Day and night and day again...

so so many different people all retweeting this uncritically as if the article is Actually About how hard it is to go for 48 hours without using an AI program yourself. when in fact you can literally see in the Single Sentence of Text that the screenshotter included that the premise of this article is "make as little contact with machine learning as possible" and if you know anything about how anything in the world works it should make perfect sense why that's difficult to do even if you've never touched chatgpt in your life.

it would be soooooo much easier to take the truly adamantly hardline anti ai people more seriously if they took themselves seriously enough to actually engage with the discussion instead of just flipping their lids whenever they see something they assume is on the other side of the culture war from them

like to be clear i dont think this is a great article. i dont think the decision to just group in the kind of AI that helps the city optimize garbage truck routes with the kind of AI that lets harvard students dox you with their sunglasses in real time elucidates anything about the current moment we're living through. it's pretty much clickbait that ends with a big SHRUG instead of any real insight. but it's far from being the stressed-out detox diary of an AI evangelist that people are treating it like it is because of the headline.

the ratio of people in the quotes pointing out that people are misunderstanding the article to people who are saying shit like this is so grim

And that there’s a public comment period OPEN RIGHT NOW? It only has 18 comments. Let’s get this circulating!! Public comment period ends on 11/26/25. If enacted, it would go into effect 12/26/25.

I hope I don’t need to explain why this is a problem, especially in our current administration. But a few key reasons why this is a very bad idea and sets a very bad precedent:

- privacy and security. HIPPA and other privacy laws exist to protect the unnecessary collection of data so that it’s less likely to be leaked. Is this data going to be stored securely? Who will have access to it? For what purpose? What safeguards will be in place to protect the proper use of this data? Surely there could be no reason to collect personally identifiable information about “foreigners” and “aliens”. Surely this wouldn’t be used for mass deportation efforts.

- the public comment is aimed at “the specific collection process as well as costs and benefits” for the process. So in your comment, the most effective arguments will center around how this system is infeasible to implement, cost prohibitive, and has no benefit. Focus on how the collection process will cost a lot of money, infringe on rights to privacy, etc.

Others please feel free to add ideas or template messages!!

It's a pain in the ass, but luckily, a lot can be done digitally. Looks like we're both Americans here.

Here's my ordered list:

RIP to every Afghan (46,319) and Iraqi (210,296) civilians who were murdered in the Global War on Terror.

shower. not a bath, a shower. use water as hot or cold as u like. u dont even need to wash. just get in under the water and let it run over you for a while. sit on the floor if you gotta.

moisturize everything. use whatever lotion u like. unscented? dollar store lotion? fancy ass 48 hour lotion that makes u smell like a field of wildflowers? use whatever you want, and use it all over. 

put on clean, comfortable clothes. 

put on ur favorite underwear. cute black lacy panties? those ridiculous boxers u bought last christmas with candy cane hearts on the butt? put em on.

drink cold water. use ice. if u want, add some mint or lemon for an extra boost.

clean something. doesn’t have to be anything big. organize one drawer of ur desk. wash five dirty dishes. do a load of laundry. scrub the bathroom sink. 

blast music. listen to something upbeat and dancey and loud, something that’s got lots of energy. sing to it, dance to it, even if you suck at both.

make food. don’t just grab a granola bar to munch. take the time and make food. even if it’s ramen. add something special to it, like a hard boiled egg or some veggies. prepare food, it tastes way better, and you’ll feel like you accomplished something. 

make something. write a short story or a poem, draw a picture, color a picture, fold origami, crochet or knit, sculpt something out of clay, anything artistic. even if you don’t think you’re good at it.

go outside. take a walk. sit in the grass. look at the clouds. smell flowers. put your hands in the dirt and feel the soil against your skin.

call someone. call a loved one, a friend, a family member, call a chat service if you have no one else to call. talk to a stranger on the street. have a conversation and listen to someone’s voice. if you can’t, text or email or whatever, just have some social interaction with another person. even if you don’t say much, listen to them.

nowhere sold MOUNTAIN - I mean, I expect players did, once cards were in their hands.

but acquiring cards meant noticing a box lying around, and just….nabbing it? they’d be in weird places - in a skip, wedged high up in a fence, nestled in the branches of a tree? nobody ever saw who left them there, and there was a lot of debate about how MOUNTAIN boxes were sometimes hard to acquire without risking one’s physical safety - but then, that was also bragging rights. especially as harder-to-reach boxes seemed to contain more elusive and sought after cards…

no, I don’t remember anything about the actual gameplay, we never played any MOUNTAIN. alas. I know there were “frame cards” that were literally transparent but for a fancy metallic or holographic border, which I guess upgraded the card they were applied to? frames were super rare, my coworker literally ran up to me in the pub purely to show off the frame he’d just found

EXTREME CRITICALLY ENDANGERED VAQUITAS ARE HAVING BABIES

The 2025 vaquita survey conducted by Sea Shepherd and CONANP Mexico confirms that the vaquita, the world's most endangered marine mammal, is fighting for survival. Researchers estimate a small group of at least 7 to 10 individuals remains, with evidence of recent reproduction including new calves and healthy juveniles. Most significantly, the survey shows no signs of the rapid population decline witnessed in previous years. The footage was obtained within the protected Zero Tolerance Area, a gillnet-free sanctuary that provides a vital refuge for the remaining vaquitas.

Crucially, the survey reveals that vaquitas are now regularly venturing beyond the protected Zero Tolerance Area into northwestern waters, where illegal gillnets make the area deadly. The survival of these last vaquitas, particularly vulnerable mothers and calves, now depends on urgently extending conservation efforts to protect these newly identified habitats. Immediate action is needed to safeguard the species' remaining foothold.

video drones by Fabian Rodriguez/ Sea Shepherd Conservation Society/ CONANP