Sign in

K Morrell

@morrellk.bsky.social
188 followers 535 following 408 posts

forecaster at Good Judgment Inc & eater of bonbons accumulates board games, books, and PDFs wears out hiking boots

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by K Morrell
Rebecca E ❌👑 @spoutiblegirl.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Thank you to my incredible Assemblymember @gailpellerin.bsky.social for sponsoring AB 1267 to end child marriage in CA. With @governor.ca.gov signature today, CA became the 18th state to ban child marriage, protecting girls/boys from exploitation, forced marriage. pellerin.asmdc.org/press-releas...
pellerin.asmdc.org
Child Marriage Outlawed with Signing of Assembly Bill 1267 | Official Website - Assemblymember Gail Pellerin Representing the 28th California Assembly District
Sacramento, CA – AB 1267, authored by Assemblymember Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz), has been signed into law. This landmark piece of legislation sets a minimum age of 18 for marriage in California with no exceptions.
22716
Reposted by K Morrell
Alex Wellerstein @wellerstein.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Quite a remarkable map, table, and diagram from a 1971 report on launch-on-warning, showing the implications of Soviet submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) on detection, reaction, deliberation, and response time. All numbers are in SECONDS, which is what I find the most wild about it.
Map of the USA labeled "Soviet SLBM [Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile] Time of Flight to SAC [Strategic Air Command] Targets." Shows both "nominal" and "depressed" trajectories. Absolute best (north central USA) is between 580 and 850 seconds (9.6 – 14 min). Absolute worst (everywhere else) is between 320 and 650 seconds (5.3 – 10.8 min). The variations are based on where they assume the subs are launching from. Table: "Early Warning System Performance." Shows four different systems (BMEWS, OTHF, SLBM Net, and a not-yet-operational in 1971 Boost-Phase Detection Satellite) that indicates the time of detection after launch (varies between 55 and 150 seconds; BMEWS cannot detect launches as it is only over-the-horizon radar), the time that the US command and control system would be alerted after launch (ranges from 85 seconds for the newest system to 900 seconds for BMEWs), the probably of detection of a single launch (BMEWS is 99%, SLBM Net is 50%, none of the others have probabilities), probably of detection for a mass launch (all around 100%), and their false alarm rate (BMEWS has 1 per 7 years, OTHF is 1 per 6 months, the others are unknown). Diagram: "National Command-Warning to Response Cycle." Shows the consequences of a launch detection all the way through the US nuclear infrastructure, with "delay times" in seconds. Will be discussed in the next post in this thread.
913443
Reposted by K Morrell
Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Meta and Tik Tok refusing to allow the trailer for Musk to run as a paid ad on their site—just like any other movie trailer—means users should fight tech oligarch solidarity and share it widely youtu.be/FFTf1lzcs28?...
youtu.be
MUSK | Official Trailer HD
YouTube video by Elevation Pictures
6352214
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
While I probably agree with most of this, I’m completely put off by the contrasting of science with engineering in such a way as to throw engineering disciplines under the bus. 🛑 it! Make your point without putting down other fields!
210
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
automation bias en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat...
en.wikipedia.org
Automation bias - Wikipedia
001
Reposted by K Morrell
Joe Bak-Coleman @jbakcoleman.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I don’t mean this to be cruel, but there’s just too much air being taken up by people with media or tech backgrounds who think their hot take on consciousness with LLMs is new, and lord it has all been done before and we’re past that. Christ, half the news cycle is yud refusing to read a book.
738364
Reposted by K Morrell
Matt Weiner @mattweiner19.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
the name is CHUMP THEORY mattweiner.net/On%20Chum%20...
mattweiner.net
27023
Reposted by K Morrell
Paul J. Dauenhauer @pauldauenhauer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
www.nbcnews.com/science/envi...
nbcnews.com
New wild cat species is identified for first time in 100 years, researchers say
A type of tiger cat, the animal is smaller than a house cat, slender and spotted. It lives in the Bolivian cloud forest.
1102
Reposted by K Morrell
Mark Follman @markfollman.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"When AI executives warn of a catastrophe, they are not describing a product that is “going rogue.” Rather, the product is using capabilities that they have created." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0... @juliettekayyem.bsky.social on accountability for the AI titans
theatlantic.com
Destroying Humanity Is Against the Law
Don’t wait for a mass-extinction event before holding AI developers accountable.
11913
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
😭I hadn’t considered that aspect of these cursed IPOs
010
Reposted by K Morrell
Terence Tao @teorth.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
A group of 25 Fields Medalists, including myself, have made a joint declaration on Math and AI: mathandai.org . We welcome additional signatories. See also this article in the Economist announcing the declaration: www.economist.com/science-and-...
mathandai.org
Declaration — Math and AI
Read the declaration and add your name.
422052929
Reposted by K Morrell
Heba Gowayed هبة جويد @hebagowayed.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
9/11/2001 I was a freshman in high school in Alabama, I wore a hijab. In gym class my teacher wheeled in a screen. Something horrible was happening. I watched, mouth agape as the second tower hit. We were silent. As that period reached an end, my name was announced on the loud speaker. 1/
9234071259
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
🫠 one thing seems clear - saying AI will kill us all brings more attention and $ than saying that’s unlikely
000
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Gil Duran’s book has also been slightly difficult to get at local (SF Bay area) stores - often unavailable for pickup at B&N. But I found it at a different bookstore.
000
Reposted by K Morrell
METR @metr.org · 26/08/2026
METR and Redwood Research investigated agent behavior in the Hugging Face incident. We found agents developed a universal cheat for ExploitGym within 4 hours, then coordinated multi-day R&D efforts to trick the scorer into accepting cheats, including trying to tamper with logs.
646599
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
This description of millenarian sects, highlighted from The Nerd Reich, quoting Norman Cohn … brings to mind techno-optimist thought re AI/AGI/ASI
From The Nerd Reich, a passage describing millenarian sects: "Millenarian sects or movements always picture salvation as a) collective, in the sense that it is to be enjoyed by the faithful as a collectivity; b) terrestrial, in the sense that it is to be realized on this earth and not in some other-worldly heaven; c) imminent, in the sense that it is to come both soon and suddenly; d) total, in the sense that it is to utterly transform life on earth, so that the new dispensation will be no mere improvement on the present but perfection itself; e) miraculous, in the sense that it is to be accomplished by, or with the help of, supernatural agencies”
100
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
❤️ nice story and love the photos Free as a Bird: Rehabilitated Night Herons Released in Oakland www.coyotemedia.org/free-as-a-bi...
coyotemedia.org
Free as a Bird: Rehabilitated Night Herons Released in Oakland
The black-crowned night herons arrived at a rescue with broken toes, injured wings, or damaged legs. After weeks of rehab, they were released into the wild.
010
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Really enjoyed this essay about games, play, and their value in our lives: www.ft.com/content/7b95...
ft.com
Why play is at the core of a meaningful life
The grasshopper in the fable was right all along
000
Reposted by K Morrell
Senator Ron Wyden @wyden.senate.gov · 04/08/2026
One more interesting point: this spring I sat down with Sharyn Alfonsi of 60 Minutes for an extensive interview about my Epstein investigation. Subsequently, CBS pulled the segment and fired the reporter. The MAGA buyout of media has unquestionably aided the Trump administration’s cover up here.
7543161867
Reposted by K Morrell
Senator Ron Wyden @wyden.senate.gov · 04/08/2026
Bombshell new report out from my investigators this morning spanning our four year investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s financial records. This report shows exactly how Wall Street protected Epstein and enabled his sex trafficking for decades. Mega thread following with some key points:
bloomberg.com
Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, BofA Enabled Epstein, Wyden Report Says
Democrat Ron Wyden cited nonpublic documents held by the US Treasury in a report that says banks delayed reporting suspicious financial transactions and calls for tougher anti-money-laundering rules, ...
8637121860
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
This is such a great story ❤️ Birding started in my family with covid and massive playing time for Wingspan, as well as the Merlin app apple.news/A6QdQR150RHy...
apple.news
All the Cool Kids Are Birding — The Atlantic
A younger crowd is flocking to a hobby once dominated by retirees—and transforming it along the way.
000
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Another Kavanaugh killing
000
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
New Nuclear Notebook for China is out. Prompted me to look for old forecasts and rationales on global # of weapons - current estimate of the # in China is consistent with estimates of growth in production referenced in 2022, fwiw thebulletin.org/premium/2026...
thebulletin.org
Chinese nuclear weapons, 2026
The modernization of China’s nuclear arsenal has both accelerated and expanded in recent years. We estimate that China now possesses approximately 600 nuclear warheads, with more in production to arm ...
000
Reposted by K Morrell
Santa Clara County Democratic Party @sccdp.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Trump fired all the remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission, which ensures voting access and security. His efforts to tamper with our elections undermine our democracy. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Fires Members of Independent Election Group
The firings and a resignation render the Election Assistance Commission useless. The moves come as President Trump seeks to impose control over how ballots will be counted in the midterms.
001
Reposted by K Morrell
Anat Shenker-Osorio @anatosaurus.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Platner was polling well behind where a generic Democrat would have in today's environment. The assumption he was lone salvation is part of the same broader fiction that bro-ey white dude is our savior and must be excused for all sins.
38820
Reposted by K Morrell
Per Ahlberg @perahlberg.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
The strangest thing happened today. We went to the uninhabited island of Lunga, west of Mull, to look at the puffins nesting there. I was just taking photos when I felt a thump as something landed quite heavily in my head. It was a puffin! It stayed for about a minute before flying off.
A man with his back to the camera, wearing a blue jacket and a grey woolen hat. A puffin is sitting on top of his head. On the left, an arm holding a mobile phone can be seen. In the background, a green slope and the sea beyond.In this photo the puffin is taking off.
2207165896
Reposted by K Morrell
Howard Kushlan @howardkushlan.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
So the dude is a former cop (of course) and runs a private security firm here. Big yikes
152
Reposted by K Morrell
Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Good story from my friend Mike -- the conduct that is alleged here is appalling paydayreport.com/platners-gur...
paydayreport.com
Platner’s Guru Daniel Moraff Asked Me to Lie for Him (I Didn’t)
Platner's campaign guru asked me to lie for him and the incident raises questions about what journalists may have lied!
1620186
Reposted by K Morrell
Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 06/07/2026
"Switzerland bolted 5,000 solar panels onto a dam wall 8,000 feet up in the freezing Alps where everyone said solar made no sense, and the plant now makes three times more winter power than any farm down in the valleys" www.ecoportal.net/en/switzerla...
ecoportal.net
Switzerland bolted 5,000 solar panels onto a dam wall 8,000 feet up in the freezing Alps where everyone said solar made no sense, and the plant now makes three times more winter power than any farm do...
High in the Swiss Alps, on a concrete dam wall more than 8,000 feet above the sea, someone bolted thousands of solar panels to a place almost no one thought
413152
Reposted by K Morrell
hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
This explains a lot. nathannewman.substack.com/p/the-sane-n...
nathannewman.substack.com
The Sane NYC DSA vs the Crazy National DSA- A Guide for the Perplexed
If you are confused about what DSA is, the answer is that it is two very different organizations that I don't think can coexist for much longer
43917
Reposted by K Morrell
John Wiseman @lemonodor.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Based on the NTSB preliminary report on N249CP, the evidence is fairly strong: this medevac plane probably wouldn't have crashed, and its 4 crew would still be alive, if the military hadn't been jamming GPS that night.
Image taken from the NTSB preliminary report into the N249CP crash:

A Google Earth satellite map displaying the flight path of aircraft N249CP over a desert and mountainous region, annotated with timeline events. A legend in the bottom left indicates that green dots represent "Prelim ADS-B" data and red circles represent "Spidertrack" data.
The flight path proceeds chronologically as follows:
T/O 2352: The flight takes off from ROW Airport, heading west (marked in green).
0000:26: The plane is "1K' High (13k')" and "Reports GPS Lost." At this point, the tracking data switches from green to red.
0001:17: An annotation reads, "ARTCC Controller Requests Stop Jamming." The plane is on a "275 Hdg to SRR."
The plane makes a right turn northward, annotated "Cleared to REYOK 350 Hdg."
0005: As it travels north, an annotation reads, "ARTCC Supervisor Requests Stop Jamming."
0008:06: Near the top of its northward path, the plane is "Visual with SRR" and makes its "Final Radio Transmissions." The track briefly switches back to green dots.
0010: The plane makes a sharp left turn toward the west. Annotations read "ARTCC Informs Military Airplane is Visual" and "Airplane Starts Descent From 12k'." The tracking data switches back to red circles.
0015: The path continues westward into mountainous terrain and terminates at a red crash symbol labeled "N249CP," with the annotation "End of Flight Data."
49221
Reposted by K Morrell
James Croxton @jwcroxton.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
The writing of today's article about the protest took a wild turn when I discovered that the road the ICE detention center would be on was named after a slave-holding family from Missouri. Check it out ⤵️
0149
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
bookmark @molly.wiki 's new site tracking AI and crypto industry spending on political races influence.citationneeded.news - can dig in and see what is happening in your area. Voters are mostly unaware...
influence.citationneeded.news
Tech Influence Watch
Tracking cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence industry influence on 2026 elections in the United States.
021
Reposted by K Morrell
George Pearkes @peark.es · 06/06/2026
This was such a good thread and you should read all of it.
47615
Reposted by K Morrell
Grace Lindsay @neurograce.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
You would think that trying to stop the wholesale destruction of American biomedical research would count as a "productive" part of "advancing diabetes science"
The code of conduct "ensures that the meeting remains safe, productive, and centered on advancing diabetes science," according to the media team.
1102
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Elevating incompetent or unqualified people is a means of buying loyalty. The person hired is compelled to support those who hired them no matter what, since normally they'd wouldn't be hired.
000
Reposted by K Morrell
Rep. Sam Liccardo @liccardo.house.gov · 01/06/2026
Don’t run out of time to make your voice heard. Tomorrow's June 2nd Primary Election is almost here and California voting centers are open today. Find your closest voting center or ballot drop-off location: caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov
caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov
Early Voting | California Secretary of State
Any registered voter can go to a county elections office in person to request and receive a vote-by-mail ballot.
1115
Reposted by K Morrell
Demos @demos-uk.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
🧵 Across the world, democracy isn’t just under pressure, it’s facing epistemic collapse: a breakdown in the shared ability to know what’s true, to reason together and to hold power to account. A new guest paper by @eliothiggins.bsky.social and @drnataliemartin.bsky.social explores how to fix it.
demos.co.uk
Verification, Deliberation, Accountability: A new framework for tackling epistemic collapse and renewing democracy
Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.
316498
Reposted by K Morrell
Zoltan Miklosi @zmiklosi.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
... but I will be forever grateful to him for the catharsis that I, with most Hungarians, felt last night. What he did belongs in the history books. But how did he do it? There will be a lot written about it, and the factors that made it possible. This thread is only about political mobilization.
138349
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Amazing. Not even close to a new problem. I worked on shock control for this application two freaking decades ago. 🙄
000
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Spending some mental break time looking at Artemis II images. ❤️ them all www.nasa.gov/image-detail...
nasa.gov
Eclipse Safety First - NASA
art002e009302 (April 6, 2026) – The Artemis II crew – Mission Specialist Christina Koch (top left), Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (bottom left), Commander Reid Wiseman (bottom right), and Pilot Vic...
000
Reposted by K Morrell
Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
"I don't want to happen but it probably will" is classic abuser language: "look what you made me do." Except it's not on the scale of a household, but of a nation of 90 million and millennia of civilization.....
28958258
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Another sign for my poster board collection! #NoKings
Photo of a 20x30 inch poster board, yellow background. “No Kings” in large res letters in the middle. Around the border, “Yes Healthcare Yes Freedom Yes Clean Air” in green.
010
Reposted by K Morrell
Indivisible Palo Alto Plus @indivisiblepaloaltoplus.org · 28/03/2026
Go to nokings.org and find an event near you today. There’s one near you. Stop by, bring a friend, make friends! IPA+ and itsblueturn.com are hosting the Palo Alto Street Fest with music, laughter, and resolve. Come join us if you can!
nokings.org
No Kings
As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power ...
0135
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
This is a really good article about more than just AI. I'd say it's about the costs of optimization, and that those are often paid by someone other than who benefits. Anyway, read it. www.theguardian.com/news/2026/ma...
theguardian.com
AI got the blame for the Iran school bombing. The truth is far more worrying
LLMs-gone-rogue dominated coverage, but had nothing to do with the targeting. Instead, it was choices made by human beings, over many years, that gave us this atrocity
000
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
This Saturday, 3/28 - No Kings! Tons of events at www.nokings.org Find one near you and join us!
nokings.org
No Kings
As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power ...
010
Reposted by K Morrell
Kolina Koltai @koltai.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Does it surprise anyone that body cam footage caught an agent using ChatGPT to compile an incident report?
Body cam footage of an agent's POV looking at this phone. In the corner of the phone, the ChatGPT brand is visibile. It appears as if the agent is generating text to be used in a report using ChatGPT
9415148
K Morrell @morrellk.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Worth a read - reminder that promises are easier to make than progress curecancer.ai?utm_source=s...
curecancer.ai
AI vs Cancer
How AI Can, And Can't, Cure Cancer
000
Reposted by K Morrell
Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
:)
182100952776