Daily Tech News 19 August 2026

Top Story

A federal judge has ruled that a state judge who used AI to handle the entire decision in a case so she could spend the day playing Cookie Run Kingdom or something equally important cannot be sued. (Tom's Hardware)

The state judge's actions may not be reasonable, or even legal, and the decision can be appealed, but the judge cannot sued.

Tech News

Move fast and crash planes: Google just bought the anonymised databases of the defunct Spirit Airlines for $10 million to train AI models. (CNN)

With OpenAI training on Reddit, Amazon training on Twitch streams, and now Google training on incompetent and defunct airlines, I don't think we have to worry too much about AI taking our jobs.

And more about AI destroying the economy so there aren't any jobs to be taken.
Building a Steam Machine in an ASRock Deskmeet X300. (WCCFTech)

Interesting thing: The Deskmeet X300 has four DDR4 SODIMM slots. Which is great if you just happen to have a stockpile of DDR4 SODIMMs from old laptops and mini-PCs.

Which I do.
Best Buy apparently did not steal half this customer's memory. (Tom's Hardware)

They took half the memory out, yes, but returned it along with the laptop. And since it has a dedicated GPU, performance won't suffer too much.

Actually, it just sounds like one stick of RAM went bad, and since the laptop was upgraded by a third-party, it wasn't Best Buy's responsibility, and the system is now working again.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: She's a bop girl.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:45 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 w00t

Posted by: m at August 19, 2026 04:48 AM (odBC9)

2 !!

Posted by: clarence at August 19, 2026 04:48 AM (jAzRo)

3 Mornin'

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at August 19, 2026 04:48 AM (sAmhv)

4 G'Day everyone

Posted by: Skip at August 19, 2026 04:50 AM (Ia/+0)

5 this is newsy; excerpted from the ONT

452 The IRGC are threatening ballistic missile attacks on European targets in Cyprus and Bulgaria. The IRGC fired two missiles at the UAE yesterday that both fell into the sea.

Posted by: Ben Had at August 19, 2026 04:32 AM (gIjzl)

Posted by: m at August 19, 2026 04:51 AM (odBC9)

6 Judicial immunity is nowhere in either the Constitution or statute.

Judges have immunity because judges say so.

Posted by: The Right Honorable Miklos, presiding at August 19, 2026 04:56 AM (XOG/m)

7 Someone should do a mashup of IRGC officials making threats and Ernest T. Bass threatening to throw a rock.

Posted by: Miklos lacks certain technical skill, more of an Idea Guy at August 19, 2026 04:58 AM (XOG/m)

8 m, this reminds me so much of Baghdad Bob. This has precipitated the move to quash all news coming out of Iran.

Posted by: Ben Had at August 19, 2026 04:59 AM (gIjzl)

9 Miklos lacks certain technical skill, more of an Idea Guy

heh

Posted by: m at August 19, 2026 04:59 AM (odBC9)

10 8 m, this reminds me so much of Baghdad Bob. This has precipitated the move to quash all news coming out of Iran.
Posted by: Ben Had at August 19, 2026 04:59 AM (gIjzl)

I'll be headed down lots of rabbit holes online!

Posted by: m at August 19, 2026 05:01 AM (odBC9)

11 Iran International is doing the best just the news reporting without opinions.

Posted by: Ben Had at August 19, 2026 05:04 AM (gIjzl)

12 m, this reminds me so much of Baghdad Bob.

Posted by: Ben Had at August 19, 2026 04:59 AM (gIjzl)
-

Iran is not Saddam Hussein. Iran is suicidal.

הבא להורגך, השכם להורגו

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at August 19, 2026 05:04 AM (Z3R2R)

13 Oh, and BOING!

Lunch time, already???

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at August 19, 2026 05:05 AM (Z3R2R)

14 Biden's Dog, any opinion on the election?

Posted by: Ben Had at August 19, 2026 05:05 AM (gIjzl)

15 Elections here are stuck on stupid because they are based on a party-only choice. Plus, governments can be brought down before their maximum term. Very much like (once) Great Britain.

Voters here are just as stupid as much everywhere else. They keep on voting for the same ol' same ol'.

Netanyahu is such a farce. Has been for decades.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at August 19, 2026 05:08 AM (Z3R2R)

16 Where is this Barack Obama, and what have you done with him?

Wikipedia, Hamas

In July 2008, Barack Obama, then the Democratic presidential candidate, said: "If somebody was sending rockets into my house, where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that, and I would expect Israelis to do the same thing."

Posted by: m at August 19, 2026 05:10 AM (odBC9)

17
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at August 19, 2026 05:11 AM (AMvSw)

18 A federal judge has ruled that a state judge who used AI to handle the entire decision in a case so she could spend the day playing Cookie Run Kingdom or something equally important cannot be sued.
****

It is quite likely that the judge relied on their clerk for the decision. To get to the bottom of this matter, the plaintiff should petition to have the judge explain the ruling in chambers. If the judge can not adequately explain, petition for recusal.

Posted by: clarence at August 19, 2026 05:11 AM (jAzRo)

19 Technology gave us fat feral wimmin in bathrobes on airplane bitching about racis and sheet

I don't like technology anymore

Posted by: the nephew at August 19, 2026 05:12 AM (LOZbR)

20 When going to the Amish market on Saturday, not only did we get good food served by pleasant, polite people , but I got several words search books which I enjoy doing as a diversion. One book was on faith, one was on love and based on passages from scripture This is one I was working on today from Psalm 33:20-22:

"Our soul waiteth for the Lord ; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His Holy Name. Let thy mercy be upon us, as we hope in thee."

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 19, 2026 05:25 AM (xSAlF)

21 Could I guess that judge is a DEI hire, and doesn't have any idea about written law?

Posted by: Skip at August 19, 2026 05:26 AM (Ia/+0)

22 Be bop. Deluxe.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at August 19, 2026 05:28 AM (fh6Zf)

23 Disclaimer: She's a bop girl.

She yips.

Posted by: m at August 19, 2026 05:28 AM (odBC9)

24 Evening and morning, late toilers and early risers!

Woden's Day, Woden's Day, wherefore art thou Woden's day? A Thor's Day by any other name would smell as sweet.

Not that my Thor's Day this week will be a snap. Haircut, gassing up the car, dropping off old clothes and books at the thrift store; a busy morning. Today is lighter. I hope.

Anyway, I'm up earlier than I planned, having my coffee. What about you?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 19, 2026 05:28 AM (wzUl9)

25 Christian man from MN ( says he works in the agricultural industry) writes on spiritual maintenance and Hebrews 10: 19-25:

https://tinyurl.com/muby72eu

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 19, 2026 05:29 AM (xSAlF)

26 abovethelaw.com has articles about the use of AI in the law and promotes a "resource" called Legal AI.

Posted by: m at August 19, 2026 05:30 AM (odBC9)

27 For some reason, when that Cyndi Lauper song came out, I thought the chorus included the word "Baluchistan."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 19, 2026 05:30 AM (wzUl9)

28 Cyndi Lauper - She Bop

It is super catchy.

Posted by: m at August 19, 2026 05:32 AM (odBC9)

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