near your legal contracts, either in creating them or evaluating them, but apparently it needs to be said at least one more time, so allow me to say it again, here, right now
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
Today in 1964, Rod Serling’s “Carol for Another Christmas,” one of the most unusual versions of Charles Dickens’ classic story ever shown on television, was broadcast for the first and only time on ABC, the first in a series of programs fully underwritten by Xerox to support the United Nations.
December 28, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Today in 1964, Rod Serling’s “Carol for Another Christmas,” one of the most unusual versions of Charles Dickens’ classic story ever shown on television, was broadcast for the first and only time on ABC, the first in a series of programs fully underwritten by Xerox to support the United Nations.
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
"They found the coats on Thursday morning.
Fifteen winter coats. Good ones, not garbage. Hanging on the chain-link fence outside Lincoln Elementary.No note. No explanation. Just coats zipped up like ghosts waiting for bodies.
Principal Morris freaked out. Called the police. "Could be stolen"
Fifteen winter coats. Good ones, not garbage. Hanging on the chain-link fence outside Lincoln Elementary.No note. No explanation. Just coats zipped up like ghosts waiting for bodies.
Principal Morris freaked out. Called the police. "Could be stolen"
December 27, 2025 at 4:41 PM
"They found the coats on Thursday morning.
Fifteen winter coats. Good ones, not garbage. Hanging on the chain-link fence outside Lincoln Elementary.No note. No explanation. Just coats zipped up like ghosts waiting for bodies.
Principal Morris freaked out. Called the police. "Could be stolen"
Fifteen winter coats. Good ones, not garbage. Hanging on the chain-link fence outside Lincoln Elementary.No note. No explanation. Just coats zipped up like ghosts waiting for bodies.
Principal Morris freaked out. Called the police. "Could be stolen"
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
People not in the US routinely downplay the degree to which law enforcement in this country is willing to kill us.
In grad school I referenced this analysis that found that cops in the US kill more people than "criminals" do in other countries. And that's routine.
In grad school I referenced this analysis that found that cops in the US kill more people than "criminals" do in other countries. And that's routine.
December 28, 2025 at 4:28 AM
People not in the US routinely downplay the degree to which law enforcement in this country is willing to kill us.
In grad school I referenced this analysis that found that cops in the US kill more people than "criminals" do in other countries. And that's routine.
In grad school I referenced this analysis that found that cops in the US kill more people than "criminals" do in other countries. And that's routine.
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
In 2019, the rate of fatal police shootings in the US was 3.1 per million residents. By contrast, the rate in France was 0.14 per million, and in Germany, it was lower.
In Germany, police officers discharged a total of 85 bullets at people in the entire year of 2011.
In Germany, police officers discharged a total of 85 bullets at people in the entire year of 2011.
I’ve said it and I believe it is true
There is a willful forgetting and suppression of the memory of the hundreds of protests that shook this nation for the past decade and a half. So while Canadians and European laypeople whine “Americans don’t do anything,” the Americans are actively suppressed
There is a willful forgetting and suppression of the memory of the hundreds of protests that shook this nation for the past decade and a half. So while Canadians and European laypeople whine “Americans don’t do anything,” the Americans are actively suppressed
December 28, 2025 at 4:59 AM
In 2019, the rate of fatal police shootings in the US was 3.1 per million residents. By contrast, the rate in France was 0.14 per million, and in Germany, it was lower.
In Germany, police officers discharged a total of 85 bullets at people in the entire year of 2011.
In Germany, police officers discharged a total of 85 bullets at people in the entire year of 2011.
How I'm walking out of 2025
December 28, 2025 at 3:39 AM
How I'm walking out of 2025
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
I just taught my lecture course on mid-20th c US history, which starts with Harding and concludes with Nixon.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Corruption so pungent, it wafts right off the page:
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
December 27, 2025 at 9:30 PM
I just taught my lecture course on mid-20th c US history, which starts with Harding and concludes with Nixon.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
Jo Ann Allen Boyce's life was disrupted not only by standard-issue US white supremacy, but also by a particularly virulent strain of American fascism. School integration in Clinton, TN began fairly peaceably, until a neo-Nazi associate of George Lincoln Rockwell named John Kaspar showed up.
Jo Ann Allen Boyce Dies at 84; She was one of the Clinton 12, a group of Black students who faced white mobs when desegregating a Tennessee high school in 1956 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/u...
Jo Ann Allen Boyce Dies at 84; Braved Mobs in Integrating a School
www.nytimes.com
December 27, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Jo Ann Allen Boyce's life was disrupted not only by standard-issue US white supremacy, but also by a particularly virulent strain of American fascism. School integration in Clinton, TN began fairly peaceably, until a neo-Nazi associate of George Lincoln Rockwell named John Kaspar showed up.
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
In the eternal struggle between kakapo and towel, the towel remain triumphant. Towels left in the wild by careless hitchhikers are a contributor to the kakapo's dwindling numbers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBnj...
Kakapo: Crazy Moss Chickens
YouTube video by Dunedin Wildlife Hospital
www.youtube.com
December 27, 2025 at 4:56 PM
In the eternal struggle between kakapo and towel, the towel remain triumphant. Towels left in the wild by careless hitchhikers are a contributor to the kakapo's dwindling numbers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBnj...
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
I love the ~idea~ of being able to interact with a character and get something truly novel and unexpected out of the experience. Like, it ~would~ be neat to go to Westworld and get lost in the 'realness' of the characters, try to push the systems to build an adventure.
But LLMs can't do that
But LLMs can't do that
Essentially, I think that LLM-generated dialogue only makes sense if you believe that the product of writing is words.
But the product of writing isn't words, any more than the product of justice is prisoners, or the product of love is weddings. The product of writing is meaning.
But the product of writing isn't words, any more than the product of justice is prisoners, or the product of love is weddings. The product of writing is meaning.
I had five fascinating conversations for this RPS piece, gathering perspectives on genAI chatbots in games, as seen in Where Winds Meet. Thanks to @meghna.bsky.social, @pyrofoux.bsky.social, @maxkreminski.bsky.social, and @chrisgardiner.bsky.social www.rockpapershotgun.com/horrible-bor...
December 24, 2025 at 1:12 AM
I love the ~idea~ of being able to interact with a character and get something truly novel and unexpected out of the experience. Like, it ~would~ be neat to go to Westworld and get lost in the 'realness' of the characters, try to push the systems to build an adventure.
But LLMs can't do that
But LLMs can't do that
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
An initial analysis of the Trump-class battleships from @MarkCancian at @CSIS.
www.csis.org/analysis/gol...
www.csis.org/analysis/gol...
The Golden Fleet’s Battleship Will Never Sail
The recently announced “Trump” class of battleships is cast as the world’s largest and most powerful ships. But these ships will take years to design, cost $9 billion each, and run counter to the Navy...
www.csis.org
December 24, 2025 at 2:47 AM
An initial analysis of the Trump-class battleships from @MarkCancian at @CSIS.
www.csis.org/analysis/gol...
www.csis.org/analysis/gol...
There have been stranger bug fixes...
fun Weird West dev anecdote: there was a decal on a gun shop that said "riffles" instead of "rifles", i pointed it out in the slack and this was the fix that came through and shipped
December 27, 2025 at 1:57 AM
There have been stranger bug fixes...
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
Trump Unsure What Department He Has To Cut To Make JD Vance Go Away https://theonion.com/trump-unsure-what-department-he-has-to-cut-to-make-jd-vance-go-away/
December 26, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Trump Unsure What Department He Has To Cut To Make JD Vance Go Away https://theonion.com/trump-unsure-what-department-he-has-to-cut-to-make-jd-vance-go-away/
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
Yup.
I'm telling y'all, these dudes don't know anything.🤡
Frank Sinatra was a vocal anti-racist. He fought racism with his actions, his words, and his money.
Actions:
Refused to stay at segregated hotels. Made sure Black artists got paid fairly.
Words:
Literally wrote an article in Ebony Magazine
I'm telling y'all, these dudes don't know anything.🤡
Frank Sinatra was a vocal anti-racist. He fought racism with his actions, his words, and his money.
Actions:
Refused to stay at segregated hotels. Made sure Black artists got paid fairly.
Words:
Literally wrote an article in Ebony Magazine
December 26, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Yup.
I'm telling y'all, these dudes don't know anything.🤡
Frank Sinatra was a vocal anti-racist. He fought racism with his actions, his words, and his money.
Actions:
Refused to stay at segregated hotels. Made sure Black artists got paid fairly.
Words:
Literally wrote an article in Ebony Magazine
I'm telling y'all, these dudes don't know anything.🤡
Frank Sinatra was a vocal anti-racist. He fought racism with his actions, his words, and his money.
Actions:
Refused to stay at segregated hotels. Made sure Black artists got paid fairly.
Words:
Literally wrote an article in Ebony Magazine
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
Executives do NOT know the right questions to ask about technology. They should ask the people who work with it directly. Strangely enough, Salesforce needed to learn this lesson the hard way, when the executives found out that AI was not ready:
maarthandam.com/2025/12/25/s...
maarthandam.com/2025/12/25/s...
Salesforce regrets firing 4000 experienced staff and replacing them with AI
Salesforces has entered a phase of public reckoning after senior executives publicly admitted that the company overestimated AI’s readiness
maarthandam.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Executives do NOT know the right questions to ask about technology. They should ask the people who work with it directly. Strangely enough, Salesforce needed to learn this lesson the hard way, when the executives found out that AI was not ready:
maarthandam.com/2025/12/25/s...
maarthandam.com/2025/12/25/s...
Reposted by CrazyITGuy42
Today, people consider "Yule" synonymous with "Christmas." But centuries ago, Yule meant something different — a pagan mid-winter festival, dating back to pre-Christian Germanic people.
How cozy Yuletide traditions got their start with raging parties and animal sacrifice
Today, people consider "Yule" synonymous with "Christmas." But centuries ago, Yule meant something different — a pagan mid-winter festival, dating back to pre-Christian Germanic people.
n.pr
December 25, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Today, people consider "Yule" synonymous with "Christmas." But centuries ago, Yule meant something different — a pagan mid-winter festival, dating back to pre-Christian Germanic people.