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wtg

Move over pumpkin spice. There's a new flavor trend elbowing its way onto menus, grocery aisles, cocktail bars, snack shelves and social media feeds — pickle everything.

From dill pickle popcorn and pickle margaritas to pickle-flavored chips, ranch dressing, nuts, vodka, smoothies and even frozen treats, the briny, tangy flavor profile is now becoming a full-fledged food identity.

Once relegated to burger baskets and deli counters, pickles have evolved into a full-blown cultural obsession. National brands are rolling out pickle-inspired products at a dizzying pace, restaurants are building menu items around bold dill flavor, and social media is fueling the craze with viral reviews, taste tests and over-the-top mashups.

Pickles even have their own festivals now, with events held all over the country, including this weekend's Canton Pickle Fest.

https://www.aol.com/news/big-dill-pickle-everything-pumpkin-100722991.html

I'll just have pickles, straight up. None of the funky pickle-flavored stuff for me.

The Canton Pickle Fest was Memorial Day weekend, so you Ohioans will have to wait till next year.

wtg

Are you interested in learning from human experts about how AI could impact the future of work and the customer experience? If so, it turns out that you could have unknowingly been getting some of your responses from AI.

KPMG, one of the largest consulting firms in the world, is accused of publishing a report on the future of AI with 40 of 45 citations that appeared to be at least partially AI hallucinations. In one instance, uncovered by the AI safety firm GPTZero, the report claims that the Japanese East Japan Railway Company (JR East) is using agentic AI for customer service, linking to a 2019 press release, years before agentic AI became mainstream.

In another instance, the report falsely claimed that Austrian electricity provider Verbund is using AI agents in households to conduct real-time analytics as part of its “energy-as-a-service ecosystem.” Although Verbund invested in a start-up using agents for grid optimization, there was no evidence to support the claim of real-time analytics in households.

Many citations linked to existing studies, but the titles, authors, or dates were incorrect. Researchers were unable to match many citations to existing studies due to insufficient information.

The report, which has now been taken down, has been referenced by multiple customer service publications and a major newspaper in the Czech Republic. In addition, researchers noted that the paper is now being referenced as a resource on customer experience by OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google Gemini. GPTZero alleges that an LLM research tool was asked to find appropriate case studies of companies using agentic AI worldwide.

The problem is already being felt by the average worker. More than 40% of US desk workers reported receiving "workslop"—low-quality AI-generated content—in the past month, according to a September survey from the Stanford Social Media Lab and BetterUp Labs.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/kpmg-allegedly-published-ai-report-filled-with-hallucinations

wtg

Am getting back into making my own bread. Tried this Breadtopia recipe for the first time this morning. Thumbs up!

https://breadtopia.com/light-wheat-oatmeal-bread/?utm_content

The dough is quite soft and moist and has some whole wheat in it, so a bit messy to work with. I used some sourdough starter that the sourdough zealot would have deemed discard (I had sort of neglected to feed my starter for the last several weeks), but it worked perfectly well.

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Nice chew to the crust. Definitely a keeper.

wtg

A community initiative.

My home in Washington, D.C., seems perfectly designed to be a mosquito breeding ground.

Between the high humidity and my water-trapping, shady garden, in warmer months we spend about five buggy minutes outside before we inevitably give up and pack it in, covered in bites.

I didn’t want to spray insecticide because it can also harm mosquitoes’ natural predators like dragonflies, spiders and birds, but none of the natural repellents I tried worked. I began to think mosquitoes were simply an unpleasant but inevitable part of life, like waiting in line at the DMV or paying taxes.

Then a few months ago, I found out about a group in my neighborhood called the Itty Bitty Mosquito Population Committee, which is trying to use the same techniques to fight the swarming hordes that scientists have used to all but eradicate mosquitoes on an island in the Philippines.

I had to find out who was behind this effort, what they were doing and how I could take steps to prevent my family from being eaten alive.

https://archive.is/jgYbO

The Itty Bitty Mosquito Population Committee:

https://www.ittybittymosquitocommittee.org/

wtg

An 88-Year-Old Woman Was Brought To My ER. When Her Family Told Me Why, I Was Stunned.

"I cleared my throat. 'So, I was wondering, why did you bring Maria to the hospital today?' Instantly all three sets of eyes filled with tears."

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/emergency-room-doctor-visit-death-grief-heart-attack-stroke-fear_n_6a2efa7ce4b04478a060a860

wtg

Robert MacNeil interviews Rubenstein.

Link to video

wtg

Police have launched a criminal investigation into an officer accused of using artificial intelligence (AI) systems to "create evidential material in a number of cases".

The Derbyshire Police officer has been removed from frontline duties, pending the outcome of the investigation, said the force.

The officer is alleged to have perverted the course of justice, but no arrests have been made, said police.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said they were working with police, adding: "We are engaging with defence teams and the courts in appropriate cases."

They added: "As police inquiries continue, it would not be appropriate to comment further."

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8wppwdxl6o

wtg

@Bernard said:

they'll kiss anybody's ass for it

Trump wins inaugural Fifa Peace Prize

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https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cy5gw0wv5zqo

wtg

Link to video

wtg

I love this time of year, too!

I love berry season, which has started here. Been grazing on serviceberries for the last week. Bumper crop. Also looks like I'll have good raspberry and black currant crops. There was severe dieback on one of my two red gooseberry bushes, so that crop will be much smaller than usual.

Here are some tomato recipes. We need to get ready for those pups! I have tons on the vine.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/photos/tomato-salad-recipes

Corn and tomato salad:

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