“We could version UIs, but we don’t. We change UIs constantly, remorselessly. Every reason for providing stable interfaces applies just as well for human beings as they do for robots – but somehow we only respect the robots.” @phillmv http://okayfail.com/garden/uis-should-be-versioned-just-like-we-version-apis.html

since we have now all read ChatGPT responses and seen Midjourney pics, all of our creative work is now derivative of AI. soon we’ll be required to pay licensing fees.

Basically, it feels like much of how US health insurance works is like Las Vegas hotel/casino comps. The hotel rooms, the hotel restaurant dramatically inflate undiscounted top-line prices, so that when high rollers are comped, the value of their benefit relative to the entirely fictional prices seems gratifyingly large. Doesn't seem like a great way to run a fifth of the economy.

So, this is for an emergency room visit. I'm far from having met my deductible. The phrase "insurer covered" suggests my insurance company is paying something, but I think in fact they've just negotiated a less ridiculous price, and the only actual cash flow is coming from me.

Am I wrong? If I am not, isn't this presentation misleading? Is it legal? Should it be?

i can’t believe that they’re hypocrites!

“Donald Trump, alleged leader of…populist Republicans, scuttled a spending bill primarily to shield the richest man in the world’s investments in China and the profits of UnitedHealth Group, owners of the second-largest pharmacy benefit manager.” @ddayen https://prospect.org/politics/2024-12-20-government-shutting-down-elon-musk-factories-china/

"your subscription will renew" is such a nice way of saying "we will take your money".

it'd really suck if your family had planned a trip — maybe bought plane tickets, prepaid a hotel room — to one of America's national parks over the holiday break.

[new draft post] Wreckresentative democracy https://drafts.interfluidity.com/2024/12/20/wreckresentative-democracy/index.html

i wonder if Trump has so internalized the idea that money is the game of life’s ultimate scorecard that he just can’t defy Elon, a man two orders of magnitude greater than he is.

it’s a bit pathetic that we watched RBG undo herself and the country because of career and ego and a misguided sense of unique capability. then we watched JRB do just the same.

now we have to live in the country their failure, our failure, bequeathed to us. it’s not clear we’ve learned anything.

the correct honorifics are God Emperor Musk and Assistant Principal Trump, right?

there ought to be something analogous to SLAPP laws for fraudulent, abusive DMCA takedown notices. https://raggedfeathers.com/@lilithsaintcrow/113682494431693388

in cars we are traffic to one another—dangerous, frustrating—when if we were on foot, we would be liveliness, buzz.

deceptive pricing as free speech: “The line of argument will be that mandating the display of all-in pricing information amounts to compelled speech by the government forced on private enterprise, violating the First Amendment.” #LukeGoldstein https://prospect.org/politics/2024-12-19-modest-ftc-junk-fee-rule-bipartisan-support/ ht @ddayen@mastodon.onlin

once we had david and goliath. now we have big pharma and little grifter.

so we’ve got to be at least like ten percent, fifteen percent, of the way through trump’s term, right? at least we’re making progress, working our way towards an end of this.

so is this a feint, a prod that maybe gets something or another renegotiated, or are they really gonna scrooge the holidays with a shutdown?

ask your provider.

Basically, Tesla will print money because it will be the only untariffed supplier of Chinese EVs. Great industrial policy there. https://bsky.app/profile/cronkhitemedia.bsky.social/post/3ldlwwqtois2m