Vermonter

GreenMtnBear@4bear.com

I am a technical writer, editor, content creator, doc engineer. Vermont bear. Big, gay, bearded, hairy, Kinsey 6, and married. - Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine - Made of 100% recycled His Dark Materials. - soc.motss/BML refugee - I am a Vermonter. I am myself. - I want to be good; is that not enough?

Posts

Post #4450262
Marc Elias wrote a powerful letter to David Ellison that must be read. https://newsletters.democracydocket.com/my-open-/letter-to-david-ellison-1
Post #4394967
I...can't... Dispicable. https://futurism.com/health-medicine/kalshi-defends-bet-drug-trials
Post #4278653
Most documentation has a structural problem that exists before any individual piece of writing: nobody has decided what kind of content belongs in the documentation and what each content type is supposed to do. The result is documentation that mixes procedures, explanations, reference material, and tutorials in ways that make all four harder to use. #diataxis #technicalwriting https://stevearrants.substack.com/p/documentation-frameworks-a-field
Post #4277318
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/yobencohen_freebenandjerrys-ugcPost-7487604069382045696-ziR9?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=android_app&rcm=ACoAAAAolqQBANNac9Tm0phHGuuKZRGu4btIP_I&utm_campaign=share_via
Post #4259019
https://youtu.be/RZbzKSrCF1c?si=JLWi-8AT45akBBzT
Post #4257908
This is going to hurt. Hurt many people.
Post #4221118
A pharmacy chain in #Vermont implemented AI for efficiency. It's led to delays, incorrect information and privacy concerns. #AI https://vtdigger.org/2026/07/29/a-pharmacy-chain-in-vermont-implemented-ai-for-efficiency-its-led-to-delays-incorrect-information-and-privacy-concerns/
Post #4215241
Some good advice for the Brave Little State #ai #vermont https://vtdigger.org/2026/07/28/vermonts-economy-is-in-good-shape-state-economists-say-but-ai-boom-is-a-threat/
Post #4205043
@lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org Add a 24/7 streaming channel and I'm a subscriber!
Post #4198437
A draft goes out for review. One reviewer responds immediately with six detailed comments. A second never responds. A third responds three weeks later with comments that contradict the first. You send a follow-up. You send another. Eventually you make a judgment call and publish. Later, someone finds an error that reviewer two would have caught. This is a workflow problem, and it’s yours. And like most workflow problems, it responds better to structure than to effort. https://stevearrants.subs...
Post #4196911
Has your employer required you to install software on your phone or computer? Ronan Farrow tells us the data it collects, the decisions made from this, and why it's a real problem. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1723254505657175
Post #4175578
Just what we seniors need. More medical expenses! https://newrepublic.com/post/213660/donald-trump-medicare-subsidies-seniors-drug-prices #medicare
Post #4174228
This should all work out quite well. https://newrepublic.com/post/213657/new-york-times-columnist-60-minutes-ross-douthat-pro-trump-overhaul
Post #4143180
Fuck you, Death. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjejw8pq5elo
Post #4141841
I loved listening to his shows and learning more about music. https://www.vermontpublic.org/show/exploring-music/2026-07-24/bill-mcglaughlin-host-of-exploring-music-passes-at-age-82
Post #4127710
Seen on the intertubes tonight
Post #4038082
Fra-GEE-Lay! It's a major award! From Doctor Zoom on Wonkette. https://open.substack.com/pub/wonkette/p/trump-has-cunning-plan-to-win-inaugural?r=8b0xkx&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
Post #4037473
We’re all taught that passive voice is bad writing. Style guides are sometimes rigidly against it. Grammar checkers flag it for correction. Writing instructors teach it as a mistake to avoid. Passive voice is correct when the actor doesn’t matter, when the actor is unknown, or when the action matters more than who performs it. https://stevearrants.substack.com/p/the-passive-voice-myth
Post #4021119
Fascinating local Vermont story. Lake Champlain has secrets, and these folks are finding them. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/arts-culture/history-arts-culture/local-shipwreck-hunters-capture-stunning-images-of-their-finds/ #vermont
Post #3958851
Most writers edit everything at once — grammar in one sentence, structure in the next, purpose halfway through the page. The result is edits that contradict each other: a sentence you’ve tightened for clarity in one pass and then added caveats to in the next. The editing problem isn’t a lack of skill but a lack of separation. Content, structural, and copy editing are three different jobs that require three different modes of attention. https://stevearrants.substack.com/p/the-three-tiers-of-edit...
Post #3942958
A poem by Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Robert Bly.
Post #3936636
Cooler and drier, I started mowing the front-back. I still worked up a sweat even with the battery mower. The shirt quality is much better today. I'll do the rest after a break. Zoey is in the yard supervising.
Post #3921569
Ugh. Even with the windows shut I can smell it.
Post #3921555
I think it's only going to get worse. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jul/18/inevitable-toxic-mix-fuelling-deadly-political-violence-world?CMP=share_btn_url
Post #3858163
At some point in every technical writer’s career, a developer or subject matter expert reads a plain-language revision and says some version of: “This is too simple. Our users aren’t stupid.” The complaint is often sincere. The SME genuinely believes that simple language signals disrespect for the reader’s intelligence. They’re wrong, but arguing about respect for users usually goes nowhere. The better argument is cognitive. https://stevearrants.substack.com/p/plain-language-is-not-dumbing-down
Post #3841266
The botched ICE raid in South Burlington, VT https://youtu.be/E376rVx-Hjo?si=fTssYbSK-MqcGIRL #ice #vermont
Post #3785300
I am angry at this, but I want people to know that there ARE resources to surrender your pet if you can no longer care for them. Please don't do this sort of thing. Find a local rescue or shelter. You loved them once; show them love now. #Vermont https://www.mynbc5.com/article/vermont-state-police-seeking-information-about-dog-found-tied-to-street-sign/71906613
Post #3784471
The F-pattern isn't a reading style to design around. It's a symptom. NN/g's own follow-up shows the F only forms when a page gives readers nothing to anchor on. Front-load the point and the scan never starts. And now docs have a second scanning reader: the AI retrieval pipeline. The same structure serves both. https://open.substack.com/pub/stevearrants/p/writing-for-the-f-pattern?r=5qqjk8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Post #3748997
Be very quiet. Zoey is watching for wabbits.
Post #3730418
Seen on Bluesky