Dave Musser

Department of Education workers brace for Trump to shut agency down: ‘Everybody is distraught’ Education department meeting in wake of new Trump policies was ‘incomplete and chaotic’, staff say

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

That's right, folks. I was in a meeting so bad that it was covered the same day by the British press.

This is my favorite take og the week on this. It is actually quite difficult to explain the subtle reasons why a particular system or process is essential and another is not. Moving fast will definitely result in breaking things.

2) How did people even find out about this? Whistleblower? Nerd hacking their car computer? Or maybe it was just in the contract and people clicked "I accept" without reading a single word. Is that what the FTC meant by "misleading enrollment process"?

Two things that make me laugh, though. 1) I will be safe from these shenanigans for another decade because I only buy cars that are 10 years old or more. Take THAT, car companies.

"Bob, who the hell wants data on people's driving habits?"

[Bob whips around and dramatically puts his hands down on the conference table.]

"Insurance companies."

I can imagine the pitch: "Guys. We put computers in all our cars. They're all hooked up to the internet. Why should we let Facebook make all the money selling user data?"

FTC bans GM from sharing driving data to settle claims that the automaker sold data without consent General Motors will be banned for five years from disclosing data that it collects from drivers to consumer reporting agencies as part of a settlement with the government to resolve claims that the au...

It really should not surprise me that a car manufacturer would surreptitiously sell customer data to insurance companies, but it did.

apnews.com/article/ftc-...

I appreciate the boldness of this post. Those of us with dead hearts are ruthless against adulterators of our pure black nectar.

A firmament of golden brown dough sitting above a cavernous underworld of raspberry broth and a few stray berries is what happens.

Honestly, the crust was delicious when submerged in the raspberry morass. But that won't stop this from becoming an indelible Thabksgiving memory for years to come.

This is what happens.

Have you ever wondered what happens to a pie that doesn't have slits cut into it for air to escape?

I would like to preface this post with the fact that my wife is an excellent cook and baker. She makes consistently wonderful meals that I appreciate and my life would be substantially diminished without the love and skill she brings to the kitchen.

BUT

Instead, it's pure gasoline fuel for the "AI is a poor substitute for real people and creativity" argument.

And for that, I salute you, Coke. Keep it up.

Coke knows people are unnerved by AI; that the commercialization of Christmas is touchy; that we've all seen the same Christmas commercial a million times.

So this had to be basically perfect in order to get the "AI undecided" crowd on board. And it's, um... not.

Coca-Cola’s Holiday Ads Trade the ‘Real Thing’ for Generative A.I. The company’s nostalgia-filled commercials are a holiday tradition, but this year’s ads are facing backlash for dipping into the uncanny valley.

There is a lot of low-hanging fruit here in the Uncanny Valley: cost savings, negative effects on the creative industry, etc.

But down to brass tacks: this is just a bad commercial.

I am going to try out this shiny object and see how it goes. A little socialization can't hurt right now.

Please don't be surprised by:

1) Breathless commentary on 10-year-old TV shows I'm just getting around to watching;

2) Random higher ed policy stuff; and

3) Observations about Maine.