Today I wore a red hoodie shirt with a green undershirt, blue shorts, and mismatched socks. It was so bad it became cool again (that’s what I told myself.)
Second, as Tooze asks, “Why can’t we have new bad things?” Why is it so difficult for progressives to consider that we might be in a genuinely new moment?
We’re all guilty of this, of finding historical context. It helps. But perhaps it’s an overused trope. I think it’s comes from, of all places, Rachel Maddow lol. She’s the queen of historical context.
We are setting up for a very funny and chaotic situation where Oracle simply runs out of money, and in the process blows up Larry Ellison’s fortune.
Oh, my sweet summer child. American billionaires don’t lose their fortunes. Our wealthy citizens enjoy a socialist system where their losses are subsidized by the rest of us.
Substack and The Internet of Things
Substack released a new feature that allows writers to customize their Substack page using an HTML/CSS editor, so that their custom design shows up in the Substack app.
It’s feature chum. It’s just another way to keep us tethered to the Substack platform; to “the cloud.”
The Internet-of-things (IoT) marked the first crack in my rose-colored glasses in which I viewed big California tech companies. It was the first time I was like, wait a minute. This isn’t about giving us something useful. It’s about something else (I have that same feeling about AI).
The internet-of-things and Substack’s new feature (and AI and blockchain, and crypto, and–) are related in that they are catalysts for big tech’s cloud strategy. It’s spaghetti thrown at the wall. Some of the pasta stuck, some slid down to a heaping pile of dead hype.
The sync-and-share business model was pioneered by Dropbox and went mainstream with iCloud. I pay them to keep my MacBook, iPhone and iPad synced and up-to-date. They ensure I don’t lose my files.
It’s a good service. I use it to swap writing on my phone to my laptop to my phone again. What a time to be alive.
But, of course, it wasn’t enough for big tech. My little ten or so bucks per month isn’t buying anyone a second yacht.
A decade ago, sync-and-share revealed what is now the end game for technocrats— 1. Build and enforce that tether from device to data center by any means possible. 2. Get us addicted to remote computational power 3. Dial up the egress fees to 11. Then, voilà. We got the Comcast(s) of compute.
We’re still hovering around step 2. Flirting with 3.
Reduce the things you do that strengthens that tether.
Tangzu Wan'er Earbuds
The rambling below is a placeholder potentially for a more thoughtful review.
I bought the Tangzu Wan’er earbuds because I was curious how they sound. I needed a cheap pair of wired buds, and these were recommended by Snazzy Labs.
The audio sounds terrible. It’s like listening through a tin can. I messed with the EQ and still, really poor quality. But there’s a caveat.
I think the adapter I had to use because I have an iPhone (RIP headphone jack), isn’t working properly and that could be causing the audio to sound like shit.
Anyway, twenty-five bucks or so for these “chi-fi” earbuds is, I guess, not a bad deal. I’m hoping they sound better plugged into a device directly.
I want to rewatch All Light, Everywhere, a documentary about the surveillance state, but I can’t bring myself to do it. It’s so relevant to the times, but it’s a difficult watch because it illuminates (heh) our situation so well.
Anyway, watch it if you’re looking for something to watch tonight. I think it’s on Tubi.
Only the latest stage of capitalism can we get such innovations as the Gummy Fried Chicken Candy Combo Meal
ICE Expands Power of Agents to Arrest People Without Warrants:
The change expands the ability of lower-level ICE agents to carry out sweeps rounding up people they encounter and suspect are undocumented immigrants, rather than targeted enforcement operations in which they set out, warrant in hand, to arrest a specific person.
🎉 It’s time to play:
A mandatory part of the reflection phase is questioning myself: why am I writing this, nobody is going to read it, this is stupid/silly/trivial/too complicated. That’s how you know you are writing something truly great.
I really enjoy reading the People & Blogs series.
Republicans and Democrats reach funding package deal, US president says:
Trump added: “Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security
You know how I knew Democrats caved on ICE? Because more Epstein lore dropped today.
You know how sometimes you just know that a piece of something will remind you of a certain moment in your life? This patio is that something for me right now.
It’s interesting to hear lib-Bluesky discuss today’s general strike, while congruently, tech-YouTube is discussing how weather-YouTube is suddenly scaring people about the weather.
Today, some folks are protesting with their wallets, while a presumably similar amount of people are stocking up on extra food and supplies.
This could be a coincidence, or market manipulation. Either way, maybe it’s time to consider a new strategy?
We’re joining the general strike:
It is clear that something has shifted. Abolish ICE is not just the mainstream position, it is also the only moral one.
I’d consider Garbage Day closer to center than not. Glad they said the thing(tm).
Still going strong. I’ve gotten so good at making moka pot coffee! I want to open a coffee shop that exclusively sells moka pot coffee. Like two drinks tops. Have like twenty moka pots going at any given time. Moka pot tattoos get 20%. Plus, just like the driest scone you ever had.
Celebs say TikTok censored them after calling out ICE:
In her Instagram Stories, Eilish posted a screenshot of Finneas’ anti-ICE TikTok video that showed him only having 114 likes, writing that “TikTok is silencing people btw.”
Even if I have to hold my nose, I believe celebrities calling out corporate social media is largely a good thing.
(h/t @\fantano on YT)
How The Zizians Went Full On Death Cult is probably the most comprehensive deep dive into the cult-like groups bubbling under Sillicon Valley. The dangers of The Rationalist movement may not be the most important issue right this second. But it deserves more attention. Especially when you consider the AI psychosis problem.
Bill Withers
🎶 Listening to: The Same Love That Made Me Laugh by Bill Withers
There’s something cathartic about Bill’s music. It’s the feeling after a deep sob. It’s the smell of rain. It’s plopping onto your bed for the first time since morning, and a cool pillow greets your cheek.
I don’t want to fall into the old man’s trap and say “today’s music sucks,” because it doesn’t. Chappell Roan, Nemahsis, Sam Fender, Kendrick Lamar—all modern classics, imo.
But there really was something special about the 60s and 70s.
PS: you really should check out Nemahsis. She’s a Palestinian artist and her music is wonderful. She was dropped from her label after October 7th, but decided to complete her album anyway. I’m so happy she did because it’s a masterpiece. Truly..
This whole outfit including the belt cost me $17.50. Look at me. Bragging about how cheap I got something. I really did turn into my dad.
The TikTok-to-Rednote migration is fascinating. I can appreciate the sentiment—move to another Chinese-owned platform to stick it to the US government. However, longterm, I think it’s a bad move. What’s the alternative? Loops? Eh. A big migration can mean more power and influence to the platform owner. Anyway, it’s interesting.
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