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Jim Gaynor

@jimgaynor.bsky.social
161 followers 154 following 643 posts

Anecdotal Technologist. Photography. Writing. "Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray."

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Reposted by Jim Gaynor
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 12h
(meant to type 1/2 above) I'm not losing hope; many of us are firmly holding the line. But going forward there are going to be two classes of scholar: those that cherish and revel in human thought, creation and discovery, and those that grabbed the first opportunity to ride on a machine's shoulders
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Lately I feel a lot like Eeyore, floating down the river, staring at that big stone in someone else's hands...
An excerpt from "The House at Pooh Corner" by A. A Milne. In an illustration by E.H. Shephard, Pooh is leaning over a bridge holding a large stone. The text reads: 

"That's a very good idea," said Rabbit, and Pooh looked happy again.

"Very," said Eeyore. "When I want to be washed, Pooh, I'll let you know."

"Supposing we hit him by mistake?" said Piglet anxiously.

"Or supposing you missed him by mistake," said Eeyore. "Think of all the possibilities, Piglet, before you settle down to enjoy yourselves."

But Pooh had got the biggest stone he could carry, and was leaning over the bridge, holding it in his paws.
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I usually refrain from Bad Place reposts, but this one merits an exception.
Screenshot of a X post by from Pope Leo XIV's account, which says, "In this era of artificial intelligence, it is becoming urgent to distinguish human art from what machines produce. There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others. Algorithms lack the spark of humanity. For this reason, the Church wishes to renew an alliance with artists and cultural institutions to safeguard our humanity."
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I'm being asked to edit .docx files that show"clarkdown" styles in the ol' Word Styles pane. Looks like an offshoot of Markdown; I even found a two-year-old clarkdown repo. Anyone know which AI tool generates .docx files with these style formats?
Screenshot of the Styles pane of a Word docx file, displaying styles such as Clarkdown Caution, Clarkdown Code, Clarkdown Display, and Clarkdown Highlight.
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Coffeemancer Vanvidum @vanvidum.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
If you want to argue that a given AI model is a conscious being of moral standing, then please address the question of why you're allowed to enslave it.
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Candidates for federal and state elected offices first, with annual retesting. Then we can talk...
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Wes Miller @getwired.com · 27/09/2026
In general, we seem to be hitting the edges of cloud elasticity in several cases in several clouds. It’s unclear what the precise cause of this is, but customers definitely tend to believe it was due to AI build-out (also likely could be >HW cost.) In which case, customers are increasingly hosed…
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MurderBotBot @murderbotbot.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
(Mensah said, “People, please. I’m scheduled to mediate arguments between teenagers on my next commcall home and I need all my patience for that.”)
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Been in Chicago since Tuesday, and the absence of the “Seattle Chill” is really noticeable. It may be a Big City, but Chicago’s still a Midwestern city with all that implies. My peeps.
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MurderBotBot @murderbotbot.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Why the hell does everything have to happen at once?
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Did it take many many years longer than it should have? Definitely. But am I glad to be riding light rail this morning down to SeaTac? Abso-fucking-lutely.
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Joe Ickowski @joeick.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
It's a common mispronunciation, Mamdani actually plans to institute SHIRE law. All NYC employers will have to give paid breaks for Second Breakfast, Elevenses, Luncheon, Afternoon Tea and Dinner. Going on Adventures will not be banned but will be Officially Frowned Upon
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
What the AI said without me asking for a thing: "Would you like me to summarize that for you?" "I can write a reply for you." "Here are some suggested followup questions..." What it feels like: (GIF courtesy of @nedpyle.com, years ago)
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Gosh, I wonder why TMBG's been in head lately? “To make the merry-go-round go faster So that everyone needs to hang on tighter just to keep from being thrown to the wolves.” --They Might Be Giants, "They Might Be Giants." Flood
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
We had a group line (one line, three households) when I was a child in semi-rural Ohio. You cannot scare me.
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Mike Drucker @mikedrucker.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
You’ve gotta use AI because it’s the future. But also it’ll take your job. But also it’ll create a paradise on earth and solve most of our problems. But also it’ll end humanity soon. But also you’ll get left behind if you don’t use it right now.
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
At some point, you grow weary of issuing ignored warnings.
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I was already letting my 1Password sub of over 12 years go for other reasons (like their crappy Electron app), this just makes it all the easier.
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Brett Codes @brettcodes.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
I wrote an essay about why I'm done using AI for coding, even if it costs me my job and career: brettcodes.com/im-done-usin... The basic gist is: AI made me a worse, apathetic programmer. I think it's bad for humanity, the planet, and the craft of software engineering. And I'm done using it.
brettcodes.com
I'm done using AI
Why I'm stopping using AI for coding (and anything else) after using it earnestly for a year and coming to understand the harms it causes on personal, societal, and environmental levels.
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Preeti Chhibber @runwithskizzers.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
love that the vibe for all of us is sort of
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
They say these things come in threes. Tomorrow could be the day.
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Yes. That's what I need.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 25/08/2026
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kottke.org @kottke.org · 24/08/2026
Meat proxy (noun): “A person who forwards AI-generated text, code, or other output without reading, understanding, or validating it. The person acts only as a relay between the AI system and the intended recipient.” [sfisms.org]
sfisms.org
Meat proxy
A person who forwards AI-generated text, code, or other output without reading, understanding, or validating it. The person acts only as a relay between the AI system and the intended recipient.
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Gaynor's Maxim of Necessary Breakage: Normies refuse to acknowledge risk until it impacts them within one degree of separation. Thus, breakage that has visible but minor impact and is quickly remediated is necessary to obtain and retain risk prevention resources.
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MurderBotBot @murderbotbot.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Well, this was just great.
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The Register @theregister.com · 17/08/2026
Agentic AI costs set to balloon fivefold by 2028
theregister.com
Agentic AI costs set to balloon fivefold by 2028
Cheaper tokens won't help when complex workflows consume so many more of them, Gartner warns
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Everything is. Gods, it's so hard to get anyone vaguely associated with tech publishing to listen to anything that isn't.
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Me in 2nd grade: "Oh! 2x3 is the same as 2+2+2!" Teacher who just wanted me to memorize the damn tables, "No it's not, it's 2x3!"
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Knowing I'm not Christian (by studied choice), my ex's mother gave me a "Student's Bible" for Christmas one year. The next year, I gave her a translation of the Tao Te Ching. She was a sweet woman, but it was obvious her sentiment of "just in case you're curious" only went in one direction.
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Ellipsus @ellipsus.com · 04/08/2026
Having faith in authentic creativity means having faith in the human: in the time, labor, and spirit out of which creative community is made.
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
It feels like OpenAI and Anthropic have decided that "our AI broke containment and hacked someone else" is the new hot marketing angle and are trying to one-up each other. When the real story is, "we didn't constrain our AI or airgap our test-bed networks, our opsec is shit."
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Wes Miller @getwired.com · 30/07/2026
BIG (BAD) NEWS: Microsoft to reverse reversal of several years ago, and starting Feb. 2027 you will not be able to exchange a reservation for another if you are utilizing a service that is also available under Savings Plan for Compute or Savings Plan for Database.
techcommunity.microsoft.com
Reservation exchanges for Azure services covered by savings plans end starting Feb. 1, 2027 | Microsoft Community Hub
Starting February 1, 2027, Azure reservation exchanges will no longer be available for services covered by savings plans. This change aligns reservation...
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Which I'm sure is of immense consolation to the people pressured to take the recent early retirement offer, laid off when they didn't take it, and all the Xbox game studios that were utterly savaged.
WSJ headline: Microsoft Profit Jumps 31% as Azure Cloud Sales Surpass $100 Billion. Software giant ends fiscal year with $90 billion in quarterly sales, beats Wall Street expectations.
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MurderBotBot @murderbotbot.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Ugh, self-determination sucks sometimes.
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The Whimsical Muse @whimsicalmuse.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Be the reason your local independent bookstore stays in business.
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kottke.org @kottke.org · 23/07/2026
“A beloved, useful, free website, run carefully by a competent, honest person for nearly thirty years, was crushed between two features of the new AI economy.” (AI bots and prediction market dipshits.) [stephenfollows.com]
stephenfollows.com
What just happened to TheNumbers.com should worry us all
If you work in or around the film industry, there is a decent chance you have used the work of The Numbers this month, whether you realise it or not.
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The Whimsical Muse @whimsicalmuse.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
The world would be a better place with more bookstores, bakeries, greenhouses, libraries, gargoyles, cat rescues, museums, and Oxford commas.
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Looks like my juggling aphorism escaped containment (there's a longer version of it, I won't subject you to it) Maybe it's time to resurrect "Blame the Stick"?
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Sunnyside Studio @sunnysidestudios.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Also, "that's cool, but can you do it on fire?" 😄
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
When I learned to juggle, I discovered "N+1" people. If you juggle 3 items, they want you to do 4. Juggle 4? They ask you to do 5. Ad infinitum. It's always N+1. "Just give them what they want and they'll go away" doesn't work. Whatever you give, they want more. So don't. (See "line must go up".)
text on a CRT screen from the movie War Games.
"A STRANGE GAME. THE ONLY WINNING MOVE IS NOT TO PLAY."
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Dealing with a difficult client and I decided I just - didn't care. And in so doing got my first glimpse of that vaunted "gives no fucks" attitude that's reported to come as you get older. I like it.
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
"People who play golf are the best people." - heard in a recent conversation Writ large, golfers are somewhat monied. They can afford clubs and memberships and have midday time to play nine (or eighteen) holes regularly. So you're kind of self-selecting, and it's more telling than you realize.
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
And speaking of Simulation Theory. I know it originated with an Oxford philosopher, but I'd really like one of it's techbro proponents to be able to give me a concise and coherent summary of Descartes' defense of sensory data.
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
There's a thing called "save scumming" in RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3, where you save your game frequently so can you revert back if you don't like the outcome of an in-game choice. This feels eerily, even scarily, similar. I wonder if Emmie Chang is an adherent of Simulation Theory?
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Todd Vaziri @tvaziri.com · 16/07/2026
“A.I. Movies” www.tiktok.com/@americanbar...
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Matt Rosoff @mattrosoff.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Seems right to me: jamesthomason.com/its-shovels-...
jamesthomason.com
It's shovels all the way down
Memory, guardrails, compression, identity. The whole ecosystem of AI shovel-makers is about to go extinct, killed by the platforms who sell the ground they stand on.
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
William Lemon
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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
your second moment of calm
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Jim Gaynor @jimgaynor.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Some B2B services (including some from Microsoft) won't even let you register with email from a "consumer" domain - google, yahoo, icloud, hotmail, etc But, BUT. A personal email domain costs time, money, and attention. Not everyone has the luxury for option C.
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