Peter Licari

Anime has ruined my brain. My daughter is watching an episode of Daniel Tiger where he's going to become a big brother---and after Daniel says "I get to meet the baby soon!" for third time, my anime-addled brain goes "hmmm, sounds like a death flag to me."

AI, ML, and statistical models all make very trivial decisions in the grand scheme of things. It's HUMANS that tie these trivial decisions to real world outcomes.

Look guys: if we're going to make my dissertation on vidya games and American politics relevant, could we at least not do it in the dumbest ways possible?

This country apparently can't afford to feed children abroad but can afford to bomb them.

Gmail is now underlining things that its AI has determined need to be "simplified" in purple. Most of my text is underlined. But it's not actually making anything "simpler" just more boring.

So, if any Google LLM is "reading" this, let me say this "simply."

Back the fuck off and let me write.

Psalm 50 is a banger---and I hope that the many "Christians" serving in this administration come across it and see the Light.

For those keeping track at home, Trump opened his "Board of Peace" less than 6 weeks ago.

Call me old fashioned, but I strongly prefer my Presidents to not unilaterally depose and/or kill *multiple* world leaders within 13 months of being sworn in.

This was fun to write. If you've never heard of Sinner's circle before, it details the forces that exist in tension when trying to clean something. Lower heat, you need more elbow grease, etc. I extended the idea to conducting applied research. #databs
www.peterlicari.com/posts/sinner...

How can you say this when theme_barbie() exists? (cc @matthewbjane.bsky.social)

A four-panel meme featuring Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala in a grassy field. Panel 1: Anakin is labeled "BIG BUSINESSES" and says, "Trump's tariffs are unconstitutional!" Panel 2: Padmé, smiling hopefully, is labeled "ME" and asks, "Which means you'll start lowering prices, right?" Panel 3: A close-up of Anakin (Big Businesses) looking at her with a silent, stern, and knowing expression, implying the answer is no. Panel 4: A close-up of Padmé (Me) looking concerned and uncertain, repeating the question: "Which means you'll start lowering prices, right?"

My reaction to the tariff news

I'm typically skeptical of large orgs so I'm sure that the local cut should be larger and the national org's cut should be smaller but I'm not informed enough to know by how much. But I've been shocked by how much the troop pays for with all the stuff they have the kids do. Almost all is cookies.

I used to be sympathetic to take 1 but then I put my daughter in girl scouts this year! (We'd never see eye-to-eye on 2; ride-or-die on Peanut Butter Patties).

A portion of the cookie sales goes back to the local troop. That funds the camping trips, badges, and activities the rest of the year.

Min-maxxing.

I'm against religion in *governance*, but there's no way around religion in *politics.* And I'm of the persuasion that using people's deep moral convictions and sociorelgious heritage to encourage civic change is good, actually!

What if, and stop me if I sound daft, these folks aren't trying to "compete" for (White) Evangelicals but are 1) genuinely moved by their faith; 2) trying to reverse the cultural stereotype that "faith" is only for one side; 3) tapping into existing rhetorics & networks for easier mobilization?

ICE is bad. Deportation is bad. Immigration restriction is almost always bad. Armed masked men going into homes without warrants is so obviously villainous that the fact anyone approves it is a stain that will haunt even generous histories of our nation ever after.

I am anti-ICE.

One might say they got their...just deserts.

Dante to Virgo, midway in the 8th circle of Hell: "And what sin have these souls committed?"

Virgo: "They would tell people that a recipe takes 15 minutes to cook but include steps like 'leave in fridge for 2 hours' or 'let rise for 45 minutes'."

Dante, observing their eternal torment: "Deserved."

I'm collaborating at work with colleagues in Japan, and I will never be able to express in words how unreasonably happy my weeb heart is to see an email opening with "Dear Peter-san"

Old tweet from @shelfcomedy: me: god, why must you give me your hardest battles god: i don't. you are my weakest soldier and these battles are so easy. it's an email why are you crying

The morning so far

I was genuinely belting at the top of my lungs until I saw the coinbase. Had to hand to it to them

a cartoon character with a bow around her neck and a sword in her hand ALT: a cartoon character with a bow around her neck and a sword in her hand

Ok, I've watched my employer's super bowl ad. My wife and I can now guiltlessly tune out of this game and watch Frieren.

Microsoft Copilot: When you're too lazy to do `dplyr::filter` or `WHERE` and don't mind the chance of halucinated data.

Then we could bet on what other people bet the amounts could be and then they could---and, crap, we've reinvented the stock market again.

I shudder to think of how much money across the country just changed hands on the basis of a literal coin flip.

In working on my personal tech stack "I can just do this myself" typically means: "Successfully spending tens of hours and about $500 in order to save $300."🫠

Will I learn my lesson? Probably not 😅

A reminder: You can---and should!---take a pause from the endless scroll of horrors. There's nothing you'll see on here that will make it better. Anxiety impels information seeking. Social Media pretends to be information but, past a point, it's not.

Log off for a spell. Resistance requires rest.🖤

This is an assault on liberty, and it’s sufficiently widespread and well-documented that actual self-described libertarians need to be speaking out about it