Spyke

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What did you break recently? Is it fixable?

Keurig coffee maker. Tried to descale it per the instructions and it just quit. It was fixable though - turned out there was a blockage in one of the intake lines, so no water was getting to the heating element and the thermal breaker was tripping, cutting power to the whole thing. YouTube and other posts were helpful, and it sounds like this is not uncommon, esp if your area has hard water.

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Trump adviser hopes Canada fentanyl dispute will be solved by end of March

While fentanyl is deadly serious, the “crisis” of it flowing over the US border is the made-up emergency on which Trump bases his legitimate authority to levy these tariffs. Without an emergency he would have no legal basis to fuck around like this without violating our trade agreements (which he signed last time around), so it’s part of the narrative, regardless of any amount of truth to it.

The “crisis” will end only when they determine it is no longer useful to pursue these tactics and switch to some other type of fuckery. It’s just as likely that he will declare them resolved as a face-saving measure so he can stop the bleeding at home. Art of the deal!

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The AI backlash is only getting started

This is not the article I was expecting, although it’s from the economist so I don’t know why I was surprised. This is a primer on how to resist the backlash against AI, including glibly dismissing concerns about environmental impact and costs.

There is a fundamental belief in the inevitability of the continued progress of AI among ‘the faithful’ that I find troubling. Looking at the deeply concerning economics of the AI market at present, the operating costs and supply shocks that will only drive those costs up, the bullishness around this is infuriating.

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Have any of you found Kindle unlimited worth it for science fiction?

Not sure if your device supports connection to your public library, but I have been reading literally hundreds of books since Covid on my iPhone using Libby at first, and now the Palace Project. I still purchase the odd book if it’s one I know I will read repeatedly but I haven’t bought an ebook in some time due to using the library.

Good list, btw. I loved the Arkady Martine books. You might want to try Gideon the Ninth and the sequels.

canada

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Alberta’s New Policies: Anti-trans, Anti-evidence

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The most galling part of it all for me is knowing that it’s all political theatre of the worst kind. I feel like we’re all just playing our parts while the unrelenting assholes of the UCP use the cover provided by this misdirection to further their tear down of our health care system and enrichment of their petro-buddies. The maga stuff is a perfect buffet line of sewage from which this government carefully selects their next target to generate more outrage and keep Albertans distracted. Fuckers.