But those hours and talks and bus rides really showed me who Chad was. A fighter. A champion of joy. “Joy” sounds weird but that’s what Chad was. Fucking. Joyous. He was the guy who sincerely smiled and laughed and loved to see and meet new people. And listen to music. Joy. Whatever negative thing was going on, Chad was going to say fuck it. And fight it. And face the world and celebrate.

RIP Chad. Will definitely be rocking out to some NFG tonight, starting with the Sticks and Stones record. Fuck cancer ☹️

“We’re not at the point yet where AI can fully replace humans, and therefore we want to leverage that technology overlaid on top of humans to get the most of it.

Obviously the entire premise of replacing human teachers with AI is ridiculous. But I’ve never understood why you don’t just start a new company instead of re-purposing the name of an old one. It’s like if Blockbuster came back as a fintech startup.

I saw Mike Masnick’s recent piece where he argued that one of the things that might enable a resurgence of the open web might be… AI.

Times are changing, sure. I think Mike makes a great point though: it does lower the barrier of entry to build a website for someone without years of coding experience. A lot of the ecosystem around ATProto is vibe coded and it’s one of the most solid, open, decentralized Twitter alternatives. And aside from that, lots of people hate AI. The whole indie web thing has been thriving as more and more people are stepping away from corporate social media sites with AI-everything.

Ultimately I think, if given the choice, people will pick home-cooked, locally-grown, heart-felt digital meals over factory-farmed fast food technology every time.

People are going to overwhelmingly opt for fast food. It’s convenient, more affordable, and all the questionable ingredients make it addictive as hell. I’ve always thought using AI is like eating meat when you know it’s more humane and ethical to be a vegan. I hate to say it, but I’m not a vegan.

I would never use AI to generate a blog post or an essay, as you can probably tell by my mediocre writing skills, but I also don’t think it’s going to usher in the end times.

Shatner addressed the Riot Fest crowd by telling them he was approached by Cleopatra Records to do a metal album, and his response was “What the fuck is heavy metal?,” which led directly to the album title, What the F Is Heavy Metal? He also noted that the album will be released sometime in the winter.

“Everyone’s telling me to cancel and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me,” he said.

“Everyone’s an asshole but me” —Ed Sheeran

Applications for Flock’s voluntary severance program opened Friday, and employees have until October 2 to decide whether to leave the company.

Read that as “voluntary surveillance program” at first glance. That would be silly though. Flock’s dystopian surveillance program is strictly non-voluntary for the people of ‘Merica. Feels good to finally see them in the “finding out” phase of fucking around.

Saw this on Hacker News: Who is in space?

A neat little website that shows a name and portrait of every astronaut currently in space, and how long they’ve been up there. There are 10 humans living off-planet as I write this. Technically, I guess, it’s doxxing. But you need a rocket to reach them.

Edit: according to Boing Boing, I think I posted the copycat site:

Another copycat site is doing the rounds, so I thought the original (which includes a little more info) deserved a reminder. I’m also considering starting a website titled How Many Websites Tell You How Many People Are In Space Right Now.

Here’s the original site, according to the above article I’m assuming is probably accurate.

…way to make me feel like a tool, Boing Boing.

Just moments after being sentenced to one year in prison, Reaggle managed to break free of his handcuffs and punch the officer in the face. He then took of running, knocking another officer to the ground.

Why are these things always in Ohio 😆 I swear, even the random true crime and body cam videos I stumble across on YouTube; if they’re not from Ohio, they’re from Florida. Every time.

This is exactly the kind of come up I need. I should go to more estate sales 👀

American-made boots issued to U.S. Marines began falling apart within days during training in the Arctic, forcing some troops from the field and leaving commanders scrambling for replacements.

This might be a hot take, but “Made in the USA” rarely translates to quality in my experience. We are not the manufacturing powerhouse we were 50 years ago. I’d trust a pair of Chinese-made Doc Marten fashion boots in the Arctic before some off-brand combat boots that won a Pentagon contract simply because they were made here and priced low enough.