#Kento #Rowen #RoninWarriors

The county isn’t alone in having a voter registration backlog this year. Fort Bend County reported having a similar backlog of roughly 22,000 applications, just last week.

In brief: The most significant coastal storm impacts since at least 2016 will unfold across the coast north of Virginia over the next couple days. Expect major tidal flooding and severe beach erosion on the Jersey Shore south of LBI through parts of Delmarva. In addition, gusty winds will likely cause power outages and some damage. Less impacts as you go north into NYC and Long Island but still stormy. Elsewhere, more rain coming out west after rainfall produced mostly as expected yesterday into this morning.

Biggest coastal storm impacts in 10 to 15 years for Delmarva and New Jersey

Looking at things this morning, we have a very significant coastal storm winding up off the Southeast.

As a meteorologist, you can look at this and tell immediately that this is not tropical. One key factor is the presence of fronts. You can generally pick out the warm front and cold front attached to the low pressure at the surface, thus this remains firmly non-tropical. But that doesn’t matter beyond semantics.

Thus far, winds have been gusting to about 30 to 35 mph on parts of the coast between the Outer Banks and Florida’s First Coast. We have seen some 40 to 45 mph gusts today around Jacksonville on the backside of the system. Thus far, wind has not been much of an issue, but we do expect gusts to increase as the storm winds up and moves northward. What we’ll actually see in terms of storm center(s) remains to be seen, but in general, winds will begin to rev up. Wind gusts upwards of 50 mph will be possible around the Tidewater of Virginia and up the coast of Delmarva into New Jersey (more below) on Sunday.

This will also impact Virginia and parts of North Carolina with major tidal flooding. The current tidal forecast in Norfolk is about 1 foot higher than experienced earlier this summer and the highest since Hurricane Joaquin in October 2015. Up the coast in Ocean City, MD, the tidal forecast is 5.6 feet MLLW on Sunday will be the highest since Hurricane Sandy and the 4th highest on record. It would appear that two high tide cycles will come close to that.

Heading up into Delaware and New Jersey, the coastal flooding and erosion threat is very, very serious.

In Lewes, DE, tides are forecast to peak around 8.4 feet MLLW on Sunday. This would be seventh highest on record and highest since January 2016 (less than a foot lower). The period of record is shorter, but for Bowers Beach on the Delaware Bay further north in Delaware, tides should exceed any level experienced in the last 15+ years. For Cape May, NJ the 9.36 foot record looks safe, but even still, 8.4 feet is forecast, which would be third highest and highest since 2016.

For those that remember the very, very bad back bay flooding during Hurricane Sandy in the Atlantic City and Ocean City areas, thankfully this currently looks to peak about 2 feet under those levels. This would still be the highest since 2016 and fourth highest all-time.

The 8.1 feet in Atlantic City would be the highest since Sandy (8.8 feet). Same up on LBI at Barnegat Light (5.7 foot forecast vs 6.4 feet during Sandy). Tidal flooding issues become more moderate to minor north of there. Basically, from Long Beach Island in Jersey, south into Delaware Bay, then south to the Outer Banks, this will be a significant, if not major tidal flooding event. Combined with rough surf, this will also be a major beach erosion event.

Wind gusts up the coast will be 50 to 60 mph for the Delmarva coast and Jersey Shore. As you go north from there, the wind gusts start to drop off a bit. Look for gusts of 35 mph in most of New York City, except 40 to 50 mph perhaps for Brooklyn and Queens, as well as for Long Island. Locally higher gusts are possible on the south shore of Long Island.

These winds will be capable of bringing down tree limbs and power lines, particularly in New Jersey and Delmarva. Winds will drop considerably as you move inland from the coast, but it will still be rather breezy.

Widespread rain totals of 1 to 3 inches are likely up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Much of this will be welcome rain, as there is lots of dryness and drought in this area, but locally heavy downpours will cause urban and flash flooding, particularly where tidal flooding is exacerbated by the heavy rainfall.

Bottom line: The most impactful nor’easter slash coastal storm in about 10 to 15 years will bear down tonight and tomorrow across the Mid-Atlantic coast up through Jersey and Long Island. Expect significant problems, disruption, and potentially damage in this region.

Western storminess

Meanwhile, out west things continue to be active. Flood Watches continue for much of the Desert Southwest. Anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of rain fell in the Mongollon Rim. Phoenix has seen just shy of an inch so far officially, with higher amounts on the southwest side of Mesa and up in Deer Valley. Significant rains also fell in southern Utah as expected and southwest Colorado.

Additional rains are likely today, particularly in Arizona, southwest Colorado, and New Mexico. Tucson, which has seen little to no rain so far should see an inch or two over the next 48 hours. Much of New Mexico will be the same, with perhaps an inch or so even into El Paso.

Meanwhile, a major early winter storm will bear down on California next week, a spectacular start to the water year. Heavy snow is likely in the Sierra at high elevation, while heavy rain is possible across lower elevations, mostly in northern and central California.

More to come on this. Check out Daniel Swain’s excellent blog for more as well.

For the tropics, other than Jerry heading out to sea, we’ve got little else to talk about.

#CowboyWho

#CowboyWho

#Kento #RoninWarriors

Just story about a couple of cars.

During a Friday state hearing, parents of July 4 flood victims said camps should prioritize the safety even if costs are high.

Click here to go see the bonus panel!

Hovertext:
We must not let the modern world take the fun out of toxic nationalism jokes.

Today's News:

PALO ALTO, CA – The inventors of Tilly Norwood, a computer generated character built using artificial intelligence, enthusiastically insist their creation is both unsettlingly lifeless and built on outright theft. The AI-generated asset, dubbed “Tilly Norwood”, has been unveiled as a futuristic alternative to “meat bag actors”, a term for traditional film performers who require […]

The post Creators of AI-generated actress unsure if coolest part is the creepiness or the stealing appeared first on The Beaverton.

WASHINGTON—Touting a new crime report as evidence their ramped-up operations were improving American life, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced Friday that there had been zero murders committed by 5-year-olds since they began detaining children. “Democrats can whine and slander our agents all they like, but the stats don’t lie: Homicides committed by kindergartners are at all-time lows,” said ICE spokesperson Kristina Boyer, who noted that the 0.0% rate of homicides perpetrated by 5-year-olds applied to first-, second-, and third-degree murders. “These 40-pound criminals may look small, but they’re strong and mean. Now, thanks to our hardworking ICE agents and their zip ties, our streets are safer than ever.” At press time, a follow-up report found that the statistic extended to toddlers and babies as well.

The post ICE Boasts Zero Murders Committed By 5-Year-Olds Since Child Detainments Began appeared first on The Onion.

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations ramp up across the country, so has misinformation. The Onion dispels common myths surrounding ICE raids. 

MYTH: ICE agents lack proper training.

FACT: Most have been racists their entire lives.

MYTH:​ ICE raids do nothing to reduce crime.

FACT​: A fruit vendor who sold mangoes that weren’t quite ripe is now off the streets.

MYTH: ICE agents are required to identify themselves.

FACT: Most ICE agents are preverbal.

MYTH: ​My grandmother was deported to El Salvador.

FACT:​ No one really knows where she was deported to.

MYTH: ICE is violating people’s constitutional rights.

FACT: The U.S. Constitution doesn’t apply in Uganda.

MYTH: ICE exists to protect Americans.

FACT: They’re right behind us, aren’t they?

The post ICE Raids: Myth Vs. Fact appeared first on The Onion.

Saying it desecrates the late entertainers’ legacies, the families of Robin Williams and George Carlin have strongly condemned OpenAI’s new Sora video-generation platform, which allows users to create realistic videos of deceased public figures. What do you think?

The post AI Deepfakes Of Dead Celebrities Spark Outrage appeared first on The Onion.

A QUARTERLY column from Carrie Brownstein, who is better at dispensing advice than taking it

Q: I’m an adult. I bathe. And yet people keep giving me soap. My mom slipped a bar into my Easter basket this year. My best friend gifted me a bourbon-scented soap for my birthday. My dad found some artisanal soap at a Ren Faire, and my sister gave me some made by monks in Italy. These are all thoughtful gifts. But I’m starting to wonder if they’re also… pointed.

What began as a quirky gifting trend is beginning to smell like an intervention. I want to ask if there’s some unspoken insinuation—but if the answer isn’t a hard no, isn’t it basically a yes?

So tell me: When does a friendly gesture become a red flag?

Fraser Grant
Columbus, OH

A: There are lots of red flags here, but I think we differ on what they signify. I suppose it speaks to your humility—and a hint of self-deprecation—that you’ve concluded the problem lies with you. My admittedly less generous take is: What is wrong with these people, and why are their gifts so basic and uninspired?

At best, soap is an innocuous gift, likely to end up in a guest bathroom or perfuming a linen closet for the next three years until it’s thrown out. At its worst, soap suggests a last-ditch effort, right below key chains, mugs, or their de rigueur equivalent, the tote bag. Sure, soap might be considered thoughtful if the recipient needs some rest and relaxation, and if it’s bundled with other items to aid with rejuvenation; then again, bath products artfully placed in wicker are the edible arrangements of gift baskets. In fact, to help avoid this blunder, I’ve come up with an aphorism: “A bar of soap is but a cantaloupe.”

Now, let’s say the recurring soap gifts can’t be blamed on the giver’s penchant for the dull and cliché. I still believe your surfeit of suds may not be directly related to body odor. For instance, what if the soap’s scent is less about disguising malodor and more a nod to your interests and hobbies? Think about it: Your best friend knows you like bourbon, and thus assumes you’ll want to exit the shower reeking of Jim Beam. Or maybe the gifts reflect upon the giver and not the recipient. Your dad misses those father-and-son Ren Faire days of yore, and yearns for you to be reminded of his pleated ruffs every time you step into the shower. As for your sister, I bet she left that Italian monastery in a blissed-out fugue state, convinced she should spend less time on her phone or quit her job to help those in need. At a loss for how to begin her new life, she bought soap instead.

OK, Fraser, I can’t avoid this any longer. So far my answer has been a thought exercise, and it’s time I addressed your question head-on. What if you’re right? What if you do smell? Unfortunately, I’m unable to determine or verify this via letters. I do know we can’t always detect our own sour breath or body odor. And, yes, I’d say when someone you’re standing near in a tight space hands you gum, it’s definitely a pointed gesture. Does this also apply to soap? As I’ve outlined above, not necessarily, so I think it’s worth ruminating on the other possibilities. But the only way you’ll know for certain is to come right out and ask, if not your friends and family, then perhaps your physician. If, in the end, you discover your instincts were right—that these gifts were imploring you to clean up your act (and by “act” I mean bits and bobs)—I’ll offer up another pithy phrase so that others might avoid this torturous fate: Not unlike a mint, soap is a hint.

Read the rest of Carrie’s advice over at The Believer.

#Rowen #RoninWarriors

Pierced Chuck, $1.49/lb.

MEKELE, ETHIOPIA—Expressing utter embarrassment about the long-hyped event, a desert locust in the Ethiopian Highlands was reportedly humiliated Friday after a swarm he organized was only attended by 40 million other members of his species. “Oh man, I thought everyone would be more excited to cause a famine,” said the newly gregarious African grasshopper, adding that he knew he was pressing his luck by inviting 1.5 billion other locusts to his “end of summer scourge,” but never thought fewer than 100 million would show up. “Ugh, we’ve barely blackened the sky! Some of them are leaving early now… Is it me? Maybe I should just cancel the whole thing.” At press time, the insect was seen apologizing one by one to each of the 40 million attendees, insisting he would “completely understand” if they wanted to revert back to their solitary forms.

The post Locust Humiliated Swarm He Organized Only Got 40 Million Attendees appeared first on The Onion.

BRECKSVILLE, OH—Speculating that the unnamed individual was unable to find the broadcast on even the most extensive of satellite TV packages, patrons at the Thirsty Goose Tavern confirmed Friday there was currently a Central European guy sitting at the other end of the bar watching some weird sport with mallets on his phone. “He’s been watching it at full volume on his Samsung Galaxy S8 for, like, an hour now, just totally dialed into whatever sport it is,” said bar-goer Justin Knowles, noting that the obscure sport appeared to involve trying to whack a small, leather ball into a series of steel receptacles while a referee-type guy in a neon shirt and plastic helmet patrolled the oval-shaped indoor field atop a horse. “I guess he’s a fan of the team with dragons on their jerseys, but he also might be rooting for the guys whose jerseys have kerosene lamps on them—I honestly can’t tell. Whenever I walk past, the score has gone up in increments of four or 18, but also sometimes there’s a ‘V’ in there. He keeps shouting ‘Hold! Hold!’ if that helps? Seems like it must be a very popular sport in Croatia or Hungary or whatever the country is, because the stadium is packed with, like, 100,000 fans.” When reached for further comment, Knowles said his best guess was that the man was watching soccer.

The post Central European Guy At Other End Of Bar Watching Some Sport With Mallets On Phone appeared first on The Onion.

NASHVILLE, TN—Adding to an already heaping assortment of books, clothing, and photos that reminded her of soon-to-be ex-husband Keith Urban, actress Nicole Kidman reportedly tossed a copy of The Garfield Move soundtrack onto her backyard burn pile Friday. “Keith was so happy the day he came home and told me he was collaborating with Snoop on a song about Garfield’s relaxed lifestyle, but now I’ll never be able to enjoy that opening keyboard lead again without it feeling like a knife in my gut,” said the Academy Award–winning star, who was seen fighting back tears as she tossed a lit match onto the pile and watched Garfield’s sneering orange face crumple into ash. “I thought I’d be happily humming along to ‘Let It Roll’ for the rest of my life. That shows how much I know. Goodbye, original motion picture soundtrack. Goodbye, ‘Let It Roll.’ Let it roll, indeed.” At press time, reports confirmed a frantic Kidman had lunged for the smoldering record.

The post Nicole Kidman Tosses ‘The Garfield Movie’ Soundtrack Onto Burn Pile appeared first on The Onion.

The post Paul McCartney Now Openly Referring To Self As ‘Last-Living Beatle’ appeared first on The Onion.

Despite his family’s pleading, Richard Blakely died at age 82 on the nice rug.

The post Richard Blakely appeared first on The Onion.

In brief: Dry weather will continue in the Houston area for the foreseeable future with warm to hot afternoons and somewhat pleasant mornings. Drought is expanding in Houston now, and with that comes some elevated wildfire risk, particularly today north and east of Houston. Thankfully, winds look generally light on land.

Good morning, and if you’ve stepped outside this morning, it really does feel kind of good! Much of the area is seeing temperatures in the 60s this morning.

Tonight should be even a bit cooler. Low humidity will allow for cooler nights and continued warm to hot days heading into next week.

Drought update

A couple notes on that drier air: First off, drought has finally begun to creep into the Houston area.

We’ve seen some drought on the fringes, but that has now begun creeping into the immediate metro. With no rain expected over the next week, this should continue to slowly expand. Thankfully, we were able to bank some rain this summer due to the frequent cadence of daily storms. But that only gets you so far once you get to autumn.

Wildfire risk

Because of this dry, less humid weather and expanding drought, human-caused wildfire risk is somewhat elevated, particularly today and possibly tomorrow. Please continue to use extreme caution outdoors when it comes to anything that could lead to a fire. Thankfully the winds are well below Red Flag Warning criteria, but even still, this is a reminder that wildfires can and have happened here before.

Humidity levels increase enough to suppress wildfire risk after tomorrow. We may get a brief reinforcing “cool” front next week, but aside from that, today should be the most elevated day for fire risk for a bit.

Forecast notes

The forecast is pretty straightforward other than what we’ve discussed above! We expect little to no rain over the next 7 to 10 days. Daytime highs will be in the upper 80s to low 90s. Morning lows will be in the lower 60s tomorrow, then mid to upper 60s heading into next week. Not a whole lot of risk or wrinkles to this forecast right now. So, expect sunshine, occasional ozone alerts, and continued bad allergy weather. Both the good and the bad in early October in Houston.

Howdy folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today, we’re taking a look at the final standing Carl’s Jr. location in our area, note “final standing”, not final operating, because this restaurant was short-lived. The restaurant located at 5410 Grand Pkwy, Richmond, TX 77407, only made it about a year and a half before shutting down. Those who remember Carl’s Jr. in Houston might recall that the chain started pretty on top of things. Good food, ...

Today's links

• A disenshittification moment from the land of mass storage: Score one for the good guys.
• Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
• Object permanence: Douglas Copeland's depressing 10-year outlook; Unicorn poop; The brainwashing grift.
• Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
• Recent appearances: Where I've been.
• Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
• Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
• Colophon: All the rest.

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A disenshittification moment from the land of mass storage (permalink)

Sometimes, you really can vote with your wallet. I know, I'm generally pretty down on this kind of thing, but sometimes, it works!

https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/13/consumption-choices/#marginal-benefits

Here's the latest victory from the land of wallet-based elections: Synology, a leading maker of "network-attached storage" (NAS) devices, has done a quiet (but total) 180 on its enshittificatory policy of blocking third party hard drives from its products:

https://www.guru3d.com/story/synology-reverses-policy-banning-thirdparty-hdds-after-nas-sales-plummet/

Network-attached storage devices are basically boxy computers with a bunch of slots for hard-drives and one or more network cards so you can connect them to your wifi or wired network. You fill them with hard-drives and plug them in, and they show up on your network as a file-server: any device on the network can connect to them and access their files. They're great for things like libraries of music or videos, which can be streamed to your TV or smart speakers. They're essential for people who work with very large files – musicians, photographers, video and sound editors, etc. They're also great for home backups, a single storage system that everyone in your household can back up all their data to. The better ones also have some kind of "NAT traversal" that lets you connect to them from the road – just plug your NAS into your home broadband and you can access your files from anywhere in the world.

Synology doesn't just make NAS boxes, they also make hard-drives that go inside them. Earlier this year, Synology pushed an update to its devices that caused them to reject hard-drives manufactured by their rivals, including giants like Seagate. This was a blatant piece of rent-seeking, a page straight out of the inkjet printer playbook, where the company that made the box decided that this gave them the right to decide what you could put in the box.

When your printer updates itself to reject generic ink, there's an implied threat: anyone who disenshittifies this printer – by making another update that restores generic ink support – risks prosecution under "anti-circumvention" laws like Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. These are laws that ban reverse-engineering, even for lawful purposes, like restoring generic printer ink support:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

The same goes for Synology. Under a decent and sane system of tech regulation, Synology's move to take away support for the vast majority of hard drives ever manufactured would prompt some other manufacturer to leap into the market and restore that support, by making alternative software for Synology's products. That represents a huge potential risk to Synology – once you're running a rival's software on your Synology product, it's a short leap to buying your next product from the company that saved your ass.

But because that kind of reverse-engineering is banned, enshittifying companies like Synology don't have to worry about that kind of usurpation. They can enlist the justice system to destroy any company that tries to rescue us from their predatory behavior.

That leaves us with comparatively weak defenses against enshittification, like complaining in public, and/or buying someone else's products. These are much weaker than responses like "having a regulator fine Synology a zillion dollars for screwing us" or "having a rival company sell us a tool to disenshittify the product we already have."

Sometimes, though, those weaker measures really work. The hard drives that go in Synology's devices are fully standardized, and the data you store on them is far more valuable than the box you put them in. People in the market for a new NAS box can mix and match any hard drive with any NAS enclosure…except Synology's. That's a huge commercial disadvantage for Synology, and the fact that you can throw away your Synology box and keep your drives, and that any drive will work with any product except Synology, means that people really were able to vote with their wallets. After a catastrophic drop in sales, Synology pushed another software update that restored its support for every kind of drive.

Of course, no one should ever buy a Synology product again. They have shown us what they do when they have power over you and no one should ever give them any power over their economic future.

Remember, for enshittification to work, the company has to have locked in its users and/or business customers. Making things worse without some kind of lock-in simply precipitates a mass departure.

Contrast Synology' story with Chamberlain's. Chamberlain is a private equity-backed monopolist, a garage door-opener company that bought all the other garage door-opener companies, and then withdrew support for Homekit, a standardized way for apps to connect to home automation systems (like garage door-openers):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/09/lead-me-not-into-temptation/#chamberlain

When Chamberlain nuked Homekit support, they forced every owner of every Chamberlain garage door-opener (which is basically all garage door-openers) to switch to using Chamberlain's app to open and close their garages, and now every time you open your garage, you have to look at seven ads.

Where Synology customers found it easy to switch vendors, Chamberlain customers are pretty stuck. Partly, that's because Chamberlain owns all the competing brands, so they are all defective in the same way. But also, it's because garage door-openers have to be installed, generally by a professional, and switching openers is an expensive, logistically complex operation. Of course, Chamberlain's app – like all apps – is off-limits to rival companies that might reverse engineer it to block its apps, thanks to the anticircumvention law's prohibition on reverse-engineering closed systems. Chamberlain's openers are also closed systems, which prevents rivals from reverse-engineering them and restoring Homekit integration.

It's interesting to compare Synology to other companies that enshittified, only to face a humiliating climbdown and blood on the C-suite's walls. There was Unity, the giant game-development tool monopolist who decided to institute a "shared success" program where they'd put a tax on any game made with their product that did well. Interestingly, they didn't want a "shared failure" program where they'd help defray the losses of any unsuccessful game made with their product. This is like the company who sold a hammer to the carpenter who renovated your kitchen demanding a share of the proceeds when you sell your house. After a mass revolt – including an industry-wide, very public switch to Unity's competitors – the company fired its top managers and abandoned its rent-seeking efforts:

https://venturebeat.com/games/john-riccitiello-steps-down-as-ceo-of-unity-after-pricing-battle/

Then there's Sonos, who remotely, irreversibly downgraded every smart speaker they'd ever sold in a doomed bid to create a unified app for the speakers and a set of headphones they were hoping to launch. The headphones fizzled, users were furious, and the CEO was defenstrated (but the speakers still don't work):

https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/13/24342179/sonos-ceo-patrick-spence-resignation-reason-app

And earlier this year, HP, the world's most habitual and egregious enshittifier, climbed down from a breathtaking act of enshittification. The company announced that anyone calling for tech support would be put into a mandatory 15 minute hold, even if an operator was available to help out. The idea was to punish people for seeking help from a human, rather than making do with the much cheaper (and shittier) chatbot option.

People hated this and arose in towering fury, so intense that HP – world champion enshittifiers HP – backed down:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/22/ink-spattered-pitchforks/#racehorse-semen

If only every company could be punished for enshittifying this way. If only, say, Reddit had gotten a suitable beat-down after its shameful attacks on third-party apps:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Reddit_API_controversy

But Reddit is hard to leave. We might hate its asshole management, but we like each other, and so we hold each other hostage there because we can't agree on when to leave or where to go next.

Reddit enshittified, and so did Synology, and Synology's outraged (former) customers made them pay for it. It's one of those rare instances in which voting with your wallet actually works. Savor it.

https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/22/ink-spattered-pitchforks/#racehorse-semen

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Hey look at this (permalink)

• Something extraordinary just happened https://billmckibben.substack.com/p/something-extraordinary-just-happened

• A deep dive into the rss feed reader landscape https://lighthouseapp.io/blog/feed-reader-deep-dive

• Desert and Capitalism Again https://mattbruenig.com/2025/10/03/desert-and-capitalism-again/

• The distance of leverage https://www.robinsloan.com/lab/distance-of-leverage/

• California Lets Residents Opt-Out of a Ton of Data Collection on the Web https://gizmodo.com/california-lets-residents-opt-out-of-a-ton-of-data-collection-on-the-web-2000670530

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Object permanence (permalink)

#15yrsago Leaked (final?) TPP Intellectual Property chapter spells doom for free speech online https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/09/wikileaks-releases-tpp-intellectual-property-rights-chapter

#15yrsago Douglas Coupland’s depressing next ten years https://web.archive.org/web/20101012190424/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-radical-pessimists-guide-to-the-next-10-years/article1750609/page1/

#10yrsago Canadian Tories funneled $8M in publicc money to US Republican Party’s NGO https://web.archive.org/web/20151010221542/http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/contributions.nsf/Eng/33D228F6B286373D85257D420061CEB2#tphp

#10yrsago How a billionaire GOP rainmaker tried (and failed) to rewrite history by suing Mother Jones https://www.motherjones.com/media/2015/10/mother-jones-vandersloot-melaleuca-lawsuit/

#10yrsago Volkswagen CEO: Dieselgate caused by Lynndie England “rogue engineers”; execs blameless https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/10/volkswagen-pulls-2016-diesel-lineup-from-us-market/

#10yrsago Unicorn poop and squatty potties: the greatest viral ad in Internet history https://memex.craphound.com/2015/10/09/unicorn-poop-and-squatty-potties-the-greatest-viral-ad-in-internet-history/

#5yrsago Machine Democrats https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/09/boss-politics/#tammany-hall

#5yrsago MK-Ultra and the brainwashing grift https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/09/boss-politics/#brainwashed

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Upcoming appearances (permalink)

• New Orleans: DeepSouthCon63, Oct 10-12
  http://www.contraflowscifi.org/

• New Orleans: Enshittification at Octavia Books, Oct 12
  https://www.octaviabooks.com/event/enshittification-cory-doctorow

• Chicago: How Platforms Die with Rick Perlstein (University Club), Oct 14
  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-platforms-die-with-cory-doctorow-tickets-1747916117159

• Los Angeles: Enshittification with David Dayen (Diesel), Oct 16
  https://dieselbookstore.com/event/2025-10-16/cory-doctorow-enshittification

• San Francisco: Enshittification at Public Works with Jenny Odell (The Booksmith), Oct 20
  https://app.gopassage.com/events/doctorow25

• PDX: Enshittification at Powell's, Oct 21
  https://www.powells.com/events/cory-doctorow-10-21-25

• Seattle: Enshittification and the Rot Economy, with Ed Zitron (Clarion West), Oct 22
  https://www.clarionwest.org/event/2025-deep-dives-cory-doctorow/

• Vancouver: Enshittification with David Moscrop (Vancouver Writers Festival), Oct 23
  https://www.showpass.com/2025-festival-39/

• Montreal: Montreal Attention Forum keynote, Oct 24
  https://www.attentionconferences.com/conferences/2025-forum

• Montreal: Enshittification at Librarie Drawn and Quarterly, Oct 24
  https://mtl.drawnandquarterly.com/events/3757420251024

• Ottawa: Enshittification (Ottawa Writers Festival), Oct 25
  https://writersfestival.org/events/fall-2025/enshittification

• Toronto: Enshittification with Dan Werb (Type Books), Oct 27
  https://www.instagram.com/p/DO81_1VDngu/?img_index=1

• Barcelona: Conferencia EUROPEA 4D (Virtual), Oct 28
  https://4d.cat/es/conferencia/

• Miami: Enshittification at Books & Books, Nov 5
  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow-tickets-1504647263469

• Miami: Cloudfest, Nov 6
  https://www.cloudfest.com/usa/

• Burbank: Burbank Book Festival, Nov 8
  https://www.burbankbookfestival.com/

• Lisbon: A post-American, enshittification-resistant internet, with Rabble (Web Summit), Nov 12
  https://websummit.com/sessions/lis25/92f47bc9-ca60-4997-bef3-006735b1f9c5/a-post-american-enshittification-resistant-internet/

• Cardiff: Hay Festival After Hours, Nov 13
  https://www.hayfestival.com/c-203-hay-festival-after-hours.aspx

• London: Enshittification with Sarah Wynn-Williams and Chris Morris, Nov 15
  https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2025/event/cory-doctorow-with-sarah-wynn-williams

• Seattle: Neuroscience, AI and Society (University of Washington), Dec 4
  https://compneuro.washington.edu/news-and-events/neuroscience-ai-and-society/

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Recent appearances (permalink)

• Enshittification with Adam Conover (Factually)
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1EKQidRooc

• Enshittification (Everyday Anarchism)
  https://www.everydayanarchism.com/168-enshittification-cory-doctorow/

• The Trouble with Tech Companies (and Their Strategies) (Ideadcast)
  https://hbr.org/podcast/2025/10/the-trouble-with-tech-companies-and-their-strategies

• Enshittification (The Honest Broker)
  https://www.honest-broker.com/p/the-honest-broker-launches-an-interview

• Enshittification (The.Ink)
  https://the.ink/p/watch-cory-doctorow-on-why-everything

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Latest books (permalink)

• "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025

• "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025
  https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/

• "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels).

• "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (the-bezzle.org).

• "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org).

• "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245).

• "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com.

• "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com

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Upcoming books (permalink)

• "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, 2026

• "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2026

• "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2026

• "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2026

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Colophon (permalink)

Today's top sources:

Currently writing:

• "The Reverse Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book for Farrar, Straus and Giroux about being an effective AI critic. FIRST DRAFT COMPLETE AND SUBMITTED.

• A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING

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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution.

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"When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla

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ISSN: 3066-764X

Just a story about a thing I've found out the hard way. And a second thing I found out through you!

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go…

1. My abusive former boss is my new editor

A beloved editor at my job left in July. This week, their replacement started — and it is Jane, my abusive former boss from five years ago.

Needless to say, I was extremely taken aback (and grateful I was working from home). I have decided to just wait it out and document anything bad that happens should it happen (as you pointed out in another post that I read yesterday, five years is a long time and maybe they changed). Jane won’t be my boss but can assign work to me.

But I don’t know how to talk to my coworkers about it when they ask about us working together before. I don’t want to poison the well against this person before I have any real idea what she’s like now, but I also am not someone who likes to be dishonest with people! Do you have a diplomatic script I can lean on? And yes I am looking for a new job!

Oh, no. On one hand, it’s true that you don’t want to poison the well and the relationship may be different now that Jane isn’t your manager … and there’s a risk that whatever you say could get back to people who you didn’t intend to hear it … but on the other hand, you probably feel some loyalty to the colleagues who are asking you about what it was like to work with her (and rightly so). In general, I think it’s fair to say, “She was tough to work for, but it’s been five years and the culture here and the reporting relationships are different. I’m keeping an open mind.” (For coworkers you’re very close to, you might say more.)

Also, the details of her abusiveness matter. Someone who pressured you with unreasonable workload demands/unrealistic hours requires different treatment than someone who, say, was verbally abusive and screamed at people.

Also, if you have decent rapport with your current boss, you might confide in her about some of your previous experience. Make it clear that you’re keeping an open mind, but there are some managers with whom you absolutely could share the details of your previous experience with Jane and ask for their help navigating it if those issues come up again.

2. I could hear my coworkers critiquing my work while I did it

My workplace recently required everyone to return to on-site work after 5+ years of most people being remote.

I work in a large room with others and we interact — I take your inputs and make outputs for someone else, etc. We are under some time pressure in that we have a set number of tasks to accomplish each day, but our workday has a lot of margin in it to make sure we can get done what we need to. In six years of working here, we’ve never run over or missed a deadline. Going back to all working in the same room has been a bit of an adjustment.

One day recently, I was tasked with a fairly complex set of inputs. Due to the complexity, I asked for a little extra time, and that was granted. However, a few people were waiting for me to finish and standing nearby. Conversation soon turned to ways to improve on what I was doing and how they could do it more elegantly and faster and how they would definitely have been done by now. I couldn’t see them, but it sure sounded like some eyes were being rolled. This was really distracting, and frankly demoralizing, since their tones were fairly condescending and I was already feeling pressured. Frankly, it made me slow down even more and flustered me enough that I made a few minor errors we had to go back and address later. However, I know the people in question well enough to be nearly 100% certain they didn’t realize I could hear them when they were saying these things. I expect they just forgot, hey, they aren’t on Zoom anymore where they can DM their complaints and no one is the wiser.

Is this “don’t talk crap about your colleagues when they can hear you; we aren’t all on Zoom anymore” worth bringing up in our weekly tag-up? I don’t want to be working in a big room where people are badmouthing their colleagues audibly, but I also think it might be a one-off and I’m being overly sensitive and don’t need to make a big deal about it since it’s over and done with. If it matters, the people in question are my peers.

If we could go back in time, I’d say to speak up in the moment. Even just “Hey, y’all, those comments are not helping me finish this — could you take that somewhere else?” probably would have gotten the point across.

Now that it’s passed, though, I don’t think you need to raise it since it’s only happened once. If it happens again, speak up in the moment — and if it keeps happening, then maybe it’s something to raise with the group more broadly. But I bet just addressing it in the moment if there’s a second round of it will take care of it.

3. Can you use PTO to go to Al-Anon meetings?

Is it legit to take leave to go to Al-Anon? I’m not worried for myself (I work too much anyway) but I wonder if it counts as medical/sick leave.

Good question. You could argue it’s similar to therapy, which is a valid use of sick leave, but it’s also a peer support program rather than a medical treatment program run by healthcare professionals. It’s certainly a health-related activity, though.

I think it’s legitimate, personally, although you’d need to read your own workplace culture to know for sure.

Practically speaking, they also probably wouldn’t know, if you just referred to it as a therapy appointment. I wouldn’t do it weekly, but every once a while? I don’t think it’s a big deal.

4. “Dear Sir or Madam”

I’ve read your guidance on the issue of “Dear Sirs” and how it is obviously outdated. I am curious about your take on “Dear Sir or Madam.” Without going into boring and irrelevant detail, there are many occasions in my particular line of work where I have to address a letter to an entity and I really do not have a contact name. There are a few other areas where we’ve (officially or not) moved to using they/their instead of a gendered pronoun. Using “sir or madam” is, obviously, binary. Am I left with “To Whom it May Concern” or is there another option?

To be clear, this isn’t true “correspondence” where I’m anticipating that an actual human being will reply, but I would still like to know that I’m not ignoring the identity of the ultimate recipient.

“Dear Sir or Madam” is better than “Dear Sirs” for obvious reasons, but in most fields it’s still going to feel pretty antiquated and stuffy. Often you can use a job title or department name (“dear hiring manager” or “dear editorial board”) or even the company name (“dear Taco Town”). If none of those work, personally I prefer “to whom it may concern” over “dear sir or madam,” but at that point it’s personal taste (and maybe with a nod to conventions in your field).

The post my abusive former boss is my new editor, can you use PTO to go to Al-Anon, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.

Supermodel Tyra Banks introduced a warm, drinkable dessert called Hot Mama, describing it as “the world’s first hot ice cream experience.” What do you think?

The post Tyra Banks Releases Hot Ice Cream appeared first on The Onion.