Daily Tech News 5 May 2026

Top Story

Can investors trust AI sales figures. (WSJ) (archive site)

Good question.

No.
OpenAI has added pet companions to its Codex programming assistant. (Mashable)

It's not a bubble.

Tech News

The "audio industry" is grappling with the rise of podslop. (Bloomberg) (archive site)

Where by audio industry they mean, basically, Spotify.

The problem is a company called Inception Point, that is spewing out 3000 podcasts a week using AI-generated voices.

Does anyone listen to them?

Well, the number is probably not zero. I listened to an AI-generated science fiction story that was tolerable if not particularly original. But when I was automatically forwarded to the next story on the channel it was exactly the same with a few names and details changed.

Slop is right.
You could turn your classic 1966 Mustang into a Tesla. (Electrek)

Or, alternately, you could not do that.
Ask.com, which was in the natural language search query business before it was cool - or indeed, worked - has closed its doors. (The Register)

The site racked up 245 million visits over 25 years... Which is not remotely enough for a business to survive on. Which makes me wonder a little how they did.
Intel's TPU bet hinges on increasing yield from 90% to 98%. (WCCFTech)

Counterpoint: No it fucking doesn't. Are you stupid or what?
The analyst adds that not only is jumping from a 90% yield to a 98% yield significantly more difficult than achieving 90% from 0%, but also that the 90% yield is a validation figure instead of a production figure. As a result, he believes cautious optimism is the better approach when following the packaging technology.
Getting from 0% to 90% yield is taking a process that simply doesn't work and making it into a reliable production line. Getting it to 98% is nice, but irrelevant on the broader scale.

Musical Interlude

And since the audio on that version is a little muddy:

>

Disclaimer: Fly, be free! (Splut.)

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:20 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 I'll let the others know.

Mornin' Pixy.

Glad you're out of the meeting heck.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 05, 2026 05:21 AM (O7YUW)

2 G'Day everyone
Seems no end to long commutes
Have a great day horde

Posted by: Skip at May 05, 2026 05:23 AM (Ia/+0)

3 Mornin' Skip. May your conveyance to and from work continue to work well.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 05, 2026 05:23 AM (O7YUW)

4 Mornin'

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at May 05, 2026 05:25 AM (sAmhv)

5 good morning.

Who is the Nazi ?

Posted by: no one of any consequence at May 05, 2026 05:25 AM (qFwJc)

6 BOING!

Meeting shmeeting!

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 05, 2026 05:30 AM (N12hz)

7 Beautiful psalm of praise read by David Suchet:

Psalm 145:

https://tinyurl.com/3bkvaety

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2026 05:30 AM (2sfNr)

8 You could turn your classic 1966 Mustang into a Tesla. (Electrek)

Or, alternately, you could not do that.

No. Just no.

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

9 @Pixy: "Or, alternately, you could not do that."

Too late. He did it. And now his classic car is a classic car body on a modernish something. It's a Frankencar. No longer a classic.

What a shame.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 05, 2026 05:30 AM (O7YUW)

10 w00t

Posted by: m at May 05, 2026 05:31 AM (RtN13)

11 First there was The Mamas & The Papas, and then there was The Mamas & The Papas & A Ham Sandwich.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at May 05, 2026 05:33 AM (D1E+2)

12 Somebody made a Clippy Codex Pet:

https://codex-pets.net/#/?sort=popular

And Pepe the Frog, and Doge the dog.

There's even a Xi Jinping, who, unfortunately, is not in the shape of a Pooh.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at May 05, 2026 05:33 AM (6ydKt)

13 I want to find this dude and buy up his leftover parts so I can put a tesla body on a 66' mustang chassis.

That ought to help keep people from trying to interact with me, right?

Posted by: Warai-otoko at May 05, 2026 05:34 AM (Ot/FD)

14 from the ONT:

156 I got the 2026 Canadian Census form last night. First I verified it wasn't a scam, because so much is. Then I started the online process of filling it out.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 05, 2026 05:20 AM (O7YUW)

How did you verify that it wasn't a scam? (You might have said this earlier; if so, I missed that.)

Posted by: m at May 05, 2026 05:35 AM (RtN13)

15
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at May 05, 2026 05:36 AM (GFMEh)

16 Morning friends

Posted by: actually inside the beltway at May 05, 2026 05:37 AM (hybOl)

17 >>>Counterpoint: No it fucking doesn't. Are you stupid or what?

Language!

Posted by: m at May 05, 2026 05:37 AM (RtN13)

18 Dear "Not so Grumpy and Recalcitrant"

I saw a post of yours yesterday about your disappointment and/or with Pope Leo for appointing the guy to be Bishop in WV who is an illegal alien and that you had decided not to go back to the RCC

Please, brother, Reconsider that.Popes come and go but the Lord stands forever. Here is a bit that Former Pope Benedict wrote about St. Catherine of Sienna and her life of faith

And we can all let our hearts be transformed and learn to love like Christ in a familiarity with him that is nourished by prayer, by meditation on the Word of God and by the sacraments, above all by receiving Holy Communion frequently and with devotion

I think if you felt a yearning to go back to church that comes from God.

If is not a requirement to be a RC that with political announcements of the Pope. Hadrian woukd tell you the same thing.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2026 05:38 AM (2sfNr)

19 18- meant disappointment and anger

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2026 05:39 AM (2sfNr)

20 You could turn your classic 1966 Mustang into a Tesla.

This happened because we stopped burning heretics at the stake.

Posted by: NR Pax at May 05, 2026 05:45 AM (BpO1e)

21 @FenelonSpoke: I did not post about going back (or not going back) to the RCC. You've got the wrong person, my dear.

Might have been a similar sounding name perhaps?

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 05, 2026 05:47 AM (O7YUW)

22 21 @FenelonSpoke: I did not post about going back (or not going back) to the RCC

That might have been me. I've been getting more and more annoyed with various churches and to have the Pope condemn us for having borders when he lives behind walls is hypocrisy .

Posted by: NR Pax at May 05, 2026 05:49 AM (BpO1e)

23 Oh, sorry G & C

I hope whoever that was reads this -and I don't tink there is another handle quite that handle of yours 😉

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2026 05:49 AM (2sfNr)

24 Our Lady at Garabandal predicted two anti-popes in succession. The one after them will be saintly.

You don't have to believe in private revelations. But you don't need to be a seer to see that Francis and Leo are heretics, apostates, and anti-popes.

Posted by: no one of any consequence at May 05, 2026 05:50 AM (qFwJc)

25 Posted by: NR Pax at May 05, 2026 05:49 AM (BpO1e

Of sorry. I was having a senior moment.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2026 05:50 AM (2sfNr)

26 @14/m: "How did you verify that it wasn't a scam?"

Went to Statistics Canada's site to verify that yes indeed a Census was on and it was in fact yesterday that they launched it.

(And yes, they have the power to ensure that the forms, overall, hit mailboxes on the start day.)

Physical form's URL matched the base URL of Statistics Canada's web site.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 05, 2026 05:50 AM (O7YUW)

27 Posted by: NR Pax at May 05, 2026 05:49

It's quite understandable to be annoyed at the Pope, but he's unlikely to visit your local church.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2026 05:52 AM (2sfNr)

28 Unanswered questions, unshakeable faith. Nice op ed from "Christian Post:

https://tinyurl.com/mv5ukram

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2026 05:55 AM (2sfNr)

29 FML.

It's middle of the night:51, and someone's septic alarm has been going off for the last hour. Intermittently, as if he keeps restting the alarm, instead of silencing it and running the pump in hand.

At least my life is better than that guy's.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at May 05, 2026 05:55 AM (dK+Kv)

30 Duo sings old time hymn, "Great is thy faithfulness ":

https://tinyurl.com/4xvk8rtw

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2026 05:57 AM (2sfNr)

31 You don't have to believe in private revelations. But you don't need to be a seer to see that Francis and Leo are heretics, apostates, and anti-popes.
Posted by: no one of any consequence

I'm not RC, but it seems the cardinals missed a golden opportunity to elevate I think his name is Sarah. African and from what I read a very good catholic. How cool would that have been?

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at May 05, 2026 05:57 AM (l26NL)

32 G'mornin' everyone!

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at May 05, 2026 05:59 AM (VyBeY)

33 “ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Matthew 6:33

Posted by: Marcus T at May 05, 2026 05:59 AM (EJWxb)

34 Reposted from ONT.

Such a nice interview with the policeman who stopped a young man from jumping off a bridge in Jacksonville, FL:

https://tinyurl.com/3zc3cvb3

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2026 06:00 AM (2sfNr)

35 Thank the maker. He seems to have figured it out.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at May 05, 2026 06:02 AM (dK+Kv)

36 Would the church have multiple corrupt popes if the church itself was not corrupt? The point of joining a church is to find spiritual guidance, I think. So, if the church is fallen, how can it lead to salvation? There are Christian alternatives to the Catholic Church.

Posted by: Button-Pushing-Monkey at May 05, 2026 06:04 AM (EcHpA)

37 There's a teenage Kurt Russell in a 1967 episode of Daniel Boone on the background noise TV at the moment.

Must've been a few years before he played in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at May 05, 2026 06:06 AM (6ydKt)

38 It's quite understandable to be annoyed at the Pope, but he's unlikely to visit your local church.

True. But the policies of the local church would likely reflect his pronouncements.

Fun trivia about me. Back in 198(censored), I was at a Catholic School in Montana. Monsignor Joseph Gluszek lived in the rectory. He was a friend of Pope John Paul II since seminary school. Nice guy too. Really patient with us young pups.

Posted by: NR Pax at May 05, 2026 06:08 AM (BpO1e)

39 @Pixy:

From the ONT, my comment # 153 there:

@143/Pixy: "Trapped in meeting heck."

Blink twice if Phil the Prince of Insufficient Light is in the room with you.

(I hope you get that reference)

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 05, 2026 06:09 AM (O7YUW)

40 G&R, the other night you mentioned thinking about dual booting, because Windows still had you for games.

I'd recommended putting Win 11 on a VM on a Linux host and give gaming on Steam/Proton a try. Except for games requiring kernel-level anticheats, such as FPS games, the results are shockingly good.

Plus you get the benefits of Windows in a VM, rather than dual boot, such as snapshots that can easily and quickly remedy a borked Windows update, Windows not working your bootloader, etc.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at May 05, 2026 06:10 AM (dK+Kv)

41 Mustang story takes me back to the one I had, '66 baby blue. Only a four cylinder. I bought it used. Installed an eight track tape player, hidden in the center console. Fun for a while.

Posted by: JM in Illinois at May 05, 2026 06:11 AM (3y5S4)

42 I think the Vatican went hard left when it lost most Europeans to secular atheism and their most die-hard faithful congregations were located in Latin America.

So they got rid of Benedict and went full Marxist Liberation Theology with Francis to satisfy the Latinos.

American Catholics are only considered as a reliable income stream but also have very little growth potential.

Now they have Leo to balance out Trump, but still have a bit of a Marixst running the show.

I'd expect another Latin/Asian (a Filipino would be perfect), or African pope next as that's where their largest growth potential is.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at May 05, 2026 06:13 AM (6ydKt)

43 Posted by: NR Pax at May 05, 2026 06:08 AM (BpO1e

I don't think so. I think priests vary in their political views while still believing in the doctrine and the efficacy of the Sacraments. I've sat in various RC churches ( and no, dear RC morons and ettes, I don't take the Eucharist) and no priest said anything that veered off from the Scriptures of the day and I doubt they would be doing a "campaign appearance" for Pope Leo. As one guy said yesterday " I don't give money to the Bishops appeal" or whatever it is called .

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2026 06:13 AM (Yl2Ob)

44 There's a teenage Kurt Russell in a 1967 episode of Daniel Boone on the background noise TV at the moment.

Must've been a few years before he played in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes.
Posted by: SpeakingOf
****
I was watching some old Lost in Space episodes last December and teenage Kurt Russell popped-up in one of those. That guy has had a heckuva career.

Posted by: Biergood at May 05, 2026 06:14 AM (PwgSL)

45 @40/Comrade Flounder: Windows in a VM only is a good end-goal, I'll definitely consider it. For now though, dual boot so I can maintain (without modification) any game I CAN'T get working on the Linux side through Proton.

Also I have a laptop with Windows 11 and Linux Mint 22.3 (dual boot) that I do a FULL drive backup of using CloneZilla before I load Windows every year to do the taxes. As part of that I start with a Windows Update, and if it borks things, I'd just restore the entire drive and start doing research.

Once the update is done and I prove I can still dual boot to Linux, THEN I start the taxes.

Excellent idea for tax purposes though. That software should run on Windows in a VM without issue. Thank you.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 05, 2026 06:14 AM (O7YUW)

46 John Carpenter loved working with Kurt Russell.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 05, 2026 06:15 AM (O7YUW)

47 Evening and morning, all! I see we had a "substitute" ONT after all.

Mustang story takes me back to the one I had, '66 baby blue. Only a four cylinder. I bought it used. Installed an eight track tape player, hidden in the center console. Fun for a while.
Posted by: JM in Illinois at May 05, 2026

Ford offered a four in the Mustang? I thought there were only the sixes and V-8s. Was yours a manual?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 06:17 AM (wzUl9)

48 I just rewatched The Thing with the little. Gotta rewatch Escape From NY.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at May 05, 2026 06:17 AM (dK+Kv)

49 And intermittent septic alarm is back.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at May 05, 2026 06:17 AM (dK+Kv)

50 I was watching some old Lost in Space episodes last December and teenage Kurt Russell popped-up in one of those. That guy has had a heckuva career.
Posted by: Biergood

If you remember the famous Phoenix Lights UFO sighting, the first person to alert authorities to it was Kurt Russell. He's evidently a private pilot and was flying his son to college (or back maybe).

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at May 05, 2026 06:18 AM (l26NL)

51 Good morning horde. Interesting youtube travels so far this A.M.

It all started with the Mommas and Poppas video Pixy posted. Somehow, I made may way through several different bands and now the Allman Brothers got served up, and I am listening to Live at Fillmore East. Not a bad start to the day, since coffee is also included.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at May 05, 2026 06:18 AM (Yk3/2)

52
Well! What happened last night? I do declare, this place has gone plumb to the devil.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 05, 2026 06:19 AM (HdYcL)

53 Going to take a walk, now, dear fellow posters and look at some lovely flowers and hear some birds.

Have a great day, everyone. You are valued by more people than you may realize.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2026 06:20 AM (Yl2Ob)

54 There's a teenage Kurt Russell in a 1967 episode of Daniel Boone on the background noise TV at the moment.

Must've been a few years before he played in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes.
Posted by: SpeakingOf
****
I was watching some old Lost in Space episodes last December and teenage Kurt Russell popped-up in one of those. That guy has had a heckuva career.
Posted by: Biergood at May 05, 2026

***
Kurt, age twelve or so, was in the very first Man From U.N.C.L.E. I ever watched, as the "innocent" (non-spy) character in 1964's "The Finny Foot Affair" -- a very good script, too. It may be on YooToob and is worth your time. Prior to that he'd been Dan O'Herlihy's co-star in the Western The Travels of Jamie McPheeters.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 06:20 AM (wzUl9)

55 @53/FenelonSpoke: Enjoy your walk!

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 05, 2026 06:22 AM (O7YUW)

56 Excellent idea for tax purposes though. That software should run on Windows in a VM without issue. Thank you.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 05, 2026 06:14 AM (O7YUW)

Most things work that way, except games, unless you can get GPU passthroughto VM working, but that requires pretty new hardware, and it is more than I am wanting to spend.

The only downside is memory overhead of the host. I used to clonezilla, a lot, because Microsft. And, frankly, Windows in a VM feels like the first breath of fresh air after prison. I haven't touched clonezilla since, simply backing up my user data.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at May 05, 2026 06:24 AM (dK+Kv)

57
You are valued by more people than you may realize.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 05, 2026 06:20 AM (Yl2Ob)

Thanks. I know Her Majesty would never be able to get anything off the top shelf if it wasn't for me.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 05, 2026 06:24 AM (HdYcL)

58 I have backed up my VMs, too, from time to time.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at May 05, 2026 06:26 AM (dK+Kv)

59 I was watching some old Lost in Space episodes last December and teenage Kurt Russell popped-up in one of those. That guy has had a heckuva career.

Posted by: Biergood at May 05, 2026 06:14 AM (PwgSL)

He's still working, too.
Currently working on the Monarch show on Apple TV. with his son Wyatt playing the character's younger self, about an agency that fights huge monsters; Godzilla, King Kong, etc.

He and Michelle Pfeiffer are also in The Madison on Paramount+ which is another Taylor Sheridan Yellowstone spin-off.

Kurt was MIA for about a decade or so, but apparently his family needs some cash because I've been seeing Goldie Hawn pop up in articles lately like she's looking for work, too.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at May 05, 2026 06:28 AM (6ydKt)

60 If you were going to update a '66 Mustang (to me, the best-looking year of the first gen), give it modern power brakes, starter, battery, ignition system, suspension components, and tires -- if you can find whitewalls! -- all the things that either don't show or don't look radically different from the originals, while updating the car's safety and reliability. It might be possible to boost the engine's power and update the transmission too.

No, it won't be "all-original." But to me a car is to be used and driven, and those things would make it far more enjoyable to drive.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 06:29 AM (wzUl9)

61 I seem to recall Kurt took a break from Hollywood after his Disney movies, and played minor-league baseball (?) for a time. His real comeback was in the very late '70s when he played Elvis, a couple of years after the latter's demise, in a TV-movie and garnered positive reviews. He did have the right Elvis look about his face for sure.

His fireball phase began with Escape and The Thing, I thought.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 06:33 AM (wzUl9)

62 I remember the Phoenix lights incident, had friends who saw it (half the city did). Bizarre not just for the lights themselves, but because the military spent a month or two saying they had no operations there and had no idea what they were, then suddenly pivoted and said “oh yeah that was a helicopter exercise of ours.”

If it was just a helicopter exercise, why deny it for two months? On the other hand, if it wasn’t, why suddenly say that it was? Neither explanation makes any sense.

Posted by: Tom Servo at May 05, 2026 06:33 AM (XcvNy)

63 Morning, Tech Peeps

Posted by: fluffy at May 05, 2026 06:34 AM (V0/Sp)

64
Because, there was no ONT last night!!! I missed out on a belated 29th anniversary (May 3, 1997) of one of the great set-tos in NHL history, covered by one of the great announcers for set-tos.

"And here comes Shields! Shields says, 'No you don't. I want a little piece of this action.' And Shields wants Snow!"

https://youtu.be/Nm6L5tCoLyo?si=wB-IeqKiORPYg3IS

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 05, 2026 06:34 AM (HdYcL)

65 Birdbath status?

Posted by: Just Wondering at May 05, 2026 06:35 AM (2Ez/1)

66 "If you were going to update a '66 Mustang"

Just don't change the headlights to those ugly ass rectangular ones.

mornin yall

Posted by: fd at May 05, 2026 06:35 AM (vFG9F)

67 How did Kurt and Goldie meet? Did they work together in something, or were they just in the same circles in Hollywood? He's a few years younger than she is, I believe. When she first made a splash on Laugh-In as a young adult, he'd have still been about sixteen or so.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 06:36 AM (wzUl9)

68 Okay: That Elvis TV-movie that kicked off Kurt's return to films was directed by John Carpenter. He met Goldie when they worked on a 1968 film (he was seventeen), and then met her again when they did Swing Shift in 1984.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 06:41 AM (wzUl9)

69 Russell was in a couple of pretty decent Fugitive episodes as well; in one of 'em (Nemesis, 3d season I think) he played Lt Gerard's son.

He also did a TV movie based on the Charles Whitman-Texas Tower shootings, and played Whitman. Scary in that one as I recall.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at May 05, 2026 06:42 AM (q3u5l)

70 "If you were going to update a '66 Mustang"

Just don't change the headlights to those ugly ass rectangular ones.

mornin yall
Posted by: fd at May 05, 2026

***
No, don't change any of the iconic exterior bits, just the safety and reliability ones. Maybe soup it up a little under the hood and make sure the transmission can handle it. If it were possible to have brighter headlights, to put brighter E-code bulbs into the housings while keeping the same look, that would add to the value as a *car.*

Of course, one of the great things about headlights back then were the simple sealed beam units. You bought a pair at K-Mart and installed them yourself; done.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 06:45 AM (wzUl9)

71 He also did a TV movie based on the Charles Whitman-Texas Tower shootings, and played Whitman. Scary in that one as I recall.
Posted by: Just Some Guy

He was in a recent Western called Bone Tomahawk that is unsettling. He filmed it about the same time as the Hateful Eight, so he looks similar (same beard anyway). Not for the squeamish.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at May 05, 2026 06:46 AM (l26NL)

72 Didn't Kurt play a monkey boy on Gilligan's Island?

Posted by: fd at May 05, 2026 06:49 AM (vFG9F)

73 I always wanted an original Lincoln Continental, the '61-'66 generation. The gas mileage on that heavy V-8 beast would be horrendous in our day, though. Or a '64-'66 T-Bird, likewise, though I expect it was not quite as heavy a vehicle.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 06:51 AM (wzUl9)

74
I always wanted an original Lincoln Continental, the '61-'66 generation.

Unfortunately, SSX-100 is now at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.

https://tinyurl.com/9fcjhtm3

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 05, 2026 06:57 AM (HdYcL)

75 67 How did Kurt and Goldie meet? Did they work together in something, or were they just in the same circles in Hollywood? He's a few years younger than she is, I believe. When she first made a splash on Laugh-In as a young adult, he'd have still been about sixteen or so.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 06:36 AM (wzUl9)

I believe, but wouldn't bet the farm on it, that Kurt and Goldie got together after they did the original Overboard movie in the mid-80s.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at May 05, 2026 06:57 AM (6ydKt)

76 Ahh, yes, I'd forgotten about Swing Shift
So yeah, they coupled up (don't think they ever got married officially) in the 80s.

Then they moved out to Idaho, or something, to get away from L.A. after they started having kids.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at May 05, 2026 06:59 AM (6ydKt)

77 The Sixties cars were designed to run on leaded gas, though. I understand there is an improvement -- "hardened" valve seats? -- that makes it possible for them to run on unleaded. The V-8s would require premium, I'm sure. Maybe a Mustang with the six could run on regular or on 89 octane.

I always regret that I never had a chance to put premium ethanol-free gas in the 2015 BMW 3 Series. It got great mileage, ca. 27 city and highway mixed, on the E10 premium. I can only imagine that E0 would have yielded close to 30 mpg in everyday driivng.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 06:59 AM (wzUl9)

78 I want to get a new laptop. Need it for doing jobs with an architecture app I use and to produce the photorealistic camera views a fast card like an RTX4070 is desirable. I now run an older MSI with an RTX3070.

It's amazing the premium you need to pay to go just one notch up at or near the top end, such as going from a 5060 to a 5070.

Posted by: M. Gaga at May 05, 2026 06:59 AM (KiBMU)

79 Good morning morons

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 05, 2026 07:01 AM (RIvkX)

80 Good morning everyone. Maybe some rain tomorrow and Thursday. Probably just jinxed it, I hope not. Have a wonderful day.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at May 05, 2026 07:01 AM (DW+p+)

81 https://tinyurl.com/9fcjhtm3
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 05, 2026

***
I once got to sit in a used Continental limo. Dark green, with black leather everywhere inside except the rear-facing jump seats, which were light tan. An impressive vehicle. I've only ever seen it on TV or in a movie in the pilot for Get Smart. Probably not that many were made; a standard Lincoln C. was a pretty darn roomy car all by itself.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 07:02 AM (wzUl9)

82 Kurt must've been one of the very rare child actors that didn't lose his mind and went bad living in L.A. rich & famous.

I think he said he moved away after having kids because he didn't want his children growing up in that environment because he knew what happened to wealthy kids there.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at May 05, 2026 07:03 AM (6ydKt)

83 Oops! Time to feed he furry thugs on their new schedule. Last night I forgot to feed them for forty-five minutes, and little Dagny was jumping up near me and bumping me with her head -- an uncharacteristic behavior for that generally aloof little cat.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 07:04 AM (wzUl9)

84 That damn dyke at Advance Auto parts pissed me off for the last time yesterday. From now on I will be going to a different store that's only a couple of miles further away. I could live with the tats and piercings but her SFA (shitty fucking attitude) I cannot.

Posted by: fd at May 05, 2026 07:05 AM (vFG9F)

85 It's amazing the premium you need to pay to go just one notch up at or near the top end, such as going from a 5060 to a 5070.

Posted by: M. Gaga at May 05, 2026 06:59 AM (KiBMU)

Nvidia is putting out new versions of the 5070 laptop chip soon.
Going from 8GB to 12GB VRAM.
They had complaints because both the 5060 & 5070 had 8GB and there wasn't much of a difference between the two because of it.

If you can still find an older laptop with a 4080 in it you'd save some cash that way, but I don't know if any are still for sale new.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at May 05, 2026 07:06 AM (6ydKt)

86
Stupid local news for Huntsville, AL is racisty rasiss racist. Just had a report that high supplier costs of chicken, beef, rice, and flour are driving up costs for Mexican restaurants.

Completely ignoring the fact that ALL restaurants use those same ingrediants. Dumb dumbs.

Posted by: BifBewalski - at May 05, 2026 07:07 AM (QVmho)

87 Today I have to install the new toilet seat I bought at Lowe's. I'd originally bought a round model. I'd forgotten that the apartment mismanagement had installed an entirely new commode since I last changed the seat -- and the new one has the elongated bowl style, so I needed to get a 18" one. With any luck I've got it right this time.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 07:09 AM (wzUl9)

88 Speaking of laptops, my mom had to send hers in for repair. Given that she is not very tech savvy, I'm preparing to invest in a new laptop for her and paying the tech dude to get it up and running with what she needs.

There have been times she grumbles about being stupid on things like this. I pointed out that I could call her at three in the morning, give her a hypothetical about a patient's symptoms and she'd know what was wrong before she completely woke up. Whereas for me, I know "Apply pressure, grab a band aid or give them water."

Posted by: NR Pax at May 05, 2026 07:11 AM (BpO1e)

89 That damn dyke at Advance Auto parts pissed me off for the last time yesterday. From now on I will be going to a different store that's only a couple of miles further away. I could live with the tats and piercings but her SFA (shitty fucking attitude) I cannot.
Posted by: fd at May 05, 2026

***
I gave up on them after the officious SS Obersturmbannfuhrer, aka "manager," at the nearby AAP harassed me roughly about not wearing a face diaper in 2022 -- while not even wearing one himself. I complained to higher management about his rudeness and got him and his employees in trouble. Heh, heh, heh.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 07:12 AM (wzUl9)

90 Voted for Steve Hilton yesterday in my quadrennial exercise in futility.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 05, 2026 07:13 AM (RIvkX)

91 Morning Horde thx Pixy.
The interesting Kurt Russell story was him befriending Charles Bronson by giving him a gift . Bronson became a mentor and protector of the young Russell. Probably had a significant impact on how Russell turned out.

Posted by: Smell the Glove at May 05, 2026 07:13 AM (gu0hJ)

92 The interesting Kurt Russell story was him befriending Charles Bronson by giving him a gift . Bronson became a mentor and protector of the young Russell. Probably had a significant impact on how Russell turned out.
Posted by: Smell the Glove at May 05, 2026

***
That might have been when they did the Jamie McPheeters show. There is a movie version of a two-parter from the show that has aired on Grit.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 07:15 AM (wzUl9)

93

I always regret that I never had a chance to put premium ethanol-free gas in the 2015 BMW 3 Series. It got great mileage, ca. 27 city and highway mixed, on the E10 premium. I can only imagine that E0 would have yielded close to 30 mpg in everyday driivng.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere

The modern 2015 - 2023ish Chargers and Challengers run great on premium ethanol free fuel. My 2016 Charger would scream while averag___ 23mpg in the city and ~30 on the highway @75. Big 5.7 liter (it's a damned 350 Dodge, get with the freedom units) with variable valve timing and multi-displacment. I miss that car, lots of fun to force it to get 2mpg.

The Multistrada only runs the premium ethanol free. It will kill the rear (vertical) two cylinders at stop lights, to reduce heat. When I get on the throttle, a baffle opens in the exhaust deleting the muffler. Whoa baby. Sounds like a dream forcing it to get 20mpg.

Posted by: BifBewalski - at May 05, 2026 07:15 AM (QVmho)

94 I thought about speaking to the manager about that woman behind the parts counter but then I figured everyone that worked there already knew she's an asshole.

Posted by: fd at May 05, 2026 07:15 AM (vFG9F)

95 Time I changed and had some breakfast. Later, shower and shave, the toilet seat business, and a trip to the library and the cleaners. Also I need to touch up some paint chips on the Buick and polish its front bumper and the mirror housings, which have collected some filth from my Kansas road trip.

How *did* I ever get all my errands and chores done when I was working??? (Answer: They filled up my Saturdays and Sundays, that's how.)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 07:18 AM (wzUl9)

96 How *did* I ever get all my errands and chores done when I was working??? (Answer: They filled up my Saturdays and Sundays, that's how.)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 07:18 AM (wzUl9)
---
One of the perks of working from home is that I can work in little chores here and there during a "break time."

It's kind of nice.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at May 05, 2026 07:20 AM (gnNyN)

97 My oldest friend called me while I was in Kansas, saying he plans to be in town this week to visit his 94-year-old mother. If he and his wife visit Casa Wolfus, I want the place to look shipshape. Time to vacuum and dust a few surfaces.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 07:20 AM (wzUl9)

98 ne of the perks of working from home is that I can work in little chores here and there during a "break time."

It's kind of nice.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at May 05, 2026

***
Same here. During the Sniffle Scare, I managed an afternoon nap nearly every day.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 05, 2026 07:21 AM (wzUl9)

99 Girl F.'s FiL is in town so I will take him to breakfast in Nopa. If I am lucky that means mandarin orange pudding.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 05, 2026 07:21 AM (RIvkX)

100 Excellent idea for tax purposes though. That software should run on Windows in a VM without issue. Thank you.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 05, 2026 06:14 AM (O7YUW)

Make sure to drop a review with the manager or corporate.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at May 05, 2026 07:21 AM (dK+Kv)

101 CP fail. That was to the AAP dyke.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at May 05, 2026 07:22 AM (dK+Kv)

102 I see reports everyone seems to expect resumption of major operations in Iran in the next 24 hours.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 05, 2026 07:23 AM (RIvkX)

103 Noodlum

Posted by: Noodist at May 05, 2026 07:27 AM (2Ez/1)

104 Experts?

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at May 05, 2026 07:27 AM (dK+Kv)

105 26 @14/m: "How did you verify that it wasn't a scam?"

Went to Statistics Canada's site to verify that yes indeed a Census was on and it was in fact yesterday that they launched it.

(And yes, they have the power to ensure that the forms, overall, hit mailboxes on the start day.)

Physical form's URL matched the base URL of Statistics Canada's web site.
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 05, 2026 05:50 AM (O7YUW)

Got it!

Posted by: m at May 05, 2026 08:30 AM (RtN13)

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