- Swiping daddy’s Amex for the revolution
- Coal hard truths
- Broken Language Model
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Swiping daddy’s Amex for the revolution |
It was already a smash hit first weekend of Coachella when Clairo (“an American singer-songwriter who specializes in lo-fi bedroom pop”) invited Senator Bernie Sanders on stage to give a speech before her set. Naturally, he argued on behalf of socialism and Gaza, and against fossil fuels. As far as speeches go, it was nothing new. But what an incredible metaphor for all his stated values — the Cryptkeeper-looking ass muppet defending Marxism to thousands of rich young people, dutifully cheering for the geriatric Stalin and boo’ing “Donald Trump” like trained monkeys, while photos of their $102 Coachella tacos and lemonade go viral (real). Man, I was worried the Luigi left would take back the populist reins of this country, connect with the average person in a manner Democrats have failed to do for decades, and do some real damage. But if this is the strategy? I might not end up in a gulag after all.
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Last week, Trump signed EOs cutting coal regulations, so I interviewed my future father-in-law. In 1982, Chuck was laid off along with ~700 other miners in Mullins, WV, after coal prices collapsed and mines could no longer operate profitably. Country roads still pass these ghost towns, now mostly marked by Dollar Generals. Globalism says we shouldn’t care when towns die overnight if it means cheaper stuff, so it’s refreshing to see Trump reject that. And Chuck supports the deregulation, too (“Coal’s what fed me”). But look — if DJT actually cares about Appalachia, he shouldn’t just prop up coal. He should wrap the region in an Elon–sized vision that lasts beyond the next election, and move newly “reshored” factories to Appalachia. Because personally, I think we should move on from coal, but I’m biased. If Chuck hadn’t become an accountant, his sons would be 4th-generation miners, and it’s harder
to find your husband when he’s working underground.
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Albert Saniger, founder and former CEO of AI shopping app Nate, was charged with defrauding investors after someone found out much of the “AI” powering his app was actually…offshore human contractors. Yes, even though Saniger had raised tens of millions from multiple VC firms by claiming his app could handle transactions “without human intervention,” the whole business model was apparently built on hundreds of workers stationed at a Filipino call center who were manually completing user purchases. And here’s the thing: Nate wasn’t even the first company caught doing this. Presto Automation — the company behind “automated” fast-food drive-thrus — also relied on off-site workers in the Philippines. This presents us with a fascinating question: how much of the AI we see today is literally just underpaid Filipinos? Unclear, but I plan on flirting with several chatbots tonight, and if any of them
respond with “Ohhh, Mr. Riley, you so charming!”, I’m calling the DoJ.
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There are, as of this year, 86,603 accounting firms in the United States. We counted (well — IBISWorld did).
Most will file your taxes. Some will send a quarterly report. A rare few might even call you back, eventually. But only one was built for the maniac entrepreneurs trying to change the world. Haven gives you Slack replies at 2am, tax credits you didn’t know existed, and will go to war for your P&L. Technically, you have options. But let’s be honest — you really only have one.
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