Chris Ostertag
@videograndpa.bsky.social
Media CTO in Austin, though here I speak only for myself. Used to run Video TechOps at IGN. One time I went to Timbuktu. When I'm not building media systems, I enjoy #cooking, #3DPrinting, #music, #cats, and sleeping. he/him
Pinned
Chris Ostertag
@videograndpa.bsky.social
· Jan 20
Remember, doing lots of things all at once is designed to overwhelm. Don’t let it. Take care of yourself. Focus on small things you can do.
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
There is a genuine sadness to this era of tech. This IS the Rot Economy, and what you get when growth is all that matters. Every person defending LLMs is ultimately defending growth itself. It’s not about technology and hasn’t been for a long time. It’s about more things to sell and develop for.
December 24, 2025 at 5:36 AM
There is a genuine sadness to this era of tech. This IS the Rot Economy, and what you get when growth is all that matters. Every person defending LLMs is ultimately defending growth itself. It’s not about technology and hasn’t been for a long time. It’s about more things to sell and develop for.
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
I know #ACA Open Enrollment is chaotic this year but it's still important to #GetCovered if at all possible.
The deadline for January 1st coverage is MIDNIGHT TONIGHT in most states.
Visit HealthCare.gov or your state-based exchange NOW.
The deadline for January 1st coverage is MIDNIGHT TONIGHT in most states.
Visit HealthCare.gov or your state-based exchange NOW.
December 15, 2025 at 9:35 PM
I know #ACA Open Enrollment is chaotic this year but it's still important to #GetCovered if at all possible.
The deadline for January 1st coverage is MIDNIGHT TONIGHT in most states.
Visit HealthCare.gov or your state-based exchange NOW.
The deadline for January 1st coverage is MIDNIGHT TONIGHT in most states.
Visit HealthCare.gov or your state-based exchange NOW.
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
this field biologist does a great job highlighting the insidiousness of AI editing
these one-click AI edit buttons are incredibly appealing to many photographers, amateurs and professionals alike, and are framed as innocuous
this is worth sharing and educating people about
these one-click AI edit buttons are incredibly appealing to many photographers, amateurs and professionals alike, and are framed as innocuous
this is worth sharing and educating people about
December 15, 2025 at 2:21 AM
this field biologist does a great job highlighting the insidiousness of AI editing
these one-click AI edit buttons are incredibly appealing to many photographers, amateurs and professionals alike, and are framed as innocuous
this is worth sharing and educating people about
these one-click AI edit buttons are incredibly appealing to many photographers, amateurs and professionals alike, and are framed as innocuous
this is worth sharing and educating people about
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
Lmfao every AI defense piece is like "AYY I FUCKIN SUCK BRO HOPEFULLY THIS FUCKIN STEAL YOUR SHIT MACHINE WILL MAKE ME SUCK SLIGHTLY LESS OK"
December 14, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Lmfao every AI defense piece is like "AYY I FUCKIN SUCK BRO HOPEFULLY THIS FUCKIN STEAL YOUR SHIT MACHINE WILL MAKE ME SUCK SLIGHTLY LESS OK"
No more PBS in Arkansas. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/b...
Arkansas Public Television Drops PBS
www.nytimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 2:35 PM
No more PBS in Arkansas. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/b...
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
She died of a postpartum hemorrhage. It's a common complication that affects about 1/100 births. I had one when giving birth to my youngest child, but because I gave birth with qualified medical personnel who had quick access to life-saving medication, I survived.
Wellness Influencer Stacey Warnecke, 30, Died from Severe Blood Loss After 'Freebirth' at Home: Reports
Wellness influencer Stacey Warnecke died after suffering severe blood loss during a 'freebirth' at her home, a court in Australia head on Wednesday, Dec. 10
people.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:01 AM
She died of a postpartum hemorrhage. It's a common complication that affects about 1/100 births. I had one when giving birth to my youngest child, but because I gave birth with qualified medical personnel who had quick access to life-saving medication, I survived.
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
'Skull of St. Thomas Aquinas being transported to Fossanova Abbey.'
Photograph by Daniel Ibanez
Photograph by Daniel Ibanez
December 10, 2025 at 5:10 PM
SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
The internet is essential to how people speak, learn, and participate in public life. When access depends on flawed technology or hard-to-obtain documents, we deepen existing inequalities and silence the people who most need these platforms. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
10 (Not So) Hidden Dangers of Age Verification
It’s nearly the end of 2025, and half of the US and the UK now require you to upload your ID or scan your face to watch “sexual content.” A handful of states and Australia now have various
www.eff.org
December 10, 2025 at 9:57 PM
The internet is essential to how people speak, learn, and participate in public life. When access depends on flawed technology or hard-to-obtain documents, we deepen existing inequalities and silence the people who most need these platforms. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
this is spearfishing, which is incredibly effective. AI gives any old bad actor the ability to target victims with a high degree of personalization, and polish that was impossible two or three years ago. people expect scams to look like scams, and when they don’t, they get hustled
There's a tendency to look at these after the fact and go "I would never fall for this" but I have definitely gotten emails from journalists or public figures I don't know, done 5-ish minutes of googling and replied. At first it looks like a totally harmless, plausible message!
December 10, 2025 at 5:29 PM
this is spearfishing, which is incredibly effective. AI gives any old bad actor the ability to target victims with a high degree of personalization, and polish that was impossible two or three years ago. people expect scams to look like scams, and when they don’t, they get hustled
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
1/ One thing that I think is getting understandably overlooked in the coverage of immigration overenforcement is just how wasteful and inefficient ICE is being even when they aren't kidnapping and caging people who should be with their families.
Here's a quick example from my casefiles today:
Here's a quick example from my casefiles today:
December 10, 2025 at 2:49 AM
1/ One thing that I think is getting understandably overlooked in the coverage of immigration overenforcement is just how wasteful and inefficient ICE is being even when they aren't kidnapping and caging people who should be with their families.
Here's a quick example from my casefiles today:
Here's a quick example from my casefiles today:
Gene Simmons says artists not getting paid for radio airplay are being treated “worse than slaves.” #music deadline.com/2025/12/gene...
December 10, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Gene Simmons says artists not getting paid for radio airplay are being treated “worse than slaves.” #music deadline.com/2025/12/gene...
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
I WANT YOU TO USE AI is about the level of half-assed incompetence most executives seem to approach AI with: "go out and get me some AI" "gimme some of that AI" but the problem is a lot of the use cases are not that impressive and a fair amount of work and expense to integrate.
jesus christ
December 9, 2025 at 8:52 PM
I WANT YOU TO USE AI is about the level of half-assed incompetence most executives seem to approach AI with: "go out and get me some AI" "gimme some of that AI" but the problem is a lot of the use cases are not that impressive and a fair amount of work and expense to integrate.
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
My dad abhors any negative comments about immigrants. Asked him recently why he’s so strong on it: ‘Because we’re always happy to take the rich and clever ones. Which means it’s not about disliking immigrants. It’s about disliking the poor and vulnerable. And that’s a bad human instinct.’
December 7, 2025 at 8:31 AM
My dad abhors any negative comments about immigrants. Asked him recently why he’s so strong on it: ‘Because we’re always happy to take the rich and clever ones. Which means it’s not about disliking immigrants. It’s about disliking the poor and vulnerable. And that’s a bad human instinct.’
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
I spend so much time verifying everything now from art to cited sources to photos to historical references to citations to quotes to legal and medical information that it's really hard to fathom how much work AI has collectively added to the world, not reduced
Here's the reality this example illustrates:
It's not even just about people blindly trusting what ChatGPT tells them. LLMs are poisoning the entire information ecosystem. You can't even necessarily trust that the citations in a published paper are real (or a search engine's descriptions of them).
It's not even just about people blindly trusting what ChatGPT tells them. LLMs are poisoning the entire information ecosystem. You can't even necessarily trust that the citations in a published paper are real (or a search engine's descriptions of them).
December 7, 2025 at 2:58 AM
I spend so much time verifying everything now from art to cited sources to photos to historical references to citations to quotes to legal and medical information that it's really hard to fathom how much work AI has collectively added to the world, not reduced
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
December 6, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
Texas earmarked $1.4 billion to help fund flood prevention projects.
But after learning that dozens of communities, including Kerr County, turned down the money, two lawmakers who approved the program acknowledged it was flawed.
With @propublica.org:
But after learning that dozens of communities, including Kerr County, turned down the money, two lawmakers who approved the program acknowledged it was flawed.
With @propublica.org:
Kerr wasn’t the only community to reject state flood grants - The Texas Tribune
Texas earmarked $1.4 billion to help fund flood prevention projects. But after learning that so many communities turned down the money, two lawmakers who approved the program acknowledged it was flawe...
www.texastribune.org
December 3, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Texas earmarked $1.4 billion to help fund flood prevention projects.
But after learning that dozens of communities, including Kerr County, turned down the money, two lawmakers who approved the program acknowledged it was flawed.
With @propublica.org:
But after learning that dozens of communities, including Kerr County, turned down the money, two lawmakers who approved the program acknowledged it was flawed.
With @propublica.org:
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
who decided to call it Secret Santa when Nondisclosure Claus was right there
December 1, 2025 at 10:55 PM
who decided to call it Secret Santa when Nondisclosure Claus was right there
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
December 1, 2025 at 2:07 PM
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
we are well past the point at which anyone who cannot identify bad faith like this is disqualified from commenting on it
the girl and her mother are basically screaming THIS IS A BAD FAITH ATTACK ON TRANS PEOPLE at the top of their lungs and if you can't see that you're stupid or lying
the girl and her mother are basically screaming THIS IS A BAD FAITH ATTACK ON TRANS PEOPLE at the top of their lungs and if you can't see that you're stupid or lying
a lot of people debating the merits of that dogshit essay meanwhile the girl’s mom is retweeting demands to ban all trans people from teaching at any level. it’s forest for the trees shit
December 1, 2025 at 7:40 PM
we are well past the point at which anyone who cannot identify bad faith like this is disqualified from commenting on it
the girl and her mother are basically screaming THIS IS A BAD FAITH ATTACK ON TRANS PEOPLE at the top of their lungs and if you can't see that you're stupid or lying
the girl and her mother are basically screaming THIS IS A BAD FAITH ATTACK ON TRANS PEOPLE at the top of their lungs and if you can't see that you're stupid or lying
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
Remember, the big argument for AI in the arts is that these “artists” have ideas, hundreds of ideas, thousands, all that was stopping them was the hoards of gatekeeping musicians, writers, illustrators… and not that they were lazy and didn’t want to put in the work.
November 29, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Remember, the big argument for AI in the arts is that these “artists” have ideas, hundreds of ideas, thousands, all that was stopping them was the hoards of gatekeeping musicians, writers, illustrators… and not that they were lazy and didn’t want to put in the work.
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
Also, let's be real: Northwestern has just demonstrated that it is not willing to sue the Trump administration even when—like Harvard, or the UC faculty associations and unions that successfully sued—Northwestern has a very good case on multiple legal grounds.
Instead it has paid $75 million.
Instead it has paid $75 million.
November 29, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Also, let's be real: Northwestern has just demonstrated that it is not willing to sue the Trump administration even when—like Harvard, or the UC faculty associations and unions that successfully sued—Northwestern has a very good case on multiple legal grounds.
Instead it has paid $75 million.
Instead it has paid $75 million.
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
Northwestern told its alumni, misleadingly, of “hard red lines we refused to cross: We would not relinquish any control over whom we hire, whom we admit as students, what our faculty teach or how our faculty teach. I would not have signed this agreement without provisions ensuring that is the case."
November 29, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Northwestern told its alumni, misleadingly, of “hard red lines we refused to cross: We would not relinquish any control over whom we hire, whom we admit as students, what our faculty teach or how our faculty teach. I would not have signed this agreement without provisions ensuring that is the case."
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
There's an urgent recall on a subset of FreeStyle Libre 3 and FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus — they show FALSE LOW GLUCOSE READINGS.
The website to check the serial number of your sensors is
www.freestylecheck.com/us-en/home.h...
The website to check the serial number of your sensors is
www.freestylecheck.com/us-en/home.h...
Home | FreeStyle - Abbott
www.freestylecheck.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:37 PM
There's an urgent recall on a subset of FreeStyle Libre 3 and FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus — they show FALSE LOW GLUCOSE READINGS.
The website to check the serial number of your sensors is
www.freestylecheck.com/us-en/home.h...
The website to check the serial number of your sensors is
www.freestylecheck.com/us-en/home.h...
Reposted by Chris Ostertag
Black Friday reminder - that product with a great price being sold by a company with a name that's just a bunch of random letters may end up on our website someday because it explodes.
November 28, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Black Friday reminder - that product with a great price being sold by a company with a name that's just a bunch of random letters may end up on our website someday because it explodes.