Daily Tech News 11 August 2026

Top Story

Sergey Brin has now spent $100 million opposing California's demented billionaire tax. (Tech Crunch)

The article says the tax would cost Brin $13 billion, but if so they have revised it. The original language would have hit Brin and Google co-founder Larry Page particularly hard due to how voting rights are assigned for their shares, sending his tax liabilities soaring to around $50 billion.
Speaking of demented billionaires, Mark Zuckerberg wrote an essay on why we should be thankful for AI. (Tech Crunch)

And managed to make a convincing case... For the opposition.

Tech News

TSMC can sidestep its $1 billion worth of Apple ASICs awaiting memory supplies by... Making more AI chips? (WCCFTech)

What?
TSMC doesn't have $1 billion worth of Apple ASICs awaiting memory supplies. (WCCFTech)

Supplies!
Meta's new Muse Glimmer model provides an always-on AI model that can run on consumer hardware. (Meta)

All you need is a $5000 graphics card. And to run the model in quantized (half-precision or less) mode.

You do have a $5000 graphics card, don't you?
Sorry, I meant $7000 graphics card. (Tom's Hardware)

You snoozed, you losed.
Windows 11's built-in weather app uses 1.2GB of RAM all by itself. (Tom's Hardware)

Fire, for the killing with.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: Oh no, oh no!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 G'Day everyone

Posted by: Skip at August 11, 2026 04:30 AM (Ia/+0)

2 w00t

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 04:31 AM (odBC9)

3 I am trying to call Nood but can't get past the Ad Guardian

Posted by: Skip at August 11, 2026 04:32 AM (Ia/+0)

4
>>>California's demented billionaire tax.
>>>Speaking of demented billionaires

haha!

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 04:35 AM (odBC9)

5 3 I am trying to call Nood but can't get past the Ad Guardian
Posted by: Skip at August 11, 2026 04:32 AM (Ia/+0)

407 Pixy's up!
Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 04:30 AM (odBC9)

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 04:35 AM (odBC9)

6 You do have a $5000 graphics card, don't you?

No, I have a $639 graphics card.

Wait, it's $659...

oops, $689.
Wait, it's $709.

Ahh screw it, it's worth about $759.

Today.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 11, 2026 04:36 AM (6ydKt)

7 Mgid makes me visit it before I can comment.

Posted by: Skip at August 11, 2026 04:38 AM (Ia/+0)

8 Pixy pun-time!

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 04:40 AM (odBC9)

9 Well my short commute job didn't last but 1 week, this long one won't be so short.

Posted by: Skip at August 11, 2026 04:40 AM (Ia/+0)

10 Disclaimer: Oh no, oh no!

Yoko?

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 04:41 AM (odBC9)

11 this long one won't be so short.
Posted by: Skip

That do be how it is.

Posted by: mikeski at August 11, 2026 04:42 AM (VHUov)

12 Mornin'

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at August 11, 2026 04:42 AM (sAmhv)

13 Short commute to an air conditioned building. It’s a burden.

Posted by: Accomack at August 11, 2026 04:44 AM (8jVAy)

14 My Beelink mini PC is making noises. Sounds like the fan. Probably has a ton of dust inside it. I'll use some compressed air on it later.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at August 11, 2026 04:45 AM (sAmhv)

15 Original RTX 5080 MSRP = $999

Original RTX 5090 MSRP = $1999

The 5090 is now going for $4699

And the 5080 is on track to hit the 5090 MSRP by the end of the year where it's now sitting at $1499

Jensen Huang must bathe in $100 dollar bills.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 11, 2026 04:47 AM (6ydKt)

16 I'm sure that everybody will be happy to know that my globe-trotting package, after spending an entire weekend in the lovely City by the Bay, has decided it has had enough and resumed it's trip....

...North, to Oakland, where it still dithers, apparently deciding on where to go on the next leg of its momentous journey.

If my luck holds up as it has been I'm honestly expecting to wake up and read this tomorrow:

Latest Update

Your item arrived at our USPS facility in SHANGHAI CHINA DISTRIBUTION CENTER on August 13, 2026 at 2:16 pm. The item is currently in transit to the destination.

Why not?
It's a once in a lifetime trip for the little guy.
Might as well make the most it.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 11, 2026 05:04 AM (6ydKt)

17 Hello Techsters,

Will the prices for GPU and memory chips push the PC gaming business deeper into the hole from which they cannot extricate themselves?

I am not a gamer but at one point they were a huge portion of the PC market. The dearth of new games and huge memory usage pre price explosion started the collapse.

Posted by: Pete Bog at August 11, 2026 05:07 AM (U9xiT)

18 14 My Beelink mini PC is making noises. Sounds like the fan. Probably has a ton of dust inside it. I'll use some compressed air on it later.
Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at August 11, 2026 04:45 AM (sAmhv)

I was just this minute pulling up a Thunderbolt display user manual to read about the fan/vent! We do lead exciting lives.

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:07 AM (odBC9)

19
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at August 11, 2026 05:09 AM (AMvSw)

20 Sheena Easton looks kinda demented in that still shot.

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:13 AM (odBC9)

21 Looks like my Thunderbolt display has "ventilation openings," no fan.

Don’t operate your display in areas with significant amounts of airborne dust, or smoke
from cigarettes, cigars, ashtrays, stoves, or fireplaces, or near an ultrasonic humidifier
using unfiltered tap water.

Tiny airborne particles produced by smoking, cooking, burning, or using an ultrasonic humidifier with unfiltered water may, in rare instances,
enter the *ventilation openings* of your display and, under certain conditions, result in a
slight haze on the inside surface of the glass panel that covers the display.

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:16 AM (odBC9)

22 >>>a slight haze on the inside surface of the glass panel that covers the display

That would drive me crazy.

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:17 AM (odBC9)

23 22 >>>a slight haze on the inside surface of the glass panel that covers the display

That would drive me crazy.
Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:17 AM (odBC9)

That's what black electrical tape is for.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:17 AM (Ot/FD)

24 It was lovely to take some time off from the ASHQ board yesterday , although I am very grateful for Ace and Pixy and J. J. and CBD and all the other cobs for the work they do here. I am also grateful for the conversation of the other posters. I tried not to tune into news most of the day. It felt good

At the gardens yesterday morning I saw a hummingbird, and lovely flowers including Black Eyed Susans, Purple Topped Vervain , Swamp Rose Mallow and Great Blue Lobelia.
There were also toadstools the size of very small unbrellas if you are an elf.

There were also lovely people including two co workers ( I think ) one of whom wished that I had a blessed day and a women sitting on a bench in the garden who told me she was enjoying the bird song . Even if you are a naturally a sort of introverted person. It can improve your day if you say kind things to others.

Posted by: Can't do. Sorry! at August 11, 2026 05:18 AM (JrHfD)

25 And thanks so much to the praying people who prayed for my son. He had a good day at his new job and enjoyed the people he worked with.

Posted by: Can't do. Sorry! at August 11, 2026 05:19 AM (JrHfD)

26 I am not a gamer but at one point they were a huge portion of the PC market. The dearth of new games and huge memory usage pre price explosion started the collapse.
Posted by: Pete Bog

Time to pull out that old copy of Zork! Or Fallout! Go Back to the Future!

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at August 11, 2026 05:20 AM (sAmhv)

27 Sorry . " Can't do"was my handle when my addiction got the better of me I came on briefly to respond to a troll.

Posted by: FenelonSpike at August 11, 2026 05:20 AM (JrHfD)

28 23 22 >>>a slight haze on the inside surface of the glass panel that covers the display

That would drive me crazy.
Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:17 AM (odBC9)

That's what black electrical tape is for.
Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:17 AM (Ot/FD)

AAGGHH!

I have a post-it over the camera thingie (aperture?) at the top of the screen.

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:22 AM (odBC9)

29 20 Sheena Easton looks kinda demented in that still shot.
Posted by: m

I think that was her 'Lets hang out with Prince' phase. She was a beauty in the 80s. Last I saw, she got addicted to plastic surgery. She's has some and by some, I mean a lot.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at August 11, 2026 05:22 AM (sAmhv)

30 13 year old spends hours printing out and putting together a wheelchair for a handicapped little girl. Sunny Skyz site:

https://tinyurl.com/26fuyr3s

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 11, 2026 05:24 AM (Z1RBE)

31 24-sorry. I was rather redundant in my use of the word lovely. It's still early.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 11, 2026 05:25 AM (Z1RBE)

32 The world didn't end because someone invented hydraulics. The world didn't end when we discovered the lever or the wheel. And the world won't end just because AI can do some things faster than a human can.

AI is just another machine. Use it to your advantage, or don't. The fretting that we face annihilation because it's "smarter than us" is a red herring. Of course it's "smarter than us", that's the point of it. There are about four billion people on earth who have at least four billion other people who are "smarter than them", and they're not all facing an apocalypse. Most people can bench more than I can, and i'm not dead yet.

I don't fear AI itself. What I fear is what a clever huckster (or worse) can do with it. "Can do"? Sorry, I meant "will".

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:26 AM (Ot/FD)

33 17 Hello Techsters,

Will the prices for GPU and memory chips push the PC gaming business deeper into the hole from which they cannot extricate themselves?

I am not a gamer but at one point they were a huge portion of the PC market. The dearth of new games and huge memory usage pre price explosion started the collapse.

Posted by: Pete Bog at August 11, 2026 05:07 AM (U9xiT)

It hasn't reached critical, yet, but it has caused some gaming studios to begin to actually optimize their games better since so many people can't upgrade their RAM or GPUs due to prices.

The next real hurdle comes next year or '28 when Xbox and Sony release their new consoles and then the gaming industry will tailor their games to meet the new tech's specs.

We can only cross our fingers and wait for the bubble to pop or deflate and bring prices back down to Earth.

If it keeps up for more than a year or two a lot of PC & Gaming focused companies will be bankrupt.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 11, 2026 05:28 AM (6ydKt)

34 To really drag the ass out of the comparison... the danger of AI isn't that it's smart, it's that so many people think it's smarter than it is.

Just as most of the world's most dangerous people are those who others think are much, much smarter than they are.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:29 AM (Ot/FD)

35 How you gonna expect me to shell out $100 for every junk Septuple-A studio slop video game that comes along when I already shelled out all my cash for a down payment on a rig hefty enough to even run the stupid things?

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:31 AM (Ot/FD)

36 Supplies!

Obligatory:
https://youtu.be/GHS_GQLgqtM

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 05:31 AM (O7YUW)

37 Hymns on spiritual warfare and when you need strength:

https://tinyurl.com/bdepcrpj

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 11, 2026 05:32 AM (Z1RBE)

38 Greetings and good morning, everyone. It's going to be another hot and humid day here and it's made worse by the fact I still live in the GPROMD.

My AI related gripe is that companies now feel the need to use it in their phone system to put up another barrier to interacting with people.

"I think you said you need to speak to a representative."

"Yes, you miserable clanker. Give me a human so I can give him the same information I just provided to you!"

Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 05:34 AM (99eI0)

39 Taylor Farms recalls salsa, guacamole over salmonella fears after company linked to ‘explosive diarrhea’ outbreak.

Now you tell me

Posted by: Kelce, out for the season at August 11, 2026 05:34 AM (XOG/m)

40 34 To really drag the ass out of the comparison... the danger of AI isn't that it's smart, it's that so many people think it's smarter than it is.
Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:29 AM (Ot/FD)

>>>so many people think [AI]'s smarter than it is

I think that's close to a summary of what Pixy's been saying for forever. Or maybe more like: people are wrong to think that AI's smart.

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:35 AM (odBC9)

41 G'mornin' everyone!

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 11, 2026 05:35 AM (VyBeY)

42 And I just wanted to express my appreciation for the traffic enforcement officer who kindly chose not to give my husband a ticket when he parked illegally ( we didn't know) in order to run in to get a muffin. He just explained we couldn't park there till after 10. That was kind of him.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 11, 2026 05:37 AM (Z1RBE)

43 I notice that the pop ads are not showing up here. Pixy, is that your doing?

Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 05:39 AM (99eI0)

44 My idea of proper AI safety would include remotely detonated shaped charges to cut the communication lines and destroy the servers.

Jus' sayin' ...

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 11, 2026 05:40 AM (VyBeY)

45 35 How you gonna expect me to shell out $100 for every junk Septuple-A studio slop video game that comes along when I already shelled out all my cash for a down payment on a rig hefty enough to even run the stupid things?

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:31 AM (Ot/FD)

At this point everybody is saving their money to buy Grand Theft Auto 6.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 11, 2026 05:40 AM (6ydKt)

46 "Yes, you miserable clanker. Give me a human so I can give him the same information I just provided to you!"
Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 05:34 AM (99eI0)

Just for fun, I tried to use the AI/Gemini mode of Google to look up some tires for a tractor I just got. I asked for recommendations in a certain size, and it gave me some. Neat. How much? $XYZ dollars. Lovely. Who has them? Oh, no, they don't make them in that size, but you can get one of these other two styles. OK, fine, how much and where? They don't come in that size, either.

The real kick in the ass is just how terrible searching for anything normally without AI has become. "Show me tires with this tread pattern in 20x8.00-8". Sure thing, Chief, here's ten pages of nothing even remotely close to that size, a few busted links to some defunct company's homepage, and a couple reddit posts about feeling tired all the time.

Get fucked, Google, i'll just go to tractor supply then.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:41 AM (Ot/FD)

47 May you have a blessed day, everyone. and may you experience things that give you peace and cause you to know that you are a blessing to others and that God loves you!.

Pray also for "Random Dave " who has interviews later this morning. Thanks.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 11, 2026 05:42 AM (Z1RBE)

48 Why not?
It's a once in a lifetime trip for the little guy.
Might as well make the most it.
Posted by: SpeakingOf

In the 80s, I flew from Budapest to the US. One checked bag did not. After a while, Pan Am paid the $600 or so lost luggage compensation.

But about six months later, it showed up, rather the worse for wear.

It had stickers on it like the elegant luggage of a 60s Jet Set playboy.

I have never visited those many exotic places in Central Asia, but that bag did.

Posted by: International Man of Miklos at August 11, 2026 05:42 AM (XOG/m)

49 @17/Pete Bog: "Will the prices for GPU and memory chips push the PC gaming business deeper into the hole from which they cannot extricate themselves?"

It's going to hurt them somewhat. Not sure it'll be a hole they can't get out of but you should expect to see a lot of layoffs. They will have to focus on producing games for the hardware that most people already own because gamers aren't buying a whole lot of new machines or custom parts because of the insane prices of memory, gpus, and storage right now.

What will further keep them on building games for existing/older hardware is the damage to the hardware sales channels (wholesale and retail) that will happen if they can't sell to end customers due to the prices.

The first sign will minimal staffing. The second sign will be the sale and lack of restocking of lower priced items as the stores start to canibalize themselves to stay afloat. After that it's the "Going out of business" or liquidation sale, at which point it's already too late to save them.

Once again: This bubble can not pop fast enough.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 05:43 AM (O7YUW)

50 Windows 11's built-in weather app uses 1.2GB of RAM all by itself.

Microsoft: "Write an app that shows weather. Be creative. Use as much memory as you want."

Posted by: James Comey at August 11, 2026 05:45 AM (l3cgK)

51 In the 80s, I flew from Budapest to the US. One checked bag did not. After a while, Pan Am paid the $600 or so lost luggage compensation.

But about six months later, it showed up, rather the worse for wear.

It had stickers on it like the elegant luggage of a 60s Jet Set playboy.

I have never visited those many exotic places in Central Asia, but that bag did.
Posted by: International Man of Miklos at August 11, 2026 05:42 AM (XOG/m)

Bag say US. Uzbeki-Stan. I put on Uzbek plane. Bag go to US. Why so mad?

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:46 AM (Ot/FD)

52 38 My AI related gripe is that companies now feel the need to use it in their phone system to put up another barrier to interacting with people.

"I think you said you need to speak to a representative."

"Yes, you miserable clanker. Give me a human so I can give him the same information I just provided to you!"
Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 05:34 AM (99eI0)

@Aelfred_D has a good riff on this, maybe yesterday.

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:46 AM (odBC9)

53 @Pixy: "Sorry, I meant $7000 graphics card. You snoozed, you losed."

Pixy, at this point it doesn't matter if the price goes up to $14,000 or $21,000. It's well past the point where I'd be willing to spend that kind of money on a chunk of highly-processed sand and copper.

Seriously, F that.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 05:46 AM (O7YUW)

54 my five year old rig plays Factorio and Vintage Story just fine, unless I wanted to mega-base or something.

(I do not want to mega-base or something.)

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:48 AM (Ot/FD)

55 They will have to focus on producing games for the hardware that most people already own

Bingo

Similar to when large corporates decided the Intel/Microsoft must replace everything to keep up two time game was not worth it.

Posted by: Miklos applauds true insight at August 11, 2026 05:48 AM (XOG/m)

56 Humans have been creatively murdering each other en masse for thousands of years. Some johnny come lately computer program ain't going to take the crown that easily.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:50 AM (Ot/FD)

57 Bag say US. Uzbeki-Stan. I put on Uzbek plane. Bag go to US. Why so mad?
Posted by: Warai-otoko

bag now US citizen

Vote D

Posted by: retroactive autopen at August 11, 2026 05:50 AM (XOG/m)

58
Aelfred The Great
@aelfred_D
14h

Me: when storm

AI: If you’re asking when a storm is supposed to hit your area, current projections show between 4 and 5 pm and

Me: why rain fall

AI: Uh, ok, well water droplets in the air

Me: how water in air but air not water

AI:

Me: what water

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:50 AM (odBC9)

59
Aelfred The Great
@aelfred_D
14h

I think I can Socrates my bot into a nervous breakdown or at least get it to condemn me to death for seducing and corrupting the youth

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:52 AM (odBC9)

60 AI:

Me: what water
Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:50 AM (odBC9)

Show bobs. vageener.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:52 AM (Ot/FD)

61
alexandriabrown
@alexthechick
14h
Replying to @aelfred_D

I see you are doing your part in fighting the AI demons by making them want to exorcise you.

Aelfred The Great
@aelfred_D
14h

I can stay annoying longer than they can stay sane

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:54 AM (odBC9)

62 Fire, for the killing with.

Now with the option to deliver via drone!

https://youtu.be/07rtBip9ixk

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 05:54 AM (O7YUW)

63 Get fucked, Google, i'll just go to tractor supply then.
Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:41 AM (Ot/FD)

I've been bitching about this for a long while. Google is some kind of perverse anti-search engine. It works well for very little now. It's hard to believe it's not intentional because you normally have to try to suck this hard.

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at August 11, 2026 05:54 AM (g9zlb)

64
3gunGorilla
@GomesBolt
13h
Replying to @aelfred_D
Me half the time I use AI for something:

Wow. That’s great. That’s exactly what I was looking for!

Me the other half of the time: not at all what I was looking for. Looks like I need to do it myself.

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:56 AM (odBC9)

65 It's hard to believe it's not intentional because you normally have to try to suck this hard.
Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at August 11, 2026 05:54 AM (g9zlb)

Yeah, I really don't chalk it up to AI being inherently bad. It's just that Google is so monumentally shit at doing anything anymore.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:56 AM (Ot/FD)

66 from the Aelfred_D comments

If Google Was A Guy (Full Series)

https://tinyurl.com/3fthd66x

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:57 AM (odBC9)

67 Get fucked, Google, i'll just go to tractor supply then.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:41 AM (Ot/FD)

Some retail websites are really good at filtering and giving accurate results.

Some just run a search through their entire database and you get back anything that remotely resembles your search terms.
If you've got a large parts catalog, like auto parts or industrial supply, it's a beast to corral that much data.

You've got to find one or two sites that you like these days, and stick with them. RockAuto is pretty good with their search interface as an example.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 11, 2026 05:58 AM (6ydKt)

68 Imagine if one day you realized that a Kleenex had gradually over your life become the absolute worst, unpleasantest, most counter-productive thing you could reach for to blow your nose.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:59 AM (Ot/FD)

69 I enjoy a lot of 80s pop. There's a lot of nostalgia there for me. But Sheena Easton's music has not aged very well.

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at August 11, 2026 05:59 AM (g9zlb)

70
But about six months later, it showed up, rather the worse for wear.

It had stickers on it like the elegant luggage of a 60s Jet Set playboy.

I have never visited those many exotic places in Central Asia, but that bag did.

Posted by: International Man of Miklos at August 11, 2026 05:42 AM (XOG/m)

It finally found the one guy that knew how to do his job and wanted the bag to find it's way home.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 11, 2026 06:00 AM (6ydKt)

71 Marketing. I need a specific proprietary part. A water pump that only fits certain gasoline engines from Toyota.

Hey, how about an air cleaner for a weed whacker? You know you want one

Posted by: Common Tater at August 11, 2026 06:02 AM (3ElP1)

72 I remember making an observation once when I was looking for something and the only thing that the results had in common with what I was looking for was that they had consonants and vowels.

Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 06:02 AM (99eI0)

73 From an interview with AOC:

“Asked to define the difference between socialism and communism, she said the dividing line is democracy.”

Oh lordie, this girl is more amusing than a box full of kittens.

Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 06:04 AM (99eI0)

74 Evening and morning, discussants of explosive diarrhea and AI shenanigans -- or maybe it's the reverse? I'm not awake yet. Tiu's Day yet again, it is, yes?

The house I had my eye on yesterday, my agent said, already has an offer on it. It would have been perfect for me, and in a perfect location. It had only been on Realtor for two days. Grrrr. I'll ask him again to check on its status; it's still showing as "For Sale."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 06:05 AM (wzUl9)

75 Yeah, I really don't chalk it up to AI being inherently bad. It's just that Google is so monumentally shit at doing anything anymore.
Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026

***
I started calling it Gorgle and Gaggle a long time ago, and stopped using it soon after that. Qwant or Bing is what I use most of the time now.

Qwant's "Flash Answer," though, I don't trust. When I asked it about a street here in town, one I know quite a bit about, nearly everything it spat back was dead wrong.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 06:08 AM (wzUl9)

76 Birdbath status?

Posted by: Just Wondering at August 11, 2026 06:08 AM (2Ez/1)

77 @74/Wolfus: Put your offer in anyway, the other offer may collapse.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 06:10 AM (O7YUW)

78 Alternative search engines for those sick to death of Google's terrible search results:

startpage.com
dogpile.com

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 06:11 AM (O7YUW)

79 Imagine the FBI/CIA as a utility company, that’s what Google has become.

Posted by: Accomack at August 11, 2026 06:12 AM (T8bqm)

80 Steve Burke at Gamers Nexus did a video last week about AI crawlers scanning his website to lift all the information, charts, and other results on the products they've tested over the years.

Because Steve has this crazy idea that people should come to his website to read his reviews and testing results, he's kind of P.O.'d at the AI corps.

So to help solve this problem he got together with Wendell at Level1Techs and came up with an idea to embed a tiny graphic within his other charts and graphs. That tiny graphic contains a lot of text readable only by AI.

So in addition to the info in the charts, AI is also getting such things as: "Nose-Normalized Chocolate Chip Cookies - 27 dBA Full Torture Edition" with ingredient such as: "2 Large Eggs, preferably with unobstructed front intake".

It seems like a wonderful (and entertaining) idea to me.

"It’s Time to Poison AI | GN Mega Charts Update & LLM Countermeasures"
https://youtu.be/0WP6kEO3i8g

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 11, 2026 06:12 AM (6ydKt)

81 71 Marketing. I need a specific proprietary part. A water pump that only fits certain gasoline engines from Toyota.

Hey, how about an air cleaner for a weed whacker? You know you want one
Posted by: Common Tater at August 11, 2026 06:02 AM (3ElP1)

Congratulations, you'll now have at least one ad for weed whacker air cleaners on every single thing you watch online, for at least the next month.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 06:12 AM (Ot/FD)

82 Put your offer in anyway, the other offer may collapse.
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant

Agreed. That was how my wife and I got our first place. And if it turns into a bidding war, set a limit on how high you want to go and don't be afraid to walk away.

Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 06:12 AM (99eI0)

83 73 From an interview with AOC:

“Asked to define the difference between socialism and communism, she said the dividing line is democracy.”

Oh lordie, this girl is more amusing than a box full of kittens.
Posted by: NR Pax

She has all the depth of a bumper sticker.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at August 11, 2026 06:12 AM (sAmhv)

84
I've been bitching about this for a long while. Google is some kind of perverse anti-search engine. It works well for very little now. It's hard to believe it's not intentional because you normally have to try to suck this hard.
Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at August 11, 2026 05:54 AM (g9zlb)

Here's my concern. As AI grows in importance to these companies, all the tools and means by which they curated and made searchable information will wither and die or at least never be improved. The copper landlines of the internet, so to speak.

This may surprise them, but some of us are quite good at looking for information. I have spent the better part of a year on Google Scholar running down literature articles on single-site olefin polymerization catalysts. The search engine for GS is hopeless. The organization of results is worse. Exporting results is a joke. I spent a month plugging 6900 digital object identifiers into it one at a time looking for citations with an attached PDF. And now that they have AI? It will be much, much worse.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 11, 2026 06:13 AM (O0L8i)

85 @74/Wolfus: Put your offer in anyway, the other offer may collapse.
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026

***
That's what I thought. We haven't even video toured the place yet; I don't see why we can't, since the place is not occupied.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 06:13 AM (wzUl9)

86 The organization of results is worse. Exporting results is a joke. I spent a month plugging 6900 digital object identifiers into it one at a time looking for citations with an attached PDF. And now that they have AI? It will be much, much worse.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 11, 2026 06:13 AM (O0L8i)

Me: "Why is a subscription to Metadex so damn expensive? I'll just use GS."

Me, later: "Oh. Now I get it."

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 06:15 AM (Ot/FD)

87 @80/SpeakingOf: "It's Time to Poison AI"

Saw that yesterday. Good on him for taking the steps he can take to solve the problem on his end. That's what we need more of.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 06:16 AM (O7YUW)

88 Morning, Tech Peeps

Posted by: fluffy at August 11, 2026 06:16 AM (V0/Sp)

89 4
>>>California's demented billionaire tax

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 04:35 AM (odBC9)

A “hate tax” (h/t, MEP Farage…who was an MEP at the time)

Posted by: Cow Demon at August 11, 2026 06:17 AM (ukytI)

90 16 I'm sure that everybody will be happy to know that my globe-trotting package, after spending an entire weekend in the lovely City by the Bay…
Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 11, 2026 05:04 AM (6ydKt)

It is A City By A Body Of Water. (H/t, Jim Rome)

Posted by: Cow Demon at August 11, 2026 06:19 AM (ukytI)

91 Put your offer in anyway, the other offer may collapse.
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant
*
Agreed. That was how my wife and I got our first place. And if it turns into a bidding war, set a limit on how high you want to go and don't be afraid to walk away.
Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026

***
The place is already near the top of my range; there isn't much room. However, the property tax (for now) and insurance (an online estimate, but a pessimistic one) are low enough that I do have some space to maneuver. I've written to my agent to ask about a video tour anyway.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 06:19 AM (wzUl9)

92 Disclaimer: Oh no, oh no!

Response: Anyway. Anyway.

Posted by: Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Clarkson at August 11, 2026 06:19 AM (brIJB)

93 Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

Rejoinder: YES!!!

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at August 11, 2026 06:20 AM (amcLV)

94 people still use googl? lol

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 11, 2026 06:20 AM (VyBeY)

95 94 people still use googl? lol
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 11, 2026 06:20 AM (VyBeY)

I do!

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 06:21 AM (odBC9)

96 been using Metacrawler for about a year now; fairly reliable (once you scroll down past "sponsored" ...)
kinda like the old times

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 11, 2026 06:22 AM (VyBeY)

97 @82/NR Pax: "and don't be afraid to walk away."

This works as the seller too. A friend of mine was trying to sell his property, and they have an agreement in principle already on a price and conditions. Then he gets a call from his real-estate agent with a bunch of mostly-last-minute demands the buyer tried to saddle him with or they'd walk away from the purchase. (The buyers were Chinese, and apparently this type of negotiation strategy is common with them, at least in this geographic area.)

My friend's response? "We walk away. The deal's off if they don't take the original deal we agreed on."

The response got delivered. The buyer gave the go-ahead to proceed with the purchase on the original terms, and paperwork got signed accordingly.

The real estate agent later told my friend he loved his hard-line response. Most people cave, and give away a bunch of money they didn't have to, because they're desperate to sell, and that's why buyers try that crap. He said it was a joy to be working with someone who wasn't desperate because he didn't get the option to deliver "F you, take it or leave it" terms very often.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 06:23 AM (O7YUW)

98 @88/fluffy: "Morning, Tech Peeps"

Mornin' fluffy. How's things?

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 06:24 AM (O7YUW)

99
As for the results of all this, I had 7628 journal references. Of those, 1962 had attached documents, or a little over 25%. I'm now writing to some of the bigger investigators in the field asking for reprints. My hope is that this will push it up to about 35%. Then what? Sufficient unto the day are the evils thereof. I'll think of something.

I will have on the order of 9000 patent documents from the US, EP and PCT. It will take one day to search for those, export a nice spreadsheet and organize them. A copy of every single one will be available immediately online.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 11, 2026 06:24 AM (O0L8i)

100 100

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 06:25 AM (odBC9)

101 And there's m at bat with the hit. All is well in the world.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 06:25 AM (O7YUW)

102 42 And I just wanted to express my appreciation for the traffic enforcement officer who kindly chose not to give my husband a ticket when he parked illegally ( we didn't know) in order to run in to get a muffin. He just explained we couldn't park there till after 10. That was kind of him.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 11, 2026 05:37 AM (Z1RBE)

Ma'am, you're going to have to give us the officer's name, so we can send him to remedial training. We cannot have incidents like this interfering with our departmental goals.

Posted by: NJ Office of Anarcho-Tyranny at August 11, 2026 06:26 AM (brIJB)

103 The real estate agent later told my friend he loved his hard-line response. Most people cave, and give away a bunch of money they didn't have to, because they're desperate to sell, and that's why buyers try that crap. He said it was a joy to be working with someone who wasn't desperate because he didn't get the option to deliver "F you, take it or leave it" terms very often.
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 06:23 AM (O7YUW)

We had a similar situation. Found a house we liked well enough to make an offer on. Wee, highest bidder at asking price. Seller's realtor relays some insane page-long letter by the seller of all these baffling, self-contradicting little technicalities and conditions and obfuscations for us to abide by. We told our realtor "Absolutely not." Any counter offer? Yeah, sure we got a counter offer, but it wouldn't be polite to say out loud. She happily sent along our two word response verbatim.

Then we found a better house a few weeks later.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 06:27 AM (Ot/FD)

104 A while back I was trying to buy a house that my wife's friend was selling. Things were going well at first; the price was reasonable, we were ready to move forward. And then the realtor wanted 5K as a good faith offer. Fine. Done.

A week later, the realtor was telling the owner to start looking at other offers. I ripped that woman brand new openings and took my money back.

Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 06:27 AM (99eI0)

105 97: I will not sell my home to Indians or Chinese and that's a good example as to why.

Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 06:27 AM (99eI0)

106 Morning, 'rons and 'ettes.

Posted by: olddog in mo at August 11, 2026 06:28 AM (iNosy)

107 A week later, the realtor was telling the owner to start looking at other offers. I ripped that woman brand new openings and took my money back.
Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 06:27 AM (99eI0)

LOL, what the hell. Good Faith money is a standard practice it seems, but.... it's supposed to be met with Good Faith in return. Kind of defeats the purpose of it otherwise.

It's like shooting the hostages before you even talk to the negotiator.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 06:30 AM (Ot/FD)

108 It's like shooting the hostages before you even talk to the negotiator.
Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 06:30 AM (Ot/FD)

Was that wrong? Should I not have done that?

Posted by: Abdullah Mohammad Mohammad Costanza Abdullah at August 11, 2026 06:31 AM (brIJB)

109 Hi Grump!

Things are blah, but I am optimistic.

And you?

Posted by: fluffy at August 11, 2026 06:32 AM (V0/Sp)

110 I've got a rule: Check the listings on Realtor every morning and every afternoon, and if I see something I like a lot, arrange to see it as soon as possible. I'd been doing that but had let it slide the last couple of weeks. Summer apathy, you know.

Time I got dressed and had some breakfast, I guess.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 06:32 AM (wzUl9)

111 eh, de gustibus non est disputandem, innit?

what I kind of miss is the completely random unrelated results that you used to get back around 1997; I remember that was how I discovered Linux back in the day. good ol' AltaVista.

difference? back then it felt like (& was) honest mistakes made by baby algorithms, today it's more like malice aforethought from algorithms that are carefully crafted by people who enjoy twisting our heads.

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 11, 2026 06:33 AM (VyBeY)

112 It's like shooting the hostages before you even talk to the negotiator.
Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 06:30 AM (Ot/FD)

Heh, actually i'm wrong. It's like coming to a successful deal with the negotiator and THEN shooting the hostages.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 06:34 AM (Ot/FD)

113 Korben Dallas: "We're sending in a negotiator!"

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 11, 2026 06:35 AM (VyBeY)

114 Morning all

Sheena Easton back in the day…. Yowza

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at August 11, 2026 06:36 AM (zEBE+)

115 LOL, what the hell. Good Faith money is a standard practice it seems, but.... it's supposed to be met with Good Faith in return.

The agent was probably trying to get a better commission but keeping me on standby in case things didn't pan out. Now, it did work out OK for us; we moved into a better county, our house was a bit less than the other house and we have a decent neighborhood. But I was still annoyed.

Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 06:37 AM (99eI0)

116 Korben Dallas: "We're sending in a negotiator!"
Posted by: sock_rat_eez
-----------

LOL

Posted by: olddog in mo at August 11, 2026 06:38 AM (iNosy)

117 Heck, our guy even sent another heavily redacted letter stripping out a lot of his nonsense, and we still flat out refused. I'm not entering in to any kind of business with you now you've shown your colors, you little rat. Not for any price or terms.

That house stayed on the market for a good year after that, too. So I can't imagine we were the first or the last to tell him to take a hike.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 06:38 AM (Ot/FD)

118 Korben Dallas: "We're sending in a negotiator!"
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 11, 2026 06:35 AM (VyBeY)
---------
Fog: Where' he learn to negotiate like that?

President Lindberg: I wonder... *glares at generals*

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at August 11, 2026 06:39 AM (amcLV)

119 I guess I'm kinda surprised that Brin is still a California resident.

Zuck is now a Florida resident. Musk is a Texas resident. I'm sure plenty of smaller fry have also decamped.

Same thing on the other seaboard. Trump is also a Florida resident now, and so many other rich folk have started to flee MummyDummy that I can here the whooshing noise from up here in Alaska.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 11, 2026 06:39 AM (IG3/x)

120 difference? back then it felt like (& was) honest mistakes made by baby algorithms, today it's more like malice aforethought from algorithms that are carefully crafted by people who enjoy twisting our heads.
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 11, 2026

***
Possibly it began, or became standard practice, for them to tinker with results during the Sniffle Scare, so as to keep people who thought for themselves from researching and finding out the Party Line was a congeries of lies.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 06:41 AM (wzUl9)

121 Sergey Brin has now spent $100 million opposing California's demented billionaire tax.

If he hasn't bought legislators, what does he hope to accomplish?

Posted by: t-bird at August 11, 2026 06:41 AM (IeX0j)

122 If he hasn't bought legislators, what does he hope to accomplish?
Posted by: t-bird at August 11, 2026 06:41 AM (IeX0j)

Buying politicians is tacky.

You're supposed to buy the people who have already bought the politicians.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 06:42 AM (Ot/FD)

123 Stirling tossed up a hairball a few minutes ago. I had time to scoop him up and get him onto the kitchen tile floor. Now he's sitting by me, no doubt thinking about breakfast. Hold on, cat, just fifteen more minutes, okay?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 06:43 AM (wzUl9)

124 Present
Good morning
What fresh hell this day?

Posted by: Don Black at August 11, 2026 06:44 AM (ZxPkt)

125 Heck, our guy even sent another heavily redacted letter stripping out a lot of his nonsense, and we still flat out refused. I'm not entering in to any kind of business with you now you've shown your colors, you little rat. Not for any price or terms.

That house stayed on the market for a good year after that, too. So I can't imagine we were the first or the last to tell him to take a hike.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 06:38 AM

When we first moved to Texas we immediately found a house we loved, but it was contingent. They were building a new house some miles away and they had a contract they wanted us to sign if we bought the house. They wanted to stay in the house for 4 months after they sold it to us and pay $400 a month in rent with an option to extend that to 6 six months if they ran into construction issues. They couldn't start construction until they sold their current house.

We were not happy and told the real estate agent we would have never went to see the house if they had told us that upfront.

Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at August 11, 2026 06:45 AM (cpFbA)

126 If Sergei Brin doesn't have photos of California politicians in bed with dead hookers, what is he spending his money on?

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 11, 2026 06:45 AM (2GVsD)

127 Oh, yes. Something funny I saw yesterday at the market. There was a woman in her early 20's. I'm guessing, who was going down an aisle, but not with her feet on the ground. She was standing on the undercarriage of the cart and the was cart going at a somewhat quicker speed. She looked like she was enjoying herself.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 11, 2026 06:45 AM (6jy2V)

128
Giving The Big Dummy a semi-bath today before he visits the vet tomorrow. Back in May, the poor fellow was given some antibiotics for a condition I can't now remember. They were sufficiently powerful to wipe out all his gut bacteria. I will spare you the details, but he frequently has to have his rear washed off. It's a hasty job and now he has some staining back there.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 11, 2026 06:47 AM (O0L8i)

129 127: That's hilarious so long as she maintains control. -:-)

Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 06:47 AM (99eI0)

130
Stirling tossed up a hairball a few minutes ago.

At least he was polite enough not to hack it up at 2:00 AM on the path between your bed and the bathroom.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 11, 2026 06:49 AM (O0L8i)

131 113 Korben Dallas: "We're sending in a negotiator!"
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 11, 2026 06:35 AM (VyBeY)

Great movie. A little too much Chris Tucker, though.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at August 11, 2026 06:49 AM (brIJB)

132 I feel somewhat bad about having this attitude, but I don’t mind seeing Sergei Brin sweat a little. Google has been screwing all of us over for years… YouTube demonetized channels for “heretical” covid stances in 2021…. Now he has a come to Jesus moment when they’re after his money? I’m not feeling bad

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at August 11, 2026 06:50 AM (zEBE+)

133 Stirling tossed up a hairball a few minutes ago. I had time to scoop him up and get him onto the kitchen tile floor. Now he's sitting by me, no doubt thinking about breakfast. Hold on, cat, just fifteen more minutes, okay?
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 06:43 AM (wzUl9)
----
I'm always a bit nervous about feeding my cats immediately after they do that...I'm afraid they'll just throw up their breakfast because their stomach is still unsettled. And yeah, that happens sometimes.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 11, 2026 06:53 AM (FZ29D)

134
I hope this is a sufficiently cringing note to everyone from whom I'm requesting information.

"I am working on a scientific-historical book on single-site olefin polymerization catalysts. It would be a great help to me if you could, to the extent possible, provide reprints - at your leisure and in any form most convenient to you - of the articles in the attached file. Thank you very much for your assistance."

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 11, 2026 06:54 AM (O0L8i)

135 @109/fluffy: "Things are blah, but I am optimistic."

Not terrible, and optimism will help sustain and carry you in a pessimistic world. Keep that up.

"And you?"

Pretty good. I've got a bus charter today, and I just finished preparing lunch for that. Should be a pretty good day.

Which reminds me, need to load some more reading material onto my Kindle. (I do a lot of reading while I'm sitting in the bus, waiting on the charter group.)

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 06:57 AM (O7YUW)

136 No, Google search was effectively crippled years ago, decades now really. Actively suppressing things entirely is a little more recent maybe. Like most things, it’s a matter of degree.

Posted by: Common Tater at August 11, 2026 06:57 AM (3ElP1)

137 134
I hope this is a sufficiently cringing note to everyone from whom I'm requesting information.

"I am working on a scientific-historical book on single-site olefin polymerization catalysts. It would be a great help to me if you could, to the extent possible, provide reprints - at your leisure and in any form most convenient to you - of the articles in the attached file. Thank you very much for your assistance."
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 11, 2026 06:54 AM (O0L8i)

This looks fascinating, I would like to contribute my thoughts on systemic racism in the olepoly catalyst things and be listed as co-author.

Posted by: Ason Jarday, Ph.D at August 11, 2026 06:58 AM (brIJB)

138 Last night we watched on DVD a 1951 drama with Bette Davis and Barry Sullivan, Payment on Demand. It's part of the "Warners Classics Collection," but no closed captions. Grrrr.

Still, pretty solid drama, with Bette and Barry as a suburban couple (he's a lawyer) who have been married for twenty years and have two grown girls. (One was played by Betty Lou, some years later to be Barney's girlfriend on Andy Griffith.) Suddenly he wants a divorce -- still a shocking subject in 1951, I guess. She's gotten to be so focused on success and social climbing that he doesn't recognize her anymore.

Davis plays the woman's present-day self -- and the younger version in flashbacks -- with her usual style.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 06:59 AM (wzUl9)

139
Speaking of demented billionaires, Mark Zuckerberg wrote an essay on why we should be thankful for AI. (Tech Crunch)

And managed to make a convincing case... For the opposition.

Zuck is too dumb to realize he's not a visionary.
Gah
I miss Steve Jobs.

Posted by: vmom deport deport stab deport at August 11, 2026 07:00 AM (Ydd86)

140 For those that haven't enjoyed "The Fifth Element" and haven't seen the "negotiation" scene:

https://youtu.be/9TyxxLHfBwE

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 07:00 AM (O7YUW)

141 Oh, the business with the house -- my agent reminded me that the sellers have *accepted the offer* and have entered into a written agreement, so nobody else can interfere. But we can keep an eye on it to see if the deal collapses.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 07:00 AM (wzUl9)

142 "...what I kind of miss is the completely random unrelated results that you used to get back around 1997..."

-----

Umm...1997 was like 30 years ago, dude.

Posted by: Person with a calendar at August 11, 2026 07:01 AM (2Ez/1)

143 Morning all!

As FenalonSpoke said, prayers would be appreciated in the mid to late morning for the interview. I really hope this goes well, and that there aren't any surprise 'now we need to...' hurdles. I'm so ready for this to be what God's been positioning me for...

Posted by: RandomDave (if you can spare a bit, please click) at August 11, 2026 07:01 AM (aJQbY)

144 Oops. The actress who played "Betty Lou" was Betty Lynn.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 07:02 AM (wzUl9)

145 Giving The Big Dummy a semi-bath today

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

I could use some Expert Advice on dog baths. Miss Dixie, being a Dandie Dinmont terrier and all, is not a Water Dog. She is an Anti-Water dog.

Two hands are not enough to both maintain dog in tub and do the actual shampooing part.

Posted by: Miklos consults the Expert Wisdom of the Horde at August 11, 2026 07:02 AM (XOG/m)

146 Stirling tossed up a hairball a few minutes ago. I had time to scoop him up and get him onto the kitchen tile floor.

One time, my Benvolio let out a howl that indicated everything in his stomach was about to come out. I got to him right as he started horking and held him over the toilet in a restraining hold.

The little bastard exerted control of his innards to the point that whatever was coming out went back down and he was mad at me for a few hours.

Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 07:04 AM (99eI0)

147 Wolfus, that movie sound like it might be a good commentary about how social obsessions like DC Cocktail Parties ruin people *judges, legislators*

Posted by: RandomDave (if you can spare a bit, please click) at August 11, 2026 07:04 AM (aJQbY)

148 As FenalonSpoke said, prayers would be appreciated in the mid to late morning for the interview

Done and dealt with. Hopefully you come back with good news.

Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 07:04 AM (99eI0)

149 Ruche from Heavy Knight is bidding to become favorite girl for this anime season even though she emotionally bounces more than a tennis ball.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 11, 2026 07:05 AM (2GVsD)

150 "It’s Time to Poison AI"

Tell it that you always lie.

Posted by: Cap'n Quirk at August 11, 2026 07:05 AM (MWfyi)

151 The “good time” girls were from Mt. Pilate. That one dame must have smoked 3 packs of Chesterfields daily to get a voice like that.

Posted by: Common Tater at August 11, 2026 07:06 AM (3ElP1)

152 Too late, the LLMs have already been poisoned by being fed Reddit posts.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 11, 2026 07:06 AM (2GVsD)

153 I feel somewhat bad about having this attitude, but I don’t mind seeing Sergei Brin sweat a little. Google has been screwing all of us over for years… YouTube demonetized channels for “heretical” covid stances in 2021…. Now he has a come to Jesus moment when they’re after his money? I’m not feeling bad

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at August 11, 2026 06:50 AM (zEBE+)

I don't feel bad at all. In fact, I am giddy over the prospect. Asshoes.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at August 11, 2026 07:06 AM (dK+Kv)

154 This looks fascinating, I would like to contribute my thoughts on systemic racism in the olepoly catalyst things and be listed as co-author.
Posted by: Ason Jarday, Ph.D

I am THRILLED to have been assigned as editor on this project!

Posted by: La'Malcolm X Mohammed-Wisconsin, Ed.D., Cambridge University Press at August 11, 2026 07:07 AM (XOG/m)

155 Good morning!

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

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 11, 2026 07:09 AM (u82oZ)

156 Too late, the LLMs have already been poisoned by being fed Reddit posts.
Posted by: Anna Puma

so

I should infiltrate reddit

Lots of kipling and von mises

Posted by: devious mind of Miklos at August 11, 2026 07:09 AM (XOG/m)

157 @143RandomDave, good luck and God bless

Posted by: Smell the Glove at August 11, 2026 07:09 AM (NFRf7)

158 RandomDave

Good Luck!

We're all counting on you.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 11, 2026 07:10 AM (u82oZ)

159 Yeah hard to feel much sympathy for Brin. Another loyal member of the Leopards eat my face off party.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 11, 2026 07:10 AM (ZGz6B)

160 Good morning!

Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.
Posted by: NaCly Dog

I am going to vote against Miss Lindsey's sister in about 5 minutes, if that helps

Get beer on the way back

Posted by: Moderately dutiful citizen Miklos at August 11, 2026 07:11 AM (XOG/m)

161 devious mind of Miklos

I should infiltrate reddit

Lots of Heinlein and Sowell.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 11, 2026 07:11 AM (u82oZ)

162 Wolfus, that movie sound like it might be a good commentary about how social obsessions like DC Cocktail Parties ruin people *judges, legislators*
Posted by: RandomDave (if you can spare a bit, please click) at August 11, 2026

***
It is. Davis's character goes from a happy young bride who helps her newly-minted lawyer husband in his fledgling office, to what another, more established woman says is a "ruthless social climber," and then to a woman who deliberately and coldly demands *everything* in their divorce.

She discovers, though, that being alone in life is not something she wants.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 07:11 AM (wzUl9)

163 Moderately dutiful citizen Miklos

Have Darlene, Marlene, and Charlene vote more than once.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 11, 2026 07:12 AM (u82oZ)

164 Two hands are not enough to both maintain dog in tub and do the actual shampooing part.

Why isn't there a shampoo product that smells similar to the stuff dogs love to roll in?

Posted by: Community Notes at August 11, 2026 07:12 AM (nAS9C)

165 Cats with hairballs and washing the dirty aft end of a prized show dog. Stay tuned for the lastest in Gross Domesticated Animal News.

Posted by: Mellifluous Announcer Voice at August 11, 2026 07:12 AM (2Ez/1)

166 The “good time” girls were from Mt. Pilate. That one dame must have smoked 3 packs of Chesterfields daily to get a voice like that.
Posted by: Common Tater at August 11, 2026

***
They sound like the ancestors to Marge Simpson's sisters.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 07:13 AM (wzUl9)

167 I should infiltrate reddit

Lots of Heinlein and Sowell.
Posted by: NaCly Dog

*Strokes dog*

*temples fingers*

Excellent

Most Excellent

Posted by: Miklos in best menacing laugh at August 11, 2026 07:14 AM (XOG/m)

168 @125/Mister Scott: "We were not happy and told the real estate agent we would have never went to see the house if they had told us that upfront."

There are a LOT of tire-kicking buyers who will waste your time when you're selling. They have various motives, a lot of it is boredom though. I hate these people SO much, they just gum up the works. Agents around here are legally required to bring you every offer, and I think these timewasting idjits know this.

Surprisingly, there are apparently a lot of sellers who are the mirror___ of these tire-kickers, throwing sand in the gears of a potential deal because it amuses them. Keep the deal's terms simple and stick to them. It's not difficult.

The perfect close-date, the seller has moved everything out and is already gone by zero hour. The place is relatively clean and almost ready to move in after a couple of hours of effort.

Second to that is this:
https://youtu.be/27i9LoNJshA

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 07:15 AM (O7YUW)

169
I could use some Expert Advice on dog baths. Miss Dixie, being a Dandie Dinmont terrier and all, is not a Water Dog. She is an Anti-Water dog.

All ours are trained from a young age to stand still for their baths. The only one we had problems with was Dutch (The Beeg Boy), who would faint in the tub. Try picking up 100 pounds of inert, wet dog. No fun.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 11, 2026 07:15 AM (O0L8i)

170 Have Darlene, Marlene, and Charlene vote more than once.
Posted by: NaCly Dog

Do you think any of them would vote for somebody who can't even spell Darleen right?

Posted by: Miklos trusts the Women at August 11, 2026 07:16 AM (XOG/m)

171
There are a LOT of tire-kicking buyers who will waste your time when you're selling. They have various motives, a lot of it is boredom though. I hate these people SO much, they just gum up the works.

The Nyborgs!

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 11, 2026 07:16 AM (O0L8i)

172 mornin yall. The cause of death of a famous mountain climber that fell off a mountain has been revealed by the Daily Mail.

Posted by: fd at August 11, 2026 07:16 AM (MWfyi)

173
The cause of death of a famous mountain climber that fell off a mountain has been revealed by the Daily Mail.
Posted by: fd at August 11, 2026 07:16 AM (MWfyi)

Let me guess. Gravity.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 11, 2026 07:17 AM (O0L8i)

174 Try picking up 100 pounds of inert, wet dog. No fun.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

Try that with Darleen after Taco and Tequila Tuesday

Posted by: Miklos keeps cans of spinach at the ready at August 11, 2026 07:17 AM (XOG/m)

175 Baths?

Baths?

I'm happy if I can just get the cats into their carriers without losing skin or blood!

(Though both Stirling and Dagny are quite good about carrier time.)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 07:18 AM (wzUl9)

176 >The cause of death of a famous mountain climber that fell off a mountain has been revealed by the Daily Mail.
Posted by: fd at August 11, 2026 07:16 AM (MWfyi)

Let me guess. Gravity.
###
Police suspect fair play.

Posted by: Dennis Miller Voice at August 11, 2026 07:18 AM (2Ez/1)

177 The cause of death of a famous mountain climber that fell off a mountain has been revealed by the Daily Mail.
Posted by: fd at August 11, 2026
*
Let me guess. Gravity.
###
Police suspect fair play.
Posted by: Dennis Miller Voice at August 11, 2026

***
That Newton guy has a lot to answer for.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 07:20 AM (wzUl9)

178
I'm happy if I can just get the cats into their carriers without losing skin or blood!

On days I'd have to take the cats to the vet, I'd be sitting on the sofa drinking my coffee and munching on toast while they dozed or groomed themselves. All I had to do was look at them and they froze and fled under the largest, most immovable object in the house.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 11, 2026 07:20 AM (O0L8i)

179 Well, off to vote against

The polling station and discount beer place are both OPEN

Posted by: Miklos has priorities at August 11, 2026 07:21 AM (XOG/m)

180 @164/Community Notes: "Why isn't there a shampoo product that smells similar to the stuff dogs love to roll in?

Dogs already know what they want to roll in: Real poo rather than that fake sham poo stuff.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 07:21 AM (O7YUW)

181 One of the dead climber's climbing buddies says that climbing with him was a "life enhancing experience".

Posted by: fd at August 11, 2026 07:21 AM (MWfyi)

182
*runs in waving arms excitedly*

J.J.!!

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 11, 2026 07:21 AM (O0L8i)

183 Remember:

1. Vote
2. Drink

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 11, 2026 07:21 AM (2GVsD)

184 Let me guess. Gravity.

That's why we need socialism! Gravity is outdated and would be done away with in the name of equity!

Posted by: NR Pax at August 11, 2026 07:21 AM (99eI0)

185 J.J. Arrived Runway 030.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 11, 2026 07:21 AM (u82oZ)

186 Mr. Sefton has arrived.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 11, 2026 07:22 AM (2Cry5)

187 Yeah, the problem with the Left is, they necessarily have to turn on all their constituent factions one after the other, and they demand that all factions demonize and persecute the outsiders, as long as they remain in good standing.

So CA billionaires end up friendless when the government comes for them. There was a time when the Right would have defended them and their rights. No more.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 11, 2026 07:22 AM (BI5O2)

188 @178/Hadrian: "... All I had to do was look at them and they froze and fled under the largest, most immovable object in the house."

Cats have an incredibly good sense for this. Funny how it doesn't work for the "surprise cucumber on the floor" that always seems to spook them into jumping 6 feet into the air.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 07:24 AM (O7YUW)

189 I'm happy if I can just get the cats into their carriers without losing skin or blood!

On days I'd have to take the cats to the vet, I'd be sitting on the sofa drinking my coffee and munching on toast while they dozed or groomed themselves. All I had to do was look at them and they froze and fled under the largest, most immovable object in the house.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 11, 2026

***
I got so I had to bring the carrier out a day or so early, to give Arizona the big red tabby time to panic and recover. Then, when he didn't expect it, I'd scoop him up and pop him into the carrier head first. He'd stick out his back paws to resist, but I'd get him packed into the slammer. He'd turn and come up to the gate as I was locking it. Always I expected him to nip my fingers, but he never did, just gave me a look that said, "Okay, you win this round, but next time --!"

Considering I moved him to a new apartment almost every two years of his life, he had a right to be bothered.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 07:24 AM (wzUl9)

190 This husky is very against being bathed with the garden hose:

https://youtu.be/n2V_GTnneFU

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 07:27 AM (O7YUW)

191 Baths?

I'm happy if I can just get the cats into their carriers without losing skin or blood!

(Though both Stirling and Dagny are quite good about carrier time.)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 11, 2026 07:18 AM (wzUl9)
---
I've never bathed any of my six cats. I let them take care of that themselves. They are all indoor cats so it works out fine.

I've gotten pretty good about getting them into their carriers. I don't think I've lost any blood over the past few years.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 11, 2026 07:27 AM (FZ29D)

192 I've long said that the only silver lining in the ascendance of American Communism is that at least I'll get to watch a lot of the country's most vile people get eaten by their own while everything burns around us.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 11, 2026 07:27 AM (BI5O2)

193 Good morning everyone.

Posted by: Gmac-WTF did you think was going to happen at August 11, 2026 07:27 AM (Q/FnY)

194 "A week later, the realtor was telling the owner to start looking at other offers. I ripped that woman brand new openings and took my money back."

There are agents, with about 40 hours of training and there are brokers that actually have fiduciary responsibility.

Call the agents boss (the broker) and file a complaint with the State agency that regulates this stuff.

Posted by: no one of any consequence at August 11, 2026 07:28 AM (wVCl1)

195 To really drag the ass out of the comparison... the danger of AI isn't that it's smart, it's that so many people think it's smarter than it is.
Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 11, 2026 05:29 AM (Ot/FD)

>>>so many people think [AI]'s smarter than it is

I think that's close to a summary of what Pixy's been saying for forever. Or maybe more like: people are wrong to think that AI's smart.

Posted by: m at August 11, 2026 05:35 AM (odBC9)

People on the internet are dumb and wrong. A lot. Present company excepted.

Scraping the internet and training your AI model on it, unsurprisingly to those who think about it, produces dumb and wrong things more quickly, when results are not merely made up whole cloth out of dumb and wrong internet info.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at August 11, 2026 07:29 AM (dK+Kv)

196 @187/Yudhishthira's Dice: "So CA billionaires end up friendless when the government comes for them. There was a time when the Right would have defended them and their rights. No more."

Yup, this.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 11, 2026 07:30 AM (O7YUW)

197 Sock off

Posted by: stu-mick-o-sucks at August 11, 2026 09:29 AM (w9Wax)

198 Naaty adult frewe stories youngFree galleriss nakedWhhittney
strippper plateHairy ggay mogie galleriesBusyy
chinesewomenSeex position teabagRaxhel cumAdupt erottic
imagesBaraack obama gayy annd a crackheadSttar war vintage actfion figureEotic mcc archiveMilff cliitty
lickWapp 2 pornBottom ehecting shotgunsGarde nudesAdvantages
annd disadvantags off sexual reproductionYouing ajateur groupSexx
videos oof husband andd wifeOldd woman getting puussy fuckedFindiung austtalian lesbhians onlineTeen lesabian ffor freeClip henttai lqdy moonlightOlld short haired pornMiilf
tit tortureLingeriee shower wearr pajamaMaature lesbisns with
maturegirlsOtward bounbd programs foor adultsYoutube edke falco hott assSoft wondeful haity pussiesAmeutsur sexx videosBotrom
linbe staalker sidefcinder informationOctber stiped bassLovee tto bbe suckedFree loong xxxx clipsYoung
thin teensCumm filled night visionKely klas first analPlumper anal sexx https://xvids.win/tag-masterbation Hott back maturre tubesGirl ppee inn publiic placeMeeet asiazn sexHoot inn sex
showerRash oon stomaxh and breastsVancouver gay sexFreee publi seex picLesvian irgin threesomeAsiann foorPhoktos naked man

Posted by: wbhmdfgl at August 11, 2026 10:45 PM (KCunT)

Processing 0.03, elapsed 0.0426 seconds.
14 queries taking 0.0143 seconds, 206 records returned.
Page size 122 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.