jwz

The archbishop of Washington, D.C. removed an exorcist of the archdiocese after he made public comments suggesting that UFO sightings were the work of demons.

The archbishop said Rossetti's statements "linking UFOs to demonic presence and the Center's recent use of social media gravely undermine the Church's very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism." [...]

Rossetti, who has over 148,000 followers on Instagram, is a prominent psychologist as well as an exorcist. His center has specialized in offering spiritual healing for priests troubled by various difficulties.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

I am trying to control an Internet-of-Shit device that can only speak 2.4GHz wifi. I find that I am unable to operate a 2.4GHz network that anything can connect to on any channel because there is too much interference. (Even when my iPad is sitting directly on top of the AP.) 82% interference, 10% TX retries. Let's take a look at where that's coming from...

Oh. It's because literally every car in the garage is doing wifi bukkake, several floors below me, through many feet of concrete.

Previously, previously, previously, previously.

SAN MATEO, CA:

After spending the past three decades of his life being totally unable and unwilling to engage in any meaningful way with the world around him, James Parker, a local guy who sucks at being a person, told reporters Thursday that he saw huge potential in AI. "While it's still in its early phase, artificial intelligence will one day accomplish things that humans could have never even dreamed of doing," said Parker, who, by all accounts, has never stretched himself to do something he found difficult; has never created anything truly original; and, deep down, has absolutely zero understanding of what makes things good, enjoyable, or rewarding. "Just yesterday, I asked an AI program to write an entire sci-fi novel for me, and [as someone who will die an empty shell of a man who wasted his life doing nothing for the world and, perhaps, should never have been born] I was super impressed. Soon, humans won't need to do anything at all! Awesome." At press time, Parker added that as someone whose contributions to society would almost certainly be measured cumulatively as a net loss, he also saw great potential in the future of the metaverse.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Commodore (or some entity now calling itself Commodore) is releasing a flip phone.

Smartphones are mindlessly seamless by design. Callback is built around a simple research-backed finding: remove features designed to pull you back in, & reintroduce physical friction like a speed bump for the mind.

We turned these principles into a phone you can live with every day. And like any great multi-tool, when you're done using it, you snap it shut -- a deliberate endpoint instead of another invitation to scroll.

Close the phone. Open your life.

Headphone jack; removable battery; microSD; no AI; blocks web browsers and social media. From the FAQ:

• Can the browser or social media blocks be turned off?
No. Callback is built around those blocks. That is the point.

I never became fluent in T9, but now I think I shall.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

The judge found that Meta's attempt to blame the pirating of thousands of Vixen.com and Tushy.com porn videos on rogue employees "strains credulity."

Strike 3 Holding first filed its lawsuit almost a year ago after internal Meta emails revealed in a different lawsuit showed that the company downloaded over 81 terabytes of data by scraping Anna's Archive, a massive open search search engine for torrenting copyrighted material including books, movies, TV shows, and porn. [...]

"For example, IP Ranges A and F torrented the following files on December 15, 2022: 'Teen Sex Sessions 2 (2012),' 'Teen Titans Go to the Movies (2018),' 'Teens Love Tats XXX,' 'TeensLoveAnal.16.09.30.Amara,' 'Teenfidelity Pics,' 'TeensLoveAnal.16.06.10.Casey,' 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-1996),' 'Teen Mom Girls Night In S02E08,' 'TeenyTaboo.22.12.07.Kiana,' and 'TeenageDelinquents.Maryjane,'" the decision says. "On the same day, a Corporate IP Address was used to torrent 'TeenCurves.22.12.09.Willow.' The connection between these files is plain: The word 'teen' appears in every file name."

The judge said that Meta suggesting that its IP addresses downloading all these files at the same time was the work of different individual Meta employees acting independently "strains credulity."

The judge also explained that whether Meta actually used Strike 3 Holdings' videos to train its AI models is irrelevant because Meta violated Strike 3 Holdings's copyright when it torrented its videos. It illegally downloaded the files and also "seeded" them, meaning they distributed the pirated to other users.

"In sum, Plaintiffs [Strike 3 Holdings] have plausibly alleged that Defendant [Meta] is liable for direct, vicarious, and contributory copyright infringement based on the torrenting of their films," the decision said. "Defendant's motion to dismiss is therefore DENIED."

Some headlines are a gift.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

It's Only a $13 Billion Aircraft Carrier, Why Would We Expect the Toilets to Work?

The 600 toilets aboard the USS Gerald Ford, the "most advanced" and most recent aircraft carrier in the U.S. fleet, have represented a near incalculable headache for the Navy during its just finished, nearly unprecedented 11-month deployment, and their constant breakdowns have already become the stuff of military legend. [...]

The previous Nimitz-class supercarrier USS George H.W. Bush had been built with a similar "high tech" vacuum suction system, and it too had a reputation for disastrous breakdowns, rendering every toilet on the entire ship inoperable on several occasions. The system on the Ford likewise has the added bonus of being a new design untested at this scale in the field: The Vacuum Collection, Holding and Transfer (VCHT) system is unique to the new Ford class of aircraft carriers, with this ship being the first of its kind. [...]

It suffered a devastating laundry fire on March 12, 2026 that burned for 30 hours and injured more than 200 sailors, and eventually limped to Crete in disgrace to undergo emergency repairs. Now, it returns to Virginia for more in-depth repairs related to the laundry room fire, and to address the persistent bugaboo that generated headlines during its entire deployment: The fact that hundreds of its toilets were routinely inoperable at any given time.

And when I say "inoperable," I mean "incredibly easy to fuck up." Really, it's difficult to overstate just how fragile the toilet system aboard the USS Gerald Ford has ultimately proven to be, as detailed in a few pieces in NPR that published emails and communications from the ship itself, sourced via the Freedom of Information Act.

"Our sewage system is being mistreated and destroyed by Sailors on a daily basis," complained one hull maintenance technician (HTs), the class of engineering department worker tasked with responding to an endless series of trouble calls. "My HT's are currently working 19 hours a day right now trying to keep up with the demand."

According to NPR, the single most common problem is "a valve at the back of the toilets that can be knocked loose, and cause all of the toilets in one of 10 zones to lose suction." Yes, you're reading that right -- if a sailor happens to sit on the toilet wrong, or bumps into it, it can result in dozens or hundreds of other toilets throughout the ship immediately becoming inoperable. [...]

The hull maintenance techs essentially live in ceaseless toilet repair mode. At one point in March, 2025, the engineering department noted to its chiefs in an email that there had been 205 breakdowns over the course of FOUR DAYS. Has anyone actually successfully relieved themselves on this ship, or do they all just get used to holding it?

Many of the problems, as you might expect, end up being the sort of foolishness you would expect from a crew of thousands who might otherwise be shotgunning beers in a dorm, if they weren't here. Technicians report finding all manner of wrongfully flushed objects blocking the especially narrow vacuum pipes, including T-shirts and "a 4-foot piece of rope," according to an August 2025 complaint.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

It has become more frequent for someone to contact me saying "I can't access your sites from my phone / cable modem", and on the few occasions when they tell me what their IP is, it turns out that, yup, that IP did some extremely obvious AI scraper bullshit and got shitcanned for a month.

I have no way of knowing how often collateral damage like this happens, since by definition they aren't connecting to my site afterward. But anecdotally, telcos and cable companies seem to have short leases and I seem to be banning a lot of them.

If I don't block these scrapers but merely serve them nonsense, my web site falls over.

I have no idea what to do about this, and it sucks.

(And neither do you.)

(Do not suggest Anubis, because proof of work is fundamentally inflationary, wasteful bullshit that will never work because the attacker can always outspend you.)

(Do not suggest Clownflare because they are Nazis.)

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Joseph Mallozzi: Stargate cancelled, for the fourth and likely final time.

Creator Martin Gero developed a new Stargate series over two years, ultimately crafting a show that offered a fresh jumping-on point for new viewers while deeply respecting existing canon. It was a series that avoided the pitfalls of several modern remakes and reboots by fully embracing the core of its predecessors: action, adventure, exploration, wonder, heart, humor, and found family. And based on that creative vision, the new Stargate series was greenlit in November of 2025.

As of today, officially, that original vision is no more. We'll never get the opportunity to introduce you to that world and those characters -- or reintroduce you to, and check in with, some familiar faces from the past.

My heart breaks. For the incredibly talented writers who worked tirelessly to bring this show to life. For Martin who maintained an unwavering positive outlook throughout despite the challenges, and who always strove to make a show that would honor the fans while welcoming a new audiences. And for the long-suffering Stargate fandom who waited so long and came so close to getting a show they truly would have loved.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.