Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
DBT is exactly the form of therapy that worked for me. Glad to hear you've also gotten good results from it.
Here for the Extremism and Cult experts. Googology enthusiast. Mashup lover. Physics groupie. Anti-AI techie. Corvidophile. Introvert. Occasional writer. Sometimes I try to make art. Any/all.
815 followers 509 following 4,967 posts
view profile on Bluesky Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
DBT is exactly the form of therapy that worked for me. Glad to hear you've also gotten good results from it.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
For years I used to lose my temper at work and then feel horrible about it. Then I went into therapy for something totally unrelated, and the therapy gave me the skills to monitor my mental state and avoid that problem.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Very cool idea 💛
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
lol wut
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Neat! www.reddit.com/r/cincinnati...
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
TOS FTW
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Forbidden Slinky can turn your life into a Mister Ballen episode
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I lost a friend to the Q cult six years ago but the fact that you find it entertaining makes it all worthwhile
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Also "I'm okay with people adopting cultic beliefs as long as they go against the person I hate" is a hell of a take Do you want more Ashli Babbitts, because that's how you get more Ashli Babbitts
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social)
What the fuck are we even doing here
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm not saying that he isn't effective as the means to that end. I'm saying: stop attributing the dismantling of HHS to him merely doubling down on his ego and stupidity. He is a symptom of the problem, not the cause. He is part of the Thiel/Miller agenda — whether he knows it or not.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
My concern is that we're focusing so much on RFK Jr., in much the same way we focused too much on Trump himself. His personal motivations aren't really important, because he's a means to an end. If he weren't head of HHS, someone with his policies would be.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
But what about the people in this administration who have empowered him to dismantle the key agencies for public health and scientific research? What about their many wealthy backers? Why do you think they're just standing by, if not outright supporting him?
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Regardless of what Trump chooses to post, I don't think those appointments are an accident by this administration: bsky.app/profile/eryq...
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
It's just slavery with extra steps.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
People don't seem to believe that we're looking at a kind of laissez-faire eugenics; a dismantling of public health programs that has an explicitly white supremacist agenda. "Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity." So I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. Am I alone in this?
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
If they perceive the urban poor to be most at risk for contracting and dying from communicable diseases, how motivated would they really be to push for a strong, tax-supported CDC? It's easier just to say nothing and let it happen. But when I try to spell that out, it sounds a little crazy. ->
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm confident that if a chorus of billionaire conservative donors really wanted to stop this, they have the leverage. So either most everyone in Trump's orbit has simultaneously come to doubt the benefits of vaccines (which is possible), or they don't care (ditto), or it's something else. ->
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social)
I'm really struggling with something right now. This administration's gutting of the CDC and reduction of vaccine access are right in line with the far right's social darwinist / white supremacist agendas, yet people are still attributing it all to RFK Jr stupidity and short-sightedness. ->
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I come to Wendy's specifically to talk about creeping fascism
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
We're in dangerous territory right now for careless retweeting, given that much of the Left and much of the Far Right are angry at Israel but for *very* different reasons.
bubbe yaga (@ellearmageddon.bsky.social) reposted
if you’re willing to throw another population under the bus to save yourself, you’re not actually willing to fight fascism. fascism isn’t a bear, it can’t be escaped by simply outrunning someone slower than you. the only way it can be defeated is through solidarity.
Alt NIH Bluesky 🧪 (@altnih4science.bsky.social) reposted
Take it from scientists: These are authoritarian lies. Trump and Project 2025 are destroying American science. They already have done great damage. American science has been forever changed and diminished. 🧪
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Ate all their lasagna
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I'd be very happy to! Really the secret for everything I do is to work with multiple layers, layer groups, and layer masks so that I can fiddle with things ad nauseum. I strongly recommend getting some form of tablet-based input if you don't have one already. I use an inexpensive Wacom.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
BTW I've using GIMP for years and it's also got a bit of a learning curve but it's how I do my digital collage
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I've been teaching myself Blender to model Trek starships and yeah, the learning curve is hella steep, but there are some really good tutorials on YouTube
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
My first thought. It's the Katamari Damacy of cults.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Exactly this.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Probably because the actor playing Milchick is *incredible*
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Clint Howard is to Star Trek what John Ratzenberger is to Pixar
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Oh hells yeah, from one of my favorite films too
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Came here to post this, tyfys
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social)
GONDOR CALLS FOR AID!
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Mainstream media didn't really report on QAnon until early 2020, despite two solid years of repeated warnings by cult experts on Twitter. By then the problem had metastasized. Now they have even worse reasons for keeping silent.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Yes. And it is stupid and harmful to them. This is how you get Ashli Babbitts.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
The slogan and image are from the QAnon cult, which erroneously believes that Trump (designated Q+ by the cult) is leading Q team in the eradication of a global cabal of Satanic child-eaters. Basically it's the Pizzagate 2.0 version of Blood Libel. Trump retweeting it is stupid and harmful to them.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I know it's a trope at this point but even "1984" explains the shutting down of scientific institutions
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Oi
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
This is the [very brief and sad] cover of "It's the End of the World" that I sometimes listen to when I'm in a thousand-yard-stare kind of mood. Please give it a listen: youtu.be/YJJTGaRT8_g?...
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I... do not think they have avoided gamification of the tragedy
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
You don't have to do anything that causes you pain. Life is too short. Your first duty is to your own health.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social)
The reason I try not to wish death on a few certain people is that, statistically, death is far more likely to come for one of my many friends or relatives and I'm just superstitious enough to worry that the death of a loved one is karmic retribution, so I'm gonna sit this one out
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
God doesn't love us that much
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I've got bad news for you, Adam Bray you may want to take off your stormtrooper helmet and sit down for this
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social)
No, YOU just asked a stranger on Bluesky how their day was going instead of texting it to your partner
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
oh ok i understand now thx
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Support your assertion. I can list a bunch of ways LLMs like ChatGPT have made life shittier. How have they made things better?
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Show your work.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Good. LLMs alone are doing enough damage. AGI would make that problem immeasurably worse.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
We still have the first one
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
See my other reply because if a publisher of any sort doesn't know this by now in America then they shouldn't be in that fucking position of authority
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm old enough to remember posts by incels calling ER their Saint, saying how they wanted to go out like he did But sure I guess the odds of you or yours personally being killed in the next mass shooting are statistically pretty low, so go run that feature mister editor
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Or they just don't fucking care because they only want those sweet sweet clicks
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Unfortunately I can imagine exactly what links these people might leave behind to troll from the grave
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I saw the news posting alleged screencaps of the manifesto and I was like wtf, why are you people continuing to amplify the words of psychopaths, what do you think you're going to accomplish other than give others of their kind inspiration to follow that example
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Schools have been especially shitty when it comes to dealing with SA of girls by boys, especially when the boys are athletes. Because the subjugation of women is a high priority of the men in charge of society as a whole. "Putting you in your place" begins young.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social)
This. American K-12 schools exist not merely to educate children, but to produce desirable citizens. It's no accident that the Right has worked for decades to abolish the Dept of Education and infiltrate school boards across the country.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Did you just ask Bluesky to post feet
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Yes and we have to be ready for those spaces to be infiltrated by the worst elements you can imagine And we have to be ready to deal with cyberbullying and sexual harassment by other kids, which will be excused by parents and politicians as "boys will be boys" and "kids need to toughen up"
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
That might not be new but I have a short memory. Also, my memory is kind of short.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Fellow Cornellian!
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I missed the context...who is the "you" that this directed at? Those of us at HHS?
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm not going to pretend that I know more than a trans researcher who is trans, but I've heard other right wing extremism researchers say basically the opposite. Socially isolated kids are vulnerable to recruitment by bad actors online. Makes sense to me.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
You can say "socially isolated kids are extra vulnerable to being preyed on and recruited by bad actors of all sorts" without making it sound like you're saying "trans people have a Nazi problem". But you have to spell things out extremely carefully. We should acknowledge this risk.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social)
Y'all can feel free to chime in but I was surprised as hell when I learned this back in 2020 on Twitter from self-described furries in the anti-Q-community's orbit. Lonliness makes people vulnerable to online predators of all sorts, which is why it's so important to de-stigmatize LGBTQ+ identity.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Nazi recruitment on incel, brony, and furry boards was a Thing. They looked for guys who were social outcasts and befriended them. The ones who fell for the loveboming gradually got radicalized until some did bad shit. It's not crazy to think Nazis would want to turn trans kids into weapons too.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
"Center in, pull back. Stop. Track 45 right. Stop.... Enhance 34 to 46. Pan right and pull back. Stop...."
naked and stunned at the end of the world (@therachlz.bsky.social) reposted
I have a new article out in the Providence Eye on the long covid crisis in Rhode Island, and how folks are getting their needs met (or not) amidst crumbling health infrastructure. pvdeye.org/caught-betwe... #longcovid #localjournalism #chronicillness #mecfs #healthcarecrisis #millionsmissing
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social)
I designed this protest sign a few weeks ago. After yesterday's shooting I thought: maybe this is the wrong time to carry this sign. Then I realized that my hesitation means this is absolutely the right time to carry this sign.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
They are also called Turkish-style lamps and at least one of these was made in Turkiye so who knows, anyway you can find them on Etsy for various prices and styles
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reposted reply parent
They are mass-produced mosaic glass and beads glued to a bowl on a flimsy brass base and they are among my most cherished possessions
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
We already know the answer to that
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
They are mass-produced mosaic glass and beads glued to a bowl on a flimsy brass base and they are among my most cherished possessions
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
The media is coming from inside the billionaire's house
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Things are heading downhill and picking up speed.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Remaining human in times like this requires that you have things that you love I love these four stupid lamps and it's not enough to get me through life but it's sufficient to get me through a very lonely half hour which is what I needed
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Money can't buy happiness but fifty bucks can get you a tacky globe of mass-produced beaded glass that somehow makes the night less gloomy
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social)
I'm sitting alone in the chaos of my room where the only light is from four cheap colorful Moroccan-style stained glass desk lamps placed here and there, and at this point in my meaningless life they make me happier than anything on social media ever has
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
An intentional eugenics program to get undesirables to kill themselves would not look any different
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
It was from a TEG video that I learned Joe Rogan thinks of himself as a comedian
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
The Elephant Graveyard has some excellent videos but I think this is the best they've done
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
The Social Darwinists that have captured the party certainly do
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Wait until they hear about the concept for a live-action TV show about a cute blonde California high school girl who slays vampires
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
What warms my heart is that they will age and die just like the rest of us, looking as smooth and sexy as Henry Kissinger's scrotum.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social)
Lindsay Ellis on the "sin of empathy", with clips of Mister Rogers and Sesame Street? Yes please. youtu.be/QwpanShgOp4?...
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I have to wonder how many of those pollsters are stealth Republicans laughing their asses off right now
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
SAME
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm not optimistic about stuffing the worms back in the can. The best we can do is probably to educate people that these bots are a legit cognitohazard, and the people most at risk are the ones who think the bots are safe. Unfortunately that approach didn't work with QAnon.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm gonna say it again.... bsky.app/profile/eryq...
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Stanislaw Lem's short story from The Cyberiad says a lot about this topic: home.sandiego.edu/~baber/analy...
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Agreed that LLMs are not conscious. But human minds are just massively-parallel processors that could eventually be understood and simulated or duplicated, so never say never.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social)
At a web security tech meeting where the presenter is talking about using a "nonce" and yeah I know it's a common term now but the inventor of that term clearly did not watch enough British television
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
They all just expect to ride this into power
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
We await with great eagerness the next Five Year Plan from our Glorious Chairman
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Media should be running pictures of typical Bal'more streets with the caption TRUMP IS AFRAID OF THIS, WHAT A PUSSY
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
Not just Evangelicals. There's a reason that Dante's Inferno is far more widely read than Purgatorio or Paradiso: people seem to get off on seeing the "wicked" being tortured forever as part of Divine Justice. Even suicides were there for the long haul in Dante's time.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
The first domino to fall would be an "acting" Republican House member seated in place of a Democrat whose election was allegedly rigged. More likely if the Republican was the incumbent. If that happens, it'll pave the path for every other Dem seat.
Eryq Ouithaqueue (@eryq.bsky.social) reply parent
It's only a matter of time before AI agents are created to befriend, lovebomb, and radicalize people online. Assuming it hasn't happened already. Soon, cults won't even need to expend human effort to indoctrinate new members from across the globe.