Daily Tech News 12 January 2026

Top Story

• Two of the co-founders of Twitter and Pinterest are working on a new social network cult. (MSN)
  
  A cult with venture capital.

  I have no idea whether they will succeed. But as a columnist writing about how to keep our humanity in the 21st century, I believe it's important to focus on people who are at least trying. Social media, after its promising early days, took a dark turn and is now a deeply alienating force, replacing healthy human interaction and leading us to spend much of our lives looking at our phones.

  That's only partly the fault of the social media companies.
  
  Mostly it's just people.

  Many fear that AI, still in its adolescence, will take us down the same path because of the financial incentives to maximize eyeballs and time online. But it could go either way, and we as a society still have a choice about how we use these powerful tools.

  Fair. Let's see how West Co - the new company in question, is tackling the problem.

  Their bid for redemption is West Co. - the Workshop for Emotional and Spiritual Technology Corporation

  It's the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation all over again.

  - and the platform they're testing is called Tangle, a "purpose discovery tool" that uses AI to help users define their life purposes, then encourages them to set intentions toward achieving those purposes, reminds them periodically and builds a community of supporters to encourage steps toward meeting those intentions.

  Danger, Will Robinson.

  "A lot of people, myself included, have been on autopilot," Stone said. "If all goes well, we'll introduce a lot of people to the concept of turning off autopilot."

  But will all go well?

  Each morning, staffers light the candle at the "ancestor table," with photographs of family members dead and alive and other sources of inspiration: Harvey Milk, Jane Goodall, Saint Francis. The founders participate in a fortnightly "covenant" meeting in which they renew their support for each other. Moments of silence precede meetings. Ceremonies mark the changing of seasons. Employees give one another regular updates on their personal triumphs and struggles. Founders rate their weeks on a zero to 100 "poopy to pleasure" index.

  I have never seen a tech company more likely to earn its own 10-part miniseries on HBO Max after the comet arrives.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (37) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sunday Overnight Open Thread - January 11, 2026 [Doof]

Sunday night ONT time. So glad you made it. Come on in!

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (342) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gun Thread: Second January Edition!

Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!

Holy Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be the Second January Edition? Not much going on here this week, but I do believe I am out of danger with respect to the cold I had last week, so I have that going for me. How about all y'all? Doing well?

With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?

Posted by: Weasel at 07:00 PM | Comments (336) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Food Thread: Football And Food...A Match Made In Heaven.

Maybe not that specific food, but I wonder why football food is so much more important than baseball or hockey or basketball (does anyone know if the NBA is still around?). Yes, the games are a bit longer, but there is an entire culture that has grown up around the football meal, and not just tailgating! It's in the home as well. Chicken wings, all sorts of dips, nachos, potato skins, chili, deviled eggs, guacamole, pizza, jalapeno poppers, pigs in a blanket, and on and on and on!

What is it about football? maybe that there are usually multiple games, so the games intrude upon normal meal time? Or the embarrassing pomp and circumstance of the games lends itself to food and drink excess?

Who knows. But it can be fun, especially since it is, in most homes, restricted to a Sunday or two, and not the interminably long entire season!

So what's your favorite football food? I am partial to pizza and wings! Pizza wreaks havoc on my waistline, so I try to limit it, but wings are almost always fun, and rarely bad. Hell, my local Applebee's has excellent wings! (Please don't tell anyone that I have eaten there)

Posted by: CBD at 04:00 PM | Comments (400) | Trackbacks (Suck)

First World Problems...

That's the spring end of a pair of kitchen tongs that I use probably every day. They are of course made in China, but shockingly, the "stainless steel" is actually stainless steel, and the design, though simple, is excellent. That is my third pair of them, and I use them so often that I have two pairs in rotation.

But...and there is always a "but"... the spring is a pathetic piece of junk that is the failure point on every pair. Why not pop for the extra 10 cents and use a stainless steel spring?

Obviously the entire kitchen needs to be redone...maybe mid-century Scandinavian?

Posted by: CBD at 02:00 PM | Comments (269) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Iran And Minneapolis...They Are Nothing Alike!

The people of Iran made a huge mistake in 1978-1979. Their support for the Ayatollah Khomeini was catastrophic on many levels, especially since the country was meandering toward full modernity and entrance into the 1st World with the Shah in power. What they got for their efforts was a savage religious dictatorship that quickly consolidated power by killing its rivals, and even a large number of supporters. And they didn't stop there...the massacres of 1981 and 1988 were the largest, but the Mullah's police state routinely imprisoned, tortured, and killed its supposed enemies, including women who dared show their hair!

With President Trump firmly on the side of freedom, the struggle against the theocratic dictators intensified after the Israeli and American strikes against the Mullah's nuclear ambition. The decapitation of Venezuela and the loss of its support for Iran seems to have added even more fuel to the revolutionary fire!

Whether the people of Iran are successful remains to be seen. If the army enters the fray it will get even bloodier, and the IRGC has already demonstrated its viciousness. News reports are suggesting that President Trump is considering military options, but that is a complex decision. Will America simply prevent the Iranian army from entering the cities, or will it be a more involved effort?

The people of Iran (Persia!) are in an existential fight, but they must win the war mostly on their own. Large-scale interference on the part of the West will at least partly delegitimize whatever comes next for Iran, although the choice between winning against the Mullahs and remaining under their thumb might make that an unimportant point.

But they are fighting the forces of evil, and they deserve the support of the freedom loving people of the world.

***
On the other hand, the rich, entitled, spoiled left of America has elevated their violence against entirely normal and rational effort of the federal government to protect our borders as some sort of revolution against the jack-booted thugs of fascism running rampage across our country, arresting Americans and throwing them into the American version of the Gulag. The reality is different, as ICE seeks out law-breaking border crashers and, hopefully, deporting them. That is a far cry from the fever dreams of the lunatic left, who sees every government law enforcement officer as an amalgam of Pinochet, Hitler, and Franco.

They have taken their right to disagree with the actions of the government to ridiculous extremes. They have demonized and doxxed ICE officers, paid professional protesters, created the conditions for violent protests in left-leaning cities, and created the conditions for a violent response to their clearly illegal actions. And the sad part is that there are clearly understood methods of disagreeing with the policies and behavior of the government. Peaceful protesting is a time-honored tradition in America. Agitating for political change via the vote is too, but they are so sure of the holiness of their mission that they do not appreciate that violence against the government rarely works when the majority of the country supports the actions that are so infuriating to the lunatic few.

Renee Nicole Good was Minneapolis 'ICE Watch' 'warrior' who trained to resist feds before shooting
"Resistance" can take many forms. Only a few cross the line into violence, but the left has decided that circumventing the political process and moving to violence is the only appropriate response. That there has been a muted response from the federal government is a testament to the training of the officers involved and their political masters. In a real fascist dictatorship (like Iran), those nightly protests in Portland would have been met with water hoses, gunfire, and wholesale detention. Those professional "warriors" in Minneapolis would have been run off the road, arrested, and thrown into some hellhole of a prison for an indeterminate amount of time. Or just shot as they threatened the safety of the ICE officers.

But we do not live in anything resembling what they imagine, and that is why they feel confident in their behavior. Hopefully the seemingly justified shooting of the violent protestor in Minneapolis focuses the minds of the others, and the temperature is turned down just a bit.

But don't hold your breath...I'm not.

Posted by: CBD at 12:00 PM | Comments (379) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sunday Morning Book Thread - 1-11-2026 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading. Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, enjoy a freshly-made batch of Chex Mix, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

Massive kudos to MP4 for his debut Sunday Morning Book Thread last week. CBD sent me an email saying I could take the week off and that someone else would be covering for me, but I didn't know who it was until I checked the queue of blog threads on Saturday evening. I was very pleased to find out it was MP4! He did a great job and I hope we can entice him to do more Sunday Morning Book Threads in the future!

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM | Comments (389) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 11 January 2026

Top Story

• Meta has signed long-term contracts with three suppliers for a total of 6GW of nuclear power for its datacenters. (Tech Crunch)
  
  Two of the partners are startups developing small modular reactors; the third, Vistra, is a major operator of traditional large non-modular reactors.
  
  
  
• Meanwhile researchers in China have managed to break the Greenwald limit on the number of alt accounts a single journalist can have agreeing with his posts before he screws up. (The Independent)
  
  Wait, I'm told in this context it's an empirical limit on sustained plasma densities in Tokamak-style fusion reactors.
  
  With this breakthrough, fusion power is now only nineteen years and twelve months away.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (162) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Saturday Night Club ONT - January 10, 2026 [Double Ds]

Welcome to Club ONT - A collaboration of the Double D's - The Disco and The Dino.

One less D than when we started this thing. Adjust your expectations accordingly. The place might look a little different, but it will still open on time, and it will still only be as classy as the patrons. Yeah, that means YOU! Oh boy...

[Top photo:John Moulton Barn, Grand Teton National Park. Photo Credit: NPS]

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (484) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Music Thread: Dipping Into The Archives Edition

That's a photo of Garrett at a local "Furry" party. I guess the song behind the photo is apropos!

Posted by: CBD at 07:30 PM | Comments (271) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Hobby Thread - January 10, 2026 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies (TM) a spin it landed on home building.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM | Comments (175) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Ace of Spades Pet Thread, January 10

* * *

Good afternoon and welcome to the almost world famous Ace of Spades Pet Thread. Thanks for stopping by. Kick back and enjoy the world of animals.

Would you like a treat?

Let's relax a little with the animals and leave the world of politics and current events outside today.

Posted by: K.T. at 03:31 PM | Comments (71) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gardening, Home and Nature Thread, Jan 10

On December 20 (scroll down), we saw some lovely wildflowers, including alpine flowers from Neal in Israel, from photos he took in Montenegro. We continue with his adventures today:

The other location where there were some attractive plants to photograph was one of the country's oldest monasteries, which is known for its gardens, as well as its antiquity.

Posted by: K.T. at 01:16 PM | Comments (43) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Collectivists vs. Rugged Individualists, January 10

The New Champion

It seems like a long time since the year began just days ago, doesn't it?

Zorhan Mamdani may have made a mistake when he said this during his inauguration:

We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.

Did people really think of New York government as based in rugged individualism? Do people who wish to be free from communism really think that they are totally independent agents?

Mamdani is good at smiling, but he also issues sound bites which we should maybe remember as the business of running the city presents itself. We will have opportunities to undermine the present popularity of socialism in at least a few minds.

Many people don't want to see poor Cea Weaver cancelled, just because she thinks home ownership = white supremacy and she hangs with a bunch of people who want to impoverish her mother, her family and ultimately each other.

* * * * *

Perhaps all those people with graduate degrees in NYC haven't noticed that he threw a block party with no food or restrooms.

But we can remember.

The Libertarians also remind us of a statement he made just after his election:

We will prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve, and no concern too small for it to care about.

Should this declaration be applied to his actions as mayor on a regular basis?

What about all those white homeowners his administration plans to impoverish? Might they have some small concerns about which government could care?

Posted by: K.T. at 11:01 AM | Comments (478) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Classical Saturday Coffee Break & Prayer Revival

[Similar theme at deer camp about shooting the Monster Buck. "It's possible but not probable".]

*****

Good morning boys and girls and everything in between. Before we enter the Prayer Revival just a few housekeeping matters to go over. (Rulz for those of you in Marion)

1) This is an open thread. Feel free to lurk, opine and/or bloviate.
2) Be kind, be nice.
3) Running with sharp objects? Remember your "Affordable Care Act" Deductible. It is now more expensive than the sale of your neighbor's kidney. Just sayin'.
4) Have a great weekend!

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at 08:03 AM | Comments (416) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 10 January 2026

Top Story

• Twitter has filed an antitrust complaint against, basically, the entire music industry alleging collusion and systematic abuse of DMCA takedowns in order to force platforms into licensing agreements. (TorrentFreak)
  
  I say alleging, but according to the filing, the president of the National Music Publishers' Association put the entire plan in writing as an email threat sent to Twitter even before the campaign started.
  
  
  

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (144) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Ladies And Gentlemen, Hobos and Tramps. Cross-Eyed Mosquitoes and Bow-Legged Ants. I come Before You To Stand Behind You And Tell You All About ONT!

Howdy everyone! Welcome to meme Friday. This first one struck me because you guys should see the ones I don't post.

Posted by: WeirdDave at 10:00 PM | Comments (480) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Cat Town Cafe

Christopher McCurdy

This cat is just too fancy.

Hamster has a sympathy injury.

Bathing your hedgehog, if you know what I mean.

Baby elephant takes a nap.

New hoodie.

Oopsie daisy!

Babies love magic, because babies are dumb.

Kids prank their mom with a "we broke your giant-screen TV" prank. I don't love how hard the mom flings the kid. Maybe deserved, though.

A rescued wolf-dog (or coyote-dog?) turns out to be the prettiest puppy.

Dog betrays his boy.

Horse rides a horse. Well not really.

Posted by: Ace at 07:30 PM | Comments (370) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Week In Woke

Two nights ago on CNN -- on the yearly celebration of January 6th -- Abby Philip and her leftwing guests agreed that Ashli Babbitt deserved to be killed because a cop gave her an order and she refused to comply.

The left continues agitating for the assassination of Trump. This teacher -- of course -- wants to know "Who's going to take one for the team and just do it? And you know what 'it' I mean we have to do."

This leftist says he's going to finally "do it" and is currently videotaping himself in Washington DC to show he's serious about "doing it."

TikToker says he's "going to war" and coming after Pete Hegseth.

Leftist calls for the murder of the ICE agent who defended his life against a crazed leftist.

Jasmine Ratchet: When Charlie Kirk died, we didn't justify his murder!

Great, teachers are coming up with new excuses for staying at home on their fat asses:

Eric Daugherty
@EricLDaugh

17h

🚨 JUST IN: Because of the protests and riots, Minneapolis Schools are CANCELING mandatory in-person classes, offering virtual learning until Feb. 12

It's like a 3rd world country. Too dangerous to leave your house because of leftists.

SEND THE GUARD!

On MSNBC, a left-wing rabble-rousing fake pastor lies his gay ass off:

FactPost
@factpostnews

Pastor: I saw ICE agents circling a young woman who appeared to be Hispanic. I said to this ICE agent, 'Take me, stop harassing her.' The agent got in my face, pointed a gun at me, and said, 'Are you afraid now?' To which I said, 'I am not afraid.' The next thing I knew, they were putting handcuffs on me, and they put me in the back of an SUV. I asked them if I was under arrest. They said to me, 'Well, you're white, you won't be any fun anyway.'

Mark Hemingway commented: "Of all the things that didn't happen, this didn't happen the most."

AWFL cries over the deportation of illegals, sad that the "people who clean the sheets in your hotel, do you landscaping" are having the law applied to them.

"Gia," a useless SJW "worker" at a Hilton Hotel in Dallas, doxes the hotel's customers by telling the world that ICE agents are staying there. Fire her, ban her from the industry.

Elderly AWFL Karen wants you to know she's sick of you MAGA types calling her a Karen. You know who the Karen is? YOU.

Woke asshole AWFL broke her retainer by grinding her teeth because she's watching Trump "attack science." She becomes distraught when she finds out her dentist might have voted for Trump.

Democrat party official and LGBTQ activist arrested for, you'll never guess, child porn.

Dumpy leftwing Junior AWFL says she's fleeing Nazis in the US by moving to Germany. Dis Bitch can't even cut carbs, I don't think she's going to emigrate.

Black radical: You can't do the "Say her name" chant for the white woman who was shot (while resisting arrest and attacking officers). The "say her name" chant is only for black women who are shot while resisting arrest and attacking officers. So stop it, White Racists!

Posted by: Ace at 06:28 PM | Comments (346) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Conan O'Brien: "Comedians" Who Do Nothing But Shout "F*** Trump" Are Not Comedians, Actual Comedians Need to be Funny

This guy's a liberal asshole -- remember him doing PSAs for the beauty and stability of Haiti, after Trump correctly diagnosed it as a shithole?

He's making an argument for Fighting Liberal Comedians like himself to actually try to be funny, because actual funniness is the "best weapon against power." (Um, it's not-- weapons are the best weapons -- but it's a weapon, I guess.)

So he's not making a conservative point here, just telling his fellow shitlibs how to be more effective in their anti-Trump agitation.

But if he's running down Steven Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel -- which he CLEARLY is -- I approve.

Posted by: Ace at 05:30 PM | Comments (280) | Trackbacks (Suck)