more "Dune" news: controversies and misconceptions

did Zelenskyy really cave?

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What's the point of a degree anymore?

The Bee's headlines are often funny, but the ensuing articles usually aren't.

Chuck married one of his raw hamburgers from that other meme, I see.

At this point, we all know what AI images look like. And count the fingers—that's a typical AI-image problem, too.

hypocrisy

This bears repeating, but it doesn't explain why AI is so left-biased.

The Tao of the Retard: If Trump did it, it's wrong.

Same joke, different form.

I wonder what the original text said (if anything).

Caps and period.

first blog from the new laptop

This could be heaven, or this could be hell...

My new Mac laptop arrived more than an hour ago, and I've spent the past while slowly setting it up. During setup, I said no to a lot of offered features, like Siri, and I'm ignoring the Apple Intelligence feature for the moment because I'm fairly chary of AI. (My chats with ChatGPT are of very limited scope.) Yeah, call me old. As is usual with Mac, the laptop, a 2024 MacBook Air 13 M3, 10-core GPU, 24GB memory, 512GB storage, blah blah blah. I can use it while I'm in the States. It occurs to me that I need to buy a tote bag for slight protection and easy carriage. Alas, like my 2019 desktop Mac, the laptop has a chiclet keyboard, which I and my strokey fingers don't like. In the name of materialism, some unboxing photos:

And of course, the first thing the laptop did was flag me with a software update. Christ. Well, this is a 2024 machine, and it's now 2025, so I guess it's only fair that there'd be an update. While the laptop is updating, I've switched to my desktop to complete this blog post, and I'd used my cell phone to upload the above unboxing pics. The laptop's screen lit up right away because the laptop was charged with 50% battery life, and it started flashing "hello" in all the world's languages until I snapped out of my hypnosis and found an arrow button to move me forward through the setup process. I saw Korean (annyeonghaseyo), English, Chinese (I think that's ni hao), and other languages ranging from French to Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. I think I even saw Arabic and Amharic, and maybe Sinhalese before I turned the "hello"s off. Setup wasn't too hard, but it's definitely gotten more complex over the years. Wi-Fi took a second to set up because I didn't remember the password to access Wi-Fi, which is being broadcast by my computer (I'd set it up to be a hotspot). I then realized I had the password on my phone, which takes advantage of the Wi-Fi-hotspot feature.

Aside: while I'm in the States, I won't be able to use LTE unless I take along my GlocalMe portable hotspot, but that'll mean spending I-don't-know-how-much money for the data. I'll look into prices and decide whether to risk going to the States using only Wi-Fi. If I'm driving or in a restaurant with no Wi-Fi, though, I'm going to feel the pinch, so I might have to bite the bullet and buy some Glocal Me data. We'll see.

There's plenty still to set up (I just ordered a laptop pouch), but I'll get to those things over the coming weeks. Today's the 5th; I leave on the 24th. There's time.

guns vs. safes

Trump's address to Congress

See the liveblog here.

Stephen Green concludes (edited):

Some might say it was nothing more than a pep rally[,] and maybe there’s some truth to that. Maybe. But if so, two things are certainly true. One is that there have been so many wins to rally the faithful with—and to move the undecideds over. The other is that half the [pep-rally] attendees were hecklers, determined to spoil the show. But long before the end, they were almost completely dispirited. Also because of all the wins chalked up in just six weeks. That’s yuge. 

Are you sick of all the winning yet?

Yeah, me neither.

I’d also add that whatever the Democrats had hoped to do tonight—reboot their party, deliver a message, whatever—they failed. Whatever Trump wants, they’re against. Including peace, if you can believe that. 

didgeridon't

Corridor Crew on AI scams

who knew cats could be this funny?

What's unsurprising is the revelation that even friendly cats are lazy.

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Good for you, Mr. Duffy.

Those Dems, man. Bunch of geniuses.

Or you've been teleported elsewhere in the multiverse.

One, or maybe two, comma problems. Two if you like Oxford commas.

gettin' da shit pushed in (plus: apostrophe problem)

holes and holes in the leaky system

Sarcasm noted.

women and dawgz first

If you want to see Nazis everywhere, you'll see them everywhere.

why I didn't go for a Ph.D.

could the Ukraine deal fall through?

Zelenskyy is looking both demanding and dirty. Here's DeVory on the possible collapse of the mineral deal, thanks partly to Zelenskyy's dirty dealing (a UK mineral deal?? already signed?? you have to see this to believe it):

And if Zelenskyy is secretly meeting with Chuck Schumer, this deal is going to crater.

I feel sorry for the Ukrainian people. And for our own as the Dems undermine democracy. In my empire, people like Chuck Schumer would be dragged out and shot.

Trump protects women's sports

Because no one else will, apparently—certainly not the governor of Maine.

the final fourth of the video is most important, I think

All this impatience with Pam Bondi not being able to produce evidence or make crucial arrests is starting to make her look bad in a "dumb blonde" kind of way. The MAGA crowd will tolerate you and will even forgive some initial mistakes, but if it quickly gets to the point where your competency is in question, well... could Bondi be the first weak link? Do your job, lady! We're having Release the Kraken flashbacks. We don't want to see history repeat itself (i.e., Trump and poor staffing choices). See the video below, which I've cued to 12:38:

Rip Van Wokle

Zelenskyy and how to fix things

I wonder how interested Trump is in fixing things, though, after what happened.

the warmongers call Trump a warmonger

It's projection all the way.

a faceful of Heaver

2/16: the Reform landslide.

2/16: in the wake of JD Vance's speech.

2/17: the election meltdown in Germany.

2/17: are UK voters being silenced?

2/18: Italy's "terrifying defeat."

2/18: Reform victories are causing panic.

2/19: Reform "reaching new heights."

2/20: the rejection of Keir Starmer.

2/22: Labour tries to reinsert the UK under EU rules. Dafuck is wrong with these bastards?

2/23: VP Vance was right—EU countries are unable to implement their own policies.

2/24: Germany's election—the polls close.

2/25: German politicians in shock by AfD electoral victories.

2/27: election chaos in Romania.

2/28: Austria's own shocking electoral results.

3/1: landslide Refom victories.

3/2: The UK now in open revolt.

If Farage gets back into a position of power and influence and can turn back a lot of the woke, Orwellian idiocy that has taken over the UK's politics, that might be nice.

Heaver's a good source for big-picture news concentrating mostly on western Europe, but a little on eastern Europe as well. Lately, it's mostly about elections, but one theme that Heaver is always on about is the lack of sovereignty that EU nations enjoy thanks to policies emanating from Brussels. I've written a lot about Europe and the EU in the past; search my blog archives for plenty of thoughts on the subject.

Heaver's news website is here. His main YouTube channel is here.

Heaver describes himself as a "patriotic Englishman." Said without shame or sarcasm.

Good for him.

more on the Zelenskyy debacle

Viva Frei has a lot to say as well.

DeVory Darkins on the Dems' "colossal mistake."

Matt Morse: people like Zelenskyy less and less.

was it worth it?

The weirdest proposal you'll ever see. 

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Comma and hyphen problems. Oh, and learn to code.

The butt cheeks of stress are upon us.

the horror

Poor Bill Watterson.

'zactly

I've tried and tried to defend trans people as not insane, but the trans people keep disappointing me.

To be fair, you could make a collage of rightie women doing the screech thing.

Spelling and comma problems.

Correct the grammar problem.

powdered milk

I found powdered milk on Coupang and ordered some to go along with my SlimFast. I tried a spoonful of the powder as it was—just dry—to see how it tasted and behaved in the mouth. It tasted better than regular milk powder, but along with the slight sweetness (lactose, a sugar, and probably some added sugar) was a not-quite-as-slight saltiness, which I found curious. The dry powder also started clumping in my mouth as I chewed it, reminding me a bit of the inulin I'd tried. I made a cup of chocolate milk with SlimFast and cold, filtered water; a lot of unabsorbed powder (chocolate and milk) floated to the top in the form of bubbles that refused to mix. I tried a second cup, but this time with boiling-hot water, and the absorption was a lot better. So: hot chocolate from now on until the two powders run out. Yay.

The reason for this is to save money during the week: eat keto or keto-ish on weekends; drink SlimFast hot chocolate (as a substitute for my morning smoothie) on weekday mornings using only water—i.e., no more need to buy expensive cartons of low-fat, whole, or almond milk. Not a very exciting solution, but a way to cut down on spending. The powdered milk cost me less than W6,000 for a kilo, so it's definitely cheaper than regular milk here. I pay around half that much for a mere liter of regular milk.

this is not my argument, but...

 

I've written down my muddled thoughts on abortion here. Whatever my opinion, I do appreciate this attack on the left's inconsistency. More here.

I love the sea shanty accompanying the video

So-called feminists: "Embrace gender differences."

The sea shanty apparently comes from one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies ("At World's End"?). It's called "Hoist the Colors," and you can find versions of it on YouTube. Near as I can tell, the shanty was created specifically for the movie.

weather

Last night was a bit rainy, but today seemed to bright and sunny. I might go out for a 9K walk tomorrow soon (tomorrow's rainy/snowy).

The rest of this week will see nighttime temps at above freezing, so we're definitely entering into spring. And I've conceived an ambition: do the 60K "crazy walk" before I leave for the States later this month. Funny how due dates focus your mind.

this makes my frozen shoulder hurt just watching it

This is crazy. Mucho respect.

Oscars: sweet revenge

"Dune: Part 2" won two Oscars (Best Sound, Nest Visual Effects)... and "Emilia Pérez"—after having bizarrely been nominated for thirteen awards—also won only two Oscars (Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Song), probably suffering from the backlash against its (at least formerly) un-PC trans star, Karla Sofia Gascón (who might go back to being un-PC—own it, baby!). Personally, I'm rooting for Gascon, who seems to be doing trans right: she's not trying to beat biological women up in the MMA octagon, nor is she stealing trophies in weightlifting, track, swimming, or other sporting events. If she wants to compete as a woman against biological women, well, why not? The complaint regarding sports is that trans women have an unfair biological advantage against biological women in terms of strength, speed, reflexes, etc. Those advantages aren't present when you're vying for an Oscar. So I say, Go, Karla! Too bad about the rest of the Oscars, though, eh? Heh.

Hilarious take on the Oscars from Link Lauren:

Sky News's take:

slap

I watched the world go absolutely insane over Covid and a junkie career criminal in Minneapolis. I lived it. I watched everyone lose their minds.

So when normies try to tell me “things are just so crazy” under Trump, I kinda want to just slap them.

— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) February 28, 2025

Nick Freitas discusses the popularity of DOGE

I have a buddy who ought to watch this, not least because Freitas is a Virginia politician.

what to do with leftover pie filling and dough

This pie (see below) probably turned out better than the pie I'd baked for the recent get-together. I had leftover dough and pie filling—enough for a modest-sized pie, so I did what I usually do in such situations. This was a good and unwontedly flaky crust. Carby as hell, and I was the only one eating it, but I'll be paying for my sins this week. Since I had a carton of heavy cream lying around, I made myself some whipped cream (cream, a teaspoon of sugar, and a few drops of vanilla extract in the food processor; whip at high speed for 60 seconds, then at lower speed for an additional 30 seconds) to dollop onto the pie, which really didn't need it. I forgot to sprinkle turbinado over the crust (which I did egg-wash), but the pie didn't need that enhancement, either. It was a deliciously sinful experience this past weekend, and I'm pretty sure it all went to my waist, but now: no more sweet leftovers.

the standard shot

the slightly more food-porny shot

I barely had any of my own pie at the get-together. The crust for that pie was ridiculously inflated, but what little I did eat was pretty good. The main disappointment was the quiche which, as I said, had been cooked through after nearly 100 minutes in the oven, but which still hadn't set, resulting in a disappointingly soft interior. I should try making standard quiches from now on; there's a price to be paid for adventuring heedlessly out on your own.

But the above pie worked out great.

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How true is this? This sounds like more opinion than fact. But a man can hope.

Go back to your ritzy mansion, Selena.

Who's higher on the oppression totem pole?

Comma. Period.

This made me cackle for some reason.

The problem is in the complex sentence. Remember complex sentences? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Maybe the moms don't want to make any more little terrorists.

If "perplexed" is the best you can do to a mighty force, you're not trying very hard.