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Dr. SkySkull

@drskyskull.bsky.social

Professor of optics, blogger of physics, history, & pulp fiction. Generally tries to keep things light-hearted, in spite of *waves hands at everything* (he/him) Blocking doomerism on sight. blog: https://skullsinthestars.com/

30325 Posts17764 Follower5634 Folgt
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3h ago

El-Sayed: "If all Mike Rogers got is that 'his name is Abdul, and my name is Mike,' you're gonna be surprised how many people are like, 'Yeah, but that's the Abdul who wants to bring down the price of my groceries and make sure I got healthcare. So yeah, I like Abdul over your Mike from Florida.'"

Jason Koebler@jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 4h ago

This is concerning for a zillion reasons but, a dispensary in Michigan went viral for blocking a Flock camera in its parking lot designed to create a record of every car that goes there. Easy to imagine this being used in abortion, gender affirming care cases

It is not difficult to imagine police in one state using Flock to track a resident of their state cross state lines to, for example, obtain an abortion that is legal in one state but not in another. Last year, 404 Media reported on police in Texas who searched more than 80,000 cameras across Flock’s nationwide network for a woman who had a self-administered abortion. The case is also particularly concerning considering that Flock cameras have popped up outside of weed dispensaries in Michigan. The JARS Cannabis dispensary in Madison Heights, Michigan, went viral this week for putting a “No Flock Zone” sign in front of a Flock camera in the dispensary’s parking lot. “We share our community’s concerns about increased surveillance, which is why we placed the No Flock Zone sign in front of the camera to block its ability to record,” the dispensary said in a public statement. “JARS does not control the camera or have access to any of the data it collects … after we installed our No Flock Zone sign, the city issued a demand letter warning of sanctions if we did not remove it within 48 hours.” But that Flock camera exists specifically to monitor the license plates of people who come and go to the dispensary. It was required by Madison Heights as one of the conditions for giving a dispensary license to JARS: “[The dispensary] must place a FLOCK license plate scanning camera system at the entrance of the customer parking lot prior to commencement of retail sales, and it will give the Madison Heights Police Department unhindered live access to the FLOCK camera, camera footage, and any and all data, which must remain operational at all times.”
Ben Collins@bencollins.bsky.social · 17h ago

This is a wildly prescient story about Chicago's proto-RFK Jr., in charge of public health during the Spanish Flu. He thought beer killed malaria and that bathing could kill you. He had a feud with an actual TB doctor, who insisted bathing is good. He bullied the TB doctor until he killed himself.

Sachs believed that the new administration was undermining patient care by making hiring and contract decisions based on political connections. Thompson and Robertson in turn accused Sachs of being financially extravagant, incompetent, and dictatorial. As Sachs resigned from the sanitarium he had worked tirelessly to build, Frank Billings, one of the most respected physicians in the city, called Robertson “utterly unqualified.” On April 2, 1916, Sachs committed suicide. For reformers and the medical establishment, Sachs was a martyr to grotesque political corruption. Although The Republican, a propaganda sheet literally published in an office in City Hall, sneered that suicide “occasionally has been a haven of moral cowards who preferred the shelter of death to public exposure of their shortcomings,” Robertson took a less confrontational tone after Sachs’s death. Still, he refused to step down.
Dr. Timothy Pickering@tepickering.bsky.social · 16h ago

i mean, 40 years ago green bay, wi didn't even have a taco bell. now, i walk two blocks from my brother's house to a fantastic carniceria and place my order for quesabirria en español. that is mathematically an infinite improvement...

Constantine@ajaxsinger.bsky.social · 17h ago

Food, man. Food is so much better than it was in 1986. All of it. Poor-people food, restaurant food, fresh food, frozen food. Food is just a hell of a lot better.

dorian @doriantaylor.com air travel is one of those experiences that has gotten monotonically worse over my entire lifetime question though: has *anything* in the last 40+ years genuinely gotten *better*? like, there's *more* stuff, sure, but is any of it *better*? 2:58 PM Aug 4, 2026
Stephen Wolf@stephenwolf.bsky.social · 17h ago

NEW: Voters have rejected Republicans' scheme to unseat the Kansas Supreme Court's Dem-appointed majority and overturn abortion rights. Amendment 1 would have let the GOP replace the system of a nominating commission, gubernatorial appointment, and retention elections with direct partisan elections

CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️@rami.spaceaustralia.com · 21h ago

This is how my day started. Woke up, let the dog out back, grabbed a glass of water, casually checking BlueSky, then BOOM — read this headline/post from Playboy, who are absolutely not holding back. lol. Imagine reading that Playboy called you this. Ooooft. (and to answer the question: yes.)

Playboy@playboy.com · 22h ago

As they amass more money and power, the public views billionaires as sweaty psychos Scrooge McDucking their way into evil amounts of cash. The collective ick emerging raises a question that wealthy men might prioritize over ethical perceptions: Have billionaires become categorically unfuckable?

Marc Elias@marcelias.bsky.social · 22h ago

NEW: After losing 20 consecutive lawsuits seeking states’ voter rolls, DOJ conceded that its case against Washington is no different from the others — but still urged another court to embrace the sweeping legal theory rejected by every court to consider it. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

After 20 straight losses, Trump DOJ struggles to defend demand for Washington state voter rolls

The concession left DOJ asking the Washington court to reject a judicial consensus that now includes 20 district court rulings and one federal appellate decision — without identifying any distinct fac...

democracydocket.com

Helen Kennedy@helenkennedy.com · yesterday

Read it here if you haven't yet. Today is the very best day of all days to read it for the first time. short-stories.co/@raybradbury...

There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury

The voice-clock sang, breakfast was ejected, but no doors slammed. The garage chimed and lifted its door to reveal the waiting car. The house sat alone in a city of rubble and…

short-stories.co

Adam Rawnsley@arawnsley.bsky.social · yesterday

Today, August 4, 2026, is the setting of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” about a fully automated house continuing on after the family who lived there and the world around it died in a nuclear blast.