Home Depot has trucks that can be rented for a similar price, lol.

Is… Is that a thing that actually happens?

More packaging waste though

Meh, such is life.

Are you thinking of the privacy bill he vetoed?

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/09/calif-gov-vetoes-attempt-to-require-new-privacy-option-in-browsers-and-oses/

I would add to this that almost all the companies I have worked for (from local businesses to multi national corps) constantly “save” money by hiding it in labor costs. There is some line item or other thing that is clearly definable on a budget and so they will outsource it in some capacity and then pat themselves on the back for the cost savings. However, what ends up happening is the resulting product that comes in is dog shit and it forces the people on the ground to fix it or otherwise make it work.

Most regular people just want to do their job and not rock the boat, so rather than make this new issue a pain point for management, they just deal with it. Over time those types of things start to add up and burn people out, but the higher ups are never directly effected and so I think they get a weird sense of anything they say ultimately “just working out”.

That’s completely understandable.

I’m not sure if you are speaking generally, or to what I said specifically, but it may be worth adding a little bit more context for what I said originally. It is highly unlikely I would fall in love with an AI in the scenario I described above. It would more be about scratching an itch for certain kinds of interactions that I may not otherwise be able to have. I’m not sure it’s a perfect analogy, but it might be similar to the way I care about a character in a book or game, or maybe how I feel about a pet.

I think if we got to the point where an AI had human levels of general intelligence and emotion this conversation would be somewhat moot. The world would be so drastically different I don’t even know what kinds of assumptions to make about it to have a productive conversion about it.

I’m right there with you. I’m mildly on the spectrum, though functional enough that no one would assume it unless they really got to know me, and while I am capable of having a moderate amount of success in the initial stages of dating, compatibility and styles of communication always end up being the primary issue, and that’s not necessarily a failing on either party. The fact remains though that there does not seem to be many people out there that I am compatible with.

I am fortunate in that I am generally very content being alone and pursuing things that are of interest to me for very long periods of time (the only thing I really noticed during Covid lock downs was that my commute to work was faster, while my much more social partner at the time suffered a lot mental health wise). Despite that I am, unfortunately, still human and desire a certain amount of intimacy and connection with another person. I’m not sure if it will ever happen, but if you have seen the new Blade Runner movie, I could absolutely see myself with a “companion” like the holographic one the main character has in his apartment.

Id memory serves the owner of Menard’s is a dick head and the company has gotten in trouble for worker and environmental violations. No idea about political leanings, but there really aren’t too many places one can go that isn’t directly supporting the erosion of our standard of living and basic rights.

Does anyone know how IBM is allowed to sue for patents from the 80s even as far back as 2014? I thought they should have expired by then?

What’s this, a human expert? No good. Only AI should be allowed to comment on the validity of AI. After all, if humans were so competent then AI wouldn’t be used instead of them.

I honestly can’t decide if I should put /s or not =/

I live in the US (granted I watch a lot of UK content) and even my first reaction at reading the headline was along the lines of “then fucking pay/fund them instead of setting them up to fail!”

I would kill for an electric version of the Hilux Champ they are selling in Thailand right now.

I’m based in the US and that’s where I used my Huawei phone until recently. OnePlus is among the manufacturers that still do IR blasters, and it looks like the OnePlus 12 has one and is easily purchased from their US store page.

As far as I can tell Samsung hasn’t released a phone with an IR blaster since 2015 either. Essentially, IR and Samsung hasn’t been a thing for a long time. If we are going by total volume then I would agree that the most common manufacturer in the US that has/had IR is Samsung. If we are going by new phones available today, then Samsung isn’t even in the conversation.

I’m not entirely sure what this comment is in relation to yours, I don’t think I disagree with you, I think I’m just adding some context or nuance.

IR blasters are very common on Chinese brand phones even today. It’s easily the feature I miss most from my Huawei.

That was actually my first thought as well. To my first assumption it implied it was in the direction of two extremes. Either all other causes are so low (compared to similar global trends) that this is a “good thing” and it can now be given extra/special attention, or other causes are around average (or higher) and this is a crisis of some kind.

I saw Dennis in an add read a couple of weeks ago. He is still around as far as I am aware.

Oh I’m well aware. Unfortunately I have far more control over how useful I am than how annoying I am 😅

Be slightly more useful than I am annoying… I’m really fucking annoying

Right!?!?! Check out the Hilux Champ they are selling in Thailand. I would kill for an electric version of that for daily driving in the city and whatever DIY/hardware store needs I may have. I don’t need to hall heavy things just awkward and large things.