Wednesday Morning Rant

Betting the Business

The AI mania continues to impress, not just due to specific mind-boggling decisions but the wider market environment. There is no shortage of madness in either, and they can help to explain each other. My favorite recent example involves the Japanese investment firm SoftBank and its pet company, OpenAI. SoftBank has gone all-in on AI, and OpenAI receives much of its investment. SoftBank has invested heavily in OpenAI and its Stargate Project, which aims to invest half a trillion dollars over a few years.

And SoftBank is not just blowing smoke. The money is actually involved, and not a small amount of it. There has been one story in the SoftBank/OpenAI financing saga that has been unfolding over the past few months, and it - and the market's response to it - has been fascinating. Back in March, SoftBank announced that it had secured short-term financing to the tune of $40 billion to dump into its AI investments, with OpenAI getting 75% of that. It went onto SoftBank's corporate card, but as anyone who has ever financed a big-ticket item with a credit card knows, that's a bad way to do it.

And it became immediately clear that the lenders were balking over risks as SoftBank worked to refinance the debt. Just a couple of months later in June, investment analysts noticed that SoftBank is really exposed to AI, to the point that the investment firm is, in some ways, becoming a proxy for OpenAI itself, just with compound leverage. As it was put in the CNBC article:

... "Buying SoftBank is partly a leveraged bet on OpenAI," he said. "If OpenAI does well, leverage is great. But if OpenAI and other investments do poorly, the leverage will hurt SoftBank."

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold the phones. You mean that leverage amplifies both upside and downside?! The hell you say! This is as deep as sports commentary. "The team that puts up the most points will win the game, analysts say."

SoftBank isn't done. It has until next year to pay off that $40 billion credit card, and they have a plan for that:

SoftBank has said that borrowing would likely be repaid "through the utilization of existing assets and other financing measures."

In other words, it will try to borrow more favorably to pay off the credit card with a longer-term loan. It tried that in July, wanting to borrow ~$10 billion against its holdings in OpenAI, but couldn't get the terms it wanted because, get this, OpenAI is impossible to underwrite as it doesn't trade publicly and there's no way to recover value from it if there's a problem. If SoftBank can't pay, the lenders get nothing but non-liquid and possibly worthless shares in OpenAI - so lenders balked.

Flash forward another couple of months, and we arrive at last week. SoftBank has floated the largest non-financial bond offering in the region's history, offering an ~$11 billion bond, with $10 billion of it earmarked for paying off OpenAI-related financing. The company can't issue investment-grade debt (SoftBank is rated BB+, which is junk territory, and that is also where these bonds landed), already has a lot of debt (about $123 billion in net debt, though assets technically exceed that unless things unexpectedly go down in value...), about 1/3 of its value is a pure AI play (its holdings in OpenAI) and another third of its value is in a chip company (ARM) that is also riding high on the AI wave. Talk about exposure!

That's a great example of how speculative bubbles can evolve in one large company, but it gets better. After announcing this new bond the response to it was astonishing:

Shares of SoftBank Group jumped more than 7% on Thursday, as Japanese markets opened for the first time this week following a three-day holiday and the technology investor announced an $11.1 billion bond issuance to help fund its growing bet on OpenAI.

Borrowing stable money to pay off the credit card was good for a 7% pop in its share value. That is a mania, and it's everywhere. SoftBank serves merely as an example, because it isn't alone. It's going to be ugly when it blows.

But SoftBank is sure that this time, it won't blow. As its CEO Masayoshi Son put it:

... in a recent interview with CNBC [he], defended SoftBank's aggressive push into AI, calling the technology revolution "50x bigger" than the dot-com boom and arguing that any future correction in AI-related stocks would represent a buying opportunity rather than a structural threat.

50 times bigger? Let's hope not. And Son needs to hope that the "buying opportunity" doesn't work out like it did for Cisco Systems, which took 25 years to get back to the same nominal market cap it had at the height of the dot-com bubble.

A mania is no time to be wrong...

Posted by: Joe Mannix at 11:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 FIRST!!!!!

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:00 AM (ccf/V)

2 No crows. Not art.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:00 AM (ccf/V)

3 SPONGE!!!

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:00 AM (bFu5X)

4 A mania is no time to be wrong...

Posted by: Joe Mannix at 11:00 AM

The helll you say!

- Dutch tulip investors

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:01 AM (bFu5X)

5 Guess nobody remembers the "tech bubble"?

There will be an AI bubble. At some point.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 30, 2026 11:02 AM (RORbl)

6 *cross-eyed*

Financials, man.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:02 AM (U/fqy)

7 The AI mania continues to impress, not just due to specific mind-boggling decisions but the wider market environment.

I keep making money on chip manufacturers, so I'm not looking a gift stock in the mouth but, it sure feels bubblish.

Posted by: toby928(c) at September 30, 2026 11:03 AM (4NO2D)

8 It's not AI, it's SI - Super Intelligence. Moose out front shoulda told ya.

Posted by: Roy at September 30, 2026 11:03 AM (qwype)

9 AI is programmed by leftists and H1-B holders.

There's not a lot of I in AI......

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:04 AM (ccf/V)

10 The WNBA is the Jerry Springer Show of "pro" leagues.

Posted by: Vagitarian Fake Gangster at September 30, 2026 11:05 AM (guCKp)

11 I have little direct experience with AI other than enhanced web searching, but my son says that he is using it extensively in his programming, so I guess it has value.

Posted by: toby928(c) at September 30, 2026 11:05 AM (4NO2D)

12 Musk will corner the market on AI as well.......He owns the EV market, the Space market and will own AI.

The dude is becoming a Bond Villain.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:05 AM (ccf/V)

13 I remember when Surfer Crosses were the hot item.

Posted by: Pudinhead at September 30, 2026 11:05 AM (KGj36)

14 Should I be worried? Nahhhh, it'll be fine.

Anthropic IPO Prospectus Reveals $8 Billion Operating Loss

Anthropic posted a roughly $42 billion net loss in 2025 as soaring computing costs and a massive accounting charge overwhelmed rapid revenue growth ahead of the artificial intelligence company’s planned initial public offering.

The Claude maker generated about $4.6 billion in revenue during 2025, up roughly twelvefold from the prior year, while its operating loss widened to $8.06 billion, according to its confidential IPO prospectus reviewed by Reuters.

https://tinyurl.com/mr4kuxy4

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:05 AM (Riz8t)

15 The WNBA is the Jerry Springer Show of "pro" leagues.
Posted by: Vagitarian Fake Gangster at September 30, 2026 11:05 AM (guCKp)

It's good to see Clark pulled her head out of her ass and Indiana won yesterday........

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:06 AM (ccf/V)

16 MONKEY!

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 30, 2026 11:06 AM (N1DT3)

17 >>I remember when Surfer Crosses were the hot item.

I had one.

Posted by: one hour sober at September 30, 2026 11:07 AM (J4Dwc)

18 I have little direct experience with AI other than enhanced web searching, but my son says that he is using it extensively in his programming, so I guess it has value.

The question isn't really if it's useful, it's whether people will be willing to pay enough to make it profitable. So far, the tea leaves don't look good.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:07 AM (Riz8t)

19 Somewhere is a warehouse filled with fidget spinners the investors would be happy to sell.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at September 30, 2026 11:07 AM (gm9Sb)

20 Hopefully the AI cash cow will continue to grow and grow until it goes pop! and I get to see lots of jap AI and bank execs doing swan dives off of the soon to be empty in 2029 Torch Tower.

Posted by: Brother Can You Spare A Yen? at September 30, 2026 11:07 AM (w+jhU)

21 It's good to see Clark pulled her head out of her ass and Indiana won yesterday........

Oh, do we hate her now too? Why?

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:07 AM (Riz8t)

22 In honor of Joe Mannix (not a cop).......

https://shorturl.fm/PGZgo

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:08 AM (ccf/V)

23 I don't get the logic... Lot of hysteria saying we need to slow down AI because it's gonna kill us all so lets let China get ahead of us and.... Kill us all ?

Posted by: It's me donna at September 30, 2026 11:08 AM (+gK6I)

24
Oh, do we hate her now too? Why?

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:07 AM (Riz8t)

No....she just Amber Heard in game 1 and they lost bigly.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:08 AM (ccf/V)

25 A mania is no time to be wrong...

Posted by: Joe Mannix

No way, i just can't/won't believe it!
~Nortel

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at September 30, 2026 11:08 AM (NnhvP)

26 I think the time to have invested in AI is long past.

A couple years ago, when the AI bois were just starting out and entry was, well, speculative at best, would have yielded some banger bucks.

Assuming you could eat the short term capitol gains.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 30, 2026 11:08 AM (RORbl)

27 I don't get the logic... Lot of hysteria saying we need to slow down AI because it's gonna kill us all so lets let China get ahead of us and.... Kill us all ?

Yup. It's like destroying your economy over climate change (are you listening, Europe?) while doing nothing about China and its overwhelming fraction of global emissions.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:09 AM (Riz8t)

28 I just heard the chocolate ration has been increased!

Posted by: Eromero at September 30, 2026 11:10 AM (jdlda)

29 Continuing the stuff about Huckabee from the previous thread, I have been clear that the only female "R" with a cat in hell's chance of ever being President is actually Tulsi. I doubt it would ever happen but she definitely has something. I don't think she's one of us though. Wish she was.

Posted by: ... at September 30, 2026 11:10 AM (x8rTv)

30 Betting that huge on a new technology is NEVER a good idea.

Even if it eventually does make money, in its infancy you're going to lose if you've leveraged yourself.

You think it's a great investment? Invest money you can spare into it. Don't invest so much that you're going to fail if it even meets a delay in production.

Imagine leveraging all your wealth on cars in 1900. YES, that's a great, long-term investment. But you're not getting huge returns even within a few years. Invest for the long term, not on gambling-style payouts in the short term.

(Who is running SoftBank!?!?)

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 30, 2026 11:10 AM (N1DT3)

31 28 I just heard the chocolate ration has been increased!

Posted by: Eromero at September 30, 2026 11:10 AM (jdlda)

=====

From 25g to 20g!

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:10 AM (U/fqy)

32 I just heard the chocolate ration has been increased!
Posted by: Eromero at September 30, 2026 11:10 AM

Nice.

*downs a shot of Victory Gin*

Posted by: toby928(c) at September 30, 2026 11:11 AM (4NO2D)

33 I think the time to have invested in AI is long past.

Agree. You can probably still make some bucks, but when the inevitable bubble pop occurs, it will take down the rest of the economy with it. Good thing the Dems would never try to take advantage of that.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:11 AM (Riz8t)

34 From 25g to 20g!
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:10 AM (U/fqy)

Liberal math

Posted by: It's me donna at September 30, 2026 11:11 AM (+gK6I)

35 Some of this post looks suspiciously like math.

Posted by: far cry at September 30, 2026 11:11 AM (LSV6F)

36 23 I don't get the logic... Lot of hysteria saying we need to slow down AI because it's gonna kill us all so lets let China get ahead of us and.... Kill us all ?
Posted by: It's me donna at September 30, 2026 11:08 AM (+gK6I)
------

The sudden hair-on-fire "we have to slow down!" hysteria from two weeks ago was the most obvious Op in the history of Obvious Ops.

Trump did the right thing and came out forcefully against putting the brakes on.

Posted by: ballistic at September 30, 2026 11:11 AM (oqH4h)

37
I've grown tired of the hype pro and contra. My guess is: neither as good as we hope, nor as bad as we fear.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 30, 2026 11:12 AM (eRlcH)

38 Speaking of AI, I just finished up building out my multi-agent set-up, M4 Max 64gb is going to be doing the heavy lifting, an i9 with a 16gb nvidia card and an i7 with an rtx 6gb card makes a great home lab LLM environment.

It's coupled with a Proxmox hyperviser hosting my gitea LXC git repo so basically I can develop internally and have all work product locally, because as the saying goes, what do you call your stuff in the clouds?

Not your stuff.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at September 30, 2026 11:12 AM (Lm2uZ)

39 When nothing like the advertised potential is achieved and the bill comes due, we'll get AI TARP.

Posted by: it puts the lotion in the basket at September 30, 2026 11:13 AM (jBygX)

40 Imagine leveraging all your wealth on cars in 1900. YES, that's a great, long-term investment. But you're not getting huge returns even within a few years. Invest for the long term, not on gambling-style payouts in the short term.

I have no idea what you mean.

Posted by: US railroads in the late 1800s at September 30, 2026 11:13 AM (Riz8t)

41 Lights a Victory cigarette. Blows smoke ring.

Posted by: Eromero at September 30, 2026 11:13 AM (jdlda)

42 I've grown tired of the hype pro and contra. My guess is: neither as good as we hope, nor as bad as we fear.

This is almost always the smart bet.

Posted by: US railroads in the late 1800s at September 30, 2026 11:14 AM (Riz8t)

43 Callback to previous thread.

Dialogue between Spencer Pratt and a dude named Stafford who is a Rand Paul consultant.
===========
"
Spencer Pratt
@spencerpratt
·
48m
You work for a republican in like the reddest state in the country. Talk about starting on 3rd base and thinking you hit a triple. How'd your Presidential campaign turn out, by the way?

I'm just a dad. I ran for mayor as a republican in communist LA and singlehandedly boosted turnout over 30% from the prior election.

When I say most consultants suck, without ever naming you...but you take it personally and throw a public hissy fit, you may not realize what you're confessing...

Quote
Doug Stafford
@dougstafford
·
3h
Dude entered politics on third base, thinks he hit a triple, and never mentions he didn’t score.

Maybe win a race before you talk about winners and losers?"

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:14 AM (E4rtv)

44 I've grown tired of the hype pro and contra.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

Yeah, so have I. AI is sucking all the air out of the room.

Posted by: Bulg at September 30, 2026 11:14 AM (77rzZ)

45 > .... because as the saying goes, what do you call your stuff in the clouds?
--------
Stuff on someone else's computer.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 30, 2026 11:14 AM (RORbl)

46 Speaking of AI, I just finished up building out my multi-agent set-up, M4 Max 64gb is going to be doing the heavy lifting, an i9 with a 16gb nvidia card and an i7 with an rtx 6gb card makes a great home lab LLM environment.
Posted by: Thomas Bender

Wow, I understood almost none of that. We've got some serious tech geeks on this site.

Posted by: Bulg at September 30, 2026 11:16 AM (77rzZ)

47 You work for a republican in like the reddest state in the country. Talk about starting on 3rd base and thinking you hit a triple. How'd your Presidential campaign turn out, by the way?

Do I understand this correctly? Someone is saying CA is the reddest state in the country?

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:16 AM (Riz8t)

48 I think the time to have invested in AI is long past.

Better late than never, but I need to sell these tulips first...

Posted by: t-bird at September 30, 2026 11:16 AM (jnBG1)

49 The question isn't really if it's useful, it's whether people will be willing to pay enough to make it profitable. So far, the tea leaves don't look good.
Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:07 AM (Riz8t)

Amazon gave MASSIVE discounts to entice people into their digital assistant, Alexa, thinking that they would lock the network effects early and would figure out how to monetize it later.

... They still haven't really figured out that monetizing part. (Last I checked they had lost $25B, and that was 2 years ago.)

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 30, 2026 11:16 AM (N1DT3)

50 47 You work for a republican in like the reddest state in the country. Talk about starting on 3rd base and thinking you hit a triple. How'd your Presidential campaign turn out, by the way?

Do I understand this correctly? Someone is saying CA is the reddest state in the country?

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:16 AM (Riz8t)

=======

That was Pratt talking to the Rand Paul consultant.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:16 AM (U/fqy)

51 Better late than never, but I need to sell these tulips first...
Posted by: t-bird

Can I interest you in a Cabbage Patch Kid?

Posted by: Bulg at September 30, 2026 11:17 AM (77rzZ)

52 WNBA is crazy. Serenity Now!

Posted by: Lloyd Braun at September 30, 2026 11:17 AM (guCKp)

53 52 WNBA is crazy. Serenity Now!

Posted by: Lloyd Braun at September 30, 2026 11:17 AM (guCKp)

=====

Serenity now, insanity later.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:18 AM (U/fqy)

54
This is almost always the smart bet.
Posted by: US railroads in the late 1800s at September 30, 2026 11:14 AM (Riz8t)

__________

AI is the nearest equivalent I can think of to railroads in the later 19th century. Inflated promises, wild speculation, corruption up the ying-yang, mass bankruptcies. But in the end an economic asset of enormous value. Severely screwed up by government regulation, but profitable once freed.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 30, 2026 11:19 AM (eRlcH)

55 And yes, most GOP political consultants suck because they are typically to the left of the GOP which is why quite a few of them defect to the Dems over time.

Same as GOP corporate donor class and most state party apparatus. Brain dead dinosaurs stuck in the Bush and Reagan years while the country has changed all around them and soused in the hothouse higher ed institutions that have rotted the military higher ups, churches, etc.

Margaret Thatcher found the same thing in the Tory party in the 1970's--effete manage the decline losers that were all too ready to throw those below them to the sharks. And lousy political consultants. She went to Saatchi and Saatchi too with great results.

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:19 AM (E4rtv)

56 Are we sure Joe Mannix is a real columnist and not AI Slop?

Posted by: Skeptical In NC at September 30, 2026 11:19 AM (Fn+3X)

57 Original quote.
"Guys, I hate to break it to you, but most political advisors are so bafflingly incompetent, it would make your head spin. All the talented communicators go work in Hollywood or at Saatchi and Saatchi, and these political bros never tap these agencies for help...I've connected several campaigns with literally the best marketing geniuses in the game, got them discounted rates, even...and they just never even bothered calling. It truly feels like a lot of consultants and candidates just want to lose.

You ever wonder how my ads went so massively viral, but there's not been a single candidate who's come close to it? It's their dumbass advisors. I didn't go with any political advisors, and they were SO mad about it. I partnered with a filmmaker and marketing wizard, instead of political grifters. Why? Because I wanted our messaging to be effective. Political ads suck. Nobody watches them. I wanted people to want to watch my ads. The fact that nobody else understands this is...I honestly don't know how to explain it, other than they want to lose.

There are a bunch of candidates who love it when their party loses power. It takes all the heat off them......

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:19 AM (E4rtv)

58
Do I understand this correctly? Someone is saying CA is the reddest state in the country?
Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:16 AM (Riz8t)

No. Rand Paul's state is.

The guy works for Paul. Pratt is giving him shit for thinking he's something in the political world because he works for a guy that can't lose in his state.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:20 AM (ccf/V)

59 It's coupled with a Proxmox hyperviser hosting my gitea LXC git repo so basically I can develop internally and have all work product locally, because as the saying goes, what do you call your stuff in the clouds?

Not your stuff.
Posted by: Thomas Bender at September 30, 2026 11:12 AM (Lm2uZ)

How do you like Proxmox? I work at a SMB and Broadcom is killing us with VMware licensing.

Posted by: Our Country is Screwed at September 30, 2026 11:20 AM (N39Ws)

60 Sounds like a very elaborate pump-and-dump scheme to me

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:21 AM (iFTx/)

61 AI is programmed by leftists and H1-B holders.

There's not a lot of I in AI......
Posted by: Sponge

"Allo, theese is Steeeve. Can I do the needful for you today?"

Posted by: Tonypete at September 30, 2026 11:21 AM (ktgTW)

62 @46

>>Wow, I understood almost none of that. We've got some serious tech geeks on this site.

Well, I've been into computing since the 70's and am a Broadcast Systems Integration PM, so if I wasn't into geeky stuff that would be strange.

And the basic jist is I have a 3 workstations setup each will have an LLM agent doing specific tasks.

The biggest challenge was installing the 10Gbe fiber backbone throughout the house.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at September 30, 2026 11:21 AM (Lm2uZ)

63 52 WNBA is crazy. Serenity Now!
Posted by: Lloyd Braun at September 30, 2026 11:17 AM (guCKp)
---------

Saw that CC went off with 27 points, 15 assists. She probably said FU to coaches game plan and said "I'm sick of your incompetence, I'm taking over".

Posted by: WisRich at September 30, 2026 11:21 AM (G0vdT)

64 60 Sounds like a very elaborate pump-and-dump scheme to me

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:21 AM (iFTx/)

=======

I don't get it.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:21 AM (U/fqy)

65 AI is the nearest equivalent I can think of to railroads in the later 19th century. Inflated promises, wild speculation, corruption up the ying-yang, mass bankruptcies. But in the end an economic asset of enormous value. Severely screwed up by government regulation, but profitable once freed.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

Fiber optic was the thing in the early 00's to a much lesser extent. A lot of that cable laid was dark until suddenly streaming of video became a thing. Too late to save Lucent or some other telecom companies involved in the business but others built on what they started.

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:21 AM (E4rtv)

66 "Allo, theese is Steeeve. Can I do the needful for you today?"
Posted by: Tonypete at September 30, 2026 11:21 AM

"Also, your home warranty is about to expire."

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:22 AM (bFu5X)

67 Better late than never, but I need to sell these tulips first...
Posted by: t-bird

Can I interest you in a Cabbage Patch Kid?
Posted by: Bulg

Perhaps you'd like to look over my collection of Franklin Mint items.

Posted by: Tonypete at September 30, 2026 11:22 AM (ktgTW)

68 AI is everywhere in my world.

It's affecting everything.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 30, 2026 11:22 AM (RIvkX)

69 It’s been estimated that oil flows in the Middle East have returned to pre war levels. They may even exceed them.

There is no mismatch between production and consumption, unless you’re China who by the way, largely runs their country on coal.

Refineries are handling the current flow BAU.

Commodities traders are driving up the price of WTI again today.

Let that sink in.

Posted by: Vengeance at September 30, 2026 11:22 AM (jN2NR)

70 50 times bigger? Let's hope not.

--------------

50x larger than the dot-com boom means a 50x larger collapse when the bubble bursts.

Long tulips ...

Posted by: ShainS at September 30, 2026 11:23 AM (Lrqtb)

71 Saw that CC went off with 27 points, 15 assists. She probably said FU to coaches game plan and said "I'm sick of your incompetence, I'm taking over".
Posted by: WisRich at September 30, 2026 11:21 AM (G0vdT)

Her and a teammate scored 57......Sophie Cunningham didn't do much.....

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:23 AM (ccf/V)

72 >>And yes, most GOP political consultants suck because they are typically to the left of the GOP which is why quite a few of them defect to the Dems over time.

THIS

Ana Navarro?
Nicole Wallace?
Steve Schmidt?

Once they entered the MSM it's become clear how radical they are, and how much they've hated the voters they were hired to woo.

Posted by: Lizzy at September 30, 2026 11:23 AM (rOKnE)

73 @59,

>>How do you like Proxmox? I work at a SMB and Broadcom is killing us with VMware licensing.

I love Proxmox, it's dead simple to administer and rollout vm's and containers, if you add a Pulse instance you get even better management.

Most people are going the Proxmox route now that VMWare has begun to enshitify.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at September 30, 2026 11:23 AM (Lm2uZ)

74 Can I interest you in a Cabbage Patch Kid?
Posted by: Bulg

My lucrative retirement jet-setter lifestyle is completely funded by my Beanie Baby investments.

Posted by: Scoff At Your Own Peril at September 30, 2026 11:23 AM (Fn+3X)

75
"Also, your home warranty is about to expire."
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:22 AM (bFu5X)

"Are there bees behind me?"

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:23 AM (ccf/V)

76 Speaking of AI, I just finished up building out my multi-agent set-up, M4 Max 64gb is going to be doing the heavy lifting, an i9 with a 16gb nvidia card and an i7 with an rtx 6gb card makes a great home lab LLM environment.
Posted by: Thomas Bender

Wow, I understood almost none of that. We've got some serious tech geeks on this site.
Posted by: Bulg at September 30, 2026 11:16 AM (77rzZ)
________

I can translate that for you:

"I'm still a virgin"

The Blade is always here to help.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:24 AM (iFTx/)

77 Do I understand this correctly? Someone is saying CA is the reddest state in the country?
Posted by: Archimedes
=======
Gray box limits affect clarity but Spencer was running his race in LA while Doug Stafford works for Rand Paul and his dismal presidential campaign in 2024.

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:24 AM (E4rtv)

78 "Are there bees behind me?"
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:23 AM

I don't get it.

(seriously, put me some knowledge, here)

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:24 AM (bFu5X)

79 >>Better late than never, but I need to sell these tulips first...

>>Can I interest you in a Cabbage Patch Kid?
Posted by: Bulg

>>Perhaps you'd like to look over my collection of Franklin Mint items.
- - -

Don't even THINK about telling me to sell my precious Beanie Babies!!!

Posted by: Lizzy at September 30, 2026 11:24 AM (rOKnE)

80 No. Rand Paul's state is.

The guy works for Paul. Pratt is giving him shit for thinking he's something in the political world because he works for a guy that can't lose in his state.

Ah, that makes more sense. Thanks.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:24 AM (Riz8t)

81 Close tags ftw.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:25 AM (bFu5X)

82 81 Close tags ftw.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:25 AM (bFu5X)

======

Never use tags for the win.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:25 AM (U/fqy)

83 All I know is that my holding in $MU is about to pay off my mortgage with a lot to spare.

Posted by: ballistic at September 30, 2026 11:25 AM (oqH4h)

84
Actually, the worst thing that happened to the railroads was the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 30, 2026 11:25 AM (eRlcH)

85 I don't get it.

(seriously, put me some knowledge, here)
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:24 AM (bFu5X)

It was in an American Home Shield commercial. The little trollish woman was reading a glass ball telling someone's future when some guy's bees escaped.......

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:26 AM (ccf/V)

86 You should see the Pixy thread...

Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 30, 2026 11:26 AM (RIvkX)

87
Never use tags for the win.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:25 AM (U/fqy)

Boring. NO sense of adventure.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:26 AM (ccf/V)

88 At least you could eat tulip bulbs...

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 30, 2026 11:26 AM (C6xWR)

89 It was in an American Home Shield commercial. The little trollish woman was reading a glass ball telling someone's future when some guy's bees escaped.......
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:26 AM

*fistbump*

Thanks.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:27 AM (bFu5X)

90 87
Never use tags for the win.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:25 AM (U/fqy)

Boring. NO sense of adventure.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:26 AM (ccf/V)

======

Tags are empty spectacle distracting us from the meaningful meat of argument.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:27 AM (U/fqy)

91
Tags are empty spectacle distracting us from the meaningful meat of argument.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:27 AM (U/fqy)

Ace farts in your general direction.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:28 AM (ccf/V)

92 Boring. NO sense of adventure.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:26 AM

I've been in The Barrel. There is no adventure in The Barrel.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:28 AM (bFu5X)

93 Somewhere is a warehouse filled with fidget spinners the investors would be happy to sell.
----

The attention span of grown adults is alarming. I've sat in business meetings where people are continuously flipping a pen from top to bottom, bottom to top, while another is squeezing some block of moldable plastic. Jeez, can't anyone sit for 30 minutes without some sort of toy in front of them?

Posted by: Crusader at September 30, 2026 11:28 AM (TN0g+)

94
91
Tags are empty spectacle distracting us from the meaningful meat of argument.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:27 AM (U/fqy)

Ace farts in your general direction.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:28 AM (ccf/V)

=======

Same as ever!

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:28 AM (U/fqy)

95 I really don't know enough about AI data centers to set all my hair on fire either way. However, I am leery of any additional mass data storage and processing that's tied to all our computer usage. The panopticon is already fucking out of control, and we're just adding more eyes of Sauron. We're hurtling headlong into a Beholder-Sauron hybrid that we will never be rid of. Financially the irrationality and insane amounts of money being dumped into it screams "bubble" to me though.

There is also the little fact that AI is being forced down our throats without us ever having asked for it. Before long you won't be able to buy a computer or smartphone, or use any ISP or web browser without it. Personally I think this a tying violation of antitrust statutes but I'm just a jackass on the internet.

Posted by: No sir, I don't like it. at September 30, 2026 11:29 AM (TbWk/)

96 The attention span of grown adults is alarming. I've sat in business meetings where people are continuously flipping a pen from top to bottom, bottom to top, while another is squeezing some block of moldable plastic. Jeez, can't anyone sit for 30 minutes without some sort of toy in front of them?
Posted by: Crusader at September 30, 2026 11:28 AM (TN0g+)

They can't sit at a stoplight without checking their Facebook status and holding up traffic when the light turns green......

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:29 AM (ccf/V)

97 Heh, how is it reality star Spencer Prat has more clear-eyed assessments on politics than the (alleged) pros?

Oh yeah, he was in entertainment, where one had to learn to brand oneself and consistently please the audience to succeed.

Meanwhile, our GOP class has hated its audience (voters) and sold the same lame brand for decades -- and then gets pissy that we aren't loyal and grateful for their efforts.

Posted by: Lizzy at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (rOKnE)

98 When the AI players started asking for government regulation, that didn't compute for me. Then I realize what they really want is government protection....of their investments.

To Big to Fail ring a bell.

Posted by: WisRich at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (G0vdT)

99 88 At least you could eat tulip bulbs...
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon

That may be, but lay off the daffodil bulbs. They are poisonous to humans and to animals of all stripes.

Posted by: Jonquil Jones at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (Fn+3X)

100 Another Hollywood nepo takes the tube. Not normally news. But it was a girl and only 13. That's unusual. I don't think it's been confirmed a suicide, but the parents posting about suicide prevention is a big tell.

https://tinyurl.com/3unm6as2

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (iFTx/)

101 We all know that leftists assume the positions they do in order to virtue signal, but this guy encapsulates it really well, as it applies to the new push to ban AI. If you aren't moping, you're an uneducated rube.

many have noticed that there is a certain amount of depression chic in left-wing circles. If you aren't a gloomy pessimist about capitalism, democracy, the environment, racial reckoning, etc. then you probably don't care enough about the world...
If you aren't feeling those effects then you are probably not paying attention. Unfortunately, many of our undereducated electorate are doing just that - not paying attention, not reading up on policy decisions, not following the details...or the money.

https://tinyurl.com/bzyfm8k6

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (Riz8t)

102 Can I interest you in a Cabbage Patch Kid?
Posted by: Bulg

My lucrative retirement jet-setter lifestyle is completely funded by my Beanie Baby investments.
----

Any interest in buying a few unopened boxes of 1991 Leaf Baseball cards?

Posted by: Crusader at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (TN0g+)

103 Tags are empty spectacle distracting us from the meaningful meat of argument.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:27 AM (U/fqy)

Or... they provide wonderful emphasis. For example:

Prometheus sucks!

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (ExV1e)

104
There is also the little fact that AI is being forced down our throats without us ever having asked for it. Before long you won't be able to buy a computer or smartphone, or use any ISP or web browser without it. Personally I think this a tying violation of antitrust statutes but I'm just a jackass on the internet.

Posted by: No sir, I don't like it. at September 30, 2026 11:29 AM (TbWk/)

Microsoft has been pushing for decades for you not owning a PC, only having a terminal that gives you access to Microsoft's systems and data storage.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (ccf/V)

105 98 When the AI players started asking for government regulation, that didn't compute for me. Then I realize what they really want is government protection....of their investments.

To Big to Fail ring a bell.

Posted by: WisRich at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (G0vdT)

======

Regulatory capture is a tale as old as time.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:31 AM (U/fqy)

106 I watched The Death of Stalin last night. Pretty much a flat movie. I expected something moar.

Posted by: Pudinhead at September 30, 2026 11:31 AM (KGj36)

107 At CNN: "Nearly 40 kilograms of cocaine held by Fiji court replaced with flour"

Reporters add that three Fijian judges have been hospitalized so far with flour-related rhinosinusitis.

Posted by: gp at September 30, 2026 11:31 AM (Jr5Lq)

108 I don't get it.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:21 AM (U/fqy)

I do.

Posted by: Paolo at September 30, 2026 11:31 AM (x8rTv)

109 What is poison for raccoons?

Asking for a friend.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 30, 2026 11:31 AM (RIvkX)

110 Boring. NO sense of adventure.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:26 AM

I've been in The Barrel. There is no adventure in The Barrel.
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:28 AM (bFu5X)

The sentient bioluminescent fungus is pretty cool.

Posted by: Putting the love in Lovecraftian at September 30, 2026 11:31 AM (TbWk/)

111 I watched The Death of Stalin last night. Pretty much a flat movie. I expected something moar.
Posted by: Pudinhead at September 30, 2026 11:31 AM

I mean, they did kind of give away the ending in the title.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:32 AM (bFu5X)

112 Once they entered the MSM it's become clear how radical they are, and how much they've hated the voters they were hired to woo.
Posted by: Lizzy
======
Way back when, Ace had complimentary things to say about Liz Muir. She worked for the Walker prezzie campaign in 2016. She later turned on the GOP and its voters over gay gay gay issues. Problem in a microcosm.

Anyone that has worked around political campaigns and voters will quickly find out that many voters simply don't know much at all about politics, policy, and reality beyond their bubble. So they conclude the masses are asses and believe themselves to be of a higher order of thinking. Same tendency in a lot of political science as well in studying voting behavior.

Instead, better to think of most voters as trying to tell you something but they lack the vocabulary and being articulate enough to name and describe their ills. It takes patience and listening intently to find out what problems are but that takes too long in most cases for pols and their conceited political staffs to consider. So voters have outcome preferences but not policy preferences until a politician tries to connect the two via ads.

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:32 AM (E4rtv)

113
I mean, they did kind of give away the ending in the title.
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:32 AM (bFu5X)

The ultimate spoiler.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:32 AM (ccf/V)

114 Boring. NO sense of adventure.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:26 AM (ccf/V)

That's why I keep the close tags in my signature.

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 30, 2026 11:32 AM (N1DT3)

115
I watched The Death of Stalin last night. Pretty much a flat movie. I expected something moar.
Posted by: Pudinhead at September 30, 2026 11:31 AM (KGj36)

_________

I enjoyed it, but the dialogue consisted of so much crosstalk that it was difficult to make out what was being said.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 30, 2026 11:32 AM (eRlcH)

116 112 Way back when, Ace had complimentary things to say about Liz Muir. She worked for the Walker prezzie campaign in 2016. She later turned on the GOP and its voters over gay gay gay issues. Problem in a microcosm.

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:32 AM (E4rtv)

=======

That campaign was an out and out disaster.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:32 AM (U/fqy)

117 >>Another Hollywood nepo takes the tube. Not normally news. But it was a girl and only 13. That's unusual. I don't think it's been confirmed a suicide, but the parents posting about suicide prevention is a big tell.

Ugh, so young. Sad.

Posted by: Lizzy at September 30, 2026 11:32 AM (rOKnE)

118 I really don't know enough about AI data centers to set all my hair on fire either way.

This is NOT the AOSHQ way. Comment hysterically first, think later.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:33 AM (Riz8t)

119 106 I watched The Death of Stalin last night. Pretty much a flat movie. I expected something moar.
Posted by: Pudinhead
=======
Because Politics is the Theater of the Absurd.

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:33 AM (E4rtv)

120 Way back when, Ace had complimentary things to say about Liz Muir. She worked for the Walker prezzie campaign in 2016. She later turned on the GOP and its voters over gay gay gay issues. Problem in a microcosm.

This, too, is the story of AtC.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:33 AM (ccf/V)

121 The attention span of grown adults is alarming. I've sat in business meetings where people are continuously flipping a pen from top to bottom, bottom to top, while another is squeezing some block of moldable plastic. Jeez, can't anyone sit for 30 minutes without some sort of toy in front of them?
Posted by: Crusader

At one of the companies I worked at, there was a board meeting where three top executives of the company were doodling.

Posted by: Bulg at September 30, 2026 11:33 AM (77rzZ)

122 Another Hollywood nepo takes the tube. Not normally news. But it was a girl and only 13. That's unusual. I don't think it's been confirmed a suicide, but the parents posting about suicide prevention is a big tell.

Ugh, so young. Sad.
Posted by: Lizzy at September 30, 2026 11:32 AM (rOKnE)
______

I suspect there's more to this story ...

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:33 AM (iFTx/)

123
That's why I keep the close tags in my signature.
Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 30, 2026 11:32 AM (N1DT3)

Which makes it look funny when your comment makes the right sidebar on the main page.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:33 AM (ccf/V)

124 >>Microsoft has been pushing for decades for you not owning a PC, only having a terminal that gives you access to Microsoft's systems and data storage.

Returning to the mainframe-terminal model that they spent a couple of decades destroying. SMH.

Posted by: Nazdar at September 30, 2026 11:34 AM (NcvvS)

125 So voters have outcome preferences but not policy preferences

That's a great way to put it.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:34 AM (Riz8t)

126 >>That campaign was an out and out disaster.

Right?

Walker had been so strong on immigration control as governor and then flipped. He admitted his biggest donor told him he had to be pro-immigration.

Posted by: Lizzy at September 30, 2026 11:34 AM (rOKnE)

127 Rachael Dretch is the American Home Shield lady. One of unfunny SNL alums.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at September 30, 2026 11:34 AM (yOEUM)

128 Saw that CC went off with 27 points, 15 assists. She probably said FU to coaches game plan and said "I'm sick of your incompetence, I'm taking over".
Posted by: WisRich at September 30, 2026 11:21 AM (G0vdT)

Her and a teammate scored 57......Sophie Cunningham didn't do much.....
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:23 AM (ccf/V)

The WNBA. So fucking exciting......NOT!

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at September 30, 2026 11:34 AM (g8Ew8)

129 "I've sat in business meetings where people are ..."

... wasting time and money, as with 99% of business 'meetings.'

Posted by: gp at September 30, 2026 11:34 AM (Jr5Lq)

130 I watched The Death of Stalin last night. Pretty much a flat movie. I expected something moar.

--

I felt the same way! For all the accolades it's gotten, I was kinda bored. I did have one small laugh, I admit, when Stalin fell to the ground and all the other officials stood there staring at him not knowing what to do or say.

Posted by: Lady in Black at September 30, 2026 11:35 AM (qBdHI)

131
Instead, better to think of most voters as trying to tell you something but they lack the vocabulary and being articulate enough to name and describe their ills.

__________

Sam Rayburn told his staff to pay particular attention to any letter written in pencil on ruled paper.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 30, 2026 11:35 AM (eRlcH)

132 126 >>That campaign was an out and out disaster.

Right?

Walker had been so strong on immigration control as governor and then flipped. He admitted his biggest donor told him he had to be pro-immigration.

Posted by: Lizzy at September 30, 2026 11:34 AM (rOKnE)

======

Governors have no power over immigration and can say anything.

Presidents have complete authority over immigration, and suddenly donors give a shit about those words.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:35 AM (U/fqy)

133 Walker had been so strong on immigration control as governor and then flipped. He admitted his biggest donor told him he had to be pro-immigration.

The fact that he did it says he was unsuitable anyway.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:35 AM (Riz8t)

134 >>Returning to the mainframe-terminal model that they spent a couple of decades destroying. SMH.

"You will own nothing, have no privacy, and love it!!"

Posted by: Lizzy at September 30, 2026 11:35 AM (rOKnE)

135
Returning to the mainframe-terminal model that they spent a couple of decades destroying. SMH.
Posted by: Nazdar at September 30, 2026 11:34 AM (NcvvS)

They became part of the "all your data are belong to us" crowd like Google and Oracle.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:35 AM (ccf/V)

136 >>The fact that he did it says he was unsuitable anyway.

Bingo

Posted by: Lizzy at September 30, 2026 11:35 AM (rOKnE)

137
Governors have no power over immigration and can say anything.

Presidents have complete authority over immigration, and suddenly donors give a shit about those words.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:35 AM (U/fqy)

WRONG!!!!

Posted by: Lord God King Boasberg at September 30, 2026 11:36 AM (ccf/V)

138 The WNBA. So fucking exciting......NOT!
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at September 30, 2026 11:34 AM (g8Ew

-----------

I watch the X highlights. I tried watching games a couple of times and gave up each time after 10 minutes.

Posted by: WisRich at September 30, 2026 11:37 AM (G0vdT)

139 Hitler, Stalin, and Mao are sitting in a pool of lava in Hell.

They start a lengthy argument about which of them is the worst person of all time.

Each has his points, but none of them can agree.

Finally Mao says "This isn't going anywhere. I'll go ask Satan himself."

He comes back in a little while, looks at the other two, and says "Who the fuck is this Anthony Fauci asshole?"

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at September 30, 2026 11:37 AM (qlLNh)

140 I watched The Death of Stalin last night. Pretty much a flat movie. I expected something moar.

-----------------

I'm expecting the sequel -- The Death of Biden -- to be even flatter.

Posted by: ShainS at September 30, 2026 11:38 AM (Lrqtb)

141 Office 365 was their big push for centralization. You can't open an app without it checking with Microsoft's licensing servers.

If they have issues, you can't open any Office app until they resolve it.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:38 AM (ccf/V)

142 139 Hitler, Stalin, and Mao are sitting in a pool of lava in Hell.

They start a lengthy argument about which of them is the worst person of all time.

Each has his points, but none of them can agree.

Finally Mao says "This isn't going anywhere. I'll go ask Satan himself."

He comes back in a little while, looks at the other two, and says "Who the fuck is this Anthony Fauci asshole?"

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at September 30, 2026 11:37 AM (qlLNh)

=======

*Todd jumps into the lava pool in a canonball*

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:38 AM (U/fqy)

143 I watch the X highlights. I tried watching games a couple of times and gave up each time after 10 minutes.
Posted by: WisRich at September 30, 2026 11:37 AM (G0vdT)

There's a reason it loses money.

They aren't very good.

Most high school games have fewer misses/bricks/airballs.

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 30, 2026 11:38 AM (N1DT3)

144 When the AI players started asking for government regulation, that didn't compute for me. Then I realize what they really want is government protection....of their investments.

To Big to Fail ring a bell.
Posted by: WisRich at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (G0vdT)

Regulatory capture is a time-honored and heavily-storied tradition among big business. Industry regulation is designed to create massive barriers ro entry. Any trickle-down benefit to the consumer is coincidental.

Posted by: A tale as old as governments at September 30, 2026 11:38 AM (TbWk/)

145 I don't even know what the tags here are about. Alls I know is that I carry scissors to snip off the tags when I shoplift.

Posted by: Savvy Consumer at September 30, 2026 11:38 AM (Fn+3X)

146 There's a reason it loses money.

They aren't very good.

Most high school games have fewer misses/bricks/airballs.
Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 30, 2026 11:38 AM (N1DT3)

(BOYS high school games)

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 30, 2026 11:38 AM (N1DT3)

147 I watched Minecraft Movie. It was lame and gay. What's with casting almost all fat people? Weird.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (iFTx/)

148 Morning.

Can AI brew a perfect cup of coffee?

Posted by: Robert at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (dpXJq)

149
I watch the X highlights. I tried watching games a couple of times and gave up each time after 10 minutes.
Posted by: WisRich at September 30, 2026 11:37 AM (G0vdT)

I open my sports app and check the score and stat line, usually only for Indiana.....sometimes Atlanta to see how bad Angel Reese Amber Heard.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (ccf/V)

150 Another Hollywood nepo takes the tube. Not normally news. But it was a girl and only 13. That's unusual. I don't think it's been confirmed a suicide, but the parents posting about suicide prevention is a big tell.

https://tinyurl.com/3unm6as2
Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (iFTx/)

Funny. I have no idea who the parents are. Shame about the kid.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (C6xWR)

151 >>The WNBA. So fucking exciting......NOT!

Almost all the press about it is the teen mean girl antics and clash of personalities drama. It is the perfect example of how men and women are different.

Don't think the WNBA understands just how repellent it is.

Posted by: Lizzy at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (rOKnE)

152 I watched Minecraft Movie. It was lame and gay. What's with casting almost all fat people? Weird.
Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (iFTx/)

I will see no movie with Jack Black in it, even if it's free.

F*ck that guy.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (ccf/V)

153 Hitler, Stalin, and Mao are sitting in a pool of lava in Hell.

They start a lengthy argument about which of them is the worst person of all time.

Each has his points, but none of them can agree.

Finally Mao says "This isn't going anywhere. I'll go ask Satan himself."

He comes back in a little while, looks at the other two, and says "Who the fuck is this Anthony Fauci asshole?"

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at September 30, 2026 11:37 AM (qlLNh)

It's ok. They all lose to Mohammed, piss be upon him.

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 30, 2026 11:40 AM (N1DT3)

154 Another Hollywood nepo takes the tube. Not normally news. But it was a girl and only 13. That's unusual. I don't think it's been confirmed a suicide, but the parents posting about suicide prevention is a big tell.

--

I read a few things about it being a suicide possibly resulting from bullying of some kind. No idea though.

Apparently, Chad Lowe has some kind of podcast(?) where he's talked about having daughters and he now understands just how hard it is -- what with the patriarchy n'all* -- for women. How tough they have it in America. I just rolled my eyes. The Victimhood will never die.

*he didn't specifically cite the patriarchy, but his comments were pretty clear that's what he meant

Posted by: Lady in Black at September 30, 2026 11:40 AM (qBdHI)

155 The common man on the street knows what the media has told him about politics.

That is the problem.

The media. They are the propaganda arm of the left. They identify with the likes of the radical socialists and weirdos and amplify their reach. Not so much because they identify with them as it because they hate you and the current administration. Yes, they do identify with them, to a point. But they hate you more.

The black-pilled don't seem to get this.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 30, 2026 11:40 AM (RORbl)

156 "They aren't very good."

Hence their publicity stunts that keep the buzz going, and us talking about them at least once every week.

Posted by: gp at September 30, 2026 11:40 AM (Jr5Lq)

157
Funny. I have no idea who the parents are. Shame about the kid.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (C6xWR)

The dad is Rob Lowe's brother.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:40 AM (ccf/V)

158 Another Hollywood nepo takes the tube. Not normally news. But it was a girl and only 13. That's unusual. I don't think it's been confirmed a suicide, but the parents posting about suicide prevention is a big tell.

https://tinyurl.com/3unm6as2
Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (iFTx/)

Funny. I have no idea who the parents are. Shame about the kid.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (C6xWR)
_____

Remember 80s heartthrob Rob Lowe? This is his lesser-known brother.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:40 AM (iFTx/)

159 Office 365 was their big push for centralization. You can't open an app without it checking with Microsoft's licensing servers.

If they have issues, you can't open any Office app until they resolve it.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:38 AM (ccf/V)

SaaS is the devil. Or at least one of the princes of hell.

Posted by: Enshittification unchained at September 30, 2026 11:40 AM (TbWk/)

160 I'm expecting the sequel -- The Death of Biden -- to be even flatter.
Posted by: ShainS at September 30, 2026 11:38 AM

Rude!

Posted by: Rachel Corrie at September 30, 2026 11:40 AM (bFu5X)

161 Thx Joe.
As I recall SoftBank took a beating on the WeWork fiasco. They aren't wizards

Posted by: Smell the Glove at September 30, 2026 11:40 AM (jivel)

162 That campaign was an out and out disaster.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison

Donors compelled Scott Walker to debase himself and his politics over open borders. And you find this shit going on at the state and local level--whale donors make sure those state organizations follow the script and you get an iron triangle--donors, state/local party personnel, and the campaign apparatus of finance, law, and messaging. A candidate that refuses to hire the profferred campaign leeches that the state/local party demands, gets no donor money, no help or even active recruitment of other candidates to run against you in a primary (often entering at the last minute, etc.), and that the campaign staff you 'hired' actually work for the donors that are paying them through the campaign donations.

This is GOPe--it doesn't service candidates but rather donor interests. And a lot of that special interest money at the local level are real estate developers, at the state level, are the state's Chamber of Commerce members. And it produces Bush Republicans where genteel graft and reach arounds to all collaborate in gaining generational wealth for themselves is at play. Vile people.

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:41 AM (E4rtv)

163 Using AI has increased my productivity at work yuuugely and bigly. I just tell Claude what needs to be done and it’s done. It still kinda blows my mind some times.

There is back and forth and I always get very specific with instructions and map out backup plans, test scenarios etc. Even with that the time it takes me to do things has been cut by at least 50% if not more.

It’s not just Google despite what a lot of people say.

It annoys me that the CCP propaganda against AI has been so good. You have 70% of Americans who are more than happy to destroy OpenAI and Anthropic and let China dominate the field. All it took was a few bots on X and TikTok to make this happen, ironically enough all run by AI.

Posted by: Sandy Cocazio Ortez at September 30, 2026 11:41 AM (f0pGg)

164 The WNBA should've embraced the dildo-tossing thing.

Posted by: Bulg at September 30, 2026 11:41 AM (77rzZ)

165 I'm expecting the sequel -- The Death of Biden -- to be even flatter.
Posted by: ShainS

Look Fat, I'll be showering with nubile tweens long after you're gone!

Posted by: Loofah Joe! at September 30, 2026 11:41 AM (Fn+3X)

166 Air cable ftw.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at September 30, 2026 11:41 AM (yOEUM)

167
SaaS is the devil. Or at least one of the princes of hell.
Posted by: Enshittification unchained at September 30, 2026 11:40 AM (TbWk/)

Sharing a handbasket ride with IoT.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:41 AM (ccf/V)

168 I watched Minecraft Movie. It was lame and gay. What's with casting almost all fat people? Weird.
Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (iFTx/)

"My name...*super long pause*... is Steeeeeeeve!!!!!"

Yeah, that's two hours of your life you're never getting back, my dude.

I watched the new Arrow Video restoration of Excalibur last night. WOWOW!!!!!! Awesome. Highly highly HIGHLY recommended!

Posted by: Robert at September 30, 2026 11:41 AM (dpXJq)

169 "They aren't very good."

Hence their publicity stunts that keep the buzz going, and us talking about them at least once every week.

They could double game attendance if Sophie Cunningham would strip down at halftime.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:42 AM (Riz8t)

170 They became part of the "all your data are belong to us" crowd like Google and Oracle.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:35 AM (ccf/V)

---------------

I recently received my share -- a $37.42 Zelle deposit -- from the $115 million Oracle data privacy class action settlement (Katz-Lacabe et al. v. Oracle America, Inc.).

I wonder how much the lawyers got? /rhetorical

Posted by: ShainS at September 30, 2026 11:42 AM (Lrqtb)

171 I will see no movie with Jack Black in it, even if it's free.

F*ck that guy.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM

Come on, his performance in The Jackal was great.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:42 AM (bFu5X)

172 Microsoft has been pushing for decades for you not owning a PC, only having a terminal that gives you access to Microsoft's systems and data storage.

Returning to the mainframe-terminal model that they spent a couple of decades destroying. SMH.
Posted by: Nazdar at September 30, 2026 11:34 AM (NcvvS)

Which is why this machine runs Linux.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 30, 2026 11:42 AM (C6xWR)

173 138 The WNBA. So fucking exciting......NOT!
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at September 30, 2026 11:34 AM (g8Ew
-----------

I watch the X highlights. I tried watching games a couple of times and gave up each time after 10 minutes.
Posted by: WisRich at September 30, 2026 11:37 AM (G0vdT)

Isn't it a bit of an oxymoron when a bunch of lesbians want to play with balls?

Posted by: Our Country is Screwed at September 30, 2026 11:42 AM (N39Ws)

174 I watched Minecraft Movie. It was lame and gay. What's with casting almost all fat people? Weird.
Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (iFTx/)

I will see no movie with Jack Black in it, even if it's free.

F*ck that guy.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (ccf/V)
______

He's obese now and will probably die young. The fat, manic thing doesn't work long term.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:42 AM (iFTx/)

175 He's obese now and will probably die young. The fat, manic thing doesn't work long term.
Posted by: Elric The Blade

Correct.

Posted by: Zombie Chris Farley at September 30, 2026 11:43 AM (yOEUM)

176 Sam Rayburn told his staff to pay particular attention to any letter written in pencil on ruled paper.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh
=========
Speaker Sam was one of a kind. Never heard that story but thanks. He was still legendary enough in DC when I was there decades later that he had a lot of stories floating around about him.

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:44 AM (E4rtv)

177 He's obese now and will probably die young. The fat, manic thing doesn't work long term.

You don't say.

Posted by: Chris Farley at September 30, 2026 11:44 AM (Riz8t)

178 Isn't there an anecdote-story about some small town where everyone owes someone else and no one can pay anyone because they're all out of cash. Then some guy wanders in for a night at the motel and that cash goes all over town squaring everyone.

There's an AI joke about getting an ad onto the wanderers cel phone somewhere in the Cloud.

Posted by: DaveA at September 30, 2026 11:44 AM (FhXTo)

179 I have little direct experience with AI other than enhanced web searching, but my son says that he is using it extensively in his programming, so I guess it has value.

I have five other members on the development team. Either they don't use AI or don't know how to use it correctly.

Based on raw productivity metrics, I am producing at least 10x more than the other five combined.

OTOH, received word from those who are paying for the AI tokens, and they are concerned about the token burn against a finite pool for the entire department. So who knows?

Posted by: Community Notes at September 30, 2026 11:44 AM (xE0sV)

180 The WNBA should've embraced the dildo-tossing thing.
Posted by: Bulg at September 30, 2026 11:41 AM (77rzZ)
______

Seriously, they could have capitalized on that by getting in on the joke and starting some kind of pre-game ritual to get the dozen fans involved. Not throwing dildoes, but something.

Instead, they reacted to what was a dumb but harmless prank with all the anger, hostility, and hysteria that people expect from bitter man-hating lesbians.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:45 AM (iFTx/)

181 In the near future, AI is going to tell a woman she's wrong... and that, my friends, will be the end of AI.

Posted by: grass monkey at September 30, 2026 11:46 AM (eP4XR)

182 Guess nobody remembers the "tech bubble"?

There will be an AI bubble. At some point.

Sure, but it's not as if the dot-com boom was completely fake. Indeed, almost everything is a dot-com now in the sense that a business without a web presence is practically not a real business. Even mom-and-pop shops need to be on Facebook at a minimum so they can be found. What was fake was the expectation that a web presence WAS the business in and of itself. AI is similar in that it's being touted as the end product instead of as a tool to serve needs.

Posted by: Oddbob at September 30, 2026 11:46 AM (vTZFs)

183 "my son says that he is using it extensively in his programming, so I guess it has value."

For coding, it's great. For that, it's a more competent colleague than any human I ever worked with.

Posted by: gp at September 30, 2026 11:46 AM (Jr5Lq)

184 Remember 80s heartthrob Rob Lowe? This is his lesser-known brother.
Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:40 AM (iFTx/)

Oh, he said.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 30, 2026 11:46 AM (C6xWR)

185 My son lives next to a GOPe mover and shaker in GA who has had TDS from the very start. Cut from the treasonous Ratshitburger mold. He never had a Trump sign on his lawn. One election, the only sign on his lawn was for water commisioner, and he supported the Dem Sheriff candidate, because the Republican guy was a bit MAGA.

Posted by: Traitors Everywhere at September 30, 2026 11:47 AM (Fn+3X)

186 >>Posted by: Lizzy at September 30, 2026 11:35 AM (rOKnE)
>>Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:35 AM (ccf/V)

Both true, and utterly opposed to the decentralisation that was a huge selling point for the server-desktop/laptop model.

Posted by: Nazdar at September 30, 2026 11:47 AM (NcvvS)

187 He's obese now and will probably die young. The fat, manic thing doesn't work long term.

You don't say.
Posted by: Chris Farley at September 30, 2026 11:44 AM (Riz8t)
_____

The piles of drugs that Farley abused had a hand in that, though. I don't know if Jackoff Black is a junkie.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:47 AM (iFTx/)

188 Our garbage media explained in one short X post.

https://tinyurl.com/ypp899r7

Posted by: JackStraw at September 30, 2026 11:47 AM (viF8m)

189 150 Another Hollywood nepo takes the tube. Not normally news. But it was a girl and only 13. That's unusual. I don't think it's been confirmed a suicide, but the parents posting about suicide prevention is a big tell.

https://tinyurl.com/3unm6as2
Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (iFTx/)

Funny. I have no idea who the parents are. Shame about the kid.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (C6xWR)

I had a friend about that age commit suicide. 12ga. Small rural town in the 80s - not supposed to happen. Went to the wake. Nobody there but the parents. Haunts me to this day.

Posted by: Our Country is Screwed at September 30, 2026 11:48 AM (N39Ws)

190 There may well be an ai bubble in stock prices. But if there is and it pops it doesn’t mean AI goes away. Post 2000 .com crash the internet didn’t disappear. It just made the survivors that much stronger and set the stage for Web 2.0.

Posted by: Sandy Cocazio Ortez at September 30, 2026 11:48 AM (f0pGg)

191 ..Sophie Cunningham didn't do much.....
****

Isn't her job to keep the other team off of Caitlin?

Posted by: clarence at September 30, 2026 11:48 AM (vCaJx)

192 There may well be an ai bubble in stock prices. But if there is and it pops it doesn’t mean AI goes away. Post 2000 .com crash the internet didn’t disappear. It just made the survivors that much stronger and set the stage for Web 2.0.

And that's when the smart money gets in.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:49 AM (Riz8t)

193 I've seen certain types of AI applications in action. They need constant supervision.

They don't seem particularly 'smart,' just fast, paralleled circuits cranking out high speed calculations.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at September 30, 2026 11:49 AM (VQ7/I)

194 @176 whig, in the Best and the Brightest Halberstam told a Sam Rayburn story.
Sam was talking to Lyndon who was raving about the whiz kids that JFK brought in to government. "They use statistics and charts " to show how government can be efficient.
Sam responded "that's great Lyndon but I wish just one of them had ever run for sheriff"

Posted by: Smell the Glove at September 30, 2026 11:50 AM (jivel)

195 Right. BuyDogToothPasteOnline.com disappeared, but around 20% of *all* consumer spending now takes place online.

That percentage would be a lot higher if it were easier to buy houses and cars over the web.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at September 30, 2026 11:51 AM (qlLNh)

196 Using AI has increased my productivity at work yuuugely and bigly.

My take on AI is this:

Pareto Principle says 20% does 80% of the work. I think with the mass retardation that is taking place at all levels within the US, with migration of complete and total 80IQ idiots plus the failure of the edjumakation cartels to turn out literate, functioning human beings, plus the culture trend towards eschewing any and all critical though, to be replaced by raw emotions... that 20% is most likely 5% and 90% of that 5% is fucking things up but with skill.

AI is what saves civilization. Instead of having a room full of White Men with slide rulers putting a man on the moon, we have one ADHD Autist with frontier AI models.

Naturally, the communists, the destroyers and the Malthusians want to cripple the relatively small handful of civilization saviors

Posted by: Community Notes at September 30, 2026 11:51 AM (xE0sV)

197 Wasn't WeWork Softbank's last big play?

They bet the entire farm on a boring cooperative suite provider like it was a revolutionary never-been-tried concept. And guess what? It turned out to be a massively overvalued boring cooperative suite provider.

Doesn't say much for their investing acumen.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at September 30, 2026 11:51 AM (wpRMV)

198 I have five other members on the development team. Either they don't use AI or don't know how to use it correctly.

Based on raw productivity metrics, I am producing at least 10x more than the other five combined.

Posted by: Community Notes at September 30, 2026 11:44 AM

I have made multiple good-faith attempts to use AI as part of my programming. I use the latest guidance from the leading figures on how to use it and have, so far, found that it makes it take far longer than just ignoring AI. I get crap that doesn't do what it's supposed to do and which takes longer to fix than it would take to just write what I need.

I would love for someone to tell me what I'm doing wrong because I'd hate to be left out.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at September 30, 2026 11:51 AM (bXODF)

199 This, too, is the story of AtC.
Posted by: Sponge

She was fluent in swearing like Hugo the Chavez and had a sad personal story of abuse. But she chose her personal id over politics.

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:51 AM (E4rtv)

200 >>Which is why this machine runs Linux.

Ditto.

Posted by: Nazdar at September 30, 2026 11:52 AM (NcvvS)

201
Come on, his performance in The Jackal was great.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 30, 2026 11:42 AM (bFu5X)

Never heard of it.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:53 AM (ccf/V)

202 194 @176 whig, in the Best and the Brightest Halberstam told a Sam Rayburn story.
Sam was talking to Lyndon who was raving about the whiz kids that JFK brought in to government. "They use statistics and charts " to show how government can be efficient.
Sam responded "that's great Lyndon but I wish just one of them had ever run for sheriff"
Posted by: Smell the Glove
======
Been meaning to read that book for years. But Caro's LBJ (and Joseph Califano's biography) put me off the entire subject of the LBJ presidency. I find him vile and evil.

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:54 AM (E4rtv)

203
Isn't her job to keep the other team off of Caitlin?

Posted by: clarence at September 30, 2026 11:48 AM (vCaJx)

Along with being kinda hot......

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:54 AM (ccf/V)

204 > I would love for someone to tell me what I'm doing wrong because I'd hate to be left out.
Posted by: Cybersmythe at September 30, 2026 11:51 AM (bXODF)

You have to prompt it like you're giving instructions to a semi-retarded intern who knows the syntax, etc. of the language cold, but doesn't really get the Big Picture about anything.

Always be hammering on the eventual goal.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at September 30, 2026 11:54 AM (qlLNh)

205 Wasn't WeWork Softbank's last big play?

They bet the entire farm on a boring cooperative suite provider like it was a revolutionary never-been-tried concept. And guess what? It turned out to be a massively overvalued boring cooperative suite provider.

Doesn't say much for their investing acumen.
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at September 30, 2026 11:51 AM (wpRMV)
_______

The WW management fraud and self-dealing didn't help either

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:54 AM (iFTx/)

206 Caro's LBJ (and Joseph Califano's biography) put me off the entire subject of the LBJ presidency. I find him vile and evil.

Well, that's because he was vile and evil. Glad to be of help.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 30, 2026 11:54 AM (Riz8t)

207
I had a friend about that age commit suicide. 12ga. Small rural town in the 80s - not supposed to happen. Went to the wake. Nobody there but the parents. Haunts me to this day.
Posted by: Our Country is Screwed at September 30, 2026 11:48 AM (N39Ws)

This was almost my story around age 17.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 11:55 AM (ccf/V)

208 I seem to remember a sex scandal, way back when, but that might've been Rob rather than Chad.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at September 30, 2026 11:55 AM (qlLNh)

209 They don't seem particularly 'smart,' just fast, paralleled circuits cranking out high speed calculations.

With the right kind of guidance and properly narrowing the individual steps, removing ambiguity and providing ideal samples, I'm generating near 95% complete at start work product. The part of my time corralling in the AI agent is almost identical to evaluating and emending the resulting output.

Posted by: Community Notes at September 30, 2026 11:55 AM (/TiS1)

210 185 My son lives next to a GOPe mover and shaker in GA who has had TDS from the very start. Cut from the treasonous Ratshitburger mold. He never had a Trump sign on his lawn. One election, the only sign on his lawn was for water commisioner, and he supported the Dem Sheriff candidate, because the Republican guy was a bit MAGA.
Posted by: Traitors Everywhere

Not surprising. AZ and GA are GOPe central, in thrall to the Chamber of Commerce crowd wanting open borders along with human and drug trafficking as good for bizness. Notably both are hotspots for human and drug trafficking as distro points. GA has additional issues with Savannah Port and Chicoms which Ratshitburger is connected to (his bro is a high executive in Huawei USA for example).

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:56 AM (E4rtv)

211 I have made multiple good-faith attempts to use AI as part of my programming.

At my previous employer, we did some experiments with AI coding. That was a couple of years ago and the results were impressive then. The unanswered question that prevented us from using it for production code was "Who REALLY owns the code generated by AI and what does it mean to mingle it with other code that is clearly owned by us?" I'm sure a lot of people think they know the answer to that but until it's settled in the courts, it's not settled.

Posted by: Oddbob at September 30, 2026 11:57 AM (vTZFs)

212 OTOH, received word from those who are paying for the AI tokens, and they are concerned about the token burn against a finite pool for the entire department. So who knows?

Posted by: Community Notes at September 30, 2026 11:44 AM

I got a certificate for a bunch of those AI tokens when I bought my new computer and purchased the office 365 forever license. I have no idea what they are or how to use them.

Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at September 30, 2026 11:57 AM (I43vL)

213 Our garbage media explained in one short X post.

https://tinyurl.com/ypp899r7

Posted by: JackStraw at September 30, 2026 11:47 AM (viF8m)

------------------

Yep, you don't hate them nearly enough (and they're at the top of "my list" if and when in my remaining lifetime they succeed in turning America into an anarcho-terrorist shithole state).

I'm surprised they're not openly lamenting that the Muzzie Co-Pilot failed in his mass homicide attempt ...

Posted by: ShainS at September 30, 2026 11:57 AM (Lrqtb)

214 208 I seem to remember a sex scandal, way back when, but that might've been Rob rather than Chad.
Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia

Rob at the Democrat Convention in Atlanta in the 90's? Had sex with some teenage groupies I think.

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 11:57 AM (E4rtv)

215 Jack Black getting disintegrated by the Martians in Mars Attacks and having his arm blown off in The Jackal warms the cockles of my heart

Posted by: Smell the Glove at September 30, 2026 11:57 AM (jivel)

216 Been meaning to read that book for years. But Caro's LBJ (and Joseph Califano's biography) put me off the entire subject of the LBJ presidency. I find him vile and evil.
Posted by: whig

My wife says that, after reading that book, she could believe that LBJ was behind the JFK assassination.

Posted by: Bulg at September 30, 2026 11:58 AM (77rzZ)

217 ' The unanswered question that prevented us from using it for production code was "Who REALLY owns the code generated by AI and what does it mean to mingle it with other code that is clearly owned by us?"'

If you use it for nothing else but code reviews of human-written code, you will benefit (Assuming you aren't paying an arm and a leg for it. I've used only what I can get for free, which works fine for me.)

Posted by: gp at September 30, 2026 11:59 AM (Jr5Lq)

218

Colossus is the name used for a cluster of data centers developed by xAI (later SpaceXAI) in the Memphis, Tennessee–Southaven, Mississippi area.

I wonder if they hired Dr. Forbin?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 30, 2026 11:59 AM (Cqx++)

219
Governors have no power over immigration and can say anything.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison

Says WHO?
~G.Grusom

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at September 30, 2026 12:00 PM (NnhvP)

220 Guess nobody remembers the "tech bubble"?

There will be an AI bubble. At some point.
Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 30, 2026 11:02 AM

The AI fanatics that I know claim that this is a good thing because, once the bubble pops, the hardware to run the models will be available at fire-sale prices and so you can run your own AI systems for cheap.

I guess. I don't know. Five years ago, the technology that we now call "AI" was called "Autocorrect" and was mostly useful as a punchline. Now, it's supposed to be essential for making the USA competive technologically? Really?

Posted by: Cybersmythe at September 30, 2026 12:00 PM (bXODF)

221 I would love for someone to tell me what I'm doing wrong because I'd hate to be left out.
Posted by: Cybersmythe at September 30, 2026 11:51 AM (bXODF)
-----

Pretend like you're not a seasoned code jockey and that the AI is a noob. Explain in detail what you want the product to be without including technical jargon.

Posted by: ballistic at September 30, 2026 12:00 PM (oqH4h)

222 Another Hollywood nepo takes the tube. Not normally news. But it was a girl and only 13. That's unusual.

https://tinyurl.com/3unm6as2
Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (iFTx/)

Funny. I have no idea who the parents are. Shame about the kid.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 30, 2026 11:39 AM (C6xWR)

I had a friend about that age commit suicide. 12ga. Small rural town in the 80s - not supposed to happen. Went to the wake. Nobody there but the parents. Haunts me to this day.
Posted by: Our Country is Screwed at September 30, 2026 11:48 AM (N39Ws)
______

I had a rough freshman year in college after my dad lost everything. I was bitter and angry. I was away at college and my mom was worried I'd off myself. She called the college.

I had to spend the rest of the semester trying to convince the shrinks that I was not suicidal. And I wasn't even remotely suicidal. I was just really pissed at the world. But whatever I told them, their attitude was "that's what someone suicidal would say."

I was really really pissed at my mom at the time, but we laugh about it now.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 12:00 PM (iFTx/)

223 This was almost my story around age 17.
Posted by: Sponge

Wow. Glad you got over it.

Posted by: Bulg at September 30, 2026 12:01 PM (77rzZ)

224 I have made multiple good-faith attempts to use AI as part of my programming. I use the latest guidance from the leading figures on how to use it and have, so far, found that it makes it take far longer than just ignoring AI. I get crap that doesn't do what it's supposed to do and which takes longer to fix than it would take to just write what I need.

I would love for someone to tell me what I'm doing wrong because I'd hate to be left out.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at September 30, 2026 11:51 AM (bXODF)

------------------

You didn't outsource the job to an H-1B Visa holder.

/Just channeling Vivek ...

Posted by: ShainS at September 30, 2026 12:01 PM (Lrqtb)

225 My wife says that, after reading that book, she could believe that LBJ was behind the JFK assassination.

Posted by: Bulg

I think the Kennedy family and courtiers thought that was possible too. A perfect example of a unprincipled evil man that had too much ambition and no morals to go along with it that destroyed America as we knew it.

Posted by: whig at September 30, 2026 12:01 PM (E4rtv)

226 219
Governors have no power over immigration and can say anything.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison

Says WHO?
~G.Grusom

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at September 30, 2026 12:00 PM (NnhvP)

=======

ICE has a big presence in CA and Newsom can only make noises about stopping it.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 12:02 PM (U/fqy)

227 This is mild by comparison to some of the shell games being played with AI financing.

After seeing shit like this go down enough times in your life, all you can do is shrug. The bubbles blow up and pop faster and faster, nobody ever learns a damn thing, and the fraud grows more and more blatant, with less and less accountability.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at September 30, 2026 12:02 PM (BI5O2)

228 "Pretend like you're not a seasoned code jockey and that the AI is a noob. Explain in detail what you want the product to be without including technical jargon."

I talk to it like a competent peer, with the same training and experience that I have, and that works fine.

Posted by: gp at September 30, 2026 12:02 PM (Jr5Lq)

229 Always be hammering on the eventual goal.

It doesn't hurt to set definitive goals.

My prompt files are pretty large with things like:
• prefer composition over inheritance
• generate negative tests along with positive
• prefer flattening, normalization over complex objects

Then I provide a thousand file SSOT that has has made AI efficient instruction files, business rules, etc. Then a repository chock full of real-world samples, corner case inputs, deliberately malformed fail examples, etc.

Proper selection of models also helps too.

Posted by: Community Notes at September 30, 2026 12:03 PM (/TiS1)

230 I was in the “it’s all fake and gay” camp about AI until early this year. The latest models are light years away from even 18 months ago.

I turned into a believer kinda overnight. I’m at the point where I think to myself how did I survive without this before? “Before” being mid 2025.

I have a small consulting side gig with an AI startup as well. I’m not involved directly with the AI-ness of it, I am guiding their integration with systems I know well.

There’s cool stuff happening out there. Lots of opportunities. Taking the “it’s just Google” pov is seriously out of date.

Posted by: Sandy Cocazio Ortez at September 30, 2026 12:03 PM (f0pGg)

231 Jack Black getting disintegrated by the Martians in Mars Attacks and having his arm blown off in The Jackal warms the cockles of my heart
Posted by: Smell the Glove at September 30, 2026 11:57 AM (jivel

Don't forget getting roasted by magic lightning in the X-Files.

Another highlight in that guy's portfolio.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at September 30, 2026 12:04 PM (BI5O2)

232 I talk to it like a competent peer, with the same training and experience that I have, and that works fine.

Especially if one of your instructions is:

"As a senior staff engineer..."

Posted by: Community Notes at September 30, 2026 12:04 PM (pUU4E)

233 BROKEN:
The Minneapolis City Council
… yesterday voted 7-4 in favor of a requirement for DRIVERLESS robotaxis to have:
“a human monitor physically present within the driver’s seat of the vehicle and with immediate access to controls for steering, braking, and acceleration.”

Posted by: Don Black at September 30, 2026 12:04 PM (ZxPkt)

234 233 BROKEN:
The Minneapolis City Council
… yesterday voted 7-4 in favor of a requirement for DRIVERLESS robotaxis to have:
“a human monitor physically present within the driver’s seat of the vehicle and with immediate access to controls for steering, braking, and acceleration.”

Posted by: Don Black at September 30, 2026 12:04 PM (ZxPkt)

======

1. Jobs program for taxi drivers.

2. An understandable stepping stone with a new technology.

It's much more of the former than the latter, though.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 12:06 PM (U/fqy)

235 Buy tulip bulbs.

Posted by: Your crazy uncle at September 30, 2026 12:06 PM (79KBl)

236 lol driverless cars with a driver.
Chef’s kiss.

Next up: residents of Minneapolis wondering why are my Ubers so expensive? Must be Trump’s fault.

Posted by: Sandy Cocazio Ortez at September 30, 2026 12:06 PM (f0pGg)

237 Is Caro's entire output The Robert Moses book, along with the LBJ one? He's no Jackie Collins or Sidney Sheldon.

Posted by: Corin Tellado at September 30, 2026 12:06 PM (Fn+3X)

238 1. Jobs program for taxi drivers.

2. An understandable stepping stone with a new technology.

It's much more of the former than the latter, though.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 12:06 PM (U/fqy)
-----
Gotta have make-work jobs for the former "employees" of the shuttered Learing Centers.

Posted by: ballistic at September 30, 2026 12:07 PM (oqH4h)

239 ICE has a big presence in CA and Newsom can only make noises about stopping it.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison

He's been screwing cal for a long time.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at September 30, 2026 12:08 PM (NnhvP)

240 the hardware to run the models will be available at fire-sale prices and so you can run your own AI systems for cheap.

Not for frontier models or even something scaled down with 1M+ tokens. You need some serious hardware and orders of magnitude more memory than you think.

Posted by: Community Notes at September 30, 2026 12:08 PM (pUU4E)

241 The Minneapolis City Council
… yesterday voted 7-4 in favor of a requirement for DRIVERLESS robotaxis to have:
“a human monitor physically present within the driver’s seat of the vehicle and with immediate access to controls for steering, braking, and acceleration.”

Posted by: Don Black at September 30, 2026 12:04 PM (ZxPkt)

======

1. Jobs program for taxi drivers.

2. An understandable stepping stone with a new technology.

It's much more of the former than the latter, though.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 12:06 PM (U/fqy)
----
All those Somali Learing Center directors that are now unemployed need a job.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at September 30, 2026 12:08 PM (FZ29D)

242 233 BROKEN:
The Minneapolis City Council
… yesterday voted 7-4 in favor of a requirement for DRIVERLESS robotaxis to have:
“a human monitor physically present within the driver’s seat of the vehicle and with immediate access to controls for steering, braking, and acceleration.”
Posted by: Don Black at September 30, 2026 12:04 PM (ZxPkt)
----------

Forget it Jake, it's commi-town.

Posted by: WisRich at September 30, 2026 12:08 PM (G0vdT)

243 Is Caro's entire output The Robert Moses book, along with the LBJ one? He's no Jackie Collins or Sidney Sheldon.
Posted by: Corin Tellado

I've heard that he writes everything out in longhand, so it takes him a while to finish his books. He'll probably never finish his LBJ trilogy before hr dies.

Posted by: Bulg at September 30, 2026 12:09 PM (77rzZ)

244 BROKEN:
The Minneapolis City Council
… yesterday voted 7-4 in favor of a requirement for DRIVERLESS robotaxis to have:
“a human monitor physically present within the driver’s seat of the vehicle and with immediate access to controls for steering, braking, and acceleration.”
Posted by: Don Black at September 30, 2026 12:04 PM (ZxPkt)
____

Another illegal alien welfare program. Taxi/Uber drivers in Minneapolis -- and pretty much every major city in the country -- are overwhelmingly foreigners and overwhelmingly illegals.

If the drivers were instead boring white guys, this council would be doing everything possible to push the driverless cars.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 30, 2026 12:09 PM (iFTx/)

245 OT: Breaking news - the plane that almost crashed today was a copilot stabbing the pilot and trying to hijack the plane. Somehow, the passengers managed to get into the cockpit, subdue the copilot, and get the plane landed (still TBD if that was the original pilot or what)...

Aka, what the media reported - that this was a "fight between the pilots" was bogus...absolutely bogus...

But good on the passengers for fighting, since fleeing was not an option...and freezing meant certain death...

Posted by: Nova Local at September 30, 2026 12:09 PM (tOcjL)

246 My general take on AI:
- I like having access to it myself, and find it useful.
- Would hesitate if forced to pay for it.
- Yeah, the frantic buildout is an obvious investment bubble.
- Like all tech, it will kill some people. We've learned to live with tech fatalities ever since we harnessed fire.

Posted by: gp at September 30, 2026 12:10 PM (Jr5Lq)

247 Nood.

Posted by: Nazdar at September 30, 2026 12:10 PM (NcvvS)

248
Wow. Glad you got over it.
Posted by: Bulg at September 30, 2026 12:01 PM (77rzZ)

I did. Never again.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at September 30, 2026 12:10 PM (ccf/V)

249 103 Tags are empty spectacle distracting us from the meaningful meat of argument.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 11:27 AM (U/fqy)

Or... they provide wonderful emphasis. For example:

Prometheus sucks!

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at September 30, 2026 11:30 AM (ExV1e)

So I should or shouldn't invest in Prometheus?
And what if I'm allergic to Prometheus? Should I continue to invest in it?

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 30, 2026 12:13 PM (l3cgK)

250 This was almost my story around age 17.
Posted by: Sponge

I'm glad you are here.

Posted by: Our Country is Screwed at September 30, 2026 12:13 PM (N39Ws)

251 1. Jobs program for taxi drivers.

2. An understandable stepping stone with a new technology.

It's much more of the former than the latter, though.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 30, 2026 12:06 PM (U/fqy)

The worst possible way to ban driverless cabs. A guy sitting there to "monitor" will do no such thing. If not actively driving, he will be playing some damfool video game on his phone, and if a traffic situation arises where he could be useful, he won't be ready.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 30, 2026 12:20 PM (C6xWR)

Processing 0.05, elapsed 0.0484 seconds.
14 queries taking 0.0124 seconds, 259 records returned.
Page size 157 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.