Reposted by Ian McLeanAnn Leckie @annleckie.com · 02/10/2026This! Which tells me, personally, that if they truly believe that its OK to make a sentient being that they enslave, well, they probably think it's ok to do that to humans. 1234176
Ian McLean @mrthewalrus.bsky.social · 02/10/2026My ‘Bond markets are functioning in an orderly manner’ T-shirt is raising a lot of questions etc. 000
Ian McLean @mrthewalrus.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Thread - this framing is one I think more folks should default to as they talk about what the big tech companies. They talk a lot about values and mission and The Future, but what they actually do is almost always what you’d predict from looking at the incentives inherent in their business models. 012
Reposted by Ian McLeanKatie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 25/09/2026I have blamed The agents That hacked Your website And which You probably Reasonably thought I controlled Forgive me I am rich And unaccustomed To taking responsibility 5776462129
Ian McLean @mrthewalrus.bsky.social · 24/09/2026I have been trying to convince product managers of this for years. Hasn’t worked yet. I say ‘it should be opt-in’ and they say ‘you mean the notifications are on by default’ and I say no, and they just kind of look at me, baffled, like I suggested mailing the user an ostrich. 1341
Reposted by Ian McLeanAdam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 23/09/2026I think it's very simple, the bosses agreed with Trump about "wokeness" and this was an excuse to purge anything associated with it bsky.app/profile/trac... 472418409
Reposted by Ian McLean👻madeline bOoOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 19/09/2026If I have ever been subtle about CS Lewis being a bisexual kinkster, I apologise, the subtlety was not intentional 832938
Reposted by Ian McLeanGarth Marenghi's Catbus @catbus.phd · 17/09/2026great art articulates eternal truths 1048501483
Reposted by Ian McLeanShiv Ramdas Mens Rice Activist @nameshiv.bsky.social · 16/09/2026The absolute refusal to learn from anything even once is why you should try not to put the literal stupidest people alive in charge of your country, don't do it again 1139638
Reposted by Ian McLeanNed Raggett @nedraggett.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Okay so @defector.com has had an odd glitch since the site redesign a couple of weeks back where the wrong photo and headline are often put together on the main page and I was going to ask them about fixing it but this just happened and as far as I'm concerned they have to leave it as is. 7270811519
Reposted by Ian McLeanGraham Stark @graham.loadingreadyrun.com · 14/09/2026The comedy we make at LRR… y'know, it could destroy civilization. It's simply SO funny, funnier than any human could conceive, it might be the end of all things. Obviously we're excited, but we also want to acknowledge that our comedy is simply too powerful and there is no choice but to submit. 5252474
Reposted by Ian McLeanAvery Edison @averyedison.com · 10/09/2026feeling increasingly annoyed and disrespected when receiving playful warnings that I have too much email from the email company that got me to sign up for email with them by promising they would have room for all my email forever 532059
Reposted by Ian McLeanDan Hon @danhon.com · 10/09/2026honestly I'm very disappointed at the lack of progress in aligning humans for safety 2102
Reposted by Ian McLeanKatie Mack @astrokatie.com · 09/09/2026AI companies: This technology we’re developing is dangerous and might destroy humanity and we don’t know how to stop it Other people: So we should strictly regulate it, create legislative guard rails, and monitor its development? AI companies: lol no the opposite of all that & give us more money 512310633
Reposted by Ian McLeanSenator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 07/09/2026This Labor Day, if you've ever benefited from: — The weekend — 40-hour work weeks — Workplace safety standards — A minimum wage — Paid time off thank a union. Unions don’t just improve working conditions for their members, they help every American worker. Happy Labor Day! 11740203
Reposted by Ian McLeanderek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 06/09/2026this is the kind of design costume designers make to tell you who are the bad guys in a space movie 1272207283992
Reposted by Ian McLeanJulia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 02/09/2026someone could do a “after moulton rebuke, centrists face growing pressure to retreat from extreme right-wing positions on gender conformity” number that would be fun 91752359
Reposted by Ian McLeanJulia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 02/09/2026so are we gonna get a bunch of political analysis thumbsucker pieces about the cautionary tale of a promising youngish politico who torpedoed his career by latching on to the biological gender extremists who are attempting to drag the Democratic Party into hugely unpopular political waters or nah 263108576
Ian McLean @mrthewalrus.bsky.social · 01/09/2026I dunno, I think it’s pretty plausible that the average consumer regards buying a video game the same way they do buying most anything else: you give someone money, they give you a thing, and now that’s their money and your thing. This is how buying stuff has worked since the invention of money. 110
Reposted by Ian McLeanTyver Foucault @thedoorthedoor.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Your nightmare was found in recent leak on the dark web. We recommend changing your dreams 122957
Reposted by Ian McLeanSarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Yup. I'll say it again: Farmers ain't poor. My colleagues are almost entirely property owners who are middle class on up. Which means middle & upper class property owner culture! For better & for worse. 531263
Reposted by Ian McLeanjamelle @jamellebouie.net · 23/08/2026these people really want to make "racist" akin to a slur rather than what it is, a straightforward label for a set of beliefs and views. if you don't like the label because you, correctly, associate it with degenerate chuds, then get better beliefs 4860121006
Reposted by Ian McLeanMicah @rincewind.run · 21/08/2026the post-covid revolt of the bosses is the biggest factor in the absolute collapse of public support for tech we had a brief window of genuine worker power and they hated it and their primary goal with AI has been to break the workforce so they never have to deal with it again 212367500
Reposted by Ian McLeanJessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Part of the reason a lot of super rich people are so awful is that when normal people get an absurd amount of money, they immediately start looking around for who they can help. 3965771543
Reposted by Ian McLeanDan Olson @foldablehuman.bsky.social · 17/08/2026Crystal is coming to stay in Calgary for a couple months and will be here for her birthday, so she has requested I get all y'all to send her postcards from your hometown. Don't second guess "well, my hometown is boring", just send! Crystal Donovan PO Box 49104 CALGARY RPO OGDEN, AB, T2C 3W5 1754140
Reposted by Ian McLeantef @tef.bsky.social · 17/08/2026there's a "days without github incident" site and the current streak is six days in a row without a production incident, from back in may 1271
Reposted by Ian McLeanEvan Simko-Bednarski @simko-bednarski.bsky.social · 13/08/2026I have had, and continue to have, good relationships with many flacks over the course of my career, many of whom I can genuinely say are decent people. But never forget that a big part of a flack’s job is to be helpful enough to keep you from seeking out other sources. 1116
Reposted by Ian McLeanAnna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 13/08/2026I talked to this person years ago about a job writing about the ultra wealthy and he told me I was a bad fit because I was obviously going to make jokes about them. I remember this, to be honest, because the hat was present then too www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/b...nytimes.comForbes Fired Top Editor After Discovering He Received Secret $6 Million Payment (Gift Article)Randall Lane, the magazine’s chief content officer, received the money from the founder of Shook Research, which has worked with Forbes on content about wealth advisers. 813242486
Reposted by Ian McLeanCourtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 12/08/2026Progressive wins by small margins: this is proof that the left doesn't have what it takes Progressive loses by small margins: this is proof that the left doesn't have what it takes 9681100
Reposted by Ian McLeanT. Greg Doucette @gregdoucette.bsky.social · 11/08/2026I sometimes find myself wondering how many societal ills could be improved (if not fixed outright) if we just built an epic f*ckload of new housing in every major metro 511026142
Reposted by Ian McLeanBrandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Axios writer: I melted my brain with AI. Not only can I no longer read, but I don't even understand the purpose of reading anymore. Here's how you can also do this. www.axios.com/2026/08/11/r... 49372161667
Reposted by Ian McLeanIan Coldwater 🧊🚫 @lookitup.baby · 11/08/2026post about how new models are changing the discipline of platform engineering, ok, I’ll hear you out what do you MEAN GPUs have feelings and you’re proposing a bill of rights for them are you ok 915010
Reposted by Ian McLeanIan Coldwater 🧊🚫 @lookitup.baby · 11/08/2026you ever read a post by someone saying “reading this author changed the whole way I thought about this!” and then you look up the author and holy shit that person is a fucking wingnut? 61494
Ian McLean @mrthewalrus.bsky.social · 06/08/2026It’s still a work in progress, but my ‘AI is basically drugs’ hypothesis keeps finding more supporting evidence. 011
Reposted by Ian McLeanDan Jordan @danjordan.bsky.social · 05/08/2026This has been a phenomenal use of my limited free time vibecheck.daniel-jordan.com 33114
Reposted by Ian McLeanCarl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 04/08/2026Experts: stupid assholes posting idiotic shit on the Internet can be a huge fucking bummer. 421327
Reposted by Ian McLeanRodger Sherman @rodger.bsky.social · 04/08/2026You can see the very obvious throughline from “men could transition and easily dominate women’s sports” to “women’s sports are lesser and shouldn’t be taken seriously” to “women shouldn’t play sports” to “here are the acceptable life choices for women” 5931173
Reposted by Ian McLeanDavid Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 03/08/2026Seth Moulton was given the chance to make several private equity investments that were not available to everyday investors with defense tech companies he helps oversee on the House Armed Services Committee. They are now worth millions of dollars. Bob Kuttner reports: prospect.org/2026/08/03/s...prospect.orgSeth Moulton’s Sweetheart Deals - The American ProspectIn Rep. Moulton’s upcoming Senate primary challenge, questions about his lucrative investments in defense tech companies may prove more important than incumbent Ed Markey’s age. 712965
Reposted by Ian McLeanCorey Johnson @coreygjohnson.bsky.social · 03/08/2026🧵Alert: The backstory on this story may interest you. Or it may bore you. Either way, here it goes. I first asked the FCC for Chairman Brendan Carr's 2025 financial report on June 24.propublica.orgFCC Commissioners Face Ethics Complaints for Taking Luxury Gifts From ParamountCiting a ProPublica report on Paramount providing luxury Kennedy Center gala tickets to FCC officials, the complaints note that commissioners accepted the gifts while the FCC was reviewing or about to... 10380117
Ian McLean @mrthewalrus.bsky.social · 03/08/2026It’s pretty weird that the most important thing the Times needs us to know about two people dying is ‘they were already sick so it’s okay’. 121
Reposted by Ian McLeanJoel D. Anderson @joelanderson.bsky.social · 01/08/2026It’s pretty jarring we’ve just come to expect that the feds will lie to us and publicize false information and that there is virtually no consequence for it. 311833408
Reposted by Ian McLeanSarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 31/07/2026Yeah so NYT asked me ~2 yrs ago to write an op-ed about how the Colorado is running dry, & what we should do to keep this exact thing from happening. I said "There's only one real answer. Bill farmers by how much water they use. Duh." NYT editorial staff freaked tf out & cancelled the piece. 342859859
Ian McLean @mrthewalrus.bsky.social · 30/07/2026If I might be cynical for a moment, I think the purpose of this is to feed the flags back into their LLM training so they can generate more *convincing* slop in the future. Sorry. 010
Reposted by Ian McLeanMax Gladstone @maxgladstone.bsky.social · 29/07/2026"Try Gemini in Sheets" Archer, asking if we are not doing "phrasing!" any more 1233
Reposted by Ian McLeanSarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 22/07/2026In conclusion: I don't think there's any way to explain this, other than "Trump blindness is real." A lot of our leading citizens- even ones who know how to be responsible, when they have to be- really do see Trump as a get-out-of-jail-free card. 552171
Reposted by Ian McLeanSarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Hear me out: this is even wilder than it looks. Out in the ag world, Taylor Farms was THE instigator for a lot of the big food safety moves for lettuce over the last 20 years. That's a legacy that just should NOT have ended up like this. 241934572
Reposted by Ian McLeanRebecca Watson @skepchick.org · 22/07/2026Political scientists discover shocking data that reveals the major personality trait that leads to people joining authoritarian police forces like ICE: being giant losers. skepchick.org/2026/07/scie...skepchick.orgScientists Find ICE is Full of LosersTranscript: Political scientists recently identified a specific type of person who is an important building block supporting fascist authoritarian regimes throughout world history: giant losers. I’… 1128371
Reposted by Ian McLeanSarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Brief rundown on the real breakdown in law & food policy. What let this Cyclospora outbreak get as big & un-trackable as it is? It's not DOGE! Decades of lobbying by the food industry has gutted ALL KINDS of regulations, for years. slate.com/news-and-pol...slate.comThe Real Trump Scandal in the Explosive Diarrhea Outbreak StorySo much of what’s known points a finger squarely at Taylor Farms. 524888