The Off Topic Topic

[grumbler]

I've watched the 3 Legal Eagle videos about this.  Pretty interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH09tltEw1U&t=2906s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P36bPNMxIM&t=2972s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ndFb1oLdbk

The Coffeezilla video is the one to watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKfQkRbd15k

Nothing but the facts, ma'am.

[viper37]

I've watched the 3 Legal Eagle videos about this.  Pretty interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH09tltEw1U&t=2906s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P36bPNMxIM&t=2972s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ndFb1oLdbk

The Coffeezilla video is the one to watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKfQkRbd15k

Nothing but the facts, ma'am.

What a fucking mess.

All B&M had to do was come clean with the records.

"Look, here are the receipts.  Is everyone involved satisfied?"

[DGuller]

We like to think we're above small-town corruption, not operating on the stereotyped level of Russian cops shaking down poor sods at a traffic stop.

I think we're worse...just more advanced and "sophisticated" about it.

I think that's going way too far.  I get it, US is not perfect, and we shouldn't be blind to its imperfections.  However, we also shouldn't be blind to our relative standing compared to imperfections of others.  US cops are not in the same league when it comes to blatant abuse of power and corruption.  When your standards are too high to appreciate what you have, as imperfect as it is, you may lose even that.

[grumbler]

What a fucking mess.

All B&M had to do was come clean with the records.

"Look, here are the receipts.  Is everyone involved satisfied?"

That's what keeps the internet glued to the story; every time BAM has the chance to do the right thing, they arrogantly do something catastrophically wrong.  That, plus the way the American Fork Police Department catches them telling contradictory stories and believes both versions of them.

[viper37]

What a fucking mess.

All B&M had to do was come clean with the records.

"Look, here are the receipts.  Is everyone involved satisfied?"

That's what keeps the internet glued to the story; every time BAM has the chance to do the right thing, they arrogantly do something catastrophically wrong.  That, plus the way the American Fork Police Department catches them telling contradictory stories and believes both versions of them.

The bad guys kinda won so far.  Reckless Ben has been forced to delete all his content pertaining to this case:

The court has yet to decide if the content is defamatory, but nonetheless decides it must be taken down immediately.

[viper37]

A federal judge in Mississippi booted all lawyers from a case on Tuesday after finding that counsel on both sides had used generative AI to draft legal filings and left hallucinated sources in the legal record.

Last December, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi Sharion Aycock informed the opposing parties in a simple contract dispute case that the court had "serious concerns that certain legal memoranda submitted in this case ... contain(ing) fictitious legal authorities." 

Aycock determined that attorneys on both sides used generative AI in legal filings submitted to the court. Those filings included "hallucinations"—fabricated legal sources generated by an AI platform out of thin air. 
"This case presents the Court with an unusual scenario—attorneys for both litigants engaged

in similar sanctionable conduct," Aycock wrote in the June 8 ruling. "... Their practice of blindly relying on technology resulted in the hallucinatory citations contained in their respective filings."

On June 8, Aycock issued her sanctions. She booted a total of four attorneys—two from each side—from the case, clearing both legal teams entirely, as well as barring two of the attorneys from appearing before Northern District of Mississippi courts for two years.

Link

[garbon]

Apparently that is our fave case (third time posted so far )

[Sheilbh]

A couple of days late to this, but the Guardian have a feature called "Dining Across the Divide" which is a bit like their blind date feature but for people who disagree on politics. They go for dinner and then tell the Guardian how it went.

And they're really reaching the full-breadth of Guardian readers' political views here

[Syt]

That reads like parody. 

[Syt]

Last year, pieces of the facade of the building across the street from our office fell onto the side walk. Shortly after, the building was covered in scaffolding and a grey mesh that made it look like it was very foggy outside - a weirdly surreal experience that was ever present in the corner of your eyes.

At first, nothing happened. But then, two months ago, work started. Which meant a lot of drilling, grinding, sanding, cutting of stone and metal. It was not hot enough yet for A/C, but couldn't open the window because of the noise.

This morning I notice that it's notably brighter outside the office window. The mesh is gone! The facade is freshly painted! And they take down the scaffolding! Our long dark nightmare of being midlly inconvenienced for a few months is over!

Now to find something new to gripe about. I think the A/C may be a tad too loud ....

[Josquius]

Loud AC is the devil when trying to sleep.


In the past year I've had cause to travel to British cities I've not really been to before.
It is notable how some seem like "real" cities and some not.

In Sheffield I recall asking when right in the centre if that's whare I was. It wasn't clear at all. Not a city.
Nottingham similar. At least outside one side of the station it's like you're in a distant suburb. Even out the city side.... Seems a lot sparser than it's population would imply.

Manchester and Leeds on the other hand. Yes. Proper cities.
Though Manchester a lot more towards the American style than European. Not seeing much of a centre.
Liverpool feels proper too.

Newcastle curiously falls into the proper city category. It actually feels like a big city.
Sunderland misleads you into thinking it is until you get a few streets from the station. Kind of Nottinghamish in that.

[Josquius]

Also my way back from Nottingham took me via what turned out to be my first adult visit to Lincolnshire.
I had a long wait between trains so went to the toilet.

[Syt]

[Grey Fox]

Ah, the V for victory because she did win at everything.

 

[Syt]

https://www.reddit.com/r/badscificovers/comments/1u9z5qr/foundation_by_isaac_asimov/

Foundation, by isaac asimov



Chinese edition.

Edit: Since many people have expressed curiosity, I will explain it here.

This cover was used for the first edition of Isaac Asimov's Foundation, published by Jiangsu Literature and Art Publishing House in 2012 (ISBN 9787539949796). After its release, the publisher reportedly faced public criticism and subsequently replaced the cover in later printings.

The four lines of text in the upper-left corner explain why these four guys appear on the cover:

• The classic 1977 film Star Wars borrowed its core concept from this book.
• The 2009 blockbuster Avatar, then the highest-grossing film in history, copied ideas from this book. (Both allegations have been denied.)
• However, Paul Krugman, recipient of the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, openly acknowledged that his economic theories were inspired by the Galactic Empire series.
• After the 911, The Guardian reported that Osama bin Laden modeled the strategy of his organization on the war tactics described in Foundation, even giving the group the same name.