I just wasted a couple of hours trying to debug an obviously-correct Arduino program and eventually I discovered... ...HelloWorld is not forwards compatible from older Arduino Uno to Uno R4. What the fuck were they thinking?

I hope that the Dems will not be this stupid. Vote first, then shutdown ends. However, I suspect that they are exactly as dumb as Charlie Brown.

I asked a well-known search engine about gods of writing or authors. This was one of the top results:

Apparently, "nonplus" used to be a verb and a noun, though sadly today we are left only with the adjective nonplussed. I think we should revive it. "Read this Trump speech, it will nonplus you. He really brings the nonplus."

Why is accidentally subscribing to some marketing list instantaneous, but unsubscribing takes 7 to 10 days?

Apparently, there is no patron saint of railways. I would like to nominate Saint Pancras.

I have never understood the admiration for Diane Keaton's acting. Given the plaudits, I feel like I'm missing something. What should I watch that might change my mind? Degree of difficulty: no Woody Allen.

Thomas Paine played important roles in both the American and French revolutions. This is the origin of the expression "No Paine, no gain".

WTF is wrong with website designers who don't show you the password rules until after you've broken them?

Combine this with refusing to seat Dem representatives, and you've got a quiet coup.

This is literally the saddest thing I can imagine. Also a sign that OpenAI is getting desperate. www.theverge.com/news/799312/...

I'm just saying... "A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: 'If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand...'" - Revelation 14:9

I'm looking forward to AI wiping out Sam Altman's job. futurism.com/artificial-i...

I think it is outrageous that things are being done that require the whistle to be blown. Again.

A quick note now that the Rapture has come and gone: if you call yourself a Christian and you're still here, maybe you should take inventory of how you practice your beliefs?

Lost the encryption key

There is a severe absence of acquisitions in the GenAI space*. That's because they are all wildly overpriced and massively unprofitable. The worst of them are too pricey even for Big Tech to swallow. This is why I firmly expect IBM to acquire Anthropic, right before the bubble collapses.

Changed my handle, for no particular reason other than it amused me.

Cooking, and singing "half an onion" to the tune of "half a sixpence". But only the first two lines over and over, because that's all I know. Getting angry stares from my wife, so should probably stop.

I want a tee-shirt that says "I'm not an introvert, it's just you I don't want to talk to"

In words beginning with "wr", what is the "w" doing? Is there a difference in pronunciation between "wrap" and "rap"? This must drive people learning English as a second language. Anyway, that just started bothering me this morning.

This is going around. According to Snopes, the second sentence is a verbatim quote. The other two are not, but are fair paraphrases of things he said around that time.

When Cloudflare says it is verifying I am human, what exactly is it doing? Serious question, but ludicrous answers welcome.

I hope Chicago PD pulls them over, then goes "oh, sorry, didn't realize you were ICE." And then pulls them over again ten minutes later. Rinse, repeat.

THIS. IS. FUCKING. AWESOME. Also, the guy cosplaying Army Man needs to get with Hegseth's fitness program.

I feel dirty saying this, but Microsoft Phone Link works better with my Pixel Phone than Google Quick Share (which I randomly have to kill and restart). This is not about Microsoft doing well, but a reflection of how shoddy everything Google does has become.

Life Gets Better Today

This is a point that is hard to articulate but vital to understand. The left has policies, the right has bumper stickers. Historically, nobody has tried to enact the bumper stickers as policy. Brexit is the poster child for what happens when you do.

Breaking: MIT just became the first university to reject an agreement that would trade support for the Trump admin's higher education agenda in exchange for favorable treatment. "Fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

Pretty sure Pete Hegseth wouldn't approve of Meal Team Six here.

I started a Pandora station based on the Tom Robinson Band, and frankly it's awesome. Although you might need to be of a certain age to enjoy it. www.pandora.com/station/play...

Aetna's website is absolute shit. I got this in an email from them: Here’s where to find your bills in your online account: Log into your member account at AetnaCVSHealth.com From the homepage, go to Plan Overview Click Access Your Account Go to the Bills section ...

I spent most of yesterday singing to myself "I've got the brains/You've got the looks/let's make/poor decisions" to the tune of the Pet Shop Boys' Opportunities www.youtube.com/watch?v=di60...

I'm reposting because I love the pictures. One of these days I'm going to be really embarrassed to discover what people are saying in these languages I don't read...

Houses seen from car park on way to city centre

This made me happy today. Also, that hat. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHqG...

I suspect the techbro fascination with GenAI is because it ignores squishy problems like understanding people or modeling the world. "All you need is attention" is code for "all you need is advanced computer science and massive scale". Coincidentally, those are two things that techbros can own.

I am amused by the vanity of MEPs who think that they can tell the rest of us how language should work, for the benefit of farmers' unions. On a serious note, it is a reminder that our "elected" officials do not work for us. They work for their owners. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Ari Shapiro has worked at NPR for almost a quarter of a century, and he has ABSOLUTELY NO FUCKING CLUE how writing works. Damn. I hope he went back to his office and reflected on this.

TFW you read something so good it makes you want to quit writing. (Most recently, This is How You Lose the Time War.)

My goal for the rest of the day is to Like pictures of flowers and landscapes. So, mental health day. We'll see how it goes.

You are Lord Lucan, and I claim my five pounds.

The Oatmeal says what I think about GenAI Art, only better and with pictures. As a writer, I feel the same way about the slop that passes for AI-generated writing. Why would you care to read something nobody cared to write? theoatmeal.com/comics/ai_art

I wish real life had a "back up 15 seconds button" because was paying no attention whatsoever to what you just said.

And by "reluctant" they mean "the checks cleared". What is it about international sporting organizations that their leaderships are relentlessly corrupt? Said it before and will say it again: Stop giving individuals lots of power. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

"Blow up Russians" would be my guess, but I not a military expert, nor do I play one on social media. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Starmer. Badenoch. Farage. When all of your political leaders are complete clowns, maybe you should ask whether there is something wrong with a system that consistently raises these people to the top of the power structures? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Now do Illinois. No, seriously. Every Dem governor should be piggybacking off of this order to protect their own cities. Sometimes I feel like they think that the Permanent Imminent Crisis is good for their own re-election chances... talkingpointsmemo.com/news/judge-m...