Chess is imposing to the uninitiated. Most casual fans could spend their entire lives studying a library’s worth of chess theory, only to still be routinely humiliated by competitive players. Simply getting started is difficult, too. The basic rules require a decent amount of time to memorize before anyone can make their first moves, a hurdle that has stopped plenty of people from ever trying the game. But what if there was a way to quickly improve your abilities without spending hours hunched over the board? If the mental strain that comes with learning chess isn’t enough, will some actual, physical pain do the trick? That’s what YouTuber Fletcher Heisler, aka Everything Is Hacked, wondered before embarking on the monthsong, tortuous journey of designing, building, and playing a custom chess set capable of delivering a Taser-like shock whenever it detects an error. As recently highlighted by Hackaday, the results are as fascinating as they are sometimes difficult to watch. Link to video

She did it I again. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/veteran-airline-stowaway-arrested-again-newark-milan-flight-rcna260805 Svetlana Dali was taken into custody in Milan after, authorities alleged, she sneaked onto United Flight 19 at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, which departed at about 5:30 p.m. ET Wednesday. Dali made it past ticketing agents, and when the United in-flight crew realized she was aboard without a ticket, the Boeing 777-200 was already over the Atlantic Ocean, according to sources. She pretended she couldn't hear questions from crew members when she was asked whether she had a ticket or was traveling improperly, a source familiar with the matter said.

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/48044958/brady-tkachuk-miffed-white-house-ai-doctored-video Brady Tkachuk, the Ottawa Senators captain and a Team USA gold medalist, said he didn't appreciate the AI-doctored video released by the White House that made it appear he was disparaging Canadians. The video, published Sunday by the White House's official TikTok account, featured doctored footage from a Tkachuk brothers' news conference at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February. While "Free Bird," the goal song for Team USA, played in the background of the video, Brady Tkachuk was made to say, "They booed our national anthem, so I had to come out and teach those maple syrup eating f---s a lesson." The clip, which discloses that it used AI-generated media, has 11.1 million views on TikTok and has been widely viewed on other social media platforms.

More fun between the two countries. https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-pakistan-airstrikes-513791ef82fb8c2e4acce08c2b80c41a Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces early Friday, Afghanistan’s government spokesperson said, hours after Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in the latest escalation of violence between the neighboring countries that made a Qatar-mediated ceasefire appear increasingly shaky. At least three explosions were heard in Kabul, but there was no immediate information on the exact location of the strikes in the Afghan capital, or of any potential casualties. Government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan also carried out airstrikes in Kandahar to the south and in the southeastern province of Paktia. Two senior Pakistani security officials told The Associated Press that Pakistan’s military carried out airstrikes targeting what they described as Afghan military facilities in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia provinces, allegedly destroying two brigade bases, but they didn’t mention any potential casualties. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to media on the record.

What could go wrong when you have a petulant sore loser with nearly unlimited executive order power combined with his favorite narcissistic false reality topic of a stolen election?

Grok was asked for a one sentence summary, which is a neat trick.

[image: 1772145662235-05576284-1083-427b-b1c4-392ed6a47d80-image.png] A snowmelter if there ever was one.

@Doctor-Phibes said in Government bureaucracy at its finest: @Renauda said in Government bureaucracy at its finest: @Doctor-Phibes It’s been all over the news here for the last ten days. A lot of dual Canadian/British citizens affected and right vexed over it. I'd heard about it, but incorrectly assumed that with an ETA we'd be able to make short-term visits. I can understand the rationale if I wanted to live there permanently, but it makes absolutely no sense if we just want to go for a week or two. There are quite a few countries that have this requirement. I think, although I’m not certain, that the US requires it of its dual citizenship holders. I recall a former colleague who was born in New Jersey to a Finnish father and Canadian mother, having to maintain a US passport, so that she could travel without issue to into the US. Her family returned to their home in Finland when she was still an infant so she had no tie to the US other than being born there. She decided enough was enough a dozen or so years ago owing to a treaty between the US and Canada during the Harper years, that enables the IRS to requisition dual citizen holders banking and financial records from Canadian charter banks. She has since legally renounced her US citizenship at great effort; five years or more of sourcing proof of Finnish and Canadian residencies including all school and employment records in Finland and Canada to prove she was at no time an adult US resident or in the US in excess of 180 days in a given year. Legal fees and administrative costs totalled around $12k.

Link to video Symphony No. 1 for Orchestra and Organ, Opus 42 by Felix-Alexandre Guilmant Paul Jacobs played at the local music hall last week. I never heard of Guilmant before.

@Horace said in US Ambassador to France - French Will Not Meet With Him: This is TG’s area of expertise. Indeed, TG and I appear to share a lot in common.

What were the odds on Kalshi?

@kluurs said in Dry February…: Wonderful news! Your health is a good focus. Father-In-Law lost his foot in January to diabetes. Hearing the glucose numbers get up there was a big wake up call. It also made me realize that small little things that I was attributing to just getting older weren’t… Still, I was pleased to look back after 2 weeks to know that I wasn’t addicted to the booze physically, and look back this week to see that I’m not addicted mentally, lol. Not saying that I won’t have the occasional sip of whiskey, but not for another 8-12 weeks. What I am missing is the 2 times a week after work beers with a couple of guys at the pub. I’m hoping Jon’s Alliance Brews will help with that…

Dumb all around. But I support pelting Mamdani.

The inclusion of the term "Lord Mandelson" is highly offensive.

Link to video jake sullivan and jon finer (NSA and deputy NSA under Biden) interveiw Tyler Cowen. interesting if you are into america/china stuff

https://x.com/ShooterMcGavin/status/2025962304483799242?s=20

@jon-nyc said in “You people” on steroids: You know it would have been less embarrassing to take the L then to have done whatever this is you’re doing now. At the end of the day the Magtard of Crown Heights misquoted him twice and lied about the audience. It’s fair that you didn’t know the source having seen it on Reddit. Now you’re out of excuses. I can’t be the only one beyond bored of reading you on this thread. If you're not embarrassed by your own behavior in this thread, then it would fit with my description of your psychology. Your claim that the second sentence erases the first in "I'm like you. I'm no better than you." remains ridiculous, and the vehemence with which you claimed it, to the point of calling me an intentional liar for not going along with it, only points to your own delusional nature in adversarial discussions. As usual, you are fractionally as coherent as you think you are. As for the description of the audience, it was probably an honest mistake, given the venue and the obvious intentions of the interview. He may or may not be forthright in admitting that there were plenty of white faces, with the updated information. As for the lack of the ... between the sentences in the quote, I'm sure you'll get over that someday. The story as told is a far cry from a pure hoax.

@jon-nyc said in Is he wrong?: [image: 1771958560702-img_0775.jpeg] Nope. Not wrong. Of course, that goes both ways.