disposition2

I can see the value in actual AI. But it seems like in many instances how it is being utilized or applied is more related to terrible search functionality. Even for the web, it seems like we’re using AI to provide more refined search results, rather than just fixing search capabilities.

Maybe it’s just easier to throw ‘AI’ (heavy compute of data) at a search problem, rather than addressing the crux of the problem…people not being provided with the tools to query information. And maybe that’s the answer but it seems like an expensive solution.

That said, I’m not an expert and could be completely off base.

I’ll be curious to see if they ever provide a reason for the reduced functionality. From an outsider’s prospective, it seems like they just want to make it harder for citizens to be able to comment

Or based off of this comment, maybe they are just looking to limit API usage and ensure only that only institutions that align with the current administration’s wishes (i.e. Heritage Foundation) have API access.

> As of Friday, the POST method will no longer be allowed for all users *with the exception of approved use cases by federal agencies*

If the motivation is the latter, I wonder if there would be any legal recourse for other institutions that have had previous access revoked?

It’s a bit frustrating how difficult (near impossible) it can be to not buy plastic products. I try to avoid it as much as possible but more often than not, the only option (other than not being a consumer) is to purchase a product contained in plastic.

I’ll use the simple example of dental floss. When I was younger, you could purchase dental floss in a small circular metal container. Today, almost every option of dental floss available for purchase is in an often oversized / non-recyclable plastic container with non-recyclable plastic packaging.

This actually prompted me to once again go on the hunt for that little metal container of dental floss from my youth, and I actually found an option! A US company called Poh sells dental floss in metal container. Just thought I’d share, for anyone else that is dumbfounded when they have to buy more plastic wrapped plastic products to practice good dental hygiene.

Based on the text of the legislation passed by the Senate, it looks like the ~$1 billion was for 2026 & 2027 fiscal years.

> (20) (A) Amounts made available for “Corporation for Public Broadcasting” for fiscal year 2026 by Public Law 118–47 are rescinded.

> (B) Amounts made available for “Corporation for Public Broadcasting” for fiscal year 2027 by Public Law 119–4 are rescinded.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4/te...

Maybe it’ll help the folks that are probably at higher risk of cancer due to the natural gas turbines powering the AI facility in Memphis.

- https://apnews.com/article/memphis-xai-elon-musk-pollution-n...

- https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/07/07/a-billionaire-an-ai-... (this is an opinion article but also has some useful context)

Noem is the head of DHS.

The (acting) head of FEMA, David Richardson [1], hasn’t visited the disaster area and apparently hasn’t made any public appearances for months [2].

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Richardson_(government_o...

2. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/10/fema-leader-texas-f...

> On a purely topical level, it was also neat to revisit the last three decades of news and politics and pop culture more or less in reverse.

It’s a fictional drama but it’s really interesting to watch ‘Law & Order’ episodes from the 90s and throughout the years.

You can kind of witness the erosion of civil liberties over the seasons and as someone who experienced it in real life, it’s pretty wild to see (at least in a fictional universe) how the police state (this is probably a misnomer, but I fail to find the proper wording in this moment) is enabled to supersede civil liberties in the interests of ‘security’ and law enforcement.

Worse than unaddressed, purposely preventing data collection / publication that would allow us to better assess the effects of climate change.

> In alignment with evolving priorities, statutory mandates, and staffing changes, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) will no longer be updating the Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters product.

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/

Thanks for sharing, I’ve always enjoyed the Smithsonian magazine and its articles, hope to visit some day.

I’m hoping all the RIFs, reductions / eradication of IMLS, etc. don’t reduce the gains in & sharing of knowledge from these institutions, but if I am being honest it kind of feels like it’s purposeful destruction.

So I’ll enjoy it while we have it.

Fair point, I haven’t had either experience in a very long time but I recall having a more empathetic and eye opening experience long ago.

To your point, maybe it’s a good argument to not have billionaires that are seemingly ignorant of the normality we normals face on a day to day basis, be an influence on policy that they lack the ability to fully contemplate.

Such individuals might just consider policy based on data points that aren’t reflective of how their policy changes might affect everyday folks.

I’ve always had the impression that some of the substances (ecstasy, psilocybin) mentioned in the article tend to illicit (even well after usage) a greater sense of empathy for others and caring for the world at large.

I think that juxtaposition alone makes this a relevant discussion topic, political associations or not.

This administration might be one of the better examples of the importance of knowing when to ask, “should I do something” vs “can I do something”. And it seems like a lot of the guardrails / historically unwritten rules, that have recently gone the way of the dodo, helped ensure the “should” was considered along with the “can”.

Interesting times to live in

Is there anyone who could point me to a way to get this running and served up via a stream that is consumable via VLC?

I have an hdhomreun and watch my antenna via IPTV apps and would love to have a personal “weather channel” on my TV.

I’ve looked in to this in the past, using a node program to take screenshots of the page and try to splice things together with ffmpeg but it was quite awful and didn't work well.

I also wasn’t sure how to have this all ‘spin up’ when the stream is accessed, vs running all the time…but I suppose that is less important.

I'll take any advice! Thank you!

> The threat of litigation — and Musk’s advisory role to Trump — has been a topic of conversation among some advertisers as they decide whether to return, according to several ad industry sources. While few believe X’s product or ad offerings have improved in the past year, marketers are weighing the possible downside of ignoring X and what that might mean in terms of retaliation from Musk.

What crazy times we live in. I’m not even sure the proper term one would use to describe a situation like this.?

> The White House wouldn't comment directly on Coristine's employment, but an official who discussed the situation on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters said all DOGE staffers under Musk were working as employees of relevant agencies with security clearances.

It sounds like they might want to review how they are doing security clearance reviews (assuming they aren't just a blank check for this group) if they're letting folks like this through

This whole venture (not the article's subject in particular, but Musk's actions / involvement in government thus far) is like a hack-a-thon, in production, with no rule book (or the rule book is free to be ignored).

It’s pretty wild how the incoming president has a social media platform, is backed (financially and otherwise) by the richest person in the world with his own social media platform and it’s (currently) absolute crickets in a thread like this where the same incoming president is creating a meme coin.

Maybe folks are just apathetic, but for a technology based forum to have little to no discussion about a topic that not only touches the basis of the forum but also the potential affects toward the country where this forum is based is pretty confounding.

As another commenter pointed out, this is definitely an interesting (for lack of a better word or balking towards cordiality) timeline.

> Water is another issue for xAI. Data centers use massive amounts of water to cool their servers; xAI says it will need 1 million gallons of water a day, which is about *3% of the total capacity of the local wellfield, according to the nonprofit Protect Our Aquifer. This is the same wellfield that provides drinking water to residents.*

Along with the gas generators, it’s using ~1,000,000 gallons of water per day, 3% of the capacity of water used by residents.

That is equivalent to the usage of ~12,195 adult human’s water usage per day [1]. And depending on the size, a little less than 1 to 1/16 of the net consumption of water used by a fracking well [2].

1. https://www.epa.gov/watersense/statistics-and-facts

2. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-much-water-does-typical-hydrau...

Thanks for sharing! I've been running an EdgeMax router and U6 router for some time without issues, but hope to upgrade to a DreamMachine some day. The information you shared will definitely help when that day comes.

Apparently running on many gas turbines (enough to power 50,000 homes), without any permits for all that pollution [1]. Also, most likely, hoovering up water from the often low Mississippi River

Just your modern day robber baron...

1. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/musks-xai-opera...

Looks like this is from Jan. 2024...and there doesn't seem to be an update on the article itself.

One might be able to find more information on the Committee's webpage (although, I'm not very familiar with the UK government...so this might not be accurate), https://committees.parliament.uk/work/7827/large-language-mo...

IMO, late 2009 / early 2010. The Citizen's United decision by SCOTUS, with a bit of a bump again by SCOTUS in 2013 when they basically nullified majority of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Congress is unarguably dysfunctional but (I believe) SCOTUS had a pretty large part in helping them get to where they are today...and in the difficulties involved with getting things back on track.

It’s interesting the amount of research listed in the article and IMHO the recommendation engine/ algorithm used by Rdio in the late aughts and early 2010s eclipses anything I’ve encountered to date.

Seems like folks are reinventing the wheel, and trying to deduce what folks want to engage in with data and “AI”, rather than providing sufficient tools to allow the user to drive the narrative.

I use mpd and plexamp, but thank you for sharing...I really UX/UI of Ionica and hadn't seen it before.

I also use YouTube Music, it's about as good / bad as all the other services that I have tried and are available today.

One of my favorite things about Rdio was the ability to have multiple radio stations and your likes / dislikes would only affect that station. So if I'm trying to make a 60s rock station and a Johnny Cash song comes up, me disliking Johnny Cash on that station wouldn't affect my classic country station where I definitely want to hear Johnny Cash. Such a neat feature...and it really helped with discovery IMHO.

Harpers

Thanks for sharing. Music discovery, based off of a curated list or an awesome algorithm [1], is always appreciated.

1. RIP __rdio__, nothing has ever replaced the amount of music I discovered using this service (at least from an automated perspective).

I was talking to someone who’s on a similar medication and they were having an equally hard time getting it filled.

I wonder if the issues fulfilling the orders of the actual drug product or the overly complex (and highly wasteful) drug delivery mechanism.?

By and large, no.

I’m not sure of any states / places that allow a student to bring a gun to school. A lot of schools have a police officer present, and I imagine they would typically be able to bring their gun. And some states are debating (or have authorized) allowing faculty to bring a gun to school; the caveat being (in most instances I have seen) said faculty would have to pass enhanced gun safety training.