Activity

Posted:

The betting platforms can't open markets on Trump's death for obvious reasons, but Kalshi just so happened to open up a "Trump out as President" market on Saturday

Kalshi prediction market for "Trump out as President this year?". It opened at around 5% on August 30, raising to around 10% by September 1

Polymarket opened their own on September 1.

Polymarket prediction market for "Trump out as President this year?". It opened at around 10% on September 1, hovering between 7 and ~11.5% since

Unlike Polymarket, on Kalshi these markets do not resolve to "yes" if the person in question dies (they settle at the last traded price). I suspect many bettors don't read the fine print, though.

Donald Trump Jr. is an adviser to both Kalshi and Polymarket, btw. (This is deeply weird for all of the many reasons having Don Jr. as an adviser is deeply weird, and also because the companies are the two major competitors in the prediction markets space)

Finished reading:
Cover image of The League of Frightened Men
Nero Wolfe series, book 2.
The League of Frightened Men
by Rex Stout.
Published . 302 pages.
crime, mystery
Started ; completed September 1, 2025.
Posted:

i never realized that "getting lit", as in getting drunk, dates back at least to the 1930s

“You could have phoned him last night.”
“I could not. I got lit last night. This is the first job I’ve had in a month.”
“Got any expense money left?”
“Enough for a couple of days. I’ve learned self-control.”
“How drunk are you?”
“Hell, how do I know?”
Wolfe’s brow lifted. “Gentlemen?”
Farrell said, “Mike’s all right. Forget him. He’s all right.” Julius Adler the lawyer, about the build of a lead-pencil stub, looking like a necktie clerk except for his eyes and the way he was dressed, put in, “I would say yes. We realize that this is your house, Mr. Wolfe, and that Mr. Ayers is lit, but after all we don’t suppose that you invited us here to censor our private habits. You have something to say to us?”

(via The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout, first published 1935)

Posted:

This month's fiction: very gay, very outer space.

Highlights included Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove, The Alliance series by Elaine U. Cho, and Charlie Jane Anders' Lessons in Magic and Disaster.

@molly0xfff August reading wrap-up, reviewing the 16 books I read this month (no spoilers) #readingwrapup #augustreadingwrapup #booktok #bookrecommendations #scifibooks ♬ original sound - Molly White
Storygraph August 2025 wrap-up page. Books: 16; pages: 5,756; av. rating 3.34. Highest rated reads: Of Monsters and Mainframes (4 stars), Lessons in Magic and Disaster (4 stars), Teo's Durumi (4 stars). Average book length: 352 pages; average time to finish: 4 days. 100% fiction. 56% digital, 44% audio.
August 2025 reads: Dark Angel, John Sandford (2 stars) Fugitive Telemetry, Martha Wells (3 stars) Righteous Prey, John Sandford (3.5 stars) System Collapse, Martha Wells (3 stars) Automatic Noodle, Annalee Newitz (3 stars) Judgment Prey, John Sandford (3.5 stars) How High We Go in the Dark, Sequoia Nagamatsu (DNF) The Bullet That Missed, Richard Osman (3.5 stars) Ocean's Godori, Elaine U. Cho (4 stars) Teo's Durumi, Elaine U. Cho (4 stars) Toxic Prey, John Sandford (3 stars) Lethal Prey, John Sandford (4 stars) Lessons in Magic and Disaster, Charlie Jane Anders (4 stars) Of Monsters and Mainframes, Barbara Truelove (4 stars) The Black Echo, Michael Connelly (3 stars) Space Team, Barry J. Hutchinson (3 stars) The Black Ice, Michael Connelly (3.5 stars)

The essay I mention in the video is "On the Joy of Building a Sci-Fi World with a Korean Inflection".

Finished reading:
Cover image of The Black Ice
Harry Bosch series, book 2.
The Black Ice
by Michael Connelly.
Audiobook.
Published . 439 pages.
crime, mystery, thriller
Started ; completed August 31, 2025.
Finished reading:
Cover image of Space Team
Space Team series, book 1.
Space Team
by Barry J. Hutchison.
Published . 284 pages.
humor, science fiction, space
Started ; completed August 30, 2025.
Finished reading:
Cover image of The Black Echo
Harry Bosch series, book 1.
The Black Echo
by Michael Connelly.
Audiobook.
Published . 482 pages.
crime, mystery, thriller
Started ; completed August 30, 2025.
Posted:

I’ve spent the better part of two decades dealing with people trying to dox and harass the volunteers who make Wikipedia the incredible resource it is today.

I liked it better when they weren’t in Congress.

Letter from House Oversight Committee Chairs James Comer and Nancy Mace

I also spent six years on the same (volunteer!) Arbitration Committee from which Oversight is now demanding private communications. Even just threats like this one, regardless of followthrough, will it so much harder for them to do their thankless work.