Daily Tech News 6 May 2026

Tech News

The latest version of Google Chrome has a neat new feature: It installs a 4GB local AI model on your computer without asking or even telling you. (That Privacy Guy)

Now that you know about it, can you delete it?

Yes, if you jump through seven flaming hoops.

Does it stay deleted?

No.

Not only is this a generally bad move, it is probably illegal in the UK and Europe.

Also, on my PC it's only 2.7GB for whatever reason.
Notepad++ is not out for the Mac. (Ars Technica)

The notepad is a lie.

Tech News

Lenovo's 5th generation Legion Tab is out now for $849. (Liliputing)

That's with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is not expandable.

I have the 3rd generation model with the same memory and storage capacity and a slightly lower display resolution. It cost me around $450, making the new model not a bargain I am in a hurry to pick up.
Microsoft is automatically adding Copilot as an author to Git commits if it occupied the same continental plate as your code at any point. (Heise)

Thanks, Microsoft!
Moving your systems to a mainframe is now cheaper than using VMWare. (The Register)

And it's not even IBM saying this.
Google Deep Mind staff in Britain are about to suddenly be laid off due to economic conditions. (Wired) (archive site)

I can see the future. And sometimes even the past. Present is cloudy though.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: Not.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 BOING!

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 06, 2026 04:32 AM (lgmVC)

2 G'Day everyone

Posted by: Skip at May 06, 2026 04:33 AM (Ia/+0)

3 You want tech news????

I'll give you tech news!!!!

Stop buying HP printers!

https://tinyurl.com/5sf9cvjs

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 06, 2026 04:33 AM (lgmVC)

4 Mornin'

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at May 06, 2026 04:34 AM (sAmhv)

5 The latest version of Google Chrome has a neat new feature: It installs a 4GB local AI model on your computer without asking or even telling you.
-

I try to avoid anything Google. However, still stuck with my Android phone.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 06, 2026 04:35 AM (lgmVC)

6 Musical Interlude

Something something.
-

Well here's something:

https://youtu.be/UelDrZ1aFeY

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 06, 2026 04:38 AM (lgmVC)

7 Steve at Hardware Unboxed lowered the boom on NVIDIA and "ray tracing" in his latest video on YT. Essentially, "ray tracing" is worthless for gaming, because serious gamers prefer FPS to image enhancement.

Posted by: mrp at May 06, 2026 04:39 AM (rj6Yv)

8 Now that you know about it, can you delete it?

Yes, if you jump through seven flaming hoops.

Haha, Pixy. Sounds like an Olympic sport for techies- "flaming hoop jumping"

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 06, 2026 04:39 AM (Yl2Ob)

9 No music interlude?

youtu.be/lsZG7n7ries

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at May 06, 2026 04:44 AM (sAmhv)

10 "A time to let go." Rabbi's daughter from the International fellowship of Christians and Jews. Writes on Leviticus 25:3-4:

https://tinyurl.com/bdhzpv7x

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 06, 2026 04:45 AM (Yl2Ob)

11 Ah, there it is. Fine Young Cannibals. They were a thing, and then, they weren't. They just disappeared.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at May 06, 2026 04:45 AM (sAmhv)

12 Ah, there it is. Fine Young Cannibals. They were a thing, and then, they weren't. They just disappeared.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at May 06, 2026 04:45 AM
-

Drop in consumer interest?

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 06, 2026 04:50 AM (lgmVC)

13 The last HP Printer (ink jet) was garbage and I vowed never to get another. Next one I get will be a laser printer. Maybe a Brother or Epson. No more HP. They used to be not terrible.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at May 06, 2026 04:52 AM (sAmhv)

14 O.k for the insomniacs I have a suggestion. I've been drinking a tea about half an hour before I go to sleep and it's really helped me not wake up in the middle of the night. It has a dumb name but it works. It's called "Nighty Night Extra" from "traditional medicinals ". I got it a the supermarket in the tea section.. it has valerian and passion flowers and some other things. I think it's more effective-for me anyway, than taking a valerian tablet.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 06, 2026 04:52 AM (2sfNr)

15 Drop in consumer interest?

I guess. Or aliens. I don't know. British band. I was stationed over in the UK when they hit it big. They were all over the place and then, they weren't. I have no idea what ever happened to them. It's fascinating to read about these bands that hit it BIG and are all over the place, and then, gone, like a vapor in a hurricane. The music business is a harsh mistress.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at May 06, 2026 04:55 AM (sAmhv)

16 Woman pulls man from burning car before it explodes. Faithpot site:

https://tinyurl.com/3dvvywnz

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 06, 2026 04:56 AM (2sfNr)

17 I don't think Donna from the ONT learned her lesson.

Posted by: no one of any consequence at May 06, 2026 04:57 AM (qFwJc)

18 Still need a new GPS, driving by phone isn't bad but can't watch any map on it

Posted by: Skip at May 06, 2026 05:02 AM (Ia/+0)

19 Drop in consumer interest?
-

I guess.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at May 06, 2026 04:55 AM (sAmhv)
-

Pun lost.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 06, 2026 05:03 AM (lgmVC)

20 Still need a new GPS, driving by phone isn't bad but can't watch any map on it

Posted by: Skip at May 06, 2026 05:02 AM (Ia/+0)
-

Why can't you watch maps on the phone?

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 06, 2026 05:04 AM (lgmVC)

21 "Strength is overrated" Reflection from a person on
2nd Corinthians 12:1-10. For those that have an interest, following the devotional and prayer are some study questions:

https://tinyurl.com/es4hveyb

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 06, 2026 05:04 AM (2sfNr)

22 Some peppy music for getting moving in your morning:

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - The Golden Age (4K Official Video)
https://youtu.be/x5h-LAvQDCQ

Or to really wake you up for that commute, some "noise art":
Beck - Devils Haircut (Official Music Video)
https://youtu.be/aa3rBVb3v4g

Posted by: SciVo at May 06, 2026 05:06 AM (Sy6m/)

23 IIRC, the lead singer of Fine Young Cannibals was beheaded by Duncan MacLeod.

Posted by: Button-Pushing-Monkey at May 06, 2026 05:07 AM (EcHpA)

24 It's like a whacky cartoon out there in Turkey:

https://tinyurl.com/bds8frbz

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 06, 2026 05:11 AM (lgmVC)

25
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at May 06, 2026 05:12 AM (8iYDv)

26 Pun lost.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey,

I'll go look for it.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at May 06, 2026 05:18 AM (sAmhv)

27 >>>The last HP Printer (ink jet) was garbage and I vowed never to get another. Next one I get will be a laser printer. Maybe a Brother or Epson. No more HP. They used to be not terrible.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come

>All inkjet and liquid printers suck donkey balls. I'm surprised they still make them. I got a color laser and never looked back.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at May 06, 2026 05:19 AM (D1E+2)

28 20 Still need a new GPS, driving by phone isn't bad but can't watch any map on it
[snip]
Why can't you watch maps on the phone?
_-_
I still think you should learn to ride a horse. What do you think they're gonna do, pave the whole world just so you can drive that newfangled velocipede around everywhere?
Oh, sorry, wrong century.
paper maps. Paper Maps PAPER MAPS!

Oh, you can't find thiose, huh?

I think you should stop and ask for directions.

Posted by: Doni n SoCo at May 06, 2026 05:29 AM (48Lzp)

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

https://tinyurl.com/4xvk8rtw

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 06, 2026 05:33 AM (Yl2Ob)

30 Eventually companies like HP are going to do this stupid subscription crap enough that some programmers are going to band together and create an open-source firmware project to take back our hardware devices.

One of these already exists for routers: OpenWRT.

Yeah. Something like that.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 06, 2026 05:33 AM (O7YUW)

31 Switched to Brother inkjets about a decade ago after frustrations with HP and its drivers.

Need just B&W, scanning and copying. Use cheap Chinese ink cartridges. Works for me!

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 06, 2026 05:35 AM (lR5Ug)

32 I'm now waiting for someone to write a program that can permanently remove the AI garbage from Chrome and keep it uninstalled.

All they have to do is charge about $5 for it and within a week, they don't have to work any more.

Posted by: NR Pax at May 06, 2026 05:40 AM (BpO1e)

33 Why you notepad++ when you can use Vim?

Or Sublime?

Posted by: Thomas Bender at May 06, 2026 05:45 AM (XV/Pl)

34 Had to charge my phone up, need a new cord and only have 1 for two devices

Posted by: Skip at May 06, 2026 05:45 AM (Ia/+0)

35 Phone is a bit smaller and doesn't sit on dashboard

Posted by: Skip at May 06, 2026 05:46 AM (Ia/+0)

36 There are such things as phone holders that mount to the windshield. Mine works great.

Posted by: no one of any consequence at May 06, 2026 05:49 AM (qFwJc)

37 Phone is a bit smaller and doesn't sit on dashboard
Posted by: Skip at May 06, 2026 05:46 AM (Ia/+0)
-

Isn't it cheaper to simply buy a new phone with a decent size screen and find a mount for it, than to buy a dedicated GPS device?

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 06, 2026 05:49 AM (lR5Ug)

38 use Vim?
_-_
I write code for Windows and Linux, so I switch back and forth a lot. I wind up with stray j's and k's in my Windows code on occasion. Got used to vi in the 90's when it was the editor of no choice on IRIX machines...well, there was "Jot"...

Posted by: Doni n SoCo at May 06, 2026 05:52 AM (48Lzp)

39 Is the AI bubble popping yet?

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 05:55 AM (48Lzp)

40 https://tinyurl.com/5x4u37ef
20 Posts from Doug Ross Substack

Posted by: Skip at May 06, 2026 05:56 AM (Ia/+0)

41 Had a thought, maybe Fine Young Cannibals self imploded, they eat each other out of existence.

Posted by: Skip at May 06, 2026 05:57 AM (Ia/+0)

42 “ The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Proverbs 12:18

Posted by: Marcus T at May 06, 2026 05:57 AM (/iaZu)

43 Hmmm...time to go sweep the snow off of the starlink.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 05:58 AM (/evfT)

44 Sure a bigger phone would be more expensive than a GPS

Posted by: Skip at May 06, 2026 05:59 AM (Ia/+0)

45 @39/Don in SoCo: "Is the AI bubble popping yet?"

I keep hoping every morning to read news of AI's "dot.bomb" moment; when the elastic, stretched too far, just breaks.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 06, 2026 06:00 AM (O7YUW)

46 I remembered that guy. He was supposed to play Hiro Protagonist in the movie.

Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain at May 06, 2026 06:02 AM (gHSfI)

47 @38

>> well, there was "Jot"..

I’m just not getting this Mac notepad++ brouhaha.

There are numerous text editors out there, the world was not clamoring for a port of a Windows text editor.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at May 06, 2026 06:03 AM (XV/Pl)

48
I keep hoping every morning to read news of AI's "dot.bomb" moment; when the elastic, stretched too far, just breaks
_-_
when I saw the "data center in your backyard" think (nvidia and pulte homes), I started thinking, now they're getting desperate.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 06:04 AM (/evfT)

49 >>> "Is the AI bubble popping yet?"

>The barn door is open on AI. It will never close. It may take a few hits in financial markets but it's never going away. The military applications, killbots, will drive the industry.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at May 06, 2026 06:06 AM (D1E+2)

50 Looking at Best Buy, cheapest Garmin is $150, better $250

Posted by: Skip at May 06, 2026 06:06 AM (Ia/+0)

51 And would bet the Marxist Ststes will still gerrymandering at will until someone tries a new court case.

Posted by: Skip at May 06, 2026 06:08 AM (Ia/+0)

52 Yeah, not thinking AI will go away unless civilization goes with it, but the circular financing seems like it will eventually cause a big financial crisis.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 06:09 AM (3Pbwf)

53 G'mornin' everyone!

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at May 06, 2026 06:09 AM (VyBeY)

54 Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

Rejoinder: Nit.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at May 06, 2026 06:10 AM (xvhJH)

55 Evening and morning, creatures of the light and the darkness! (But mostly light.) 'Tis Woden's Day again, innit?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 06, 2026 06:10 AM (wzUl9)

56 Happy Wednesday, one and all Today is the third injection for my knee and I am hopeful that this will go better than the second.

It's annoying that I'm going through all of this to be in a state of "Yeah, it doesn't hurt as bad as normal" for six months.

Posted by: NR Pax at May 06, 2026 06:11 AM (BpO1e)

57 The old thinking was that the weapons of mass destruction were nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. Think again. Now we have AI. Add that to the list.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at May 06, 2026 06:12 AM (D1E+2)

58 I slept enough last night, but feel as though I didn't. My left knee is mildly sore -- possibly a result of my struggles with removing the old toilet seat yesterday. The idiots who installed the new Niagara commode a few years ago probably used a power tool to screw down the plastic bolts, and the head of one was too chewed up to use a screwdriver on it. Finally, after loud expostulations (read: "curses") and various contortions, I realized my wrench with 13mm socket -- the same size the instructions for the new seat required -- would grip and undo the entire bolt. After that, no problema. What a mess, though.

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

59 Have a great day horde

Posted by: Skip at May 06, 2026 06:12 AM (Ia/+0)

60 Morning, 'rons and 'ettes.

Posted by: olddog in mo at May 06, 2026 06:16 AM (YpHnX)

61 57 The old thinking was that the weapons of mass destruction were nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. Think again. Now we have AI. Add that to the list.
_-_
After the manner of Ron White, I don't know what it would take to destroy western civilization, but I can see what they're going to use.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 06:16 AM (3Pbwf)

62 paper maps. Paper Maps PAPER MAPS!

Oh, you can't find thiose, huh?

I think you should stop and ask for directions.
Posted by: Doni n SoCo at May 06, 2026

***
On my Kansas trip, I would call up the areas I needed on Gorgle Maps, make notes of the essential highway numbers in a notebook for the front seat, and try to commit the zigzags to memory. It worked pretty well. When I did have to stop for directions, that worked -- IF the local inhabitants were bright enough to turn on light switches. In Pine Bluff, AR, they weren't.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 06, 2026 06:16 AM (wzUl9)

63 There were a few survivors to the dot.bomb event (dot.com implosion). Note the key word there: Few. A lot of companies disappeared suddenly when their magical-thinking financing dried up and they didn't have any actual revenue.

That pattern will repeat in AI. Most will be gone. A few will survive, and they'll offer something actually-useful to some customers, enough that they have a real revenue stream.

The pretenders and the magical thinkers will have to go off and start their next big scam though.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 06, 2026 06:19 AM (O7YUW)

64 Friend brought this video to my attention. This skit came out in 1993. These guys could see the future:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO47aYGJ738

Posted by: NR Pax at May 06, 2026 06:19 AM (BpO1e)

65 paper maps. Paper Maps PAPER MAPS!

Oh, you can't find thiose, huh?

I'm betting AAA still has them.

Posted by: NR Pax at May 06, 2026 06:20 AM (BpO1e)

66 Some researcher discovered another task Microsoft should do as part of their K2 project or as I like to call it Widowmaker 11. K2 is the project where Microsoft intends to address all the problems it created over the last 10 years that have its consumer users in revolt.

So what's the new project?

This researcher discovered the Microsoft Edge browser stores all the passwords stored in the browser in plain text in memory when any single password is accessed.

Microsoft to this credit told everybody to piss off because this was by design.

Oh. That's a bit tone deaf. Sigh. The Mac Air and Mac Mini are looking rather attractive.

https://is.gd/pWcT0c

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at May 06, 2026 06:22 AM (glnUu)

67
*strolls in with coffee*

Good morning, Hordians.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 06, 2026 06:22 AM (HdYcL)

68 Rand McNally still publishes a physical-print Motor Carrier's Road Atlas, aka: Truckers' map book.

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

69 The latest version of Google Chrome has a neat new feature: It installs a 4GB local AI model on your computer without asking or even telling you. (That Privacy Guy)

****

I deleted all things Google with a vengeance years ago when I read that one of their developers identified as a dragon and the company played along with it.

Posted by: Biergood at May 06, 2026 06:23 AM (PwgSL)

70
K2 is the project where Microsoft intends to address all the problems it created over the last 10 years that have its consumer users in revolt.

And double down on them.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 06, 2026 06:23 AM (HdYcL)

71 >>>After the manner of Ron White, I don't know what it would take to destroy western civilization, but I can see what they're going to use.

Posted by: Don in SoCo

>Imagine what a killbot could do at a protest with 50,000 people. It goes until it runs out of ammo.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at May 06, 2026 06:24 AM (D1E+2)

72 I still use my 2016 Walmart-issued Rand McNally U.S. Road Atlas. It has a store directory for WM in it. That was how I found the Walmart in Pine Bluff, not via locals' directions.

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

73 Coffee. Once again I'm faced with the task of having to make coffee. The burdens I endure.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at May 06, 2026 06:25 AM (glnUu)

74 commit the zigzags to memory
_-_
Yeah, I do that. I flatly refuse to do that turn-by-turn thing. When my sisters ride with me, they turn on their damned phones to announce the turns 'cause they know how much I hate that shit. I will admit that having your position displayed on a (quiet) moving map is a good thing for orienting yourself in an unfamiliar area, but otherwise, that stuff's not for me.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 06:25 AM (/evfT)

75 Rand McNally still publishes a physical-print Motor Carrier's Road Atlas, aka: Truckers' map book.
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 06, 2026

***
I need one of those!

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

76 @69/Biergood: "... one of their developers identified as a dragon and the company played along with it."

Satan's at Google. This tracks.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 06, 2026 06:27 AM (O7YUW)

77 I will admit that having your position displayed on a (quiet) moving map is a good thing for orienting yourself in an unfamiliar area, but otherwise, that stuff's not for me.
Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026

***
The screen in the Buick is too small, and displays too limited an area at a time, for me to understand where I am in relation to, say, the Interstate or the US highway I'm trying to get to. A real map lets me trace that out.

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

78 Coffee. Once again I'm faced with the task of having to make coffee. The burdens I endure.
Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at May 06, 2026

***
I set mine up the night before, then only have to press a couple of buttons on the Braun when I get up. By the time I return from the head, the black juice is hot and ready to go.

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

79 A real map lets me trace that out.
_-_
Yup.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 06:32 AM (3Pbwf)

80
Her Majesty still carries a Rand McNally atlas in the RV. As for myself, I have an uncanny sense of direction, so I can look at a map ahead of time and get to the location with no further reference.

I gave up on navigators when I was told to make the first legal U-turn, then after I had done so, I was told to make the first legal U-turn.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 06, 2026 06:33 AM (HdYcL)

81 Not time for coffee here yet. Still busy pretending I could go back to sleep.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 06:34 AM (3Pbwf)

82 uncanny sense of direction
_-_
...and a fella can't develop that by just following directions.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 06:35 AM (3Pbwf)

83 Her Majesty still carries a Rand McNally atlas in the RV. As for myself, I have an uncanny sense of direction, so I can look at a map ahead of time and get to the location with no further reference.

I gave up on navigators when I was told to make the first legal U-turn, then after I had done so, I was told to make the first legal U-turn.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 06, 2026

***
I rely more on the compass in the car's instrument panel than almost anything else. This is my fourth car with a compass in it, and now I wouldn't know what to do without it. Of course I may be the only Swamp dweller you'll ever meet who understands compass points. The rest all navigate by "Toward da river, toward da lake, toward da airport."

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

84 I still use my 2016 Walmart-issued Rand McNally U.S. Road Atlas. It has a store directory for WM in it. That was how I found the Walmart in Pine Bluff, not via locals' directions.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius

Really? It is a well-known that every town of population 25,000 or more has a Walmart. Las Cruces, whose population is about 115,000, has three of them plus a grocery store specific version and a Sam's club. Somehow I manage to avoid them most of the time.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at May 06, 2026 06:39 AM (glnUu)

85 rely more on the compass in the car's instrument panel than almost anything else.
_-_
Pretty handy in the eastern US where it is often cloudy or the trees reach each other over the top of the small roads.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 06:41 AM (3Pbwf)

86 Imagine what a killbot could do at a protest with 50,000 people. It goes until it runs out of ammo.
Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at May 06, 2026 06:24 AM (D1E+2)
----
The only way to stop them is to send wave after wave of our own men until the killbots hit their preset kill limit.

Posted by: Captain Zapp Brannigan at May 06, 2026 06:42 AM (gnNyN)

87 every town of population 25,000 or more has a Walmart.
_-_
Favorite phrase in directions to anything - "down by the old Walmart."

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 06:43 AM (3Pbwf)

88
Pretty handy in the eastern US where it is often cloudy or the trees reach each other over the top of the small roads.
Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 06:41 AM (3Pbwf)

I was rather shocked a couple of years ago when I took a trip from Texas to Philadelphia and had to drive to my destination. All the roads are narrow, buildings smooshed up next to them and tiny parking lots.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 06, 2026 06:43 AM (HdYcL)

89 Really? It is a well-known that every town of population 25,000 or more has a Walmart. Las Cruces, whose population is about 115,000, has three of them plus a grocery store specific version and a Sam's club. Somehow I manage to avoid them most of the time.
Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at May 06, 2026

***
Tell City is a tiny town on the Ohio River a ways outside Evansville, IN. It sports a lot fewer than 25K people -- and *it* has a Walmart.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 06, 2026 06:44 AM (wzUl9)

90 Good morning from the road! Gonna finish this on Friday, get home and get some decent coffee and slice of pecan pie.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 06, 2026 06:44 AM (25wiQ)

91
Should have added that I grew up in the area (Bucks County) and so should have remembered.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 06, 2026 06:46 AM (HdYcL)

92 Pretty handy in the eastern US where it is often cloudy or the trees reach each other over the top of the small roads.
Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026

***
Or where the road signs are obscured by weathering or are not clear in low light.

(Full disclosure: My distance vision is still decent, but not what it was just a few years ago. I'm working up my nerve to get glasses for driving.)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 06, 2026 06:46 AM (wzUl9)

93 I misunderstood the Microsoft edge storing your passwords in clear text. It's worse. It does it all the time.

From the guy who discovered this, "When you save passwords in Edge, the browser decrypts every credential at startup and keeps them resident in process memory. This happens even if you never visit a site that uses those credentials."

What is perverse and amusing here is Microsoft requires you to validate your credentials when you attempt to access access the password manager.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at May 06, 2026 06:47 AM (glnUu)

94 Texas to Philadelphia
_-_
Yeah, you start to see where that expression, "You can't get there from here", originated (or is that a Maine thing?)

I like driving in Texas, because the roads are usually so well marked that it's pretty easy to just wing-it most of the time even going someplace you haven't been before.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 06:50 AM (3Pbwf)

95 For road trip navigation, I use Waze almost exclusively. Spent the last couple of days driving around the Portland/McMinnville area and it was indispensable. Scout the route, mark the coffee shops and hit the road.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 06, 2026 06:51 AM (25wiQ)

96 Favorite phrase in directions to anything - "down by the old Walmart."
Posted by: Don in SoCo

I recently started some physical therapy and the office was in a Med Center in Urbana, Ohio. The receptionist I first spoke with on the phone said, when I asked their location, "We're right by the Walmart Superstore."

Posted by: Biergood at May 06, 2026 06:51 AM (PwgSL)

97 Regarding VPNs, which I asked about yesterday: Proton has a free one. It's limited though, "medium speed," and offers servers in fourteen countries . . .*chosen at random.* Their next step up is $2.99 a month and offers a choice of 20,000 servers, and does not say "chosen at random."

After I finish paying my trip bills, I'll look into it. $36 a year doesn't sound too extortionate.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 06, 2026 06:52 AM (wzUl9)

98 w00t late

Posted by: m at May 06, 2026 06:53 AM (RtN13)

99 (Bucks County)
_-_
I've been meaning to get out that way. My bagpipe teacher lived out there, but he decided to bug out to the west. Nice seeing what a bit of rain does for the flora and fauna of a place!

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 06:54 AM (3Pbwf)

100 100

Posted by: m at May 06, 2026 06:55 AM (RtN13)

101 I recently started some physical therapy and the office was in a Med Center in Urbana, Ohio. The receptionist I first spoke with on the phone said, when I asked their location, "We're right by the Walmart Superstore."
Posted by: Biergood at May 06, 2026

***
My next question would be, "And what street or highway is that on?" This flummoxes most people, unfortunately. There is a major expressway that goes around Pine Bluff, the Martha Mitchell Expressway, with clear signs; and yet when I asked locals how to get back to it, they looked like I'd asked little cat Dagny about the life of the Emperor Tiberius.

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

102 Late?!!! Woot were you thinking of ?!! 😉

https://tinyurl.com/5dukp88a

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 06, 2026 06:57 AM (2sfNr)

103 Good morning morons

Getting ready to take Boy F. to see his grandma and her yenta friends in Portland . It is gross how they fawn over him.

They used to fawn over me.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 06, 2026 06:57 AM (RIvkX)

104 26 Pun lost.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey,

I'll go look for it.
Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at May 06, 2026 05:18 AM (sAmhv)

; )

Posted by: m at May 06, 2026 06:58 AM (RtN13)

105 I usually read the ONT about this time in the morning. I would advise against telling the thermos joke at work. The classic version involves an unsophisticated construction worker in a “man on the street” interview. Asked what he thinks is the world’s greatest invention, he answers in a certain dialect.

For the same reason, I would advise never reciting the “eeny mean1e m1ny m0” sequence. I thought the racist version was a juvenile delinquent variation of a more benign classic. No, the original version was the malignant version.

Posted by: Fenderbender at May 06, 2026 06:58 AM (1FEc1)

106 I like driving in Texas, because the roads are usually so well marked that it's pretty easy to just wing-it most of the time even going someplace you haven't been before.
Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026

***
And with good road surfaces, even the state highways and county highways.

Kansas had good roads; so did Missouri, at least the Interstate and US highways. Arkansas wasn't bad until I got south of Little Rock, but the I-55 in MS was good. The moment I crossed the state line into Lousy-ana, though, my car looked back at me and said, "Boss, do we *hafta* do this?"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 06, 2026 06:58 AM (wzUl9)

107 McMinnville is very cute little town.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 06, 2026 06:59 AM (RIvkX)

108 Speaking of DAgny, it's time I fed the furry thugs on their new schedule.

Stirling has a new nickname: Mighty Hunter, or Mouse-Killer.

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

109 I went to my local Best Buy for the 10th time to take a look at the MacBook Air 13 and 15 yesterday. The salesperson informed me a major difference between the 13-in and the 15-in MacBook Air is the 15 in is bigger because it has more cores in the GPU.

I didn't even try to challenge this. Instead I just nodded and went "Oh really. Interesting. I didn't know that."

To be fair, I think the salesperson intended to say the 15-in MacBook Air has bigger graphics performance because it has more GPU cores. It was all rather amusing.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at May 06, 2026 07:00 AM (glnUu)

110 I can see where Waze would be useful in the Portland, OR. area for navigating around all the Antifa roadblocks.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at May 06, 2026 07:01 AM (glnUu)

111 My next question would be, "And what street or highway is that on?" This flummoxes most people, unfortunately.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius

***

lol...Yes, I'd never been to Urbana, Ohio before so that was of absolutely no help to me. My next question was for the address.

Posted by: Biergood at May 06, 2026 07:01 AM (PwgSL)

112
Diana gets morose when Her Majesty leaves on a trip without her. So I let her sleep on the bed next to me last night. She occupied HM's side and, unusually, was no problem at all.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 06, 2026 07:03 AM (HdYcL)

113 Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 06, 2026 06:59 AM (RIvkX)

Lotsa nice towns between PDX and McMinnville. I only spent time at the airport there though. I did make time to walk through the Evergreen air and space museum and see the spruce goose.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 06, 2026 07:04 AM (25wiQ)

114 Birdbath status?

Posted by: Just Wondering at May 06, 2026 07:04 AM (2Ez/1)

115 Good morning!

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

Posted by: NaCly Dog at May 06, 2026 07:06 AM (u82oZ)

116 I did make time to walk through the Evergreen air and space museum and see the spruce goose.
Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 06, 2026 07:04 AM (25wiQ)
====

Excellent !

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 06, 2026 07:08 AM (RIvkX)

117 114 Birdbath status?
Help me, 2Ez/1, you're my only hope.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 07:08 AM (3Pbwf)

118 I might add that the new Continental tires on the front of the Buick, and the Kelly Sports that have been on the rear for about two years, all performed perfectly on the trip. In this case that meant "Air them up properly and forget about them."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 06, 2026 07:10 AM (wzUl9)

119 mornin yall. This news nugget may be the most important thing you read all day:

"Billie Eilish recalls how brutal twerking injury actually saved her life"

Posted by: fd at May 06, 2026 07:12 AM (vFG9F)

120 Mcminnville was home to a Tandy corporation's Incredible Universe technology superstore in the mid 90s. They were ridiculously large and we're quickly wiped out by e-commerce.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at May 06, 2026 07:14 AM (glnUu)

121 Have to endorse the girls next door coffee shop in Portland. No nose rings or purple hair baristas.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 06, 2026 07:14 AM (25wiQ)

122
Billie Eilish recalls how brutal twerking injury actually saved her life

She has a "Dead at 27" look about her.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 06, 2026 07:14 AM (HdYcL)

123 The Pakistani Muslim Judge Who Protected 2 Trump Assassins
Should Congress remove him?
May 6, 2026 by Daniel Greenfield
=====
Yesterday I told JJ "they are already inside the house."

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 06, 2026 07:15 AM (RIvkX)

124 "Air them up properly and forget about them."¹
_-_
Kirk: But for how...long? How...long, Mr. Aurelius?

My F150 has a slow leak in one tire I've been airing up peiodically for about two years now...the guys at the tire shop get kinda whiny about slow leaks they can't find and ya have to spend an hour or two waiting...might have to break out the bead breaker and spoons and patch it myself.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at May 06, 2026 07:15 AM (3Pbwf)

125 Portland, Oregon used to have a boutique called Bad Kitty. Their slogan was "Good stuff for bad girls. Bad stuff for good girls." I love going by there.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at May 06, 2026 07:16 AM (glnUu)

126
I love that FYC video ... always have!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 06, 2026 07:16 AM (xG4kz)

127 I hate everything about Portland except the low sales tax.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 06, 2026 07:16 AM (RIvkX)

128 I won't even go to Powell's anymore.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 06, 2026 07:17 AM (RIvkX)

129 Have to endorse the girls next door coffee shop in Portland. No nose rings or purple hair baristas.
Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 06, 2026

***
I was amazed at how weird hair-free and nose ring-free all the clerks were, even at the coffee shops, in Kansas.

Kansas seemed also to have few hijab-wearers around, as in "none." Salty replied, "They keep a low profile here. We have a lot of gun owners."

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

130
Google Deep Mind staff in Britain are about to suddenly be laid off due to economic conditions. (Wired) (archive site)

I can see the future. And sometimes even the past. Present is cloudy though.

The question for which we have ever received a satisfactory answer:

How is it that Dionne Warwick and the Psychic Friends Network did not foresee that its end was near?

The answer? It sat on a throne of lies!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 06, 2026 07:19 AM (xG4kz)

131 Portland, Oregon used to have a boutique called Bad Kitty. Their slogan was "Good stuff for bad girls. Bad stuff for good girls." I love going by there.
Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at May 06, 2026

***
Mrs. Wolfus No. 2 would have loved that slogan and probably would have bought the place out.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 06, 2026 07:19 AM (wzUl9)

132 Big primary night last night in Indiana, as Trump endorsed candidates slaughtered the RINO's who frustrated redistricting. Also a good night for the President in Ohio, where his candidates did very well in their primaries. The Propaganda Press will be furiously looking for a spin angle, but it's a victory any way you look at it.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at May 06, 2026 07:19 AM (nBmgE)

133 We're having early voting this week. I need to brush up on who's running that I can vote for, and take care of that.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 06, 2026 07:20 AM (wzUl9)

134 I won't even go to Powell's anymore.
Posted by: San Franpsycho

I was last in Portland, 2016. I was appalled at the state of the city at that point. There's not a chance in hell I would ever return. I lived there in the mid-90s and it was always amusing to see the ecoterrorists repel down the side of one of the taller buildings so they could unfurl one of multi-story banners.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at May 06, 2026 07:20 AM (glnUu)

135
Billie Eilish recalls how brutal twerking injury actually saved her life

She has a "Dead at 27" look about her.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

Her guilt from living on stolen land is consuming her.

Now you tell one ...

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 06, 2026 07:20 AM (xG4kz)

136 Nood JJ

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at May 06, 2026 07:21 AM (sn5xH)

137 I definitely wouldn’t live here. The people (I met/worked with) were nice and the area was beautiful but being in all the forest was almost claustrophobic.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 06, 2026 07:21 AM (25wiQ)

138 Has Eilish given her multimillion home to the Indian tribe that demanded it after her helpful remarks regarding "stolen land?"

Because until she does, I don't care to hear from her again.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at May 06, 2026 07:21 AM (BI5O2)

139
One of these days I will take up proofreading.

But today is not that day!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 06, 2026 07:22 AM (xG4kz)

140 The TV series Grimm was set and filmed in Portland, OR. I loved the exteriors of the houses they showed on the series, and the set of the lead character's home matched that style and was glorious.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 06, 2026 07:22 AM (wzUl9)

141 Don in SoCo,

Try Discount Tire. Those guys are great.

I had a slow leak and they patched (not plugged) it for free.

Posted by: no one of any consequence at May 06, 2026 07:23 AM (qFwJc)

142 One of these days I will take up proofreading.

But today is not that day!
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot

Technically, isn't that what we do when we read a liquor bottle label?

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at May 06, 2026 07:23 AM (glnUu)

143 New desktop arrived on Friday. Took it out of the box on Saturday. Started setting it up on Sunday. Maybe I'll do more of that today. I'm not in a hurry obvs.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at May 06, 2026 07:42 AM (CHHv1)

144 >>>Microsoft is automatically adding Copilot as an author to Git commits if it occupied the same continental plate as your code at any point.

Nice attempt at an end run around the GPL?

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at May 06, 2026 10:59 AM (dK+Kv)

145 Love love love Notepad++, used it for year of Sundays.

Posted by: BunyipBluegum at May 06, 2026 02:47 PM (Zx/u7)

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