Month: July 2025

Chill Links

Adding a feature because ChatGPT incorrectly thinks it exists. We are letting the bots rule us now.

When Figma Starts Designing Us The subtle ways in which design tools shape how we think and what we make. Y’all need to read your McLuhan.

Floods are getting more dangerous around the country, not just in Texas.

As women have far fewer babies, the U.S. and the world face unprecedented challenges.

EVs Will Decimate Big Oil. Even Without U.S. Tax Credits.

The U.S. Is Switching Sides. Donald Trump is giving Vladimir Putin every incentive to keep killing Ukrainians.

My Parody Resume of a Unicorn Developer actually gets genuine interview invites, while mine doesn’t.

A.I. Is Starting to Wear Down Democracy.

Team Trump Is Gaming Out How to Ship U.S. Citizens to El Salvador.

TSA Is Dropping Its Most Hated Airport Security Policy.

What happened to me at Microsoft is a signal for what is to come for others, and it doesn’t look good.

Iran receives Chinese surface-to-air missile batteries after Israel ceasefire deal.

To understand America today, study the zero-sum mindset.

US universities face $1bn revenue hit over foreign student fears.

COVID was inadvertently the best thing that happened to large parts of society, and we’re being forced to forget that.

In Texas, cutting-edge weather forecasts hit their limits as Trump budget cuts loom. Climate change is making severe storms worse, heightening the need for the development of advanced forecasting models, but severe storm research is on the chopping block.

Becons

Chill Annoying, Clowns, Political Economy

Every major industry that has been developed anywhere ever has been government-subsidized all the way back to ancient times. It’s funny when idiots are like, “Buh-buh-buh, Tesla gets government subsidies! That makes it faaaaaake!” Or on the right, “Solar power got subsidized! That means it can’t worrrrrrrk!”

Meanwhile, oil companies and auto manufacturing incumbents receive dozens of billions in direct subsidies and tax breaks a year and no one says shit1. Makes no sense. If you object, at least be consistent. But no one any side ever does that. And the clown show continues.

  1. A rough calculation is that worldwide, oil companies since their inception have received somewhere around $1 trillion in direct subsidies in today’s dollars.

Elle McAndrews – Tassels

Chill Music Video, Video

This is a good song, but it could be so much better with a quality producer and a tiny bit of re-work. To improve it and really make it a great song it’d need:

1) Double tracking on the vocals. This isn’t a live performance (that’s lip syncing in the vid). Use the advantages you have.

2) More dynamic bassline. It’s too static. It needs to groove. The keyboard hook is good but the bassline is a dead fish.

3) It should bump up the voice during phrases and let the instruments breathe during rests.

4) The song needs more vocal underlayering with chorus ducking during the singer’s phrases.

5) The drummer is just not very good. Use electronic drums or a better drummer.

Give me a few hours mucking around in Ableton and I could make this song a lot better.

Chill Links

China Has Paid a High Price for Its Dominance in Rare Earths.

Russia ramps up use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, including WWI-era poison gas, 3 European intel services say.

US sets new measles record amid at least 27 outbreaksโ€”and itโ€™s only July. Degrowth is working.

First-Time Home Buyers Are MIA. Landlords Are the Winners.

A Texas Dad Tried to Kayak to His Daughters. The Girls Texted, โ€˜I Love You.โ€™ Well that’s about the worst thing I’ve ever read.

Endometriosis and vulvodynia, or chronic genital pain, are common gynecological conditions that can cause severe pain. They each affect about 1 in 10 American women.

New Sphere-Packing Record Stems From an Unexpected Source.

The chemical secrets that help keep honey fresh for so long.

No One Changes

Chill Annoying, Clowns, Evil

Climate change definitely made that tragic flood in Texas worse.

But no one ever changes their mind about anything, and so conservatards will look stupider and stupider as climate change effects kill more and more of them.

Avoid

Chill Annoying, Clowns

Exactly.

Women have really shot themselves in the foot here; they’ve created an equilibrium where only horrible, entitled, harassing men will interact with them and normal, polite men will avoid at all costs.

And then they have the gall to be like, “Where are all the good men at?” Lady, they’re over there, avoiding you just like you told them to do. Shocking.

Flattening

Chill War

Israel went easier on Hamas and Gaza than I would have. Here’s what it would look like if I’d been in control:

After I saw video of savages parading Shani’s naked body through the streets of Gaza while the population cheered, why would I care what happens there exactly? You lose the right to be treated as a human being when you stop acting like one. Simple as that.

Tally

Chill Annoying, Evil

I think sexual assault by women on men happens way, way more often than is reported but is not as visible for these reasons:

1) Men don’t report it. It makes them look weak. “What do you mean, you let a tiny little girl have her way with you?” is what you’ll get, etc., even if that makes no sense.

2) Women are a lot more subtle about the assaults they commit. They do it when they know they are more likely to get away with it.

3) Relating to point 1, almost no one cares when men do report it. It’s laughed off and not recorded.

Common estimates are that women commit around 2% of actual sexual assaults. I’d bet it is more in the 30% range. Still not as many as men, but a lot. A whole lot.

Job View

Chill Annoying

True. Most dates for men are like a bad job interview. Especially first dates. And most women do in fact treat them like a job interview (with them in the role of interviewer) combined with a hostile interrogation. Speed dating would be that amped up 1000x. No sane man would show up for that. It allows women’s worst tendencies to flourish while making men subject to Stasi-style antagonistic questioning.

Not fun at all. No fucking mystery why men didn’t want to show up to that bullshit.