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.

Tech News

It's the year of Linux on the desktop... For tech journalists. (The Verge) (archive site)

The author installed Linux - specifically CachyOS, an open source distribution with similar goals as SteamOS, to support modern hardware and make it easy to run games.

Everything worked... Except Minecraft. But that was because he wanted to play Minecraft Bedrock, because that's the version his kids play, and it's not easy to make it work on Linux.
AMD's Ryzen AI Halo mini PC is a Ryzen 395+ AI mini PC for AMD. (Hot Hardware)

No specs, no price, no schedule. It has a bunch of USB-C ports at the back, so we'll see if it delivers a lot of USB4 or it's something less interesting.
Twitter is planning to make its algorithm open source, with releases every month. (MSN)

What use this is I'm not sure, but it's better than not having it.
My home fibre network disintegrated. (Alienchow)

Not mine - I have fibre internet, but copper networking inside - but the author's, who carefully laid conduit in the concrete slab when building his new home and ran fibre throughout and is now finding that this was not a good idea at all.
Why consumers have gotten the memory shortage narrative right. (WCCFTech)

Self-serving spin from Micron trying to paint themselves as anything other than villains.
Save $130 on 32GB of DDR5 memory by making your own. (Tom's Hardware)

All you need is 32GB of DDR5 memory and the ability to desolder and solder surface-mount components.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: Now Three Pounds Fifty Lane, and I'm cutting my own throat.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 BOING!

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at January 12, 2026 04:01 AM (EtDTo)

2 Well done, BD!

Posted by: m at January 12, 2026 04:01 AM (SSiCQ)

3 and a w00t

Posted by: m at January 12, 2026 04:02 AM (SSiCQ)

4 G'Day everyone

Posted by: Skip at January 12, 2026 04:03 AM (Ia/+0)

5 ~~Penny~~ Rupee Lane.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at January 12, 2026 04:03 AM (EtDTo)

6 Morning all.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 12, 2026 04:04 AM (BLOW1)

7 Well done, BD!

Posted by: m at January 12, 2026 04:01 AM (SSiCQ)
-

https://youtu.be/9D7C3xqSYEs

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at January 12, 2026 04:04 AM (EtDTo)

8 The Beatles - Penny Lane

Nice.

Posted by: m at January 12, 2026 04:08 AM (SSiCQ)

9 >>>Each morning, staffers light the candle at the "ancestor table,"

This can't be true.

Posted by: m at January 12, 2026 04:15 AM (SSiCQ)

10 Another song Penny Lane, makes me either think of how old I am or those were the days of my life. I've got the LP, and the young guy installing my new water heater marveled at the turntable I had on my workbench. What is that he asks...can he be that clueless, I never was. (I think)

Posted by: Colin at January 12, 2026 04:16 AM (wlQdF)

11 Good Morning Everyone

Posted by: Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan (ARiK) at January 12, 2026 04:20 AM (QGaXH)

12 9 >>>Each morning, staffers light the candle at the "ancestor table,"

This can't be true.
Posted by: m at January 12, 2026 04:15 AM (SSiCQ)

And yet, upon skimming the article, I see that it is!

Posted by: m at January 12, 2026 04:23 AM (SSiCQ)

13 Wikipedia:

"Penny Lane" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "Strawberry Fields Forever" in February 1967.

Posted by: m at January 12, 2026 04:25 AM (SSiCQ)

14 "Penny Lane" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "Strawberry Fields Forever" in February 1967.

Posted by: m at January 12, 2026 04:25 AM (SSiCQ)
-

I.e., on a 45.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at January 12, 2026 04:28 AM (EtDTo)

15 Exercise time. Beautiful sunny day here in Jerusalem.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at January 12, 2026 04:29 AM (EtDTo)

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

There will be much hilarity in reassigning the words represented by the letters w-e-s-t.

Posted by: m at January 12, 2026 04:29 AM (SSiCQ)

17 Thought tech thread should know. Sony permanently suspended my PlayStation account, because I charged back their crumby auto-renewal of Playstation Plus, which was timely cancelled, and which cancelation was accepted by Sony but charged anyway. My appeal:

Sony sent a notice that new year of PlayStation Plus "will be charged." I immediately (same day, allowing for time to access home PC) cancelled the PlayStation Plus AND I received email same day, accepting the cancellation, and more or less saying sorry to see you go.

Subsequently a charge from Sony appeared/remained on my account payment for the cancelled PlayStation Plus renewal.

Now Sony is accusing me of accessing PlayStation Plus content, which is factually incorrect. I never accessed PlayStation Plus features or content beyond the cancellation date, and I don't believe I could have or should have been able to do so other than by Sony's mistake.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon, on a beach, earning 20% at January 12, 2026 04:30 AM (dK+Kv)

18 Appeal continued:

And now a little rant. I and my family have been loyal Sony PlayStation customers from PS or PS2 all the way through PS5. I am more than a little miffed that because Sony has a screwed up auto renewal process that attempts to bilk loyal customers of a few extra pennies for no services rendered or holds their already purchased content for ransom.

You know what? You will restore my PSN account access and register my account as paid in full within 5 U.S. business days, or I will be taking my gaming dollars including intended near-term PS5 to Nintendo, PC, and Steam/Valve.

Contact me by phone if you have questions . . . .

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon, on a beach, earning 20% at January 12, 2026 04:31 AM (dK+Kv)

19 Harvey Milk? Seriously? The man who was best buds with Jim Jones? What's next, a compound in Guyana?

Posted by: Tommy Shanks at January 12, 2026 04:35 AM (KDpmu)

20 >>>All you need is 32GB of DDR5 memory and the ability to desolder and solder surface-mount components.

Oh, is that all?

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at January 12, 2026 04:36 AM (dK+Kv)

21 Harvey Milk? Seriously? The man who was best buds with Jim Jones? What's next, a compound in Guyana?

Posted by: Tommy Shanks at January 12, 2026 04:35 AM (KDpmu)

Dude is the good kind of pedo. That should be enough red flags.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at January 12, 2026 04:39 AM (dK+Kv)

22 Mornin'

Those Tech weirdos make these guys look normal.

youtu.be/vDQEJ06QoRs

Posted by: Puddleglum, drive by meow at January 12, 2026 04:44 AM (sAmhv)

23 West Co. hired Sue Phillips, the head of Unitarian Universalist church, as a "founding ancient technologist," to guide it's engineers towards a technological Utopia. Founding ancient technologist? Like the anunnaki? Or somebody that went to Woodstock?

This is going to end up in exactly the same place that all these utopias end up: complete failure. As I see the situation, West Co.'s foundation is built on pomposity and smugness.

Las Cruces had a utopian group 100 years ago. It worked until the people showed up and when that happened they ended up socially stabbing each other in the back, refusing to work, and having sex with each other all the time until the whole thing fell apart. All that's left is the road that bears the group's name.

These nitwit techno rats are so hollowed out by their vacuous doom scroll lives they're now buying more technology to block using their current technology. This is like treating syphilis with chlamydia. What West Co. Is building the magic crystals version of all this to treat the syphilis and chlamydia.

The solution these techno rats need is called the off button. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 04:45 AM (HTCU3)

24 "founding ancient technologist,"

She'll be on 'Ancient Aliens', though she might be too weird for them.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at January 12, 2026 04:48 AM (sAmhv)

25 "It's the year of Linux on the desktop... For tech journalists."

Right after the New Year's, all the tech sites blew up with these stories. I swear these tech journalists went to the same New Year's Eve party, got smashed drunk and made a double secret pact to dump Windows and Mac OS for Linux. I strongly suspect that by June, maybe sooner, they will secretly be back to using whatever they were before; that is, until they join the Church of West Co. Out of that experience, some of them may actually find out what it means to have sex.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 04:55 AM (HTCU3)

26 >> She'll be on 'Ancient Aliens',

Speaking of that, Erich Von Daniken, author of Chariots of the Gods, died yesterday. He was 90.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 12, 2026 04:56 AM (w6EFb)

27 The Workshop for Emotional and Spiritual Technology sounds like repackaged version of Werner Erhard's EST spiritual and relational training.

I don't like AI and I'll stick with Christianity.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 12, 2026 04:56 AM (rZCVI)

28 Don't we all get up in the morning and light candles for our friends and dead relatives...I just have a cup of coffee, sorry.

Posted by: Colin at January 12, 2026 04:57 AM (wlQdF)

29 Made egg,cheese and sausage on English muffin , very good

Posted by: Skip at January 12, 2026 05:00 AM (Ia/+0)

30 Man writes Devotional, A Loving Eye on Psalm 32:1-5, 9-11:

https://tinyurl.com/mmb8jj62

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 12, 2026 05:04 AM (rZCVI)

31 The Analogues
Penny Lane

https://youtu.be/7leRzaXmco8

The Analogues could be considered to be a Beatles tribute band but I find them to be much more than that. They are the equivalent of a very specialized orchestra that that excels in one composer's music. This is something you see done in the classical music world all the time.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 05:04 AM (HTCU3)

32 I hope this man is able to do his job effectively but he sounds like a lovely man. 100 year old WW II crossing guard continues with his work. Faithpot site:

https://tinyurl.com/mmb8jj62

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 12, 2026 05:07 AM (rZCVI)

33 Good morning and Happy Monday, everyone! Our new dog was brought over on Sunday. Within five minutes of arriving, he played with a toy, walked into a crate and began to snooze. So yeah; he's settling in pretty well so far.

Employees give one another regular updates on their personal triumphs and struggles

My advice to them is to avoid the applesauce. And I agree with Fen in that I'll stick to Christianity.

Posted by: NR Pax at January 12, 2026 05:14 AM (BpO1e)

34 Evening and morning to all the AoSHQ satellites near and far! Yes, it's Monday. Stipulated. But remember:

"Compared to being on the wrong side of the ground, even a bad Monday is pretty small kumquats, nicht wahr?"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 12, 2026 05:16 AM (wzUl9)

35
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at January 12, 2026 05:17 AM (tljrc)

36 G'morning, all!

33 degrees out, so I may walk later when it warms up.

Anyhow.......AI.

Watching youtube oddball stuff I acme upon this video of a guy 'restoring a B-52'.

https://tinyurl.com/5fsnc945

Judging by the details that keep changing, like number of engines, wheel shape and count...etc, every bit of this is computer generated. And wrong.

Yet for the unsuspecting, it looks real.

Scary times we are heading toward.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 12, 2026 05:23 AM (iMotb)

37 amce=came

F'n auto-cucumber.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 12, 2026 05:24 AM (iMotb)

38 Thanks for the "Penny Lane" Pixy. Brings back some good memories.

Posted by: Tuna at January 12, 2026 05:24 AM (lJ0H4)

39 Got a tech question for Pixy or some of you mavens out there. My laptop is a 2013-ish MacBook Air. Recently I installed both BitDefender and AVG Anti-Virus; I run them frequently, and neither has found anything concerning.

However! I keep getting three little popup "notification" flags every five minutes or so. They appear from the upper right corner of the screen, then disappear within seconds. One warns me about my Apple ID. One, about my Norton Anti-Virus expiring, and one about my McAfee subscription. I don't have Norton or McAfee on this machine. It does seem that these flags have been appearing *since* I put the two anti-virus packages on the laptop. I clicked on one flag once, and AVG caught me up and congratulated itself that it stopped me from going to "an infected website."

Should I be concerned, and is there any way to make them go away?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 12, 2026 05:24 AM (wzUl9)

40 Clear here, 44 F., wind chill of 39, wind NE at 11. It looks to be cool all week.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 12, 2026 05:26 AM (wzUl9)

41 mornin yall. So far I rate this week as poopy.

Posted by: fd at January 12, 2026 05:31 AM (vFG9F)

42
Not "founders", but more like flounderers

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 05:35 AM (xG4kz)

43 I put the two anti-virus packages on the laptop. I clicked on one flag once, and AVG caught me up and congratulated itself that it stopped me from going to "an infected website."

Should I be concerned, and is there any way to make them go away?
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius

Have you tried installing a third antivirus and see what happens?

It's been my experience that installing two antiviruses on a machine is a drain on resources and they can end up conflicting with each other. I would suggest picking one and being happy with that. As for the little screen that pops up, that sounds like a configuration issue from one of the antiviruses.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 05:36 AM (HTCU3)

44 Chilly out but clear and no winds
Have a great day horde

Posted by: Skip at January 12, 2026 05:38 AM (Ia/+0)

45 Had a dream where Miss Linda and I, and my late longhair tuxedo cat Oreo, were traveling from somewhere in Lousy-ana to get to Lafayette. It involved driving east on a two-lane state road that was well-paved (so already you know this is not reality), then north to a boat landing. Apparently we left the car someplace and had to cross a gangway to get to a big ferry that would take us up or across a river. Oreo was brave (another clue that this was a dream) and ran ahead of us into an enclosed deck which held a cluster of people and their pets. I lost sight of Oreo and was worried about her.

Then big black Stirling jumped across me and I was awake.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 12, 2026 05:38 AM (wzUl9)

46 “ Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”

Isaiah 66:2

Posted by: Marcus T at January 12, 2026 05:41 AM (Y3swt)

47 Rabbi's daughter from "The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews" writes
"Don't be discouraged"- Exodus 6:9

https://tinyurl.com/3yubjd4h

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 12, 2026 05:41 AM (RDpV/)

48 Have you tried installing a third antivirus and see what happens?

It's been my experience that installing two antiviruses on a machine is a drain on resources and they can end up conflicting with each other. I would suggest picking one and being happy with that. As for the little screen that pops up, that sounds like a configuration issue from one of the antiviruses.
Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026

***
I put them both, the free versions, on the desktop Mac and have not seen the same problem, just on the laptop. The AVG did catch two infected files on the Mac, so perhaps I'll go with that one and dump BitDefender.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 12, 2026 05:41 AM (wzUl9)

49 Installing more than one AV program can cause you to lose connectivity. They conflict with each other. Having an expired unused AV program can cause the same issue. You might try uninstalling one of those AVs

Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 12, 2026 05:43 AM (+mUZM)

50 Got an appointment today. Just job stuff. I hate going to the 5 sided nut house in Arlington on my day off but there is no way around it. Just getting a new ID. CAC, for those who know what that is. Usually the beltway bandit I work for wait till the minute so we can't make an appointment. Not this year though. I'm almost impressed. So, off to bed, been up all night lurking here, puttering, and watching dirt track racing in Arizona (Central Arizona Raceway, which isn't in Central Arizona. Between Tuscon and Phoenix). Livin' the dream, I am!!

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at January 12, 2026 05:46 AM (sAmhv)

51 I was not impressed with Cachy. It's Arch based and did not look as polished as some of the other distros . But it's number one on Distro Watch.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 12, 2026 05:46 AM (+mUZM)

52
You know who else styles herself as a "founder"? Why, Meghan of Sussex, of course!

In March 2025, it was announced that Meghan would host a second podcast series, "Confessions of a Female Founder", with Lemonada Media.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 05:46 AM (xG4kz)

53 Birdbath status?

Posted by: Just Wondering at January 12, 2026 05:47 AM (2Ez/1)

54 Bird snuggled into photographers chest for warmth on a snowy day. Good news network site

https://tinyurl.com/3enhpb93

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 12, 2026 05:49 AM (RDpV/)

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

lol

It's an idea for social media only a techno-New Age-Commune could come up with.

A permanently online, AI-controlled, group therapy session that could only be conceived by Californians permanently in search of the meaning of life.

'42'.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at January 12, 2026 05:50 AM (6ydKt)

56 All of these tech journalists will be all let’s dumps windows until they realize office 365 online does not function the same as the installed app and you can’t get office on Linux.

They probably all switch to Mac and call it good enough.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at January 12, 2026 05:51 AM (XV/Pl)

57 Some misguided fool recently took the time to ask Neil Young what he thought about the Trump administration kicking illegal aliens out of the country. He is not a happy man. Shocking.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 05:53 AM (HTCU3)

58 "Two of the co-founders of Twitter and Pinterest are working on a new social network."

Another one to split the "Waaah, Elon bad" vote. Wonderful. I'm sure it'll be successful. This time. Or ... something. *snrks*

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at January 12, 2026 05:54 AM (O7YUW)

59 Per AXIOS

KRISTI NOEM "DOUBLES DOWN" ON FATAL ICE SHOOTING. VOWS TO FLOOD MN WITH MORE AGENTS.

.......I APRROVE.

Posted by: GigantorX at January 12, 2026 05:55 AM (oaz5l)

60 “Everything worked... Except Minecraft. But that was because he wanted to play Minecraft Bedrock, because that's the version his kids play, and it's not easy to make it work on Linux.”

Which is precisely the reason Microsoft came up with it. One of Notch's conditions of sale was that the program which used to be called simply “Minecraft” remained cross-platform, with a one-time purchase. He underestimated the sliminess of Redmond.

Mind you, the “Java Edition” is a PITA these days too, requiring an MS Account sign-in every... bloody... time you start it. I used to enjoy it. Haven't played in years.

Posted by: Sam Duncan at January 12, 2026 05:57 AM (08lo+)

61 Is NYC really about to face a nursing strike?

Oh boy...

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 12, 2026 05:58 AM (iMotb)

62 It's still not too late to start a life of crime, I'm Einstein compared to this generation

Posted by: Great Reagan's Deplorable Ghost at January 12, 2026 05:59 AM (l9BCz)

63
A permanently online, AI-controlled, group therapy session that could only be conceived by Californians permanently in search of the meaning of life.

At some point their pretentiousness will burst forth with a declaration that "Year Zero is Now!" and then the really serious pointing and laughing will begin.

I do hope that their pantheon of zombie "ancestors" --- 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. -- are up to the task of shouldering the members' hubris and giving it all the pampering that it will need.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 05:59 AM (xG4kz)

64 Should I be concerned, and is there any way to make them go away?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 12, 2026 05:24 AM (wzUl9)

Be careful with these.

On some websites unscrupulous admins will add ad networks that will put up ads designed to look like warning messages like these to get you to click to another ad, or worse, send you to a malware/virus file.

I see these a lot on Macs, and they're made to trick you.

These messages will only appear in your browser, not on the desktop itself.

You could try Brave Browser or AdBlock or uBlockOrigin extensions in your browser and they should prevent these ad networks showing up.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at January 12, 2026 06:00 AM (6ydKt)

65
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.

I'm not sure which Saint Francis they're using, but I get the feeling that any or all would say with horror, "Repent, your time is short!"

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at January 12, 2026 06:02 AM (tgvbd)

66 57 Some misguided fool recently took the time to ask Neil Young what he thought about the Trump administration kicking illegal aliens out of the country. He is not a happy man. Shocking.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 05:53 AM (HTCU3)

Well since he's Canadian I think we can safely ignore his opinion about American immigration policy.

He's got enough problems in the Great (Kinda) White North to worry about.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at January 12, 2026 06:03 AM (6ydKt)

67 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.

No St. Neil Young of Get Off My Lawn? Truly shocking.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 06:05 AM (HTCU3)

68
Switching the order of sentences to 'splain things:

Moments of silence precede meetings. during which time the members undress.

The founders participate in a fortnightly "covenant" meeting in which they renew their support for each other. -- more vulgarly referred to as "orgies" (but that is so common a name for so lofty a practice, donchano?).

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 06:05 AM (xG4kz)

69 G'mornin' everyone!

Thanks, Pixy!

25 degrees

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at January 12, 2026 06:07 AM (Cjt/F)

70 From the intertubes: Neil Young became a U.S. citizen on January 22, 2020, after a lengthy application process that faced delays due to his past use of marijuana. He expressed his happiness about the citizenship on his website and Instagram, stating, "I’m happy to report I’m in!".

That's a lie. He's never been happy about anything especially Steven stills, Graham Nash, and David Crosby.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 06:07 AM (HTCU3)

71 On some websites unscrupulous admins will add ad networks that will put up ads designed to look like warning messages like these to get you to click to another ad, or worse, send you to a malware/virus file.

I see these a lot on Macs, and they're made to trick you.

These messages will only appear in your browser, not on the desktop itself.

You could try Brave Browser or AdBlock or uBlockOrigin extensions in your browser and they should prevent these ad networks showing up.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at January 12, 2026

***
I run Brave exclusively and am free from ads. Miss Linda prefers Safari for some reason, so maybe that's it.

I'm not sure, though, but I think I see these things on the desktop too. I'll post if I do.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 12, 2026 06:07 AM (wzUl9)

72 VIA, Hope your MIL is not affected by the measles alert for travel on Amtrak going to Baltimore.

Posted by: Mrs JTB at January 12, 2026 06:07 AM (yTvNw)

73
Appointment with my heart doctor this morning. Routine exam, no issues that I know of.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at January 12, 2026 06:09 AM (tgvbd)

74 24 "founding ancient technologist,"

That would be me.

Posted by: Stan at January 12, 2026 06:09 AM (WWvt3)

75 @39/Wolfus: "Should I be concerned, and is there any way to make them go away?"

Windows and Linux guy here, NOT Mac. That said:

Concerned? I would be. Anything on your machine that you didn't put there that's now bouncing up and down like a Jack Russel terrier trying to get your attention? That's worth investigating.

See this:
https://tinyurl.com/4x52d2fs

Start there, and open John Galt's link, the one referring to the "Stop unwanted Notifications" article. Play close attention to the advice about how these unwanted notifications are almost always the tip of the spear in a scam attempt, to try to panic you and get you to follow the instructions that follow from those notifications.

One of the linked articles in there talks about how at some point you may have granted a website permission to do push notifications (ie, harass you) and that may be the source of this nonsense and you should be able to revoke those permissions with some configuration work.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at January 12, 2026 06:09 AM (O7YUW)

76
It is comforting to note that the flounders pay homage to what likely will prove to be one of their core beliefs by numbering the practicing pedophile, Harvey Milk, among their "ancestors".

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 06:09 AM (xG4kz)

77 Yes -- I do see the flag pop up with Brave minimized and my desktop in view.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 12, 2026 06:10 AM (wzUl9)

78 Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

Rejoinder: Onna stick or inna bun?

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 12, 2026 06:11 AM (X4XpB)

79
VIA, Hope your MIL is not affected by the measles alert for travel on Amtrak going to Baltimore.
Posted by: Mrs JTB at January 12, 2026 06:07 AM (yTvNw)

Passenger rail provides for shared experiences, like communicable diseases. We need more of it in this country!!

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at January 12, 2026 06:12 AM (tgvbd)

80 Wolfus, The problems you're having comes from not having a current Mac. Give me a call. I'll set you up. And bring your checkbook.

Posted by: Tim Cook at January 12, 2026 06:14 AM (HTCU3)

81 Isn't Neil Young the guy who sold the rights to all his music and then complained loudly when that group licensed his music for use at a political event from a party he vehemently disagrees with and threatened legal action only to find out that when you sell something you no longer own it?

Neil's a 3rd degree Jackwagon, who knows hundreds of ways to beat himself up.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at January 12, 2026 06:14 AM (O7YUW)

82 "VIA, Hope your MIL is not affected by the measles alert for travel on Amtrak going to Baltimore."

I saw that!

Fortunately, she traveled the day before, and in the opposite direction.

She should be good.

But I'm sure that we will get a phone call from here in the next two hours about it.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 12, 2026 06:15 AM (iMotb)

83
He expressed his happiness about the citizenship on his website and Instagram, stating, "I’m happy to report I’m in!".

That's refeeshingly unusual, but sadly uncommon, to hear from an Old Lesbian such as Neil Young.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 06:15 AM (xG4kz)

84 Today marks the beginning of slogging through getting bids for a new roof.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 06:16 AM (HTCU3)

85 G & R, the only two profiles I see on here are from my old employer. Nothing involving Norton or McAfee, and these profiles have been on here for thirteen years.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 12, 2026 06:17 AM (wzUl9)

86 Those filthy, nasty Beatles corrupted an entire generation of English speaking people. It really is sinister what they able to get away with.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at January 12, 2026 06:18 AM (BSdIE)

87
Passenger rail provides for shared experiences, like communicable diseases. We need more of it in this country!!
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

I always found the malodorous and filthy public toilets charming on Amtrak's trains. Really miss them, I do not.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 06:18 AM (xG4kz)

88
Today marks the beginning of slogging through getting bids for a new roof.
Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 06:16 AM (HTCU3)

Enjoy years of picking up nails in the yard.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at January 12, 2026 06:19 AM (tgvbd)

89 Thanks to Joe Mannix and others, 'Rons have been treated to stunning images of female beauty and fashion. I think it's time the 'Ettes got treated to the same:

https://tinyurl.com/2h6ttwve

Posted by: Admiral Ackbar at January 12, 2026 06:20 AM (WWvt3)

90
Enjoy years of picking up nails in the yard.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

Ain't that the truth?

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 06:20 AM (xG4kz)

91 Morning, 'rons and 'ettes.

Posted by: olddog in mo at January 12, 2026 06:21 AM (bQ4nt)

92 J.J. Will probably have this in the MR, but I'll put it here anyway. From the NY Post. Billionaire Bill Ackman gives money to "Go Fund Me " for ICE agent who shot Ms. Good. The article refers to Ackman as a conservative. Really? I just think of him as a "mugged Democrat. Anti semeti of campuses opened his eyes as well:

https://tinyurl.com/2744hdhn

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 12, 2026 06:21 AM (ZeH0U)

93 @85/Wolfus: Then as earlier mentioned, it might be a notification push coming in via Safari. I'm hoping some of the linked articles via the linked article I sent you help you investigate and eliminate the source of these push messages.

Also: SpeakingOf's advice in #64 is solid.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at January 12, 2026 06:23 AM (O7YUW)

94 Posted by: Admiral Ackbar at January 12, 2026 06:20 AM (WWvt3)

Nope; Not clicking. It's probably some very large male. I appreciate your humor but if I want to look at a fit guy I'll go with Pete Hegseth exercising with the troops

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 12, 2026 06:24 AM (ZeH0U)

95 I always found the malodorous and filthy public toilets charming on Amtrak's trains. Really miss them, I do not.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot

Las Cruces spent bunches of money building a public restroom in the downtown area for the tourism reasons. Within a couple months the city locked them up and put a couple porta potties in front of the building. It's unclear why this happened, but I think it may be related to the city reluctantly having to hire 24-hour 7-Day a week security guards to walk around downtown.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 06:25 AM (HTCU3)

96 "semetism" not "semeti" Darn autocorrect.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 12, 2026 06:25 AM (ZeH0U)

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

LOL

Posted by: olddog in mo at January 12, 2026 06:25 AM (bQ4nt)

98 It's just another Merlot Monday.

Posted by: Old Lady Emhoff at January 12, 2026 06:30 AM (2Ez/1)

99 The fact that the Beatles sing about a roundabout proves the evil they harbored against future generations.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at January 12, 2026 06:31 AM (BSdIE)

100 100 (since m didn't claim it.)

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at January 12, 2026 06:33 AM (O7YUW)

101 Why did Neal become American?

Isn’t Canada amazeballz and you can get free healthcare and there’s poutine in every pot?

Posted by: Thomas Bender at January 12, 2026 06:33 AM (RNs96)

102 What are the chances this is AI? It's all rather convenient.

https://is.gd/hquamQ

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 06:33 AM (HTCU3)

103 I always found the malodorous and filthy public toilets charming on Amtrak's trains. Really miss them, I do not.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 06:18 AM

145 miles. You can hold it.

Posted by: Highway sign for Buc-ee's at January 12, 2026 06:36 AM (2Ez/1)

104 Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 06:33 AM (HTCU3

I didn't listen to it, but the way the woman on the left is moving her head up and down (Looks very unnatural ) it looks like AI.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 12, 2026 06:37 AM (ZeH0U)

105 Why did Neal become American?

So he can denounce his US citizenship and relocate to Europe?

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 06:37 AM (HTCU3)

106 @84

>>Today marks the beginning of slogging through getting bids for a new roof.

It’s pretty straight forward, these are the prices you might pay, 7500, 12000, 17,000, 23000, 32000.

If you have a sprawling mansion, expect to pay more.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at January 12, 2026 06:38 AM (RNs96)

107 I always found the malodorous and filthy public toilets charming on Amtrak's trains. Really miss them, I do not.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 06:18 AM

145 miles. You can hold it.
Posted by: Highway sign for Buc-ee's at January 12, 2026 06:36 AM (2Ez/1)
--------------------
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=ltV800DpVB4&t=3s

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 12, 2026 06:38 AM (X4XpB)

108 "PBS News Weekend" aired its final episode on Sunday, citing President Donald Trump and the Republican Party's spending cuts to public media last summer."

What a shame. Now where we get biased leftist reporting with a communist slant?

Posted by: fd at January 12, 2026 06:39 AM (vFG9F)

109 What a shame. Now where we get biased leftist reporting with a communist slant?
Posted by: fd

MSNOW.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 06:41 AM (HTCU3)

110 G & R, I followed the Apple Community instructions to remove notifications in Safari. There was one, unlabeled except for a logo that looked much like that on the popups. I removed it and have not seen the popups since. Thanks!

I've also dumped the BitDefender on this machine and will remove it from the Mac and the Windows laptop.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 12, 2026 06:43 AM (wzUl9)

111 "That's only partly the fault of the social media companies."

Partly being the operative word here. Considering the freaking wealth social media have brought tech giants, I would say, partly being 75%

Posted by: sidney at January 12, 2026 06:43 AM (rzwGB)

112 Some misguided fool recently took the time to ask Neil Young what he thought about the Trump administration kicking illegal aliens out of the country. He is not a happy man. Shocking.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 05:53 AM (HTCU3)
-

It's getting to the point where he's no fun anymore.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at January 12, 2026 06:46 AM (EtDTo)

113 If you're on the East Coast and it's clear take a look at the beginning wings of the sunrise. It's lovely

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 12, 2026 06:50 AM (rZCVI)

114 OK, First World Problem.

I went to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. Decided to pay cash since I had enough on me.

Total: $7.48. Rounded up to $7.50 due to penny shortage. sigh How about rounding down since I'm paying cash?

Posted by: NR Pax at January 12, 2026 06:50 AM (BpO1e)

115 I'm still under the effects of my nightly dose of gabapentin and not totally awake as of yet. My first cup of coffee will cure that. That said, even in my fuzzy state I can tell that the first article shows a lot of jibber jabber & bullshit. Mostly bullshit.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at January 12, 2026 06:50 AM (2NHgQ)

116 US web hosting recommendations for a small company site with no web commerce activities. Needs to include email and FTP.

Our current hosting company is raising prices through the roof!

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at January 12, 2026 06:51 AM (EtDTo)

117
"Tell us again what it was like when you had National Public Radio grandpa."

Posted by: Your grandchildren's grandkids 75 years from now at January 12, 2026 06:53 AM (2Ez/1)

118 "Minneapolis Mayor Frey says ‘everybody could have done more to prevent fraud’ in Minnesota"

Translation: it's nobody's fault, so nobody is responsible, these things just happen.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at January 12, 2026 06:53 AM (HTCU3)

119 Skimmed through that B-52 video - as if the US government would leave a B-52 sitting in the water somewhere, abandoned.
The. I saw on their playlist “I found a B2!” Which is pretty much the same video but with a B2 model substituted for the other.
They should have a little humor and do “I discovered the millennium falcon!”

Posted by: Tom Servo at January 12, 2026 06:53 AM (QkvGw)

120
"Tell us again what it was like when you had National Public Radio grandpa."
Posted by: Your grandchildren's grandkids 75 years from now at January 12, 2026 06:53 AM (2Ez/1)

"Hours and hours of dreary stories about Nicaraguan literacy programs or Palestinian childcare centers and unfunny comedians, punctuated by beg-a-thons where we were told that stations received almost no Federal funding. We thought of ourselves as cultured and superior. State media! How... European!"

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at January 12, 2026 07:00 AM (tgvbd)

121 I hope Dan Bongino has this groyper on his list:

https://tinyurl.com/mrha2fb5

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at January 12, 2026 07:02 AM (EtDTo)

122 The history in old music videos is always fascinating to me. The buses in the Beatles' video are green (I associate London double deckers with red). It turns out Liverpool buses were traditionally green.

Posted by: actually inside the beltway at January 12, 2026 07:05 AM (Hpgos)

123 Could someone please explain to me what the value is of AI? I guess it helps digital artists create things. But aside from that, it just seems to create fake videos with things by artificially created people with things they never said. Oh,it also uses lots of resources as well.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 12, 2026 07:07 AM (WFtAr)

124 >71
..................

If you have brew/macports set up, you might consider ClamAV. Unlike other 'mainstream' AV software, it's free, open sourced (BSD), and functions rather well across the spectrum of various POSIX os. You run it and update it from console, and establish a daemon to have it run and update it in the background, iirc.

Posted by: Dawnbringer at January 12, 2026 07:08 AM (koFAO)

125 "Minneapolis Mayor Frey says ‘everybody could have done more to prevent fraud’ in Minnesota"
================
Fraud? In Minnesota? Nope, didn't happen.

Posted by: Minneapolis Star Tribune at January 12, 2026 07:09 AM (di6Sl)

126
Could someone please explain to me what the value is of AI?

You can now do stupid, counterproductive stuff much faster.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at January 12, 2026 07:10 AM (tgvbd)

127
"Tell us again what it was like when you had National Public Radio grandpa."
Posted by: Your grandchildren's grandkids 75 years from now

... and its on-air personnel could drone on and on about next to nothing for hours upon hours! There were actual advisories against listening to NPR if you

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 07:11 AM (xG4kz)

128
were driving a vehicle lest you doze off and crash.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 07:12 AM (xG4kz)

129 Young was famous for quitting the band Buffalo Springfield, who had some success. They could have been a lot more successful.

They had a gig for Johnny Carson show. That was a really big deal at the time. Young decided “Nah” at the last minute. Oops. Endeared himself to fellow band members you can be sure. Quit mid tour with Stephen Stills. Just didn’t show up. Sent a telegram “blah blah, eat a peach. Neil”

Posted by: Common Tater at January 12, 2026 07:12 AM (WmF8p)

130 I just bought a very basic little ice therapy machine for my knee, and I love it. Pop in a few frozen bottles of water, labels removed so they don't clog the pump, and a pitcher of water, hook up the tubing and the quiet little pump, then strap on the knee cover and...relax.

Highly recommend, based on my very brief two days of use.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 12, 2026 07:12 AM (di6Sl)

131 @123

>> Could someone please explain to me what the value is of AI?

You have access to subject matter expertise and capabilities for free or very low cost.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at January 12, 2026 07:13 AM (dAZi+)

132 Communes. Yeah, there were a few that popped up in the '60s.

IIRC, the only communes that succeed are religious orders (e.g. Benedictines) where everyone has a job and if you don't do your job, you get kicked out.

Posted by: no one at January 12, 2026 07:13 AM (qFwJc)

133 "Hours and hours of dreary stories about Nicaraguan literacy programs or Palestinian childcare centers and unfunny comedians, punctuated by beg-a-thons where we were told that stations received almost no Federal funding. We thought of ourselves as cultured and superior. State media! How... European!"
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at January 12, 2026 07:00 AM

*golfclap*

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at January 12, 2026 07:13 AM (2Ez/1)

134 "IIRC, the only communes that succeed are religious orders (e.g. Benedictines) where everyone has a job and if you don't do your job, you get kicked out.
Posted by: no one at January 12, 2026 07:13 AM"

"If no man will work, neither let him eat."

Posted by: Some guy in the Bible at January 12, 2026 07:15 AM (2Ez/1)

135 Apparently, news reports say the death toll among Iranians taking to the streets now exceeds 2,000.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 12, 2026 07:16 AM (di6Sl)

136 I am an ancient technologist, but I never founded anything.

Posted by: no one at January 12, 2026 07:16 AM (qFwJc)

137 nood!

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at January 12, 2026 07:16 AM (Cjt/F)

138 135 Apparently, news reports say the death toll among Iranians taking to the streets now exceeds 2,000.
Posted by: Huck Follywood

I hope they aren't deterred by that. Persia needs to get rid of the people that are poisoning their country.

Posted by: NR Pax at January 12, 2026 07:17 AM (BpO1e)

139 Will no one shed a tear for Prarie Home Companion?

Posted by: Literally no one in flyover country at January 12, 2026 07:17 AM (WWvt3)

140 >> Could someone please explain to me what the value is of AI?
===============
I use it to evaluate my bidding in online bridge games, and it has taught me quite a bit of useful information.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 12, 2026 07:17 AM (di6Sl)

141
Could someone please explain to me what the value is of AI?

You can now have the equivalent of that bratty younger kid who always had either a question or an off topic observation trail after you and pipe up incessantly and annoyingly. Admit it, you missed that in your life as an adult!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 07:18 AM (xG4kz)

142 Now that the CPB (Corp. for Public Broadcasting) has disbanded, Will NPR and PBS be soon to follow?

Posted by: no one at January 12, 2026 07:18 AM (qFwJc)

143
Will no one shed a tear for Prarie Home Companion?
Posted by: Literally no one in flyover country

Garrison Keillor, another Old Lesbian. Lefties revere them!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM} at January 12, 2026 07:24 AM (xG4kz)

144 Fen,

Ask it some questions about the Bible. Dig a little. Don't ask bout opinions, stick with facts at first. Then dig a little deeper.

I'm really not qualified to make any judgements about it's usefulness in this area but many find it useful for helping them in the tech field.

Also, if your son is interested in working in research he really needs to get a masters degree.

Posted by: pawn at January 12, 2026 07:34 AM (rbIOb)

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