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Ben Ricchio

@benricchio.bsky.social
869 followers 692 following 3.1K posts

Chicago native, living near Indy. Web developer. Gardener, with interests in soil ecology, biodiversity, and pollinators. Focused on how to boost civic engagement.

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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 48m
If AI demotivates people to discover; if there's always a looming threat that others' contributions will go unnoticed because of AI's late-stage contributions, then AI will do for research what the Borg do for a race: stifle discovery and growth.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 1h
AI needs prompts and parameters, and depends on other's hard work in order to solve problems. It will never imagine, or formulate hypotheses, or create. But that is the ecosystem that AI destroys. Why venture to discover something if AI can piggyback off others' work and take credit for it?
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TonyHQ @tonyhq1985.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 4h
Without Starlink's services, it's difficult to imagine how SpaceX has a profitable arm at all. For that company to have received so much taxpayer assistance, they should have absolutely no say in deciding how/when to cut off another sovereign state's service.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 4h
Except that it costs ~$74M per launch, not including the cost to build the Starlink satellites (and the aforementioned costs for labor, R&D, etc). Not to mention: Musk's salary. Without government funding, SpaceX would have massive debt. It should already be nationalized. The taxpayers financed it
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 4h
The overwhelming majority of SpaceX launches are to send Starlink satellites into orbit. To be clear: the money that SpaceX spends on materials, research, testing and labor, is mostly used to launch its own products into space. The profit (ROI), presumably, comes from selling Starlink services
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 5h
"it was the vandals with the handles!"
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 10h
The mom can deny the racism all she wants, but her daughter will outlive her, and she'll be the one to define her mom's legacy for generations afterward. That's the take-home message for millions of others who voted for Trump. They've sealed their legacy.
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Alina Pereverzieva 🇺🇦 @perevaa.bsky.social · 21h
13-year-old Kseniia Pikalova might well have been outraged by the Starlink restrictions #Musk imposed without warning. But she never will be – because a Russian Smerch rocket attack killed her, her mother, and her grandmother on October 12.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 17h
But if she wins, that will speak volumes about how much the aggravation with Trump has permeated ("trickled down") to the local level.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
static.klipy.com
Troy McClure Laughing
Alt: Troy McClure, pretending to laugh
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
It's really funny to imagine David Brooks explaining himself to his ex in a 1-on-1 conversation, by verbally repeating verbatim what he wrote here. Can you imagine someone speaking to you like this?
But why did Mr. Brooks end up this way? Because, damn it, he cared too damn much!

Driftglass then cites this text from Brooks' column: 

Workaholism is a form of emotional self-estrangement. Workaholics are so consumed by their professional activities that their feelings don’t inform their most fundamental decisions. The professional role comes to dominate the personality and encroaches on the normal intimacies of the soul. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones once put it, whole cemeteries could be filled with the sad tombstone: “Born a man, died a doctor.”
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There’s a larger lesson here, especially for people who have found a career and vocation that feels fulfilling. Even a socially good vocation can swallow you up and make you lose a sense of your own voice. Maybe it’s doubly important that people with fulfilling vocations develop, and be seen to develop, sanctuaries outside them: in play, solitude, family, faith, hobbies and leisure.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
He's no Dr. Doom. Dr. Doom had ACTUAL bots.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
"And just look at out excited the children are to see her!"
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
"Allow me to summarize this transaction: You wish to purchase Bonestorm for $0.99, a loss to me of $59 (opens register) Oh, please take my $59. I don't care." youtu.be/KO-3swwx6r0?...
youtu.be
Bart tries to buy Bonestorm from The Android's Dungeon
YouTube video by CartiTarti
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
It's important to remember that when members of Congress bring up past-legislation that bans the import of Russian oil, Donald Trump has absolutely no idea what they're talking about. He basically checked-out from 2021 to 2025. He literally has no idea what happened. He's an idiot. Full-stop.
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Michelle says: Be kind. Always. ❤️ @snarkysillysad.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Divers free a whale shark from rope that enwrapped it for years: #AGoodPlace Source: www.reddit.com/r/interestin...
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
In what UNIVERSE do... FEDERAL prosecutors submit redacted documents, wherein the redactions include the NAMES OF THE ATTORNEYS REPRESENTING... THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT?!
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
If you look at the text in this social media post about marked ballots, it is verbatim the text that Politifact cites when it debunks that claim. Thanks @nilsjonsson.com for sharing the Politifact link. bsky.app/profile/darr...
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
I can't think of a time that David Brooks ever said it was time for Trump "to shut up".
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Ambassador Ken Fairfax (ret) @portlandken.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Trump's plan to disrupt the election is already underway, with troops standing menacingly at a DC ballot drop box. Under 18 U.S. Code § 592, it is illegal for armed troops to be "at any place where a general or special election is held," yet there they are.
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judithanne.bsky.social @judithanne.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
That wasn't the line. The line was = high gas prices.
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darren32359.bsky.social @darren32359.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
🔥 @jumaane.bsky.social : “They’re going to try to make the gentleman they shot the worst human you’ve ever heard of… a father picking up his child was shot by a rogue agency controlled by Trump. That’s what occurred. He represents evil. He is doing the Devil’s work.” #AbolishICE
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Excellent reference.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
"I wanna set the record straight: I thought the cop was a prostitute." youtu.be/CS1sECMHrvA?...
youtu.be
Homer Simpson - Prostitute
YouTube video by Dylan
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Corey Lewandowski is long-overdue for a reckoning.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Exactly.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Makes sense. Accountants make for good investigators for the IRS. I can see why Vance would be against that.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Why hand them trillions of dollars at all? We all know that whatever work is eliminated by AI's efficiencies will be replaced with new work to occupy the same amount of time. I mean, c'mon: WE'RE TALKING ABOUT JEFF BEZOS, HERE. Y'know, the guy behind grueling work conditions at Amazon warehouses?
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
We need to be an unstoppable force of good, driven by sheer will, that stands in defiance of every ultra-Conservative tendency he has. I'll be happy when I can watch his reaction, as his party loses one election after another, and he realizes he won't live long enough to see his party rebound.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
The best thing Democrats can do now is find ways to win over non-voters. People like the guy in that video are irredeemable, and rather than shout at him or belittle him, I'd be much happier seeing majorities vote to take away everything-Republican that that guy loves.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Makes me wish the next Democrat President would get revenge by going after Confederate statues. Do what former Chicago-mayor Richard M. Daley did to Meigs Field: Show up overnight with an army of construction vehicles, and just destroy them. People can find out they're all gone in the morning.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
When it DOES come into focus, there's going to be a reckoning, and I am positive that the youngest Trump voters today, are going to be dealing with the guilt far longer than anyone else.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
It only took 2 years of Trump's policies to make voters feel this frustrated. Long term, that kind of Conservatism cannot last. Eventually, more people are going to come to their senses. We're still in the "fog of war" stage, where the totality of poor voting-decisions hasn't come into focus.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Awesome of the Jets to celebrate their interception BEFORE the referee explains that the flag was for Jets doing an illegal facemask
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WuTangIsForTheChildren @wutangforchildren.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Jack Smith….man of the people at the Power to the People concert hanging out on the lawn….no fancy pavilion seats or backstage laminate pass
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I don't approve of this mega-merger at all, and I certainly don't approve of the people behind it, nor the impact this will have on many employees of these brands. Having said that, there are plenty of things people can do with their day besides watch TV. This merger CAN be made a failure. Quickly.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It's difficult to read that article, and then read this Atlantic article, and not think of the sudden and ill-predicted consequences that might come from a whole bunch of people getting into construction. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1...
theatlantic.com
Time to Consider Becoming a Bricklayer
College degrees hold less value, while jobs in the trades are booming.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
An intaglio (geoglyphic), dated at least 2000 years older than Stonehenge or the oldest Egyptian pyramid, was carved right through by a bulldozer, as part of border wall construction: www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
A comparison of images of the site of the fish-shaped intaglio (geoglyphic) before and after the border wall construction.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Yep
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
In most States, unemployment insurance (UI) averages ~26 weeks. In either case, once an individual runs out of Ul, they're likely to stop filing for it, right? But UI numbers are based on the number filed, right? So, couldn't the actual number of unemployed be much higher?
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Ben K. @benjaminkabak.com · 01/10/2026
I have seen many of you say "Donald Trump's brain is mush" and I was not prepared for how bad this is.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This reminds me of a MadTV skit where a writer for "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" floats some other ideas past Regis Philbin: WRITER: "Who Wants To Wrestle A Million Bears"? REGIS: ...What? WRITER: Yeah, like maybe you start off wrestling a hundred bears and then work your way up to a million?
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Oh, I'm sure someone with her tenure could bounce back. I also think someone who has been at the same department for 27 years probably wasn't thinking much about her next job somewhere else. I would assume that someone who put in 27 years didn't have a backup plan at the forefront of her mind.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Oh I know Jack Smith wasn't in Atlanta. I'm saying that Eric Schmitt attempted to make Jack Smith look like a liar, and his plan fell flat on its face. So now that Schmitt is humiliated, he's going to double-down and incorrigibly say that he "feels" like Jack Smith lied because he's got nothing else
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
When the Biden economy was "the envy of the world", Fox News focused on how it thought people "felt" about the economy, because they couldn't win on facts. In the same way, Eric Schmitt can't prove Jack Smith perjured himself, so he'll talk about why he "feels" like Smith perjured himself instead.
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Nailed it ⛽️ 🤷🏻‍♀️
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
It's equal-parts a story about Trump's persistence to disrupt the midterm elections, and a story about the people who tried (or didn't try) to resist Trump's executive orders, for fear of retribution. It's encouraging that so many people care about preventing Trump from meddling, though.
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Ben Ricchio @benricchio.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
A counterpoint: You can be disqualified and still get the job. www.youtube.com/watch?v=19Zx...
youtube.com
Marco Rubio Pauses Speech for Water Break
YouTube video by ABC News
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