iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

i'm shocked to find that people are willing to watch TED LASSO s4 w/out getting paid for it--s3 was contemptible. anyway WIDOW'S BAY is no Surf Dracula--it announces its intentions, follows them through, and sharpens+deepens as it goes. a weird little gem.

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Eugene Vinitsky 🍒 @eugenevinitsky.bsky.social · 14h

If you open-source your code, someone can steal it. If you let people use your software, AI can decompile it. There is only one solution that can truly defeat piracy: not releasing any software at all.

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 19h

'During the 20th century, and in much of the world even today, genetic variation in resistance to lead poisoning during brain development would, psychometrically, look like a heritable general intelligence.' --Cosma Shalizi

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Jeremy Erwin @jeremyerwin.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Miles' long-circulating 11.4.69 gig in Copenhagen is finally getting an official release. With a Mati Klarwein cover to boot!

Miles Davis Copenhagen Live 1969 with wildly psychedelic cover art from Mati Klarwein

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Jeremy Diamond ☕️ @dmnd.me · 05/07/2025

re: helping everyone gain what billionaires have, I recall again this classic Reddit post on what wealthy people have that poor people have no idea about

$1billion
I am going to exclude the $10b+ crowd, because they live a head-of-state life. But at $1b, life changes. You can buy anything. ANYTHING. In broad terms, this is what you can buy: Access. You now can just ask your staff to contact anyone and you will get a call back. I have seen this first hand and it is mind-blowing the level of access and respect $1 billion+ gets you. In this case, I wanted to speak with a very well-known billionaire businessman (call him billionaire #1 for a project that interested billionaire #2. I mentioned that it would be good to talk to billionaire #1 and B2 told me that he didn't know him. But he called his assistant in. "Get me the xxxgolf club directory. Call B1 at home and tell him I want to talk to him." Within 60 minutes, we had a call back. I was in B1's home talking to him the next day. B2's opinion commanded that kind of respect from a peer. Mind blowing. The same is true with access to almost any Senator/Governor of a billionaires party (because in most cases, he is a significant donor). You meet on an occasional basis with heads-of-state and have real conversations with them. Which leads to

Influence. Yes, you can buy influence. As a billionaire, you have many ways to shape public policy and the public debate, and you use them. This is not in any evil way. the ones I know are passionate about ideas and are trying to do what they feel is best (just like you would). But they just had an hour with the Governor privately, or with the Secretary of Health, or the buy ads or lobbyists. The amount of influence you have can be heady.

Time. Yes, you can buy time. You literally never wait for anything. Travel? you fly private. Show up at the airport, sit down in the plane and the door closes and you take off in 2 minutes, and fly directly to where you are going. The plane waits for you. If you decide you want to leave at anytime, you drive (or take a helicopter to the airport and you leave. The pilots and stewardess are your employees. They do what you tell them to do. Dinner? Your driver drops you off at the front door and waits a few blocks away for however long you need. The best table is waiting for you. The celebrity chef has prepared a meal for you (because you give him so much catering business he wants you VERY happy) and he ensures service is impeccable. Golf? Your club is so exclusive there is always a tee time and no wait. Going to the Super bowl or Grammy's? You are whisked behind velvet ropes and escorted past any/all lines to the best seats in the house.

Experiences. Dream of it and you can have it. Want to play tennis with Pete Sampras (not him in particular, but that type of star)? Call his people. For a donation of $100k+ to his charity, you could probably play a match with him. Like Blink182? There is a price where they would simply come play at your private party. Love art? Your people could arrange for the curator of the Louvre to show you around and even show you masterpieces that have not been exhibited in years. Love Nascar? How about racing the top driver on a closed track? Love science? Have a dinner with Bill Nye and Neil dGT. Love politics? have Hillary Clinton come speak at a dinner for you and your friends, just pay her speaking fee. Your mind is the only limit to what is available. Because donations/fees get you anyone. The same is true with stuff. You like pianos? How about owning one Mozart used to compose music on? This is the type of stuff you can do.

IMPACT. Your money can literally change the world and change lives. It is almost too much of a burden to think about. Clean water for a whole village forever? chump change. A dying child need a transplant? Hell…..you could just build and fund a hospital and do it for a region.

RESPECT. The respect you get at this level is just over-the-top. You are THE MAN in almost every circle. Governors look up to you. Fortune 500 CEOs look up to you. Presidents and Kings look at you as a peer.

PERSPECTIVE. The wealthiest person I have spent time with makes about $400mm/year. i couldn't get my mind around that until I did this: OK--let's compare it with someone who makes $40,000/year. It is 10,000x more.
Now let's look at prices the way he might. A new Lambo--$235,000 became $23.50. First class ticket internationally? $10,000 becomes $1. A full time executive level helper? $8,000/month becomes $0.80/month. A $10mm piece of art you love? $1000. Expensive, so you have to plan a bit. A suite at the best hotel in NYC $10,000/night is $1/night. A $50million home in the Hamptons? $5,000. There is literally nothing you can't buy except.

Love. Sorry to sound so trite, but it is nearly impossible to have a normal emotional relationship at this level. It is hard to sacrifice for another person when you are never asked to sacrifice ANYTHING. Money can solve all problems for someone, so you offer it, because there is so much else to do. Your time is SOOOO valuable that you ration it. And that makes you lose connections with people.

Anyway, that is a really long answer, but I have a very unique perspective because I have seen behind the curtain of the great and mighty OZ. Just wanted to share.

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

secondhand-proud & firsthand-ashamed reading through my various online streams and seeing *so many* friends and acquaintances be like 'congrats to XYZ on his Nobel for pioneering work in optogenetics' followed by variations of 'i contributed to/extended this revolutionary science' meanwhile, i blog

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NANCY COMICS BY ERNIE BUSHMILLER @nancycomics.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Nancy By Ernie Bushmiller October 05,1972

P1- NANCY IS DOWNTOWN AND SEES A SIGN IN A WIG SHOP

GOING OUT OF
BUSINESS
———————
ALL WIGS $1

NANCY: OH, BOY--ID LOVE TO HAVE A WIG

P2- SLUGGO SEES NANCY WALKING WITH HER HAIR REACHING THE GROUND
SLUGGO ,NOT KNOWING ITS A WIG, IS SO SHOCKED HIS HAT GOES STRAIGHT UP IN THE AIR

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The Lexorcist @lexidarlingxoxo.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I’m at the Pizza Hut. I’m at the house of leaves. I’m at the combi s n e a v t a i e o l n fo esuoh & tuh azzip

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

superb overview of 'AI alignment,' connecting the technical underpinnings of LLMs (from the initial transformer paper onward) to the Huggingface mess to the ideological fuckpile atop/under/around them best compliment you can give such an article: both realistic and humane

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Laurent Peraldi @tintamarre.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The rhythm method Lutz Dille

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

true analytic philosopher move to insist, in the face of this most cursed discourse, that people simply attend to an important distinction

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

checking in with the PHANTOM MENACE score for the first time in a good while, a little shocked at the barrage of allusions and reworked motifs (incl an instantly recognizable chord sequence from the final duel/temptation/apotheosis from ROTJ). man i love this score.

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

it doesn't matter whether machines enact 'consciousness.' flesh matters. people matter. mammals matter. focus! prioritize!! 'do computers have inner lives?' is an enjoyable academic question. 'should we care?' is an easy pragmatic one: no, we obviously shouldn't. they're machines. don't be stupid.

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

haven't yet read far enough into FINITE & INFINITE GAMES to know whether he pivots to treating those categories as play-modes rather than event-structures, so to speak. so tired i can't even focus my eyes to read.

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

i assume that others are cynical, and sound -- and become -- more cynical myself, more resentful. i don't state the obvious b/c it bores&offends me; i don't want to recite the litany but that might shade in time into rejecting or denying what's behind it. one version of all this is 'radicalization.'

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

wolfers (a 'good follow' as they say) provides a useful example of a graph that's *striking* and will immediately activate everyone's lamest biases, but isn't at all illuminating by itself. the QTs and comments contain helpful speculation and even, mirabile dictu, the sharing of useful information.

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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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AAron Leckinger @aaronl1968.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Medeski, Martin & Wood keyboardist John Medeski and Phish drummer Jon Fishman will play a run of shows celebrating the music of Sun Ra at New York's The Stone next summer. jambands.com/news/2026/09...

jambands.com

John Medeski, Jon Fishman and “VERY Special Guests” to Play the Music of Sun Ra at The Stone

Medeski, Martin & Wood keyboardist John Medeski and Phish drummer Jon Fishman will play a run of shows celebrating the music of Sun Ra at New York’s

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Emily Gorcenski @emily.gorcen.ski · 28/09/2026

Here’s the most incredible story you’ll read today. A small plane with four people aboard crashes in a field. Another pilot witnesses it. That pilot happens to be flying a bunch of skydivers. They offer to jump to assist, are given permission. The skydivers happen to be EMTs. Everyone survives.

wisn.com

Skydivers alert emergency crews, assist after plane crashes near East Troy airport

Four people were aboard the single-engine plane when it went down in a cornfield near Carvers School Road in East Troy at about 1:30 p.m.

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

aren't many songs with a more perfect mood than 'panic in detroit,' i'll tell you that

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ae @aelkus.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

wolf to dog on other side of glass: woof woof dog: i don't talk to broke bitches wolf: what the fuck dog: are you deaf? i said i don't talk to broke-ass bitches that hunt for their food and sleep outside

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

'weird/weary/warring/whoring'

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Not the Guy @notnotnuanced.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

breaking into to my potential place of employment and setting up a home made cold brew jar 24 hours before the job interview

static.klipy.com

Denzel Washington as Alonzo Says Boom!

ALT: Denzel Washington as Alonzo Says Boom!

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

@adamroberts.bsky.social sanely, helpfully points out that 'this is a "21st century" list.' i respond, gritting my teeth: 'i am a 23rd century man.' an awkward silence unfolds, in which i find myself wishing i'd gone for a walk today instead of using the computer.

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

can't be bothered with this shit. have a look at FERNWOOD 2-NITE, GARTH MARENGHI'S DARKPLACE, DEADWOOD (incl. the sweetly valedictory movie), RICK & MORTY (at least until they replaced roiland), and most of all THE SINGING DETECTIVE. report back **never** because i don't need more bad opinions

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

i'm not on a quest for immortality--too lazy--but i'd *love* to live forever. pain, suffering, endless loss? life is already those things and worse, yet notably better than the alternative. i trust that 10,000-year-old me would handle all this shit better than i, 47 and 'meh' overall, can imagine.

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Squirrely Baker @dipsetcarini.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Crème brûlée donut Excuse me this is entirely too slutty for the morning

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Starfire’s Deranged Neocon Foreign Policy Podcast @irhottakes.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Okay, so I have a plan to get everyone on our side. First, we be absolutely as viscerally unpleasant as possible. Next, we downplay any time we get what we want, say it's the bare minimum and so forth. Finally, if anyone gives up and says we win or apologizes, we belittle them.

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Garth Marenghi's Catbus @catbus.phd · 25/09/2026

it's all this guys fault

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Coyle "Barricade Material" Boron @fack.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

shoulda added an "in Minecraft" at the end, with some "allegedly"s sprinkled in for good measure.

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Incredible. First Secretary Mullin claimed that DHS had identified 15,903 noncitizens on Nevada’s voter roll. Then DHS officials told a skeptical Nevada, no no no, that’s just people we flagged. Here are the names of 185 people we KNOW aren’t citizens. All 185 were citizens. DHS got 100% wrong.

When the Department of Homeland Security sent Nevada a list of 185 names last month that it claimed identified noncitizens who had been improperly allowed to register to vote, state election officials got to work.
On Tuesday, the state sent a strongly worded rebuke to the federal government: Every single person on the list was a lawful citizen.
"As for the 185 individuals, our records indicate that they were citizens," Greg D. Ott, a deputy attorney general in Nevada, wrote, according to a copy of a letter sent to Department of Homeland Security officials obtained through open records requests.
"You have provided nothing of substance to suggest otherwise."

Following the meeting, Ms. Vogt sent a clarifying email to Nevada officials. "I also wanted to be sure I clarified that we did not reduce the 15,903 to 185," she wrote. "We've manually reviewed some of the 15,903 and confirmed 185 are not U.S. Citizens."
Now, Nevada officials are saying even that 185 number is wrong. They also took issue with a letter D.H.S. sent them in early September, in which the agency reiterated its initial claims about nearly 16,000 noncitizens on the rolls and pressured state officials to review each case in a letter to Nevada officials in early September.

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

hobbits never get asthma, have you noticed? some of us know why.

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weeder @weeder.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

God, grant me the courage to change the things I can and incredible new powers to change the things I can't.

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

gyges's original bsky thread was very useful; this article clarifies and much expands on the thread.

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Adam Roberts @adamroberts.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I mean, if "they" are the bears, then this is indeed a mystery.

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

a true statement can't be falsified, but neither can an empty one; no points for guessing where this leaves status-seeking idiots with no access to the truth

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

aperiodic reminder that the Boston Globe has long been a reprehensible org sick w/hostility toward the people who make boston and MA worth living in.

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

kinetic sculpture can open up such strange surprising beauties. (if you don't know arthur ganson's stuff, go see.) this piece is absolutely beautiful.

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

From the annals of clever interactions with Whole Foods check out people: "all set, sir." "you too."

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Michael Lobel @mlobelart.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Seems to me like we're due for a reconsideration—and perhaps even an exhibition?—of the mostly forgotten illustrator Boris Artzybasheff, whose hallucinatory mid-20th-century automation drawings seem eerily prescient right now. "Executive of the Future," 1952 onlinecollections.syr.edu/objects/1223...

Drawing of a robot-like figure at a keyboard

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Doll @dollspace.gay · 23/09/2026

“Then it acquires all the resources.” That sentence is where you put the entire fucking problem. You can’t write “then it wins” into a thought experiment and call the missing steps inevitable. “Assume a spherical supply chain in a vacuum.”

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

that one essay going around is a useful example of self-obsession without self-awareness, so of course it's Doing Numbers on bsky, where that is the house style.

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J.M. Hart (rowjimmy) @jmhart.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Playing this at substantial volume is medically advised.

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

if you're brand new to trane's music...

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waxbanks @waxbanks.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

today is the hundredth anniversary of john coltrane's birth. a giant came and went. his music and devotion helped me figure out what i am. if you have a half-hour alone today, maybe find a quiet place and listen to 'venus,' his duet with rashied ali, recorded not so long before he passed. peace.

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