The desperate hope that a “good guy with a gun” will show up and rescue us like they promised.

We are a LOT farther away than 5 years. What you see right now is a lot of hype from venture capitalists over chatbots.

I think any real AGI will have to have some kind of reasoning ability, and I don’t see any sign of that in current AI.

…I’m listening…

Who is Jerma, and why does his crap clog my YouTube feed? Except it’s not Jerma’s stuff, but people making videos about Jerma.

I have prescription sunglasses, and occasionally forget I’m wearing them. But I try not to wear them in a store.

There is a local “rock” station I started listening to when I moved into the area. Their playlist was limited, and I quickly realized they would play the exact same songs at almost the exact same time every day. I think the weekend was the only time I ever heard any recent music.

I drove a lot, so I subscribed to XM. That was super nice, but pretty soon I noticed the same thing. I switched channels a lot, then started listening to a talk channel because I tired of the same songs. (O&A, Ron & Fez, fuck you Anthony you racist piece of shit…)

I dumped XM, started listening to podcasts. And I expanded my music library 10-fold through the wonders of privateering.

Recently I was outside at lunchtime, and someone was sitting in their car listening to that same old local “rock” station. And they are still playing the same garbage songs at pretty much the same exact time every day.

A VPN won’t be useful because you’ll have to login to the Usenet server. But (someone please tell me if I’m wrong) I’ve never heard of anyone getting busted downloading stuff from newsgroups.

A TV show shouldn’t be required watching to understand what’s going on in the next “big blockbuster”. If they have to be “in universe”, make those about street level, 3rd tier heroes. Nobody knew who Peacemaker was 10 years ago, and it’s one of the best.

What a stupid, stupid, stupid design for a ‘space’ bomber. Just utterly stupid. I can’t say stupid enough.

It probably requires a subscription to a Usenet provider. ISPs used to provide this service in the states, but I haven’t seen that in a long time. Search for USENET PROVIDER or NEWSGROUP PROVIDER to find a service.

You’ll need a service that has ‘binary’ groups. It will also need to provide access to specific groups that people use for games. There are many, many binary groups, and not all providers give you access to all the groups (for good reasons). Something with ‘gamez’ or ‘warez’ in the group title is a good start.

You’ll need newsreader software. I used Forte Agent back in the day. I’m sure there are better readers out there now. It should have NZB support, and PAR file support is important (you’ll want to look up those terms to learn about them).

Usenet is more complicated than torrenting, but I wouldn’t bother with a VPN on Usenet. Since you’ll have a login for access, a VPN wouldn’t help. But in this case the law enforcement target would be the Usenet provider, not the users.

Reputable VPN.

Strong anti-virus/anti-malware.

Common-sense when running cracks/keygens (are keygens still a thing?)

edit: a good backup plan, in case thongs go awry (yes, I see it. Yes, I’m leaving it.)

Mods are asleep, post fake Richard Scarry cars.

There’s nothing magic about Lucas’s vision. But JJ Abrams vision is exclusively “bigger is better”. Death Star destroys planets? Well, this Death Star IS a planet. And it kills multiple planets, and it’s called Starkiller, and it shoots through hyperspace.

Star Destroyer? Let’s make each one a Death Star. With a big gun. And you can ride horses on the hull.

Stormtroopers? They fly now.

(Godzilla? Uhh… My monster is just as big as Godzilla, and it’s only a baby.)

Instead of having some form of verifiable indication, people are just supposed to “think hard”? Have you looked around lately?

The problem only gets worse with AI creeping closer.

What? I prefer knowing if someone I interact with is genuine. As opposed to Twitter, where I just know they have a recurring monthly payment.

Do I have to do it tonight, or can there be a ‘waiting period’? (I have nothing to wear…)

I say ether. Every once in a while I find someone infuriated by that, and it gives me much joy.

Nice try Elon. Go back to Twitter.

Elect me president in 2028, and I’ll pardon this guy.

Sorry, you’re not going to find The Duck Factory anywhere. Despite being Jim Carrey’s first starring roll, it’s just a formulaic 80s sitcom with limited production value and typical period writing.