brain hole

I didn't have "anti-semites angry at charity-funded ambulances they didn't contribute to" on my bingo card for Q1, but there you go.

🦔 HP launched a gaming laptop subscription where you pay monthly but never own the hardware. The high-end option is $130/month for an RTX 5080 Omen Max 16. That same laptop costs $2,110 to buy outright, meaning you'd pay the full price in about 16 months but still own nothing. If you cancel after the first month, you face hefty fees. Canceling the top-tier subscription in month two costs $1,430 plus you have to return the laptop. You can only cancel for free after 13 months, by which point you've paid $1,690 and still have no laptop. HP's justification: "The traditional upgrade cycle keeps most gamers perpetually one step behind. But with access to a new laptop every year, your subscription breaks that cycle completely." My Take This feels like the logical endpoint of the subscription economy. You pay forever, you own nothing, and the company frames it as doing you a favor. HP is betting that people are so conditioned to monthly payments that they won't do the math showing they'd pay full price in 16 months and keep paying after that. Memory chip prices are up 60% because data centers are consuming everything. Hardware costs are rising. And now HP is using the affordability crisis to push a model where you never build equity in anything you use. We've seen this with software, streaming, cars, and now gaming hardware. The pitch is always about flexibility and staying current. The reality is you're perpetually renting your life from companies that figured out recurring revenue beats selling you something once. At least when you finance a laptop you eventually own it. I don't know how we got to a place where "you will own nothing" stopped being a dystopian warning and became a business model. Hedgie🤗

Reporter: Do any of you have a favorite animal? Child: My favorite one is a gold snake that can move. It has gold eyes, and it has a super-duper tail… Reporter: Mr. Mamdani, the second question for you. Mamdani: Yes. It’s also the golden snake.

I am at 770 Chabad World Headquarters in Crown Heights, where a man intentionally, and repeatedly, crashed his car into the building. I am relieved that no one was injured in this horrifying incident. This is deeply alarming, especially given the deep meaning and history of the institution to so many in New York and around the world. Any threat to a Jewish institution or place of worship must be taken seriously. Antisemitism has no place in our city, and violence or intimidation against Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable. I stand in solidarity with the Crown Heights Jewish community, and I am grateful to our first responders for taking swift action. I will keep New Yorkers updated as we learn more about the incident.

I’ve been briefed on an officer-involved shooting in Queens that occurred earlier today. The NYPD was responding to a 911 call, where they encountered an individual wielding a knife. The NYPD is assessing the situation, and we are committed to keeping New Yorkers informed as we learn more. I’m grateful to the first responders who put themselves on the line each day to keep our communities safe.