They've had coin-operated heaters in England for years.

When the Spanish started taking massive amounts of from the New World, Europe experienced inflation. Aluminum was a precious metal until it was figured out how to extract it cheaply. Nothing is safe!

No, it can behave in unpredictable ways. Hell, code I write does that, it it would never make anybody think it was conscious. (That doesn't keep me from yelling at it like it was, though.)

This probably it. I doubt that in the training data there are many smaples of dialog like: "Die!' "Okay."

Of course, money from the government comes with no strings attached.

I worked at an organization that, when we went remote, created Teams channels for things like telling people what music you were listening to, and Netflix recommendations. It both contributed to getting to know your colleagues & allowed management to measure exactly how much time you spent socializing (at least through official channels.)

Another feedly user here. I also started using it when Google retired their RSS reader.

Most of my updates are from RSS feeds, but feedly also has the option to "scrape" websites, that is, check websites for new content and post that as if it was from an RSS stream. I also read a lot of scraped material.

You can show my butt on GoogleMaps for only $10,000. Gimme a call.

Seems to be a debate about what "blood doping" is. The CO2 simulates training at high altitudes, which isn't against the rules. Breathing a gas found naturally in the atmosphere, albeit at different level than where the cyclist is training, seems to me different than taking drugs, so not doping. But, I'm not a big cycling fan.

QR codes

No $500 soup for you!

My theory has always been that all microblogging services inherently devolve into cesspits.

That's strongly argued in "Social Media Upheaval" by Glenn Reynolds. It's only 68 pages long, deliberately written so it could be read on a typical airline flight. Highly recommend.

For those just starting off their careers, even a short period without work can have long-term effects. Someone who experiences six months of unemployment at age 22 can expect to earn about $22,000 less over the next decade...

This may be confusing cause and effect. Whatever makes companies reluctant to hire a candidate may also make that candidate a poorer employee, leeading to less money.

Of course, this could also lead to a death-spiral: gaps in work history make companies less likely to hire, so it's harder to get the next job, leading to more gaps in the work history...

My grandfather ran a grocery/general store (and I'm pretty old) for years, and buying on credit was the norm.

When Piggly Wiggly, the first chain supermarket, started, people thought that one reason it would fail is that customers had to pay cash, with no way to buy on credit.

We'll all sleep easier tonight.