While we're at it:

https://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

This seems appropriate here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CORANvT8l9A

'Maybe this seems plausible if you squint real hard, ignore actual streaming data, and also common sense. There's also a very blatant element of racism undergirding the whole thing.'

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/music/articles/wingers-claim-rap-music-dead-173105013.html

Diner marquee: "Food is an important part of a well-balanced diet."

Sporkfoot and Bowtie are starting their own movement, with hookers and blackjack. Stop laughing, they're serious.

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/mtg-tucker-carlson-new-movement-maga-b3025867.html

After an intense 8-hour British spy thriller ('The Honourable Woman'), I wanted something lighter. 'Hopscotch' (1980, Walter Matthau) was just the palate cleanser I needed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD4GS0DXc_E

"There has to be at least a basic safety net, a bottom rung the rest of us don't let people slip past. Is it 'fair' that some people get more assistance than others? No. It's also not fair some people NEED more assistance than others. So if the moral/ethical implications are insufficient to motivate one towards that, the enlightened self-interest of "if we don't help, they will turn to crime or hate to make their lives better, and that will be aimed at US" should be sufficient."

~ F. palelizard

#WritersCoffeeClub

2: What's the most challenging thing you've ever written?

More like, TRIED to write. I'd read about a framing method called 'snowflaking', which is essentially a fractal method of turning a basic concept into a larger story.

At that same time, I was coincidentally really into studying micro-nations and the like.

Long story short, I devised a story FAR beyond my ability in scope and complexity, and quickly got in over my head. It had some good bits, though.

"Shuji Nakamura is credited with inventing the blue LED, which is essential for creating blue Jell-O." - Thanks, AI; don't call us, we'll call you.

Okay, again: People who edit videos have this infuriating habit of editing out the short pauses between statements. (I assume some shitty software does this? It would be a lot of work otherwise.) I don't know why. I only know that I FUCKING HATE IT, AND I WANT IT TO STOP. I will literally turn off a video that does this, and never come back.

If you need to have it explained to you why this is bad, then I never want to hear from you again.

“Without accountability, you know this is just going to continue, and continue, and continue."

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/ice-aclu-nurse-alex-pretti-cemetery-norma-bowe-lawsuit/

A reminder that Sen. Foobaw is one of the stupidest people in Congress. And yes, that's really saying something.

https://www.newsweek.com/social-security-update-republican-wants-to-end-required-worker-payments-12272250

3/

In "I'm Just A Bill", the bill of the title would require school buses to stop at railroad crossings. Believe it or not, Congress MAY NOT make that specific law.

Traffic laws are among the powers "reserved to the States", which are outside the purview of Congress. Congress has ways to get states to do that, but they cannot do it through direct legislation.

#

2/

The exception is the so-called 'pocket' veto, which happens if 1) a bill is passed less than 10 days before the end of session, and 2) the president takes NO action in that time. In that case, the bill 'dies' in the president's allegorical 'pocket'. (The legal reason for this is that the president was not afforded enough time to consider it and return it to Congress.)

The second is that Congress can pass any law they want. This is untrue. There are limits to their authority.

/3

I blame Schoolhouse Rock's "I'm Just A Bill" for two of the more widely believed myths about federal law in the US.

First is that bills MUST be signed by the president to become law. This is untrue. A bill passed out of Congress becomes law AUTOMATICALLY, ten business days after, UNLESS the president EITHER signs OR vetoes. If the president signs, that just means it becomes law SOONER. A veto means that Congress may try to over-ride, by 2/3+ vote in both houses. (This is rare.)

/2

In news that will surprise no one, Texans are still childish and stupid.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/texas-dmv-rescinds-influencer-s-i-%EF%B8%8Fyaoi-license-plate/ar-AA28Zl5r

"It’s increasingly baffling how the media still acts as though what Musk has to say is really worth listening to."

https://disconnect.blog/elon-musks-tired-schtick/

The inventor of 'Body Worlds' plastination has died, and if you're hearing jokes about what will be done with his body, know that they are NOT jokes.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/27/gunther-von-hagens-creator-of-body-worlds-and-plastination-dies-aged-81

You know those "private" conversations you have with AI? Yeah, about that.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/artificial-intelligence/a-trove-of-users-seemingly-private-conversations-with-anthropic-s-claude-ai-chatbot-showed-up-in-google-search-results/ar-AA28NXfz

Humans in general irrationally confuse emotions with facts. In reality, they are not even slightly related. Reality does not care what any human thinks or feels. While there is such a thing as intuition, the fact that something 'feels right' doesn't make it true. It might in fact be very wrong, and that's when you need to apply analytics, not just heuristics.

Plenty of bigots are very sincere in their beliefs. But still dead wrong.