Chris Watson
@curiousmachinery.bsky.social
A colony of microscopic biomachinery suspended in a fluid matrix and fueled by magic. 🩷💜💙
Pinned
For people with power, following the rules is purely theatre and the facade will always drop as soon as it’s inconvenient.
It is a damning indictment of a society’s grasp of reality that this fact could surprise anyone.
It is a damning indictment of a society’s grasp of reality that this fact could surprise anyone.
Reposted by Chris Watson
This year we have sold 31% of the advent calendars that we sold last year 😓
The art is so pretty and colorful 🥺
The facts are so good 🥺
Eels are so cool 🥺
Get an eel facts advent calendar at EelFacts.net
The art is so pretty and colorful 🥺
The facts are so good 🥺
Eels are so cool 🥺
Get an eel facts advent calendar at EelFacts.net
November 9, 2025 at 2:24 PM
This year we have sold 31% of the advent calendars that we sold last year 😓
The art is so pretty and colorful 🥺
The facts are so good 🥺
Eels are so cool 🥺
Get an eel facts advent calendar at EelFacts.net
The art is so pretty and colorful 🥺
The facts are so good 🥺
Eels are so cool 🥺
Get an eel facts advent calendar at EelFacts.net
A free idea for the makers of self-checkout machines:
A customer-facing volume control.
Set an upper limit to avoid abuse, but this way people with hearing issues can make sure it’s audible while those without can decide not to be screamed at by a robot.
A customer-facing volume control.
Set an upper limit to avoid abuse, but this way people with hearing issues can make sure it’s audible while those without can decide not to be screamed at by a robot.
November 13, 2025 at 5:20 AM
A free idea for the makers of self-checkout machines:
A customer-facing volume control.
Set an upper limit to avoid abuse, but this way people with hearing issues can make sure it’s audible while those without can decide not to be screamed at by a robot.
A customer-facing volume control.
Set an upper limit to avoid abuse, but this way people with hearing issues can make sure it’s audible while those without can decide not to be screamed at by a robot.
Reposted by Chris Watson
Senators on the brink of retirement who lived full, wealthy lives and never feared the loss of their own healthcare voting for their constituents to die from their inability to afford the same is treasonous
November 10, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Senators on the brink of retirement who lived full, wealthy lives and never feared the loss of their own healthcare voting for their constituents to die from their inability to afford the same is treasonous
Reposted by Chris Watson
How about we shut down the government for this very popular and specific goal and then, hear me out, we hold out for like a month and a half and then, ok this part is important, after a watershed election where we ran the table, ONLY THEN, fold and don't get the one thing we said we wanted.
November 10, 2025 at 2:31 AM
How about we shut down the government for this very popular and specific goal and then, hear me out, we hold out for like a month and a half and then, ok this part is important, after a watershed election where we ran the table, ONLY THEN, fold and don't get the one thing we said we wanted.
Reinforcing your concerns about public perception will never be empowerment, no matter how much a consumer capitalist edifice tries to sell it to you as such.
November 4, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Reinforcing your concerns about public perception will never be empowerment, no matter how much a consumer capitalist edifice tries to sell it to you as such.
The way grocery stores should respond to this is to point out to the USDA that these discounts can’t possibly be said to be going to “SNAP paying customers” as no one is currently receiving SNAP benefits, so by their own wording no rules are being broken.
The USDA sent an email to grocery stores telling them they are prohibited from offering special discounts to customers affected by the SNAP funding lapse.
I'm aware of at least 2 stores that had offered struggling customers a discount, then withdrew it after receiving this email
I'm aware of at least 2 stores that had offered struggling customers a discount, then withdrew it after receiving this email
November 3, 2025 at 5:30 AM
The way grocery stores should respond to this is to point out to the USDA that these discounts can’t possibly be said to be going to “SNAP paying customers” as no one is currently receiving SNAP benefits, so by their own wording no rules are being broken.
Both “like” and “dislike” buttons are the actual worst part of any social media system. Their very essence is the pinnacle of toxic, brain-hijacking, data-farming social poison and I will absolutely die on this hill.
They should never have been created in the first place.
They should never have been created in the first place.
“As users ‘dislike’ posts, the system will learn what sort of content they want to see less of. This will help to inform more than just how content is ranked in feeds, but also reply rankings.”
Bluesky hits 40 million users, introduces 'dislikes' beta | TechCrunch
As users "dislike" posts, the system will learn what sort of content they want to see less of. This will help to inform more than just how content is ranked in feeds, but also reply rankings.
techcrunch.com
October 31, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Both “like” and “dislike” buttons are the actual worst part of any social media system. Their very essence is the pinnacle of toxic, brain-hijacking, data-farming social poison and I will absolutely die on this hill.
They should never have been created in the first place.
They should never have been created in the first place.
Ok, on an unserious note (kinda), why don’t the manufacturers of aluminum cans put the tab facing the other way up? That way the side you’re hooking your fingertip under isn’t the side with the sharp folded edges.
Wouldn’t smooth-side down make *way* more sense?
Wouldn’t smooth-side down make *way* more sense?
October 31, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Ok, on an unserious note (kinda), why don’t the manufacturers of aluminum cans put the tab facing the other way up? That way the side you’re hooking your fingertip under isn’t the side with the sharp folded edges.
Wouldn’t smooth-side down make *way* more sense?
Wouldn’t smooth-side down make *way* more sense?
My hot take is that seeing a romantic relationship as a social commodity is an extremely capitalist stance and it’s no wonder people don’t feel fulfilled when they view their partner as an accessory.
October 31, 2025 at 6:45 PM
My hot take is that seeing a romantic relationship as a social commodity is an extremely capitalist stance and it’s no wonder people don’t feel fulfilled when they view their partner as an accessory.
I have been complimented for this shirt by total strangers *multiple* times.
I'm doing another print run of these "Biology is Bigger than Binaries" shirts!
Back, quite literally, by popular demand. Bullying works, sure, but so does a bunch of nice cutie patooties politely asking!
Order 'em now, I'll mail 'em in early November.
SquidFacts.net
Back, quite literally, by popular demand. Bullying works, sure, but so does a bunch of nice cutie patooties politely asking!
Order 'em now, I'll mail 'em in early November.
SquidFacts.net
October 30, 2025 at 11:20 PM
I have been complimented for this shirt by total strangers *multiple* times.
The Autistic Experience™️
-If you see something is bad before everyone else & say so, you’re “unreasonable.”
-If you point out that you were right after everyone else sees it, you’re “inconsiderate”.
-If you don’t say anything until everyone else sees it, you’re “unhelpful”.
-If you see something is bad before everyone else & say so, you’re “unreasonable.”
-If you point out that you were right after everyone else sees it, you’re “inconsiderate”.
-If you don’t say anything until everyone else sees it, you’re “unhelpful”.
a man with his eyes closed and the word of course written on the bottom
Alt: David from Schitt’s Creek putting a hand over his face in exasperation with the caption, “of course”.
media.tenor.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:37 PM
The Autistic Experience™️
-If you see something is bad before everyone else & say so, you’re “unreasonable.”
-If you point out that you were right after everyone else sees it, you’re “inconsiderate”.
-If you don’t say anything until everyone else sees it, you’re “unhelpful”.
-If you see something is bad before everyone else & say so, you’re “unreasonable.”
-If you point out that you were right after everyone else sees it, you’re “inconsiderate”.
-If you don’t say anything until everyone else sees it, you’re “unhelpful”.
There is a tremendous difference between celebrating your inclusion in a group versus celebrating others’ exclusion from a group.
When the focus of a community is on its exclusivity rather than what its members have in common, then its only real purpose is to celebrate segregation.
When the focus of a community is on its exclusivity rather than what its members have in common, then its only real purpose is to celebrate segregation.
October 27, 2025 at 5:55 AM
There is a tremendous difference between celebrating your inclusion in a group versus celebrating others’ exclusion from a group.
When the focus of a community is on its exclusivity rather than what its members have in common, then its only real purpose is to celebrate segregation.
When the focus of a community is on its exclusivity rather than what its members have in common, then its only real purpose is to celebrate segregation.
If you had told me when I was younger that we’d see both the birth and subsequent destruction of the internet within the same lifetime, I would not have believed you.
What a weird little chapter in future history books this will be.
What a weird little chapter in future history books this will be.
October 15, 2025 at 4:13 AM
If you had told me when I was younger that we’d see both the birth and subsequent destruction of the internet within the same lifetime, I would not have believed you.
What a weird little chapter in future history books this will be.
What a weird little chapter in future history books this will be.
“Some people are expendable.”
-Every Major Political Party
-Every Major Political Party
October 8, 2025 at 10:23 PM
“Some people are expendable.”
-Every Major Political Party
-Every Major Political Party
“Sacrifice some people so the rest of us can survive” is perhaps not the winning sales strategy you think it is.
October 8, 2025 at 10:07 PM
“Sacrifice some people so the rest of us can survive” is perhaps not the winning sales strategy you think it is.
Reposted by Chris Watson
This is based solely on personal observation and anecdote so don't take it too seriously but it seems to me that the people who run things and are in charge of things and who own things are almost universally terrible people and that capitalism incentivizes their behavior as a core feature
October 2, 2025 at 7:09 PM
This is based solely on personal observation and anecdote so don't take it too seriously but it seems to me that the people who run things and are in charge of things and who own things are almost universally terrible people and that capitalism incentivizes their behavior as a core feature
The sad reality is that by and large, the people of this country have shown repeatedly that they are perfectly fine with being openly manipulated as long as they also feel like they’re getting something out of it.
October 2, 2025 at 12:18 AM
The sad reality is that by and large, the people of this country have shown repeatedly that they are perfectly fine with being openly manipulated as long as they also feel like they’re getting something out of it.
I’m not sure I understand how a person that claims we need guns for protection can also claim that violence is never the answer.
September 22, 2025 at 7:20 AM
I’m not sure I understand how a person that claims we need guns for protection can also claim that violence is never the answer.
If you think words are not violence, you’ve led an extremely privileged life.
September 17, 2025 at 12:53 AM
If you think words are not violence, you’ve led an extremely privileged life.
Individual anecdotal experience is not a reliable indication of a general trend throughout an entire population even if a seemingly substantial number of people in the comments agree with whatever unsubstantiated nonsense a profit-driven algorithm decided would manifest the most engagement.
September 8, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Individual anecdotal experience is not a reliable indication of a general trend throughout an entire population even if a seemingly substantial number of people in the comments agree with whatever unsubstantiated nonsense a profit-driven algorithm decided would manifest the most engagement.
A lot more people would be better served by flipping the table rather than seeking a seat at it.
September 5, 2025 at 8:08 PM
A lot more people would be better served by flipping the table rather than seeking a seat at it.
This is true of so many industries, and what kills me about it is that nobody ever learns this lesson. Companies just continue to reinvent the wheel because upper management can’t fathom the value they’re losing.
Layoffs wreck studios. Institutional knowledge is SO valuable in the games industry. When you eventually replace that laid off employee, I don’t care if they’ve got 30 years of experience and dozens of games under their belt. They still have to learn the pipeline, the software, the systems.
September 5, 2025 at 6:37 PM
This is true of so many industries, and what kills me about it is that nobody ever learns this lesson. Companies just continue to reinvent the wheel because upper management can’t fathom the value they’re losing.
When artists on social media post a “sketchbook tour” and every page is a finished drawing or painting, it’s the same thing as the people on instagram that only post photos of their vacations.
September 4, 2025 at 8:22 AM
When artists on social media post a “sketchbook tour” and every page is a finished drawing or painting, it’s the same thing as the people on instagram that only post photos of their vacations.
The reason I know I’ll never publish a book is because we exist in a time when people are so bereft of purpose and meaning in their actual lives that they demand all fiction be an incisive critique of their lived reality while looking down their collective noses at whimsical escapism.
August 28, 2025 at 8:11 AM
The reason I know I’ll never publish a book is because we exist in a time when people are so bereft of purpose and meaning in their actual lives that they demand all fiction be an incisive critique of their lived reality while looking down their collective noses at whimsical escapism.
Reposted by Chris Watson
we gotta kill the term content creator man, it's a shit term - whatever you make that's what you make, you're not a machine that makes consumption, kill it.
August 25, 2025 at 7:00 AM
we gotta kill the term content creator man, it's a shit term - whatever you make that's what you make, you're not a machine that makes consumption, kill it.