Tag: How We Live Now
Ryan Gosling – Gen Z Slang – Dialogue
@jeremylynch If Hollywood movies used Gen Z slang š #ProjectHailMary ā¬ original sound – JeremyLynch
Google AI:
“No cap” is a popular slang phrase meaning “no lie,” “for real,” or “truthfully,” used to emphasize that a statement is genuine or serious. Originating in Atlanta-based hip-hop and African American Vernacular English (AAVE), it spread to mainstream usage in the late 2010s to denote sincerity.Key Aspects of “No Cap”:Definition: “Cap” means a lie or exaggeration; therefore, “no cap” means the oppositeātelling the truth.Usage: It is frequently added to the end of a statement for emphasis, e.g., “That food was great, no cap”.Origins: Rooted in early 2010s Southern hip-hop, often associated with rapper “NoCap” (Kobe Vidal Crawford Jr.), who is an American rapper known for his emotional style.
War Crimes in the News
DETROW: That’s what the press secretary says. The Pentagon has repeatedly said, the United States does not deliberately target civilians, and yet the president is talking about attacking a desalination plant. Would that be a war crime?
RONA: Absolutely, Scott, both under international law and U.S. law. We have a War Crimes Act that prohibits precisely this kind of thing. It would also be a violation of laws against terrorism. It’s prohibited to engage in attacks in armed conflict where the primary purpose is to spread terror among the civilian population. If you’re targeting a desalination plant, then that would be an act of terrorism.
DETROW: Help us understand a little bit more just ’cause I think you cannot overexplain this enough, right? Like, here’s an example. In the early days of the war, it seems like the United States accidentally bombed a girls school. What is the difference between something like that and deliberately attacking civilian infrastructure like a desalination plant?
RONA: So the difference is that even though one might have been mistaken and the other intentional, under U.S. law, both intentional and mistaken attacks that aren’t pursuant to due diligence can be war crimes.
No Kings Protest – March 28, 2026
In big cities and small towns across the world, protesters gathered for thousands of rallies against President Trump and his policies and actions, with the self-stated goal of fighting dictatorship.
…Chicagoans gathered at Grant Park, where Saira Bensett, 60, a retired zoological worker, described the turnout as cathartic.
āWhen I watch the news itās often too much ā the emotions I feel make me feel like Iām alone,ā she said. āSo I wanted to be here to feel like Iām not by myself.ā
A Show of Defiance Across the Nation
Itās the third time that the coalition behind the āNo Kingsā movement has organized events to protest President Trump and his policies. In the United States, more than 3,000 demonstrations were planned.
Exceptionally High Temperatures – Denver – March 2026
DENVER (KDVR) ā Denver weather broke the all-time record high temperature for March hitting 85 degrees on Thursday, and heat in the coming days is expected to shatter that record, too.
Before this week, the highest temperature ever recorded during March in Denver was 84 degrees, set on March 26, 1971, according to National Weather Service data.
Denver had itās hottest March day ever recorded with Thursdayās record-breaking high temperature
Borg – The Drink – Defined, Usage of
@grok explains in detail the situation in that videopic.twitter.com/QHcdsT5Vx5
ā EROS mad (@EROSmadr) March 15, 2026
@grok explains in detail the situation in that video
The video shows a chaotic St. Patrick’s Day weekend scene on a downtown Chicago sidewalk outside Amorino gelato. Revelers carrying “Borgs” (gallon milk jugs filled with vodka, Kool-Aid-style mixers, electrolytes, and green food dye) dumped or spilled dozens of them, creating a slippery mess of white/green liquid, empty jugs, and cans.Chicago PD officers respond: one in a black jacket bends down repeatedly picking up jugs and cans while another in a neon vest joins to help contain the spill amid the crowd of green-clad partiers watching and filming. The original post humorously calls the soaked officer a ” rat” looking rough after a “weekend in the sewers” from the boozy cleanup. Classic Chicago chaos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borg_(drink)
A borg (sometimes BORG, short for blackout rage gallon) is a mixed drink made in a plastic gallon jug, generally containing water, vodka, flavored drink mix such as MiO or Kool-Aid, and sometimes electrolyte mix such as Pedialyte. The drink gained popularity at universities in the United States in the early 2020s, spreading among members of Generation Z on TikTok in late 2022 and early 2023. A borg is designed to be held and consumed by one individual throughout a party, distinguishing it from older communally-served party drinks (which may have similar ingredients) such as jungle juice and punch. Drinkers typically label their borg jug with a nickname, often a pun on the word “borg.”
…
In popular culture
The 2024 Broadway adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, directed by Sam Gold, prominently featured a borg as a prop, held by Lord and Lady Capulet (portrayed by Sola Fadiran) throughout the play and used by Romeo (Kit Connor) to ingest the poison pill at the play’s climax. Described by Today as “Chekhov’s borg”, the jug was labeled with various Shakespearean puns at each performance, including “to borg or not to borg” and “William Shakesborg”.
Agentic vs Mimetic
The future will belong to people with a very specific combination of personality traits and psychosexual neuroses. An AI might be able to code faster than you, but there is one advantage that humans still have. Itās called agency, or being highly agentic. The highly agentic are people who just do things. They donāt timidly wait for permission or consensus; they drive like bulldozers through whateverās in their way. When they see something that could be changed in the world, they donāt write a lengthy critiqueāthey change it. AIs are not capable of accessing whatever unpleasant childhood experience it is that gives you this hunger. Agency is now the most valuable commodity in Silicon Valley. In tech interviews, itās common for candidates to be asked whether theyāre āmimeticā or āagentic.ā You do not want to say mimetic. Once, San Francisco drew in runaway children, artists, and freaks; today itās an enormous magnet for highly agentic young men. I set out to meet them.
Childās Play
Techās new generation and the end of thinking
by Sam Kriss
Harper’s Magazine
Note – Interesting article on San Francisco’s tech culture
Somehow people manage to live here. But of all the strange and maddening messages posted around this city, there was one particular type of billboard that the people of San Francisco couldnāt bear. People shuddered at the sight of it, or groaned, or covered their eyes. The advertiser was the most utterly despised startup in the entire tech landscape. Weirdly, its ads were the only ones I saw that appeared to be written in anything like English:
hi my name is roy
i got kicked out of school for cheating.
buy my cheating tool
cluely.com
Colorado State University – Annoying Billboards and
After months of pressing forward with billboard installations around campus against the wishes of the city of Fort Collins and many residents, Colorado State University has paused installation of additional signage for the time being. CSU tells CBS Colorado they have elected to stop further installation of new signs until they can evaluate next steps.
https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-state-university-billboards-installations-backlash/
Mass Market Paperbacks – End of
Rest in peace, mass market paperbacks.
As reported by Publishers Weekly, book distributor ReaderLink will āstop distributing mass market paperback books at the end of 2025 ā¦ the latest blow to a format that has seen its popularity decline for years.ā
There are several causes of death for the mass market paperback. One is the reduced cost of designing and producing books in the now ubiquitous trade market format. The cheaper price point for a mass market book is no advantage when it isnāt also cheaper to manufacture.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/27/biblioracle-mass-market-paperbacks/
Abandoned IBM regional headquarters
ICE Killings in Minneapolis – Obama and Clinton on
Two Democratic former presidents on Sunday condemned the scenes in Minnesota after Alex Pretti was killed this weekend, framing the tragedy as a pivotal moment that calls Americans to “speak up” and take action.
Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama called Prettiās death a āheartbreaking tragedyā in a statement.
āIt should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault,ā the Obamas wrote.
āOver the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them,ā he wrote.
Clinton said āthe people in chargeā are lying to the public and telling them ānot to believe what weāve seen with our own eyes.ā
Clinton and Obama urge Americans to ‘speak out’ and take action after Minneapolis shootings
The statements from the Democratic former presidents said the shooting of Alex Pretti is “a wake-up call” and a moment that could shape “our history for years to come.”
Does Amazon Search Suck Now or What? – Google AI on
does amazon search suck now or what?
Google:
Yes, many users and reports suggest Amazon’s search quality has declined, becoming cluttered with irrelevant ads and sponsored products, making it harder to find specific items, with some blaming strategic choices to prioritize ad revenue. The shift prioritizes paid placements over organic, relevant results, leading to user frustration, while some find using advanced search filters or external search engines helps.
Common complaints about Amazon Search:
Ad Overload: The top results are often sponsored listings, even for exact product searches, pushing genuinely relevant organic results further down the page.
Irrelevant Results: Search terms can bring up a mix of unrelated items (e.g., Halloween decor when searching for Christmas lights), creating “noise”.
Algorithm Changes: The search engine sometimes alters search terms or hides well-selling products, frustrating sellers and buyers alike.
Decline in Quality Control: A focus on infrastructure and third-party sellers has led to a “disorienting mess” with less discernible quality.
Dive Bars – Origin of Term, Simpsons Reference
Do bars like Moeās from the Simpsons exist where guys just go to get away from home?
Reddit
your_fave_redditor
Itās a thing in The Simpsons because it is a thing irl.
perfectdrug659
My favorite dive bar had $10 pitchers and free pool and they would stay open as late as people wanted to stay, as long as you were quiet about that last bit.
Appsoul
Oh, perfect time to ask this question. Why do they call them dive bars?
reclusive_ent
The less legit, but cheaper, drinking spots were in basements cellars and back rooms. So you usually had to duck or “dive” to get into them.
SkiyeBlueFox
According to Wikipedia, its because in the late 1800s establishments of poor reputation were often in basements, so you would “dive” down into the joint
Connermets25
Yes they still exist. It used to be more common place. I worked at several big companies and most of them had a bar where workers would often frequent nearby. The younger generation isn’t like that much anymore.
Slop – Word of the Year 2025
2025 Word of the Year: Slop
Plus ‘gerrymander’, ‘touch grass’, ‘performative’, and other words that defined the year
Affording Health Insurance in the US. Over 60 But Too Young for Medicare.
Anyone else over 60 that has been priced out of the Marketplace? Anyone else considering just not having insurance?
Looks like I may be $680 over to qualify for my previous subsidy. I paid $550 per month for a crap policy but now am staring down the possibility of no subsidy, $1400 per month for crappy insurance. I can self pay routine stuff, but I donāt qualify for catastrophic coverage. I will be 65 in March of 2027. Anyone else in this boat?HidingoutfromtheCIA
Get a bronze plan and open a HSA. Drop a few grand in it and lower your MAGI below the 400% federal poverty limit and regain your subsidies.jhkayejr
A bronze plan for me is $1,700 a month. The idea that I’d then also be able to put money in a HSA is insane.LadyMaggieMae
Unfortunately that exact plan leaves me $680 over. With the smidge of SS COLA, my modest pension fund and again modest interest rates the $4400 HSA will not get us there[deleted]
This. You can actually put $5400 in your HSA since you’re over 55. It sounds like you don’t have earned income, so IRA/401k contributions wouldn’t be an option for you. Also, if you take the standard deduction, starting in 2026, you can do an above line deduction for charitable contributions ($1000 if filing single; $2000 for married filing jointly). That’ll reduce your MAGI. Edit to add: the charitable contributions have to be cash. Thanks for the clarification below, PeacefulCW.Responsible-Bid5015
For you the HSA contribution limit is $5400 in 2026. You can also look into using the BOXX ETF for some of your cash savings to get extra margin. Note there is some risk to BOXX since the IRS has not really decided if it is a valid scheme. BOXX pays capital gains on withdrawal but no interest/dividends. So if you withdraw the full amount next year, there is no benefit.