Daily Tech News 18 July 2026

Top Story

AWS is experiencing a wee spot of bother with its billing system. (The Register)

Speculation is that it's a unit conversion error in the cost estimation tool, but all we know for sure is that people who barely use the service are being alerted to cost estimates in the billions of dollars, and for businesses that have active applications the predicted bills run into the trillions.

AWS say they are looking into it.

📣 Service Update: AWS Billing Console

We are investigating issues with Cost Explorer reflecting inaccurate estimated billing data.

📊 Track status: https://t.co/6qSnkuEzc4 #AWS #AWSSupport
— AWS Support (@AWSSupport) July 17, 2026

Some users are nonetheless expressing mild consternation.
Wait...

Did I just accidentally buy America? https://t.co/8RVfe4Cc5Q pic.twitter.com/G37bmFaNR5
— NOBUNAGA🇯🇵🏯_夏樹蒼依 (@japan_nobunaga) July 17, 2026

Tech News

TSMC says that its work towards 1.4nm technology is progressing well, with 90% yield on SRAM dies and 90% of targeted performance on logic circuits. (Tom's Hardware)

1.4nm is the node after the 2nm node that we are expecting to see late this year, so it won't reach production until at least 2028. A 90% yield this early is a good sign.
AI datacenters must produce as much energy as they consume, says retarded communist and part-time Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese. (Tom's Hardware)

Alexa, please repeal the laws of thermodynamics.
The Zilog Z80 has turned 50. (Goliath32)

As has that website.
Microsoft's new Surface Laptop is here with its complement of eight whole gigabytes of RAM. (The Verge)

That's plenty for Linux, and tolerable for MacOS. Running Windows 11 it's a miserable experience.
The Redmagic Astra 2 tablet is here, with a 9" 185Hz OLED screen, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 CPU, up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, and... Active cooling? (Liliputing)

The one thing I want from a tablet is not to have a fan whining at me.
The Lenovo Legion Y700 Infinite tablet is here, with an 8.8" OLED display, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 CPU, up to 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, and... Passive cooling, apparently. (Notebook Check)

It's going to be horribly expensive and I just picked up their Gen 3 model at half price so I'm not even tempted, but at least it's silent.
Beelink's new ME Pro 370 is a NAS with a Ryzen 370 12-core laptop CPU, supporting two or four 3.5" hard drives, three M.2 SSDs, and... Up to 256GB of RAM? (Notebook Check)

That seems unlikely, because that amount would require four 64GB DDR5 modules, and nobody is putting four SODIMM slots in consumer equipment.

I have ten DDR5 SODIMMs. Believe me, I've looked.

Research

The Eighth Law already requires that every admissible alteration of the noetic field (and, by extension, every macroscopic world-line that couples to that field) lie along a null geodesic of the full 6D manifold that satisfies the 2T-gauge conditions. Ordinary 3+1 orbital motion is the projection of such a higher-dimensional geodesic. Spin-orbit locking therefore cannot be a purely 3-spatial mechanical equilibrium; it must also be consistent with the hidden

t_2

and

x^4

components of the geodesic. In practice this appears observationally as an additional, apparently arbitrary ceiling on how tightly a world can remain synchronized: once the integrated "geodesic resistance"

\mathcal{I}(\gamma)

exceeds a threshold set by the unknown couplings

\beta

\kappa

and the noetic tensor, further dissipative evolution is forbidden even if ordinary tidal torque remains. The result is that perfect, permanent 1:1 locking may be rarer or more fragile than in 3+1 physics, and residual libration or slow drift in the relative orientation of the permanent day/night hemispheres can persist.

This actually makes complete sense given the context, and solves the problem, but even so gives me a headache.

All I wanted to do was make the sky blue.

I've also been tinkering with Fable as well as Grok, and while it's impressive, I don't trust it. It heaped effusive praise on what I consider one of the weakest points of the plot of the story I'm working on.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: Do not eat the dark snow.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 w00t

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:30 AM (6wpGE)

2 Woot morning!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2026 04:34 AM (BLOW1)

3 Models - Barbados

catchy
bleak
aussie

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:34 AM (6wpGE)

4 Indeed.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at July 18, 2026 04:35 AM (XV/Pl)

5 Disclaimer: Do not eat the dark snow.

... and the yellow snow is right out.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:36 AM (6wpGE)

6 AI datacenters must produce as much energy as they consume, says retarded communist and part-time Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese.

So they have to build nuclear power plants to supply the power? How about some gas and coal fired along with it?

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 04:37 AM (l3cgK)

7 5 Disclaimer: Do not eat the dark snow.

... and the yellow snow is right out.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:36 AM (6wpGE)

I hear the red snow tastes like watermelon, but gives you the runs...not worth it.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 04:37 AM (l3cgK)

8 Did I just accidentally buy America? https://t.co/8RVfe4Cc5Q pic.twitter.com/G37bmFaNR5

Not even 37 Musk-equivalents can pay that monthly bill...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 04:39 AM (l3cgK)

9 You know those satellite photos where South Korea is buzzing right along and North Korea is entirely blacked out because there are no lights on? Yeah, kinda like that.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:39 AM (6wpGE)

10 Mornin'

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at July 18, 2026 04:40 AM (jrKun)

11 North Korea from space at night

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:41 AM (6wpGE)

12 This actually makes complete sense given the context, and solves the problem, but even so gives me a headache.

And doesn't even solve the DDR shortage problem...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 04:41 AM (l3cgK)

13 11 North Korea from space at night

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:41 AM (6wpGE)

That's because North Korea is a commie paradise...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 04:42 AM (l3cgK)

14 12 And doesn't even solve the DDR shortage problem...
Posted by: jim

The impossible we do immediately; the miraculous takes a little longer.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2026 04:45 AM (BLOW1)

15 Would it be impossible or miraculous to avoid black diamonds in typed text?

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:46 AM (6wpGE)

16 14 12 And doesn't even solve the DDR shortage problem...
Posted by: jim

The impossible we do immediately; the miraculous takes a little longer.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2026 04:45 AM (BLOW1)

Your hash is BLOW1? LOL!

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 04:46 AM (l3cgK)

17 How unfortunate.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 04:46 AM (l3cgK)

18 Pixy Misa at July 18, 2026 04:45 AM (BLOW1)

He picked it himself! It's wonderful.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:48 AM (6wpGE)

19 Not U.S. dollars. Zimbabwean dollars.

Posted by: no one of any consequence at July 18, 2026 04:48 AM (qFwJc)

20 18 Pixy Misa at July 18, 2026 04:45 AM (BLOW1)

He picked it himself! It's wonderful.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:48 AM (6wpGE)

I guess it depends who's the blower and who's the blowee...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 04:49 AM (l3cgK)

21 I'll have you know that my hash is real and magnificent.

And I have a business-grade internet connection with a static IP so it never changes.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2026 04:50 AM (BLOW1)

22 19 Not U.S. dollars. Zimbabwean dollars.

Posted by: no one of any consequence at July 18, 2026 04:48 AM (qFwJc)

362 Zdollars to USD...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 04:50 AM (l3cgK)

23
DDR5 = Double Data Rate 5

as in

Double Data Rate 5 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR5 SDRAM)

a type of synchronous dynamic random-access memory (Wikipedia)

[not Deutsche Demokratische Republik]

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:52 AM (6wpGE)

24
(I was temporarily confused.)

(Well, "temporarily," but.)

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:54 AM (6wpGE)

25 21 I'll have you know that my hash is real and magnificent.

And I have a business-grade internet connection with a static IP so it never changes.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2026 04:50 AM (BLOW1)

Noice. My hash didn't change for years until the local cable company shut my internet down for hours for "repair work". When it came on next, it had changed.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 04:54 AM (l3cgK)

26 13 11 North Korea from space at night

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:41 AM (6wpGE)

That's because North Korea is a commie paradise...
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 04:42 AM (l3cgK)

Similarly:

AI datacenters must produce as much energy as they consume, says retarded communist and part-time Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese. (Tom's Hardware)

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:57 AM (6wpGE)

27 26 13 11 North Korea from space at night

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:41 AM (6wpGE)

That's because North Korea is a commie paradise...
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 04:42 AM (l3cgK)

Similarly:

AI datacenters must produce as much energy as they consume, says retarded communist and part-time Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese. (Tom's Hardware)

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:57 AM (6wpGE)

Yes, and they should build coal, nuclear, and gas-powered electric generation plants to do it.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 05:01 AM (l3cgK)

28 nice overview (heh) of this topic on Wikipedia:

Satellite imagery in North Korea

Satellite imagery in North Korea is a knowledge-building tool in the field of North Korean studies. It enables researchers to produce data-based analyses in the agricultural, humanitarian, economic and military fields, in a country where access to the field is limited.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 05:03 AM (6wpGE)

29 Morning, Tech Peeps

Posted by: fluffy at July 18, 2026 05:04 AM (V0/Sp)

30 28 nice overview (heh) of this topic on Wikipedia:

Satellite imagery in North Korea

Satellite imagery in North Korea is a knowledge-building tool in the field of North Korean studies. It enables researchers to produce data-based analyses in the agricultural, humanitarian, economic and military fields, in a country where access to the field is limited.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 05:03 AM (6wpGE)

China is asshoe.
North Korea is asshoe.
Russia is asshoe.
Iran is asshoe.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 05:04 AM (l3cgK)

31 Research

I understood almost all of the words and even a few scattered phrases.

Posted by: fluffy at July 18, 2026 05:05 AM (V0/Sp)

32 hmm

Border cities bright at night as North Korea goes solar

Radio Free Asia
https://www.rfa.org › english › korea › 2026/06/27
Jun 26, 2026 — A North Korean city on the border with China is no longer completely dark at nighttime, satellite imagery and eyewitness accounts revealed.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 05:06 AM (6wpGE)

33 31 Research

I understood almost all of the words and even a few scattered phrases.
Posted by: fluffy at July 18, 2026 05:05 AM (V0/Sp)

I powered through it!
*fistbump*

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 05:08 AM (6wpGE)

34
>>AI datacenters must produce as much energy as they consume, says retarded communist and part-time Australian prime minister

=============

Fine. Shall we do that via perpetual motion or time travel?

Posted by: The Engineering Team at July 18, 2026 05:09 AM (mmrXZ)

35 At least here the smoke is less than it has been. Glad to see DC in on the smoke, since they already get quite a bit from the congress. (I might add mirrors to that)

Posted by: Colin at July 18, 2026 05:09 AM (CiQE7)

36 33 31 Research

I understood almost all of the words and even a few scattered phrases.
Posted by: fluffy at July 18, 2026 05:05 AM (V0/Sp)

I powered through it!
*fistbump*

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 05:08 AM (6wpGE)

Yeah, math. I thought we eschewed that here...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 05:09 AM (l3cgK)

37 34
>>AI datacenters must produce as much energy as they consume, says retarded communist and part-time Australian prime minister

=============

Fine. Shall we do that via perpetual motion or time travel?

Posted by: The Engineering Team at July 18, 2026 05:09 AM (mmrXZ)

Time Travel won't work...the energy requirements would be more than astronomical, literally, if even possible.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 05:10 AM (l3cgK)

38
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at July 18, 2026 05:14 AM (AMvSw)

39 36 33 31
Yeah, math. I thought we eschewed that here...
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at July 18, 2026 05:09 AM (l3cgK)

I didn't recognize it as being math.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 05:16 AM (6wpGE)

40
I understood almost all of the words and even a few scattered phrases.
Posted by: fluffy at July 18, 2026 05:05 AM (V0/Sp)

I powered through it!
*fistbump*
Posted by: m

==============

Oh yeah? Well, I know how to pronounce Sinuiju.

And hang it all, I want North Korea to implode. This solar energy advance might give relief to a few suffering souls, but it also means a prolongation of the cruel status quo.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at July 18, 2026 05:17 AM (mmrXZ)

41 Look, if PM Albanese wants to repeal the laws of physics, he can do so. He is a PM!

The only reason he will not outlaw death is because he is in the pockets of Big Death.

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 05:17 AM (4g5V+)

42
Time Travel won't work...the energy requirements would be more than astronomical, literally, if even possible.
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia)

============

I like Time Travel! Just go back a little further in time to get more energy.

Posted by: Anthony Albanese at July 18, 2026 05:20 AM (mmrXZ)

43
Sinuiju | ˌSHinˈ wēˌ jo͞o |
a city and port in North Korea, situated on the Yalu River near its mouth on the Yellow Sea; population 383,200 (est. 2003).

Something like

shin WEE joo

I think.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 05:20 AM (6wpGE)

44
[not Deutsche Demokratische Republik]
Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 04:52 AM (6wpGE)

Heh. Anytime I see DDR even in terms of computer chips, the first thing I think of is the GDR. Showing my age I guess.

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 05:20 AM (4g5V+)

45 >>AI datacenters must produce as much energy as they consume, says retarded communist and part-time Australian prime ministe

This really isn't a big issue if you look at whats happening in the the US. Just get out of the way.

Posted by: JackStraw at July 18, 2026 05:22 AM (viF8m)

46
Something like

shin WEE joo

I think.
Posted by: m

=============

A little more like SHEEN weh joo

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at July 18, 2026 05:24 AM (mmrXZ)

47 46
Something like

shin WEE joo

I think.
Posted by: m

=============

A little more like SHEEN weh joo
Posted by: Blonde Morticia at July 18, 2026 05:24 AM (mmrXZ)

Thank you!

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 05:25 AM (6wpGE)

48 Did I just accidentally buy America?

If you owe Amazon $58 trillion, you don't have a problem- Amazon has a problem. Might as well keep shopping!

Posted by: t-bird at July 18, 2026 05:27 AM (SdO+F)

49 I just woke myself and Hubbymayhem by laughing in a dream and laughing out loud because of the dream. I don't remember the last time that happened. But DAYUM! That one minute dream was fucking funny!

Posted by: Madamemayhem (uppity wench) at July 18, 2026 05:30 AM (OsdBI)

50 19 Not U.S. dollars. Zimbabwean dollars.
Posted by: no one of any consequence at July 18, 2026 04:48 AM (qFwJc)

But Robert Mugabe outlawed inflation! That one act saved the Zimbabwean currency!

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 05:32 AM (4g5V+)

51
This really isn't a big issue if you look at whats happening in the the US. Just get out of the way.
Posted by: JackStraw at July 18, 2026 05:22 AM (viF8m)

What?

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 05:33 AM (4g5V+)

52 51
This really isn't a big issue if you look at whats happening in the the US. Just get out of the way.
Posted by: JackStraw at July 18, 2026 05:22 AM (viF8m)

What?
Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 05:33 AM (

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 05:33 AM (4g5V+)

53 Damn iPad is making socking PM Albanese impossible…

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 05:34 AM (4g5V+)

54 >>What?
Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 05:33 AM

This is what I do for a living when I'm not arguing with stupid women who tell me to shut up and sit down.

Have you died yet from global warming? Did Trump collude with Russia?

Energy is adjusting. It might be a good investment.

Posted by: JackStraw at July 18, 2026 05:39 AM (viF8m)

55 Evening and morning, Saturday toilers and early risers!

The main thing I got out of the article about the ZiLog chip was the mention of WordStar. That was the first word processor I ever encountered, on the 1988 PCs at the local community college. I was learning about them (and how to type, among other things) as part of the Job Training Partnership Act classes for "displaced workers." That is one thing above all others that changed my life. If I had not seen that ad in the paper . . . I shiver to think about what might have become of me.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 05:41 AM (wzUl9)

56 DDR? I always think of the scene in the 1980s "amateur encounters spies" movie Gotcha! with Anthony Edwards and Linda Fiorentino. The college student played by Edwards goes into East Germany, and the admittance clerk mutters, "Velcome to de DDR."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 05:45 AM (wzUl9)

57 AI is evil in all its forms. It has no real purpose other than surveillance.

Posted by: Accomack at July 18, 2026 05:45 AM (/Chlc)

58 The impossible we do immediately; the miraculous takes a little longer.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2026

***
The unofficial and never-spoken motto of the Impossible Missions Force under Dan Briggs, ca. 1966-67!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 05:47 AM (wzUl9)

59 56 DDR? I always think of the scene in the 1980s "amateur encounters spies" movie Gotcha! with Anthony Edwards and Linda Fiorentino. The college student played by Edwards goes into East Germany, and the admittance clerk mutters, "Velcome to de DDR."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 05:45 AM (wzUl9)

I loved that movie.

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 05:49 AM (4g5V+)

60 Used to follow Zimbabwean news very closely, interesting country. I hear flying on Zimbabwean airlines is exciting, to say the least. Old Soviet planes that are banned in most other countries. (or at least were)
Now Robert Mugabe was a great leader, lived the great leader lifestyle. He went to rags to riches, chased out most of the European farmers, and gave the land to the people who didn't know a shovel from a tree. Lived far to long.....Loved the exchange rate to US dollars. To many zero's for me to figure out. They once had a 50 trillion dollar bill.

Posted by: Colin at July 18, 2026 05:50 AM (CiQE7)

61 AT&T Stadium in Lubbock is being renamed Galaxy Stadium. Galaxy made its money from Bitcoin and is now hip deep in evil data centers.

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 05:51 AM (4g5V+)

62 60 Used to follow Zimbabwean news very closely, interesting country. I hear flying on Zimbabwean airlines is exciting, to say the least. Old Soviet planes that are banned in most other countries. (or at least were)
Now Robert Mugabe was a great leader, lived the great leader lifestyle. He went to rags to riches, chased out most of the European farmers, and gave the land to the people who didn't know a shovel from a tree. Lived far to long.....Loved the exchange rate to US dollars. To many zero's for me to figure out. They once had a 50 trillion dollar bill.
Posted by: Colin at July 18, 2026 05:50 AM (CiQE7)

At one point the Zimbabwean…pound? Dollar? Was halving in value every 16 hours.

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 05:53 AM (4g5V+)

63 Good morning, all!

Here is a thoughtful devotional by a man on Acts 16:6-10, ( KJV )"Road Closed, Spirit Led" about changes of our plans and being alert to God's guidance

https://tinyurl.com/4nt24w3s

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 18, 2026 05:53 AM (jt/rW)

64 83 F. outdoors, heat index of 93. I do not wanna go work out in that. I can take off today . . . but tomorrow will no doubt be the same.

Miss Linda and I went to the nearby mall and walked for almost half an hour yesterday. I never see anybody running or even trotting there. But I need to start a new fad if I can. It's just too bloody hot outdoors.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 05:53 AM (wzUl9)

65 >>AI is evil in all its forms. It has no real purpose other than surveillance.

AI is no more evil than an AR.

It's a tool. Use it wisely.

Posted by: JackStraw at July 18, 2026 05:54 AM (viF8m)

66 DDR? I always think of the scene in the 1980s "amateur encounters spies" movie Gotcha! with Anthony Edwards and Linda Fiorentino. The college student played by Edwards goes into East Germany, and the admittance clerk mutters, "Velcome to de DDR."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026
*
I loved that movie.
Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026

***
It's a forgotten gem. Maybe I can get a DVD from the library.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 05:55 AM (wzUl9)

67 Goat guides firefighters through Colorado wildfire. Faithpot site:

https://tinyurl.com/yzy73zda

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 18, 2026 05:58 AM (jt/rW)

68 AI is overhyped and overblown. Does this so called AI have its uses? Sure. But it’s overhyped and overblown. JMHO.

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 06:00 AM (4g5V+)

69 Kitten antics continue. He's still enjoying the little plastic spring like thing. It's amazing how much cats can enjoy toys that are inexpensive . The spring was left over from our last cat. He has now learned to bring it to FenSpouse to play a game of fetch.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 18, 2026 06:03 AM (jt/rW)

70 Kittens are great. It's too bad they grow into cats.

Posted by: no one of any consequence at July 18, 2026 06:07 AM (qFwJc)

71 Fen, there was, and maybe still is, a toy called the Cat Dancer. It's a permanently curved length of springy smooth wire with bits of cardboard at each end so it won't poke out an eye. I bought it decades ago for Arizona the big red tabby, and every cat I've known since then has loved it. It has the advantage, too, that since it's springy, if you start the cat or kitten off with it, he can keep playing with it on his own.

Dagny and Stirling love it, and Dagny even fishes it out of the toy basket on her own. See if you can find it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 06:07 AM (wzUl9)

72 "Velcome to de DDR."

My pencil is big and yellow.

Posted by: fluffy at July 18, 2026 06:08 AM (V0/Sp)

73 Putting an AI server in the office is you owning an AR.
Running all internet traffic thru a data center that the government can access without a warrant is an army.

Posted by: Accomack at July 18, 2026 06:09 AM (8jVAy)

74 Kittens are great. It's too bad they grow into cats.
Posted by: no one of any consequence at July 18, 2026

***
Blanche Bickerson: "Cats are easy to make friends with. Get him something to play with."

John Bickerson: "I'll bring him a dog in the morning!"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 06:09 AM (wzUl9)

75 Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 06:07 AM (wzUl9

Thanks for the recommendation.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 18, 2026 06:10 AM (jt/rW)

76 53 Damn iPad is making socking PM Albanese impossible…
Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 05:34 AM (4g5V+)

Which leads me to do it like this:

52 51 This really isn't a big issue if you look at whats happening in the the US. Just get out of the way.
Posted by: JackStraw at July 18, 2026 05:22 AM (viF8m)

What?

--Anthony Albanese
Posted by: Cow Demon at July 18, 2026 05:33 AM

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 06:11 AM (6wpGE)

77 >>AI is overhyped and overblown. Does this so called AI have its uses? Sure. But it’s overhyped and overblown. JMHO.

Many moons ago I was told I was making a huge mistake taking a job with this little router company out of the Bay area that was going to transition ARPANET into this thing called the internet. I had friends mock me when I told them about these things called email and online banking. We now call them how we live.

AI is coming. None of us are going to stop it. Choose wisely.

Posted by: JackStraw at July 18, 2026 06:11 AM (viF8m)

78 Repeat Gospel song" Precious Lord, take my hand" by Hank Williams, Sr. He really did have a wonderful way of delivering his music:

https://tinyurl.com/3hn56syz

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 18, 2026 06:17 AM (jt/rW)

79 77 taking a job with this little router company out of the Bay area that was going to transition ARPANET into this thing called the internet
Posted by: JackStraw at July 18, 2026 06:11 AM (viF8m)

What year was that, JackStraw?

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 06:18 AM (6wpGE)

80 Posted by: no one of any consequence at July 18, 2026 06:07 AM (qFwJc)

I've always liked all my adult cats.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 18, 2026 06:21 AM (jt/rW)

81 Kitten antics continue. He's still enjoying the little plastic spring like thing. It's amazing how much cats can enjoy toys that are inexpensive . The spring was left over from our last cat. He has now learned to bring it to FenSpouse to play a game of fetch.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 18, 2026 06:03 AM (jt/rW)
----
A length of string and a balled up piece of paper are some of their favorite cat toys.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 18, 2026 06:24 AM (FZ29D)

82 Tim Conway debuts on Johnny Carson-1977. Clip from "Faithpot" site:

https://tinyurl.com/3nu7v3da

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 18, 2026 06:25 AM (jt/rW)

83 Yesterday that long-awaited and long-thought-mythical pension payout showed up at my door earlier than they promised. I've scanned it to my IRA guy to see if they have addressed it correctly. If so, I'll ship it off to him next week -- probably by UPS, as that was how it came to me.

If they haven't addressed it correctly . . . No. I don't want to think about that.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 06:25 AM (wzUl9)

84 Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 18, 2026 06:24 AM (FZ29D)

Yes: He loves strings.!

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 18, 2026 06:26 AM (jt/rW)

85 ----
A length of string and a balled up piece of paper are some of their favorite cat toys.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 18, 2026

***
My mother devised a cat toy from a wadded-up piece of crinkly clear plastic, the wrapping from a pack of her cigarettes, cinched in the middle with a string. Her last cat, L'il Bit, would bring it to her to play.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 06:28 AM (wzUl9)

86 Yes: He loves strings.!
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 18, 2026

***
They love to have the string disappear around a corner and will leap after it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 06:30 AM (wzUl9)

87 >>What year was that, JackStraw?

199 something, Never really thought about the dates.

But the next few years were incredible. Being a small part of watching and paticizting in the growth was mind boggling when I look back on it

And that anonymous thing? That doesn't really exist.

Posted by: JackStraw at July 18, 2026 06:31 AM (viF8m)

88 G'Day everyone
I didn't get much sleep

Posted by: Skip at July 18, 2026 06:31 AM (Ia/+0)

89 87 >>What year was that, JackStraw?

199 something, Never really thought about the dates.

But the next few years were incredible. Being a small part of watching and paticizting in the growth was mind boggling when I look back on it

And that anonymous thing? That doesn't really exist.
Posted by: JackStraw at July 18, 2026 06:31 AM (viF8m)

supercool

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 06:34 AM (6wpGE)

90 I've dismissed the workout idea for today. A microwaved chicken pot pie sprinkled with cheese for breakfast; a half bagel with butter; more coffee and a pipe, and then I'll get to work on my current short story. I may finish it tomorrow before Linda drags me off to the local art museum.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 06:35 AM (wzUl9)

91 The Mitch McConnell "Thriller" video is genius. That's all.

Good Morning horde!

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 06:40 AM (odyr+)

92 73 Putting an AI server in the office is you owning an AR.
Running all internet traffic thru a data center that the government can access without a warrant is an army.
Posted by: Accomack at July 18, 2026 06:09 AM (8jVAy)

A government that will use data centers to oppress its people is a government that doesn't need data centers to oppress its people because it's doing it already.

The data center is not the issue.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at July 18, 2026 06:41 AM (Ot/FD)

93 Good morning! Looking forward to a day in the garden and an afternoon nap. Got an invite to a presentation early next week for very large, and long term project that would take 2-3 years. I'd work it from home, so no pants except when going to the aircraft for inspection or test. Kinda excited about that.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at July 18, 2026 06:45 AM (3Ope8)

94 Here I am visiting Rhode Island (passing through), and so far the morning TV news has as many political ads as product ads. Seth Moulton dislikes Schumer by the way, and everyone thinks Trump is a poopyhead.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 06:45 AM (odyr+)

95 mornin yall. Long ago I taught some classes on WordStar, on CP/M. Calcstar and dBASE too. Green screens and 64k of RAM.

Posted by: Man who lives as a pig at July 18, 2026 06:46 AM (MWfyi)

96 On the Amazon thing, I got an email from Gab AI that they were experience similar issues with their billing system. They were being attacked by thousands of bots creating free accounts and running up usage numbers. They caught it pretty quick, but not before the billing damage ran to thousands of dollars.

This might be related. It doesn't looking exactly the same, but it's an interesting coincidence.

Posted by: meh at July 18, 2026 06:47 AM (zZxsY)

97 91 The Mitch McConnell "Thriller" video is genius. That's all.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 06:40 AM (odyr+)

Kinda scary, tho.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 06:48 AM (6wpGE)

98 The Mitch McConnell "Thriller" video...
Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 06:40 AM (odyr+)

Had to go gurgle search that. HA! It is pretty damn funny!

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at July 18, 2026 06:48 AM (3Ope8)

99 Oink.

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 06:49 AM (MWfyi)

100 100

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 06:49 AM (6wpGE)

101 95 Long ago I taught some classes on WordStar, on CP/M. Calcstar and dBASE too. Green screens and 64k of RAM.
Posted by: Man who lives as a pig at July 18, 2026 06:46 AM (MWfyi)

Wow; cool.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 06:50 AM (6wpGE)

102 mornin yall. Long ago I taught some classes on WordStar, on CP/M. Calcstar and dBASE too. Green screens and 64k of RAM.
Posted by: Man who lives as a pig at July 18, 2026

***
I remember dBase as well. Lotus 1-2-3, IBM's own DisplayWrite, and at last WordPerfect with its hidden codes. And wouldn't you know it, at my first job after the classes, the office used . . . Microsoft Word for DOS. I had to learn it, and did, doing a lot of Mail Merge and eventually writing a macro to renumber questions on a 100-question test.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 06:53 AM (wzUl9)

103 Hank Williams entire line are pretty good at singing! Here is his granddaughter, Holly.

https://tinyurl.com/2a5uk7zs

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 06:54 AM (FWIP7)

104 Time for a walk in the smoke and damp.

Posted by: Accomack at July 18, 2026 06:55 AM (GbONR)

105 Hank Williams entire line are pretty good at singing! Here is his granddaughter, Holly.

https://tinyurl.com/2a5uk7zs
Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026

***
Hank Jr.'s granddaughter, or Hank Sr.'s?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 06:55 AM (wzUl9)

106 You never go fullbanese

Posted by: Dark Lix. at July 18, 2026 06:56 AM (DZ9Lv)

107 'Bout time to feed the monsters and get to work.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 18, 2026 06:56 AM (wzUl9)

108 Holly is Hank Jr.'s pretty hot daughter

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 06:58 AM (FWIP7)

109 One thing that surprised me over time is how Lotus 123 got destroyed by Excel. Lotus was really entrenched for a while and people hate to change programs.

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 06:59 AM (MWfyi)

110 Was thinking it was Sunday

Posted by: Skip at July 18, 2026 07:00 AM (Ia/+0)

111 I only have one CP/M PC left, a Zenith. I wish I had kept a Kaypro, they were pretty cool "portable" computers.

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:01 AM (MWfyi)

112 We had a "Kaypro" when very young! It was useless but very cool.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 07:03 AM (FWIP7)

113 Both used Z80 CPUs. 4.77mhz as I recall.

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:03 AM (MWfyi)

114 "We had a "Kaypro" when very young! It was useless but very cool.
Posted by: Huck Follywood"

I sold Kaypro and other CP/M computers. Word processing was probably the most popular application. My dad developed a water billing program for small municipalities that he sold for years. It was never ported to DOS but some cities continued to run it for many years after the IBM PC came out.

I wrote a program in dBASE that would take the input from comment cards from a local restaurant chain and categorize the comments, like how many comments on dirty utensils, cold food, poor service etc. That company is still in business but I don't think they use my program anymore

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:09 AM (MWfyi)

115 Morning peeps.

I see a number of 29 year old's who've worked tech since, practically, day one.

I do recall "the holy trinity" of Word Perfect, Lotus 123 and Dbase III as the standard office suite. Add in early e-mail like cc:Mail and... there you go.

For me, it was all that on Novell S-Net servers and ITT branded workstations with whopping 5MB hard drives and two 5.25" floppies.

Heady days.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at July 18, 2026 07:10 AM (jehhT)

116 Poor Novell. They got killed by TCP/IP. Remember Novell on Token Ring?

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:12 AM (MWfyi)

117 In my company's earliest days our software ran on 80's vintage Atari computers

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 07:13 AM (mV7kM)

118 What did you do with the Ataris? Word processing?

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:15 AM (MWfyi)

119 Back when IBM still produced stuff they had a good OS (OS2), much better than MSDOS. Of course DOS won anyway.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 07:17 AM (mV7kM)

120 I was joking about cats. I like them too. But kittens are ridiculously cute.

Posted by: no one of any consequence at July 18, 2026 07:18 AM (qFwJc)

121 We had a report product used by banks, for account data

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 07:18 AM (mV7kM)

122 Oh no, the Markels might move back to England. Now where will we get our runny jam and radish carving advice?

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:18 AM (MWfyi)

123 On my way to Hyannis this morning. Maybe I'll swing by the Kennedy compound and see whats shaking. Do they still get SS protection do you think?

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 07:19 AM (mV7kM)

124 Some channel on Roku Live is running the old sci-fi movie Tarantula. It has Clint Eastwood's first film appearance, but you really can't tell it's Clint. He plays the fighter pilot who drops a bomb on the giant tarantula at the end, but he's wearing a flight helmet and mask.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at July 18, 2026 07:20 AM (l26NL)

125 If IBM had incorporated native support for Windows applications OS2 might have survived. IBM can be pretty dumb at times though, see Microchannel.

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:21 AM (MWfyi)

126 Off to war
Have a great day horde

Posted by: Skip at July 18, 2026 07:22 AM (Ia/+0)

127 IBM had a good marketing tagline for OS2, "With OS2, you'd be home by now", emphasizing how Windows was loaded with bloatware even its earliest days

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 07:24 AM (mV7kM)

128 "We had a report product used by banks, for account data
Posted by: Huck Follywood"

That was a typical thing back then. Just one program justified the expense of a computer because it made it so much easier and faster than doing it the old way.

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:24 AM (MWfyi)

129 123 On my way to Hyannis this morning. Maybe I'll swing by the Kennedy compound and see whats shaking. Do they still get SS protection do you think?
Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 07:19 AM (mV7kM)

Just for asking that, you probably just got put on a List.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 07:25 AM (6wpGE)

130 Since we competed against custom code running on DEC machines our cost advantage was huge. Good times.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 07:25 AM (mV7kM)

131 > Poor Novell. They got killed by TCP/IP. Remember Novell on Token Ring?
------------
1985... I was certified as a Novell Engineer. Novell was a pioneer in directory services, key in early Internet. I wrote a Novell Administrator's Guide for the US Treasury dealing with directory services, LDAP, etc. Like 200 pages for the network I built for them... while working for them.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at July 18, 2026 07:25 AM (jehhT)

132 "We are in the business of giving away information"

--BMUG

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 07:27 AM (6wpGE)

133 You guys! Great stuff.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 07:27 AM (6wpGE)

134 We developed a program for a concrete plant that would calculate adjustments of the proportions of a particular concrete mix based on the temperature and humidity that day. That old PC sat in the office of the plant for many years until it was encrusted with concrete dust inside and out and finally died. By then MSDOS had come along and there were commercial programs that did the same thing.

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:29 AM (MWfyi)

135 Good morning all, thx Pixy. Always interesting reading your tech updates.
Still a bit of Canuck haze here. Going to start raining in a couple of hours, should knock the haze down.

Posted by: Smell the Glove at July 18, 2026 07:30 AM (OXYE0)

136 Used to follow Zimbabwean news very closely, interesting country.

I did too until I gave up my subscription to the Detroit Free Press. Not enough pictures and too expensive when I was in prison.

Posted by: Kwame Kilpatrick at July 18, 2026 07:30 AM (45BvE)

137 "1985... I was certified as a Novell Engineer. "

Most everything was on daisy chained coax back then. That was fun, chasing cable defects.

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:31 AM (MWfyi)

138 The morning news is full of scare stuff today, saying "averaging a drink a day" contributes mightily to cancer.

This will not be well received by the chardonnay Karen crowd.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 07:38 AM (C2m2z)

139 >>>AWS is experiencing a wee spot of bother with its billing system.

A wee spot of Aussie-speak!

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 07:38 AM (6wpGE)

140 >>>AWS is experiencing a wee spot of bother with its billing system.

A wee spot of Aussie-speak!
Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 07:38 AM (6wpGE)
----
Decimal places...how do they work?

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 18, 2026 07:39 AM (FZ29D)

141 "averaging a drink a day" contributes mightily to cancer."

How about 5 or 10 a day? Does that keep it off?

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:40 AM (MWfyi)

142 I am reminded of the lyrics of a song Berserker pointed me to:

I'm a man, a man with a plan
My plan is to booze as much as I can

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:42 AM (MWfyi)

143 It would seem to me, given the myriad agencies and alphabet organizations involving the digital panopticon of total surveillance, if you are not on somebody’s “list” somewhere, you really ought to be ashamed of yourself, and re-consider your life choices. Strive to do better!

Posted by: Common Tater at July 18, 2026 07:43 AM (oFj7+)

144
Remember when the Army used the Enable office suite software on Zenith PCs? I learned spreadsheets on Enable, tracking ammo forecasting and expenditures around 1990.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at July 18, 2026 07:44 AM (iqcvy)

145 138 The morning news is full of scare stuff today, saying "averaging a drink a day" contributes mightily to cancer.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 07:38 AM (C2m2z)

Maybe they mean, like, the verb "to average":

• calculate or estimate the average of (figures or measurements): their earnings, averaged out over the month, were only $62 a week.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 07:46 AM (6wpGE)

146 Zenith Z-100s? At one time I had a contract to service all of them on a local AF base.

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:46 AM (MWfyi)

147 Good morning!

Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at July 18, 2026 07:47 AM (u82oZ)

148 At the end of that contract there were 4 left.

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:48 AM (MWfyi)

149 142 I am reminded of the lyrics of a song Berserker pointed me to:

I'm a man, a man with a plan
My plan is to booze as much as I can
Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:42 AM (MWfyi)

I'm reminded of

“A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama!”

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 07:48 AM (6wpGE)

150 "I'm reminded of

“A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama!”
Posted by: m"

I think you got it backwards.

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:48 AM (MWfyi)

151 150 "I'm reminded of

“A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama!”
Posted by: m"

I think you got it backwards.
Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:48 AM (MWfyi)

It's upside down.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2026 07:49 AM (6wpGE)

152 "I'm reminded of

“A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama!”
Posted by: m"

I think you got it backwards.
Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:48 AM (MWfyi)
---
* golf clap *

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 18, 2026 07:49 AM (FZ29D)

153 > Remember when the Army used the Enable office suite software on Zenith PCs?
-----------
Z-248's I think. Workhorses.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at July 18, 2026 07:50 AM (jehhT)

154 "Z-248's I think. Workhorses.
Posted by: Martini Farmer"

Those came after when I decided I was done with contracts with the Federal Government.

Posted by: fd at July 18, 2026 07:53 AM (MWfyi)

155 Covefe up!

Posted by: Huck Follywood at July 18, 2026 07:53 AM (r7+k8)

Processing 0.03, elapsed 0.0302 seconds.
14 queries taking 0.0088 seconds, 163 records returned.
Page size 93 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.