randycupertino

Remember when they added legs and they were soooo proud of how it now had legs? But then turned out the legs weren't actually available, it was some minions wearing a motion capture suit specifically for the demo?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2022/10/14/mark-zucke...

> During the most talked-about segment of the show, Zuckerberg proudly announced that legs were coming the metaverse, which sounds bizarre out of context (and kind of in-context), but it’s the solution to many years of Meta VR avatars being nothing but floating torsos. He and another Meta worker showed off their new legs by kicking and jumping, and Zuckerberg talked a little bit about legs and why it’s taken so long to get them.

> “I know you’ve been waiting for this. Everyone has been waiting for this,” said Zuckerberg. “But seriously, legs are hard, which is why other virtual reality systems don’t have them either.”

> But it turns out the legs that were shown off with all that kicking and jumping were fake. That was not actually Mark jumping, the sequence was pre-rendered for the show.

Zuck and Co just completely failed to read the room. Horizons didn't fail because the technology wasn't ready - it failed because nobody actually wanted the product. It didn't solve any problem and added a ton of friction (headsets, eye goggles, no legs, etc). The headsets were uncomfortable and isolating. The vibes were creepy and weird.

The rolled it out like a cheesy corporate team-building mandatory exercise, not something where anyone would want to actually spend any time by choice.

Full indictment here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/media/1425861/dl

paywall link: https://smry.ai/https:/nymag.com/intelligencer/article/gokce...

> According to the indictment, Güven had been keeping a bogus set of books to entice investors. While she claimed an annual revenue north of $1 million, the real number was much more modest: Kalder had made only $60,000 in total revenue since 2023. Feds say she cooked the books and invented deals with top clients, including Godiva, to “swindle” investors out of $7 million as she burned through their money trying to get the company upright. Güven has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and she and her attorneys — who include a white-shoe lawyer who prosecuted Sam Bankman-Fried — did not respond to requests for comment.

> But by allegedly forging the recommendations and signatures of business contacts on her immigration papers, Güven was also charged with visa fraud and aggravated identity theft. On March 10, prosecutors added a second aggravated-identity-theft charge: Güven had allegedly forged and signed a contract with an unnamed business, then told prospective investors it was real, in a move out of Carlos Watson’s playbook at Ozy.

> According to prosecutors, Doyle hired outside counsel to conduct an audit. Kalder’s total revenue since its inception was around $200,000 — millions short of Güven’s claims. Doyle had to tell one large investor that the start-up’s revenue streams were “fundamentally projections” of revenue. (Doyle declined to comment.)

> What drew judicial attention was not the structure of the financing or the cross-border corporate issues, but the way he appeared to be answering questions.

> According to the written judgment, ICC Judge Raquel Agnello KC noticed early in cross-examination that Jakštys frequently paused before responding to questions that were being interpreted for him. Those pauses became long enough that defense counsel Sarah Walker raised a concern that she could hear interference from the area around the witness and asked that he remove his glasses, noting that smart glasses capable of audio communication exist.

> The Lithuanian interpreter then reported that she could hear voices apparently emanating from the glasses themselves, prompting the judge to identify them as smart glasses and to direct that they be removed.

> Judge Agnello records that, after the glasses were removed and while the interpreter was in the middle of translating another question, Jakštys' mobile phone suddenly began broadcasting a voice from his inner jacket pocket. The court noted that the audio was clearly of someone speaking to Jakštys, and ordered both the smartglasses and the handset be handed to his solicitor.

> Cuba’s electrical grid suffered a total collapse on Monday, the country’s power operator said, marking the latest nationwide blackout in recent years, and the first since the US effectively shut off the flow of oil to Cuba.

> Efforts are underway to restore power across the Caribbean island, the state-owned operator said.

> Nationwide power outages have been reported frequently over the past few years. Cuban officials have previously attributed them to US economic sanctions, though critics have also faulted a lack of investment in the island’s ailing generation system.

> Cuba heavily relies on oil for electricity generation. The effective blockade of fuel shipments has worsened the country’s energy crisis, causing intermittent power cuts, a rationing of medical supplies and a decrease in tourism, officials have said. Fuel prices have skyrocketed so much that it can cost up to $300 in the unofficial market to fill up a car’s gas tank.

Original thread on reddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1rshc1f/i_traced_2_b...

A study of users of semaglutide and tirzepatide found that every other week dosing at their current dose led to weight loss maintenance (and slight weight loss) over 36 weeks.

Methods: This retrospective case series included 30 adults who achieved weight plateau while on weekly semaglutide or tirzepatide. Patients transitioned to reduced-frequency dosing (usually every other week) at their existing dose.

Results: Patients maintained reduced-frequency dosing for an average of 36.3 weeks. Weight decreased from 87.9 ± 2.4 kg at pre-treatment to 74.1 ± 2.4 kg at plateau and further to 72.4 ± 2.2 kg on maintenance dosing (p < 0.01). Total body and truncal fat declined, while skeletal muscle mass stabilized on the reduced-frequency regimen. Metabolic parameters improved during weekly dosing and these gains were maintained during reduced-frequency therapy.

Conclusions: In patients with prior weight loss and metabolic improvement on GLP1 therapy, reduced-frequency maintenance dosing preserved outcomes.

> For 15 years, elites have fought against homeownership by ordinary people, instead pushing a renter society. That may have ended with an 89-10 vote in the Senate against Wall Street owning homes.

archived link: https://smry.ai/https:/nymag.com/intelligencer/article/white...

Connecting to bluetooth is annoying, period. It's needless friction that can be avoided just plugging in headphones.

> I have a pair of $60 Beats Flex that have a 12 hour battery life and if they fall out, they just fall around my neck.

Exactly!! After losing an airpod into the depths of a Polaris seat and another one having to beg the guy behind me to find it on the floor I gave up my airpods for flights it was so annoying how often they fall out.

I got wired headphones after repeatedly losing airpods falling out of my ears onto the floor of planes. I like to sleep with my headphones in falling asleep to audiobooks, and I'm a side-sleeper so airpods would rub on the pillow and get lost in the seat machinery.

Wired headphones at least if they fall out are still connected to a rope to get them back!

I thought the Cam Girl's one was interesting:

$284,000

$104,000 from taxable income (escorting, porn, cam modeling)

$160,000 from nontaxable income (cash gifts from partner for living expenses)

$20,000 from investment income

> In 2024, I made $800,000, and the year before that, I made $1.2 million. But last year, I took a kind of maternity leave to get to know my primary partner’s children. I also started a business helping adult-industry professionals with their finances. The industry has the NFL problem where people get a great deal of money in a short period of time and then they retire with very little because they don’t know how to handle their money. Escorting comes and goes in waves. A lot of girls say they’re making less money these days camming — for many reasons, including age-verification laws and foreign competition. Clients can pay a Ukrainian something like 50 cents a minute instead of paying you $6 a minute.

non-paywall link:

https://smry.ai/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/new-...

> The plaintiffs said they tested the David Protein bars — the suit includes results from an accredited laboratory — and found the bars contain up to 83% more calories and 400% more fat content than what is on the nutrition label. Fudging the numbers by such a degree violates FDA regulations, they said.

Reminds me of the company selling cake batter labeled as protein powder! https://tigerfitness.com/blogs/supplements/this-company-sold...

Exciting to see the FDA demonstrate they still have a spine and won't approve things without data showing safety and efficacy despite political pressure.

Paywall: https://smry.ai/https:/www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/09/opinio...

TLDR: There are a bunch of beautiful, new, empty office biotech labs buildings in Boston. Buildings made to be labs are constructed completely differently than buildings meant to house people (mainly around air and water flow). Therefore turning those labs into anything other than labs (eg housing) will be really, really expensive.

> A 2024 investigation by DMV, CDTFA, and the California Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed a scheme stretching back to 2018, in which the defendants, working individually and in concert with each other, prepared and submitted false CDTFA forms, DMV forms, and bills of lading, indicating that vehicles were purchased for use outside California. However, none of the vehicles were shipped or used outside of California — they were delivered, driven, and stored within the state. The vehicles included a $1.8 million McLaren Elva, $1.5 million Porsche 918 Spyder, and $1.26 million Ferrari F12TDF, among others.

The defendants:

1. Harminder Singh Dhaliwal

2. Parham Karbassi

3. Cameron Robinson McLaughlin

4. Nagib Nemer Haddad

5. Emmanuel Pablo

6. Glenn Jonathan Meyers

7. Matthew Michael O’Brien

8. Wout Cornelis Stokman

9. Lana Hasan Abukweik

10. Lisa Marie Brandini

11. Shane Craik Duncan

12. Arian Anthony Khatibi

13. Andre Charles Wetzell

14. Mohammad Hawar

The cars registered were:

McLaren Elva — about $1.8M

Porsche 918 Spyder — about $1.5M

Ferrari F12tdf — about $1.26M

Lamborghini Huracán STO

Lamborghini Huracán EVO

Lamborghini Aventador LP780‑4 Ultimae

McLaren 765LT Spider

Lamborghini Urus

BMW X7

BMW M2

Porsche 911 Speedster

Corgan thinks maybe it was the CIA, however the more obvious answer is this was fallout from the 1996 telecommunications act, which removed restrictions on how many radio stations a company was allowed to own in a set market.

With the restrictions lifted, clear channel and Viacom bought up an enormous number of radio stations and now currently open about 50% of all US radio stations between them, and standardized the music played across the entire market.

Did you find any kitten mittens among the fake products? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dhrqnDS_oU

Here is the company list who received FDA Warning Letters with the Subject "False & Misleading Claims/Misbranded" related to their GLP-1s. Looks like they are all licensed 503b or 503a type compounding places. Will be interesting if they go after the sketchy Chinese peptide "research" sellers next.

GenoGenix LLC

Kare Solutions, LLC dba Zappy

Strut Health, LLC dba Strut

Peaks Curative, LLC dba Peaks

Lean Rx, Inc. dba SkinnyRx

Good Girl LLC dba GoodGirlRX

Refills Health, LLC dba Refills Health

PharmaZee

Weightless Medical LLC dba WeightCare

Ivim Services LLC dba Ivim

Viv Health, Inc. dba VIV RX

Aspen Aesthetics dba Fifty 410

FitRX, LLC dba FitRx

Join Josie

Kin Meds

Deluxe IV Aesthetics PLLC dba Deluxe IV and Aesthetics

Genesis Health International Inc. dba Genesis

Dripgym Mobile Parent, LLC dba Amp Health

Newman Clinic, PLLC dba Newman Clinic

NewSelf Limited dba NewSelf

MaxLife Technologies Inc. dba Maxlife

Better Health Labs, Inc. dba Measured

Refills Health, LLC dba Refills Health

Levity Inc. dba Levity

MEDVi, LLC dba MEDVi

BluefitMD

Alan Health Technologies Inc. dba Alan

Belle Health LLC dba Belle

Bliv Wellness LLC dba Bliv

I'm a little surprised large hospital systems like administrative and non-clinical IT roles weren't also included. Patient and clinical demand is very strong, but hospital systems have needed to aggressively restructure back-office, IT, admin, and management roles to cut costs.

> The draft for a new permit that would allow data centers across the state to release untreated wastewater and stormwater directly into rivers and streams.

> The new permit would apply to water that circulates through all current or future data centers, regardless of location.

Also creeps can just easily search to see how to disable the light anyways.

The facebook execs literally plotted to relaunch their unpopular product while people were distracted by other bad news.

> “We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns,” according to the document from Meta’s Reality Labs, which works on hardware including smart glasses.

I had a similar reaction when I interviewed at Theranos before it was known they were a scam and Elizabeth and Sunny both had insane Lamborginis parked illegally in the handicapped spaces in front of the Theranos building. It was so offputting seeing the CEO and founders of a healthcare company hogging the handicapped spaces that were supposed to be for people who needed them. They seemed super shady for a bunch of other reasons but this was a big red flag! So obnoxious to steal the handicapped spaces with your stupid sports cars.

> The workplace misconduct report details allegations that Callender sent late-night texts to subordinates, including one message reading, “Showered yet? Just playing.” In another message, he reportedly wrote, “I’ll believe it when I smell it.”

> Other allegations made in the misconduct investigation included repeated comments on an employee’s appearance and personal life. Investigators found that Callender told her a dress “fit nicely,” suggested multiple times that they should get married and asked her whether she was dressing up to impress someone “on the side” or make her partner jealous. He’d asked if she had ever “been with” an African American man.

> The report also found that he told the same employee that there was a rumor that they were having an affair and “helped spread this rumor by disclosing it to other personnel.” He also had sent this employee inappropriate photos, including one centered on his clothed lap and another photo of a woman in a bikini, the report said.

If only the FBI put as much effort into investigating and prosecuting his crimes and accomplices instead into the people who posted about this death.

> In a WARN document filed with California officials, as is mandated in the event of mass layoffs, C3 gave notice for 71 Redwood City layoffs. Eighteen data scientists and about 45 engineers in various roles are losing their jobs, according to the document. It’s unclear how deep the cuts go to C3’s larger workforce, which totaled 1,181 full-time employees as of last April