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Joel grayson webbeR

@j15r.com
424 followers 667 following 860 posts

Cofounder @fullstory.com, ex-Googler, reformed game developer, drummer.

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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 17/01/2026
Please read @donmoyn.bsky.social's article, and share far and wide. I knew things were getting bad in the Twin Cities, but this seems much worse than anything we’ve seen in LA or elsewhere. open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...
open.substack.com
Dispatch from the occupation
What life is like in Minneapolis now
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 18/10/2025
Brought to you by the moderately conservative Northern suburbs of Atlanta. #NoKings
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 07/10/2025
Seriously? This banner is at the top of cms.gov (and I assume other federal sites right now). Unless I'm missing something, this is a pretty obvious violation of the Hatch act, no?
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 29/09/2025
These six characters do a remarkably effective job of summarizing the massive self-inflicted wound our nation is engaging in.
"RIP H1B" scrawled across the bottom of the American Recipients of the Nobel Prize monument at the Museum of Natural History in NYC.
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JAW @jaw1.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
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Rise and Resist @riseandresist.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
. 📢 HANDS OFF NYC 📍 Trump Tower, 725 5th Ave, NYC 📆 Sat. Sept. 13 ⏰ 12-1 pm Trump has threatened to send military troops into New York City! Join us at Trump Tower and tell Trump: 🪧HANDS OFF NYC! 🪧 NO TROOPS! 🪧NYC WILL NOT BE OCCUPIED! This is a nonviolent Rise and Resist action. #HandsOffNYC .
Graphic with white background, text is black. Reads Hands of NYC. Image of the statue of liberty
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 01/09/2025
Need yet more reasons to reduce the number of cars stuffed into our cities? Turns out the dark ones parked everywhere can easily increase the temperature in their vicinity by 3.8ºC! Cities must increasingly take heat into account in their design and rules, as they've always done historically.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 31/08/2025
"I had nostrils on all six planes of my skull"
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 31/08/2025
Let's assume this interviewer doesn't have the disproof of this bald faced lie immediately at hand. Then where's the follow-up where they do the legwork to validate or disprove her assertions, and air it in a prominent timeslot? Otherwise it's not journalism, just a mouthpiece for the regime.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 25/08/2025
Can anyone give me the not-horrifically-alarming take on this? Please?!
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 23/08/2025
100% this. Isolation, division, fear, and anger have played no small role in getting us to this point. They won't be the tools that get us back on track. Except maybe a little anger, pointed in the right direction!
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 23/08/2025
Funny what a difference a little financial support makes, especially without onerous means testing. @scottsantens.com in case you're not already aware of this study.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 22/08/2025
📣 QUACK! 🦆
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 22/08/2025
Very glad Google's releasing this data: a median Gemini query burns 0.24 Wh and 0.26 ml of water. That's about 1s of microwave use, and 5 drops of water. Yes, they should release more data, and queries can vary. But it's good to have some transparency. www.technologyreview.com/2025/08/21/1...
technologyreview.com
In a first, Google has released data on how much energy an AI prompt uses
It’s the most transparent estimate yet from one of the big AI companies, and a long-awaited peek behind the curtain for researchers.
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
DC: If you see anything related to Trump’s ride along this evening, send to marisakabas.04 on Signal.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 21/08/2025
I hate that I have to keep saying this in so many different contexts, but... This will go down in history as one of the dumbest self-inflicted wounds any state has managed to pull off.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 21/08/2025
Just ordered this candle. Seems apropos somehow. jdandkateindustries.com/products/rome
jdandkateindustries.com
Fall of Rome-Scented Candle
Light it while you quietly contemplate the impermanence of civilizations and/or candles.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 20/08/2025
If they can bring these pieces together, it will be terrifyingly similar to the (well-documented) use of incarceration for trivial infractions, to create cheap labor in the reconstruction-era South. We already have corrupt school -> private-prison pipelines. So the pieces _are_ coming together...
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 20/08/2025
Does Wendy's know something we don't? MISFORTUNE AWAITS LUCKY YOU
Large Wendy's sign in front of the restaurant, with the text:

MISFORTUNE AWAITS
LUCKY YOU
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 20/08/2025
“all data [...] will be kept securely and treated consistently with the Privacy Act.” Until they begin filing specious complaints to strike voters from the rolls. Anyone doubt that this would be used to nationalize and scale up voter suppression efforts, like we've seen here in GA and elsewhere?
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 17/08/2025
Thanks to @davekarpf.bsky.social for slogging through this garbage so the rest of us don't have to! This is what you get when SV "thinkers" learn to enjoy the smell of their own farts. I'm not a tech pessimist, but this is the kind of thinking that creates far more problems than it solves.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 15/08/2025
TIL @billamend.bsky.social is on here, with some great dunks on the regime. It would be hysterical if the fine people of DC were to rain sandwiches down from the rooftops. If anyone in DC wants to organize a sandwich throwing party, I'll personally pay for about 10k sandwiches. Not joking. DM me.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 14/08/2025
Not the most important part of the story, but why the actual fuck is Antoni dressed like an 1890s robber baron? Oh, and apparently showing up for the insurrection is the main qualification to run the BLS. God help us... www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus... (h/t @donmoyn.bsky.social)
nbcnews.com
Trump Bureau of Labor Statistics nominee was a 'bystander' outside Capitol on Jan. 6, White House says
The White House said E.J. Antoni was in town for meetings unrelated to Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 11/08/2025
This is terrifying: "150 weaponized Firefox extensions. nearly 500 malicious executables. Dozens of phishing websites." Do I have a little schadenfreude about crypto scams? Maybe. But the ability to scale scams this rapidly with AI is concerning. blog.koi.security/greedy-bear-...
blog.koi.security
Greedy Bear —Massive Crypto Wallet Attack Spans Across Multiple Vectors
Today Koi exposes one of the most notorious attack groups we’ve yet to encounter — Greedy Bear. The group lunched a coordinated attack…
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 07/08/2025
This hits a little close to home, but they're not wrong.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 04/08/2025
I don't understand the point this interviewer is making. He says "deliver services by raising revenue, but don't raise taxes". Where the hell does he think revenue comes from? I'm seriously interested if someone can steelman his argument. Because at a glance it makes no sense to me.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 04/08/2025
This is epistemic nihilism -- facts and opinions are interchangeable, and serve only to support a desired outcome. We know the admin behaves this way, but when they ignore science, we must make them say, publicly, "we ignore science in our decisions." See how that resonates with the people.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 01/08/2025
Something tells me the markets aren't going to respond to this with deference to Trump. People tend to behave a bit more rationally when money's on the line.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 01/08/2025
Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Of course not. Of course it came about as part of a "content review" under pressure from the White House. electionlawblog.org?p=151278
electionlawblog.org
"Smithsonian removes Trump from impeachment exhibit in American History Museum" #ELB
Wapo: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in July removed references to President Donald Trump’s two impeachments from an exhibit display. A person familiar with the exhibit plans, w...
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 01/08/2025
I'm really of two minds about this. On one hand, I largely agree with the author (and the hyperloop was an obvious boondoggle). But I do see that Waymo and others have made huge strides in autonomy. I just want to see that progress applied to transit solutions like automated, flexible bus services.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 28/07/2025
The regime is pursuing policies that push the US towards an explicit ethno-state. I can't imagine this would survive constitutional muster (though who knows under the Roberts Court). But the intention is clear, and shares much in common with Putin's resurrection of the Russian Orthodox church.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 28/07/2025
THIS. Now if more parents would realize that the world is actually a lot safer for them than when we were young. When we started spending more time in NYC (vs Atlanta), our teens gained autonomy and confidence very rapidly. I feel far better about them walking and taking the train in NYC.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 27/07/2025
Are we a: (a) Liberal, multicultural democracy? (b) Theocratic ethnostate? Pick one; they're mutually exclusive. IMHO (a) is the only viable option, but make no mistake, (b) is the path many implicitly want, whether they admit to it or not. Accept no argument for a middle path. It doesn't exist.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 27/07/2025
So DHS chases a guy onto private property, refuses to show id or a warrant while forcing themselves in, and arrests employees for "assault" for refusing entry. No probable cause, no warrant, just profiling. Staff calls 911, and the Ontario CA PD does... nothing. And their "statement" is horseshit.
A message from the Ontario Police Department:
"This morning, at approximately 9:45a.m., our officers responded to the possible assault of a federal law enforcement officer in the 500 block of West Holt Blvd. Upon arrival, our officers confirmed that the individuals involved were federal agents acting in an official capacity as they attempted to apprehended a wanted individual. This represented the entirety of our department's role in the situation."

For more information on City policies and procedures: OntarioCA.Gov/ImmigrationResources
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Maria Popova @mariapopova.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
Tired of letting algorithms divine what you care about, decide what you see, and distract you with ads? Try the Marginalian newsletter—an oasis of undistracted inspiration and illumination, free, ad-free, algorithm-free, fully human since 2006: themarginalian.org/newsletter
themarginalian.org
sunday newsletter
If you yearn for depth and delight without the distraction of a social media feed, if you are weary of algorithms deciding what you see and read and constellate into reality, try the Marginalian Su…
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 18/07/2025
Stephen Miller's goons (yes, that fucking guy) are arguing that any attempt to recruit diverse students is illegal. As well as income-based scholarships, because they benefit minorities disproportionately. This is a bald-faced attempt to reinforce racial hierarchies, not establish "meritocracy".
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 14/07/2025
Any functional difference between "inauguration committee" and "Nigerian scammer"? At least the latter contributes to the Nigerian economy. "Sent over $250,000 to a [...] Nigerian scammer, thinking they were donating to President Trump’s inaugural committee." www.theblock.co/post/362339/...
theblock.co
MoonPay executives may have sent $250,000 to Nigerian scammer, DoJ filing suggests
The scammer, likely a man based in Nigeria, used a common tactic to make fraudulent emails appear legitimate.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 13/07/2025
The first time I saw this outside our apartment on West 79th, I had no idea it was a thing. Then this amazing glow started creeping up the street from Riverside. Everyone just stopped what they were doing, and walked into the street to watch. Really a magical moment.
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Sarah E Neville PhD @sarahneville.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
Cuts to federal research will harm my majority-immigrant Environmental Justice community, Chelsea MA. Dr. Madeleine Scammel of @busph.bsky.social and I wrote op-eds in our local paper about the crisis. #standupforscience @standupforscience.bsky.social chelsearecord.com/wp-content/u...
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David Nir @davidnir.com · 09/07/2025
Sometimes (well, oftentimes) @walthickey.bsky.social just nails it www.numlock.com/p/numlock-ne...
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 09/07/2025
Terrifying piece from @404media.co on ICE's use of an existing national insurance claim database to hunt people down. ISO exists to help with insurance claims and fraud. Its use for this purpose is a glaring abuse, and a perfect example of why we need strict limits. www.404media.co/ice-is-searc...
404media.co
ICE Is Searching a Massive Insurance and Medical Bill Database to Find Deportation Targets
The database, called ISO ClaimSearch, is nearly all encompassing and contains details on more than 1.8 billion insurance claims and 58 million medical bills.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 09/07/2025
@hcrichardson.bsky.social is always worth listening to, especially when you're feeling like things are at their darkest. The problem of saving our democracy is *made* of details and complexity. And because none of us can do it alone, we must work together so each can focus on a part of the puzzle.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 09/07/2025
“[T]he use of military courts to hear civilian cases is the essential component of martial law.” If this survives Supreme Court scrutiny, then they've given up entirely on reining in the executive.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 09/07/2025
I have serious envy of these public spaces. I understand that many opposed them, but I'd bet you anything that, as Parisians get used to these spaces, there will be near zero interest in ever going back.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 08/07/2025
You get more of what you incentivize, and less of what you don't. So this means more cars, more parking, more roads. And fewer bikes and pedestrians. Is this _really_ the world we want to build?
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 06/07/2025
How did I miss this way back in 2017? The UK Sunday Herald's TV listing for the Trump inauguration casts it as a Twilight Zone episode featuring an implausible alternate history.
Tongue-in-cheek listing for the 2017 presidential inauguration, casting it as a wildly-implausible Twilight Zone episode.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 06/07/2025
Nailed it.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 04/07/2025
As someone who's been very fortunate in my career, I wholeheartedly agree. Bryant's analogy to VC is interesting: gov't invests in everyone, and the few who achieve outsize success pay back a bit more, keeping the system working for everyone. And helping ensure it's a system we all want to live in.
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 04/07/2025
So, they finish ramming this monstrosity of a bill through Congress, and immediately order 200 Marines into FL to "provide support" to ICE. Having gotten the only thing they wanted from Congress, I worry that they're going to escalate significantly -- who cares if Congress complains now?
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Joel grayson webbeR @j15r.com · 03/07/2025
As if we needed more reasons to rage against this budget bill, it would also shut down CO2 measurements at the Mauna Loa observatory. If they truly believed it was a hoax, then they could just ignore this rounding error of a budget item. This shows they know better. www.cnn.com/2025/07/01/c...
cnn.com
Trump admin tries to kill the most indisputable evidence of human-caused climate change by shuttering observatory | CNN
The Mauna Loa laboratory in Hawaii has measured atmospheric carbon dioxide, which — along with other planet-warming pollution — has led directly to climate change, driving sea level rise, superchargin...
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