Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 5hGitHub Actions being spotty is really forcing me to consider grading all of these assignments I have to grade. 140
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 12hHere's a sign of how Anthropic views the importance of maintaining political relationships: it is hiring a "Political Programs Lead" with a salary range of $295,000-$345,000. www.daybook.com/job/politica... 341
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 04/10/2026A recent fundraising email from Sen. Tommy Tuberville, running for governor of Alabama: 010
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 04/10/2026I don't think the NYT's polling is saying the same thing about Iowa GOV as it is about Texas, imo. In Iowa there's a pretty clear gap, whereas Texas and the others seem like a tossups. Put it this way: I would be more surprised if Hinojosa won than if Sand did. 121
Reposted by Derek WillisSimon Willison @simonwillison.net · 04/10/2026Just published this post about how we’re going to need default hard budget caps on pretty much everything simonwillison.net/2026/Oct/3/d...simonwillison.netWe’re going to need default hard budget caps on pretty much everythingHere’s a product feature which the world is going to need a whole lot more of over the coming months and years: default hard budget caps. I’m talking about the … 2014114
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 04/10/2026"Well done, porch" is the title of a folksy memoir from the South, I think. 040
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Congressional Democrats have issued more policy-oriented press releases than their Republican colleagues in the past, but the two parts are basically equal in the current congress, with about a third being functional: 000
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Doing a little topic modeling of my congressional press release dataset, thanks to @haphazardsoc.bsky.social's topica: 150
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Sung to the tune of Mission of Burma's "This is not a photograph": 020
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Have been to one of these and it was great! cmns.umd.edu/news-events/... 031
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Boise State, Fresno State, Davidson, Hawaii and North Alabama all have four Australians on their rosters, too. 000
Reposted by Derek WillisAction Committee for Transit 👣🚲🚇🚍🚊🧑🏻🦽 @actfortransit.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Mrs. Chen's death equals the number of pedestrians killed in ALL of 2025 in Montgomery County - with three months still to go in the year. Montgomery County's roads are becoming MORE dangerous for pedestrians. @mcdotnow.bsky.social @mdsha.bsky.social 2104
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Prepping my initial cut of 2026-27 #NCAAWBB roster data and TIL is that UTEP has *four* Angolan players on its roster! 100
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 03/10/2026At @terpswbb.bsky.social, Kaila averaged nearly 7 boards a game over her four seasons playing mostly a perimeter role. thescoop.org/umdwbb-data/... 000
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I remain deeply skeptical of proposals to fund journalism via taxation for several reasons, but the idea that we could better organize local journalism around public and private libraries - with a distinct funding model - has some appeal to me. 060
Reposted by Derek Willisjon christian @jonchristian.net · 03/10/2026NEW: After we investigated a company that buys struggling news sites and turns them into AI-powered content mills that churn out garbage using fake journalists and subject matter experts, Google has officially cracked down on the scheme: futurism.com/artificial-i...futurism.comGoogle Updates Guidelines to Punish Sites That Use Fake Bylines and AI-Generated HeadshotsGoogle has updated its guidelines to forbid the use of fake bylines, AI-generated headshots, and other acts of "deception." 311243
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I've started adding more detail to my collection of political fundraising emails, including the ability to see how many emails I have from specific committees/senders: thescoop.org/political-em... 052
Reposted by Derek WillisDerek Powazek @fraying.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Percolating a Take about how emotional immaturity (men who don't think emotions are real) leads to them embracing AI and AI-created works (no person, so no emotions) and so basically adult men with low emotional intelligence led to the AI mess we're in now. 2649
Reposted by Derek Willisinvestigatewest.bsky.social @investigatewest.bsky.social · 02/10/2026For years, the Spokesman-Review staff have raised concerns about editor Rob Curley's leadership, culminating in his suspension in August. @wilsonc.bsky.social and @bydaisy.bsky.social @rangemedia.co report on how Curley lost the faith of his newsroom: www.investigatewest.org/rob-curley-s...investigatewest.orgHow Rob Curley lost the Spokesman-Review newsroomNewsroom staffers tell InvestigateWest and RANGE that concerns about Curley’s leadership festered until his August suspension — weeks before the paper was set to transfer to his nonprofit 1149
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 03/10/2026New fundraising email from Never Surrender, the Trump PAC, started showing up this week: 152
Reposted by Derek WillisJames Newton @jnewt-maps.bsky.social · 02/10/2026A current project of mine is compiling the presidential elections results in Maryland by congressional district, with raw votes totals. I've done 2000-2024, and am now working on digging up 1996 precinct data. Any leads on where I could find that is greatly appreciated. 122
Reposted by Derek WillisChris Morran @themorrancave.bsky.social · 02/10/2026My @propublica.org colleagues have no business running a private school for kids. And yet they were easily able to start schools in two states -- with a third ProPublica Academy pending that would be located inside a North Carolina bar.propublica.orgAlmost Anyone Can Start a Private School. We Put This to the Test.Our reporting has shown how easily people — some with questionable backgrounds — have founded their own private schools in barns, strip malls and other places. That led us to an experiment: If the hur... 418676
Reposted by Derek WillisKieran Healy @kjhealy.co · 01/10/2026I keep seeing this Semafor graph that seems to show the Trump administration’s effect on international visits is comparable to the pandemic. My first thought was “that can’t be true” and indeed it is not. This is monthly data. We only have to Jun/Aug 2026. The lines are over-fitted to the months. 12460133
Reposted by Derek WillisDan Hirschman @asociologist.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Big sigh. Cornell edited its faq after the NYT story about the CUPD omitting details from the victim statement: “Any mention of sharing “all investigatory information” with the district attorney had been removed from the page.” www.wskg.org/regional-new...wskg.orgCornell quietly edits FAQ page about fraternity sexual assault allegations amid public backlashOn Wednesday, the university removed a sentence stating that campus police “shared all investigatory information with the Tompkins County District Attorney's Office.” 210347
Reposted by Derek WillisPhilip N Cohen @philipncohen.com · 01/10/2026Private universities having real police powere has always been a terrible idea, as student activists all understood when these departments where formed. Cornell is putting on a malfeasance clinic that might just help drive this point home 3308
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Show me the cover of an album that, to you, is so good, so perfect, you can’t even believe it was made by mortal humans on earth. Very few things have ordered my identity as this magnificent double-album has. 260
Reposted by Derek WillisOpenElections @openelections.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Very unofficial election results from the August 11 special primary in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama: www.tuscco.com/probate/elec... 001
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Unaffiliated voters are very close to surpassing registered Republicans in Maryland for the first time. A less than 9k gap at the end of August. 031
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 30/09/2026If my native commonwealth would actually promote some of its better parks, that might make things closer. But they do mostly do not, and Maryland has a wider range of options. 000
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Sure, slow start to the day but I did have to disabuse a colleague of the notion that Pennsylvania state parks are superior to Maryland state parks. Worth it. 130
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 29/09/2026You should read this story: www.thebanner.com/community/lo...thebanner.comA Maryland mother’s deportation to Vietnam forces an agonizing choiceForced 9,000 miles from her family, Melissa Tran confronts what comes next for her U.S.-born children. 020
Reposted by Derek WillisSteven Rich @datab.ae · 29/09/2026god bless student journaliststhecut.comHow Student Journalists Broke the ‘Cornell Seven’ Case“Our coverage was absolutely completely raw from the lawsuit and nothing was concealed. At a minimum, that’s what we can do as the student newspaper.” 212140
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 29/09/2026This agency also has led advertising campaigns for several colleges at the University of Maryland: www.lmdagency.com/work/bringin... 095
Reposted by Derek Willisevacide @evacide.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Meta Muse appears to read your Apple messages and upload them to the cloud even if you explicitly tell it not to: appleinsider.com/articles/26/...appleinsider.com 10120341029
Reposted by Derek WillisHer Hoop Stats @herhoopstats.com · 29/09/2026Please consider supporting our @jsteyz.bsky.social's research by taking this survey at tinyurl.com/ucwomenfans They're looking for "Women who identify as women's sport fans" 168
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Happy Annual Fire Safety Report Publication Day! Today, UMD put out its annual listing of the ways that mostly students unintentionally caused fires on campus in the previous year. essr.umd.edu/sites/defaul... 261
Reposted by Derek WillisJake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Whenever you see a pollster or consultant give a take like this, it’s always worth following the money. In this case, Emanuel has paid Anzalone’s firm nearly $300k (maybe more but that’s what I found so far). A consultant class is devouring the Dem Party www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisc... 2263405831