Jason Pettus 

@jasonpettus
441 Followers
274 Following
2.1K Posts
Freelance book editor and rare book collector based out of Chicago. This is a migration from another account I've had since 2019. I do the middle-aged dad version of shitposting, whatever that's called. Mastolikes: Discordia, transgression, cyberpunk, intl travel, absurdism as lifestyle, breadmaking. Mastodislikes: Toxic positivity (aka "You Got This! Syndrome"), radicals on either side of the political divide, sports, popular music, and many more. #StopTalkingAboutLinux.
Freelancing sitehttps://pettus.rocks
Personal journalhttps://write.as/jasonpettus
Photographyhttps://pixelfed.social/@jasonpettus
Jason Pettus 1d ago
Jason Pettus Book Reviews1d ago

Review of "The Farther Shore" (3 stars): A serviceable introduction of the Voyager crew to Simon & Schuster's Relaunch Universe

https://bookwyrm.social/user/jasonpettus/review/10572860

Jason Pettus 1d ago
vitalis1d ago
Jason Pettus 4d ago

This will be one of the subjects of the book I have coming out next month, so it's interesting to see that the first major study of its kind has proven that cats fed dry food versus wet food have much higher rates of diabetes, kidney disease, and fatty liver disease.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44433-025-00001-6

Cats on dry kibble diet have significantly different microbiome than those on canned wet food - npj Veterinary Sciences

Domestic cats (Felis catus) are understudied regarding how commercial diets impact their gut microbiomes. Here, we reanalyzed the 16S rRNA gene (V4) amplicon sequencing Kittybiome dataset, using new tools and techniques. Results demonstrated significant microbial composition differences between cats eating commercial dry kibble diets and those eating canned wet food. Kibble-fed cats showed enriched Prevotella, Bifidobacterium, and Megamonas amplicon sequencing variants (ASVs), linked to carbohydrate metabolism and metabolic disease.

Nature
Jason Pettus 4d ago

The Verge illustrating an article about a wireless charger by showing a humongous wire is [chef's kiss]

https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/901836/anker-qi2-wireless-charging-iphone-magsafe-amazon-big-spring-sale-2026-deal?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

Anker’s wireless charging pad offers Qi2 speeds for $15

During Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, you can snag Anker’s Qi2 wireless charging pad that offers 15W speeds for just $14.99. That’s like a dollar per watt.

The Verge
Jason Pettus 4d ago
Literal freelance job post I saw this morning: "I created this manuscript using AI, and now I need an editor to make it sound like my authentic voice." Maybe skip the AI AND the editor, and just...you know, write in your authentic fucking voice?
Jason Pettus 5d ago
"Yeah, yeah, I understand that the whole point of the Borg is that they're a hive mind; I understand that the reason they're terrifying is because there's no one person in charge. But hear me out -- what if we made a Borg QUEEN who's in charge of all the others? And what if she was a SEXY LADY?"
Jason Pettus 5d ago

It's official: Wikipedia has banned all AI-generated content. This might finally be the thing that convinces me to donate each year!

https://www.404media.co/wikipedia-bans-ai-generated-content/

Wikipedia Bans AI-Generated Content

“In recent months, more and more administrative reports centered on LLM-related issues, and editors were being overwhelmed.”

404 Media
Jason Pettus 5d ago

fIREHOSE, the band formed by the remaining members of Minutemen after the death of their lead singer. D. Boon, was one of the first post-punk bands I ever started listening to, along with the Smiths, my senior year of high school (1986), after buying their debut album completely randomly at St. Louis's Vintage Vinyl one day. (I used to buy a lot of random albums back then.) In the NYT today, the band members reflect on Boon on the 40th anniversary of his death.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/arts/music/minutemen-d-boon.html

D. Boon’s Death Shook Punk Rock. 40 Years Later, Minutemen Look Back.

The influential band’s singer and guitarist died at 27, but the bassist Mike Watt and the drummer George Hurley never lost his spirit.

The New York Times
Jason Pettus 6d ago
Today I learned6d ago

TIL in 2023 a Canadian court ruled that a thumbs up emoji 👍 carried enough weight to establish a legally binding contract between two parties

https://mccabes.com.au/insights/canadian-court-elevates-thumbs-up-emoji-to-signature-status-2/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1s30eq9/til_in_2023_a_canadian_court_ruled_that_a_thumbs/

Jason Pettus 6d ago

Big news -- OpenAI has shut down their video generator, and the rumor* is that it's because an in-house employee got caught making child sexual material with it, and they're now trying to get on top of the situation before it becomes public.

*I started this rumor

https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/899850/openai-sora-ai-chatgpt?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

OpenAI just gave up on Sora and its billion-dollar Disney deal

OpenAI will wind down its Sora video generating AI model and app, and end a recently-announced deal with disney.

The Verge