I’m now seeing this every time I go to my Facebook profile.

What next? Use AI to watch TV for me? To read science fiction? To pet the dog and cats? To drink coffee? To do any of the other things in life that I do only because I enjoy doing them?



Tucker Carlson’s and Candace Owen’s’ antisemitism was in the news lately, and I posted about that because I took it personally because I’m Jewish. Republican Islamophobia is in the news now and though I am not Muslim I say fuck thst.

I support Muslim, Black, Asian, Latino and LGBTQ rights in part because it is right, in part because I have friends in every one of those groups and also because hate becomes anti-Semitidn eventually.

The white supremacists may pretend to be friends to the Jews for a while, but anti-Semitism sleeps lightly.


Product idea. Hear me out. Protein tequila.


I withdraw my previous comment about God sending Trump and his cabinet of Ku Klux Klowns to destroy America. That kind of talk is despairing, and despair is not an outlook we can afford.

These buffoons are incompetent and doing serious damage. They must be removed from office and prosecuted to the maximum penalty allowable by law.


In the middle of a war, the Secretary of Defense, whose previous experience was as a weekend anchor on Fox News, bans press corps photographers because they make him look gross. And the director of the FBI, who formerly raised funds for people who attempted the violent overthrow of the U.S. government, is bringing in UFC fighters to train agents.

I’m not a religious man but I am coming to the conclusion that God sent Donald Trump to bring the United States to its knees and make us humble. Or maybe God is just plain done with us and wants us gone.



Something I saw while walking the dog: This sticker on the side window of a car.


When you’re watching TV show set in or around 1970 and Doors music comes on, something bad is gonna happen. When the Doors song is “People Are Strange,” somebody’s gonna OD.


Fresh Air remembers Neil Sedaka. He had a great career.


Currently reading: Derby Dugan’s Depression Funnies by Tom De Haven. I’ve reread this a few times. I love this book. 📚


Inside the secret meeting that led to the AI political resistance. Strange bedfellows, uniting progressives, conservatives and MAGA: The Pro-Human Declaration has been signed by the American Federation of Teachers, the Congress of Christian Leaders, the Progressive Democrats of America and Steve Bannon.


Oh great, here comes 6G. A good explainer.


Tokyo University graduate student Takatsugu Kuriyama built an accurate three-dimensional model of Tokyo’s incredibly complex subway system “using multi-colored tubes strung with wire. Different color liquids pulsate throughout all 18 lines, creating a staggering picture of what goes on below the streets of Tokyo every day.”

Looking at this diagram, I realized that I visualize subway systems (like Tokyo’s, New York’s or London’s) operating on a single plane. Flat. But Tokyo’s, at least, is tall as well as broad. It’s like an anthill or termite’s nest.



Tucker Carlson’s latest baseless conspiracy blames Iran war on Chabad movement. A dangerous anti-Semite — and Candace Owens is right there with him.


The View From RSS. What the web looks like when you subscribe to 2,000 RSS feeds. I am not tempted to try this.


Cory Doctorow: The web is bearable with RSS. Also, a brief history of Google Reader, Google+ (which Cory doesn’t think much of but which I loved and still mourn), and tips for customizing Firefox for avoiding nag screens and other annoyances. I’m using a Chrome-based browser; hopefully the plugins he recommends have parallels in the Chrome universe.

I am a die-hard RSS user and have been for more than 20 years. I have a love-hate relationship with Inoreader — I am perpetually looking for alternatives and keep coming back to it. Right now, I’m actually looking to use RSS less, and unsubscribe from high-volume feeds, viewing those websites in the browser instead.


Regarding breaking news, I used to say that if I don’t hear the helicopters circling over the house, I can wait to find out about it.


A fun read about Burger King president and viral video star Tom Curtis, who presents a down-to-Earth image: The Burger King President Who Took a Bite Out of McDonald’s. Also a fun read, about the viral McDonald’s video that Burger King responded to. Here’s the video of Curtis taking a big hearty bite from a Whopper. And the McDonald’s CEO takes a prissy nibble from the Big Arch. He calls it a “product!” Good grief!