This… Is BGNN

Things you might want to know, for Mar 4, 2023:

• Weird science and tech are bringing magick back — Unfortunately, it’s all chaos magick.
• The Sims 4: Growing Together fleshes out every stage of a Sim’s life — I haven’t played it since the original Sims, which I didn’t enjoy. But I’m still impressed that this latest version can get so much mileage from expansions.
• Watch Jon Stewart’s epic takedown of Second Amendment absolutist Rep. Nathan Dahm — Can we stop the “Stewart’s epic/awesome/devastating/crippling/soul-crushing/penis-imploding takedown” shit? Jon is very clever and quick, so he can “takedown” almost anyone on any given night, and the kind of amateur and/or overconfident interlocutors who sit down with him are frankly too stupid to feel cowed/awed/devastated/crippled/crushed/squished by anything he has to say. More importantly, you can’t be that dumb in the public eye and still have a capacity for shame. So it’s all just a lot of bombast about a talented guy shooting fish in a barrel.
• New Senate bill aims to better protect health data after Roe reversal — Before would have been ideal, thanks. But I guess after will have to do.
• Reading minds by combining generative AI and brain scans — This is where everything changes. ChatGPT-alikes are now, but this stuff is the future. This is the stuff —quite literally— of dreams. Every man a Morpheus, every girl divine. And none of us with anywhere to hide.
• Tom Sizemore, ‘Heat’ and ‘Saving Private Ryan’ Actor, Dead at 61 — I… do not know how to feel about this. Several times over the last twenty years, I’ve been surprised to learn Tom was still alive. His circling of the drain has to be one of the most painfully indulgent uses of slow motion since motherfuckers kept rewinding that Joe Theisman leg-snap. But every time I see him on screen, I’m reminded of how good he was when he had his shit together. RIP, Tom.
• How an insect using its butt to flick pee droplets could keep your smartwatch dry — Seriously, the writer just wanted to talk about pee flicking. A decision I fully support.
• How The Last of Us re-created a 2003 arcade with the help of true enthusiasts — Honestly? They could have just put LCDs inside existing cabinets, ran an emulator with scan lines and tube distortion turned on, and all would have been sorted. Sometimes I understand this kind of fussiness, but c’mon… it’s fucking Mortal Kombat II, and the kind of ‘90s adolescent who cares about MKII Authenticity has probably tuned out of The Last of Us several episodes ago. …and thus endeth my Grumpy Old Manning.
• How to Access ChatGPT From Your Mac’s Menu Bar — The next time a question crosses your mind, ask ChatGPT instead of Wikipedia. See what you think of the results. Then compare. You need to know how it works, and how it doesn’t.
• Here’s how to make clear Lock Screen widgets on iPhone — I couldn’t care less, but I know some of you obsess over this sort of thing.