Fun fact: this has been the same war for decades and decades.

Also, Vince was a pretty good cover band.

e: another fun fact: the sounds starting at minute 1:18 are real recordings from the war.

Wasn’t sure where to post this. I’ve been thinking about writing an article, but I won’t do that here.

My point is that, think about everything consumer-level AI is doing, and then multiply that by an order of magnitude and give it nukes. This is what armies have right now.

Am I being alarmist? I don’t think so, and if you think about it, that’s pretty fucking terrifying, right? Does *anyone^ disagree?

To be clear, by ‘toddlers’ I don’t mean preople like musk, I mean the AI themselves.

e: sorry, had to post this somewhere

In the early 19th century, humans and orcas had an agreement in Australia, until humans broke it.

Pasted for your convenience:

The Legend of Old Tom and the Gruesome "Law of the Tongue"

This is the story of an orca named Old Tom, who during the early 20th century spent almost four decades helping fishermen catch baleen whales off the coast of Australia.

BY BEC CREW

This is the story of an orca named Old Tom, who during the early 20th century spent almost four decades helping fishermen catch baleen whales off the coast of Australia. In return, Old Tom and his pod feasted on the lips and tongues of the whalers' haul.

The coastal town of Eden sits just over 470 kilometres south of Sydney, Australia. Originally occupied by the indigenous Thaua, or Thawa, people of the Yuin nation, it became a major whaling spot for the Europeans during the early 19th century. At this time, carpenter Alexander Davidson and his grandson, “Fearless” George Davidson, built a small whaling station about 7 km away on the southern shore of Twofold Bay - the third deepest natural harbour in the southern hemisphere. Still recognised as one of 12 coastal aggregation areas for southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) in Australia, Twofold Bay was the perfect place to set up shop, and by 1860, the Davidsons had established what would become the longest running shore-based whaling station in the country.

Each year as autumn gave way to winter, a population of orcas would migrate from Antarctic waters to Eden in search of food. Initially the Davidsons wrote the orcas off as a nuisance, always getting in the way of their catch, but attitudes changed when they hired a number of Yuin locals to join their whaling crews. It’s said that the indigenous inhabitants of Eden had been hunting baleen whales in the bay for at least 10,000 years prior to European settlement, and in that time had developed a unique relationship with the orcas.

According to aSydney Morning Herald edition from the 18 September 1930, the orcas would track down baleen whales congregating around the mouth of Twofold Bay, and shepherd them closer to the coast. While the pod trapped the whales in the bay, one of the males would position himself outside the whaling station, and breach and thrash his tail on the water until he'd attracted the whalers' attention.

Named Old Tom, this orca was almost seven metres long and weighed a hefty six tonnes. Because of his continued interaction with the whalers, he was known to the whalers as the leader of the pod.

Once a baleen whale had been caught and killed by the whalers - during their best season they caught as many as 22 - its carcass was left in the water, hitched to the boat, for the orcas to feed on its enormous tongues and lips. The orcas left the rest of the carcass, including the highly valuable blubber and bones, to the whalers, and this unique arrangement became known as 'the Law of the Tongue’.

Three generations of the Davidson family whalers honoured this arrangement, and it’s rumoured that the crew would help orcas trapped in nets in the bay and the orcas would drive sharks away from the whalers’ small, open rowboats.

But like our sweet prince of Dorne, all great things must come to an end.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald report, in about 1923, a local retired pastoralist, John Logan, went out on the water in Twofold Bay with George Davidson. When Old Tom saw the little fishing boat, he drove a small whale to the surface nearby, and Davidson harpooned it. Poor Old Tom fought, but he didn’t get his share:

But this particular day, says [local historian, Barry] Smith, "Logan saw a storm coming. He said, 'George, this might be the last whale you get all season. If we leave it for Tom, you'll lose it.'

"George said, 'But what about Tom?' To which Logan replied, 'Bugger Old Tom!'

"The upshot was a tug-of-war developed between Logan and Old Tom, which led to Old Tom losing a couple of teeth.

"Logan's young daughter, who was with them that day, remembered her father saying, 'Oh God, what have I done?’”

As a former military veterinarian, Logan knew what a bunch of missing teeth could mean for a wild orca. Sure enough, the holes in his gums became infected, and Old Tom starved to death. His body washed up on the shore in 1930, and out of guilt, Logan financed the construction of the Eden Killer Whale Museum, which still holds the bones of Old Tom to this day.

Soon after his death, Old Tom’s pod stopped appearing in Twofold Bay. Perhaps it was related to his death, but another theory is that the remainder of the pod was hunted down in Jervis Bay - about 300 km up the coast - by oblivious Norwegian whalers.

Either way, this is why we can't have nice things.

Watch a wonderful 50-minute documentary on Old Tom:

Musk in a nutshell, xpost from https://lemmy.ca/post/68986672

Rail barons in the 1880s (cartoon from the 1880s of a rail baron (Harriman Railroads) eating multiple rail tracks, vs US railroad map in 2026, vs Europe map of railroads in 2026 showing the difference. ‘Capitalism is good for the people’

Charlie Kirk statue being placed in Times Square. No way there won’t be actual shit in his lap in 3… 2…

Breaking News: LIVE. Due to a decrease in cookie sales, the Girl Scouts switch to a more aggressive sales campaign. TVN Exclusive

e: real news report, they mixed up the chyron

She says it’s about the size of half a grain of rice.

Update: springs away like a flea, makes a soft snap noise when bounding away.

Worth the full audio with interviews and speeches, plus a minor kerfuffle handled very well.

Some of the signs (still reading them):

‘Service members say no to war’   ‘Healthcare not warfare’  ‘No more rich man’s war’   ‘Service members say: NO to war’ ‘Duty To Disobey Illegal Orders’   ‘Freedom Over Fascism’ ‘End the wars at home and abroad’   ‘Protect our neighbors: ICE out’     ‘Military off our streets’.

Let me know more and I’ll add them here.

I love their white on black and stark branding scheme for many of these.

Simple, clean, elegant, and with a strong slap of mourning. Perfect font and scheme

Worth the full audio with interviews and speeches, plus a minor kerfuffle handled very well.

Some of the signs (still reading them):

‘Service members say no to war’   ‘Healthcare not warfare’  ‘No more rich man’s war’   ‘Service members say: NO to war’ ‘Duty To Disobey Illegal Orders’   ‘Freedom Over Fascism’ ‘End the wars at home and abroad’   ‘Protect our neighbors: ICE out’     ‘Military off our streets’.

Let me know more and I’ll add them here.

I love their white on black and stark branding scheme for many of these.

Simple, clean, elegant, and with a strong slap of mourning. Perfect font and scheme

Context: https://wwmt.com/news/local/waco-aircrafts-closing-cease-manufacturing-maintenance-services-drimor-centennial-junker-airplane-production-battle-creek-western-michigan-economy-infrastructure

A bit more context: this was the direct result of mismanagement and misaligned goals, allegedly, in my opinion.

If there’s interest, are there groups I should talk to about resurrecting this?

e: I’m picturing a sort of open-source effort to save this history. And, weirdly, this all overlaps with my skillset.

If you’re assigned something to read, read it aloud to yourself. This engages not just the internal monologue part of your brain, but speaking and hearing parts, and your brain makes stronger pathways when more senses are engaged and working together.

Don’t buy (eta: or download) flash cards, draw them yourself. This engages sight and abstraction., plus motor skill areas.

Write your own notes, then read them aloud and highlight them yourself. So many parts of your brain make connections by doing this. Don’t just read. That’s not very helpful; you don’t have to study long if you study well.

I think there’s a name for this, but I’m tired and will rely on Cunningham’s whatever.

e: don’t forget about all of your senses – you have way more than 5.

A while ago I asked whether you are a do the good thing first or save it for later sort of person, like eat the best part or whatever.

Now I’m curious if it was a zombie apocalypse, would that change your calculation?

So not in daily life, but if you found something good but you know you’ll likely die soon.

Do you consume it all now (not just food, but media or friendship), or do you dole it out to yourself to make it last?

When I minimise the app and come back, or let my phone sleep and come back, Voyager puts a large blank border around the whole UI and begins behaving strangely. Sometimes it crashes, but most times, buttons and gestures stop working.

This happens when tabbing away or when the phone sleeps.

iOS 26.3 on iPhone 13.

Voyager 2.43.2

I am over the moon about these Koss 4AAA stereophones. They seem to have never been used. Came with the model 16-168 case, and all cords are pristine.

They sound amazing. I’ll include more photos, including of docs/inserts/adverts, in a comment.

The ear pads are intact and holding their oil fine. They’re pretty stiff, though, as they’ve hardened a bit over time.

I’ve heard you can use Lexol leather conditioner to soften the ear pads, but I’m scared to try. I don’t want to harm them.

What do you think?

Why? And does it matter what the thing/situation is?