New nightmare: Hertz adopts AI scanner to check for damage. https://www.thedrive.com/news/this-is-what-happens-when-hertzs-ai-scanner-finds-damage-on-your-rental

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/24/politics/doge-fired-workers-rehired Trump administration scrambles to rehire key federal workers after DOGE firings Federal agencies are rehiring and ordering back from leave some of the employees who were laid off in the weeks after President Donald Trump took office as they scramble to fill critical gaps in services left by the Department of Government Efficiency-led effort to shrink the federal workforce.

@wtg said in Ice cream: Coffee Almond Fudge That sounds yummy! I’ve had other Tillamook but I don’t think I’ve had this one. Nor have I ever tried a vegan ice cream before. But this is definitely the time to get some ice cream, whatever the variety!

Relative to when? The parties are far more rigid and "orthodox" than they were when I was younger. You had to build coalitions across party lines to get anything done. Now it's rammed through on party line votes.

A study from MIT... https://unherd.com/newsroom/can-students-be-saved-from-chatgpt/

More info on the 100 mile border zone: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/border-zone "two-thirds of the U.S. population, or about 200 million people, reside within this expanded border region, according to the 2010 census. Most of the 10 largest cities in the U.S., such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, fall in this region. Some states, like Florida, lie entirely within this border band so their entire populations are impacted." Big Al

https://www.space.com/stargazing/summer-solstice-2025-brings-changing-seasons-to-earth-on-june-20 Read how many hours of day there were added to dawn and dusk in a certain city to see how many hours of darkness remained. Wow.

I wondered how they would react. Good BBQ is not confined to Texas, either. There are a lot of good pitmasters at work around the country. I've tasted more than a few. I had some excellent brisket that one of my nephews smoked for two of his children's graduation party last Saturday. I haven't spent much time in Texas, but I certainly agree that I ate some delicious BBQ there. Big Al

NIH froze funding for clinical trials at a major university. By fall, they’ll run out of funding The university is Northwestern here in Chicago. https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/23/health/nih-northwestern-trials-funding

So they have a “debt ceiling” too, the “Schuldenbremse.” I did not know that before.

@dolmansaxlil said in Happy (one day early) birthday, dolmansaxlil!: We went out for dinner with the kid and his girlfriend. Wow. They grow up so soon. Big Al

I almost barfed this morning watching the press conference with Hegseth. Dear Leader redux.

I love that the kiddo is nestled in all that soft stuff on top of the piano.

Yea, hopefully the Nobel committee will give the prize to someone other than Trump. They passed him over some years back. Prior year nominees from prior years... Slobodan Milosevic Fidel Castro Julian Assange Vladimir Putin Edward Snowden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_individuals_nominated_for_the_Nobel_Peace_Prize_(2000–present)

Months later, still no repairs. Mary Battin’s house was ground zero for the garbage truck fire and explosion that rocked her Arlington Heights neighborhood the afternoon of Dec. 6, 2024. Video that showed the blast in front of her home on the corner of Euclid and Derbyshire avenues went viral online and made international news. But she’s upset fewer people are paying attention now. More than six months later, Battin’s three-bedroom ranch remains damaged — windows boarded up, the corner frame broken, and walls and ceilings cracked throughout — while she struggles to get more than $100,000 worth of repairs covered by insurance. https://archive.is/ADojn#selection-2075.0-2083.248

deep breath Gosh it doesn't seem premature to me at all. I'm not seeing where the levers are to turn this disaster around. I'm going to protests. I'm sharing information. I'm having conversations with my neighbors who voted for Trump. I'm signing up for phone banking to defeat the horrible bill before Congress. I'll continue to do whatever I can. But I'm sorry to report that I'm not seeing how we turn this around. To me, the handwriting is on the wall. The oligarchs have pulled off their hijack, which has been in the works for 60 years. Read the book "Democracy in Chains". We aren't Houdini. I fully expect I'm going to have to implement my own Plan B. Not what I want, but to me it ain't lookin' good.

@rustyfingers that looks great! I'm glad you have your new car back