Do you like cats? (Of course you do.) Looking for a new mouse pad and wrist rest? Check out this one.
https://amzn.to/3yuNanS

.

GAIA challenges AI with tasks easy for humans but tough for AI, showing a 92% success rate for humans versus 15% for GPT-4. The benchmark includes 466 questions designed to test fundamental abilities like reasoning and web browsing, with a leaderboard hosted online to track AI performance. https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.12983

Veni, vidi, visa.
I came, I saw, I shopped

The machine stretches the yarn loops quite a bit, so the researchers have used elastic cord as their yarn. Yet the resulting solid knits are "surprisingly firm," considering that they are made of floppy cord. https://techxplore.com/news/2024-07-furniture.html

Giant pigeon to loom over New York
The 16-ft-tall pigeon is made of aluminum and will be on display at the plinth at the Tenth Avenue and 30th Street intersection.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/02/style/giant-pigeon-nyc-high-line-tan/index.html

The admission, which was made as part of court proceedings responding to a massive recording industry lawsuit against the company, shows yet again that many AI tools are trained on, essentially, anything that companies can get their hands on. https://www.404media.co/ai-music-generator-suno-admits-it-was-trained-on-essentially-all-music-files-on-the-internet/

John Wayne told Mel Brooks, “I laughed my ass off, but I couldn’t make it. It’s too dirty.’” https://www.cracked.com/article_43090_mel-brooks-nearly-convinced-john-wayne-to-star-in-blazing-saddles.html

Tempe officer who won an award for DUI work arrested for DUI
https://local12.com/news/nation-world/dui-intoxicated-drunk-driving-officer-who-won-award-for-work-arrested-for-police-investigation-authorities-department-internal-traffic-stop

A clumsy paleontologist walked on stage with a dinosaur skull…
What happened next was jaw-dropping!

"Over the course of seven seasons of Gilmore Girls, Rory Gilmore was seen reading 339 books on screen. How many have you read?"

It's an eclectic set. I've read 89 of these.

https://www.listchallenges.com/rory-gilmore-reading-challenge

The juvenile sea squirt wanders through the sea searching for a suitable rock or hunk of coral to cling to and make its home for life. For this task, it has a rudimentary nervous system. When it finds its spot and takes root, it doesn’t need its brain anymore so it eats it! (It’s rather like getting tenure.)– Daniel Dennett, "Consciousness Explained"

San Francisco becomes first US city to ban automated rent-fixing technology
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/san-francisco-becomes-first-u-s-city-to-ban-automated-rent-fixing-technology/

App developed with Indigenous trackers helps almost anyone monitor wildlife ($) https://www.science.org/content/article/app-developed-indigenous-trackers-helps-almost-anyone-monitor-wildlife

App developed with Indigenous trackers helps almost anyone monitor wildlife ($) https://www.science.org/content/article/app-developed-indigenous-trackers-helps-almost-anyone-monitor-wildlife

They did the math.

This is great!
(gift link)
https://wapo.st/3YxMdFM

They've got nothin'.

...And they invoke women who like wine? WE RIDE AT DAWN.

Today was my last day at the startup.

I accepted the job three months ago. At the last minute, they made it contract-to-hire. Today, “We’re going in a different direction.”

So if you need a content goddess, I’m available.

Patriots of Color Archive: Black and Indigenous Soldiers in the Revolutionary War
https://www.amrevmuseum.org/patriots-of-color-archive-black-and-indigenous-soldiers-in-the-revolutionary-war

Flow, the secret to happiness
"I tried to understand: where -- in everyday life, in our normal experience -- do we feel really happy?"--Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_flow_the_secret_to_happiness/transcript