Bookmarking because this is one of the only correct takes I have seen on this issue 👏

Vision Zero Vancouver@visionzerovancouver.ca · 2h ago

"The impact of being hit by an e-scooter could certainly result in life-altering injuries or death, especially for seniors. But the solution is not to ban e-scooters, or to criminalize youth for being youth." Great letter with a lot of fantastic insights! www.nsnews.com/opinion/opin...

New paper thread! "Rings in the Sky: Orbital Data Centres and Potential Impacts to Astronomy and the Sky" by A. Boley, me, and @hannorein. Submitted, and posted to the arxiv preprint server. What would the sky look like if companies actually launch the tens of thousands up to one million "AI […]

Louder for the people in the back who are doing good work but for some reason they are writing about it on one of the worst platforms Every time a cool person doing important stuff is all, here's my substack!, my heart sinks. Right up there with "I only used AI for research and fact checking!"… NO🚨

Schmutzie.@schmutzie.com · 3d ago

If you're still on Substack, you're helping platform fascists and their enthusiastic minions, such as Bari Weiss, whom they actively partnered with just before her move to CBS. Go check out @buttondown.com and @ghost.org instead. You can even migrate yours subscribers and subscriptions!

Yo Seattle SMOKE INCOMING. Worst likely Wed-Thu. Exposure to wildfire smoke harms your health—don't tough it out. Air purifiers are your friend. Many free apps show you local air quality (AQI). Exerting yourself outdoors when it's high is a bad call. Be safe! emeraldcityweather.com/heat-wildfir...

Heat and wildfire smoke set to return to Seattle and Western Washington this week - Emerald City Weather Blog

(I know this is super long but it’s a lot to discuss, but here’s a TL;DR/ “Too Long;

emeraldcityweather.com

Enjoying a bike camping weekend on Bainbridge and feeling some kind of way about casually enjoying a (legit allowed) campfire while dear friends on the other side of the state face evacuations and horrific air quality 💔 Hang in there Spokane

New article! On AI, war, and other bad things: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/quicksand

Quicksand

Gen X was right after all.

sarahkendzior.substack.com

We all do And if you're @sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy, sometimes workers show up at your neighbor's farm with a U-Haul to quietly take the space junk away

Jan van der Meiden@janvdm.bsky.social · 6d ago

Who pays if space junk hits you or your home? www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/w...

For my next trick, I will take one of the very few commuter buses to the Caltrain to get back to SFO for my flight home this evening. Its been fun SLAC (and car centric Silicon Valley in general 🤢) ... a colleague offered me a ride and I was like no! I want to take transit!

Heard music at my conference over lunch, wandered over to find a group singing in harmony, was handed sheet music to the tune from ST:TNG The Inner Light, proceeded to not totally ruin the harmony line Next up? An arrangement of "May the Road" (Irish blessing) I'd not heard before

Beca (Anna Kendrick) - I Love You Awesome Nerds

Alt: Beca (Anna Kendrick) - I Love You Awesome Nerds

static.klipy.com

"Cowboy Space Is Committed to Mitigating the Effects of the Stampede System on Astronomy" is a real section title in a consolidated opposition to the FCC (which means it's a response to many comments about an initial filing, in which Cowboy Space details plans for 20k data center satellites)

Interesting times dot com

The Type of Orbital Data Centers That Billionaires Want to Launch Into Space Would Wreak Ecological Catastrophe, Scientists Warn

A group of concerned environmental groups has issued a formal petition calling on the FCC to investigate orbital data centers.

futurism.com

Spending the week with colleagues in California 😎 Earlier today I let a session on satellite streaks & glints, and we officially released our early data preview 2 (EDP2)! Not bad for Day 1. The observatory is offline while we recover from a storm, but meanwhile…always more science to do #RCW2026 🔭

NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory@vrubinobs.bsky.social · last wk.

Today, we're kicking off the 2026 Rubin Community Workshop at SLAC National Accelerator Lab! #RCW2026 Over the next five days, hundreds of scientists and engineers will come together for collaboration and conversation about big-data astrophysics with Rubin. Here's to a week of sharing ideas! 🔭🧪

My family was not near Seattle Center this evening. This is an evolving news story. Guns and cars are scourges and we need way fewer of both. Prayers for the victims, first responders, witnesses, and medical professionals.

Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · last wk.

Seattle Fire and Police are currently responding to a mass shooting at the Seattle Center with at least six gunshot victims.

I did it I flew to Spokane, crashed with a friend, picked up 2 kids from camp, and drove them both home safely to Seattle Trains more than 1x daily at times besides 1am/3am when???

Sometimes I fly to the Bay Area for work (more Palo Alto, less SF), and every time I check to see if I could just rent a bike real quick to get around while I'm there The answer is always nope, but here are 12 ways to find yourself in a car, which app would you prefer to use for that? jfc techbros

WOW indeed !!! Maybe complaining louder and harder actually makes a difference sometimes?!? I was very close to resigning myself to buying new lunchbox supplies for fall, since we need to wash daily to sustain daily lunch packing, but now that is on hold 🙌 UNIVERSAL SCHOOL MEALS let's goooo

Amy Sundberg@amysundberg.bsky.social · 2w ago

WOW. New announcement from Seattle CMs Strauss, Hollingsworth, and Foster saying they will fund universal school meals starting in the fall after all by using the general fund. Hard to see this as anything but a realization of the high political price they paid for their votes yesterday.

Don't mind me, I'll be over here dreaming about taking my family cargo ebike on future Amtrak Cascades trips, hoping beyond hope they get rid of the 50 lb weight limit and have oversized bike options (without removing all bags and hanging from the front wheel) 🤞🤞🤞 🚆 + 🚲 = 💚🤎🤍

Literally me yesterday, as I was biking on my very own street, because apparently racing to the green light is the only important thing

Alex@mplsalex.bsky.social · 2w ago

Every time I think “I bet my kids could bike this mile to camp on slow, calm, neighborhood streets by themselves” some impatient asshole in an SUV nearly kills us all and I realize - nope. Guess not.

You can't AI your way out of the hole you dug when you threw away all the institutional knowledge So yes, document everything, but also, consider that there are other ways of knowing that involve listening and community building, not just written records and maximizing stakeholder value

Marco Chitti@chittimarco.bsky.social · 2w ago

Polanyi calls knowledge that isn't written down in texts or drawings but that exist within people and groups of people as "implicit/tacit knowledge". The loss of this unwritten, often unspoken, knowledge is often considered to be one of the reasons why institutions lose the capacity of doing stuff.

Love that time of year when you're all "ugh it's 91 out" and legit not sure if 91 refers to the temperature or the AQI

Just when I thought my city was maybe going to consistently do things right for a hot minute ... nope, wouldn't want to spend $3M to feed all kids, might not be optimally equitable 😩

Brett Hamil@bretthamil.bsky.social · 2w ago

Universal School Meals loses 6-3. Saka, Lin & Rinck all opposed the means testing amendment

seattle folks, you got ballots in the mail. And if you are the type who used to just check The Stranger, well; it was bought out in 2024 by a former politician, and coincidentally their political endorsements have lost the mandate of heaven. this cheat sheet shows you who has endorsed who:

Lefty Cheat Sheet@electioncheatsheet.org · 3w ago

Are you voting this weekend? Wondering how lefty organizers on the ground are thinking about this primary? ElectionCheatSheet.org has you covered no matter the level of detail! Switch from a quick voter guide, to deep research on each lefty orgs’ endorsement pages, in just a few taps!

Got home from a family road trip yesterday, did ALL the laundry, & sent the big kid off to another sleepaway camp this AM Getting good at unpacking and repacking in record time 🤪 I'm worried about AQI for (checks notes) the next few months 😭 especially in eastern WA/northern ID where she is headed

This, from food safety attorney Bill Marler, is so much better than anything I've seen from the FDA.

Taylor Farms Posted Its Own Recall. It Went to 27 States, Not 5 — and the List Includes Bags Sold in Grocery Stores.

Taylor Farms has posted a recall notice on its own website. As of this morning it is still not on FDA's recalls page, which means the only

marlerblog.com

Are you voting this weekend? Wondering how lefty organizers on the ground are thinking about this primary? ElectionCheatSheet.org has you covered no matter the level of detail! Switch from a quick voter guide, to deep research on each lefty orgs’ endorsement pages, in just a few taps!

Seattleites: if you, like me, have relied on @thestranger.com for election recommendations in the past, please be aware that those recommendations have been enshittified, likely due to changes in the paper's ownership. Use the Urbanist recommendations instead:

The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · 3w ago

The Urbanist Elections Committee has issued its 2026 primary election endorsements. Be sure to vote by August 4! Endorsements: www.theurbanist.org/2026-primary...

Buckle up, PNW, this gets worse before it gets better 😞

Mark Ingalls@ingalls.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 3w ago

Many new wildfire starts, especially in the Cascades and Blue Mountains of Oregon, thanks to a dry thunderstorm outbreak yesterday and overnight. #ORfire #ORwx #WAfire #WAwx

"Last year alone the city installed more than 70 traffic-calming features on its streets, including speed humps and painting stripes on crosswalks to increase visibility."

This New England City Hasn't Had a Traffic Death in Three Years

Somerville, Mass., officials say their success is rooted in tried-and-true best practices for traffic safety.

governing.com

Thank you @salmonbayfc.bsky.social for a realistic bike & bus map. It has everything: - Missing Link, front & center - Cannot bike safely on Ballard Bridge - Have to walk bikes thru Ballard Locks - Fremont Bridge very inconvenient - D bus 15 min weekend headways Is this the best we can do Seattle?

Salmon Bay FC@salmonbayfc.bsky.social · 3w ago

Know Before You Go ➡️ Swipe to read some important info you should know before Saturday’s National Final at Interbay Stadium! #SalmonBayFC | #FeelTheCurrent