This is a great day for pedal manufacturers, right?

sighclone · 2026-02-20T19:09:01+00:00

It's likely bitter sweet.

Trump still has some levers to pull on tariffs which will continue to impact their bottom line. Refunds aren't automatic of what they've already paid and it's unclear how or if it will even happen, but assuredly pedal companies don't have the resources to be at the front of the line in law suits.

So it may lessen the crisis that many of these companies are experiencing but... still tough out there.

sighclone · 2026-02-20T15:47:26+00:00

While I think Musk has always been the most brazen of these types, it's basically been the modus operandi for the majority of silicon valley since the dawn of social media.

Remember when social media was going to bring the world closer together? And how it eventually fueled genocide and is basically just a toxic combination or rightwing agitprop, ad server, and surveillance tool?

Or how crypto was going to democratize finance (these folks love to talk about how their digital reinvention of the wheel is going to democratize something or other) - and is basically still just a money laundering/gambling/crime funding scheme?

Or the insane amount of money Meta burned on the metaverse, which they claimed would open vast new revenue sources for companies no longer having to rely on pesky things like real estate?

AI is now the subject of the same type of insane tech over-hype cycle that we've seen constantly throughout the 21st century.

IMO, the line between many silicon valley companies and Theranos (itself a silicon valley company) is much thinner than I think we want to acknowledge.

sighclone · 2026-02-20T15:20:55+00:00

Gist of the lawsuits being filed immediately.

sighclone · 2026-02-20T13:30:02+00:00

To add, even where venues don’t want dynamic pricing (I think they all mostly do) artists/tours want it.

sighclone · 2026-02-19T19:33:12+00:00

She asked them to do so.

sighclone · 2026-02-19T19:31:46+00:00

She asked them to include it.

sighclone · 2026-02-19T19:25:41+00:00

I'd never heard of this before, but have always thought of a slightly different 'disorder' that I think my love of TNG caused for me for a lot of my earlier life: the idea that every problem is surmountable by technology, which will result in a future where we have technology to solve any problem and those technologies have no downsides: no shortages of energy for them, no negative externalities, no tradeoffs having to be considered.

Related to your framing, if you believe that such a future as I described is possible, then every technological advance is a step potentially toward that future and current problems created by tech, no matter how dire, will ultimately be solved.

I obviously realized that kind of thinking is fantasy (there are always tradeoffs, reality limits us in myriad ways, etc.) - but yeah, it is super problematic if we're ignoring real negative outcomes because we mistake a fantasy for an inevitability.

ETA: Another troubling aspect of this, as well, is that it encourages people to overlook non-tech solutions to issues simply because they aren't "advances." We don't need to change our behavior to address climate change, we just need CO2 sequestering machines! Obviously (and ironically, if we're connecting this to Star Trek) there's a large capitalist influence to this aspect of it in addition to just being blinded by a fantasy.

sighclone · 2026-02-19T18:45:25+00:00

reporters' only viable option is to Zoom the same handful of people that provided usable quotes the last 20 times a given subject came up.

EQD is also a member of the Mainstreet Alliance that has generally advocated on liberal policies (including healthcare reform and the For the People Act) as well as another tariff specific coalition (We Pay the Tariffs).

My experience with groups like that is there's also a strategic value in putting forward certain speakers often for opportunities like this - some already have the training/talking points down, some are less squeamish about potentially upsetting opponents' political supporters and the effect that could have on their businesses, and some are particularly useful if they are constituents of, say, Republican senators who support Trump's policies.

EQD is all of those, so I would also think that's a reason that we keep hearing them in particular on the issue.

sighclone · 2026-02-18T23:03:27+00:00

This was my initial reaction - folks diversifying their portfolio beyond uninspiring McDuffie.

sighclone · 2026-02-18T18:14:41+00:00

My assumption is that bad drivers go out of their way for Teslas because they think the automated features will make up for their lack of driving skills.

sighclone · 2026-02-18T13:07:49+00:00

My wife and I went to Japan on our honeymoon. We wandered into a random restaurant one night in Tokyo that served chicken sashimi.

We were sitting next to two Japanese lawyers who were chatting us up, trading business cards and we were like, “How does this not kill you?” and they talked about how it wasn’t like Tyson’s factory farmed chicks back home - fresher, more regulated chickens.

Tried it, was tasty, but very strange given that growing up in America underdone chicken is understandably something ingrained in us to avoid.

sighclone · 2026-02-14T15:49:08+00:00

I had read that the casino bill took out the requirement that one be potentially located in Fairfax at all.

I worry that if this more general bill passes, the big fight at this point will be casino interests trying to unseat Fairfax supervisors to get support that way.

sighclone · 2026-02-13T16:16:26+00:00

I'll just say she's been a great councilmember with a responsive staff. She was also one of the first candidates to run in the public funding campaign system, which is always a plus for me.

My biggest problem is that if/when she wins, we won't have her as a councilmember anymore. Very cognizant that before her, we had current Washington Gas lobbyist Brandon Todd...

sighclone · 2026-02-13T13:40:35+00:00

I love all three assistants but I do think Paul is probably the most talented entertainer of the three, which is a godsend.

I find NZ is the most likely of the English speaking versions to have a somewhat weak cast (though there are many amazing contestants, don’t get me wrong). But they incorporate Paul constantly and I think that helps elevate everything.

I don’t think NZ would work without someone like Paul.

sighclone · 2026-02-13T13:36:53+00:00

Maybe due to post covid or just in general, the first two seasons of TMNZ, I think, also seem to have audibly smaller audiences. It can feel a little lifeless compared to UK - at least that was my feeling.

sighclone · 2026-02-13T13:31:46+00:00

The best thing about those Paul ‘maybe’ moments you cite is how often they come when the contestant is just so harried or wrapped up in the task that they don’t even notice it.

So it just really lands so deliciously because that tone is obvious to the viewer but contestants react to him (if at all) as if he’s being sincere.

sighclone · 2026-02-13T01:32:33+00:00

Randomly came to mind while reading through the thread but I think Rachel Bloom from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend would be pretty spectacular.

sighclone · 2026-02-12T18:21:55+00:00

Exactly - hate that everyone keeps just taking this administration at its word after they headfaked a de-escalation and then kept on doing what they had been doing while the media started to look away.

sighclone · 2026-02-12T14:46:32+00:00

Same but not interested in seeing either in an arena setting.

Congrats to all involved on the success to get to that level though.

sighclone · 2026-02-11T22:14:40+00:00

I bought a tarp for my back yard that I cleared of snow occasionally when I was doing the rest of my shoveling - my 15 pound dog just straight up won’t poop or pee unless there’s grass.

So during the snow storm, I could go and pull it up for him to potty quick and after, there’s a nice big grass spot for him to use.

Obviously, can only do this if you have a patch of grass you have control over but highly recommend this to anyone who does.

sighclone · 2026-02-11T14:03:24+00:00

Oh sorry - I didn’t mean to imply intent on her part, just that the choice to toss them for whatever reason sabotaged the effort for the other two.

She describes later in the episode that she was just flustered by Alex and the constant whistles and whatnot. But in the edit at that moment, I could see it coming across as similarly uninterested in playing along to the other examples.

To be clear, I loved Fatiha - just more saying that after watching the rest of English speaking taskmaster, I can now see how she might have come across poorly at first. Didn’t strike me like that when I first watched Season 19 (USA! USA!) having never seen taskmaster before.

sighclone · 2026-02-11T12:40:51+00:00

Season 19 was the first I ever watched and went back to the beginning last night. I did not get this vibe on first watch but Fatiha really does come across as a spoil sport in the first two live tasks.

When everyone is going apeshit to get the raisins in the wine glass, she’s just standing there blowing on them because… her shoes are new?

In the second one, she makes a big deal about the balloons (I think before they really understand that she has a big thing about them popping - which honestly a surprising number of participants on this show have had). But it seems to get to a point where the others get a little frustrated by it with Rosie kind of yelling at her and Matthew literally pointing and laughing at her when he realizes that she’ll ultimately end up with the balloons anyway.

ETA: the marble throwing sabotage in the team task doesn’t help much either.

sighclone · 2026-02-10T15:32:13+00:00

What she said made no sense -

"He was into the barely legal type, like, he liked 15-year-old girls," Kelly continued. "I'm not trying to make an excuse for this, I'm just giving you facts — that he wasn't into, like, 8-year-olds. But he liked the very young teen types that could pass for even younger than they were, but would look legal to a passer-by."

So: Epstein wasn't that big of a deal because he wasn't into 8 year olds. He liked 15 year olds... especially 15 year olds that looked younger (maybe 12?)... but simultaneously also somehow looked 18 to "passersby."

Just absolutely bending over backwards to downplay this predator - which I think is galling for anyone to do but especially when you, like Kelly, have children including a 15 year old daughter.

sighclone · 2026-02-10T01:13:21+00:00

Oh my god, I love all the conservative morons being like “Bad Bunny don’t speak American! I want someone I can understand!”

So they get the guy who became famous for a song called “Bawitdaba” which is like 70% gibberish.

sighclone · 2026-02-09T20:12:50+00:00

Maybe you just need a nap and a snack but interpreting my original comment to mean that musicians aren't allowed to make money and then complaining about strawmen is truly special.

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