You know all those asshole wealthy people telling the rest of us to "cut back on the lattes and avocado toast?" Well, turns out "some consumers have given up their iced lattes to save cash."
Oh, the #BadEconomy horror continues: ""Coffee drinkers are leaving Starbucks's loyalty program. Chips Ahoy cookies are lingering longer on grocery-store shelves. . . "
Not the Chip Ahoys. TBH, the Better Half can bake a mean choc chip cookie, so why buy the bagged one? And we make our own coffee.
Yep, that is pretty much the corporate world, whatever their product is fucking up (pardon my language), they've always known and mobilized their PR teams, paid docs, etc. to obfuscate, minimize, etc.
On a side note, reminds me of this book I read last year. My #review if anyone is curious.
On the #enshitification of Google, but not much many of us can do. For one, I can't just write a check to something like Kagi for my search needs (and I highly doubt my library would pony up for it either). Will just have to keep looking for options, but it gets harder. And not only does the company not care, very often my brethren #librarians don't care either.
FTA: "In fact, the only reasons that the President gave in the budget report are factually untrue, and now it’s up to Congress to correct the mistake."
In a tale of the #BadEconomy, cons, vulture capitalists, and somehow some semidecent journalism. As I always say, getting bought by some venture capital and/or equity firm is the Kiss of Death. But I am not a pundit nor do I play one on TV.
FTA: "Prisoners, asylum seekers, drug addicts and other marginalized people are the involuntary early adopters of every form of disciplinary technology. They are the leading indicators of the ways that technology will be ruining your life in the future. They are the harbingers of all our technological doom."
FTA: "The next time you see a sign in a shop or restaurant window stating “No cash accepted,” you’re really looking at a business excluding many unbanked and underbanked people. Insisting that all businesses accept cash is a simple way to ensure everyone is financially included in the modern economy."
Exactly, and cash is (STILL) legal tender for all bills and debts.
Personally, when it comes to spammers, and other scammers and con artists, fuck 'em. However, @pluralistic tells an interesting history here worth a read.
"That's the true cost of all the automation-driven unemployment criti-hype: while we're nowhere near a place where bots can steal your job, we're certainly at the point where your boss can be suckered into firing you and replacing you with a bot that fails at doing your job."
Once more, another library "Christmas" moment as new Interlibrary Loan (ILL) book request arrived.
This is what I will be reading next. As always, once done, I hope to review it on the blog. If it is as good as it looks, will likely order copy for our library.
And while certain pundits, "experts," and other wonks say the economy is fine. You know shit is bad when not only YOU have to crowdfund for your surgery, but so does your hospital.
Meanwhile, hustlin' and making it in the #BadEconomy. Apparently they really offer lousy pay for teachers in MO. Can't fault her, when you got $125K in college loans, when you got options, you do what you can.
She says she plans to move, and then reactivate the OF site. I am sure she will be OK.