Technology Blows

In celebration of Bastille Day, enjoy this 2-part episode on the guillotine. Find out:

• How a death penalty abolitionist became the namesake the world's most famous execution machine
• What makes the guillotine such an effective but unwieldy political tool
• Which treacherous wizard witnessed France's final public guillotining

References:

Camus, Albert. (1957). Reflections on the Guillotine. Translated by Richard Howard. Evergreen.

Logevall, Fredrik. (2012). Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam. Random House.

Smith, Philip. (2003). "Narrating the Guillotine: Punishment Technology as Myth and Symbol." Theory, Culture & Society 20(5): 27–51.

https://doi.org/10.3138/cjh.30.2.201

https://crimethinc.com/2019/04/08/against-the-logic-of-the-guillotine-why-the-paris-commune-burned-the-guillotine-and-we-should-too

https://archive.org/details/embersofwarfallo0000loge/page/692/mode/1up

https://huongduongtxd.com/theguillotine.pdf

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/albert-camus-reflections-on-the-guillotine

https://books.google.nl/books?id=I2liDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA259#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9930870/#REF2

https://doi.org/10.1177/02632764030205002

https://guillotine.dk/pages/history.html

https://guillotine.dk/pages/louis.html#memorandum

https://guillotine.dk/pages/weidmann.html

https://guillotine.dk/pages/30sek.html

https://tutoreto.com/the-history-of-the-berger-guillotine

https://boisdejustice.com/Germany/Germany.html

https://www.lexpress.fr/societe/il-y-a-80-ans-la-derniere-execution-publique-fait-scandale_2083762.html

https://www.history.com/articles/the-guillotines-first-cut

https://theappendix.net/posts/2014/06/a-short-history-of-the-executioner

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/executioners-who-inherited-their-jobs-180967947

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles-Henri_Sanson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillotine

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillotine

https://capitalpunishmentuk.org/execution-by-beheading-decapitation

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2013/11/guillotine-death-penalty-lethal-injection-is-cruel-and-unusual-punishment-slicing-off-the-head-is-the-better-way-to-go.html

https://www.statista.com/statistics/994260/reintroduction-death-penalty-france

https://web.archive.org/web/20130731141543/http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000319513&dateTexte=20090728

https://web.archive.org/web/20110720164546/http://www.histoirepassion.eu/spip.php?article1360

https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/contemporary-art-day-auction-l18025/lot.126.html

https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/CHANEL-GUILLOTINE/5F7FA3427BBBEED1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Corday_(painting)

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1237844599

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HP6UKFHKOiY

https://snopes.com/fact-check/head-man

In celebration of Bastille Day, enjoy this 2-part episode on the guillotine. Find out:

• How a death penalty abolitionist became the namesake the world's most famous execution machine
• What makes the guillotine such an effective but unwieldy political tool
• Which treacherous wizard witnessed France's final public guillotining

References:

Camus, Albert. (1957). Reflections on the Guillotine. Translated by Richard Howard. Evergreen.

Logevall, Fredrik. (2012). Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam. Random House.

Smith, Philip. (2003). "Narrating the Guillotine: Punishment Technology as Myth and Symbol." Theory, Culture & Society 20(5): 27–51.

https://doi.org/10.3138/cjh.30.2.201

https://crimethinc.com/2019/04/08/against-the-logic-of-the-guillotine-why-the-paris-commune-burned-the-guillotine-and-we-should-too

https://archive.org/details/embersofwarfallo0000loge/page/692/mode/1up

https://huongduongtxd.com/theguillotine.pdf

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/albert-camus-reflections-on-the-guillotine

https://books.google.nl/books?id=I2liDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA259#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9930870/#REF2

https://doi.org/10.1177/02632764030205002

https://guillotine.dk/pages/history.html

https://guillotine.dk/pages/louis.html#memorandum

https://guillotine.dk/pages/weidmann.html

https://guillotine.dk/pages/30sek.html

https://tutoreto.com/the-history-of-the-berger-guillotine

https://boisdejustice.com/Germany/Germany.html

https://www.lexpress.fr/societe/il-y-a-80-ans-la-derniere-execution-publique-fait-scandale_2083762.html

https://www.history.com/articles/the-guillotines-first-cut

https://theappendix.net/posts/2014/06/a-short-history-of-the-executioner

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/executioners-who-inherited-their-jobs-180967947

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles-Henri_Sanson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillotine

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillotine

https://capitalpunishmentuk.org/execution-by-beheading-decapitation

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2013/11/guillotine-death-penalty-lethal-injection-is-cruel-and-unusual-punishment-slicing-off-the-head-is-the-better-way-to-go.html

https://www.statista.com/statistics/994260/reintroduction-death-penalty-france

https://web.archive.org/web/20130731141543/http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000319513&dateTexte=20090728

https://web.archive.org/web/20110720164546/http://www.histoirepassion.eu/spip.php?article1360

https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/contemporary-art-day-auction-l18025/lot.126.html

https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/CHANEL-GUILLOTINE/5F7FA3427BBBEED1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Corday_(painting)

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1237844599

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HP6UKFHKOiY

https://snopes.com/fact-check/head-man

The cash register: a machine invented because your boss doesn't trust you to count. Join me and my guest Daniel Ryan to learn:

• Why we can thank the father of cash registers for B2B sales, office cafeterias, and maybe even the Buzzfeed listicle
• How one man's fall from a horse led to the entire world being poisoned with leaded gasoline
• How many baked potatoes is too many baked potatoes

References:

• Conover, Charlotte Reeve. (1939). Builders in New Fields. G.P. Putnam's Sons.
• Crowther, Samuel. (1924). John H. Patterson: Pioneer in Industrial Welfare. Doubleday, Page & Company.
• Friedman, Walter A. (2004). Birth of a Salesman: The Transformation of Selling in America. Harvard University Press.
• https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/5d/2e/92/8bbb58c75ecb6a/US271363.pdf
• https://archive.org/details/johnhpattersonpi00crow/page/20/mode/2up
• https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch15.htm
• https://www.anchin.com/uploads/1413/doc/News_Rest-101Steal_FB.pdf
• https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20551940.2024.2307721
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 21, 1901, p. 11.
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 26, 1901, p. 44.
• https://www.brassregisters.com/fwl3/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1898-NCR-catalogue-Introduction-Terms.pdf
• https://www.brassregisters.com/fwl3/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NCR-catalogue-1909-color-400-class.pdf
• https://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/incorruptable_cashier.html
• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/llkUXxpIo20

The cash register: a machine invented because your boss doesn't trust you to count. Join me and my guest Daniel Ryan to learn:

• Why we can thank the father of cash registers for B2B sales, office cafeterias, and maybe even the Buzzfeed listicle
• How one man's fall from a horse led to the entire world being poisoned with leaded gasoline
• How many baked potatoes is too many baked potatoes

References:

• Conover, Charlotte Reeve. (1939). Builders in New Fields. G.P. Putnam's Sons.
• Crowther, Samuel. (1924). John H. Patterson: Pioneer in Industrial Welfare. Doubleday, Page & Company.
• Friedman, Walter A. (2004). Birth of a Salesman: The Transformation of Selling in America. Harvard University Press.
• https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/5d/2e/92/8bbb58c75ecb6a/US271363.pdf
• https://archive.org/details/johnhpattersonpi00crow/page/20/mode/2up
• https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch15.htm
• https://www.anchin.com/uploads/1413/doc/News_Rest-101Steal_FB.pdf
• https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20551940.2024.2307721
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 21, 1901, p. 11.
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 26, 1901, p. 44.
• https://www.brassregisters.com/fwl3/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1898-NCR-catalogue-Introduction-Terms.pdf
• https://www.brassregisters.com/fwl3/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NCR-catalogue-1909-color-400-class.pdf
• https://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/incorruptable_cashier.html
• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/llkUXxpIo20

On this week's episode, Meg Sinick joins me for the saga of Ticketmaster: the company that swallowed up and digested the live music industry by making a product that literally no one wants. Find out:

• How service fees and exclusive contracts turned the thriving music scene into a $300 Lil Jon meet-and-greet atop a pyramid of bleached skulls
• Why the concentrated hate of millions of concertgoers only makes Ticketmaster more powerful
• How Taylor Swift finished what Eddie Vedder started (and also Kid Rock was there)

References:

Budnick, Dean, and Josh Baron. Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped. New York: Plume, 2012.
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/reports/Ticket_Sales_Report.pdf

https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19970504/2537429/paul-allen-caught-in-the-middle----his-varied-business-ventures-sometimes-collide-with-those-of-microsoft-the-firm-he-helped-found

https://conduition.io/coding/ticketmaster/?ref=404media.co

https://faqs.axs.co.uk

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/live-at-wharton-music-man-ron-delsener/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qoim5FInvN4

https://manicpresents.com/about/

https://musicsustainability.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/628/2025/08/The-LiveNation_Ticketmaster-Merger_-A-citizens-guide.pdf

https://nclnet.org/live_event_ticketing_guide/

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33288959

https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/ahead-trial-attorney-general-bonta-lays-out-case-against-live-nation

https://playbill.com/article/what-you-need-to-know-about-ticketmasters-verified-fan-ticket-buying

https://prospect.org/2022/12/21/ticketmasters-dark-history/

https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdf/10.1257/089533003765888449

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10185618/event-brite-qr-code

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e91157c96fe495a4baf48f2/t/68e58e39bce25b729b47932e/1759874617679/2025-NIVA-State-of-Live-Report.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20240402023930/https://help.ticketmaster.com/hc/en-us/articles/9663528775313-How-are-ticket-prices-and-fees-determined

https://web.archive.org/web/20241209042105/https://www.ticketmaster.com/mobile-tickets

https://www.404media.co/scalpers-are-working-with-hackers-to-liberate-non-transferable-tickets-from-ticketmasters-ecosystem/

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/online-ticket-sale-fees/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/11/23/microsoft-co-founder-paul-allen-buys-control-of-ticketmaster/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-07-17-9507210012-story.html

https://www.classaction.org/media/heckman-et-al-v-live-nation-entertainment-inc-et-al.pdf

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/16/media/taylor-swift-tickets-resale-market/index.html

https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/03/09/music-industry-revenue-us-2021/

https://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/testimon.shtml

https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/paperless-ticket-trend-leaves-unbanked-outside-the-gate

https://www.hypebot.com/adele-plots-ou-tour-with-indie-promoters-snubbing-live-nation-aeg/

https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2025/06/27/live-nation-ticketmaster-among-issues-at-indie-music-venue-conference/84342601007/

https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nj/Press/files/Lowson,%20Kenneth%20et%20al%20News%20Release.html

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/ticketmaster-pays-10-million-criminal-fine-intrusions-competitor-s-computer-systems-0

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-31-fi-5143-story.html

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-09-ca-136-story.html

https://www.natb.org/why-natb/

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32898804

https://www.newspapers.com/image/176472943/?match=1&terms=ticketmaster%20fees%20service%20facility

https://www.newspapers.com/image/35017641/?match=1&terms=ticket%20scalpers
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-rare-humanism-behind-paul-allens-technological-vision

On this week's episode, Meg Sinick joins me for the saga of Ticketmaster: the company that swallowed up and digested the live music industry by making a product that literally no one wants. Find out:

• How service fees and exclusive contracts turned the thriving music scene into a $300 Lil Jon meet-and-greet atop a pyramid of bleached skulls
• Why the concentrated hate of millions of concertgoers only makes Ticketmaster more powerful
• How Taylor Swift finished what Eddie Vedder started (and also Kid Rock was there)

References:

Budnick, Dean, and Josh Baron. Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped. New York: Plume, 2012.
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/reports/Ticket_Sales_Report.pdf

https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19970504/2537429/paul-allen-caught-in-the-middle----his-varied-business-ventures-sometimes-collide-with-those-of-microsoft-the-firm-he-helped-found

https://conduition.io/coding/ticketmaster/?ref=404media.co

https://faqs.axs.co.uk

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/live-at-wharton-music-man-ron-delsener/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qoim5FInvN4

https://manicpresents.com/about/

https://musicsustainability.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/628/2025/08/The-LiveNation_Ticketmaster-Merger_-A-citizens-guide.pdf

https://nclnet.org/live_event_ticketing_guide/

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33288959

https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/ahead-trial-attorney-general-bonta-lays-out-case-against-live-nation

https://playbill.com/article/what-you-need-to-know-about-ticketmasters-verified-fan-ticket-buying

https://prospect.org/2022/12/21/ticketmasters-dark-history/

https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdf/10.1257/089533003765888449

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10185618/event-brite-qr-code

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e91157c96fe495a4baf48f2/t/68e58e39bce25b729b47932e/1759874617679/2025-NIVA-State-of-Live-Report.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20240402023930/https://help.ticketmaster.com/hc/en-us/articles/9663528775313-How-are-ticket-prices-and-fees-determined

https://web.archive.org/web/20241209042105/https://www.ticketmaster.com/mobile-tickets

https://www.404media.co/scalpers-are-working-with-hackers-to-liberate-non-transferable-tickets-from-ticketmasters-ecosystem/

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/online-ticket-sale-fees/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/11/23/microsoft-co-founder-paul-allen-buys-control-of-ticketmaster/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-07-17-9507210012-story.html

https://www.classaction.org/media/heckman-et-al-v-live-nation-entertainment-inc-et-al.pdf

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/16/media/taylor-swift-tickets-resale-market/index.html

https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/03/09/music-industry-revenue-us-2021/

https://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/testimon.shtml

https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/paperless-ticket-trend-leaves-unbanked-outside-the-gate

https://www.hypebot.com/adele-plots-ou-tour-with-indie-promoters-snubbing-live-nation-aeg/

https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2025/06/27/live-nation-ticketmaster-among-issues-at-indie-music-venue-conference/84342601007/

https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nj/Press/files/Lowson,%20Kenneth%20et%20al%20News%20Release.html

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/ticketmaster-pays-10-million-criminal-fine-intrusions-competitor-s-computer-systems-0

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-31-fi-5143-story.html

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-09-ca-136-story.html

https://www.natb.org/why-natb/

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32898804

https://www.newspapers.com/image/176472943/?match=1&terms=ticketmaster%20fees%20service%20facility

https://www.newspapers.com/image/35017641/?match=1&terms=ticket%20scalpers
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-rare-humanism-behind-paul-allens-technological-vision

Grok is here to seek truth and tell lies… and we're all out of truth. Join me and my guest Matt Johnson to find out:

• What Grok has in common with turn-of-the-20th-century tsarist propaganda
• The 3 Jewish-adjacent facts that make it okay for Elon Musk to joke about Jews
• Why LLMs sometimes become MechaHitler, but never CyberMao

References:

• Arendt, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism. Penguin Classics, 2017.
• https://academictorrents.com/details/5f96d43576e3d386c9ba65b883210a393b68210e 
• https://anewz.tv/science/artificial-intelligence/3045/elon-musks-xai-releases-grok-3-its-latest-flagship-ai-mode/news 
• https://apnews.com/article/parody-ad-ai-harris-musk-x-misleading-3a5df582f911a808d34f68b766aa3b8e 
• https://archive.ph/pLqkg 
• https://blog.x.com/en_us/topics/company/2023/supporting-peoples-right-to-accurate-and-safe-political-discourse-on-x1 
• https://counterhate.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Toxic-Twitter_FINAL.pdf 
• https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/18/tech/grok-3-release-elon-musk/index.html 
• https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/ai-principles/ 
• https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/ 
• https://github.com/xai-org/grok-1 
• https://github.com/xai-org/grok-prompts/blob/main/grok4_system_turn_prompt_v8.j2 
• https://github.com/xai-org/grok-prompts/commit/82a9ce73bcd1422d2abd899ee7340e545f729e0b 
• https://gizmodo.com/most-embarrassing-blunders-elon-musks-grok-ai-news-1851416945 
• https://gizmodo.com/round-them-up-grok-praises-hitler-as-elon-musks-ai-tool-goes-full-nazi-2000626156 
• https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/intimate-media 
• https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/manipulated-media 
• https://help.x.com/en/using-x/x-premium 
• https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-x-twitter-ai-chatbot-grok-fake-news-trending-explore 
• https://mashable.com/article/twitter-ad-share-revenue-creators-elon-musk-favorites-eligibility 
• https://mashable.com/article/twitter-x-creator-fund-ad-revenue-sharing 
• https://observer.co.uk/news/international/article/how-the-hitchhikers-guide-inspired-elon-musk 
• https://observer.com/2024/07/openai-founders-career/ 
• https://spectrum.ieee.org/open-source-ai-grok-llm 
• https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/27/elon-musk-fired-top-twitter-execs-including-ceo-reports-say/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/03/twitter-layoffs-elon-musk/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/17/elon-musk-x-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-actual-truth/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/29/elon-musk-says-go-fuck-yourself-to-advertisers-leaving-x/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/26/elon-musk-says-all-premium-subscribers-on-x-will-gain-access-to-ai-chatbot-grok-this-week/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/05/secretaries-of-state-urge-x-to-stop-its-grok-chatbot-from-spreading-election-misinformation/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/14/meet-black-forest-labs-the-startup-powering-elon-musks-unhinged-ai-image-generator/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/04/x-is-hiring-staff-for-security-and-safety-after-two-years-of-layoffs/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/03/black-forest-labs-the-startup-behind-groks-image-generator-releases-an-api/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/10/x-is-testing-a-free-version-of-ai-chatbot-grok/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/07/elon-musks-x-gains-a-new-image-generator-aurora/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/08/xai-is-testing-a-standalone-ios-app-for-its-grok-chatbot/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/18/grok-says-its-skeptical-about-holocaust-death-toll-then-blames-programming-error/ 
• https://time.com/6260185/elon-musk-ai-culture-wars/ 
• https://venturebeat.com/ai/doomer-advisor-joins-musks-xai-the-4th-top-research-lab-focused-on-ai-apocalypse 

Grok is here to seek truth and tell lies… and we're all out of truth. Join me and my guest Matt Johnson to find out:

• What Grok has in common with turn-of-the-20th-century tsarist propaganda
• The 3 Jewish-adjacent facts that make it okay for Elon Musk to joke about Jews
• Why LLMs sometimes become MechaHitler, but never CyberMao

References:

• Arendt, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism. Penguin Classics, 2017.
• https://academictorrents.com/details/5f96d43576e3d386c9ba65b883210a393b68210e 
• https://anewz.tv/science/artificial-intelligence/3045/elon-musks-xai-releases-grok-3-its-latest-flagship-ai-mode/news 
• https://apnews.com/article/parody-ad-ai-harris-musk-x-misleading-3a5df582f911a808d34f68b766aa3b8e 
• https://archive.ph/pLqkg 
• https://blog.x.com/en_us/topics/company/2023/supporting-peoples-right-to-accurate-and-safe-political-discourse-on-x1 
• https://counterhate.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Toxic-Twitter_FINAL.pdf 
• https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/18/tech/grok-3-release-elon-musk/index.html 
• https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/ai-principles/ 
• https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/ 
• https://github.com/xai-org/grok-1 
• https://github.com/xai-org/grok-prompts/blob/main/grok4_system_turn_prompt_v8.j2 
• https://github.com/xai-org/grok-prompts/commit/82a9ce73bcd1422d2abd899ee7340e545f729e0b 
• https://gizmodo.com/most-embarrassing-blunders-elon-musks-grok-ai-news-1851416945 
• https://gizmodo.com/round-them-up-grok-praises-hitler-as-elon-musks-ai-tool-goes-full-nazi-2000626156 
• https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/intimate-media 
• https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/manipulated-media 
• https://help.x.com/en/using-x/x-premium 
• https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-x-twitter-ai-chatbot-grok-fake-news-trending-explore 
• https://mashable.com/article/twitter-ad-share-revenue-creators-elon-musk-favorites-eligibility 
• https://mashable.com/article/twitter-x-creator-fund-ad-revenue-sharing 
• https://observer.co.uk/news/international/article/how-the-hitchhikers-guide-inspired-elon-musk 
• https://observer.com/2024/07/openai-founders-career/ 
• https://spectrum.ieee.org/open-source-ai-grok-llm 
• https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/27/elon-musk-fired-top-twitter-execs-including-ceo-reports-say/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/03/twitter-layoffs-elon-musk/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/17/elon-musk-x-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-actual-truth/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/29/elon-musk-says-go-fuck-yourself-to-advertisers-leaving-x/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/26/elon-musk-says-all-premium-subscribers-on-x-will-gain-access-to-ai-chatbot-grok-this-week/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/05/secretaries-of-state-urge-x-to-stop-its-grok-chatbot-from-spreading-election-misinformation/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/14/meet-black-forest-labs-the-startup-powering-elon-musks-unhinged-ai-image-generator/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/04/x-is-hiring-staff-for-security-and-safety-after-two-years-of-layoffs/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/03/black-forest-labs-the-startup-behind-groks-image-generator-releases-an-api/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/10/x-is-testing-a-free-version-of-ai-chatbot-grok/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/07/elon-musks-x-gains-a-new-image-generator-aurora/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/08/xai-is-testing-a-standalone-ios-app-for-its-grok-chatbot/ 
• https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/18/grok-says-its-skeptical-about-holocaust-death-toll-then-blames-programming-error/ 
• https://time.com/6260185/elon-musk-ai-culture-wars/ 
• https://venturebeat.com/ai/doomer-advisor-joins-musks-xai-the-4th-top-research-lab-focused-on-ai-apocalypse 

Marty is a fully automated dipshit that wanders around the Stop & Shop getting in everyone's way and posing for selfies. Sometimes it hugs a cancer kid.

References:

• https://bjsantiago.focalpointcoaching.com/about-me
• https://books.google.com/books?id=aTHFDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA95#v=onepage&q&f=false
• https://doi.org/10.1108/09590550310507731
• https://economics.mit.edu/sites/default/files/2022-09/Consumer%20Benefits%20from%20Increased%20Competition%20in%20Shopping%20Outlets%20Measuring%20the%20Effect%20of%20Wal-Mart.pdf
• https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/6602016-5600-Troconis/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahold_Delhaize
• https://jabil.com/industries/defense-and-aerospace.html
• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f0XXRYKkAHY
• https://marketing.taskus.com/A185QmFkZ2U=
• https://mashable.com/article/stop-and-shop-marty-robots-birthday
• https://mashable.com/feature/marty-grocery-store-stop-and-shop-robot-covid-pandemic
• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/supply-chain-lead-podcast/id1495371611?i=1000669925351
• https://stores.foodlion.com/
• https://stores.giantfood.com/
• https://stores.hannaford.com/
• https://stores.stopandshop.com/
• https://techinformed.com/spillage-on-aisle-12-the-rise-of-the-retail-robot/
• https://thecounter.org/supermarket-robot-automation-ai-organized-labor-stop-and-shop/
• https://web.archive.org/web/20200919083640/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/woodmans-markets-rolls-out-badger-technologies-grocery-robots.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20200919090310/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/badger-technologies-introduces-patrolbot.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20200919094018/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/att-and-badger-technologies-working.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20201002074857/https://apnews.com/article/19a0e615c7fe4a5c8fd754a85f509cb1
• https://web.archive.org/web/20210917171846/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/badger-technologies-uv-disinfect-robot.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20211016171338/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/badger-technologies-and-stcr.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20240721224646/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/stop-and-shop-nrf-promo.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20240806144745/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/stop-and-shop-upgrade-marty-the-robot.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20240912023036/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/mccoys-building-supply-deploys-badger-robots.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20250615184221/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/badger-technologies-deploys-patrolbot-autonomous-security-robot-at-the-national-veterans-memorial-and-museum.html
• https://www.aholddelhaize.com/brands/
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-sticking-a-pair-of-eyeballs-on-a-sign-actually-changes-behavior
• https://www.automate.org/robotics/blogs/who-is-marty-the-robot-and-why-do-we-need-retail-service-robots
• https://www.badger-technologies.com
• https://www.badger-technologies.com/dam/jcr:178f5552-ef38-4e31-8965-7ef2055115d8/Woodmans%20Case%20Study_Final.pdf
• https://www.badger-technologies.com/dam/jcr:20adf450-23a7-47d5-89ed-e4dea4c4a201/Badger-Robot-ROI-Whitepaper.pdf
• https://www.badger-technologies.com/dam/jcr:765f7259-97cb-4ff1-a0fb-86f5eedbf403/Badger-Data_Monetization_5_Ways.pdf
• https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/stop-and-shop-upgrade-marty-the-robot.html
• https://www.badger-technologies.com/platform/badger-in-the-store.html
• https://www.badger-technologies.com/resource/badger-resources.html

Suit up, jack in, and Zuck out. I'm joined by guest Anderson Gronvold as we abandon meatspace for metaspace. Find out why you can't afford to miss out on Meta's flagship VR experience. Legs optional! 🦵

References:

Harris, Blake J. (2019). The History of the Future: Oculus, Facebook, and the Revolution That Swept Virtual Reality. Dey Street Books.

https://about.fb.com/news/2021/10/creating-jobs-europe-metaverse/ 

https://apnews.com/article/the-facebook-papers-maid-abuse-94909f43c725af09522704348e35bd25 

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/09/facebook-reveals-staffing-plan-to-be-your-vr-chat-concierge-service/ 

https://atlantablackstar.com/2026/01/25/mark-zuckerberg-under-fire-after-hiring-trumps-former-adviser-as-meta-president/ 

https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.mit.edu/dist/0/833/files/2020/05/ST_Construc-and-reconstruc-of-self.pdf 

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/joeroganexperience/episodes/1863---Mark-Zuckerberg-e1mu8n0 

https://epublications.marquette.edu/zuckerberg_files_videos/250/ 

https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/07/28/snoop-dogg-metaverse-nfts-sandbox-price-declines/ 

https://games.slashdot.org/story/99/10/15/1012230/John-Carmack-Answers 

https://gizmodo.com/meta-horizon-worlds-sees-10x-growth-since-december-1848562017 

https://kotaku.com/facebook-metaverse-horizon-worlds-vr-oculus-quest-2-cha-1848436740 

https://kotaku.com/fortnites-latest-crossover-is-martin-luther-king-1847563562 

https://kotaku.com/meta-connect-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-vr-feet-legs-1849643784 

https://kotaku.com/the-metaverse-is-already-here-for-cows-and-it-s-very-sa-1848335331 

https://medium.com/@gobblegobble/mocap-the-money-part-c16b78de6170 

https://medium.com/the-lab-apply-digital/metaverse-review-horizon-worlds-b9f003ea84af 

https://observer.ug/business/facebook-and-content-moderation-why-its-always-under-attack/ 

https://patents.google.com/patent/US10192403B2/en 

https://patents.google.com/patent/US10909405B1/en 

https://patents.google.com/patent/US10976826B1/en 

https://patents.google.com/patent/US3050870A/en 

https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/09/vr-zuckerberg-shares-details-on-some-of-facebooks-ai-aid-to-the-red-cross-in-puerto-rico/ 

https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/10/zuckerberg-apologizes-for-his-tone-deaf-vr-cartoon-tour-of-puerto-rico-devastation/ 

https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/13/facebook-mulled-multi-billion-dollar-acquisition-of-unity-book-claims/ 

https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/06/meta-integrating-venues-into-horizon-worlds/ 

https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/jordan-peele-nope-meta-virtua-reality-horizon-worlds-1235313750/ 

https://washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/02/07/facebook-metaverse-horizon-worlds-kids-safety/ 

https://web.archive.org/web/20220216143908/https://www.vox.com/recode/22776461/facebook-meta-metaverse-monopoly 

https://web.archive.org/web/20220817170129/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/mark-zuckerberg-metaverse-selfie-horizon-worlds/ 

https://web.archive.org/web/20230921175333/https://ai.meta.com/blog/powered-by-ai-oculus-insight/ 

https://web.archive.org/web/20240912192513/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/11/4/hot-or-not-website-briefly-judges/?page=1 

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/09/myanmar-facebooks-systems-promoted-violence-against-rohingya-meta-owes-reparations-new-report/ 

https://www.androidcentral.com/quest-2-2021-most-sold 

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-12-15/the-metaverse-via-oculus-is-awkward-if-you-re-a-woman-and-beware-of-griefers 

https://www.businessinsider.com/stolen-data-of-533-million-facebook-users-leaked-online-2021-4 

https://www.buzzfeednews.c...