2026-03-13

etc

• The Elusive Cost Savings of the Prefabricated Home

  The potential efficiency gains and cost savings of factory-based construction have been a driver of numerous prefabricated — factory-built — homebuilding efforts. They were behind the Lustron Corporation, which received $37.5 million (over $500 million in 2026 dollars) in government funding to produce an enameled-steel panel home in an enormous former aircraft engine factory following WWII. They fuelled Operation Breakthrough, a 1970s US government initiative to kickstart the industrialized production of housing. They formed the core thesis of Katerra, a construction startup that in 2018 raised over $2 billion in venture capital on promises of driving down the costs of construction with factory methods (disclosure: I formerly managed an engineering team at Katerra).

  However, these hopes have yet to bear out, and achieving cost savings with prefabricated construction has proved to be highly elusive in practice. Factory-based building methods have been tried extensively both in the US and abroad, but it’s hard to find examples of prefabricators achieving significant cost savings above more traditional methods. The savings that have occurred are frequently in the realm of 10-20%, a far cry from the huge reductions that followed the industrialization of car manufacturing. Often these cost savings don’t materialize at all, and prefabricators instead emphasize other benefits of factory methods like reduced construction time and increased quality. In cases where major savings do occur — such as with mobile homes — it’s often within somewhat narrow categories of building that have not generalized to the broad construction market.

Horseshit

• Changing my mind on UBI

  In Soviet Russia, you didn’t criticise Stalin by saying you wanted less Stalin. That’s bad and gets you disappeared. But perhaps you could say something like, man Stalin is soooo great I wish we had 50 Stalins, nay, 500 Stalins! A Stalin for every man women and child.

  So yea, I support UBI now. Free money for you! Free money for your neighbors! Free money for corporations! Free money for illegal immigrants! Free money for the whole damn planet! Where does this free money come from? Print it! Mint the coin! FREE MONEY!!!! UNIVERSAL!!!!!! This is the only way to get rid of Social Security. Sorry sorry, did I say cut entitlement programs? Obviously that can’t happen, they are “Mandatory.” Keep the entitlement programs, just have them pay out fake worthless money. The only way out is through.

• Why are so many statues naked? An art historian explains its ancient roots

• Why corporate lawyers always win

• Investors Will Decide If Angus the Cow Lives or Dies

• Why a Peruvian mountain is becoming an 'impossible' particle detector

• Teens Are Falling Out of Love with Tech

• The Met Releases High-Def 3D Scans of 140 Famous Art Objects

• What Happened When I Began to Speak Welsh

  When I last returned to New York, we said goodbye at the airport. Mum held my hands and said something I couldn’t quite understand—it was long, I was crying, I could pick out only fragments. It didn’t matter. We were speaking Welsh.

• Why the Kids Won't Farm

celebrity gossip

• Celebrity chef René Redzepi resigns from Noma amid past abuse allegations

• Dead Kennedys front man Jello Biafra in stable condition after stroke

Rank Propaganda / Thought Policing / World Disordering

• The Fallout from Reporting on White Nationalism in Canada

Musk

• SpaceX IPO: 5 key questions answered.

• Tesla's Grand Plan for the Future Is a Car with No Steering Wheel

• Musk's X to Alter Verification System in Europe

Electric / Self Driving cars

• Iran war oil shock accelerates Southeast Asia's EV revolution

• Facing heavy losses, Honda cancels its three US-made electric vehicles

• Brutal times for the US battery industry

Religion / Tribal / Culture War and Re-Segregation

• Kansas Revokes Drivers’ Licenses of 1,700 Trans-Identifying Individuals.

• First Grader’s ‘Any Life’ Message Sparks Major First Amendment Ruling.

  The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of an elementary school student’s First Amendment rights after she was punished for adding the words “any life” to a picture of “Black Lives Matter.” The student, with the initials B.B., said she added the message while in first grade in 2021, inspired by a lesson on Martin Luther King Jr. She shared the drawing with a friend. The school principal told her the drawing was inappropriate and punished her, according to the Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented the family in the case. The principal forced her to apologize, banned her from giving drawings to classmates, and excluded her from recess for two weeks.

Edumacationalizing / Acedemia Nuts

• Ig Nobel Prize flees US for Switzerland over safety concerns

• Suburban school district uses license plate readers to verify student residency

Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising

• 1B identity records exposed in ID verification data leak

  Researchers say an unprotected database tied to IDMerit, a company that claims to help businesses verify identities, exposed roughly 1 billion sensitive records across 26 countries.

• Google sells partial stake in fiber, becomes minority owner of new venture

• Pioneer has been overwhelmed with orders for its $2300 flagship Blu-Ray recorder now that competitors have stopped competing.

• Only Half of Americans Went to a Movie Theater in 2025, According to Pew Study

• The web should remain anonymous by default

• Pokemon Go Had Players Capturing More Than They Realized

  not only can Niantic do anything they want with player submitted data, but they can pass that freedom on to other entities as they see fit. So while Coco Robotics didn’t even exist when the AR Mapping feature was added to Pokemon Go, all of the imagery that players captured since that time — plus any images that they continue to capture — is fair game.

• Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen says he will step down

• Live Nation employee mocks customers as 'so stupid' in internal messages

AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World

• Big Tech backs Anthropic in fight against Trump administration

  • Anthropic seeks appeals court stay of Pentagon supply-chain risk designation

  • Pentagon seeks system to ensure AI models work as planned

  • See You in Court

  Let us hope this remains in the courts and is allowed to play out there, and then ultimately that negotiations can resume and the parties can at least agree on a smooth transition to alternative service providers. If DoW wants an otherwise full deal more than it wants the right to use Claude to monitor Americans and analyze their data, a full deal is possible as well, but if they demand full ‘all lawful use,’ all trust has been lost or they are or always were out to hurt Anthropic, then there is no deal or ZOPA.

  • Pentagon CTO says 'no chance' of renewed Anthropic negotiations

• 'Convincing' AI scams drove UK fraud cases to record 444,000 last year

• One of Grammarly's 'experts' is suing the company over its AI feature

• Cursor in Talks to raise $5B at a $50B Valuation

• AI 'Man Camps' Offer Golf, Free Steaks to Lure Workers in Texas

• AI chatbot urged violence, study finds

• AI Isn't Lightening Workloads. It's Making Them More Intense

• What happens if OpenAI or Anthropic fail?

• Controversial AI 'actor' Tilly Norwood releases the worst song you've ever heard

• AI models from Western tech giants fail in overseas agricultural settings

• AI used to promote non-existent evacuation flights from the Middle East

• Coders Coded Their Job Away. Why Are So Many of Them Happy About It?

• McKinsey rushes to fix AI system after hacker exposes flaws

• Silicon Valley Abuzz About Adding AI Compute to Engineer Compensation

• Anthropic's Claude AI can respond with charts, diagrams, and other visuals now

• Weak Cyberdefenses Threaten U.S. Tech Dominance

• Amazon Employees Say AI Is Just Increasing Workload

• Sam Altman Says Intelligence Will Be a Utility

• A.I. Incites a New Wave of Grieving Parents Fighting for Online Safety

Economicon / Business / Finance

• Atlassian lays off 1,600 workers ahead of AI push

  • Atlassian slashes 10% of workforce to 'self-fund' investments in AI

• IEA: The largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market

• Oil hits $100 a barrel despite deal to release record amount of reserves

• US private credit defaults hit record 9.2% in 2025, Fitch says

• Morgan Stanley Private Credit Fund Hit with Redemption Requests

• Oracle prepares for 30K job cuts as it hails efficiencies from AI coding tools

• Smaller portions are a big restaurant trend as customers watch their budgets and waistlines.

Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making

• The Deep Lunacy that was (almost) "DEEP VZN"

  In 2021, USAID authorized a five-year, $125 million budget for a program called Deep Vision (under the tortured acronym “DEEP VZN,” which hurts my eyes, so we’ll keep it phonetic). If some omniscient force tracks humanity’s worst ideas, this one’s right near the top of the list. Deep Vision would rank order the viruses by most-terrifying potential, and publish their genetic recipes to the entire world. That’s right: Publish their genomes to the entire world. A world containing roughly 30,000 people with the tools and know-how to then generate those viruses from scratch. And to be clear, by “viruses” I don’t mean their inanimate DNA. But actual live viruses – the worst of them ready to kick off a pandemic the moment they lodged in the right set of lungs.

• CBS: We visited "ground zero" for hospice fraud: Los Angeles, California

  Three years ago, California’s state auditor sounded the alarm that Los Angeles County had seen a 1,500% increase in hospice companies since 2010 – more than six times the national average relative to its elderly population. since then, the problem has continued to fester. CBS News examined the business and financial records of every hospice currently operating in LA County, applying the same indicators identified by the state. Indications of fraud have not stopped. In fact, they’ve grown. The CBS News analysis reveals that over 700 of the roughly 1,800 hospices in LA County, trigger multiple red flags for fraud as defined by the state. 89 companies are registered to a single building in Van Nuys. 72 have multiple signs the state says could indicate fraud. It's the most extreme case of hospice clustering CBS found. it is unclear if all of those companies are actually providing hospice care. The building owner's records indicate only 12 hospices active in the building — raising questions about what advocates call “ghost hospices.” Federal inspection records show regulators visited multiple suites in the Van Nuys building between 2021 and 2025 and found deficiencies. Nearly 40 companies in the CBS News analysis, for instance, share key personnel.

• Millions may be falsely enrolled in ObamaCare.

• Food Stamp Recipients Sue over Bans on Sugary Drinks

• Costco Sued by Customer over Tariff Refund

Trump

• President Trump's Head-Spinning Pivot on an Emergency Oil Release

• Trump: ‘Practically nothing left’ to bomb in Iran.

Left Angst

• "Buy Now, Pay Later" Reveals the Weakness of the Economy

• Why America Is Losing the War with Iran

• O'Hare detainment: Law enforcement dispute Skokie woman's account

• Amid Crowded Skies, FAA Kills Rule Aimed at Regulating Space Junk

• USDA is closing buildings, relocating staff, and downsizing-a lot

  • Why is the USDA Involved in Housing?!

  It’s a good question. The answer is a great illustration of the March of Dimes syndrome. The USDA got involved with housing in the late 1940s with the Farmers Home Administration. The original rationale was to support farmers, farm workers and agricultural communities with housing assistance on the theory that housing was needed for farming and the purpose of the USDA was to improve farming. Not great economic reasoning but I’ll let it pass. Well U.S. farm productivity roughly tripled between 1948 and the 1990s as family farms became technologically sophisticated big businesses. So was the program ended? Of course not. Over time the program subtly shifted from farmers to “rural communities”–the shift happened over decades although it was officially recognized in 1994 when the Farmers Home Administration was renamed the Rural Housing Service. Today rural essentially means low population density which no longer has any strong connection to agriculture. So that’s the story of how the US Department of Agriculture came to run a roughly $10 billion annual housing program for non-farmers in non-agricultural communities. And how does it do this? By supporting no-money-down direct lending and a 90 percent guarantee to approved private lenders. Lovely.

  • Now look into who has been receiving these loans for the last 20 years.

• Unlike Past U.S. Conflicts, Iran Attack Is Opposed by Most Americans

• First 6 days of Iran war cost $11.3B

• The Billionaires' War

  It becomes clearer with each passing day that the people who took us to war with Iran had and have no idea what they’re doing — that they’re adolescents who think they’re playing video games while thousands die and the world careens toward economic crisis. The New York Times reports that Trump officials dismissed warnings that attacking Iran could disrupt world oil supplies. Among other things, the Times reports that

  Mr. Trump, both publicly and privately, has been arguing that Venezuelan oil could help solve any shocks coming from the Iran war.

  In 2024 Venezuela produced 900,000 barrels of oil per day; normally 20 million barrels a day transit the Strait of Hormuz. But arithmetic has a well-known woke bias.

• Meet the Americans withholding their federal income tax to protest

• A DOGE bro left Social Security with 500M records on a drive and expected pardon

  • DOGE Operative Accused of Planning to Take Social Security Data Is Named

• Does MAGA Want American Science to Win?

• What it will mean for the economy if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed

• Trump's AI-Powered World Wars

Law Breaking / Police / Internal Security

• Driver who rammed car into Temple Israel synagogue and preschool is dead following massive police response, shots fired

  The person who intentionally rammed their car into a school entrance at a Jewish synagogue in Michigan is dead following a massive police response and reports of shots being fired. Police swarmed a Jewish synagogue in Michigan following reports of an “active shooter” on Thursday after a car is believed to have intentionally crashed into the building, sources told The Post. The crash sparked a fire as authorities swarmed Temple Israel in West Bloomfield just before 1 p.m., law enforcement sources said. It wasn’t immediately clear if the driver or cops fired the apparent shots, and if any other injuries were reported. An update sent to parents of children at the possibly-targeted preschool said all students and staff were safe following the incident. Multiple other schools in the neighboring area went into immediate lockdown in the wake of the incident.

External Security / Militaria / Diplomania

• Iran-linked group claims responsibility for Stryker (medical) cyberattack

  • Iran appears to have conducted a significant cyberattack against a U.S. company

• The United States Could Lose the Gulf

• At Least 17 U.S. Sites Damaged in War with Iran, Analysis Shows

• They Came to Spy on America. They Stayed to Coach Little League

• U.S. to suspend the Jones Act in a bid to curb oil prices

• US carrying out rescue effort after military aircraft crash in Iraq

  • US fuel tanker aircraft crashes in Iraq – what we know and don't know

World

• Britain is ejecting hereditary nobles from Parliament after 700 years

• UK to drop historic figures from banknotes and change them to images of wildlife

• Dutch ISP forwarded customers' personal data to American AI company for years

• Kremlin backs covert campaign to keep Viktor Orbán in power

• EU Parliament: MEPs Vote to End Untargeted Mass Scanning of Private Chats

• Campaigners claim NHS Palantir system could be accessed by police, immigration

• Poland says foiled cyberattack on nuclear center may have come from Iran

• Social media firms asked to toughen up age checks for under-13s

• UK banking apps showing customers other users' transactions

  • Customers of UK banks report being able to see other people's accounts on app

  • Britain's Lloyds apologises after customers able to see others' transactions

• London Assembly Calls for Kits to Treat Deep Stab Wounds on London Buses.

• Italian prosecutors seek trial for Amazon, 4 execs in alleged $1.4B tax evasion

• Middle East energy shock revives interest in nuclear power

• Finland Is Ready for Russia. Is Anyone Else?

• 'Invasive' AI-led mass surveillance in Africa violating freedoms, warn experts

• British tourist among 20 charged in Dubai over videos of Iranian missile strikes

Iran / Houthi

• Plan to Unblock Strait of Hormuz Collides with Realities of Global Insurance

• Dubai faces existential threat as foreigners flee conflict

• U.S. Navy Turns Down Hormuz Escort Requests Because of High Risk

• America and Israel built military targeting machines

• Iran's Sea Mines Are One of Its Most Powerful Weapons

• Targeting mistake led to US missile strike on Iranian girls school-media reports

• Closure of the Strait of Hormuz: First governments in Asia order home office | heise online

  In view of the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a considerable part of the world's oil is transported, the first governments in Asia have ordered energy-saving measures and called for work from home. Such directives were issued, for example, in Thailand, Pakistan and the Philippines, Bloomberg reported, among others. In Pakistan and the Philippines, a four-day week has also been ordered, and in Thailand, air conditioners are now only to cool to a maximum of 26 to 27 degrees Celsius. State employees are also only to travel abroad for truly urgent events, and in Thailand, the government is even calling for people to use stairs instead of elevators.

• US intelligence says Iran government is not at risk of collapse

• Shell declares force majeure to clients who buy Qatari LNG

• Iran war sparks helium supply concerns for South Korea chip sector

  • Helium prices soar as Qatar LNG halt exposes fragile supply chain

• Asia rolls out 4-day weeks, WFH to solve fuel crisis caused by Iran war

• War in Iran is creating a fertilizer crisis

• Cardboard Khamenei

  The affairs of state must go on, however, and so the regime top dogs were facing a difficult problem: how could they have a ceremony to celebrate Mojtaba Khamenei becoming the new supreme leader if Mojtaba himself, despite being “safe and sound,” had been injured so severely that he was unable to attend? The solution to this problem that the Islamic Republic’s best minds hit upon owed more to Monty Python than to the subtle principles of high-level statecraft. The ceremony went on as planned, but Mojtaba Khamenei wasn’t there; in his stead, Iranians displayed a large cardboard cutout of a man, with a photo of a glum-looking Mojtaba’s face at the top.

• Iran Includes American Tech Giants on List of New Targets

• US- and Greek-owned tankers ablaze after Iran claims 'underwater drone' strike

  Iran strikes tankers in Iraqi waters and Maersk-operated boxship off key UAE port, dragging more Middle East Gulf states into the conflict. IRAN has claimed responsibility for an attack on two oil tankers anchored in Iraqi territorial waters, as conflicts in the region continue to escalate and strikes on commercial shipping spread beyond the Strait of Hormuz. Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil identified the two vessels as the 73,976 dwt crude oil tanker Safesea Vishnu (IMO: 9327009) and the 50,155 dwt combined chemical and oil tanker Zefyros (IMO: 9515917). Both were struck by what Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB described as an “underwater drone attack” on the evening of March 11, while anchored about five nautical miles south of Basrah. At least one crew member is confirmed dead.

Israel

• Hezbollah fires at least 150 rockets at north, Iran launches missiles in ‘integrated operation’

  An opening salvo of 100 rockets was launched around 8 p.m. as a missile from Iran targeted the central region of the country, in what Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said was a coordinated attack. More Iranian missiles targeted the north and south of the country. The Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted by air defenses, which also worked to thwart the Hezbollah attacks. However, several impacts were reported, causing fires, and two people were lightly injured.

Russia Bad / Ukraine War

• Independent Geophysical Forensic Analysis of the Nordstream Pipeline Sabotage

  n my independent geophysical analysis I identify several independent geophysical signatures of the explosions which characterizes them to lie in the kiloton range, thus ruling out a conventional origin of the explosions and identifying them as mini-nukes.

• Unexplained Moscow internet blackouts spark fears of web censorship plan

China

• China passes new ethnic minority law, prioritises use of Mandarin language

  • China approves 'ethnic unity' law requiring minorities to learn Mandarin

Health / Medicine

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil Linked to Better Brain Function.

• Everyone's new favorite protein bar hit with class-action lawsuit over calories

• Wegovy may have highest 'eye stroke' and sight loss risk of GLP-1 agonists

• Colon cancer now leading cause of cancer deaths under 50 in US

• Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Popular Protein Bar Is Not So Healthy

• When Weight-Loss Drugs Don't Work

Pox / COVID / BioTerror AgitProp

• Scientists Can Finally Explain Rare Blood Clots Linked to COVID Vaccines.

Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda

• Your 401(k) could shrink due to climate risks, a new lawsuit argues

• The Bold Environmental Vision of President Jimmy Carter

• Do Middle‑earth and Westeros make sense? Climate scientists modelled them

• An odd-nosed crocodile ate our prehistoric ancestors

• Why Does the United States Have So Many Tornadoes?

• California startup's plan to sell sunlight at night sparks controversy

• 'A sobering preview': Extreme heat now affects one in three people globally

• In Criminal Cases, Moss Is Often Underfoot and Overlooked