Sure.

GPT4 is not that. Neither will GPT5 be that. They are language models that marketing is calling AI. They have a very specific use case, and it’s not something that can replace any work/workers that requires any level of traceability or accountability. It’s just “the thing the machine said”.

Marketing latched onto “AI” because blockchain and cloud and algorithmic had gotten stale and media and CEOs went nuts. Samsung is now producing an “AI” vacuum that adjusts suction between hardwood and carpet. That’s not new technology. That’s not even a new way of doing that technology. It’s just jumping on the bandwagon.

I know what you’re talking about, but got an image of Harrison Ford being absolutely pampered in China. Which in fairness would probably happen.

Mostly outdated, but not “throw coins in aircraft engines” crazy. It’s at least based on good advice, just a bit cargo-cult-y.

Batteries it depends on the chemistry.

NiCad/NiMH and some other older battery tech it can prolong shelflife, especially if you’re in a hot/humid climate. Lithium batteries it doesn’t really do anything.

Minishoot’ Adventures $11.99 (20% off)

Isometric Zelda / Metroidvania / bullet hell with a lot of accessibility features and neat art where you’re a lil spaceship guy. Has a demo to see if it’s your jam. Already beat it twice, would really love for them to make DLC or a sequel.

Doom 2016 and Eternal had multiplayer season stuff, but it could easily be ignored.

It’s not a mystery which of the car might’ve been available in East Germany.

Trabants aren’t exactly known for being long lasting.

It’s been at least since the “big iron” days.

Technician comes out to upgrade your mainframe and it consists of installing a jumper to enable the extra features. For only a few million dollars.

Is your home connection down that much? I’d think that even syncing once every day or so would populate everything fine, and if you’re at home it should update over wifi.

I might just be spoiled because I’m the only one using mine and only for a handful of devices.

They have, but it’s never really been as bad as “the wind blew the pollen.”

The guy intentionally bought what he knew were Monsanto seeds from a grain elevator to plant in order to get them cheaper. That’s not a problem of “evil corporation sues unwitting farmer”. That’s “farmer tries to circumvent contract he signed.”

Have a friend that’s finishing med school and going to residency this summer. Everything about it is insane and they all know it and power through. If you get accepted you’re moving around more than the military and paying through the nose for the privilege while seemingly half the “teachers” (working doctors) are worked to death and the other half are completely checked out.

Would be curious about stats on how many wellness calls end in the person being checked on dying.

Off the top of my head ~50 or less officers in the US die from violence every year if you exclude traffic fatalities. At least according to this (178 killed in 3 years) that means police are killing the people they’re called to help at a higher rate. Would seem to point to a person calling the police for help is in more danger than the police are on any random call.

Don’t quote the old magic to me @hyperhopper, I was there when it was written.

It’s a fun fan theory, up there with Chewie/R2 being secret leaders of the rebellion and pre-prequel theories about “what actually are the clone wars”, but it relies on George Lucas being incredibly subtle in a trilogy where every other metaphor is written on giant billboards with spotlights on them. I mean the whole thing is a setup to “Jar Jar is Snoke”.

There were similar rumors that Lucas had the entire sequel/prequel trilogies planned out at the end of RotJ from the mid 80s until the prequels came out. Down to the EU books/comics (which he famously doesn’t care about) being Lucas’ plan all along. It was just “the man” keeping him from making the movies. That the man didn’t stop him making the original Star Wars before he was an extremely famous extremely wealthy movie maker was handwaved away.

It’s the fun logic hoop fan version of “No Trump/Musk is actually playing 7D chess! What he actually meant was…”

Passive vs active engagement.

These plates are a passive, very visual reminder. A tracker app requires you actively use the app, and not consciously/subconsciously underestimate portions.

Neither is a holistic solution, both require buy-in, each is going to have different effectiveness for different people.

What execs? The Prequels are basically the highest budget indie film project ever. Lucas had total financial and creative control.

He let the crazy veil slip a bit during the Thai cave rescue drama, but Covid seems to have really pushed him over the edge.

Also you generally want the most financially prudent decision a business can make not to be “sit on the money until it’s worth more”.

Inflation encourages spending money, deflation encourages saving money.

…people didn’t just… stop researching fluoride after the 40s/50s. Newer studies have found less of a dramatic benefit, likely because brushing with fluoridated toothpaste is more common, but there is still a significant benefit. The countries that reduced water fluoridation and saw little to no change have universal free dental care for children.

A lot of the pushback relies on pointing out that there are diminishing returns. Multiple sources of fluoride don’t seem to have compounding benefits. But that completely ignores that the goal is to raise the baseline.

Not all kids are good at brushing their teeth, not all parents care or know to put it as a priority if they’re struggling. It’s not going to impact virtually anyone above the poverty line, but for the people who need it most it absolutely helps.

Fluoridating water is ridiculously cheap way to add a layer of safety. A ~15-25% reduction in cavities is absolutely worth pursuing.

So you just didn’t read the article?

One person hired a metal detector to hunt down the wedding ring they lost when camping in Sussex and found it within 20 minutes. Another rented a planer at £11 a day to fix two doors in her flat

A handheld pressure washer is £12 a day, while garden shears are £3.50

Renting is the “subscription” you’re complaining about. You’re right that rent-to-own is a scam at best, but unlike most digital subscriptions you’re using the thing to do something. Like with all rentals there’s a break even line where you would’ve been better buying the thing if you use it often/long enough. But the service existing is not itself a bad thing.

This isn’t new, everything has it’s place.

We rented a trench digger for the day from Home Depot in the 90s instead of buying one for thousands of dollars. That trench didn’t magically go away when we returned the tool. That we didn’t have access to the tool anymore was the plan.

Renting a U-haul for a move is incredibly more efficient than daily driving a giant box truck. Somehow, the things stay moved once the truck is returned.