Mike B

Grok seems to have a good idea where I might like to live.

@RealJamesWoods Another aspect of Idiocracy has come true: politicians wearing sponsorships on their clothing.

“America’s mayor”

@MattWhitlock Wouldn't it be interesting if instead of complying an American company under threat walked away from Europe. Google could absolutely cripple Europe if they chose.

Europe is just absolutely terrible at reading the room. As if there wasn't enough tension over things like the EU's handling of Iran, requests for support in Ukraine, They're basically trying to fund their own bureaucracy by robbing US companies with ridiculous fines and fees.

@Timcast People who receive more than 25% of their income from government assistance should lose their vote while it is true.

we should make it so you have to walk across an 8 inch wide 40 foot long beam 40 feet off the ground to get to the ballot box to place your vote

@Timcast There are far too few people who can think critically about politics. We are overwhelmed by those who chose a team and cheer them on no matter what.

its like everyone in 2024 got amnesia about Miriam Adelson spending $100M to get Trump Elected

@mises_media This had me ask a LLM when there were lower federal spending year over year. The list since 1900 is interesting: 2022, 2013, 1955, 1948, 1947, 1946, 1933, 1932, 1930, 1923, 1922, 1921, 1919, 1916, 1912, 1911, 1906, 1902.

Robert Higgs's ratchet: government expands massively during war, then partially retracts, but never to where it started. Each crisis leaves behind new agencies, new precedents, new taxes, and a new baseline. The next crisis starts from higher ground. #MisesU

@beinlibertarian 2028 is likely too soon as there are still too many people alive that watch the mainstream media. The first real opening is likely 2036 and hope GenX doesn't go squirrelly.

If Massie wins the Presidential primary do you think Catturd will support the Democrats?

@buildthedream I live in Texas. In unincorporated areas in my county there are homes that fill more than 90% of their lot footprint. The complaints about affordability are as loud here as most of the country. While we might agree government is a root cause it appears we would disagree on why.

@TerseReply I see what you're saying. But checkout Jane Jacob's work. Cities and towns are always in a state of redevelopment. That's just not how it works.

There's a law in nearly every American city that bans affordable housing — and almost nobody knows it exists. It's called a minimum lot size. That's how you ban the starter home without saying the word.

@RealAngelaMc Yes. x.com/blueorigin/sta…

Is everyone ok??? 😦

@Devon_Eriksen_ Won't you let them die in peace? They have been trying very hard for many years to atone for their self perceived sinfulness by offing themselves. <heavy sarcasm> It will take at least a generation for Europe to rebuild and this time they won't have American help.

Dear Europeans: Yes, we understand that central air is hard to build into old homes. Yes, we also understand that your windows are a bit different. But here's the part that confuses us. Why do you have to buy window A/C designed for American windows? Why can't Europeans, living in Europe, design A/C units to fit European windows, for other Europeans, who live in Europe? Yes, Willis Haviland Carrier was an American, but he solved this problem in 1902. You have had over one hundred years to adapt his work to a slightly different aperture. Do you not build things anymore? Are there some regulations preventing you? Will your neighbors just relentlessly shame you for having air conditioning? Seriously, unsarcastically, what the hell is the obstacle, here?

@Devon_Eriksen_ It's because they are racist. Like the original believers in segregation.

They want segregation back.

@RealEJAntoni If one President can drain the SPR for political purposes another would certainly feel they are entitled to do the same.

We've drained more than 12% of the SPR in 2 months; once you factor in the geological limitations of storage in the salt domes, you realize we've used up much more than 12% of the useable/extractable remaining volume:

@unusual_whales The question might be: are they trying to create a more than 100% pop on day one?

"SpaceX lowered its targeted initial public offering valuation to at least $1.8 trillion." per Bloomberg

@Devon_Eriksen_ GenX but with late Silent Generation parents. They didn't appear to have it quite as easy as Boomers born a decade later but their experience isn't startlingly different. Having managed millennials I can say this is accurate but GenX also had more bumps than the Boomers.

Dear small percentage of Boomers who can actually be told things: Here are some facts, to help you understand what Millennials are trying to tell you. Here is what the middle-class experience is right now. Not for losers, but for your average hardworking, but unexceptional, dude born in 1992. - No company pensions. Ever. No job offers this. - Laid off every 2 to 3 years. - No vacations. Ever. If you are lucky, you have 10 to 15 days of annual "PTO" (paid time off). But this is not vacation. This is your sick days. You can take a break with whatever's left over. - If you are not lucky, you have "unlimited" PTO. Which sounds nice, but in practice it means you get sick days and nothing else. - They pay social security taxes, but they know they will never receive those benefits, because the system will crash first. - Not promoted. Ever. - No annual raises. Instead, these are effectively pay cuts, because they don't match inflation. - Because of this, can only get a raise by changing jobs. Some judicious prevarication about salary history is recommended. - Good chance you'll have to change careers at least once, possibly more, as industries get rugpulled by offshoring or work visas. - Total mortgage cost on a median house in 2026 is 104,600 minimum-age-hours. This is 50+ years of full-time work. - For comparison, a 1972 purchase would be 23,750 minimum-wage-hours, about 11 years of full time work. What this all adds up to is that Millennials can't buy homes until they are past their child-bearing years. And, no, scrimping and saving doesn't change that equation. This is with scrimping and saving. I am not a Millennial. I am GenX, the child of Boomers. I do not need to be told how much Boomers forwent luxuries to save, and how hard they worked. I know exactly how much they did of each. I was there. I saw. They worked hard at the beginning of their careers, and lived frugally for about 5 years to save up a down payment. After that, things gradually eased up, bit by bit. Until, by retirement, a lot of them had nice fat stock portfolios and multiple rental property investments, and Caribbean cruise holidays. And this seems, to them, like a fair and natural progression. But as America has been hollowed out and by a corrupt political machine, those doing the robbing have left the Boomers whole, and placed the burden of that corruption squarely on the backs of younger generations. For Millennials, there's no light at the end of that tunnel. Just another tunnel. And another after that. They have been standing between Boomers and the reality of the modern economy for 20 years. At some point, they are going to break.

@morganlinton It has been a while since I searched for products. Looks like there is at least one now but it seems pretty primitive and not yet commercialized. 2mel.nl/projects/vitam…

@TerseReply Really like the idea of wearing multiple sensors that all connect and take readings from multiple sources. Seems like that would be the clearest path to better accuracy.

Okay, screw it - going full bionic. I bought an Oura ring a few months ago, wasn’t happy with it so stopped using it. But since I’m testing the Fitbit Air vs the WHOOP, may as well just toss my Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Oura into the mix. Need to charge the Oura and I’ll be up and running as the bionic man 🦾

I don't love what I am seeing from most of the industry. Everyone is trying to solve the problem with a single point source of data. Did you know Fitbit was much better at tracking steps when it was belt attached device? I am surprised there hasn't been a company to implement a multiple device tracking system. (i.e. Put a device on every limb and one on the waist.) I did suggest it to senior level management at Fitbit but they were not really interested because it was believed to be a niche product and not mass market. Personally I always wanted more accuracy. Might be something Bryan Johnson would be interested in now that I think about it. I have been wearing an Apple Watch waiting for something truly better for many years. Mostly this is because I trust Apple's privacy stance more than others.

Yeah, I figured. Curious your thoughts on where the best sources are for good testing data? I've used the WHOOP for six years now, always thought of it as the most accurate, esp. for sleep tracking, but there are so many different report, not sure which to trust! And yes, trying myself is a bit silly right 🤪

As others have said, we don't really have a good definition of what consciousness means. I would posit if an LLM had continuous memory and the ability to initiate their own queries it could approximate human consciousness but it would likely spiral out of control over time. The most important problem to solve for AI might be to keep the AI balanced and not go crazy with ever extending and remembered input. In my anecdotal experience LLM's have a tendency to hallucinate more as a conversation gets deeper.

Hilarious. And, I think, true. I have yet to encounter anybody taking a strong position in the argument over whether LLMs are conscious - on either side - that shows any sign that they know what they're talking about. Want to persuade me otherwise? Define the predicate. Show me your experimental test for "is conscious". Once you've done that, we can have a conversation that won't be completely meaningless.

@beffjezos Nah, we're just going to put the data centers in space and let them whine. 😉

Insane Psyops against datacenters cannot stop the acceleration

@unusual_whales The indication, in this case, of the emperor having no clothes will be if DJT loses his orange tint.

Trump: "We don't need oil. We don't need the strait. We don't need anything."