"The Hurricane Helene Hall of Shame"

When you tell me that FEMA and the federal government are not helping the victims of Helene I'm not surprised: I don't expect much from federal government disaster relief. (One could reasonably question why the federal--as opposed to state and local governments--should be involved in disaster relief at all.)

But when there are many reports that federal "assistance" is actively blocking relief efforts and further hurting the victims that sets a record-breaking new low. Here's one report. Here's a report that this is a problem that has some history. Here's a speculation about why (other usual government incompetence). And another speculation.


"life in pixels Sept. 25, 2024 Drowning in Slop: A thriving underground economy is clogging the internet with AI garbage — and it’s only going to get worse."

The crisis du jour.

Generative AI as a technology exists in this lineage. That it can create adequate texts and images is an astonishing leap forward in machine learning, but the texts and images are still only adequate, “good enough” and cheap enough for people to thumb past on their phones. Slop is the most appropriate word for what it produces because, as disgusting and unappetizing as it may seem, we still eat it. It’s what’s right there in the trough.


"Why did it take four years to debunk the black baby study?"

You might remember reading about a study which concluded black newborns attended by a white physician suffer a “mortality penalty” and are twice as likely to die. It was covered by, among others, the Washington Post, USA Today, and Science News. It was cited by Supreme Court Justice Jackson in the 2023 affirmative action case. 

Adding one variable to the analysis seems to overturn the conclusion.