I used to think UBI was a reasonable solution, but I think that might be its problem, it’s too reasonable, it would probably be the only thing that can prevent total class warfare from breaking out. But these billionaires (and now trillionaires?) are fucking idiots and I kind of hope they are too stupid to realize they need to placate the masses to avoid it or so narcissistic they think they can actually win if it does. We’d fucking slaughter them in a class war, no problem. They are not as smart nor as well-prepared as they think that they are. I think they’re pushing all the wrong buttons and I think the way things are going they’re going to get burned. They’re flying too close to the sun, and like Icarus, they’re having a real fun time. Until at some point, suddenly, they’re not.

Trump and his buddies are very, very petty and vindictive. The law will not protect you, even if the things you say are protected by law, and if the FBI has nothing better to do (which seems likely these days) you may be in dangerous waters. I would never recommend intentional aggravation of bullies unless you’re very confident you know a way to make sure they can never hurt you again in the future.

The HVAC trades are run kind of like a mafia, at least in my part of the world. It’s a savage business, and it’s not because they’re competing on price.

Using secondary heat for a few days or even a month a year is still a huge improvement, huge cost savings, and adds up to a massive reduction in annual carbon footprint, even if you’re using a fossil fuel furnace for secondary heat. People are crazy to not consider heat pumps as the primary heat option, especially if you already have central air conditioning, it’s basically the same machine, typically with the same connections and location, just physically somewhat bigger. Obviously it won’t work absolutely everywhere, but for the vast majority it’s a brilliant option and almost a drop-in replacement.

Zero. Zero accurately. They don’t even talk about it, because they don’t care. The arbitrary cruelty is a bonus feature.

This feels like marketing disguised as criticism.

“9:40 AM EDT on August 17, 2026” so… yesterday. This is old news. Not to defend github, but it’s currently working fine for me and has been all day. Can confirm yesterday was a shitshow.

Because they are funded by literally almost every other industry and business on the planet, small and large. They have established themselves as the critical and inescapable middleman between consumers and providers, not necessarily directly or exclusively but in every practical way possible and in such subtle ways that it’s not always obvious how much they actually control. They are the gatekeepers of all commerce, they control the information of even knowing what businesses exist and what they do and are the only way of finding them and are often the only way of finding a price too. All commerce flows through them, and so they inevitably take their cut of all that business. Few other industries are as widespread through the rest of the economy as advertising is, and none are able to establish effective monopolies as easily as advertising has.

Oil comes close, but even oil is ultimately a commodity that can be take from or moved around from place to place for the right price. It doesn’t separate businesses from their consumers the way advertising does. A business or consumer can find a different source for oil – but they have to use information to do that. And the advertising industry controls most of the information.