Society seems determined to play out a lot of stupid movie plots in real life. Critical thinking is the resource in short supply.

Melinda replies "never have, never will"

If only they could dump all of their streaming library into a single location and pay the owner of the content based on viewership. There are a lot of reasons this would never happen, but anything that could prevent another production like "The Get Down" would be an improvement.

I'd guess that they'll have their AI make the alterations on its own. I'm hoping it'll accidentally make a new version of qbasic Gorilla instead.

I was thinking it's a super villain scheme to consume all of earth's electricity and fresh water.

Heh, that makes more sense

Do you reply to your own posts as "anonymous" often?

Yes, but they're still trying to agree on a schedule for tending the fire.

We'll make great pets

I probably just crossed some age line where "everything I have now is good enough dammit!"

Which noodles? Careful with your reply, the answer is more important than you could ever imagine...

I have an iPhone 13. Still works. I don't see a reason to upgrade. What about the 17 is so special that it causes "a rush of consumers upgrading devices"? If there is more text beyond the paywall that explains the change, I won't see it. Just looking at the features available, nothing looks compelling enough to trigger a buying frenzy. Maybe an old popular model is no longer supported? The economic explanation is silly. The tariff / diplomacy with China can't be a reason because those issues didn't exist until this year.

I knew it! He's probably down there right now in the Titan submersible plotting revenge.

There isn't a shortage of food available to the poor in the US. Between local/state governments and charitable organizations, food is available to anyone in need. Organizations are always looking for volunteers to help serve the food, but all the food gets distributed to people who are willing to come pick it up, or sign up to have it delivered to them.

As an example, for 1999-2020 over 30,000 malnutrition-related deaths in the US were related to hospice "care". That's 3-ish percent of the total 103,000 malnutrition deaths in the US during that time. Of the total malnutrition deaths hospitals represent 37% and nursing homes represent 30%. So those are (mostly) intentional deaths which I find fucked up, but other's will see it as mercy for the sick and old. Having watched someone die this way, it is a heart breaking experience.

The US is so good at producing and distributing food that it remains the world's largest donor of international food assistance. The US provides a large portion of its aid in the form of actual food products. Our forward thinking Euro friends have largely transitioned to providing financial aid for international food assistance. Enjoy eating delicious money!

Does this mean the US won't have to report on their own sabotage efforts to congress?