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Penni W.

@penumbrawhirl.bsky.social
462 followers 907 following 530 posts

"You’re on Earth. There’s no cure for that."—Samuel Beckett | GOP delenda est

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Reposted by Penni W.
Jeremy Diamond ☕️ @dmnd.me · 04/10/2026
Lmao arxiv.org/pdf/2404.00732
An Abundance of Katherines*
The Game Theory of Baby Naming
Katy Blumer-Kate Donahue',
Katie Fritz', Kate Ivanovich', Katherine Lee', Katie Luo', Cathy Meng', and Katie Van Koevering
'Cornell University†

Abstract
In this paper, we study the highly competitive arena of baby naming. Through making several Extremely Reasonable Assumptions (namely, that parents are myopic, perfectly knowledgeable agents who pick a name based solely on its "uniqueness"), we create a model which is not only tractable and clean, but also perfectly captures the real world. We then extend our investigation with numerical experiments, as well as analysis of large language model tools. We conclude by discussing avenues for future research.
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clamplifier @clamplifier.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
in old person culture talking at length about how their children are useless and never bother to see them is the highest honour they can bestow upon you, a total stranger
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
“Between the Christianity of this land and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference.” — Frederick Douglass bsky.app/profile/atru...
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Erin Grievances @erinbartram.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Someone like @mattseybold.bsky.social probably knows the answer to this--were there personnel changes that fostered this shift (because it definitely wasn't always this bad) or were the built-in incentives of the publication itself always going to move things in this direction as the vibes shifted?
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 01/10/2026
it didn't even occur to me that the government might try to execute someone a second time if they torture the person but fail to kill them during a first botched attempt. truly grotesque and a moral stain upon all involved.
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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 26/09/2026
"What if you go gentle into a different night? 'Oh, I’m not going gentle into that good night. I’m going gentle into a different, mediocre night.' It’s easy to find loopholes like this because poets aren’t really trained in the ways of syllogism or modus ponens-based reasoning." buff.ly/atMd0Cg
buff.ly
Ways Other Than “Gentle” You Could Go into That Good Night
“What if you started going into that good night in a rambunctious manner, really going nuts, but then, once you got into that good night, you switched to goi...
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Duncan Jones @manmademoon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
As a California living Brit, let me say it clearly… Steve Hilton was a Brexiteering shitbag and you would do well to stay away from the populist bullshit he sells.
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maura quint @mauraquint.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Yes every woman has been harassed, many assaulted. But every woman has also experienced invisible loss from moments she avoided harassment. She felt a space becoming unsafe, so she left, while men stayed on. And in leaving, she lost: opportunities, experiences, learning, promotions, even simply fun.
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Nashville Banner reporter Steven Hale, describing how prison officials kept drawing the curtain to hide how badly they were botching this: “A lot of this execution — or attempted execution, whatever it was — happened when we could not see what was going on.”
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Endless Screaming @infinitescream.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH
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Joshua Holland @joshuaholland.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
We live in such a barbaric country
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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
They quoted me in this New Yorker piece about AI today. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
“Let’s say there’s a world or time line I exist in where A.I. has been subject to regulation. It is ethical. It has no footprint environmentally,” the novelist Jeff VanderMeer, a prominent critic of A.I., told me over the phone. “With those guardrails in place, would I read an A.I. book? All I can say is no. And the reason is, in part, because I want to read something coming from a particular mind.” Using A.I., he said, “feels like a betrayal of the whole point of why you’re a writer.”
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San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance @sandiegozoo.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Just a lil guy and his mulberry branch 🪾
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Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
A truly heinous man has doxxed the Cornell victim on X and the comments are predictably vile. Based on countless interviews I’ve done with survivors, the trauma they are subjected to for coming forward is oftentimes even worse than the initial trauma they experienced. There is no real justice system
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Josh Fruhlinger @jfruh.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
they DIDN'T REFUND her fucking TUITION?????
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Adam Mallinger @bitterscriptreader.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Everyone demanding Senator Schmidtt apologize to Jack Smith are again setting the bar too low. They should be demanding his resignation from the Judiciary Committe. He's unfit to serve Pound the table. Make some noise. Turn this into a multi-day story
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Connor Ewing @cmewing.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Not you.
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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Most state attorneys general released Meta from Cambridge Analytica-related claims as part of the child safety settlement. New Mexico wasn't part of that deal, and a jury there just found 26 of 29 past claims about Cambridge Analytica, hate speech and misinformation willfully deceptive.
techpolicy.press
Eight Years On, Cambridge Analytica Scandal Catches Up With Meta in Santa Fe
A jury found that Meta—then Facebook—misled the public in statements about Cambridge Analytica and its policies on hate speech, violence and misinformation.
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Calvinball Congress @emericanjezebel.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
not for nothing, if our justice system actually did convict sexual offenders, my attacker would have correctly been on the SO registry and would not have been able to get a job at the camp where he raped me. but they don’t. so he wasn’t. and now here I am.
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Aviel Roshwald @avielroshwald.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Why would an aspiring autocrat want to support the cultivation of critical thinking?
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Mike Hoerger, PhD, MSCR, MBA @michael-hoerger.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
PMC COVlD Update, Sep 28, 2026 (US): 🔸We're in a 13th COVlD wave. 🔸40 states & territories continue to have COVlD outbreaks, stable from last week. 🔸Levels likely peaked between Sep 7-13 at a PMC-estimated 580,000 new daily infections. pmc19.com/map
The US has at least 40 states and territories with COVlD outbreaks, the same number reported last week. These include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
     There are likely outbreaks in additional states. The summary statistic of 40 only includes counties with observed data, rather than estimated data. For example, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, and Tennessee likely have outbreaks, but monitoring is poor.

Nuance: 
Note that while PMC uses forecasting to estimate national statistics through Sep 28 and beyond, the state-level data do not, meaning they are now 9 days old. If the national forecast is correct, levels peaked between Sept 7-13, closely aligned with our prior forecasts. This would mean that levels are declining more so than depicted in the map. Levels often decline slowly, suggesting the need for ongoing precautions. Additionally, Biobot and 200 CDC sites are offline this week, and both have experienced major retroactive corrections of late, so the national forecast has more uncertainty than usual. For example, we could see the peak adjusted upward or a double peak. It is unclear how quickly reporting will resume at the offline sites. 

Note that while PMC national statistical estimates include forecasting, the state-level data do not, meaning they are now 9 days old. If the forecast is correct, levels peaked between Sept 7-13. This would mean that levels are declining more so than depicted in the map. However, Biobot and 200 CDC sites are offline this week and both have experienced major retroactive corrections of late, so high uncertainty.
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David Mack @davidmack.pro · 28/09/2026
THIS is why I don’t think Texas will go blue this year, or any year: because the TX GOP will blatantly cheat and steal the election in broad daylight, and the Democrats will be too weak and cowardly to stop them.
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Dan of the Year @downwithdan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Ah yes the circle of life
• Dispatched
Sep 25 23:03 pm
In Transit
Sep 26 09:52 am
Delayed
Sep 26 10:57 am
Held By Carrier
Sep 26 15:07 pm
Destroyed
Sep 26 15:08 pm
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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Studies find that universities see an INCREASE in applications and donations after bad press about mismanaged sexual assaults. If you’re a Cornell alum, you should write to your alumni association and vow not to donate. Redirect your funds to your local rape crisis center instead.
sciencedirect.com
Any press is good press? The unanticipated effects of Title IX investigations on university outcomes
Since 2011, when the landmark “Dear Colleague” letter declared that the Department of Education (DoE) would use equal-access requirements of federal l…
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Noah Berlatsky @nberlat.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
at splice today got to write about the new/old Cramps album, and how they look a lot more like part of the original rockabilly movement now, from this vantage, rather than a retro exercise. www.splicetoday.com/music/origin...
splicetoday.com
Original Rockabilly Ravers, The Cramps
Gravest Gravy puts Lux and Ivy in context. || Noah Berlatsky
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Meredith Shiner @meredithshiner.com · 23/09/2026
I had not seen this clip where Tammy Duckworth advises Democrats to "not impeach anybody," "get back to work" and "allow" Donald Trump to "save face" and I would just like to remind the senator from IL that the federal government took 4,000 Chicagoans and murdered a 38-year-old father last fall.
c-span.org
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Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
"Kamel’s call to Netanyahu’s office came just days before the attack, the Arab government officials said. The Egyptians continued to warn Israel up until 48 hours before the attack, one of these officials said."
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Ben Prunty @benprunty.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I don't love dunking on folks but it's so fucking funny to me that Trump was convicted of 34 felonies 2 years ago, faced no punishment, and went on to win the presidency a second time and journalists are still like, "hmm, I have an inkling that maybe he believes he's above the law for some reason."
Post from NYT reporter Eric Lipton 

"What an odd moment in United States history.

A U.S. president is running an overtly political campaign advertisement, right before midterm elections, paid for by the U.S. government.

Trump appears to believe he is immune from any kind of legal limit."
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NerdParker @nerdparker.com · 28/09/2026
I remember walking into class the day we read Bartleby the Scrivener, and my prof said “this is why you’re paying 40 grand for a liberal arts degree. One day you’ll go to a party and someone will say ‘I would prefer not to’ and the people who chuckle are the ones you can probably talk to”.
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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 28/09/2026
BLAMMO. buff.ly/pykYN6f
buff.ly
It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers
For the seventeenth year: Welcome to autumn, fuckheads.
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pixelatedboat aka “mr bluesky” @pixelatedboat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Are people who don’t listen to modern pop country better than people who do listen to modern pop country? Yes, obviously.
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evacide @evacide.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The most important thing I learned in my 20s is that being smart doesn't make you special. Eventually you need to learn to try hard and to enjoy learning to do things you're not immediately good at. It turns out that the people who didn't learn this lesson were reading Harry Potter fanfic.
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David Simon @audacityofdespair.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Are there still straight men out there who don't comprehend how many more women we'd pull by pulling off gay standards of dress, grooming and general taste? I mean, we'd still need to overcome being relentless assholes, but that's just a given. We've worked around that one for centuries.
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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 27/09/2026
It's just after 1pm on another picture perfect fall day in Chicago. So far today, masked federal agents have taken people from Brighton Park and suburban Aurora. ~1 year after the "Blitz" began, the alerts haven't subsided. ICE is still breaking windows and destroying worlds.
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Museum of Twitter @museum-of-twitter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
@AmySilverberg

One time a writer friend of mine got too drunk and sobbed bc she said there were too many books in the world she wouldn’t have time to read, and this guy down the bar said, ladies—he isn’t worth it and my friend yelled IM CRYING ABOUT BOOKS and that shut the guy up
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Our country is staring into the abyss, and much of our national press corps lacks the fortitude that this moment demands www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/b...
nytimes.com
TV Networks to Resume Trump Coverage, Even as White House Excludes CNN (Gift Article)
The White House TV pool went dark this past week amid a standoff between CNN and the president. Network leaders, however, believe an indefinite suspension may be untenable.
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Bob Wheeler @rmwkenpo.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
So much for standing firm Networks to Resume Trump Coverage, Even as White House Excludes CNN www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/b...
nytimes.com
TV Networks to Resume Trump Coverage, Even as White House Excludes CNN (Gift Article)
The White House TV pool went dark this past week amid a standoff between CNN and the president. Network leaders, however, believe an indefinite suspension may be untenable.
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Art Herstory @artherstory.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Coming up Wed, Sept 30 - Curator's Talk Conduits of the Unseen: Women Artists Imagine Other Worlds Susan L. Aberth, Robert Cozzolino & Laura Whitcomb consider how #womenartists who shared contact with the otherworldly made their work & what it means for us today. RSVP to info@edlingallery.com
A digital event poster - at left is the abstract painting Untitled, c. 1930s, by Paulina Peavy. At right, in mostly white text against a black background, is the event info about the Conduits of the Unseen curator's talk on Sept 30.
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Mike Chen @mikechenwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
You can't unsee this.
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JunkboxJim @junkboxjim.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
www.politico.com/story/2016/1... Richard Branson on the five people who refused to lend Trump money.
politico.com
Richard Branson: Trump vowed to destroy 5 people who refused to help him
Branson “found it very bizarre” that Trump was unwilling to talk about anything else.
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Albumism @albumism.com · 26/09/2026
Happy Birthday Bryan Ferry! Explore his musical legacy (including audio & video highlights) here: album.ink/BryanFerryHBD
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Kygosi @kygosi.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Gym memberships must be crimes against humanity
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Astra Taylor @astra.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Forget grandiose talk of curing cancer - this is what AI is actually doing to healthcare. In the words of one cardiologist: “it’s bots fighting bots, agents fighting agents, a horrible dystopic future nobody wants to live in.”
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Financial stuff is understandably a turnoff for most people so let me just say this is alarm bell material. Keep an eye on the AI bubble and regional banks.
cnbc.com
History shows financial calamities occur when rates rise rapidly like this: 'Something always breaks'
The 10-year Treasury note yield is spiking to levels not seen in years, and that may be a bad omen for financial markets.
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Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Glad about the result, but I don’t think it speaks well of us as a country that after two years of human rights violations, war crimes, naked gangster corruption, and contempt for the Constitution, he’s finally unpopular because gas got expensive.
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Photography by Alfie Goodrich @alfie.photography · 24/09/2026
Excellent news. People need as few barriers as possible to seeing this film.
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cait (and adonis) @cait.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
found a new type of guy
r/AmItheAsshole
Join
u/IntrusiveGas • 6h
AITA for correcting my girlfriend's family every time they mispronounce my turtle's name?
I have a turtle named Geoff. Yes I know Geoff is normally pronounced Jeff. His isnt. My girlfriend's family knows this and still calls him Jeff basically every time his name comes up.
His name starts with /dz/ instead of the normal American English J sound /d3/. So regular Geoff/Jeff is roughly /dzef/ and his is /dzef/. They are similar but they are NOT the same consonant. /d3/ is a voiced postalveolar affricate and /dz/ is a voiced retroflex affricate. Basically you make the beginning of "Jeff" with the tongue farther back/retracted, which gives it a harder, deeper "dzh" sound.
I'm really into etymology and historical linguistics so the spelling was intentional too. Geoff is already a weird spelling from a modern English perspective because gives you basically no reason to predict /dzef/ unless you already know the name. Obviously I am NOT claiming medieval Geoffrey was pronounced / dzef/. I
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Joe Sonka 😐 @joesonka.lpm.org · 24/09/2026
👇👇👇👇👇
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