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Brian McCullogh

@webmccullogh.bsky.social
1.3K followers 555 following 1.5K posts

74 year-old retired guy, didn’t expect to have followers. Joined to continue reading interesting posts from favourite f&sf authors, science writers, and learning new things from other interesting people. Occasional likes, replies, and reposts.

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Reposted by Brian McCullogh
John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 6h
A thing I learned not too long ago is that when an LLM selects a token that leads it down an incorrect path (factually), it has no way to back up, or even know that it should back up, it's just on to the next likely bit. Literally every LLM is just posting their way through it. What an image.
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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 7h
In which Eric Schmitt, rumored candidate for VP in an (ugh) JD Vance 2028 presidential run, pre-emptively loses 22 electoral votes in Georgia and Iowa
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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 10h
"Can a rapist’s prose elicit remorse for sexual assault? What word count best equates to appropriate jail time? In this class, we will dissect what empathy and accountability might look like so undergrads may successfully mimic them on paper in pursuit of avoiding just punishment." buff.ly/5na4oMY
buff.ly
Announcing Cornell University’s Newest Writing Course: Rape Essays 101
“Can a rapist’s prose effectively elicit remorse for sexual assault? What word count best equates to appropriate jail time? In this class, we will dissect wh...
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Mark Hamill @markhamillofficial.bsky.social · 10h
It's inconceivable to me how someone who lost in a free & fair election can incite an angry mob to attack his own government, (the very definition of treason) & be allowed to run for any office ever again.
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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 8h
Ken Paxton desperately tried to defend his handling of a child predator case by claiming the defendant “served 60 days.” Then came the Community Note...
meidasnews.com
Ken Paxton Defends Handling of Child Predator Case
Community Note: “Paxton's office initially recommended 1 day in jail.”
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Kieran @toadally.bsky.social · 14h
Just got a political ad that said “if you vote for this candidate the SOCIALISTS win and more people will have access to health insurance!” Why is that scary for people?
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Harry Turtledove @hntdove.bsky.social · 3h
Name a TV show from before 1980.
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S.J.💙🩵💙🦋🦓 @glimmers2.bsky.social · 6h
A study in valor. Imagine testifying against the most powerful criminal on the planet?
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PizzaCake @pizzacakecomic.bsky.social · 8h
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Harry Turtledove @hntdove.bsky.social · 3h
Oh, the horror! The unspeakable horror!
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Paul "Princejvstin" Weimer @princejvstin.com · 12h
Happy Happy birthday!!! My favorite work from this year so far. Hmmm. I am going to go with A DUBIOUS CLAMOR, a fantastic novella by @marissalingen.bsky.social from @hornedlarkpress.com
A DUBIOUS CLAMOR. Take wing little book!
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Horned Lark Press @hornedlarkpress.com · 9h
It could be your favorite too! Because it’s available now. Just sayin’
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The objective of Republicans has always been trolling liberals, not achieving any helpful goals. The simpleton Ronald Reagan is a good example. He blathered on about how much he was in favor of smaller government. Well, guess what? The federal government was *larger* when he left office.
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
No logic to what Blanche is saying. There is only a national security issue if the press reports ACCURATELY. Reporting inaccurate information doesn't give our enemies insight into our genuine vulnerabilities. It just wastes their time.
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I've never liked ICE. Even back when they used to call themselves the Klan.
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
You know, if you *really* cared about the wellbeing of women in college, instead of carping about the statistically insignificant number of trans athletes in sports minding their own business, you’d be railing against these Cornell fraternity cretins who drugged and gang-raped a passed-out women:
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
We've all heard how corrupt Ken Paxton is. But he is also incredibly stupid if he thinks this "well, he served 60 whole days" excuse for releasing Adam Hoffman, who sexually abused a boy over a three-year period starting when he was 8.
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 12h
When you *wildly* overestimate your own charm.
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Juliet E McKenna @julietemckenna.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I just read a third or possibly fourth news article where the reality of an 'AI has discovered something marvellous!' story turns out to be GenAI somehow accessed material it had no permissions for, which was the outcome of an expert's years of work, and presented it without attribution. GenAI lies.
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Johnnie Jae @johnniejae.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Congrats to Zahn McClarnon! Zahn McClarnon will receive the 2026 Visionary Award from the Santa Fe International Film Festival, honoring more than three decades of work as an actor and his growing role as a producer and director. redpopnews.com/zahn-mcclarn...
redpopnews.com
Zahn McClarnon to Receive 2026 Visionary Award at Santa Fe International Film Festival
Zahn McClarnon will receive the 2026 Visionary Award from the Santa Fe International Film Festival, honoring more than three decades of work as an actor and his growing role as a producer and director...
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Stephanie Burgis @stephanieburgis.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
...And of course, if you haven't already read the first two novellas in the series, you can scoop up both of them now: A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience: books2read.com/undeadInconvenience & A Honeymoon of Grave Consequence: books2read.com/honeymoonGrave
books2read.com
Available now at your favorite digital store!
A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience: A Cozy-Spooky Historical Fantasy Rom-Com by Stephanie Burgis
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Stephanie Burgis @stephanieburgis.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Only 16 more days until the 3rd & final Lady and Lord Riven novella, A Waltz of Sinister Import, is widely published in ebook and paperback! Preorder the ebook now: books2read.com/waltzSinister Or join my Patreon as a Dragon Ruler to get it 1 week early: patreon.com/stephanieburgis #romancelandia
Stephanie Burgis, shows a pair of late nineteenth-century dancing slippers hanging over the title and a bat with outstretched wings underneath the author's name. Framing the cover's text are branches with golden leaves. Above, beside, and below that cover image is this snippet of text: The orchestra struck up a new waltz—and Margaret’s whole body thrummed with the power of its first chord. The greater din of the room faded away; only vaguely, somewhere in the back of her brain, did she note that every other guest had fallen silent around her.
That music...!
It was a powerful river current, sweeping her up without conscious thought. Even as it locked her in place with sheer wonder, dark forests and rippling streams took shape all around her. At first, she thought they were mere fantasies hinted at by the music, but then—there! Just before her: giant, twisting, black oak trees rose within the ballroom of the Hofburg where other guests had congregated only an instant ago. More and more trees appeared until they filled the room with their unnaturally dark, spreading branches, ebony draped with glinting gold and silver leaves.
The rich, distinctive scent of a forest floor rose through her senses.
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Beth Cato @bethcato.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
My cozy mystery Cheddar Luck Next Time is on sale in the UK & US through October 4th! 1.99 for Amazon ebook. Autistic (like me) lead character! Oodles of cheese! Chonky orange cat! Sequel out in February! amzn.to/3ZlFfnR [promo link]
A green book cover is bold against a red background. Amazon Kindle deal for Cheddar Luck Next Time $1.99 limited time offer: 28 September- 4 October 2026.
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David Simon @audacityofdespair.bsky.social · 17h
There's a shit-ton of actual anti-Semitism in the world today, but Netanyahu's fraudulent misuse of the term devalues it dangerously. Hamas is anti-Semitic and murderous. Netanyahu is a cynical, murderous shitheel. Mamdani is an American politician with a perverse impulse to tell blunt truths.
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darren32359.bsky.social @darren32359.bsky.social · 17h
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ebisback.bsky.social @ebisback.bsky.social · 17h
Pathetic Weak Sauce 😡
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Jasmine @feistybunnygirl.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Remember when they kicked an entire girl’s softball team out of the championship game because a player posted a private Snapchat where she was flipping off the camera? It’s funny how they never worry about ruining girl’s futures.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 15h
Jack Smith defends his team of prosecutors: "I'm extremely proud to have worked with them, and the fact that they have been targeted illegally, lost their jobs illegally, and had their lives turned upside down by this Department of Justice is an outrage."
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M Meerkat @kackbro.bsky.social · 18h
THIS 👇 HERE IS SICKENING......
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 13h
🔥JACK SMITH: "Trump engaged in serious crimes against 🇺🇸- a criminal scheme to prevent a lawful transfer of power... the rule of law faces challenges unlike any we've experienced. I won't be silenced by threats of prosecution. While fear may be contagious, courage is as well."
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Claire 🇨🇦 @jemmscee.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The brilliant Michael de Adder, hits it, again.
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Jack Todd @jacktodd.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
There were many things wrong with Emperor Legault's wretched CAQ government but the worst of it stemmed from the man's infinite arrogance. Now we're about to elect Plamondon, a man more arrogant than Legault.
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Mark Tolman (he/him) 🏳️‍🌈 🖖 @mtolman.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is true, that's what makes it both funny and sad.
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Jack Todd @jacktodd.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Mamdani Avenue keeps the New York theme while honouring an infinitely better person.
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paulseesequasis @pseesequasis.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Absolutely shocked to pass by this little gallery in Auxerre, France, that looks it hasn’t opened in a long time, to see this rare lithograph, 20/50, by the renowned Kinngait Inuk graphic artist Pitaloosie Saila (1942-2001), titled ‘The Outcast.’ The mystery remains how it
Absolutely shocked to pass by this little gallery in Auxerre, France, that looks it hasn’t opened in a long time, to see this rare lithograph, 20/50, by the renowned Kinngait Inuk graphic artist Pitaloosie Saila (1942-2001), titled ‘The Outcast.’ The mystery remains how it got to this little, ‘closed,’ gallery in this small city in France.
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Scott MacFarlane @macfarlanenews.bsky.social · 12h
Jack Smith: “it’s inconceivable to me how you can pardon people who beat police officers… and then vilify the officers”
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TabbieWolf @tabbiewolf.bluestripedboxers.com · 15h
Hell yeah it’s another book birthday! Time to dive into @seananmcguire.bsky.social’s latest October Daye book :)
The cover of Seanan McGuire’s “A Divided Duty” featuring October Daye walking through a forest as orange leaves fall. Toby is covered in blood, as per usual.
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Just A Grandmom🇺🇸 @grandmompa.bsky.social · 20h
I'm on board with this. Along with very lengthy prison terms for treason.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h
Jack Smith: "History teaches that the rule of law is rarely destroyed all at once. It's often weakened by attacks on the institutions and the public servants sworn to uphold it. Since January 2025, we have witnessed precisely such an effort."
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Word_Geek @word-geek.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
OMG, @seananmcguire.bsky.social have you seen this?
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FieldExplores (Gator Days) @fieldexplores.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Oh...
Panel 1

Field is reading a book and talking about it.

Field: This autism memoir is fascinating. A lot of it is surprisingly relatable.

Panel 2

Field: It's funny that I've had similar experiences, thoughts, and habits. It's like reading about myself.

Panel 3

Field stares into the distance. They are suddenly evaluating everything about their life.

Panel 4

Field watches a sunset. As if watching an old world vanish into darkness before a new one comes into the light.
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Seanan McGuire @seananmcguire.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The trouble with book tour is that I can't properly promote and shout about upcoming events when I'm on airplanes and running from one location to the next. Fun fun fun. But! Come see me tomorrow night in Redmond, WA for fun, and the kind of exhaustion that comes only from too much travel.
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Seanan McGuire @seananmcguire.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Time for JAMES! Time for confusion and chaos and WAFFLES and the difficulties of dating while a Price (also dating in Portland, which is its own weird thing).
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Shane M. Bailey @shanembailey.com · 28/09/2026
Book 1 and 3 of @seananmcguire.bsky.social's (as Mira Grant) excellent Parasitology series are on sale digitally. $1.99 and $2.99. The middle book is full price but very worth it. www.amazon.com/dp/B074C8M94...
Mira Grant's Parasitology series
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Andrew Schreck @andrewschreck.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
i don't think cis guys realize how much power they can shift in a conversation just by casually telling their friends
"that's fucked up, man" when someone says something
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Skyla Dawn Cameron @skyladawn.ca · 28/09/2026
Sale ends in two days! If you see books you enjoy in it, please leave a comment with a link so people can build their last-minute bundle.
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Skyla Dawn Cameron @skyladawn.ca · 28/09/2026
Anyway another $400 at the vet for Temperance and I'll find out if she can handle dental work at her age or not when the bloodwork is back, and Shawn still has to go for his bloodwork he wouldn't cooperate for, so I dunno I guess buy my books to rebuilt my vet fund for Shawn's next crisis.
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Harry Turtledove @hntdove.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Safety first!
Door with DO NOT BLOCK--FIRE EXIT sign...and a lock on the door
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Blue Turquoise @bluet-urquoise.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
How do we really feel? This is the time we all need to speak out the elections are up ahead and anyone that reads our comments will benefit.
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Maj @lif3asmaj.blacksky.app · 28/09/2026
They killed a cop, shit in the halls, broke down doors & windows, had the SOTH's laptop & walked out with a lectern. Please tell me what the hell is protected about any of that...
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