Cognitive Surrender, Supply Chain Rats, and Cthulhu at Mount Fuji - Related to your interests, Saturday

Also: invisible AI bottlenecks, Amex coding stats, Copilot for entertainment only, and why not both

Earth from Orion
  spacecraft showing two auroras and zodiacal light, April 2, 2026
Earth from Orion after translunar injection, April 2, 2026. Two auroras and zodiacal light visible as Earth eclipses the Sun. NASA/Reid Wiseman, Artemis II
A humorous multiple-choice CAPTCHA asking users to declare they're not a robot in various witty ways
Found by @bruces

Wastebook

  • “Her lawyer told the court Ms Vanderhorst had been under the influence of MDMA and had drunk about 3 litres of vodka on the night of the vandalism.” Mount Gambier woman convicted of graffitiing Cast in Blue sculpture - ABC News
  • “Editorial Independence Covenant” PR-talk.
  • “Sean Hannity, a long-serving presenter, has been coaxed into a pair of jeans for ‘Hang Out’, a podcast-style chatshow featuring youth-friendly guests such as Matthew Tkachuk, a hockey player.” Jeans from The Economist.
  • “You need to have a mullet. You need to have a little mustache… Dress like you’re going out for a night in the wood. But you’re not.” Qualifications for UK-based advertising jobs, WIP, #15.
  • When faced with a decision, one of my favorite thought-technologies is “why not both?”
  • “I turned and started jogging east toward the massive demon in the sky. I didn’t turn to see if the others were following me.” And, later: “Even a pickaxe swung by a god was not enough to injure the sex doll’s head. It bounced right off her like she’d tried to pierce an impenetrable kick ball.” Carl in The Eye of the Bedlam Bride.
  • “Artist’s conception of an average AI user’s image of an LLM’s ultra-rational thought process.” Ars with Getty.
  • “Copilot is for entertainment purposes only.” // That explains a lot. EULA
  • “One option would be to pray to the aliens as gods, but I do not recommend that.” How should you change your life decisions if we are being watched by alien drone probes?
A surreal book cover featuring a large skull looming over scenes of people, by Tadami Yamada
Tadami Yamada. Via John Coulthart

ICYMI

Logoff

Loving the sun in the Netherlands Spring. In every place, people joke about the joke of “if you don’t like the weather, wait a few minutes and it will change.” That is sort of true of many places, but it very true of the Netherlands in Spring (and Fall - basically any season that borders winter). It could be sunny and nice one moment, then hailing the next, then both at the same time.

Growing up in Texas, I never understood why people obsessed with the weather - mostly older people. But, now I do. The weather becomes a major character in your life, an NPC that you’re never sure will be in the background, super friendly, or a real asshole.