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Tom Novak

@tomnovak.bsky.social

470 followers 470 following 180 posts

Denit Trust Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus, The George Washington University. Live in Leucadia, California. I study people's relationships with smart things. Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=IK6_rNQAAAAJ&hl=e

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Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · 13d

The last thing I wanted to see in my Discover feed was a video from James Comey pleading his case. Plus with comments disabled because he doesn’t want to hear what anyone has to say.

it’s hard to get past how he screwed up the 2016 election. So it’s block and mute for him.

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · 19d

Have been looking for a list like this. And here it is!

Ryan Teague Beckwith @ryanbeckwith.bsky.social · 19d

If you have an extra $10 a month to spare, here's a list of worker-owned cooperative news sites you might want to support:

• 404 Media
• Defector
• The Flytrap
• Flaming Hydra
• The Appeal
• Aftermath
• Racket
• Hell Gate
• The 51st
• The Colorado Sun
• Range Media
• Discourse Blog
• Pop Heist

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Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · 20d

A 4-pack of 120 Ziploc gallon bags is $25.08 today on Amazon. It was $19.99 in November 2024.

It this 25% inflation? Tariffs? Or just corporate greed?

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · 26d

What Bernie Sanders says about medical science is so obvious you think it doesn’t need to be said.

And yet it does.

RFK Jr does not just reject vaccines. He rejects science and must step down | Bernie Sanders

Kennedy is unfit to be our nation’s leading public health official because he rejects the fundamental principles of modern science

www.theguardian.com

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Sep 1

It was verified in South Park season 27 episode 2.

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Aug 30

For some reason standard AI is priced at $20/month and premium AI is priced at $200/month.

Why?

Is this price based on rigorous consumer research, or was it pulled out of a random butthole?

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Aug 9

Why does Google insist on showing its bad AI search results front and center?

Today it's telling me that Sonoma (version 14) is the latest MacOS.

Of course we are on Sequoia 15.5

Putting bad AI search result at the top of the search page hurts the credibility of everything that comes after.

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Aug 2

“So, how successful has the Norwegian EV strategy been?

Last year, according to the EV Association, 88.9 per cent of all new passenger cars sold in the country were fully electric.”

Meanwhile in the USA we’re burning gas and coal.

apple.news/Ae5beNXnQTqG...

Opinion: How Norway cracked the code for electric-vehicle adoption — The Globe and Mail

As Canada fails to implement compelling incentives for new-car buyers and commit to building EV infrastructure, it can look to Norway for a blueprint

apple.news

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Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Aug 1

The war on science has expanded to include a war on statistics.

stocks.apple.com/Ae3B2qZINTPa...

Trump says he will fire labor statistics chief after weak jobs report — Axios

President Trump said he will fire the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after the independent government agency reported weak jobs numbers for July and the preceding month.

stocks.apple.com

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Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Jul 3

This has a little bit of a mid-century vibe. The new design looks way better to me than the hideous Cracker Barrel stores I associate with highway rest stops decades ago.

apple.news/A14CPow5PRJS...

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Jul 1

If Musk had gone with liberals and the climate-concerned, every other car on the road would have been a Tesla. Can someone please explain the concept of product-market fit to him?

apple.news/A3UCouAzhSu6...

Trump escalates feud with Musk, threatens Tesla, SpaceX support — Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Elon Musk's companies receive from the federal government, in an escalation of the war of words b...

apple.news

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · May 28

That isn’t research. It’s work for hire.

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · May 22

Just another day in Oceanside!

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · May 18

If the universe is a computer simulation, this would go a long way toward explaining why things are so screwed up in the US. We’ve arrived at a very dark and annoying level of the simulation game. Maybe the next level will be better?

www.sciencealert.com/the-universe...

The Universe Is 'Suspiciously' Like a Computer Simulation, Physicist Says

We have long taken it for granted that gravity is one of the basic forces of nature – one of the invisible threads that keeps the universe stitched together.

www.sciencealert.com

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · May 5

A day that begins with Deary’s vinyl EP arriving in the mail from the UK is a good day!

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · May 3

Please make it stop.

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Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Apr 30

More Aloy in NYC...

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Apr 30

Wasn't able to generate enough decay with the daily limit of attempts, but Aloy at the Statue of Liberty...

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Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Apr 30

Aloy in NYC in the style of Horizon Forbidden West, courtesy of Gemini Veo 2.

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Apr 27

ChatGPT o3 deep research predicts new Deary LP in 2025.

"Based on Deary’s release history and the typical progression of a new band, we can expect news on a debut LP or at least new singles in the coming months."

#deary #dreampop #shoegaze

Full analysis:
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gbaff...

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Apr 22

Using ChatGPT o3 for $20/month. After flailing around with deep research, not quite getting what I'm looking for, it tells me I'm almost out of deep research for the month. So sign up for the $200/month service.

I feel like I'm in the Black Mirror "Common People" episode w/ the Rivermind service.

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Apr 22

The one thing alumni are looking at today as they think about their future contributions is how their school is responding to the assault on higher education.

My undergrad school, Oberlin College, signed the AACU statement. My grad institution, UNC, did not.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Over 150 US university presidents sign letter decrying Trump administration

Statement signed by Harvard, Princeton and Brown leaders denounces White House’s ‘undue government intrusion’

www.theguardian.com

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Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Apr 5

Wet Leg is back! Finally!

pitchfork.com/news/wet-leg...

Wet Leg Announce New Album Moisturizer, Share Video for New Song

“Catch These Fists” leads the UK band’s sophomore album

pitchfork.com

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Apr 4

Error of the day from Social Security.

"Bad"?

Tom Novak @tomnovak.bsky.social · Apr 3

Here's the Social Security Website today.