Zach Hunter

Politics and College Football | Former House Guy | Go Dawgs

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

So this speech means massive bipartisan support for new funding for updated election infrastructure, right?

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

@ryanatkalshi cc @BrandonDHowell

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

Claude could never.

[Jonah Goldberg @JonahDispatch]

This is a great lede by @MichaelRWarren

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

I know people who made good money smuggling American jeans into Soviet Union in the 80s.

We are one hot summer away from being able to do the same thing with AC units in Europe.

[Good Morning Britain @GMB]

Is it selfish to get air con in the heat wave?

Air conditioner units are selling out as Brits struggle with the soaring temperatures, but with around 4% of total global greenhouse gas emissions attributed to air con, should we be using them when we know they're heating the planet?

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

Finally found something to get @mal_hunter to take AI seriously

[Ole Lehmann @itsolelehmann]

i'm obsessed with AI DIY projects

my favorite one right now is this guy who built an AI system that listens for birds outside his apartment, figures out what species they are, and paints them on his wall.

here's how the whole thing works:

1. a cheap usb mic on his balcony listens for birdsong 24/7

2. BirdNET, Cornell's AI model trained on 6,000+ species, names each bird species from the sound alone (no camera needed)

3. every time it hears one, Gemini 2.5 Flash Image paints that exact bird in the style of an Edo-period japanese woodblock print

4. the new painting drops into a live collage of everything that's been singing outside in the last 24 hours

5. and it all shows up on a framed e-ink display on his wall that reads "heard today" like a little museum placard for his neighborhood

knowing which birds visit you used to take a field guide, a trained ear, plus years of patient practice.

teddy just glances at the frame on his wall and sees the cardinal came back this morning

honestly i'm highly tempted to build one myself haha

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

Capitalism for the win, again

[Front Office Sports @FOS]

TSA warned Europeans not to try to fly home from the World Cup with bottles of ranch dressing.

Kraft is now releasing a pack of TSA-compliant ranch packets that add up to a full bottle.

[Dudes Posting Their W’s @DudespostingWs]

Georgia player hits a home run in his final college at-bat. As he rounds the bases, his brother, who plays for the other team, gives him a high five. Their parents were in the stands watching the whole thing.

[Zaid Jilani @ZaidJilani]

Georgia is fundamentally a sleepy state. Not a lot of news presence (AJC and AP saw massive layoffs) and not a lot of organizing. When things are this sleepy, you get a sleepy result.

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

Do US social media agencies have to register as foreign agents the same way lobby shops do?

Because no Iranian comms team is making these memes

[Iran Embassy Hungary @IRANinHUNGARY]

Trump’s attempt to pass through the Strait of Hormu!🤭

#StraitOfHormuz
#PersianGulf

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

It has always amazed me that Democrats didn’t lean into government efficiency and reform more. If you’re going to argue that government can make people’s lives better you need to be the first to stamp down on waste and fraud or else it will undermine your whole underlying case.

[Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @NYCMayor]

Government must deliver for working people—and every dollar in our budget should work as hard as they do.

That’s why I directed every agency to cut waste and help close our budget gap.

Here’s some of what we found.

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

Now control for WFH jobs and in office jobs and see what happens

[Aziz Sunderji @AzizSunderji]

The share of Americans reporting they are "very happy" dropped 7 points after COVID—the largest decline in the General Social Survey's 52-year history.

The biggest losses came from the top. Top earners, the upper class, college grads, people in excellent health, those in happy marriages—all saw double-digit drops. Before the pandemic, top earners were 24 points happier than bottom earners. Today that gap is 10.

What predicts happiness in America has shifted. Income, education, and class matter less than they used to. Socializing and participating in a community matter more.

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

"i'd rather it feel awkward and human than efficient and cold."

Perhaps this will be the rallying cry for all humans in the coming years as we face AI disruption.

[jack @jack]

we're making @blocks smaller today. here's my note to the company.

####

today we're making one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company: we're reducing our organization by nearly half, from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000. that means over 4,000 of you are being asked to leave or entering into consultation. i'll be straight about what's happening, why, and what it means for everyone.

first off, if you're one of the people affected, you'll receive your salary for 20 weeks + 1 week per year of tenure, equity vested through the end of may, 6 months of health care, your corporate devices, and $5,000 to put toward whatever you need to help you in this transition (if you’re outside the U.S. you’ll receive similar support but exact details are going to vary based on local requirements). i want you to know that before anything else. everyone will be notified today, whether you're being asked to leave, entering consultation, or asked to stay.

we're not making this decision because we're in trouble. our business is strong. gross profit continues to grow, we continue to serve more and more customers, and profitability is improving. but something has changed. we're already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company. and that's accelerating rapidly.

i had two options: cut gradually over months or years as this shift plays out, or be honest about where we are and act on it now. i chose the latter. repeated rounds of cuts are destructive to morale, to focus, and to the trust that customers and shareholders place in our ability to lead. i'd rather take a hard, clear action now and build from a position we believe in than manage a slow reduction of people toward the same outcome. a smaller company also gives us the space to grow our business the right way, on our own terms, instead of constantly reacting to market pressures.

a decision at this scale carries risk. but so does standing still. we've done a full review to determine the roles and people we require to reliably grow the business from here, and we've pressure-tested those decisions from multiple angles. i accept that we may have gotten some of them wrong, and we've built in flexibility to account for that, and do the right thing for our customers.

we're not going to just disappear people from slack and email and pretend they were never here. communication channels will stay open through thursday evening (pacific) so everyone can say goodbye properly, and share whatever you wish. i'll also be hosting a live video session to thank everyone at 3:35pm pacific. i know doing it this way might feel awkward. i'd rather it feel awkward and human than efficient and cold.

to those of you leaving…i’m grateful for you, and i’m sorry to put you through this. you built what this company is today. that's a fact that i'll honor forever. this decision is not a reflection of what you contributed. you will be a great contributor to any organization going forward.

to those staying…i made this decision, and i'll own it. what i'm asking of you is to build with me. we're going to build this company with intelligence at the core of everything we do. how we work, how we create, how we serve our customers. our customers will feel this shift too, and we're going to help them navigate it: towards a future where they can build their own features directly, composed of our capabilities and served through our interfaces. that's what i'm focused on now. expect a note from me tomorrow.

jack

[Alexandra DeSanctis Marr @xan_desanctis]

I don’t care if Alysa Liu is woke. I don’t care if the Tkachuk brothers are MAGA. It’s the Olympics. Celebrating incredible American athletes is a joy and a privilege. If you can’t find a way to do that as an American, it’s your loss.

[Kendall Baker @kendallbaker]

Hang it in The Louvre

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

Tbh this is excellent counsel. First years take note

[Reese Gorman @reesejgorman]

Les Wexner’s attorney did not like his answers to the questions during the House Oversight Committee deposition.

He told Wexner: “I’ll fucking kill you if you answer another question with more than five words, ok?”

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

So many fundamental elements of good parenting are deceptively simple.

Not easy. But simple.

Read to your kids. Spend time with them without screens. Get outside and stay active. Eat whole foods as much as possible. Love them no matter what. And don’t confuse their emotions for your own.

[Mary Katharine Ham @mkhammer]

Bring back books! This is me @NRO this month (link below).

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

Hell yeah. Movies are released only on theaters before they go on streaming. Why shouldn’t Sturgill see if he can do something similar with music?

I will buy a record just out of principle

[Rolling Stone @RollingStone]

The Artist FKA Sturgill Simpson Is Releasing a New Album. You Can’t Stream It

'Mutiny After Midnight,' by Johnny Blue Skies and the Dark Clouds, will be released only on vinyl, CD, and cassette.

More: https://t.co/dUi3By4cnV

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

@MattGorman I used to have files of Vince Carter’s dunk contest saves the home screen of my family’s kitchen desktop computer. Now this dunk isn’t even noteworthy for a casual scroll

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

Or, stick with the classics for your southern lady:

Twoooooo dozen roses and a cooooold bottle of wine

[Brandon Luu, MD @BrandonLuuMD]

Men, this Valentine's Day, skip the flowers.

Give these instead:
-Creatine: muscle, cognition, menstrual health
-Bright light lamp: mood, energy, winter depression
-Red light glasses: sleep quality
-Psyllium: glucose, cholesterol, gut health
-Spa pass: heat/cold, relaxation

[Zach Hunter @zhunterGA]

Too bad the video cut off before Ellison hit Hawley with “The jerk store called…”

[Brandon Straka #WalkAway @BrandonStraka]

Keith Ellison: “You’re talking over me.”

Josh Hawley: “It’s my hearing, pal!”

Keith Ellison: “I’m not your pal. Don’t call me pal.”

Josh Hawley: “Well, I should call you prisoner because you ought to be in jail.”