Ultimately, I think that's the thing they don't realize we see. They spent a decade telling C-suite folks that they can run their businesses without employees if they just invest heavily in AI, and now, when people are starting to push back, hard in some cases, the salesfolks, the evangelicals, or as I used to call them, the AI prophets, like Altman, are ramping up the prophecies to hysteric levels. Embrace us or face apocalypse doesn't exactly hit solidly when the message so far has also been that there's a 1/3rd or more chance that AI brings about the end of the human race, but that's a gamble they're willing to take because the payoff could be worth it. So our choice is maybe apocalypse, or maybe apocalypses with AI frosting? I'll take the lazy route there, chief. We already have plenty of chances to kill ourselves off without trying quite this hard.

A snake oil salesman informs us all that ignoring his snake oil is the wrong move. Shocking. I mean, I'm really surprised by this turn of events.

In all sincerity, the vision of AI as something people appreciate *COULD* be achieved, if they spent as much time trying to make it something people would enjoy using, rather than having it shoved at us from every direction while it's half-baked and spewing confident nonsense at us more often than not.

There's nothing about what SONOS offers that could benefit from AI features. Maybe, *MAYBE*, the initial setup / learning routine where the speakers use an auto-ping to set up surround sound for a given room, but even that is probably easier done by traditional sound measurement and volume/EQ leveling. I just can not wrap my head around shoving AI into places where there is zero god damned benefit to the end user, and the only visible benefit to anyone is some always on microphone sucking down the data-stream of whatever dreck we pour through our entertainment systems in the hopes of hearing us talk about our favorite celebrities or some shit.

Bezos was smart enough to be supportive from a distance. Musk's mistake was believing he could be super-chums and not end up in an ego-battle with the current chief when they inevitably had a minor squabble. And say what you will about Donald Trump, the man can hold a grudge like it's a sacred artifact in a holy temple. SpaceX won't lose current contracts, but I would bet there's a mandate hanging out there to seek alternatives first for new plans, rather than handing any more potential influence to Musk, who bruised Donald's ego by daring to have some minor disagreements and actually state them publicly. Meanwhile, Bezos pays tribute and STFU otherwise, not bothering to jump into the thick of it, and not having one of his children telling Donald to shut up on a live web feed.

They saw the valuation increase for All Birds, the shoe company that only announced interest in AI data centers and suddenly gained billions in potential value, and decided that had to be the only move left to them. Then people say that the AI thing isn't a bubble, but the insanity of the investors in any company willing to vaguely hint at AI sure makes it look like a bubble.

It's also entirely possible that Mapquest has a much longer refresh period before updating their naming list from GNIS and any users trying it because of the media blitz will end up disappointed when they do their monthly refresh, or however long their wait is before updating.

JD Vance did recently say he's OK if his actions and the actions of the current administration bring about the end times because he considers that doing God's work or some such bullshit. They're closer to Jim Jones than they are Jesus, that's for damned sure.

Of all computer companies, Apple is probably the first one that actually could eat those memory price increases. They've sold extra memory at a ball-busting premium for a long time now. They could claim that was forward thinking so that they could balance coming shortages without having to slam it directly into their customer's face and make it a huge marketing win. Note that I said 'could.' Because we all know they won't.

Unfortunately true. I've had various thoughts on ways to break the gridlock, and get some more viable candidates into power positions, but all of them would require the current power holders to do something for the good of the people rather than themselves. It's impossible to get ranked-choice, or even something as simple as a "None" option per seat, and if None wins the election, all current candidates are dropped and the seat remains until new candidates can be selected via a primary process. But it's all daydream until the people with all the power decide to let a little of that power slip for the good of the general population, and we've got more than enough evidence to prove that they'll chose to consolidate power rather than let even a tiny little bit slip away to know that will not happen.

Have we reached peak absurdity yet? Can we? Cause I'd like to think we could get a *TEENY* little bit less crazy before my life ends.

While Time isn't front-and-center as it used to be, they were never great at aligning with public perception of who should make their top lists. Sometimes they go super obscure, and sometimes they plop celebrities into lists that make no sense at all because someone on staff once heard them speak about whatever subject the list is about. There may have been a hint of popularity contest about their lists in the past, but that seems to have faded since print publications have slowly ebbed out of the public sphere of influence. At this point, it's almost like they throw any name loosely related into a big pot and draw them at random, whoever comes out first gets on the list, and when they run out of slot the game is over. Relevancy doesn't seem to register as a priority.

I wasn't aware The Daily Show was a clinical condition. Though I do have some rent-free space in my noggin' for Desi Lydic, admittedly.. What can I say, funny girls that are self aware are kinda a thing for me.

Ten years? Obama seemed to be the last candidate that didn't insta-trigger a gag reflex, and that was only his first run. His second? Well, right back to lesser of two evils determination. At some point we will need to address the system that takes even the brightest hopes and turns them to shit. Or we can just keep doing this same old "Gee, why is voter engagement so low?" song and dance for eternity.

It's already the new norm, and Trump has been hounded by lawsuits, investigations, and even convictions, for almost his entire adult life, and none of it has slowed him down. In fact, each movement against him seems to strengthen him somehow. And our political system isn't designed to punish the grifters, but to raise them up as demigods and saviors.

I shudder to think who the next GOP asshole will be. Someone with Trump's tactics and a bit more intelligence and restraint could be terrifying.

And the Democrats will essentially spend all of their time pretending to care while doing nothing.

Several of the architects of our government were upset at the idea of political parties becoming a part of the overarching governmental system at all, considering them an effective way to subvert their intended systems to hold politicians responsible for their actions. It's unfortunate they couldn't find a way to block the systemic gridlock from forming without throwing out the democratic baby along with the electoral bathwater.