The San Diego Police Department is being scrutinized for reliance on CalGang, a California database that’s been dropped by many state law enforcement agencies. Once added to the database, “You’ve moved out of the human species and into the species of being a gang member,” says Jaime Wilson, co-chair of San Diego’s Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention and the mother of a young man who was added to the database in 2017. voiceofsandiego.org/2023/07/2…
ICYMI: Microsoft and Google reported strong cloud and AI growth in their quarterly financial results. But for both companies, growth is slowing. My latest. www.silverliningsinfo.com/multi-clo…
Today’s ephemera: An “ANIMALS TALKING IN ALL CAPS” throwback
Our Long, National Taco Tuesday Nightmare Is Finally Over. Taco John’s was happy to bully smaller companies with threats of trademark litigation, but when a bigger company—Taco Bell—came along wanting to fight, suddenly Taco John grew principles and decided that litigation would be wrong. www.techdirt.com/2023/07/2…
Influencers are starting to realize that the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is dangerous. It doesn’t protect children online; it’s a threat to everyone. Republicans are openly talking about how they will use it to suppress free speech, and Democrats are on board. www.techdirt.com/2023/07/2…
Republican Counties Had Higher COVID Death Rates After Vaccines Became Available daringfireball.net/linked/20… Republicans will blame this on drag queens and Hunter Biden.
Decoder Ring: What’s really going on inside a mosh pit? The mosh pit is “a violent place where (mostly) white guys vent their aggression.… but it’s also a place bound by camaraderie and—believe it or not—etiquette.… explore the unwritten rules of this 50-year-old live-music phenomenon with punks, concertgoers, and a heavy-metal physicist.” Hosted by Willa Paskin and produced by Paskin and Katie Shepherd.
Virginia Postrel: Gadgets and Gizmos that inspired Adam Smith
David Eagleman: Could you upload your brain to live forever? eagleman.com/podcast/c…
“Wilder” is a limited-series podcast about Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of the “Little House” books. Wilder lived an amazing life: She traveled cross-country in a covered wagon and lived long enough to see Elvis on TV and fly in a jet plane. Her books have been beloved fixtures of classrooms for generations. But the books are also criticized for their outright racism, and at least one Native American scholar says they should only be taught in context.
Host Glynnis MacNicol loves the “Little House” books, and she travels the country talking with superfans and critics.
Today’s ephemera: Marty Feldman and Ann-Margret, 1977
Every time I bring in the car to be washed, I end up choosing add-ons at random.
I finally decided to look up which ones to get, and which ones to pass on.
Consumer Reports says get the undercarriage wash at least once a season, “especially if you drive through mud or live in a part of the country where roads are salted in winter.”
Wheel cleaning is good, but spray-on wax is purely cosmetic.
www.consumerreports.org/car-maint…
And here is the theme for the 1976 cinematic classic, “Car Wash.”
Five years ago: At last night’s press reception I mistook another editor for a waiter and tried to take food off his plate. I mean, I literally reached out and was touching his food. This is why they don’t allow me out usually.
New Project Uses AI To Turn Project Gutenberg Texts Into Free Audiobooks With Lifelike Voices — In 30 Seconds www.techdirt.com/2023/07/2…
Red Hat saved IBM’s bacon this quarter techcrunch.com/2023/07/2…
Surgeon warns against the most dangerous sex position, which causes 50% of penile fractures boingboing.net/2023/07/2…
How did we fill our in-between time before smartphones?
I’m constitutionally incapable of ignoring text within my sight, so I remember reading cereal boxes at breakfast, magazine covers in checkout lines, display ads on public transit, out-of-date magazines in doctors’ offices, in-flight Skymall catalogs, and posted signs (however irrelevant) of all types.
When the Town Square Shatters. Cory Doctorow remembers GEnie, where I made a lot of friends (including Cory). He says the end of GEnie nearly 25 years ago foretold the breakup of Twitter’s community. doctorow.medium.com/when-the-…
My career goal is to become a cowboy at a “wild west” roadside attraction. I want to be the guy who stands with a shotgun at the top of the stagecoach and gets shot and falls off.