“Every single case of hepatitis B in a child is a tragedy, because we have the tools to prevent this. So no number of children getting hepatitis B and developing chronic disease is acceptable in the U.S.”
Go ahead and drink that diet soda. Your brain will be fine.
“There are potential legal ramifications to making poor team-building choices and making employees feel that they can’t opt out without damaging their careers.”
“So, inconstancy, fallibility, forgetfulness, suffering, failure — these, apparently, are the unautomatable gifts of our species. Well, sure. To err is human. But does the AI skeptic have nothing else to fall back on than an enumeration of mankind’s shortcomings? Are our worst qualities the best we can do? It’s hard not to read the emphasis on failure as an ambivalent invitation for the machines to succeed. The final notes of the AI-and-I essay are cowed resignation, awed acquiescence, and what Trotsky called the “terrifying helplessness” of cultural production at “the beginning of a great epoch” — all from the very writers best placed to condemn AI’s creep into literary life. “What if we take seriously the idea that AI assistance can accelerate learning — that students today are arriving at their destinations faster?” Hsu asks. But what if we don’t?”
“Google already shares your data. That’s part of the contract that you make when you sign up for a Google product. So that should come as no surprise to us. The surprise now is that Google is going to share that data with other companies that are then going to be able to use that data for purposes we never imagined.”
“How to Tell the Difference Between a Lone Wolf and a Coordinated Effort by the Radical Left”.
“Putting the Homan and James stories together it becomes clear why the federal Public Integrity Section has, in effect, been shut down. If your aim is to indict enemies and protect friends, having such an office isn’t just needless; it’s a problem. It’s at best an impediment and complication to indicting foes, if not a total barrier. They’ll ask questions or make trouble like the recently departed U.S. Attorney in Virginia did. They’re also liable to end up indicting friends like Tom Homan. Legitimate prosecutors are quite literally a double threat to the new operation.”
“RFK Jr’s war on vaccines is about shaming women, not helping kids”.
RIP, Bernie Parent, Hall of Fame goalie who helped win the only two Stanley Cups in Philadelphia Flyers’ history.
Awkward. And good for you, Howard Stern.
If you are reading this, then the latest version of The Rapture was a dud. Again.
“A confusing contradiction is unfolding in companies embracing generative AI tools: while workers are largely following mandates to embrace the technology, few are seeing it create real value.” The term for this is “workslop”. You’re welcome.
“Republicans have filed for divorce with the free market, in favor of a threesome with authoritarianism and quackery.”
Trump’s tariffs have destroyed the shrimp industry.
“As a general matter I don’t think people without strong political attachments like the idea of corporate suits censoring what you’re able to see in your town for political or backdoor deal type reasons. So let the fight commence.”
RIP, Sonny Curtis, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer/songwriter who performed with Buddy Holly, opened for Elvis Presley, and wrote hits like “I Fought the Law” and the theme to the Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Make Canadian football Canadian again.
RIP, Hugo Mojica, local political candidate, activist, City Council staffer. I met Hugo in 2009 when he ran for my Council district, he always struck me as someone doing his best to do good. He was only 50 and I know he has kids, so I was very sad to hear this news. Rest in peace, Hugo.
“The American Library Association announced Monday that the 88-year-old [George] Takei will serve as honorary chair of Banned Books Week, which takes place Oct. 5-11.”
“Yes, it sure is terrible that we judged Kirk for what he vehemently believed, as well as for his actions as a human being, instead of being classy and pretending he didn’t believe any of those things in order to secure him a spot as a hero to all Americans.”
Want to buy some genuine Muppet stuff? Here’s your chance, with that and more from the Jim Henson Company.
RIP, Claudi Cardinale, Italian actor best known for The Leopard, The Pink Panther, and Once Upon a Time in the West.
“In a shocking decision, Apple TV+ has postponed the premiere of the Jessica Chastain drama series “The Savant,” offering another chilling example of how business giants are running scared of the Trump administration, and bowing to pressure before it even exists.
“No One Is Sure If It’s Illegal to Accept a $50,000 Bribe Stuffed In a Cava Bag, Thanks to the Supreme Court”.
RIP, Bobby Cain, one of the so-called “Clinton 12”, who helped integrate one of the first high schools in the South in 1956. I knew nothing about any of this before reading this obituary. This guy was a damn hero, and he suffered greatly for it. Please read about him.
“Three days into trial, Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission accusing the tech giant of duping consumers into signing up for Prime subscriptions, which users were impeded from canceling.”
“Almost a decade ago, I realized I’d been duped, and now it seems like a faction of the right-wing base is starting to wake up too. There’s a reason that ICE raids and Jan. 6 and abortion bans make you uncomfortable—that is the humanity inside of you screaming for you to change.”
A suspect has been identified in the infamous “yogurt shop murders” that shook Austin in 1991. The suspect is a very bad guy who’s been dead since 1999; the city of Austin and Travis County made a total hash of the original investigation, with two men serving multiple years in prison despite not having anything to do with it.
“Tom Cillo, the 58-year-old defensive lineman and powerlifter hoping to become the oldest player to play in a college football game since 2009, is building his own brand. Cillo signed a name, image and likeness deal with Aspercreme on Friday, becoming the oldest player to sign an NIL deal.”