Saturday Open Thread - 3/28/26: Odds and Ends
Good morning, good people! If you are reading this, you are still here!
My latest AI experience: I ordered a food supplement from the same company I order it routinely. This time, it clicked on sale completed before I could review the order. What was confirmed an hour later was my order for 2 products I had never heard of, and the product I did order was not a 4 pack, but a one pack with a forever monthly subscription.
The reason I didn't buy the product from Amazon is it is only a monthly subscription.
I got an AI back and forth to straighten things out. It went on for hours. I finally said to the bot to fix it or I would report this as fraud to my credit card and the FBI. I soon got a bot with a name and number who corrected things, even leaving a name to ask for if things were not resolved.
What had never taken me over 5 minutes took 6 hours and multiple phone calls.
I am short...
I loved that beer I drank in Tanzania. Couldn't remember the name, so couldn't get it at the World Foods store an hour away. I dug deep and found one from Tanzania, featuring a picture of Mt. Kilimanjaro that said, "If you can't climb it, drink it".
Problem solved, questioned answered!
Well, friends, this is an open thread, open to all news and ideas any of you wish to share.
I thank you ahead of time for your generosity and willingness to let us know what you know.
Comments
Happy Saturday, friends!
As always, and I mean it,
Let 'er rip!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Hey there
.
Ain't AI great? Makes our lives so much simpler./s
Saw this disturbing headline today --
Two humanitarian aid boats heading to Cuba have gone missing, Mexico says.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/27/cuba-humanitarian-aid-boat...
Given the propensity of US to blow boats out of the water, one wonders of their fates.
They should have made port two days ago. Operation Total Annihilation?
Anyway, thanks for the open thread!
Zionism is a social disease
Good morning, Cap'n!
We will just claim they were narco terrorists.
The US is complicit in the Gaza Genocide, so the government mind-set is conditioned to starve the Cuban population to death. All Cubans. Starving to death. Right now.
100% efficiency, $0 cost.
We learned the strategy from the Nazis holding Leningrad under siege.
Oh, well, I hope you have a great weekend and that you and the rest of us hear some positive news from some damn source!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good morninng...
A chilly and a windy 43F this morning. Trade day was only a quick walk through with few vendors. Then on to the grocery.
I fully expected US ground troops in Iran today. Was glad to see that hasn't happened yet, at least not so far. Larry J. said a Ranger buddy of his was deployed on what he called a suicide mission. What insanity.
The next couple of weeks will be telling.
Take care and thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Hey, LO!
Imagine that soldier going over to Iran to give his life in an effort to bring about the end of all life?
It is chilly here, too. A perfect day to buy a gas line and repair the Kawasaki Mule.
Gas prices here in town are holding steady at $3.49 gal. The invasion will change that, no doubt.
Oh, well, dear friend,
take care of your loved ones and your garden. Hunker down in The Holler!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good morning otc, had a very relaxing couple of days.
Went down Hwy 101, inland but one range west of the centeral valley to Paso Robles, which has become yet more wine country stopped, tasted with pizza and headed down to the coast. We stayed at a small, older place reminiscent of the old motor lodges on o street named "Moonstone Beach Drive", mostly a row of motels with a fed bar & grills added in, no sidewalks, hotels on the land side and coastal vegetation with a wood boardwalk on a bluff/cliff top on the other side. In the morning wander north on the boardwalk and after lunch wander south, birds including not so common ones, small mammals, sea birds and acquatic mammals offshore, salt air, preace and quiet and all that. After a couple of nights we headed back north via HWY 1, up thru Los Padres Nat'l Forest and along the Big Sur coast, a glorious stretch of road. The folks we ran into generally avoided the gnus because it is a place to be away fom the gnus and all that.
Back home, after unloading and unpacking I made a potato-leek fritatta with a huge leek from our garden, grown by just rooting the base inch or so of one we used for soup many moons ago. Now to see if I can regrow the base of this one too.
Today, down in our little town, is a "no kings" day thingie, so I guess it is time to get back to reality, dammit. Also farmers' market this morning, so life goes no.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Yeah, the no jokers day thingie is here too.
.
Just got back from helping to set-up for our democracy group.
Have no clue what 'kings' have to do with 'democracy' per se.
So didn't stick around for the speeches, skits and entertainment.
Plus it is darn cold out there. 25 F with the wind. Sounds like your
road trip was really good for the spirits.
Zionism is a social disease
Good morning, el!
Your mini-vacay sounds wonderful! You are so fortunate to have a near-by getaway that has escaped being developed by real estate investors who would not know what it means to simply enjoy quiet time in natural beauty and wonders. Your trip gnus is the best gnus I have heard in days, friend!
I am enjoying my field of wildflowers. Beautiful pastel colors that cover acres. It is the little things, my friend!
Glad you back home safe and sound, full of pleasant memories!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I will be hoping for yard sales today.
As for No Kings:
"I hang out with losers because it makes me feel better. I hate guys that are very, very successful and you have to listen to their success stories. I like people that like to listen to my success.” -- Donald Trump
Hey, Cass!
The democrats, emphasis on rats, postponed their vote on some war powers act for 2 weeks, even though they have the votes to pass it. That gave them time to get AIPAC contributions deposited. I may take a drive to town and see if anyone shows up for the protest. The last one drew about 5 people.
If Hillary is supporting the protest, it must be a giant scam, imho.
Let us know if the folks in your area give a shit, one way or another, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I would like to propose --
-- that the price of gasoline be fixed, nationwide, at $6.66/gallon, any change conditional upon the resignation of Pete Hegsseth, premier cosplayer at whatever pseudo-Christian Zionist deontology has infested the White House at this time. Nice tats, dude.
As regards your question, I will no doubt observe the No Kings to see if anyone has bothered to hijack the show for the sake of a demand or two, much less eleven. Yesterday I was part of a smaller protest, holding signs on a street corner. Everyone else there was very old and female, and many of them were wholly dependent for their information upon Heather Cox Richardson. Perhaps some of them will in the future diversify their media diets.
Did you know that the Spanish verb "esperar" means both "to hope" and "to wait"? Yeah. Voy a esperar.
"I hang out with losers because it makes me feel better. I hate guys that are very, very successful and you have to listen to their success stories. I like people that like to listen to my success.” -- Donald Trump
I did see about 12 people
holding up signs, mostly the generic "No Kings" slogan, and the rest were anti-ICE signs. Nothing about stopping the war. Truthfully, this is the last place I can imagine that would be anti-ICE. My county shares county lines with 4 others. Every one of them have colonias full of illegal immigrants, and every one of them has a criminal docket with 60% to 90% illegals facing criminal charges. This has nothing to do with racial prejudice. It has everything to do with cartels. The jails in all 5 counties is at or near full capacity. Our jail contracts with a county 100 miles away to house our prisoners. The No Kings picked the wrong issue to pursue.
A gas price of $6.66 per gal. would shut down every small business in the state. We are big, cities are often far apart, and we have no public transportation. People typically live in rural areas and commute to cities to work, unless they can find a decent job at some small business.
I just do not see this protest movement as gaining much traction, unfortunately.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
It was a joke!
$6.66
"I hang out with losers because it makes me feel better. I hate guys that are very, very successful and you have to listen to their success stories. I like people that like to listen to my success.” -- Donald Trump
You know,
that 666 figure did make me wonder...Anyways, KUDOS!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Hola senora. It's your ECFL amiga.
Listen, I have the opposite problem. I'm tall, old, and born with left hip dysplasia. It means one side of the hip is shorter than the other. I look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa now.
I'm assuming "gnus" is "news" in c99-speak? It makes me think of a bird. I have that Randy Newman LP. One of my all-time fave tunes Baltimore is on it. The song lyrics are just as brilliant as anything Dylan and Lennon-McCartney dreamed up. Randy Newman wrote some great non-commercial rock songs. He still gets looked down on cos he's a Californian who wrote stuff like jingles. Big deal. So did Harry Nilsson (Newman is more talented). It's good to see JtC up and running on here again. You both stay safe. Rec'd!!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Good afternoon, amiga!
I agree Newman has talent! I just checked his bio, and he is 80 and still with us. I wish he would write a new zinger about our current state of affairs!
I have to stand on a chair to clean the microwave that is over the stove. What a pain in the arse!
El came up with gnus. After all, he is an ardent birder, so it makes sense.
JtC has some scans and imaging scheduled, then comes the decision of if and when to schedule surgery.
We both monitor the availability of medicine in these times. Between tariffs and the closure of the Strait, there have been interruptions of medicine and equipment availability. It could become dire.
Meanwhile, I will take a quick drive up to the courthouse square to see the protest. This state is redder than your state, gf!
Well, stay straight (as possible!) and stay focused! Things could get real crazy really quickly!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
A description that seems to be accurate.
Holy shit, humphrey!
Funny, this morning it crossed my mind Trump was pausing the invasion to create yet another monument to himself, and lo and behold! He did!
He loves and admires himself so much, it just warms the cockles of my heart. He loves himself so much that it makes up for all the hatred others have for him. His family is a disgrace for not getting him taken to a mental hospital and kept there until he can be put in a permanent facility. But then, Jill Biden made this disgraceful behavior perfectly normal.
Enjoy your weekend, friend, and keep the Xs coming our way!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
This defies the definition of bad humor
.
.
.
https://www.rt.com/news/636460-iran-war-live-updates/
Zionism is a social disease
I am not sure but this might be AI generated.?
Nah...
it's real! And hilarious!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Same EXACT thing, down to the threats, OTC....
I've experienced your online order problem several times, and ongoing.
It is a point-of-sale script that the merchant is following — but I haven't been able to locate the actual script, or buy it yet, as I sometimes do. I recognized the script from this sequence you describe:
Most victims come away thinking that the premature "completion of the transaction" is their fault; some button they pushed by accident. A mistake they have made. They, then, find it daunting when they try to explain it to the company, to the bank, to whomever will listen. They are often told to write down what happened and send it to some address. More than half of them will end up eating the expense or screwing up their own credit history. Needless to say, it's very very profitable for the merchant. Their "Live" telephone Reps from the company (if you can find one) are taught to sound dubious, impatient, suspicious. dismissive.
There are ridiculous restrictions added to the return instructions process. (HINT: Always return the entire purchase. Do not do a partial return.) Just to be clear, this is not an AI process (which would imply a deep analysis of your personality type and online behaviors, and your Internet browsing history. The analysis would include a predictive array of your potential responses, with a detailed map to follow for each one.) As a victim, myself, I consider your frustrating transaction to be a cheap "automation hack" used by an asshole merchant to increase profits — it's like getting stuck in customer service voice-mail-jail for an hour until you give up and hang up.
Anyway, I was going to mention that I'm somewhat a sleuth for stuff like this. I've been tracking the online supplements market for some time. The supplements we buy are a lot like Rare Earths. They can be very effective in improving one's health and longevity. The necessary micronutrients can be isolated from organic sources, or extracted by any good lab. However, for the highest possible quality control and reliable consistency over time for things you put into your body — you now want to source from a Chinese lab. This wasn't always the case, I know.
China and the US have swapped manufactured reputations. At this time, China is in the final stages of a 15 year plan to achieve the world's highest quality control standards (testing of parts and components). 'High-value quality' is actually the bedrock platform for China's future economic agenda. (They can't all be innovators at the same time, but they all need quality-based jobs.) This explains why China remains so resilient and competitive in the world marketplace. DARPA and the Pentagon, for example, will consider vital components from no other source. Big Pharma, ditto.
When I buy supplements, I look for those sourced in China, where there is testing and gov oversight and extremely severe penalties for ignorance or fraud. I certainly do not recommend pharamaceutical products with important components that are sourced from places like South Dakota, Colorado, or Nevada.
In the unique online marketplace, I compare the 'miracle' pills sold on YouTube, for example, with the compounded formulas sold on the wholesaled market in China. They are often one and the same, down to the last molecule. There may be a cosmetic difference in the packaging, or some random vitamin added to the mix. But there is no question in my mind where these products originate. They are high-quality originals sold at one-quarter the price. In fact, many of these Chinese originals are already warehoused in the US, tariff free.
Good afternoon, pr!
When Trump started his tariff nonsense, I saw my dermatologist for a skin cream for a small rash. Even back then, I figured this compound was produced with Chinese ingredients, and the dr. said he would triple the refills and told me to get them all at once, as he wasn't confident the compound would be available in the future.
I hadn't thought about supplements and vitamins, etc...I am not at all surprised China produces better and cheaper supplements. In 5 months, I will explore that option when I order more. Great idea!
Until something changes for the better, we are stuck in a business model where computer software makes mistakes, and only humans can correct them. Those humans are in short supply.
Progress isn't always what it is cracked up to be.
Enjoy your weekend, chica!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Oh wow.
You got the:
"Order multiple bottles because we don't know when the compound will be available again. There could be a supply chain delay...."
....sales pitch in Real Time. I thought that was an Internet-only marketing ploy. Was there a brand name?
Heh. That's not at all what I meant to convey. Not even close. Sorry for the mix-up.
I think I need to use some sort of mental paint thinner before I start talking.
Haha...
I am the one who told the dr. about the supply chain interruption, and he specifically wrote the refills at my urging. He thought I made sense.
Oh, well...Let's both shop for some brain fog removers! Afterwards, I will read your comment again.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I must admit that I haven't had time to watch it yet but it
should be interesting.
PS.
I just finished watching and it was time well spent and I feel that I am better informed.
Okay, Danny Haiphong is the leader of the pack
....when it comes to reporting the actual FACTS of the Iran war.
Marandi actually causes real pain to intellectually honest people who see his reports.
::::.. contact-high from Neocon psychopaths ahead ..::::
Attempts to respond to this thread may experience a delay of five minutes or more.
Let's see what Hudson has to say
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Know how you feel.
I just recently renewed my subscription for a VPN provider who shall not be named. If they hadn't fixed the issue I warned them that they would be. Special deal......2 years for the price of one.
I've used them for many years and thought that maybe I was getting a bonus for years of service. Nope. When I went into my account I found that they had charged me the correct amount but were only giving me access for 10 months. WTF!
It took several emails and an actual threat before they corrected their
fuckfoul up.I tend to believe that they prey on us older folks as they think we won't catch on. I may be getting old but I have plenty of time to watch my ass and keep an eye on theirs.
We're still experiencing one of the hardest winters in over 40 years where I'm at. I don't mind as I have plenty of clothing, a busy body and lot's of nature walking to do. Besides......you can't take your skin off when it gets hot.
Best to everyone and theirs.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
I read all kinds of articles and comments
about Trump being the hand picked front man to bring on CBDC.
Let's see what KAF thinks.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
It was stated iin the past and is still relevant today.
TikTok is quite popular. It should get plenty of views with
with persuadable voters.
Good times with AI
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Grandmother was arrested for a bank heist she never committed in a state she’s never been to,
all because of an AI mistake. Oops.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/grandmother-was-arrested-for-a-bank...
Zionism is a social disease
I intend to send that link
to my defense attorney pals and my prosecutor pals.
Most Attorneys over the age of 50 want to see AI usage in the profession banned.She would need to have her arrest completely expunged from both state, county, city state records, then NSA, FBI records in both states to "clear" her record. The order granting the expungement would have to come after a hearing in ND, like she can afford to do that.
What a tragedy.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
It looks as if will be out of service for a bit!
Expected it to be reported
as being taken out of service by MSM.
And our troops get injured, not killed.
And we don't invade. We pre-empt.
And so on and so forth.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Iran is precise in their strategy
First they take out ground radars.
Now they disable the air surveillance.
It is more effective to fight a blind opponent.
Their missile/drone assaults have less forewarning.
More exposed, as this case seems to be.
Reminds me of a puppy exposing its belly.
Zionism is a social disease
What to make of Kent
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Tulsi
If I recall, you were saying two or three years ago there was something about Tulsi Gabbard that you disliked or distrusted. It appears your judgment may’ve been correct. There’s nothing about her that seemed “off” to me so it’d be interesting to know what her actual thinking or plotting the past few years has been.
Anya
What I disliked
about Gabbard is her anti-regime change posture. To her, wars are good if there are other justifications. I am anti-war. Period. The other thing she did that raised my eyebrows was refusing to appear on TJD show. He was a huge supporter. Was she concerned she would slip up under scrutiny?
We won't know if Kent is a plant until he puts is hat in the ring to run for a government office.
The pathetic reality of today is the plants survive, true oppositionists get assassinated. We only know for certain when their corpses are carried off.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981