If you Pay For YouTube Through Apple, You’re Getting Ripped Off

Maybe everybody knows this but me, but if you’re thinking about subscribing to YouTube Premium, do it directly through YouTube and not through the app on your iPhone if you can.

I’ve been considering signing up for a while. Google doesn’t exactly need my money, but I like to support things I find a lot of value in, plus having something I’m listening to interrupted by a three minute diatribe about stuck poop or doorbell cameras or shifty investments while I’m in the shower and can’t do anything about it is pretty frigging irritating. So when a trial offer for Premium popped up on my phone today, I was finally going to go for it.

…

And then I saw the price.

One month free, then $16.99 Canadian per month or $29.99 if you want a family plan, it said. That didn’t sound right. I was expecting something closer to $11 or $12. I knew I had heard those prices somewhere. Turns out I have. On the YouTube website. There, it’s $12.99 per month or $22.99 for a family plan. There’s even an option to pay $129.99 for an entire year if you want to go that route and a $7.99 per month student plan if you qualify for that.

I imagine the difference goes straight into Apple’s pocket since they’re notoriously greedy about anyone selling anything through an app without cutting them in. They don’t need my money either, especially when a much cheaper option exists.

By the way, these family plans that companies sell where the other account holders have to live in your household, can we bugger off with those? That’s garbage. If I’m paying for the accounts, what do you care who I give them to? Just take your money and get on with life.

The Best News Bloopers Of August, 2023


Old man talking here, but why does every basic action and concept need a silly ass buzz word? Quiet quitting instead of just calling it doing your job as though you’re a properly adjusted person, for instance. It’s not even accurate, for Christ’s sake! When not going above and beyond what’s expected of you in return for no extra pay or benefit is considered quitting, things have gone horribly wrong.

And speaking of things going horribly wrong, just wait until you get to the second to last clip in this month’s blooper video and hear what they’re calling treating yourself to nice things now. I don’t want to spoil it, so let’s just say I can’t believe they expected anyone to make it through that story without something like this happening and leave it at that.

Don’t Break The Bank. Food Bank Instead

If you find yourself in Ottawa this summer, do be sure to make some time to visit one of the city’s best dining spots. The Food Bank.

Microsoft took down an article from its sprawling web empire that recommended travelers visit the Ottawa Food Bank on an empty stomach as a tourist attraction in the Canadian capital.
The story, published on MSN and headlined “Headed to Ottawa? Here’s what you shouldn’t miss,” listed 15 places to stop by. Most of the suggestions were pretty sensible, such as checking out the National Gallery of Ottawa, or the Rideau Canal Skateway, the world’s largest ice skating rink stretching nearly five miles long.
One recommendation, however, was particularly half-baked. The Ottawa Food Bank. Yeah, how about going to a food bank on your vacation?
Here’s how that hot location was described in the article, written under the byline “Microsoft Travel”:
The organization has been collecting, purchasing, producing, and delivering food to needy people and families in the Ottawa area since 1984. We observe how hunger impacts men, women, and children on a daily basis, and how it may be a barrier to achievement. People who come to us have jobs and families to support, as well as expenses to pay. Life is already difficult enough. Consider going into it on an empty stomach.
The Windows titan later dumped the page, though you can view it here thanks to the Internet Archive’s irreplaceable Wayback Machine.

Microsoft blamed the entry on human error, which is ever so slightly better than saying that they’ve been secretly letting AI run amok, I guess. Maybe. Possibly. Perhaps. Who even knows? There’s no winning for them here, honestly.

“This article has been removed and we have identified that the issue was due to human error,” a spokesperson said. “The article was not published by an unsupervised AI. We combine the power of technology with the experience of content editors to surface stories. In this case, the content was generated through a combination of algorithmic techniques with human review, not a large language model or AI system. We are working to ensure this type of content isn’t posted in future.”

Might I humbly suggest that part of that work involve ensuring that there are enough people on staff with enough time to, like, read things and stuff? Not as cheap and easy as laying thousands of people off, but likely more productive in the long run assuming the goal is to be any sort of credible news outlet.

There’s an aspect of this food bank thing that’s kind of funny in a vacuum, but we’re not in a vacuum. Over and over again, news organizations are being busted for letting AI make mistakes. Just scroll through the entire article I linked. It has a nice handful of examples. And that’s just a start. As more and more executives figure out that they might be able to wring a few more dollars worth of shareholder value out of letting computers do work that reporters and editors should be doing, this is only going to get worse. Today’s show up hungry to the poor people pantry is tomorrow’s breaking news!” this guy is dead and we’ll lie to prove it.

I realize we’re not getting rid of AI. That’s not even what I’m advocating here. But it would have been nice to be able to believe that there had been even a hint of serious discussion about the ramifications of unleashing it on the public in the ways it has been up to this point. If there was, it’s becoming clearer by the day that nobody who matters listened to any of it. And why would they? There’s no time for that. You can’t be careful when you have to be first. That’s just how society tends to work, sadly. All dollars, not a lot of sense.

According To Wikipedia, A Hamburger, Or Simply Burger, Is A Sandwich Consisting Of Fillings—Usually A Patty Of Ground Meat, Typically Beef—Placed Inside A Sliced Bun Or Bread Roll…


“What if,” said some cheap asshole one morning, “we could find a way to line our pockets even more while not sacrificing our long established commitment to infuriating customers and screwing up orders? And what if, and this is the best part other than the lining our pockets part, we could do those things faster than ever before?”

“Hurrah!!!,” exclaimed all of his cheap asshole friends. “You are a genius, good sir!”

And so it was that Wendy’s decided that what the drive-thru experience needs more than anything else in the whole wide world is AI chatbots!

DUBLIN, Ohio and SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Wendy’s® and Google Cloud today announced an expanded partnership to pilot a groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI) solution,Wendy’s FreshAI, designed to revolutionize the quick service restaurant industry. The technology has the potential to transform Wendy’s drive-thru food ordering experience with Google Cloud’s generative AI and large language models (LLMs) technology.

With 75 to 80 percent of Wendy’s customers choosing the drive-thru as their preferred ordering channel, delivering a seamless ordering experience using AI automation can be difficult due to the complexities of menu options, special requests, and ambient noise. For example, because customers can fully customize their orders and food is prepared when ordered at Wendy’s, this presents billions of possible order combinations available on the Wendy’s menu, leaving room for miscommunication or incorrect orders. Google Cloud’s generative AI capabilities can now bring a new automated ordering experience to the drive-thru that is intended to enhance the experience that customers, employees and franchisees expect from Wendy’s.

In June, Wendy’s plans to launch its first pilot of Google Cloud’s AI technology in a Columbus, OH-area, Company-operated restaurant, using those learnings to inform future expansions to more Wendy’s drive-thrus. The pilot will include new generative AI offerings, such as Vertex AI and more, to have conversations with customers, the ability to understand made-to-order requests and generate responses to frequently asked questions. 
This will all be powered by Google’s foundational LLMs that have the data from Wendy’s menu, established business rules and logic for conversation guardrails, and integration with restaurant hardware and the Point of Sale system. By leveraging generative AI, Wendy’s seeks to take the complexity out of the ordering process so employees can focus on serving up fast, fresh-made, quality food and exceptional service.

Let me know how that removing the complexity from the process thing works out the first time somebody with an accent or a speech impediment shows up. I hope there’s some kind of human summoning failure threshold here or nobody will ever be able to order anything again.

I realize that nobody really wants to work at a drive-thru, but somebody has to, and that somebody really ought not be a computer, I don’t think.

My Job Is Applying For Jobs

Should applicants be paid for job interviews?
Companies should compensate for time and effort, says advocate
On the surface, the idea of paying people to interview for jobs sounds kind of weird, but I don’t think it’s the worst idea, honestly. We aren’t living in the old days anymore when it was a simple come in, talk for a while, maybe show off some skills and then either get the job or don’t proposition. Not every company is like this, but the things they talk about here are things I’ve heard about in real life. Candidates being expected to go in for two or three different interviews and even having to do homework ahead of time or in between. That’s always struck me as more than a little ridiculous, especially in cases where they call a bunch of people back knowing that they have no intention of hiring most of them. If there was a cost attached to wasting so much time, maybe it would encourage employers to be more selective and efficient. And if applicants knew that they would be getting something out of all the hours they’re being expected to put in, there’s more of an incentive for them to take the process seriously. Everybody wins.

Looking for a job can take as much time and effort as actually working, and that has some players in the job market calling for potential employees to be paid for their time.
Consider the amount of effort put into a job application: For every position you apply for, you have to update your resumé or portfolio, plus write a fresh cover letter.
Sometimes prospective workers are also asked to fill out lengthy questionnaires or complete assignments.

And that’s before the interview process — which can involve hours of prep work, multiple meetings and time-consuming appointments.

While searching for work in 2019, Calgary resident Roslie Main was called in for 20 interviews. She estimates she spent more than 80 hours on them collectively, when preparation and travel time was factored in.

The Sex Here Is Garbage

Peeping through windows at teenagers and a toddler whilst unloading the ‘ol pump-action shotgun is a pretty bad thing to get arrested for, but I’m more interested in what Greg Verellen was picked up for a few months before that.

According to Stratford police media relations officer Const. Darren Fischer, the two previous charges stem from a dumpster fire allegedly set by Verellen on the night of Jan. 19. Fischer said Verellen was caught on security camera reportedly setting the initial fire, which was quickly extinguished by Stratford firefighters. Then, after midnight on Jan. 20, Verellen returned to the dumpster and allegedly tried to reignite the fire before jumping inside and allegedly masturbating, all of which Fischer said was again captured on security camera.

I don’t always have the best memory, but I’m pretty sure that unrolling the hose in the middle of a literal dumpster fire is a new one around here.

Yes it was January so warmth may have been a factor and perhaps the meth he was busted with during his later arrest might provide us with a solid clue as to the thought process involved here, but wow.

I hope all concerned can get whatever help they’re likely to need.

Update: Charges in this case were withdrawn. Essentially, the quality of the security video was going to make it hard to prove exactly what was going on and who was doing it.

While the witness who provided the video to police identified the person in the footage as the same man he found on the construction site the next morning, he was not sufficiently familiar with Verellen to identify him as the same person captured on camera, Wilson said.
“Having reviewed that video, your honour, I believe the court would be left in reasonable doubt given the quality of the video and given the witness’s lack of familiarity with Mr. Verellen, aside from seeing him be arrested by police the following day on an unrelated charge,” she said. “He doesn’t describe an indecent act, he doesn’t describe seeing an indecent act and then, having reviewed the video, it’s grainy and he can certainly infer that the person in the state of undress is (Verellen), but it’s not clear exactly what happened.”
Wilson also noted that neither the police officer who responded to the dumpster fire nor the officer who arrested Verellen the next day could identify him as the man in the video.
After listening to Wilson’s explanation, Justice Robert Rogerson agreed to withdraw both the arson and indecent exhibition charges.

United Breaks…Wait, Make That United Brailles Its Cabins

Sorry for the mistake. Bit of a reflex, you understand.

I’m actually shocked it’s taken this long for a U.S. based airline to start rolling out in-cabin braille. The Americans with Disabilities Act has been around for more than 30 years and putting braille on things is one of the simpler improvements you can make, so I just kind of took it for granted that everyone was probably doing it by now. But I also haven’t been on an airplane since 1994, so what do I know? In my defence, though, here in Canada, where the disability regulations are a bit of a mess, you can find braille in many of the train cars. That I know for sure, having just taken Via Rail two weeks ago. Not to mention that when I did fly in the States back in the early 90s you could already get access to a big book of brailled flight safety information in English and Spanish on at least some flights, so brailling everything else feels like a next logical step.

But anyway, here we are in 2023, and United is blazing a much appreciated, yet kind of slow ass trail. Thanks, guys.

United today became the first U.S. airline to add Braille to aircraft interiors, helping millions of travelers with visual disabilities more easily navigate the cabin independently. According to the Department of Transportation, about 27 million people with disabilities traveled by air in 2019.
The airline currently has equipped about a dozen aircraft with Braille markings for individual rows and seat numbers as well as inside and outside the lavatories. United expects to outfit its entire mainline fleet with Braille by the end of 2026.

In addition to adding Braille, United is working with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and other disability advocacy groups to explore the use of other tactile navigational aids throughout the cabin such as raised letters, numbers and arrows.

The Pickle Slicer

Another one that I would have bet money was already here since it’s come through my mail so many times.

Bill had worked in a pickle factory for many years. One night, he confessed to his wife that for a while he had had a very strong urge to stick his penis into the pickle slicer. His wife suggested that he should see a sex therapist to talk about it, but Bill convinced her that he would be too embarrassed and that he could overcome the compulsion on his own.

Several weeks later, Bill came home from work absolutely ashen. His wife could tell right away that something was seriously wrong.

“What’s wrong, Bill?” she asked.

“Remember how I told you that I wanted to put my penis into the pickle slicer?”

“Oh, Bill! You didn’t!”

“Yes, I did.”

“My God, Bill! What happened!?”

“I got fired.”

“No, Bill,” she said. “I mean what happened with the pickle slicer?”

“Oh…she got fired too.”

I Wonder If I Could Get Away With This

This is a really funny story that had better be true. If I find out that the New York Times got hoaxed back in 1908 it’s totally going to ruin my day.

@weratedogs

An absolute legend. 14/10 #weratedogs @ahistoryofdogs

♬ original sound – weratedogs

“Dog a Fake Hero: Pushes Children into the Seine to Rescue Them and Win Beefsteaks.” That might be the greatest article in history. It was featured in the New York Times on February 2, 1908, way back on page 14. That’s a cover story, if you ask me! The dog, who was a Newfoundland, heard a child cry out from the river. He leapt in and pulled them to safety and he was rewarded with a beefsteak. Just two days later another child fell into the same river and was rescued by the same dog. The article states that hardly a day passed by without an unfortunate infant taking an involuntary bath. It began to be suspected that the neighborhood was haunted by a mysterious criminal and a special watch was inaugurated. This is when the truth came out. It was the dog all along. Whenever he saw a child playing at the edge of the stream, he promptly knocked it into the water and then nonetheless promptly jumped into the rescue.