every 6 months the Trump administration realizes lowering tariffs will lower prices, applies this insight to one specific good, and then proceeds to never introspect beyond that. It’s honestly beautiful in its stupidity.
hey people sorry if some of you breeze past this part but it’s Friday. We do AI discourse on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday is for stuff that rocks and is actually fun. It’s in the TOS & the packet you got at orientation. get it together please
Climate change, or that midtown Knicks fan just used his second genie wish?
da da™️ drew@adrew.dadguy.help · 2h agotornadoes on Long Island? ah well nevertheless
New evil AI use case: fake Github contributors that not only install malware in open source projects, but gaslight humans into thinking the code isn't compromised. With AI, even the smallest OSS project is a worthwhile malware target. galratner.substack.com/p/the-end-of...
The End Of Open Source
A Texas student stopped a supply chain attack in July because he happened to be there. That is the entire security model behind the code you shipped this morning.
galratner.substack.com
So much climate science is based on machine learning! We wouldn't understand so much of what is going on right now without it. Meanwhile, I can't do an internet search without being bombarded by some broken chatbot. ...Put that processing power back to work on the climate data, please.
I know there are lot of people who think voting does nothing to stop fascism, but I do notice that one group who seems to think voting does something to stop fascism are the fascists, who are trying to prevent it as much as possible.
Joshfrai@joshfrai.bsky.social · 4h agoWell, voting’s not important or anything so no biggie. ncnewsline.com/2026/08/20/n...
It feels like industry is waiting for universities to come up with ideas about how they can use Ai and all I can think is: it is not my job to make your business more profitable.
There’s a great Google Sheet of gentle TV here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Crowd-Sourced Gentle TV List
docs.google.com
Tech Billionaires Threaten To Flee California Over Proposed Vest Tax https://theonion.com/tech-billionaires-threaten-to-flee-california-over-proposed-vest-tax/
In a recent report, the Metropolitan Housing Coalition outlined who gets the bill for data center costs and what larger impact the expansion of the industry has on local communities.
What’s the community cost of Kentucky’s data centers, and who foots the bill?
In a recent report, the Metropolitan Housing Coalition outlined who gets the bill for data center costs and what larger impact the expansion of the industry has on local communities.
lpm.org
Trump hired Harp because Harp is the kind of person he wants around him. If you don't want irrational sycophants in arm's reach of the nuclear football you have to impeach the man.
GOLIKEHELLMACHINE@golikehellmachine.com · 12h agotrump is the root threat and he should be impeached for having hired her and giving her the position he has
coming out against taco trucks is the caliber of self-imposed destruction with very few rivals. I'm thinking Pharaoh in the Book of Exodus, General Custer, Division General Leclerc. Sun Tzu wrote a whole book about not giving your opps this much to work with
Babadookakis@ryanwu2438.bsky.social · 16h agoKaren Bass reelection update: the mayor has come out as anti-taco stand. In Los Angeles.
Haberman and Michael Wolff both had detailed information on Natalie Harp that they were saving. To the extent investigative journalism still exists, it exists to make book royalties. What a dire place our media is in.
Comfortably Numb@numb.comfortab.ly · 14h agoI am glad Ossoff made that offhand "Natali" remark. Now assholes like Wolff are forced to dump their shit, instead of sitting on it to publish a "tell-all" book in 4 years.
Greater Internet Fuckwad theory as articulated by Penny Arcade in 2004
Also? Social media is real life. If you're being an ass on the internets but nice at home, you are still being an ass. This especially goes for "but they're only doing it as a public persona!" My sibling in Mithras, whatever you're willing to do for your persona is SOMETHING YOU'RE WILLING TO DO.
John Scalzi@scalzi.com · 19h agoYup. I know bullies online who are perfectly pleasant offline, and what I take from that is "Oh, so you know how to behave when you might get punched." And to tell on myself, this is one reason I'm a nicer person online now than I was a decade+ ago. I stopped liking that version of me, a lot.
Much of what we call “convenience” is just the elimination of contact. Why ask when you can Google, why go somewhere to meet people when you can swipe, why call when you can click? The friction we’re engineering out of life is also where an enormous amount of life happens. What are we without it?
Coach Finstock@coachfinstock.bsky.social · 19h agoIf you want to be even more basic, tech that used to connect us is now trying to stop us from talking to other people. Taking gambling out of the sportsbook, taking dating out of the bars/clubs/gyms/wherever people meet, replacing friends with chatbots. It's solely transactional now.
Unrelatedly, a friend of mine was DELIGHTED when these started becoming super common in Edmonton "I can finally pay off all my stupid student loans!" I believe were his exact words (He's an orthodontic surgeon)
Lauren Kirchner@lkirchner.bsky.social · 19h agoConsumer Reports tested 13 e-scooters to rate and review. But because of the frequency of injuries being reported - including injuries sustained by the CR testers themselves in this process - CR is not recommending ANY. www.consumerreports.org/cars/electri...
In the old days (which, yes, now includes 2002), I think there was a general feeling that things said/done online had fewer consequences, and that stunting for the crowd was fine. In 2026, we know how wrong that assumption was. We gave ourselves lots of bad habits to unlearn. Not everyone has.
L. Wednesday@lizzywednesday.bsky.social · 19h agoMy spouse and I talk a lot about his online persona circa 2002 compared to now. "2002 Matty" was a real dick. 2026 Matty is a kinder, gentler, more mature version.
Which one of you did this. I know you're on here
Matt Novak@paleofuture.bsky.social · 21h agoDarth Vader spoke in favor of Flock cameras at a San Diego city council meeting yesterday
"The emperor is a fan of Flock, and we must continue utilizing Flock technologies so that we can follow and surveil the rebel scum," Vader said during the meeting.
'Darth Vader' Wants Flock in San Diego
"The emperor is a fan of Flock, and we must continue utilizing Flock technologies so that we can follow and surveil the rebel scum," Vader said during the meeting.
404media.co
Women with 20/20 foresight have not, historically, been well treated
andy vs.@im-all-id.me · 21h agoThey should make a 20/20 that's not in hindsight
don't worry about Star Trek. it's already died twice and one of those times in a hail of attempted reactionary propagandizing
I just put in an order for Rancho Gordo cassoulet beans and a bag of polenta. "Beans so tasty they've featured in multiple messy divorces" is not a culinary experience I can pass up.
G. Willow Wilson@gwillow.me · 3d agoThis is the most incredible divorce article I have ever read
Hello, book people! I am the book content editor for Reactor Mag and I'm looking for sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romantasy, and speculative books coming out in 2027! If you have an adult or YA SFF/H book out next year (or publicist), share the link/info here!
the only good Dennis Miller joke I remember is "HBO stands for 'Hey, Beastmaster's On'"
Terence Towles Canote@mercurie80.bsky.social · 23h agoToday in 1982 The Beastmaster, directed by Don Coscarelli and starring Marc Singer, was released.
Props to the kid on the Bank of America marketing team who pitched this to the bosses with a straight face
“Between Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey, The End Of Oak Street, and the upcoming Verity, not to mention the whole other slate of projects she has in preproduction, we estimate that Anne Hathaway films currently account for a staggering 63% of all U.S. exports,” said Jason Nadu
Analysts Warn U.S. Economy Becoming Overly Dependent On Anne Hathaway
NEW YORK—Calling the current rate of theatrical releases starring the actress “unsustainable,” top analysts warned Wednesday that the U.S. economy was becoming overly dependent on Anne Hathaway. “Betw...
theonion.com