"Boss" is a common term for the ultimate enemy battle in video games. It's common enough that many other languages just adopted that word.

But not Icelandic. It's Endakall or "Final dude"

The speed of light visualized on a cosmic scale.

Credit: Dr James O'Donoghue

#science #space

Dear Underwear Company,

I bought a pair of underwear. They are nice underwear. I like my new underwear. The underwear are well made and comfortable. I am likely to buy another pair of underwear when I need them. At least, I was.

At first, everything was great with my new underwear. They were cute, really cute. They had hearts and pretty sugar skulls and slightly creepy but also cute dead looking but still colorful butterflies with translucent wings. They were comfy underwear, and made me feel good. When I wore them, I felt cute myself. They were, I thought at the time, the perfect underwear.

So when I got a message about my new underwear, I was excited. Yes, I said, I do love my underwear. Yes, I said, I would buy more underwear. Yes, I thought, this is what buying underwear should be like.

But then another message came. And another. And another. Soon, I was getting multiple messages a day.

Yes, my underwear arrived. Yes, I like my underwear. Yes, I know you have other styles of underwear. Yes, I still like my underwear. Yes, I want to unsubscribe. Yes, I know you still have other styles of underwear. Yes, I saw this new line of underwear. Yes, I really tried to unsubscribe. Yes, I know where I can buy more underwear. Yes, I tried again to unsubscribe. Yes, please, I’m begging you, unsubscribe me, please.

It was becoming too much. I didn’t realize just how far it would go.

Soon I saw my underwear on every site I visited. Reading the news. “This is your underwear.” Looking for a recipe. “Your underwear look like this.” Chatting with my friends. “I know what you are wearing for underwear.”

There was nowhere to go. Anywhere I went, you were there, showing me my underwear, telling me you could find me, letting me know in your friendly voice of customer service and product joy that you will never leave me. Making very sure I understand that you will always be right there, wherever I go, whatever I do. You will will always be as close to me as my underwear.

I don’t want this. I don’t want any of this and I don’t know how to escape. I’m just a girl who wanted a new pair of underwear. I didn’t want to be married to your presence, for ever stalked through the darkened streets of the information highway unable to escape. I didn’t want to be followed around the internet worried who is watching me behind every page scroll. I just wanted a pair of underwear.

Please, please stop stalking me. Please, just let me go. I’m begging you. I don’t even wear underwear anymore. I can’t wear them. I wear loose pants, long skirts, with nothing on underneath. I’m afraid of even trying to wear underwear. I can’t stand the feel them constricting me, holding me, pinning me to an existence of reminders and suggestions and ever present images of what I might be wearing underneath my clothing.

I can’t take another day of you hiding beneath an amateur video of baby sea otters playing in the surf only to spring out at me to tell me that I should buy another pair of your underwear in the Baby Sea Otter Collection which you know I will like. Which you are telling me I will like. Which you are making clear that either I will like or you will follow me until I see reason and buy another pair of underwear so you can wrap yourself around my existence, slowly, gently, firmly, like a python coils around its beloved prey.

Please, Company. Please, just leave me alone. I don’t want another pair of underwear. I don’t want an unsubscribe button, I don’t want an apology, I don’t want reconciliation. I don’t want anything from you at all. I just want to have a normal life. I just want to be left alone.

Please, Company. Please just stop following me. Please.

Pine cone

#art #watercolor

I can't help wondering why the "AI" coding assistant vendors don't have faster release cycles.

Also, given the obvious business risks of building your club house in somebody else's yard, why haven't they generated their own IDEs already?

I believe we are all vulnerable to misinformation. The first group was really people on Facebook and in particular men over 50.

I also do not think that Google is a reliable source for information and even less with more AI use. The most reliable source of information may depend on your country. In the Nordics, I would trust the government and government media, but I also understand that that can be an unreliable source in many countries.

Then you are left with the more mainstream media, again depending on your country.

What clearly does not work is algorithmic content selection. I think we should know that by now. This is one of the reason why we include an RSS reader in Vivaldi.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/04/23/gen-z-media-tiktok-misinformation-00287561

#Politics #AI #Misinformation