RE: https://mastodon.social/@jeffjarvis/117439509084213092

You get lots of boosts from me, Jeff. But this one deserves a QB ("Quote Boost") for you employing the less common past tense form of the verb "to shit". It always rings a bit Elizabethan. And I like that better than just using the same present tense form for the past like most folks do nowadays.

"To spit" has the same choice. I love English.

I hope you shook your fist at the bird. Pigeon? Crow? Grackle?

Jeezus, NYTimes, aren't you getting a little ahead of yourselves here?
Leo XIV’s Cancer Diagnosis Tests the Assumption of a Long Papacy https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/13/world/europe/pope-leo-health-cancer.html?smid=tw-share

Why toilet paper? Weird idea of conference-room camouflage.
An OpenAI engineer allegedly hid a mic wrapped in toilet paper in a room used for top-secret meetings. https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/saudi-national-charged-with-bugging-openais-office-7e960aad?st=1RCjqL

It's Stupid's Economy. Thanks, Trump.
Broad Pickup in Prices Lifted Inflation to 3.7% in September
https://www.wsj.com/economy/cpi-inflation-report-september-2026-b2037469?st=9ivZDK

As I sat in City Hall Park yesterday on a Zoom call, a bird shat on my keyboard. I'm proud that my first reflex was *not* to take a picture but to grab a napkin out of my briefcase (thank goodness for that) and clean it off.

Call it what it is: a lie.
Republicans Promoted a False Rumor That James Talarico Was in Ohio https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/12/us/politics/james-talarico-ohio-texas-senate-race.html?smid=tw-share

Call it what it is: a lie.
Elon Musk’s megaphone propels conspiracy theory about James Talarico https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/10/13/fringe-theory-about-james-talarico-went-viral-then-elon-musk-weighed/

I'm so sick of media's digital puritanism. We carry phones because they're useful -- more than newspapers.
How to protect your brain and your family from your phone https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/10/13/evidence-backed-tips-how-fight-phone-addiction-distracting-apps/

Murdoch media, the great force decivilizing America, finds a former judge to extol the "messy" virtues of executing a person with guns.
The Case for Firing Squads by Alex Kozinski https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-case-for-firing-squads-a9880cad?st=HL9WFK

So excited that I will be on with my other favorite interviewer (sorry, Howard), Brian Lehrer, in the 11a hour to talk about my book Hot Type, which happens to include some great New York stories. https://wnyc.org/browse/shows/brian-lehrer-show

A fresh reason to unplug federal censorship commission https://wapo.st/4yfCRg2

Prizes too often eschew diversity; AI doubts attack diversity:
"The five literary scandals around A.I. that I consider most significant this year have each focused on Black and brown writers."
When Black Writers Are Guilty Until Proved Human
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/11/opinion/ai-books-fiction-black-writers-racism.html

If AI eliminated prizes like this, I'd cheer, for they exclude pluralism, as if one among countless works that please judges can be crowned "best" for all. AI mocks prizes by caricaturing prize-winners.
Yet Another Literary Prizewinner Seems to Be AI
https://www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/10/caine-prize-winning-short-story-seems-be-ai/688967/

In the Murdochs' dreams:
The Week Mamdani Started to Lose His Grip on the Left https://www.wsj.com/us-news/the-week-mamdani-started-to-lose-his-grip-on-the-left-6d852f7c?st=YBMUC5

'On Bank’s website, suits from this collection promise “ultimate stretch performance” and “antimicrobial properties” that reduce odor. They are made from wool and polyester, with a touch of spandex.'
The Meaning Behind Trump’s Affordable Suit https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/style/trump-suits-jos-a-bank-brioni.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HlE.oi93.K-s1QeV9OXTm&smid=tw-share

Needed sanity against the Haidt moral panic:
"Blaming screens is a convenient way to avoid harder, deeper issues: inadequate mental health care and a system that chronically underfunds treatment."
I’m a Child Psychiatrist. Screens Are Not the Problem.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/opinion/children-screens-parents-health.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HVE.rhMQ.xLHBXhugmd6U&smid=tw-share

Ah, I think, at last The Times is waking up to authoritarianism's arrival in America. No, this is about Uganda.

Mistral and Reflection AI dropped two big Western open-weight models within 24 hours, both aimed at China’s lead. Also: a 19-year-old’s $3,499 AI PC packed with ~$5K in parts, and AI legally prescribing acne meds in Utah.

New AI Inside with @jeffjarvis → https://aiinside.show/episode/mistral-drops-a-trillion-parameter-open-model

Once more, New England friends, I'm coming to Haverhill near Boston at 10a Saturday to give a book talk on Hot Type at Historic New England, followed by live demos of a working Linotype. Please do join. Details and free registration here:
https://my.historicnewengland.org/26403/hot-type

Pity Sorkin and Haugen. They've been obsoleted by the next technology moral panic.