Daily Tech News 27 January 2026

Top Story

Intel's new B390 integrated graphics, featured in certain Panther Lake laptop processors, are genuinely a huge leap forward. (Notebook Check)

Previously the best mainstream integrated graphics were found in AMD chips, like the 780M and 890M units that are included in a three nominal generations of processors. Intel's latest graphics unit runs rings around them - 50% faster or more.

AMD still holds a convincing lead with its Ryzen AI Max family, but those are not cheap or widespread.

The one major catch here is that the B390 is only available in laptops with soldered memory. No exceptions. If you need user-upgradable RAM you get graphics running at one third the speed, half the speed of comparable AMD systems.

Tech News

Television is one hundred years old today. (Diamond Geezer)

Happy birthday, television!
After two years of vibe coding, I'm back to writing everything by hand. (Atmoio)
It's not until I opened up the full codebase and read its latest state cover to cover that I began to see what we theorized and hoped was only a diminishing artifact of earlier models: slop.

It was pure, unadulterated slop. I was bewildered. Had I not reviewed every line of code before admitting it? Where did all this... gunk.. come from?
Technical debt as a service.
In retrospect, it made sense. Agents write units of changes that look good in isolation. They are consistent with themselves and your prompt. But respect for the whole, there is not. Respect for structural integrity there is not. Respect even for neighboring patterns there was not.
What there is, is code spam.
We have met the enemy and he is slop: A new digital divide? Coder worldviews, the "Slop economy," and democracy in the age of AI. (TandFOnline)

Okay, one moment.

Ctrl-F "democracy"

54 hits. Never once do they specify what they mean, but it readily becomes apparent:
On one side are the 'digital elites' - those with the means, skills, or institutional support to obtain high-quality information and online experiences. This group enjoys reliable news sources, can afford ad-free subscriptions or premium content, and benefits from platforms and regulations that attempt to uphold standards of accuracy, privacy, and democratic values. Their internet experience includes credible journalism (e.g., The New York Times, BBC), fact-checked content, and fewer mis/disinformation traps.
Stalin or Mao. Those are your only options, apparently.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, creators and operators of Claude AI, is a fuckwit. (Dario Amodei)
A country of geniuses in a datacenter could divide their efforts among software design, cyber operations, R&D for physical technologies, relationship building, and statecraft.
Yeah, "geniuses in datacenters" have a remarkable track record on relationship building and statecraft.

Just... Remarkable.
It is clear that, if for some reason it chose to do so, this country would have a fairly good shot at taking over the world (either militarily or in terms of influence and control) and imposing its will on everyone else - or doing any number of other things that the rest of the world doesn't want and can't stop.
Everyone has a plan until they get a Hellfire missile to the face.
Dell's 52" 6K ultra-widescreen monitor is a... 52" 6K ultra-widescreen monitor. (Hot Hardware)

And it has a 120Hz refresh rate, which is a bit of a surprise.

And it only costs as much as a dozen 27" 4K monitors.
Google Gemini can now help you find the best meeting time for all attendees. (Digital Trends)

All it needs to know is the full schedules of all of everyone, and then it becomes an easy task.

Of course, it already was if everyone's schedule is in a computer, so I'm not sure what problem AI is pretending to solve here.
Google is set to pay $68 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that it recorded private conversations. (BBC)

Oh, that problem. If no conversation is private, you can't sue Google for recording it.
The Trump administration is planning to use Google Gemini to draft transport regulations. (ProPublica)
The answer from the plan's boosters is simple: speed. Writing and revising complex federal regulations can take months, sometimes years. But, with DOT's version of Google Gemini, employees could generate a proposed rule in a matter of minutes or even seconds, two DOT staffers who attended the December demonstration remembered the presenter saying. In any case, most of what goes into the preambles of DOT regulatory documents is just "word salad," one staffer recalled the presenter saying. Google Gemini can do word salad.
Great. Now it's regulatory spam.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: I lost my hairspray in a freak hurricane accident.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good morning. If that's your thing.

Posted by: spug bugman's milquetoast morning greetings at January 27, 2026 04:03 AM (AqM0I)

2 Morning!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 27, 2026 04:05 AM (BLOW1)

3 G'Day
Its Monday already, isn't it?

Posted by: Skip at January 27, 2026 04:05 AM (Ia/+0)

4 G'Day
Its Monday already, isn't it?
Posted by: Skip

Actually it's Tuesday but who's counting.

Posted by: Tuna at January 27, 2026 04:11 AM (lJ0H4)

5 Good morning! Gonna be another chilly day here in Cowtown. The grandkids spent the night so we'll need to figure out how to keep them busy since there's no school today.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at January 27, 2026 04:16 AM (3Ope8)

6 Guten morgen, horde A♠

Posted by: clarence at January 27, 2026 04:17 AM (jgwdN)

7 Mornin'

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at January 27, 2026 04:21 AM (sAmhv)

8 If its Tuesday its a Bonus

Posted by: Skip at January 27, 2026 04:25 AM (Ia/+0)

9 There are two wolves inside you. One has a structured settlement. The other needs cash now.

Posted by: Chief J.G. Wentworth
Big Wampum at January 27, 2026 04:34 AM (iu6Qe)

10 "Their internet experience includes credible journalism (e.g., The New York Times, BBC) ..."

Haha, no.

G'morning, Horde.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at January 27, 2026 04:54 AM (O7YUW)

11 Wolves?

youtu.be/9NKsIQYc2zs

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at January 27, 2026 04:56 AM (sAmhv)

12 At least a fairly close job today

Posted by: Skip at January 27, 2026 04:58 AM (Ia/+0)

13 @FenelonSpoke/96(yesterday's tech news): "Do you speak in a Scottish accent too? How much snow did you get?"

No on the accent. About a foot to a foot and a half. The piles of snow from people snowblowing and shoveling it are getting to quite the height. (I'm going to have to be very careful to watch for kids playing on those and sliding down those as I approach their stops on the bus.)

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at January 27, 2026 05:04 AM (O7YUW)

14 we'll need to figure out how to keep them busy since there's no school today.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at January 27, 2026 04:16 AM (3Ope

Shoveling snow!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 27, 2026 05:08 AM (Zv8bq)

15
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at January 27, 2026 05:10 AM (tljrc)

16 Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at January 27, 2026 05:04 AM (O7YUW)

I think we got over a foot. I hadn't thought of being aware of kids sliding down the mountains of snow. I will tell spouse that. They have a two hour delay today.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026 05:12 AM (Nx5jP)

17 This afternoon I will continue to chip away at the mini glacier the condo's snow removal folks left in front of my parking spot. I'm effectively trapped. I've been using old golf clubs I haven't gotten rid of to chip the ice. Glad I procastinated getting rid of them. The shovel is very good at SNOW, not small glaciers.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at January 27, 2026 05:13 AM (sAmhv)

18 As a teenager, made some extra money shoveling out driveways

Posted by: Skip at January 27, 2026 05:14 AM (Ia/+0)

19 Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at January 27, 2026 05:13 AM (sAmhv)

Sorry about that. Can you complain to your condo or they won't do anything?

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026 05:17 AM (Nx5jP)

20 I shoveled yesterday, today we take to the streets

Posted by: TheCatAttackedMyFoot at January 27, 2026 05:19 AM (jrgJz)

21 Morning, 'rons and 'ronettes. 7 cold degrees here at Stately Poppins Manor.

About 2-3 feet of snow over Sunday and yesterday. I'm too old to do more than shovel out a path for the dogs, so I hired someone to do the front and side doors and the driveway for $100 bucks and a bottle of Bushmills. From a distance, it looks as if the weather is going to be a repeat of 2015, where we had snow every weekend through February.

I am so glad I transferred to working from home. I would have had to be up at 2sm yesterday in order to drive to work.

About 30-odd minutes of work ahead, so I will take care of that and see you on the Morning Report.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at January 27, 2026 05:23 AM (ufSfZ)

22 Neighbor’s kid got 150$ for shoveling about 400sqft of snow.

Posted by: Accomack at January 27, 2026 05:23 AM (T8bqm)

23 Psalm 117

1 Praise the Lord, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
2 For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026 05:24 AM (Nx5jP)

24 Owner is an older woman who lives in Jersey. He was out all Sunday and made bank.

Posted by: Accomack at January 27, 2026 05:24 AM (T8bqm)

25 Posted by: Accomack at January 27, 2026 05:24 AM (T8bqm)

Glad to hear some kids are still doing that.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026 05:26 AM (Nx5jP)

26 Morning, 'rons and 'ettes.

Posted by: olddog in mo at January 27, 2026 05:26 AM (bQ4nt)

27 Evening and morning on this Tiu's Day in a bitter January (or perhaps an overheated one, in the case of Pixy). I'm seeing 29 F. this morning. When I headed to bed last night, I turned the central heat down a bit too much. It was 60 inside when I got up!

Last night on the ONT, I see, you were talking about "borrowing a cat" to handle a mouse problem. I've never done that. But my mother did. When she was living in an apartment with her cat Sparky a few years before I was born, she told me, her upstairs neighbor was a portrait photographer. He had mice. So she loaned him Sparky, who cleaned the rodent problem up quite neatly.

In return she got an excellent portrait of Sparky: a black shorthair cat with a small tuft of white on his chest. She kept that framed pic on a shelf in the house until she passed away more than thirty-five years later. I wish I'd kept it when I cleaned her apartment out.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 05:27 AM (wzUl9)

28 Greetings from the Carolinas. Not the worst winter weather. Clear sky and bright sunshine for the rest of the week. Still cold.

I don’t pay much attention to the Moge on the Big Muddy. I have Walz derangement syndrome. Very detrimental to my quality of life.

Posted by: Going deep. Out. at January 27, 2026 05:28 AM (zqeQL)

29 Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 05:27 AM (wzUl9)

Nice story. Thanks.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026 05:29 AM (Nx5jP)

30 19 Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at January 27, 2026 05:13 AM (sAmhv)

Sorry about that. Can you complain to your condo or they won't do anything?
Posted by: FenelonSpoke

My responsibility. They clear the roads within the community, the parking space is mine. The fact that in the process of clearing the roads, they blocked my spot with a mini glacier, well, bummer. I'll just chip away at it later, and shovel them over a hill. (shrugs)

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at January 27, 2026 05:31 AM (sAmhv)

31 Good Morning all. Hope everyone is safe and warm. 15 degrees here in western NC, may break 40 today. Still iced in and no relief in site. Be careful shoveling that snow.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at January 27, 2026 05:31 AM (t7DqA)

32 Kindly people in Indiana crowdfund for a new truck for an elderly man with a broken down old truck:

https://tinyurl.com/43abkume

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026 05:32 AM (Nx5jP)

33 Heatwave here today. Expected high of 32. Currently 8.

Posted by: olddog in mo at January 27, 2026 05:34 AM (bQ4nt)

34 In low teens but still and clear
Have a great day horde

Posted by: Skip at January 27, 2026 05:35 AM (Ia/+0)

35 Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026
*
Nice story. Thanks.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026

***
I had lots of family and "when I was in nursing school" stories from Mom, but almost none from my father. Many times I heard the tale of how as a boy he had his bike stolen outside the movie theatre downtown and had to walk several miles to get home, but not much beyond that. He was a . . . secretive . . . sort of person. I knew he was an accountant (really a bookkeeper), but I had no idea where he worked. Though he did complain about the commute out along Hwy. 90 East to get to the NASA Michoud facility when he worked there for a time in the early Sixties. But that was not his longtime job.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 05:35 AM (wzUl9)

36 Kindly people in Indiana crowdfund for a new truck for an elderly man with a broken down old truck:

https://tinyurl.com/43abkume
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026

***
That's the impression I got from Evansville area people when I was there, that they would do things like that.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 05:36 AM (wzUl9)

37 Super belated BOING!

Too much shopping with Mrs. BD!

Partly cloudy and hazy in Jerusalem, comfortable at around 59F

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at January 27, 2026 05:38 AM (UUvzi)

38 Best tool I had for scraping and chipping ice was a floor scraper from HD.
NYC is a great place for people who work for money and can live cheaply or scammers looking for marks.
It is a jungle.

Posted by: Accomack at January 27, 2026 05:41 AM (T8bqm)

39 Partly cloudy and hazy in Jerusalem, comfortable at around 59F

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at January 27, 2026 05:38 AM (UUvzi)

And snowing and -20 in Gaza!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 27, 2026 05:42 AM (Zv8bq)

40 27 Evening and morning on this Tiu's Day in a bitter January (or perhaps an overheated one, in the case of Pixy).

Not so bad today. A scorcher yesterday though.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 27, 2026 05:44 AM (BLOW1)

41 Can't shovel ice here. Probably break out the weed torch though and clear the driveway to make it accessible for the kids to come pick up the grandkids.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at January 27, 2026 05:45 AM (3Ope8)

42 “ Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise the Lord, my soul.
I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Psalm 146:1-2

Posted by: Marcus T at January 27, 2026 05:45 AM (zfkPG)

43 Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 05:36 AM (wzUl9

Is that where you are thinking of relocating to-Indiana?

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026 05:46 AM (ix8EF)

44 High today is expected to be around 48 and sunny; freezing again tonight, then 50s as highs until Saturday. Maybe I can go work out tomorrow afternoon and Friday.

Today I need to venture out for some dry chow for the cats, and a few other things. Perhaps I'll be smart this time, buy the big bag (close to $20), then put about six scoops -- two meals' worth -- into a plastic bag as an emergency reserve.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 05:47 AM (wzUl9)

45 And snowing and -20 in Gaza!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 27, 2026 05:42 AM (Zv8bq)

You know, the circles actually do get colder the farther down you go.

Posted by: John Milton at January 27, 2026 05:49 AM (06Hmj)

46 Is that where you are thinking of relocating to-Indiana?
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026

***
Near there, Fen; possibly Owensboro, KY, which is a few miles west of it and on the southern bank of the Ohio river. Stories I was told indicate that IN's electricity rates have gotten ridiculously high thanks to a new power company. Owensboro people had no such complaints.

I expect houses in both places, and farther north in places like Terre Haute, are built to handle cold weather, unlike houses in Da Swamp.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 05:50 AM (wzUl9)

47 You know, the circles actually do get colder the farther down you go.
Posted by: John Milton at January 27, 2026

***
Better to reign in hell and all that, you know.
( -- A certain big-time fallen angel)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 05:52 AM (wzUl9)

48 Oops; Owensboro, KY, is a few miles *east* of Evansville. If you go west, you are in Illinois before you know it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 05:53 AM (wzUl9)

49 Better to reign in hell and all that, you know.
( -- A certain big-time fallen angel)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 05:52 AM (wzUl9)

I didn't vote for 'im!

Posted by: Random Demon # 5,347,103 at January 27, 2026 05:54 AM (06Hmj)

50 Better to reign in hell and all that, you know.
( -- A certain big-time fallen angel)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026
*
I didn't vote for 'im!
Posted by: Random Demon # 5,347,103 at January 27, 2026

***
"Democracy"? What in all of my home is *that*?
( -- A certain big-time fallen angel)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 05:55 AM (wzUl9)

51 "Democracy"? What in all of my home is *that*?
( -- A certain big-time fallen angel)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 05:55 AM (wzUl9)

Democracy is Cerberus and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.

Posted by: Larry Flint's Shade, regretting his fondness for certain vices at January 27, 2026 05:57 AM (06Hmj)

52 G'morning, all!

21.2 degrees out.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 27, 2026 05:59 AM (iMotb)

53 Lovely pictures and a very nice version of "Amazing Grace" sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir:

https://tinyurl.com/2btm8d5h

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026 06:00 AM (ix8EF)

54 And it's almost time to slop the feline hogs.

I hope the little gray shorthair who stops by my front door for handouts found a warm place to sleep. We suspect he has a human home, but he was out last night. I was low on the dry food I give my two -- so he got the good stuff, some Friskies canned.

I can't understand people who "put the cat out" at night. Maybe in a small community and in good weather, but here there are too many feral hoomans -- and coyotes have been seen too.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 06:01 AM (wzUl9)

55 "Writing and revising complex federal regulations can take months, sometimes years. But, with DOT's version of Google Gemini, employees could generate a proposed rule in a matter of minutes or even seconds, two DOT staffers who attended the December demonstration remembered the presenter saying."

My opinion about this shifts back and forth, but since I believe that a lot of Federal workers are biological LLMs, I don't think you can end up with something much worse than the status quo.

I'd offer the option of reducing the size, scope, and power of the federal government as a counter-balance where you might actually be able to obtain and only use the "best of the best of the best" (whatever that actually means in reality) to steer the federal ship, but I cannot perceive a reality where that could actually happen.

Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026 06:03 AM (A/zT2)

56 Interesting conversation with a family friend up in B'More, yesterday.

It's very cold up there, and after Maryland shut down many electrical generation plants, folks are shocked to find out that their electric bills are going up.

Yup...nobody saw that coming.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 27, 2026 06:06 AM (iMotb)

57 It's interesting about the vibe coding.
Around here, we sometimes look at code we wrote 10 years ago and comment how horrible it is.
With AI we can get horrible unreadable code right now!

Posted by: QT3.14159 at January 27, 2026 06:06 AM (mPXLU)

58 It's not only the feral govt. which is infested with "biological LLMs." I've discovered when I call to order something or get in touch with tech support, if the call center is located in Lousy-ana or a lot of the Deep South states, I often get a mush-mouthed "Whatchoo want?" attitude. If I call some place in the Midwest or the northern plains, the staffers actually speak English, are pleasant to talk to, and know their jobs.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 06:07 AM (wzUl9)

59 Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 06:01 AM (wzUl9)

Pynchon went out for possibly three seconds yesterday and got hit with snowflakes and came right back in. Today it's 7 degrees and he was out for a shorter time. He the peripatetic cat- in the evening moving around from our room, to son's room to arm of a chair downstairs.

Today we're supposed to feed fixed stray cats. I don't even know if that guy has cleaned out his driveway.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026 06:10 AM (ix8EF)

60 My current book about the private lives of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh is swiftly degenerating into trash. I'll stick with it until the Gone With the Wind anecdotes are over.

The publisher, Blood Moon, even announces at the back of the book that they are applying "today's tabloid standards to classic old-time Hollywood."

I was not aware that tabloids had standards.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 06:12 AM (wzUl9)

61 I bought one of those propane weed burners thinking it would be just the thing for melting small icy patches. It didn’t seem to do anything.. And I wasn’t impressed with its weed killer roasting abilities. Impressive flame, but a more useless tool I can’t think of.

Posted by: Common Tater at January 27, 2026 06:13 AM (tE2Wy)

62 Pynchon went out for possibly three seconds yesterday and got hit with snowflakes and came right back in. Today it's 7 degrees and he was out for a shorter time. He the peripatetic cat- in the evening moving around from our room, to son's room to arm of a chair downstairs.

Today we're supposed to feed fixed stray cats. I don't even know if that guy has cleaned out his driveway.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026

***
This gray fellow, who knows us by sight and comes running for his handout, is not fixed as far as I can tell. His short coat makes it clear he's still equipped. He's not a big cat, so I hope he doesn't get into any fights with anything bigger and meaner than he is.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 06:15 AM (wzUl9)

63 Birdbath status?

Posted by: Just Wondering at January 27, 2026 06:26 AM (2Ez/1)

64 Vibe coding doesn't get out from having to deal with unanticipated edge-cases which are going to crop up whether you wrote it or the AI did. You're better off dealing with it in code you wrote and understand.

Posted by: Halfhand at January 27, 2026 06:28 AM (z0w8y)

65 "I've discovered when I call to order something or get in touch with tech support, if the call center is located in Lousy-ana or a lot of the Deep South states, I often get a mush-mouthed "Whatchoo want?" attitude."

A lot of that is a result of DEI hiring, IMO. (The feds have a lot of that as well, TBH, with similar results.) In the case of a company, they probably got some type of kickback from some governmental agency to hire disadvantaged people to provide the support they would like to provide in the cheapest possible manner because that ain't new sales.

Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026 06:31 AM (A/zT2)

66 The local Fox outlet is warning us ice may be possible on your windshield this morning, and you should use the defroster plus an ice scraper. I don't think I've ever seen anybody here using an ice scraper except yours truly. Do Walmart or the auto parts stores here even carry them? Maybe Home Depot or Lowes would.

I bought mine years ago from a co-worker's spouse who handled Avon products. They actually had ice scrapers in their catalog.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 06:34 AM (wzUl9)

67 "I've discovered when I call to order something or get in touch with tech support, if the call center is located in Lousy-ana or a lot of the Deep South states, I often get a mush-mouthed "Whatchoo want?" attitude."

A lot of that is a result of DEI hiring, IMO. (The feds have a lot of that as well, TBH, with similar results.) In the case of a company, they probably got some type of kickback from some governmental agency to hire disadvantaged people to provide the support they would like to provide in the cheapest possible manner because that ain't new sales.
Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026

***
True, RC. It also depends on the type of company. A product sales company often has the IQ-challenged (or at least English-challenged). An investment firm like Fidelity should do better, and in my experience they do.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 06:37 AM (wzUl9)

68 That’s the punchline of an old joke about deciding suitable locations for retirement “I’m gonna keep driving south to the point where nobody knows what that thing is”

Posted by: Common Tater at January 27, 2026 06:39 AM (ayI3s)

69 G'mornin' everyone!

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at January 27, 2026 06:40 AM (Cjt/F)

70 "It also depends on the type of company. A product sales company often has the IQ-challenged (or at least English-challenged). An investment firm like Fidelity should do better, and in my experience they do."

Well, investment firms skim off the top, so you hanging around is important.

A company that sells you a product doesn't view you as an income stream; it views you as something that could convince others to not buy their product.

Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026 06:41 AM (A/zT2)

71 That’s the punchline of an old joke about deciding suitable locations for retirement “I’m gonna keep driving south to the point where nobody knows what that thing is”
Posted by: Common Tater at January 27, 2026

***
In my case, it'll be north until nobody knows what a crawfish is, or at least doesn't think they are worth fooling with as food.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 06:47 AM (wzUl9)

72 In my case, it'll be north until nobody knows what a crawfish is, or at least doesn't think they are worth fooling with as food.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026

***
Me: * Shows pic of crawfish *

Local: What the hell IS that thing?

Me: How are house prices around here?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 06:48 AM (wzUl9)

73 "In my case, it'll be north until nobody knows what a crawfish is, or at least doesn't think they are worth fooling with as food."

I pretty much grew up in Giles County, TN. The only reason I didn't think that crawfish were not worth fooling around with as food was that I couldn't get enough of them.

Frog legs and snapping turtles were a different story.

Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026 06:51 AM (A/zT2)

74 Dell's 52" 6K ultra-widescreen monitor is a... 52" 6K ultra-widescreen monitor.

I do like the monitor specs, and it is a Dell.

Currently running the Dell 43" with a pair of 30"s all in 4k, native resolution, no scaling.

The dedicated monitors are good for clear demarcation of interests. That is, the center 43" is for arranging all things IDE, the satellites are for running processes in a portrait mode, and for documentation. With a single 52", one is messing around with ratios of screen to split and Windows aren't good enough with their suggested apportionment.

Also, the 30"s are at angles because even on the 43" the corners are far away and older eyes need to adjust focus.

Few desks are as clean as the advert photo since people stash their phones, beverages, rubber ducks, whatever on the desk surface which obscures bottom portions of low hovering screens.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at January 27, 2026 06:55 AM (a4flb)

75 it's kinda too bad, in a way; I think I might find vibe coding fun, (once, maybe), but it's been decades since I've done more than a hundred or so lines for an Arduino project here & there.

seems like going after flies with a 1911

lol, talk about first world problems, non-vibe-coding angst, amirite?

maybe a cup of coffee ...

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at January 27, 2026 06:55 AM (Cjt/F)

76 Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026 06:51 AM (A/zT2)

Crawfish are fun! And a crawfish boil is a delightful social event.

As for frog legs? Tasty! But I have never tried snapping turtle...what is it like?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 27, 2026 06:55 AM (Zv8bq)

77 Morning peeps

7 degrees this morning. Wind chill's in the negatives. Cat's are unhappy. Wasn't that long ago the temperatures wouldn't have bothered me as much.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at January 27, 2026 06:57 AM (qwVdq)

78 My FIL was mainland Chinese, from Sichuan. When we visited his home province in 1998, his family tried to shock the white guy with local delicacies. When they offered frog legs, they were astonished when I mentioned that I had eaten them as a young lad and would enjoy doing that again.

I ate a lot of frog legs on the trip until we left Sichuan province.

Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026 06:58 AM (A/zT2)

79 The U.S. Attorney’s Office in L.A. has lost every case it brought to trial against a protester who allegedly attacked a federal LEO last year. A number of other cases were dismissed or rejected by grand juries.

Historically, fed prosecutors do not lose at this rate.
-------------------------------
Steven Miller reposted this tweet, originally from a right side reporter in LA, condemning the massively underreported jury nullification going on.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 27, 2026 06:59 AM (//n4s)

80 "I've discovered when I call to order something or get in touch with tech support, if the call center is located in Lousy-ana or a lot of the Deep South states, I often get a mush-mouthed "Whatchoo want?" attitude."

I'm more intrigued by customer support via AI. Voice reco is improving to the point where one can ask Gemini, Siri or CoPilot to help with a problem and the AI agent searches company manuals, FAQs and reddits for solutions and returns a more coherent and patient experience.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at January 27, 2026 06:59 AM (a4flb)

81 Frogs legs? My old man loves those, I think mainly for the shock value.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 27, 2026 07:01 AM (//n4s)

82 Food! I found an incredibly delicious bread in the grocery. Caramelized onion. Gruyere with a dash of thyme. This could become addictive.

Posted by: Ben Had at January 27, 2026 07:01 AM (0KSrI)

83 The U.S. Attorney’s Office in L.A. has lost every case it brought to trial against a protester who allegedly attacked a federal LEO last year. A number of other cases were dismissed or rejected by grand juries.

TBH, many of us fantasize about the exact same thing when it comes to street justice as it was handled back in the day.

Peeping Tom spying on your daughter? The men in the neighborhood would give the pervert a tune-up in such a manner where today the ministers of such street justice would be bankrupt in civil court a/o jailed.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at January 27, 2026 07:02 AM (a4flb)

84
25 outside, 36 in the attic, 45 in the garage, 46 in the kennel. I think we may survive.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at January 27, 2026 07:03 AM (tgvbd)

85 > he U.S. Attorney’s Office in L.A. has lost every case it brought to trial against a protester who allegedly attacked a federal LEO last year. A number of other cases were dismissed or rejected by grand juries.

Historically, fed prosecutors do not lose at this rate.
-------------------------------
Steven Miller reposted this tweet, originally from a right side reporter in LA, condemning the massively underreported jury nullification going on.
=============
The judicial coup continues apace.

This is going to be a really big problem for the administration moving forward. Zero consequences for the left.

They've got to make an effort to get the judiciary under control. SCOTUS ain't gonna do it.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at January 27, 2026 07:04 AM (qwVdq)

86 Frog legs are delicious. I have a source for domestic production and not the crap that comes from China.

Posted by: Ben Had at January 27, 2026 07:04 AM (0KSrI)

87 7 degrees this morning. Wind chill's in the negatives. Cat's are unhappy. Wasn't that long ago the temperatures wouldn't have bothered me as much.

Unless you have a heat-pump, in which cases all you can think about is the utility bill as the "auxiliary heating" kicks in.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at January 27, 2026 07:04 AM (a4flb)

88 7 degrees this morning and the forecast says we have shot at hitting a high today of 16 degrees. Winter.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 27, 2026 07:04 AM (//n4s)

89 Little Big Man from 1970 with Dustin Hoffman is on Movies! I've read the novel, but never seen the film. In it, Chief Dan George (whom we would know later from Outlaw Josey Wales) has the line "Today is a good day to die." That and "There is iron in the words of . . ." from OJW are pretty good film legacies to leave.

Richard Mulligan, later to play Burt on Soap, plays Gen. Custer in this film, and character actor Jeff Corey ("Tom Chaney" in the original True Grit) is Wild Bill Hickok.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 07:09 AM (wzUl9)

90 mornin yall. You know what's missing from the Minneapolis protests? Somalians. It appears that they are smarter that the domestic leftys defending their sorry skinny butts.

Posted by: fd at January 27, 2026 07:10 AM (vFG9F)

91 This is going to be a really big problem for the administration moving forward. Zero consequences for the left.

They've got to make an effort to get the judiciary under control. SCOTUS ain't gonna do it.

The country crashes if the illegals and the Left are not removed. Full Stop.

Balkanization doesn't work, nor fully funding breakaway regions via Babylon DC managed wealth transfers.

Sad to say, but it might just be true that the people of this nation are largely incompatible with a Constitutional Republic and the duties of both citizens and public officials are beyond the ability to perform.

Remove God from society, you get what billions of people in all cultures, places and times have had to deal with - tyranny, misery and poverty.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at January 27, 2026 07:10 AM (a4flb)

92 Thus far the leftist assassins have targeted an conservative influencer (Charlie Kirk) and an officer of a big bad health insurance company.

And in both those cases, we have prosecutions in the works right now that are total tossups, in that jury nullification might come about to acquit the men charged with murder.

If the left ups their game and goes into a phase they view as yankee minutemen guerillas going up against the redcoat oppressors, and starts sniper murders of ICE agents from hidey holes 200 yards out, we could see a lot of leftist heroes getting freed by juries of their whistle-blowing peers.

Posted by: M. Gaga at January 27, 2026 07:11 AM (KiBMU)

93
You know what's missing from the Minneapolis protests? Somalians. It appears that they are smarter that the domestic leftys defending their sorry skinny butts.
Posted by: fd at January 27, 2026 07:10 AM (vFG9F)

Bad: dying for your cause

Better: making some poor bastard die for his cause

Best: making some poor bastard die for your cause

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at January 27, 2026 07:11 AM (tgvbd)

94 Wolfus, you mentioned Olivier. He and Joan Plowright were married for 21 years.

Posted by: Ben Had at January 27, 2026 07:12 AM (0KSrI)

95 Posted by: Ben Had at January 27, 2026 07:01 AM

That bread does sound delicious!

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 27, 2026 07:15 AM (Nx5jP)

96 What actions have been taken against the gubmint officials involved in the Signal chat that was organized to interfere with ICE agents?

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at January 27, 2026 07:15 AM (2Ez/1)

97 Wolfus, i recall Little Big Man (film version) because after his BIL is killed Dustin Hoffman required to service both his wife and her sister. Hey, it's their culture!

As a teenager I thought that seemed a good otcome.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 27, 2026 07:15 AM (C2m2z)

98 I'd offer the option of reducing the size, scope, and power of the federal government as a counter-balance where you might actually be able to obtain and only use the "best of the best of the best" (whatever that actually means in reality) to steer the federal ship, but I cannot perceive a reality where that could actually happen.

I dunno. For a while there, it seemed that the Globalists were seeking Plato's Republic and they envisioned rule through Philosopher Kings.

Then they insisted on rule through DEI.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at January 27, 2026 07:18 AM (a4flb)

99 Frog legs are delicious. I have a source for domestic production and not the crap that comes from China.
Posted by: Ben Had at January 27, 2026 07:04 AM (0KSrI)
---------------------
I'm no expert on frogs legs but I imagine your domestic source is what we would call "a pond"?

Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 27, 2026 07:18 AM (Gj7Fw)

100 Huck, have had plenty from a pond but now I buy them from Citarella in NYC.

Posted by: Ben Had at January 27, 2026 07:20 AM (0KSrI)

101 This might be your last chance to wine and dine with Ilhan Omar:

https://tinyurl.com/57jy4xza

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at January 27, 2026 07:20 AM (UUvzi)

102 "I'm no expert on frogs legs but I imagine your domestic source is what we would call "a pond"?"

'Free Range' Frog Legs?

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 27, 2026 07:21 AM (iMotb)

103 "But I have never tried snapping turtle...what is it like?"

Well, they have multiple flavor profiles and I haven't eaten it since 1975 or 1976. My memory should be assumed to be faulty when discussing personal details; I'll write what I believe to be the case, but those words could be factually wrong even in context. I.E., I'm not trying to lie.

I've eaten 2 snapping turtles that I've caught; both were in my youth. The first turtle was decapitated and hung on a clothesline to bleed out. Even after an hour (I think), the decapitated body's arms tried to push the knife used to remove the belly plate away. There's meat on the inside of the shell which is difficult to get without contamination from the intestines; a skilled person could do it, but that wasn't me.

So, they are reptiles and cousins of chickens. There's dark meat and light meat. I don't remember thinking there was anything special about turtle meat. I live near several ponds; maybe I should harvest a turtle and see what I can do now that I have some idea how to cook food....

Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026 07:22 AM (A/zT2)

104 Minnesota and the insurrections are turning into Trump's new Covid. Incredible to me that he's allowed this to get to this stage. Who is he listening to?

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 27, 2026 07:23 AM (WHfpM)

105 Citarella ships nationwide? How about that.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 27, 2026 07:24 AM (QTJr9)

106 Wolfus, you mentioned Olivier. He and Joan Plowright were married for 21 years.
Posted by: Ben Had at January 27, 2026

***
Pics of her on IMDb from 1960's The Entertainer, where she starred with Olivier, show her to have been attractive rather than conventionally beautiful, with a good deal of character in her face.

She won, and was also nominated once for, the acting award called the "Laurence Olivier" award. Imagine how odd it would be to win an award named for your own husband --!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 07:24 AM (wzUl9)

107 Now down to 19.8 degrees out.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at January 27, 2026 07:25 AM (iMotb)

108 82 Food! I found an incredibly delicious bread in the grocery. Caramelized onion. Gruyere with a dash of thyme. This could become addictive.
Posted by: Ben Had at January 27, 2026 07:01 AM (0KSrI)

That sounds like it would be great toasted!

Posted by: blaster at January 27, 2026 07:26 AM (NlEaG)

109 Take another bong hit. Illegal migration en masse has been an ongoing project for 50 years. Mr. Trump hasn’t “allowed” anything.

Posted by: Common Tater at January 27, 2026 07:26 AM (idVke)

110 Breakfast and coffee have been consumed. I s'pose it's time I shaved and showered.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 07:26 AM (wzUl9)

111 I've always wondered if there is any actual turtle in turtle soup. Philly long ago had a restaurant called "Bookbinders" that served great turtle soup

Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 27, 2026 07:26 AM (QTJr9)

112 Won’t you think of all the poor frogs confined to wheelchairs as a result of your culinary obsession

Posted by: Common Tater at January 27, 2026 07:28 AM (idVke)

113 "Soup of the evening! Beautiful soup!"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 07:28 AM (wzUl9)

114

*hic*

Posted by: Hillary Clinton at January 27, 2026 07:30 AM (DDJSl)

115 Won’t you think of all the poor frogs confined to wheelchairs as a result of your culinary obsession
Posted by: Common Tater at January 27, 2026

***
I recall an ancient magazine cartoon showing a legless frog wheeling himself in a little cart out of the back door of a restaurant, a sign on which proclaimed "Fresh Frogs' Legs!"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 07:30 AM (wzUl9)

116 Oh yeah, the second snapping turtle was parboiled after decapitation. That stopped the attempts to prevent removal of the belly plate by the front legs, but did not improve the flavor.

Honestly, it seemed like a lot of work that you wouldn't do if you weren't starving.

Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026 07:30 AM (A/zT2)

117 Some lady tried to take a picture of a Snow Leopard and it in turn tried to rip her face off. People aint got no sense.

Posted by: fd at January 27, 2026 07:31 AM (vFG9F)

118 Honestly, it seemed like a lot of work that you wouldn't do if you weren't starving.
Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026

***
Which pretty much describes my attitude toward crawfish boils.

My DNA includes plates and silverware, and sitting indoors in comfortable temperatures. To me, being outside in savagely hot weather to peel little red-black insectoids for a flake of meat smaller than your fingernail is not worth it. I think crawfish boils are merely a socially-sanctioned way for adults to play with their food.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 07:33 AM (wzUl9)

119
Philly long ago had a restaurant called "Bookbinders" that served great turtle soup
Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 27, 2026 07:26 AM (QTJr9)

There were two. Old Original Bookbinder's (established by Samuel Bookbinder and later bought by the Taxin family) and Bookbinder's Seafood House (established by Bookbinder's grandsons).

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at January 27, 2026 07:33 AM (tgvbd)

120 "Honestly, it seemed like a lot of work that you wouldn't do if you weren't starving.

My dad tells of eating turtles and squirrels and such. His dad knew how to hunt and fish for their dinner. Otherwise they would have starved.

Posted by: fd at January 27, 2026 07:34 AM (vFG9F)

121 Some lady tried to take a picture of a Snow Leopard and it in turn tried to rip her face off. People aint got no sense.
Posted by: fd at January 27, 2026

***
Miss Linda always asks me, "Wouldn't you like to see a mountain lion out in the wild?" I say, "Sure, if he's on the other side of a canyon and can't reach me!"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 07:34 AM (wzUl9)

122 Steven Miller reposted this tweet, originally from a right side reporter in LA, condemning the massively underreported jury nullification going on.
=============
The judicial coup continues

This is going to be a really big problem for the administration moving forward. Zero consequences for the left.

They've got to make an effort to get the judiciary under control. SCOTUS ain't gonna do it.
Posted by: Martini Farmer at January 27, 2026 07:04 AM aware

-----

Jury nullification can come from sympathetic people on the jury or from intimidation of the people on the jury.

Posted by: JM in Illinois at January 27, 2026 07:34 AM (k4dYt)

123
JJS
is here

Posted by: r hennigantx at January 27, 2026 07:34 AM (gbOdA)

124 JJS is here!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 27, 2026 07:34 AM (wzUl9)

125 "Honestly, it seemed like a lot of work that you wouldn't do if you weren't starving."

That applies to frog legs as well; although in either case, you'd make soup out of you didn't consume.

Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026 07:35 AM (A/zT2)

126
Honestly, it seemed like a lot of work that you wouldn't do if you weren't starving.
Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026

That's my attitude to lobster and crab. Anything where you have to wear a bib to eat it isn't likely worth the effort.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at January 27, 2026 07:35 AM (tgvbd)

127 I’ve read the stories. Dad hands son a single.22 cal Short.. “Go git dinner, boy!”

Posted by: Common Tater at January 27, 2026 07:36 AM (idVke)

128 There were two. Old Original Bookbinder's (established by Samuel Bookbinder and later bought by the Taxin family) and Bookbinder's Seafood House (established by Bookbinder's grandsons).

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at January 27, 2026 07:33 AM (tgvbd)
----------------
Horde Knowledge (TM) is truly amazing!

Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 27, 2026 07:38 AM (gDbHk)

129 "My DNA includes plates and silverware, and sitting indoors in comfortable temperatures."

A google search of "Razzoo's Cajun Cafe" may square that circle for you after you leave Louisiana. (I assume THAT search while you are in Louisiana would result in a "WTF is wrong with you, bitch?" response.)

Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026 07:43 AM (A/zT2)

130 The Brits are regretting approval of China's new "super embassy", with more floors underground than above.

They just discovered China has been hacking and recording all their leaders cell phone calls for years and the new embassy runs right alongside the buried cables carrying data and landline calls for The City and Canary Wharf, the two main business sections of London.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 27, 2026 07:48 AM (A5m1a)

131 "My dad tells of eating turtles and squirrels and such. His dad knew how to hunt and fish for their dinner. Otherwise they would have starved."

My grandparents didn't come from rich folks. And they predated the current "let mommy government present her teats while daddy government fucks what he finds pleasurable" thing we have.

Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026 07:49 AM (A/zT2)

132 93
You know what's missing from the Minneapolis protests? Somalians. It appears that they are smarter that the domestic leftys defending their sorry skinny butts.
Posted by: fd at January 27, 2026 07:10 AM (vFG9F)

-----

Minneapolis police are also missing the protests.

Posted by: JM in Illinois at January 27, 2026 07:55 AM (ZNcI8)

133 [blockquote]The Brits are regretting approval of China's new "super embassy", with more floors underground than above.
[/blockquote]

Almost anyone who wasn't royalty and was competent left Britain at least a century ago.

I hope there are those who took an oath and believed that it was binding on both sides realize that they were the only ones that viewed that oath as binding that will be willing to leave their homeland to the occupying vermin for now.

Not sure where they will go, since there is a lot of occupying vermin everywhere.

Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026 08:00 AM (A/zT2)

134 "You know what's missing from the Minneapolis protests? Somalians"

Too cold, man.

Posted by: Richard Cranium at January 27, 2026 08:05 AM (A/zT2)

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