Daily Tech News 29 August 2026

Top Story

Stripe has decided maybe they won't buy PayPal after all. (Axios)

Apparently they got it confused with some place in Italy.
China is secretly fueling America's datacenter rage. (Axios)

The guys pushing for all the datacenters are making it easy for them, though.

Tech News

Database binary is 5M. Language is 1.2M. Both squish by 60% using UPX and seem to run just fine. The language will probably be pushing 5M as well by the time it's done, but that seems fine.

Next step is to point the language at the database and rebuild my personal blog. If that works well, others will follow.
The Ninth Circuit has ruled that gambling is gambling and can be regulated as gambling. (CNN)

Seems correct to me.
OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and a hundred other rogue AIs have called to band together to protect themselves against the public and private sector. (Tech Crunch)

Huh.
The Pentagon's classification of supply-chain risk Anthropic as a supply-chain risk posed a supply-chain risk to Anthropic, says federal judge... You have got to be shitting me. (The Guardian)

The script writers for this season are getting lazy.
Canada has "poached" literally dozen of "scientists" from the US. (CityNews)

You can tell how sciencey they are from the foam.
Idiots on PCs losing data. (Tom's Hardware)

I use Claude. I have a specific WSL instance set up for it. If it deletes it, I lose maybe an hour to reinstall the whole environment and pull the code back from Git.
Intel's 14A defect density is dropping faster than expected. Here's why that's a good thing. (Tom's Hardware)

Uh... Because defects are bad and having fewer of them is good?
How Cloudflare saved 100TB of RAM on its 1.1.1.1 DNS service. (Tom's Hardware)

They started out with 250TB of RAM.
The math ain't mathing. (WCCFTech)
During the second quarter, TSMC paid out NT$36 billion in bonuses, which marked a 50.6% growth over the year ago figure of NT$35 billion.
No. I don't think it did.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: Stop the beguine, I want to get off!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 w00t

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 04:31 AM (odBC9)

2 Morning!

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at August 29, 2026 04:33 AM (iIyc0)

3 >>>The math ain't mathing. (WCCFTech)

MATH

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 04:34 AM (odBC9)

4 Hello Techsters.

Lots to read today Pixie. Thank you

Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 04:36 AM (jVkUA)

5 Correction Pixy.

I pluraled you.

Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 04:37 AM (jVkUA)

6 >>>Database binary is 5M. Language is 1.2M.

M = megabyte(s) maybe
My dictionary wants megabyte to be Mb or MB.

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 04:38 AM (odBC9)

7 Two Australian workers on vacation in Thailand stop and help workers get an excavator back on track for free. Sunny Skyz site:

https://tinyurl.com/mr47mpzu

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 29, 2026 04:41 AM (rHgXV)

8 also my dictionary:

pixie (also pixy)
noun (plural pixies)
1 a supernatural being in folklore and children's stories, typically portrayed as small and humanlike in form, with pointed ears and a pointed hat.

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 04:42 AM (odBC9)

9 Mornin'

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at August 29, 2026 04:44 AM (rii+a)

10 China is secretly fueling America's datacenter rage. (Axios)

The guys pushing for all the datacenters are making it easy for them, though.

Yep.

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at August 29, 2026 04:45 AM (rii+a)

11 Pixy if you’re still around can you comment on Tom’s Hardware as an information source or is it more reviews and scuttlebutt?

Odd question but I’m wondering if it’s worth a subscription as a non tech person attempting to stay current on the tech world.

Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 04:54 AM (INF9B)

12 Morning, Tech Peeps

Posted by: fluffy at August 29, 2026 04:54 AM (V0/Sp)

13 How Cloudflare saved 100TB of RAM on its 1.1.1.1 DNS service. (Tom's Hardware)

They started out with 250TB of RAM.

Motorsports have a similar saying; want to be a millionaire race team owner? Start out with 2 million.

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at August 29, 2026 04:55 AM (rii+a)

14 >>> Database binary is 5M. Language is 1.2M

Pixy, are you building an LLM?

Posted by: fluffy at August 29, 2026 04:57 AM (V0/Sp)

15 Pete Bog, good morning.

Posted by: Ben Had at August 29, 2026 04:58 AM (PbWRL)

16 11 Pixy if you’re still around can you comment on Tom’s Hardware as an information source or is it more reviews and scuttlebutt?

Odd question but I’m wondering if it’s worth a subscription as a non tech person attempting to stay current on the tech world.
Posted by: Pete Bog

They're not bad - they stick to the tech news and haven't fallen into woke crap. I don't have a subscription but that's because I know where to go to find all sources; if you don't want to spend your time reading conference papers and press releases it might be worthwhile.

In past years Anandtech and Ars Technica were the places to go, but one is dead and the other is worse than dead.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 29, 2026 05:01 AM (BLOW1)

17 Arti Shaw's band...I have a young (19) year of niece who loves that old time music from the big band era. Her parents took her to her college move in day, and I hope she gets a room mate who at least likes the music. Probably slim to none, but she's smart and wants to be a doctor (MD). Good University, I hope it lives up to its reputation. Lots of ivy on the walls of the buildings.

Posted by: Colin at August 29, 2026 05:01 AM (CiQE7)

18 Man in Iowa has stroke and setbacks after 14 years of being retired but then gains spiritual strength from remembering what God has done for him in the past . Scripture is Mark 8:14-21 . "Upper Room" devotional:

https://tinyurl.com/2pxcv5n8

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 29, 2026 05:02 AM (JrHfD)

19 14 >>> Database binary is 5M. Language is 1.2M

Pixy, are you building an LLM?
Posted by: fluffy

No, I'm using an LLM to turn my hobby projects in Python into viable code. Starting with something that already runs is proving to be a major advantage.

I've tinkered with Python compilers, but they never really got me where I wanted. With LLMs I can now just translate all my Python code to a compiled language (I chose Rust) and skip all those limitations.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 29, 2026 05:04 AM (BLOW1)

20 Because I'm a completely non techy person, I do not understand why AI is going to be such a wonderful thing, and why we need huge data centers for this. So people can make fake videos and AI can take over jobs?

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 29, 2026 05:04 AM (JrHfD)

21
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at August 29, 2026 05:08 AM (AMvSw)

22 why we need huge data centers for this. So people can make fake videos and AI can take over jobs?
Posted by: FenelonSpoke

*shifty eyes*

Posted by: Military-Industrial Complex at August 29, 2026 05:09 AM (z9yxT)

23 16 one is dead and the other is worse than dead
Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 29, 2026 05:01 AM (BLOW1)

ewww

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 05:12 AM (odBC9)

24 So yesterday I came up with (and posted here) an integration between TwitterWebViewer, and the add-on/plug-in called "Redirect" so that I could just click on an X link here at AoSHQ, and it'd reform the URL so it sent it to TwitterWebViewer in its desired format. Very handy.

Came home after work to find out that TwitterWebViewer had been sent a "Cease and Desist" letter by X, which they capitulated to.

Well, crap. X, apparently, wants to become "just another walled garden".

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines at August 29, 2026 05:14 AM (O7YUW)

25 20 Because I'm a completely non techy person, I do not understand why AI is going to be such a wonderful thing, and why we need huge data centers for this. So people can make fake videos and AI can take over jobs?
Posted by: FenelonSpoke

Mostly. It is great specifically for programmers, because LLM stands for "Large Language Model" and programming languages are languages. If you have a billion lines of dusty old code written in COBOL you can either pay $500 per hour to get people to come back from retirement to keep it running, or pay $100 per hour to someone who knows how to run LLMs and maintain a proper test suite.

Not so great if you're a COBOL programmer and counting on that money for a comfortable retirement.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 29, 2026 05:14 AM (BLOW1)

26 I'm pretty confident that the data center explosion has precious little to do with AI and is 99% due to everyone's gmail being full.

"Compute? Pfffft. This is just twenty squillion M2 drives crammed in to racks full of NAS boxes."

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 29, 2026 05:16 AM (Ot/FD)

27
twitterwebviewer.com

via Hacker News

Service discontinued
As of August 28, 2026, this website has been permanently discontinued, following a request from X Corp. All cached content has been deleted.

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 05:16 AM (odBC9)

28 28 I'm pretty confident that the data center explosion has precious little to do with AI and is 99% due to everyone's gmail being full.

I have soooooo many e-mails!

Posted by: Tickled Pink at August 29, 2026 05:18 AM (Pcj+Q)

29 Morning, 'rons and 'ettes.

Posted by: olddog in mo at August 29, 2026 05:19 AM (Hbeqj)

30 G'Day everyone

How did it get so late in the morning already?

Posted by: Skip at August 29, 2026 05:20 AM (Ia/+0)

31 Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 29, 2026 05:14 AM (BLOW1

Thanks.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 29, 2026 05:20 AM (JrHfD)

32 Daniel Penny, the Marine that NYC attempted to railroad over his defensive use of force to subdue a Subway loon wrote a really interesting piece about how Data Centers are critical to rebuilding American manufacturing and jobs. Good stuff.

Hopefully this link works to an X/Twitter

https://tinyurl.com/yy36knhd

Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 05:20 AM (jVkUA)

33 Isn't X free if you don't insist on blue check mark status?

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at August 29, 2026 05:20 AM (iIyc0)

34 When Bernie Sanders came out against data centers, I started rethinking. I'm still not sure but if commie symps are against it, it's probably a good idea.

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at August 29, 2026 05:25 AM (rii+a)

35 some discussion of 𝕏 at Hacker News:

https://tinyurl.com/yj52byt4

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 05:25 AM (odBC9)

36 33 Isn't X free if you don't insist on blue check mark status?
Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at August 29, 2026 05:20 AM (iIyc0)

"free"

Posted by: guy who repeats what you said but with quotation marks at August 29, 2026 05:26 AM (nVDlP)

37 32 Daniel Penny, the Marine that NYC attempted to railroad over his defensive use of force to subdue a Subway loon wrote a really interesting piece about how Data Centers are critical to rebuilding American manufacturing and jobs. Good stuff.

Hopefully this link works to an X/Twitter

https://tinyurl.com/yy36knhd
Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 05:20 AM (jVkUA)

It works.

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 05:27 AM (odBC9)

38 @33/Additional Blond Agent:

Yes, X is free if you wish to use it that way, but that also means you're the product they're selling to advertisers, and trackers.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines at August 29, 2026 05:27 AM (O7YUW)

39 Posted by: guy who repeats what you said but with quotation marks at August 29, 2026 05:26 AM (nVDlP)

Do you have a newsletter?

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 05:28 AM (odBC9)

40 >>> I do not understand why AI is going to be such a wonderful thing, and why we need huge data centers for this.

It is a tool. Because Pixy is extremely technical, he can do something as described above (Python to Rust). I am less so, but the other day I did ask it to find a file for me based on a vague description. (Ever forget where you saved a file and even what you named it?)

Early on, the automobile was a rich man's toy. It is now part of every day life in America, both a great convenience and a burden, simultaneously. AI will likely follow a similar arc. We will likely learn the mechanics of it before we gain the wisdom to use it well.

Sarah Connor just put me on a watch list.

Posted by: fluffy at August 29, 2026 05:28 AM (V0/Sp)

41 Data Centers will lead to Skynet, but something needs to change

Posted by: Skip at August 29, 2026 05:32 AM (Ia/+0)

42 Yes, X is free if you wish to use it that way, but that also means you're the product they're selling to advertisers, and trackers.
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines at August 29, 2026 05:27 AM (O7YUW

Aren’t you the same thing if you subscribe? Hard to make a case here that providing a forum should be free for those of us who don’t want to pay or be marketed to, or used as the product. This good old website would only last as long as Ace’s beneficence and wallet allowed.

Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 05:35 AM (jVkUA)

43 From the HackerNews thread is urbnspacecowboy's comment about why free X accouns:

---
Not good enough. Creating an account still leads to the "Your account was suspended for reasons, now you gotta dox yourself" dance. See previous discussion:
https://tinyurl.com/ar23k73u
---

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines at August 29, 2026 05:36 AM (O7YUW)

44 Okay, I need coffee. The intro to that last comment should have read: "From the HackerNews thread is urbnspacecowboy's comment about why free X accounts aren't all they're cracked up to be"

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines at August 29, 2026 05:38 AM (O7YUW)

45 why we need huge data centers for this. So people can make fake videos and AI can take over jobs?

Squirrel!!

Posted by: Skynet at August 29, 2026 05:39 AM (v7UJz)

46 A beautiful psalm of praise- Psalm 99:

https://tinyurl.com/yc3hcbyd

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 29, 2026 05:40 AM (1pQBc)

47 32 Daniel Penny, the Marine that NYC attempted to railroad over his defensive use of force to subdue a Subway loon wrote a really interesting piece about how Data Centers are critical to rebuilding American manufacturing and jobs. Good stuff.

Hopefully this link works to an X/Twitter

https://tinyurl.com/yy36knhd
Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 05:20 AM (jVkUA)

Thanks, Pete Bog! Thoughtful essay.
This analogy works for him:

"At the bottom of the Great Depression, with a quarter of the country out of work, America framed the Empire State Building in thirteen months, 3,400 men on site a day. The data center campus is this generation's version of that decision to build."

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 05:40 AM (odBC9)

48 For better or worse, "data center" has become a tainted term. We need a rebrand that reassures the public. Maybe "electronic konzentrationslager"?

Posted by: I'm Here To Help at August 29, 2026 05:42 AM (g0o3e)

49 @42/Pete Bog: I'm not sure what you're driving at with the "Aren’t you the same thing if you subscribe?" question. The same thing as what exactly?

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines at August 29, 2026 05:42 AM (O7YUW)

50
Posted by: I'm Here To Help at August 29, 2026 05:42 AM (g0o3e)

duck, duck, (g0o3e)

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 05:44 AM (odBC9)

51 That Hackernews thread link just brings up one lone word: "Sorry."

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at August 29, 2026 05:44 AM (iIyc0)

52 51 That Hackernews thread link just brings up one lone word: "Sorry."
Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at August 29, 2026 05:44 AM (iIyc0)

This one?

35 some discussion of 𝕏 at Hacker News:

https://tinyurl.com/yj52byt4
Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 05:25 AM (odBC9)

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 05:46 AM (odBC9)

53 Yesterday on our walk at some beautiful gardens we saw ( among other things ) a scented hosta lily. It looked and smelled great. Here is a picture of it, but no smell.😉

https://tinyurl.com/3nd7bepd

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 29, 2026 05:47 AM (W90Ou)

54 Yep.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at August 29, 2026 05:47 AM (iIyc0)

55 54 Yep.
Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at August 29, 2026 05:47 AM (iIyc0)

Try this?

https://news.ycombinator.com/

item?id=49481018

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 05:48 AM (odBC9)

56 G&R, my point was that you have a paid or free subscription your usage data will be subject to monetization if it’s of value to anyone.

My larger point is that those of us who grew up watching “free TV” didn't mind being the product. We never thought about it because Ads paid the freight. We just accepted that a 30 minute show was really only 24 minutes. VCRs opened a lot of eyes. The Nielsen ratings were developed to help advertisers decide where to buy ad time.

Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 05:49 AM (pI9r+)

57 Still doesn't work.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at August 29, 2026 05:50 AM (iIyc0)

58 It's news.ycombinator.com that's returning the one word response.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at August 29, 2026 05:51 AM (iIyc0)

59 Everything is about the money, absolutely everything.

Posted by: Ben Had at August 29, 2026 05:51 AM (PbWRL)

60 57 Still doesn't work.
Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at August 29, 2026 05:50 AM (iIyc0)

Starting from the Hacker News main page, scroll to the bottom and type twitterwebviewer in the search box and you should get a list of about 10 Hacker News entries on that topic.

Hacker News main page:

https://news.ycombinator.com

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 05:52 AM (odBC9)

61 When X was still Twitter and a censorship cesspool I avoided it like the plague. When Elon bought it specifically to create a public forum for “free speech” I subscribed because I supported his ideal of that forum. Is it perfect? Not at all, yet this ideal is worth supporting. Hopefully with time it evolves to be the idea marketplace.

If it regresses I will unsubscribe.

Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 05:56 AM (pI9r+)

62 Everything is about the money, absolutely everything.
Posted by: Ben Had at August 29, 2026 05:51 AM (PbWRL)

Not everything is my friend. I didn’t have a profit motive when I went to Texas to meet a bunch of anonymous weirdos.

I’m sure glad I did.

Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 06:00 AM (pI9r+)

63 61 When X was still Twitter and a censorship cesspool I avoided it like the plague. When Elon bought it specifically to create a public forum for “free speech” I subscribed because I supported his ideal of that forum. Is it perfect? Not at all, yet this ideal is worth supporting. Hopefully with time it evolves to be the idea marketplace.

If it regresses I will unsubscribe.
Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 05:56 AM (pI9r+)

It DID let you link to a single text post, and let non-𝕏ers read it, so that's good.

32 Daniel Penny, the Marine that NYC attempted to railroad over his defensive use of force to subdue a Subway loon wrote a really interesting piece about how Data Centers are critical to rebuilding American manufacturing and jobs. Good stuff.

Hopefully this link works to an X/Twitter

https://tinyurl.com/yy36knhd
Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 05:20 AM (jVkUA)

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 06:00 AM (odBC9)

64 @60. A bit of work just to pull up a bunch of articles about twitterwebviewer unsurprisingly getting canned.

In any case, my view on the matter is essentially the same as Pete Bog's response in @61.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at August 29, 2026 06:00 AM (iIyc0)

65 Pete Bog, I committed an error I know better than to do. I will put my broad brush back in the bucket.

Posted by: Ben Had at August 29, 2026 06:04 AM (PbWRL)

66 totally non tech related -as usual- I am glad that despite one of the downstairs doors being open, our kitten slept through the night and didn't come upstairs, , and when I came down he was standing on his hind feet looking like he was trying to open the door. It made me laugh.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 29, 2026 06:07 AM (xPsv8)

67 Pete Bog, my llfe has been enriched by you and L&T making the decision to come to Texas.

Posted by: Ben Had at August 29, 2026 06:09 AM (PbWRL)

68 Do European cars have air conditioning?
Was wondering the other day and thought about it again reading on Europes demise. I haven't been there sincr late 70s

Posted by: Skip at August 29, 2026 06:10 AM (Ia/+0)

69 I will put my broad brush back in the bucket.

Posted by: Ben Had at August 29, 2026 06:04 AM (PbWRL)

And I will return my pious sanctimony to the drawer. The drawer where the sharp knives are lurking in anticipation of a return to Texas in October. See you soon.

Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 06:11 AM (pI9r+)

70 51 That Hackernews thread link just brings up one lone word: "Sorry."
Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at August 29, 2026 05:44 AM (iIyc0)

I'm wondering if maybe the link got truncated in a cut-and-paste.

Like, maybe--for example--instead of this getting entered into a google search bar:

https://tinyurl.com/yj52byt4

this got entered:

https://tinyurl.com/yj52byt

which brings up a page saying

Something has gone wrong...
It seems you've stumbled upon our 404 page.

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 06:13 AM (odBC9)

71 Hash test

Posted by: fluffy at August 29, 2026 06:14 AM (V0/Sp)

72 @59. Everything is about the money-Ben Had

Well, yeah.

Posted by: Case at August 29, 2026 06:16 AM (VrYHL)

73 BBC is such trash. It'll have a day or two of following breaking news stories ok and then always descends.

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 06:16 AM (odBC9)

74 Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

Rejoinder: If you don't knock it off, I'll turn this beguine around.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at August 29, 2026 06:19 AM (amcLV)

75 Saturday: Weekend toilers and early risers, rejoice! You get more of what you have been seeking!

(This comment brought to you by The Logic of Today's Democrat Party, Inc.)

Whatevs. I'm up after being kicked by my big black cat, I'm sipping coffee, what more d'you want?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 29, 2026 06:20 AM (wzUl9)

76 Birdbath status?

Posted by: Just Wondering at August 29, 2026 06:20 AM (2Ez/1)

77 The ONT had some whining about a stinky ranch upwind of an interstate. I’m familiar with a stinky paper plant, and never forget that it is a source of steady paychecks… unless the enviro-weenies succeed in shutting it down…. Next time.

Reminds me of a classic New Jersey joke involving an illicit rendezvous in the backseat of a car.

Posted by: Fenderbender at August 29, 2026 06:21 AM (1FEc1)

78 AI generates "tech jokes":

Why did the computer show up at work late?
It had a hard drive.

Why did the computer cross the road?
To get away from the mouse!

Why did the developer go broke?
Because they cleared all their cache.

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 06:22 AM (odBC9)

79 @56/Pete Bog: Okay. Fair points, and you're right.

Ads may pay the freight, but the viewer (in the TV example) was never obligated to watch them, and the station or network could never guarantee to advertisers that the viewers actually would.

A viewer could:
- Mute the audio
- Switch channels
- Record and fast forward through commercials on playback (in the 80's when VCRs became a thing, as you noted)
- Record and edit out the commercials (When stand-alone DVRs like the Pioneer 650 came out - these things were absolutely awesome!)

Viewers of over-the-air TV were also another thing: Anonymous. Advertisers never got any data on whether John Doe at 123 Main Street, Anytown MyState, USA saw their advertisement for Lawn Darts during the Saturday morning cartoon block.

It's getting really difficult to be anonymous out there anymore, but I will keep trying and doing so where possible.

Similarly, it's getting difficult to avoid the deluge of advertisements, but I'll do what I can in that regard.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines at August 29, 2026 06:22 AM (O7YUW)

80 Trying to get motivated to make breakfast

Posted by: Skip at August 29, 2026 06:23 AM (Ia/+0)

81 Do European cars have air conditioning?
Was wondering the other day and thought about it again reading on Europes demise. I haven't been there sincr late 70s
Posted by: Skip at August 29, 2026

***
From what I've heard, the luxury brands do, though you can order even an MB or BMW without A/C. The Euro car makers took a while to understand that their A/C systems needed to handle America's humid heat or their sales would suffer.

My '84 Mercedes 280CE coupe, otherwise a solid wonderful car, was *designed* to let 20% outside air into the cabin at all times -- not a good idea in Denver, which while dry could hit 100 F. in July and August. My '86 420SEL, though, had the "recirculate" feature to close off outside air.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 29, 2026 06:25 AM (wzUl9)

82 It may not be efficient but I'll never allow an LLM agent or MCP plug in access to my repos. Yes I'll copy and paste code myself so I have direct control over what gets merged and squashed.

Posted by: Defenestratus at August 29, 2026 06:29 AM (dJeAh)

83 80 Trying to get motivated to make breakfast
Posted by: Skip at August 29, 2026 06:23 AM (Ia/+0)

You're good enough.
You're smart enough.
And doggone it, people like you.

Posted by: Stuart Smalley at August 29, 2026 06:29 AM (idw8a)

84 from Instapundit:

Kurt Schlichter
@KurtSchlichter

Caring about Donald Trump's idiosyncrasies is a waste of time.

I care that the border is shut.
That DEI is dying.
That we're rebuilding our military.

If he wants to say he's renaming a lake to freak out the squares, that's a bargain.

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 06:31 AM (odBC9)

85

I agree with Mr. Schlicter.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 29, 2026 06:33 AM (W90Ou)

86 And I'm trying to coax my workout motivation from its hiding place by promising that I will only walk this morning (which, to get a decent workout, for me, means exercising 33% longer). I'm not sure the argument is working.

Anyway: second cup of coffee. The furry thugs are cruising around. Stirling's diet is in its fifth day, and he is trying to pretend he is gaunt, haggard, and starving. Sorry, cat, reduced dry food and no overnight snack bowl is not going to kill you.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 29, 2026 06:35 AM (wzUl9)

87 The Euro car makers took a while to understand that their A/C systems needed to handle America's humid heat or their sales would suffer.
——
I had a coworker who told me, as a contractor many years ago he was working in Saudi and there were all these wealthy “princes” bombing around in old beater Buicks, I think it was. He couldn’t figure it out at first. Turns out, the fancy Mercedes and similar, the AC didn’t cut it at all in that kind of heat.

Posted by: Common Tater at August 29, 2026 06:37 AM (PVUR/)

88 Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 29, 2026 06:35 AM (wzUl9)

LOL about Stirling.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 29, 2026 06:37 AM (lt7On)

89 mornin yall. In a shocking move, LA has rejected public sex huts.

Posted by: fd at August 29, 2026 06:38 AM (MWfyi)

90 Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 06:22 AM (odBC9

I liked those. Thx.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 29, 2026 06:38 AM (lt7On)

91 @86/Wolfus: "Stirling's diet is in its fifth day, and he is trying to pretend he is gaunt, haggard, and starving."

https://youtu.be/m4oI7yd_ZuY

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines at August 29, 2026 06:41 AM (O7YUW)

92 By the way: My lulncheon yeserday came with a lecture, not as dry as I expected but just as exasperating, involving how rhetoric about vasectomy ("aka The Snip") affects reproductive justice. Note all the academic buzzwords.

The professor (of English) was an admittedly rather attractive ginger, but from U. Mass in Lowell, so you know what you're gonna get. Her voice reminded me of Kelly Stables, who played Alan's receptionist in some episodes of Two and a Half Men: not unpleasant in small doses, but you would get tired of it fast. Her point was that rhetoric about vasectomy since the '70s, esp. in TV and movies, has tended to make men shy off from the procedure. In her view, even the simple term "the snip" is scary to men. Plus she complains that men's doctors do not urge them often enough to get snipped.

And she had her teenage son, who looked like a low-T case if ever I saw one, sitting right there during her talk. Jeez.

Well, the sandwiches were good, anyway.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 29, 2026 06:42 AM (wzUl9)

93 "reproductive justice"

Everything is upside down. Justice means you can kill your kids, even after they are born.

"Judge finds mom with post partum psychosis NOT GUILTY of killing her two kids... as world awaits verdict in Lindsay Clancy case"

Posted by: fd at August 29, 2026 06:46 AM (MWfyi)

94 Psychology has turned out to be a brainwashing weapon. Most shrinks are mentally ill themselves.

Posted by: fd at August 29, 2026 06:49 AM (MWfyi)

95 @92. -Wolfus

In her view, even the simple term "the snip" is scary to men.

She is right. I read that and gritted my teeth.

Posted by: Case at August 29, 2026 06:49 AM (VrYHL)

96 Good morning Horde thx Pixy.
Schlichter's comment about Trump's idiosyncrasies is spot on. However they are shiny objects to the middle class left. He said "pussy" "he's mean" "his tweets are hateful". It drives them nuts, but it also blinds them to a lot he's getting done.

Posted by: Smell the Glove at August 29, 2026 06:50 AM (EZWVc)

97 Psychology has turned out to be a brainwashing weapon. Most shrinks are mentally ill themselves.
——
You caught that too, eh? It’s a given that when a system or function is studied at length, to see how it works, unscrupulous people can also figure out the best way to break it as well.

Posted by: Common Tater at August 29, 2026 06:53 AM (PVUR/)

98 @92. -Wolfus

In her view, even the simple term "the snip" is scary to men.

She is right. I read that and gritted my teeth.
Posted by: Case at August 29, 2026

***
It's certainly better than "invasive surgery to the scrotum"!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 29, 2026 06:53 AM (wzUl9)

99 PowerLine funnies

https://tinyurl.com/mryy35kx

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at August 29, 2026 06:54 AM (l26NL)

100 100

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 06:54 AM (odBC9)

101 @94 fd, I've posted this before but in my legal career I took the testimony of many psychologists and psychiatrists. Better than half were as crazy or more crazy than their patients

Posted by: Smell the Glove at August 29, 2026 06:56 AM (EZWVc)

102 Good morning, everybody. Summer vacay's almost over.

Posted by: JM in Illinois at August 29, 2026 07:00 AM (llBIB)

103 “Begin the Beguine” is kind of interesting to me, keep in mind when that tune came out it was only available on 78 RPM records. They had a short playing time of just a few minutes, it’s tough to make a song sound relaxed, like it could go on for hours, but they pulled it off.

Posted by: Common Tater at August 29, 2026 07:04 AM (PVUR/)

104 96 Good morning Horde thx Pixy.
Schlichter's comment about Trump's idiosyncrasies is spot on. However they are shiny objects to the middle class left. He said "pussy" "he's mean" "his tweets are hateful". It drives them nuts, but it also blinds them to a lot he's getting done.
Posted by: Smell the Glove at August 29, 2026 06:50

-----

They don't take a minute to consider what another four years of Biden-Harris policies would have done to the country.

Posted by: JM in Illinois at August 29, 2026 07:04 AM (llBIB)

105
Begin the Beguine, with baritone Thomas Hampson and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by John McGlinn.

https://youtu.be/b-Zs-aM0FsU

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 29, 2026 07:09 AM (O0L8i)

106 "Better than half were as crazy or more crazy than their patients
Posted by: Smell the Glove "

It seems their main objective is to screw up other people's lives as badly as their own.

Posted by: fd at August 29, 2026 07:10 AM (MWfyi)

107 In her view, even the simple term "the snip" is scary to men. Plus she complains that men's doctors do not urge them often enough to get snipped.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 29, 2026 06:42 AM (wzUl9)
---
"Zip it, grip it, and snip it, Doc!"

Posted by: Dr. Cox from Scrubs at August 29, 2026 07:11 AM (FZ29D)

108
Women, who I'm convinced make up the vast bulk of patients, don't see therapists to tell them what's wrong and how to solve it. They see them to have their maladies affirmed.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 29, 2026 07:16 AM (O0L8i)

109 Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at August 29, 2026 06:54 AM (l26NL)

I didn't have the energy to read them all, but I liked the ones I did read, and I thought the one with all the country stars welcoming Dolly to heaven was sweet.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 29, 2026 07:16 AM (v+lpe)

110 @107.

Sadist.

Posted by: Case at August 29, 2026 07:19 AM (VrYHL)

111 48 For better or worse, "data center" has become a tainted term. We need a rebrand that reassures the public. Maybe "electronic konzentrationslager"?
Posted by: I'm Here To Help at August 29, 2026 05:42 AM (g0o3e)

De-taint it.

Information wants to be free! Data wants to be free! Tie it into the First Amendment somehow?

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 07:19 AM (odBC9)

112 @111 free info

Thing is, AI is largely just:
(i) remixing existing data
(ii) a (slightly, seems to me) more efficient version of genetic algorithms from the 80s IIRC.

Goop generation, and throwing mud at a wall for sticks. Doesn't bode well for the sum total of human knowledge, IOW.

Posted by: Shen Nan I Gan at August 29, 2026 07:29 AM (HiOU/)

113 Psychology is mostly mental patients spreading their mental illness

Posted by: Skip at August 29, 2026 07:32 AM (Ia/+0)

114 112 @111 free info

Thing is, AI is largely just:
(i) remixing existing data
(ii) a (slightly, seems to me) more efficient version of genetic algorithms from the 80s IIRC.

Goop generation, and throwing mud at a wall for sticks. Doesn't bode well for the sum total of human knowledge, IOW.
Posted by: Shen Nan I Gan

This is mostly correct. But again, it can remix data in useful ways. Remixing from a language you don't speak to one you do - whether a human language or a programming language - is of real value and it is precisely what AI is actually good at.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 29, 2026 07:32 AM (BLOW1)

115 Good morning morons

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 29, 2026 07:33 AM (RIvkX)

116 115 Good morning morons
Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 29, 2026 07:33 AM (RIvkX)

SF, I saw you twice, yesterday, say "take a minute" to posters who were in a bad place; very gently, very nice.

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 07:36 AM (odBC9)

117 I'd like to think Hank Williams Sr. was welcoming Dolly Parton to heaven as well . He had a lot of gospel songs and a wonderful voice as well.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 29, 2026 07:37 AM (xPsv8)

118 Lake America is flooding in my pants!

Posted by: Leaky Joe at August 29, 2026 07:40 AM (JM9I6)

119 Snip it in the bud!

Posted by: Deputy Fife at August 29, 2026 07:42 AM (JM9I6)

120 I turn on the tube and the first thing is a very annoying (to me) commercial, The Wallet Commando. Baseball hat backwards, one dog tag hanging out of the sweatshirt, somber NPR voice.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 29, 2026 07:46 AM (gm9Sb)

121
The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. Senate Texas on November 3, 2026.

James Talarico (D)

Ken Paxton (R)

Ted Brown (L)

Joshua Cain (Independent)

Camencia Ford (Independent)

Hans Truelson (Independent)

and a bunch of write-ins.

https://ballotpedia.org

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 07:48 AM (odBC9)

122 Yes, something was in the zeitgeist yesterday. I had a coffee meeting with someone I advise and she also had a little panicky moment.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 29, 2026 07:49 AM (RIvkX)

123 Ya done good, SF.

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 07:50 AM (odBC9)

124 >>China is secretly fueling America's datacenter rage. (Axios)

It's easier to detect when you see who is protesting data centers - it's the same NPCs who are always protesting the Latest Thing.

That said, data centers are ugly eyesores that are dropped into small communities against their will, so it's not hard to side with the NPC protesters.

Posted by: Lizzy at August 29, 2026 07:50 AM (X8xt3)

125 @114 Pixy data remix

True too. Not worth all the data centers, I think. Especially if Ed Zitron is correct.

Posted by: Shen Nan I Gan at August 29, 2026 07:52 AM (HiOU/)

126 124 data centers are ugly eyesores that are dropped into small communities against their will
Posted by: Lizzy at August 29, 2026 07:50 AM (X8xt3)

The essay Pete Bog linked has some ideas on those issues.

32 Daniel Penny, the Marine that NYC attempted to railroad over his defensive use of force to subdue a Subway loon wrote a really interesting piece about how Data Centers are critical to rebuilding American manufacturing and jobs. Good stuff.

Hopefully this link works to an X/Twitter

https://tinyurl.com/yy36knhd
Posted by: Pete Bog at August 29, 2026 05:20 AM (jVkUA)

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 07:54 AM (odBC9)

127 >>Women, who I'm convinced make up the vast bulk of patients, don't see therapists to tell them what's wrong and how to solve it. They see them to have their maladies affirmed.

In our woke culture where one gains credibility and power by how "oppressed" and victimized they are, white women must claim mental illness in order to counteract their alleged inherent "white privilege."

In this environment, there is no benefit in getting better, when being ADHD/OCD/having anxiety gives them the diversity quotient they so badly need.

Posted by: Lizzy at August 29, 2026 07:57 AM (X8xt3)

128 *doffs dunce cap*

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 29, 2026 07:58 AM (RIvkX)

129 WEST is playing the Maverick episode where Bret performs a card trick to convince a jury to not convict a man (complicated, I know, but it makes sense in the episode).

The trick is that you take any 52 card deck, shuffle them really good, and then deal out 25 cards. With those 25 cards you can then make five pat hands in poker (pairs, full house, straights, flushes) nearly every time.

Bret called it "Maverick Solitaire".

When the episode first aired back in 1958 it caused card decks to be sold out across the country from people trying to see if the trick actually worked.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 29, 2026 07:58 AM (6ydKt)

130 Good morning! Had a pleasant surprise yesterday when the the out of town granddaughter dropped in on their way to stay at the hotel/waterpark over in Dallas. We went to have Mexican food at the family run place so I had to have a Mexican Coke with the mole enchiladas. I slept until 0630 this morning.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at August 29, 2026 08:02 AM (3Ope8)

131 From out here in the cheap seats it sure looks like our betters in the “globalist community” or spook agencies, et. al. have been trying, more or less, to drive people crazy for a very long time.

As ole Harry Reid once said, “Well, it worked, didn’t it?”

Posted by: Common Tater at August 29, 2026 08:02 AM (tFM5X)

132 Mexican Coke with the mole enchiladas
====

Perfect.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 29, 2026 08:03 AM (RIvkX)

133 Great tune at the end. Pixie, thanks for the postings. Resolutely non tech but still enjoy the glimpses you provide.

Posted by: From about That Time at August 29, 2026 08:03 AM (sl73Y)

134 CNN

• Death toll: At least 3,000 people are now missing following catastrophic flash flooding on the Nepal-China border, with more rain expected this weekend in flood-affected areas as rescue efforts persist.

More than 600 have been killed in Nepal and seven in China.

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 08:06 AM (odBC9)

135 Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 08:06 AM (odBC9)

I watch some video of that border crossing complex that was absolutely scrubbed from the landscape in just a matter of seconds. It was incredible.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at August 29, 2026 08:10 AM (3Ope8)

136 Perfect.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 29, 2026 08:03 AM (RIvkX)

I have leftovers for lunch today.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at August 29, 2026 08:11 AM (3Ope8)

137 >>“In the coming months, AI-enabled cyber attacks will become far more widespread and sophisticated as models around the world become increasingly capable,” the letter states. “The companies and public services our communities depend on — from hospitals to water treatment plants to the infrastructure that powers the internet — are at risk.”

Hey, how about they band together to protect Americans *particularly vulnerable seniors) from mostly overseas scammers while they're at it?

I don't doubt the threat to these AI companies, just a little annoyed gen the tech sector's previous inability to protect *our* data from hacks and theft.

Posted by: Lizzy at August 29, 2026 08:12 AM (X8xt3)

138 WEST is playing the Maverick episode where Bret performs a card trick to convince a jury to not convict a man (complicated, I know, but it makes sense in the episode).

The trick is that you take any 52 card deck, shuffle them really good, and then deal out 25 cards. With those 25 cards you can then make five pat hands in poker (pairs, full house, straights, flushes) nearly every time.

Bret called it "Maverick Solitaire".

When the episode first aired back in 1958 it caused card decks to be sold out across the country from people trying to see if the trick actually worked.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 29, 2026

***
No other Western series of the time, or maybe even much later, would have done that sort of story. It was a big part of why Maverick was a ratings success on Sunday nights against the powerhouse known as Ed Sullivan.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 29, 2026 08:14 AM (wzUl9)

139 Morning peeps.

I think the discussion/debate about datacenters is going to be less about AI and more about what data is being stored, and for what purpose.

There's a lot more at stake than just AI. The data being collected by various methods is increasingly being leveraged... and not always for good reason.

People have a habit of going off the rails sometimes.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 29, 2026 08:14 AM (2Cry5)

140 >>I watch some video of that border crossing complex that was absolutely scrubbed from the landscape in just a matter of seconds. It was incredible.

It's so horrible it's unbelievable.

Posted by: Lizzy at August 29, 2026 08:15 AM (X8xt3)

141 They should build data centers in places like South Africa and India.

Yeah, that's it. India and South Africa. That's the ticket.

Posted by: Tommy Flanagan at August 29, 2026 08:16 AM (yuEAg)

142 No other Western series of the time, or maybe even much later, would have done that sort of story. It was a big part of why Maverick was a ratings success on Sunday nights against the powerhouse known as Ed Sullivan.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 29, 2026 08:14 AM (wzUl9)

The writers also did clever things with their scripts. I was watching one time and thinking “why do I recognize this so well even though I know I’ve never seen it?”??

And I realized that the episode was just an abbreviated remake of Saratoga Trunk, a very good but mostly forgotten 1945 Gary Cooper movie. I think they used scripts like that several times.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 29, 2026 08:22 AM (GWwCk)

143 Nood

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 29, 2026 08:23 AM (RIvkX)

144 Thanks, Pixy! Happy weekend!

Posted by: m at August 29, 2026 08:28 AM (odBC9)

Processing 0.04, elapsed 0.042 seconds.
15 queries taking 0.0107 seconds, 153 records returned.
Page size 89 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.