Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson

@hypomodern.com

Just this guy, you know? Computer toucher, aspiring woodworker, policy and gaming wonk. History nerd. Collaborative storyteller. Ann Arbor, MI

286 followers70 following2.5K posts

Matt Wilson reposted

MI Gov race: my almost-21yo needed to renew her driver's license in person. Went online last night, made an appt for noon today, was done by 12:02. Jocelyn Benson did that. Let's bring that kind of competence to the Governor's office.

Who's got two thumbs and is going to build a "What if we just left TimeWarner well enough alone in 2016" model tonight?

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Also there'd be more competition and a lot fewer people would've lost their jobs, so there's that. AT&T and Discovery shareholders more or less bankrolled a transfer of about 30 billion of their equity value into debt payouts held by other people and TimeWarner shareholders.

(The company would also have been fine if it launched HBO Max on its own; it just would have had more debt servicing and fewer shareholder payouts to date. But it would have a streaming platform it might be able to weather the storm of declining linear network revenue with?)

Who's got two thumbs and is going to build a "What if we just left TimeWarner well enough alone in 2016" model tonight?

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Interestingly, my model seems to show that an independent TimeWarner that did _not_ participate in the Streaming Platform Build-out War actually comes out ahead, both for the company's financial health and shareholder returns.

That's a less plausible scenario, since society currently cannot abide consistent free cash flow opposite flat revenue. It demands ACTION. But if it had just continued to invest in Hulu/HBONow, the extra cash returns to shareholders would be slightly stronger (in constant 2026 dollars).

Who's got two thumbs and is going to build a "What if we just left TimeWarner well enough alone in 2016" model tonight?

This is going to stun you, but the answer is "it would be fine". There was less shareholder risk in taking the first (AT&T) deal, but only a little less. The biggest winners from this whole series of M&A are the institutions and people that facilitated the transactions.

Peter Sparling’s art exhibition at the Power Center was very seasonally appropriate (not just spooky but also angry) — a complement to the dance piece

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"Dance theater": there was narration, singing, live music, acting, etc. That said, I was surprised there was no "artist statement" at all describing even the themes or inspirations for the work, and I think that ended up leaving it a bit too difficult to parse for much of the town's art audience :)

I think it would have helped a lot of the intellectuals around here come along if there had been a bit more there in the program for them to read :).

Peter Sparling’s art exhibition at the Power Center was very seasonally appropriate (not just spooky but also angry) — a complement to the dance piece

The dance (_The Rose Sonata_), a commission for UMS' 150th (!) season, was really quite something as well. More "Dance Theater" than a pure dance, it was definitely a bit Lynchian (occupying a liminal dream-space) and a bit Wes Anderson-ish (that curious mixture of formalism with expressionism).

It is as bad as it feels

Bill Radjewski@collegefootballdata.com

Michigan's defense has held all 7 opponents to 20 points or fewer. Since 2014, FBS teams that do that win 87% of the time. Michigan is 4-3. Jason Beck has to go. Now. Here's the data. 🧵

“42 for 57” ain’t quite “29 for 29” but if that’s what you’re doing with a freshman QB then well, lieutenant, your men are already dead

OK, ok... USC, I was not familiar with your game. Thank you for demonstrating new frontiers with your "24 rushes for -17 net yards" outing tonight.

"3rd & 1 from the IU 1: T. Carr sacked for loss of 13 yards to the IU 14" what are they even doing out there, man?

<takes off Jason Beck’s mask, mission impossible style> Wink Martindale! Sorry, sorry, I’ll try to be less mean :)

Matt Wilson reposted

Today, in DD/MM/YY form, is 24/10/26, a Pythagorean triple, the last one this century apparently

My first 5 TTRPGs, in the order I played them: 1. "The Map Game", a thing my friends and I invented 2. GURPS 3. Robotech 4. Toon 5. I don't remember exactly the order but one of Rifts, Vampire: the Masquerade, or Shadowrun

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Matt Wilson reposted

Once mass spam texts were made legal, younger donors vanished, leaving a grassroots fundraising machine that subsists on squeezing vulnerable seniors, some of whom give hundreds of times a day. It’s a horrific model. Consultants get generationally wealthy, and the party hollows out its future.

Jake Grumbach@jakemgrumbach.bsky.social

We found that as of right now 73% of your campaign donation goes back to the consultants and vendors (!!!), four times more than just 20 years ago. Only 13% to ads. Even I was shocked.

“…but you can run it into an iceberg and sink it overnight!”

FactPost@factpostnews.bsky.social

JD Vance on the economy: "You don't turn the Titanic around overnight"

Matt Wilson reposted

article mentions people avoiding travel to US, and yeah sure, but this year it's also maybe about AAA collapsing... some tracks were mostly AAA devs doing post-mortems

Vertical Slice@verticalslice.news

GDC is ditching Fridays to become four-day event in 2027 Event organiser Informa said the annual game industry conference is "concentrating" its programming and will now run Monday through Thursday

Matt Wilson reposted

Replying to @opinionhaver.bsky.social

how do you write this?! how do you not realize you are the fucking problem here?! you are the one doing things worse! they are better at this than you!

Matt Wilson reposted

WE DID IT

Adam Schefter ... Mirror@adamscheftermirror.bsky.social

If the Commanders lose tonight on Monday Night Football to the 49ers, the NFC East would become the first division in NFL history to be winless in consecutive weeks in which all teams in the division played a game. And two of the teams played each other last week. Original post

Matt Wilson reposted

I love trying to read an article longer than 250 words on a browser on my phone the constant reloading adds a lovely frisson of danger to the reading experience also it loses my place every time it reloads which is both interactive and disorienting best of all is when the ad tech kills the page dead

Matt Wilson reposted

The generation that got to buy cheap houses thanks to a postwar construction boom, then blocked new housing construction to juice their asset values is now whining that they have to pay taxes on their unearned wealth. Just breathtaking selfishness.

Matt Wilson reposted

Michigan is the most virtuous team because it's doing more than anyone else to waste Larry Ellison's money

Game on Paper@gameonpaper.com

Halftime Penn State 3 | -6.65 total EPA Michigan 0 | -7.90 total EPA gameonpaper.com/game/401858490

Matt Wilson reposted

a confused Enes Kanter Freedom shows up to the White House Briefing Room in a blonde wig. his demands are unclear and he will not stop posting tiktoks.

Am I the last person on the planet to find out about The Weeknd's stage design and how it's evolved over time? I probably am. Incredible to have and be able to carry out such a massive artistic exploration.

Calling it “X money” is a little too on the nose, n’est-ce pas? “This money is deceased! It is bereft of life! It has kicked the proverbial bucket! It is ex-money!”