Update: Side effects not that bad, as has been reported often with Novavax. I usually have a very strong reaction to COVID shots, and this was my second best reaction yet. Felt crummy but still totally functional when I needed to be. Arm soreness briefer than with the mRNA ones. Get your 💉!

Matt Crespi@mattcrespi.bsky.social · 2w ago

Got my 4th brand of COVID vaccine today! Not sure how many until I get 5G telepathy, but if companies keep making innovative new ones, I'll keep trying them. Tune in tomorrow for my report on Novavax side effects. If you haven't gotten your COVID shot yet this fall, maybe make a plan to do so!

Got my 4th brand of COVID vaccine today! Not sure how many until I get 5G telepathy, but if companies keep making innovative new ones, I'll keep trying them. Tune in tomorrow for my report on Novavax side effects. If you haven't gotten your COVID shot yet this fall, maybe make a plan to do so!

Good note! I'll add that it's also a good day to check your registration and/or register to vote even if you don't live in one of these three states. Do it now while you're thinking about it!

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · 3w ago

If you're in these 3 states, *TODAY* is deadline to register to vote. Alaska Rhode Island South Carolina Even if you think you've registered: doesn't hurt to check everything is in order. Do it now. And there's a lot to vote for across them. A thread with stakes on each. ⬇️

Seeing a ton of ads for Domino's new pizza for one, and it's kind of hard to get excited when Pizza Hut has had the same technology for 43 years. Is there any other industry where two leading companies can stay competitive when one is four decades behind the other?

Happy Gritty's Birthday to all who celebrate. (I will be celebrating in the traditional way of eating a sheet cake hurled at my face.)

Gritty's Explosive Confetti Cake Entrance

Alt: Gritty hurling a sheet cake at the camera

static.klipy.com

Apropos of nothing, a fun and inspiring story from this decade is that Uzbekistan has become a chess powerhouse, and I don't think that news has spread much beyond chess circles. Also inspirationally crushing it in the chess world: Ukrainian women and Indian teenagers.

Doomscrolling DoorDash

Feels like a good time for a childhood vacation story. While in NYC, one of my brothers got sick and wound up vomiting on the sidewalk right in front of the Carnegie Deli as my panicking mother personally explained to every single person walking by "HE DIDN'T EAT HERE!" abc7ny.com/post/nyc-ico...

New York City icon Carnegie Deli reopening in Midtown 10 years after closing

It's official -- the Carnegie Deli is coming back to life 10 years after it closed.

abc7ny.com

Downgrade a movie: The Budapest Hotel

Kevin Zollman@kevinzollman.com · 2mo ago

Downgrade a movie: The smol Lebowski

Alright everybody, time to text the teachers in your life. The fall semester is open at SkypeAScientist and we are ready to match classrooms, scout troops, library groups, and more with scientists! Tell the educators in your life, and send them to SkypeAScientist.com

All right, #PhilSky (and anyone else), help me out here. What are the ethics around using AI to write a browser plugin to add " -ai" to the end of all my Google searches? (Appending that removes the Gemini results.) I'm not good enough at this kind of coding to do it without help.

I'm 41 years old. I have been hiding a secret my whole life: I've never had a dino nugget. But thanks to a sale at Costco, an Instacart credit, and some impulsive behavior this morning, I am now the proud owner of FIVE POUNDS of dino nuggets. Send me your best tips & ideas for eating dino nuggets.

A lot of things are getting worse in the world today, but the last few years have seen a number of remarkably good results from cancer researchers. Reminder that there are still lots of people out there not only trying to make the world better, but succeeding.

Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 2mo ago

“.. This is life-altering,” said Carla Kurkjian, an oncologist at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, who wasn’t involved in the studies. “Not just for patients .. but for us as physicians, to be able to have a different conversation than we’ve had for so long.” www.wsj.com/health/pharm...

MOM's Organic Market is banning employees from wearing masks: baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/new-... I used to love them, but time to boycott. Saying that "I have an immunocompromised family member I don't want to kill because a customer coughed on me" isn't a good enough reason is pretty evil.

New mask ban at MOM's Organic Market sparks backlash

A new policy at MOM's Organic Market for employees is causing serious backlash and controversy among workers, management, and customers.

baltimorefishbowl.com

#StarTrek question: Why do all Enterprises, but no other Starfleet ships, require all their captains to be good at horses?

Everyone knows Bluesky, at its finest in a functioning state of the world, is a platform for millennials to discuss Star Trek, share fun animal facts, and argue about which city has better pizza, public transit, architecture, etc.

Jennifer Ouellette@jenlucpiquant.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The CEO of Bluesky Says He Wants Less of a Focus on Liberal Politics (and More Sports) gizmodo.com/the-ceo-of-b...

@thewheatgerm.bsky.social A friend of mine is grieving the recent loss of a loved one and told me one of her only sources of joy is "Ben's pants choices on Jet Lag," and I just thought you'd like to know the positive impact you're having on the world as a professional athlete and fashion icon.

Computers desperately need a "go to whichever software or browser tab just made that noise or is currently making a noise" button. Because what the HECK did I just hear? I've never heard that chime in my life. Did some alert get a makeover? Am I on a website that's trying to get my attention? HELP!

There's currently $33 million in a Kalshi market for betting on when the US will confirm that aliens exist. I don't really know what the implications of this are, but it can't be good for society, right?

I dream of a future in which this isn't an evergreen comment.

Erin Biba@erinbiba.bsky.social · 4mo ago

It didn’t have to be this way!!! There were RELENTLESS opportunities for it to go other ways!!!

One of my favorite nonprofits is doing their annual fundraiser. Skype a Scientist supports science education all over the country by video conferencing working scientists directly into classrooms to interact with students who might not otherwise get the chance to meet a professional scientist. (1/2)

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D.@sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Update #2! We're rapidly approaching 20% of all bubbles filled. Seven states remain completely untouched: Indiana Delaware West Virginia Louisiana South Carolina Virginia Hawaii (but let's give Hawaii a break, it's not even 7am yet out there) Let's fill this map! givebutter.com/USS2026

The @spreadbagelry.bsky.social bagel I ordered vs bagel I got. If this is a metaphor for how corporate America feels about Pride stuff outside of their performative June marketing campagins, it's excellent social commentary.

Someday I hope to also experience a moment of pure joy and vindication like this.

Melody Joy Kramer@mkramer.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I knew there was a reason I’ve been lugging every computer cord I’ve ever owned from place to place for decades.

A reasonable society would make companies internalize these costs inflicted on customers. That patient should be financially compensated for the time wasted plus the company should pay for an audit to see who else was unfairly denied medication who couldn't figure out the system.

Erin Biba@erinbiba.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The AI that runs the medication pre-authorization decisions for my BFF’s health insurance company just randomly decided the he didn’t need the medication anymore and the entire prescription was canceled and he had to spend an entire day on the phone trying to fix it.

Does anyone need soil? I have 150 quarts I didn't order and they won't take it back. Bluesky is definitely the right place for this I assume, since everyone here is a Deep Space Nine fan from Chicagoland or Greater Philadelphia.

Happy International #TransDayOfVisibility! It's a day to celebrate our transgender neighbors, but it's also a day to remember that visibility is not safe for everyone. It's up to the rest of the world to make it a safe place for every transgender person to be seen and celebrated. #tdov

Public transit generates a ton of value for society that the transit providers can't capture in revenue. When critical infrastructure for health, daily life, and/or participation in government and democracy isn't accessible, it can create harm and barriers far more costly than bus service.

Jarrett Walker@humantransit.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Portland's transit agency @trimet.org is proposing to delete all service within 1/4 mile of a major medical center! They appear to be so broke that this, and many other dramatic cuts, are the least-bad option. My deep dive: humantransit.org/2026/01/port... Comment by this Sat 1/31! (Link in post)

Is there any way to opt out of my apps updating with Christmas themed icons? Like I'm not allowed to be Jewish on my own phone?

This is really amazing and also means we need to quickly reevaluate a lot of "known" findings. Especially problematic because I can't even remember which facts in my head come from mturk studies!

John Holbein@johnholbein1.bsky.social · 10mo ago

The implication is severe: careless responding on MTurk isn’t rare noise; it’s systematic enough to flip the sign of relationships and generate results that are the opposite of what they really are. Wow; this is pretty damning. link.springer.com/article/10.3...

Important, valid, and distressing confirmation of discrimination against mothers. I know #FollowFriday isn't for four more hours, but give Professor Holbein a follow anyway. He's truly excellent at curating and explaining research that's interesting and/or important.

John Holbein@johnholbein1.bsky.social · 10mo ago

These authors wanted to know whether mothers face discrimination in hiring, even when they are equally qualified as other applicants. So they ran two experiments...