…is a horrible fossil fueled vehicle that messed with the Atlantic causing no hurricanes, you might just be a Warmist
The blog of the day is No Tricks Zone, with a post on “Latest European Green Energy Debacle; Portugal’s Largest Flagship Solar Park Insolvent!”
It’s sunny day at the beach because there were no September hurricanes week!
Read: If All You See… »
Happy Sunday! It’s a nice cool day here in Raleigh, the squirrels are making all sorts of uproar on the deck and tree, and the Dodgers won game 1. This pinup looks like another AI, name on photo, with a wee bit of help. Is AI cheating? Someone asked. Thing is, I was kinda running out of paintings, having done this over a 1,000 times.
What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15
As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page (nope, that’s gone, the newest Apache killed access, and the program hasn’t been upgraded since 2014, so, most are hosted internally). While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your Pinups for Vets calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts and things that interest me. I’ve also mostly alphabetized them, makes it easier scrolling the feedreader
Don’t forget to check out all the other great material all the linked blogs have!
Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list. And do you have a favorite blog you can recommend be added to the feedreader?
As a sidebar, it’s wild how man blogs I’ve seen die over the years for different reasons.
Two great sites for getting news links are Liberty Daily and Whatafinger.
Read: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup »
Why do Democrats care more about illegal aliens than American citizens?
Newsom signs bills targeting federal immigration in California
In a move to push back against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics, California legislators passed dozens of bills over the last year to expand oversight of the federal government and its immigration agencies operating in California.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed over 20 of those bills into law on Sept. 29 to address Californians‘ concerns about federal immigration enforcement and support immigrant families in California.
“These past two years, Donald Trump has brought fear. He’s brought anxiety, disruption, and stress to our immigrant communities,” Newsom said in a statement.
“California is taking action to strengthen transparency, accountability, and oversight around immigration enforcement in our state. This is about stepping up where the federal government has failed our communities. We will continue protecting our people, upholding the rule of law, and making clear that if the federal government operates in California, we will hold them accountable.”
Good news: you have no power over federal law enforcement agents, Gavin
Notably, Senate Bill 747, dubbed the No Kings Act and authored by State Senator Scott Wiener, allows individuals to file a civil lawsuit against government officials, including federal officers, if they believe constitutional rights were violated.
State law has no effect on federal law enforcement, nutballs
“ICE and Border Patrol have terrorized California communities with impunity. That ends today,” Senator Wiener said in a statement.
Blah Blah Blah
Newsom also signed several bills that would restrict federal agents from using state-owned property to stage or detain people and banned the use of battery-powered gloves capable of delivering brief but painful electric shocks.
You have no power here, Champ.
Read: Excitable Gavin Newsom Signs Bill Targeting Federal Immigration Enforcement »
…is unexpected, early heatsnow because other people live in houses with A/C, you might just be a Warmist
The blog of the day is Green Jihad, with a post on “Leftist Legal Nonprofit Investigated Ahead Of Supreme Court Climate Lawsuit”
Read: If All You See… »
An actual interesting article that is not TDS from the NY Times
Musicians Versus the A.I. Machine. Why Bother Writing Songs Anymore?
In this era of pervasive artificial intelligence, is human creativity a waste of time? To explore, we conducted an experiment that we could use your help judging. Below are two songs, one made by professional musicians and the other by A.I. (neither plays for me, since I am using the Internet Archive version, but, I’ve heard AI songs)
Now learn about how they were created. Does it change what you think?
I’m Matt Richtel, a New York Times reporter, occasional songwriter and the ringleader of this experiment.
The idea was straightforward: Four top-shelf, lifelong musicians and I would spend a weekend in a recording studio to write and record several songs nearly from scratch. We wanted to see whether we could do better than A.I. at making fresh music. And would it be worth our time, hassle and occasional creative dispute?
I’ve read Dee commenting a few times about AI songs, and most go like the above, and he’s right: there’s no heart and soul in an AI created song. I’ve had them create lyrics, and they can be pretty good. Usually much better than Today’s Hit Music! songs. But, there’s no connection to anything, they are just words. It’s not like, say, the song Ventura Highway by America, where they say “alligator lizards in the air.” It’s a song about the 2 brothers in the band traveling with their parents in California, and seeing an alligator in the cloud formations.
And, as for creating instrument sounds? Well, still probably as good as Today’s Hit Music! songs, but, can it do something like
Maybe in the future, but, can it do it with feeling? Can it figure out just the right sound to use for the guitars, which type of guitar to use (single pickup, humbucker, brand), how much distortion, reverb, etc? Or the tone of the keyboard? Doing different things with the drums? How about the sax? Adding in city sounds? Changing up the theme then switching back? How about this?
There’s a spot in Ritchie Blackmore’s 2nd solo, after the singing, where he plays a long single note, and so many will say “hey, that doesn’t go..oh wait, it does, it’s a great bridge note to working towards and ending.” Because Blackmore and John Lord (keyboards) were masters at Music Theory, and knew how to craft music. Can AI do that? Maybe in the future it could replicate what is already out there, but, can it create?
Over the next 40 minutes, we make at least 30 songs. Suno takes mere seconds to spit out songs in genres as basic as pop-rock and as hyper-specific as experimental classical meets Japanese indie pop; Latin trap; and Italian disco. Most are not inspiring, but a few surprise. The computer has endless range. Country, rock and an uncanny ability to sound like Olivia Rodrigo. Regardless of genre, the songs embody a particular equation: Made in an instant, four minutes in length, but only 10 seconds to listen to and dismiss as “just fine.”
Well, I can’t hear them with the Internet Archive version, but, they are probably pretty basic. But, probably have the same heart and soul as Today’s Hit Music!, meaning, not much.
Let me see if I get how this works: a Democrat admin can pass burdensome rules, but, a Republican admin can never end them?
States Sue Over Trump’s Repeal of Climate Rules for Power Plants
A coalition of 21 states and four cities sued the Trump administration on Thursday over its move to erase all limits on planet-warming emissions from power plants.
The lawsuit was filed in the ?U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The mostly Democratic-run states and cities, led by New York, contend that the Environmental Protection Agency acted unlawfully when it repealed Biden-era regulations on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that burn gas and coal.
Those are, per the lawsuit link
PETITION FOR REVIEW [2195824] of a decision by federal agency filed by City and County of Denver, Colorado, City of Chicago, Illinois, City of New York, New York, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, DC, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State of Arizona, State of California, State of Colorado, State of Connecticut, State of Delaware, State of Hawaii, State of Illinois, State of Maine, State of Maryland, State of Michigan, State of Minnesota, State of New Jersey, State of New Mexico, State of New York, State of North Carolina, State of Oregon, State of Rhode Island, State of Vermont, State of Washington and State of Wisconsin
Yet, how many of them have totally abandoned the use of fossil fuels? Anyway
In their lawsuit, the states and cities led by New York plan to argue that the E.P.A. did not properly consider the health and climate costs of allowing more planet-warming pollution into the atmosphere. The rollback, they say, was “arbitrary and capricious” and should be struck down.
“This administration’s insistence on giving the nation’s biggest polluters a free pass will set our country back decades in the fight against climate change,” said Letitia James, the attorney general of New York. “Dismantling these protections is a betrayal of American families.”
Does federal law state that the ending of a rule MUST take health and climate (scam) risks into account? The Trump admin could do the funniest thing by suing those state and local governments for continuing to use fossil fuels. Oh, and ending the government of D.C. But, Congress won’t take back the power they are supposed to wield from the wackos.
This is yet another lawsuit that will end up at the Supreme Court.
Read: Democrat Run States Sue Over Repeal Of Power Plant Climate (scam) Rules »
The proposed changes would require that a Republican win the White House in 2028, and the rules survive legal challenges all the way to the Supreme Court, but, hey, we can see who really matters most to Democrats (non-paywalled available at Yahoo)
Proposed census rules could change how many North Carolinians are counted
The Trump administration has proposed several changes to the 2030 census that would limit who can be counted in North Carolina and reduce the demographic information collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Critics say the administration’s proposal would short-change communities with international students and large immigrant populations. They say it also would stop the government from collecting important information about race, ethnicity and sexual orientation during the nationwide count done every decade.
The regulations would radically change the census in 2030 and beyond, says John Quinterno, the governor’s census liaison and state data center coordinator at the Office of State Budget and Management.
“If the decennial census is like a family portrait that’s taken on Census Day, the rules shape how the picture looks and how accurate it is,” Quinterno said in an interview. “These changes would alter the portrait of North Carolina by omitting some people entirely, putting others in the wrong place, photoshopping or erasing others out after the fact and blurring the picture.”
Aliens (that is the legal word per federal code), both legal and illegal, are not North Carolinians. They are foreigners, and, really, should not be counted in any census for terms of legislative apportionment and money that comes back to the states from Los Federales. Any here legally are meant to be temporary, those illegally are meant to be deported
The constitution requires the government to count “the whole number of persons in each state.” Traditionally that has meant people living in a place regardless of their citizenship status. Immigrants with or without visas were counted; U.S. citizens living overseas were not, unless they served in the military or worked for the federal government.
Now the Trump administration wants to limit the count to U.S. citizens and “lawful permanent residents,” such as immigrants with green cards. That would leave out foreign students, people with work visas and “illegal aliens,” groups whose legal status is “less durable,” the Census Bureau says, and are “not true inhabitants, members of the body politic, or persons with a ‘usual residence’ in the United States due to their lack of a sufficient tie and allegiance to the United States.”
It’s that part about whole number of persons: can the Trump admin find a way to limit that to citizens and permanent residents (again, why do we have them? It’s absurd)? And we’ll get to see that Democrats care more about foreigners than US citizens. The normal.
If ‘climate change’ was so bad one would think they could have kept the name as (anthropogenic) global warming, but, here we are 35 years later
A few years ago, I covered the Yellow Vest protests in France, where workers rebelled against a fuel tax billed as a green measure. I interviewed protesters at German car plants lamenting the shift to electric vehicles, which reduces the number of jobs. Now, in Britain, I’m watching the same people who once campaigned for Brexit campaign against renewables, which they say have raised energy bills. (There’s something to that; read on.)
Across the West, the climate has become another battleground in the culture wars. That’s one reason why, despite an alarming list of deadly climate disasters around the world, you don’t hear as many politicians talk about the climate anymore. But that doesn’t mean they’re not thinking about it. Today I write about the politics driving a climate change rebrand. (snip)
All of the above could be making the politics of the green transition easier. Instead, across the West, they’ve become more difficult. Experts say even those committed to switching to renewables will often deliberately avoid the word climate, talking instead about “energy security” or “affordability.”
But why are politicians and others in power so hesitant to talk about the climate?
Right-wing populists on both sides of the Atlantic have taken aim at climate policies as a liberal elitist project that hurts working-class people.
In Europe, the people campaigning against “net zero” — the goal of getting carbon emissions to zero — accuse governments of driving up their energy bills. (Their arguments find traction in part because they’re not wrong. The process of constructing a grid that can efficiently distribute renewables comes with a price tag that some politicians have been reluctant to talk about, and that will drive electricity bills up, not down, at least for a few years.)
In the U.S., President Trump has aggressively doubled down on fossil fuels and calls climate change a “hoax.”
If she would refer back to her 1st paragraph, she might realize that citizens are tired of Elites and politicians forcing the climate cult policies on them, all while the same people who push cult dogma refuse to practice what they preach. Go figure. If I go to the doctor and he/she tells me to stop smoking while I can smell the cigarettes on them, would I stop smoking?
…are trees dying from early heatsnow from carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist
The blog of the day is Geller Report, with a post on “Dept. of Energy Muslim Employee Arrested For Aiding Iran-Backed Houthi Terrorists and Buying Bomb-Making Chemicals, Drone Parts”
Read: If All You See… »
No one should be surprised that groups who use fearporn would glom on to the AI doom prognostications, right?
A new AI report raises a question few Americans expected to ask
A new report is raising tough questions about whether artificial intelligence could make violent attacks more dangerous in the future. The report, released by gun safety advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, says some people have already used AI chatbots while planning shootings and other harmful acts. According to the report, AI companies should strengthen safety tools before more tragedies occur, USA TODAY reported.
One case highlighted in the report involves former Florida State University student Phoenix Ikner, who is charged in a 2025 campus shooting that left two people dead and five others wounded. Court records cited in lawsuits claim Ikner asked ChatGPT questions about firearms, ammunition and busy areas on campus before the attack. His conversations with the chatbot have become part of ongoing legal battles, The Palm Beach Post said.
Asking ChatGPT for this is the same as doing searches: all it does is pull existing information together. Nothing nefarious about it. It doesn’t give more info than you could find at multiple articles. It didn’t tell Ikner to do it.
Everytown says the problem goes beyond one case. The organization points to other lawsuits and research suggesting some chatbots can provide dangerous information or reinforce harmful thinking. Researchers with the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that many chatbots tested were willing to help users posing as teens plan violent attacks, Yahoo! said.
AI companies say their systems are designed to reject violent requests and direct people toward help when needed. OpenAI has argued in court filings that ChatGPT discourages violence and did not knowingly assist any attack planning.
I’m just wondering how Everytown will work AI into their gun banning schtick.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post explains when to use AI and when not to, like you’re 10
When you should use Google’s AI for search — and when you should skip it
After years of Google trying to force-feed AI to me in web search, I have to admit that I’ve developed a taste for it — on some plates and in limited servings.
Based on how thoroughly “AI Overview” results have taken over Google, the company clearly sees AI as central to virtually every aspect of making sense of the web. You, however, are under no obligation to follow Google’s lead — or to use it at all, since such search competitors as Microsoft’s Bing and the privacy-focused DuckDuckGo still focus on traditional web links.
But if you, like most people, mostly depend on Google for search, you should still know what its implementation of AI is — and is not — good for.
Short answer: Google’s AI search features — and the Gemini chatbot you can use in your browser — do better at things that old-school Google has often done worse.
The article then provides types of searches like “The answer you want isn’t in one place or just a few places on the web” and Explains. While it is actually good information for a Yute, it’s tiresome that the Credentialed Media tries to Explain how to do everything. Quite frankly, I will often skip to the Google AI bit when I do some searches, then dive deeper if I need to. That’s it. It’s helpful at times, not at others. I’m an adult. I’ll search how I want.
Read: Good Grief: Everytown Links AI To Make Gun Attacks Worse »
All posts here are my views. None represent my employer. If ye can prove me wrong, so be it. Ye can rant and rave at me, but be mostly polite to any other commentors. I will put up with quite a bit, but be mostly respectful to others.
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