TheBrett
@thebrett.bsky.social
What's interesting is that there is something behind "Exodus" in real history, although IIRC it was probably a set of different stories imperfectly welded together from migrations fleeing the Nile Delta during the Late Bronze Age Collapse.
December 20, 2025 at 3:08 AM
What's interesting is that there is something behind "Exodus" in real history, although IIRC it was probably a set of different stories imperfectly welded together from migrations fleeing the Nile Delta during the Late Bronze Age Collapse.
The weather is bizarrely warm for mid December here in the Salt Lake Valley. It’s almost 50 degrees F at 9:30 pm at night, almost four hours after the Sun has gone down
December 19, 2025 at 4:28 AM
The weather is bizarrely warm for mid December here in the Salt Lake Valley. It’s almost 50 degrees F at 9:30 pm at night, almost four hours after the Sun has gone down
It's funny what things stick in your brain. Every so often, I remember the Arcade Victory Cinematics for Shao Khan, Kung Lao, and Jax from one of the later Mortal Kombat games and chuckle.
December 17, 2025 at 1:29 AM
It's funny what things stick in your brain. Every so often, I remember the Arcade Victory Cinematics for Shao Khan, Kung Lao, and Jax from one of the later Mortal Kombat games and chuckle.
It might not be as visible to other folks since the Wasatch Front is sort of ground-zero for this, but there's been multiple attempts to massively grow a new fast food chain in the wake of Crumbl's heavy expansion. For most of them, it hasn't worked - some just outright imploded, like Dirty Bird.
December 16, 2025 at 7:19 AM
It might not be as visible to other folks since the Wasatch Front is sort of ground-zero for this, but there's been multiple attempts to massively grow a new fast food chain in the wake of Crumbl's heavy expansion. For most of them, it hasn't worked - some just outright imploded, like Dirty Bird.
It's a pity Macauley Culkin retired from acting, because "Die Hard" and "Home Alone" are owned by the same studio. We could have had a sequel crossover where McClane teams up with an adult Kevin McAllister, who does the traps - but since it's an R-rated action flick, they're all bone-crunching.
December 14, 2025 at 1:10 AM
It's a pity Macauley Culkin retired from acting, because "Die Hard" and "Home Alone" are owned by the same studio. We could have had a sequel crossover where McClane teams up with an adult Kevin McAllister, who does the traps - but since it's an R-rated action flick, they're all bone-crunching.
I mentioned that Orbital Data Centers was a play to superboost SpaceX stock when it goes public next year, but there’s another reason - he can use it as an excuse to funnel more SpaceX funding and resources to xAI
December 11, 2025 at 8:08 AM
I mentioned that Orbital Data Centers was a play to superboost SpaceX stock when it goes public next year, but there’s another reason - he can use it as an excuse to funnel more SpaceX funding and resources to xAI
We're probably going to see a LOT more hype and talk about Orbital Data Centers now that A)Musk has endorsed the idea and B)SpaceX is probably going to IPO next year.
December 10, 2025 at 8:23 AM
We're probably going to see a LOT more hype and talk about Orbital Data Centers now that A)Musk has endorsed the idea and B)SpaceX is probably going to IPO next year.
I think BYU got a worse deal than Utah in the bowl selection despite a better record. They’ve got to go play in the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando 2 days after Christmas, while the U gets to play in Vegas on New Year’s Eve and then celebrate New Years in Vegas afterwards
December 8, 2025 at 7:40 AM
I think BYU got a worse deal than Utah in the bowl selection despite a better record. They’ve got to go play in the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando 2 days after Christmas, while the U gets to play in Vegas on New Year’s Eve and then celebrate New Years in Vegas afterwards
A key thing to always keep in mind when you see posts about marriage and fertility is that the marriage rate for degree-holding women has basically not changed on average in almost 80 years.Whereas with non-college educated women it has been declining that whole period. www.axios.com/2025/01/31/m...
Marriage rates for women without college degrees are falling
The drop-off in marriage rates for women without degrees has everything to do with their male counterparts, researchers say.
www.axios.com
December 7, 2025 at 7:45 PM
A key thing to always keep in mind when you see posts about marriage and fertility is that the marriage rate for degree-holding women has basically not changed on average in almost 80 years.Whereas with non-college educated women it has been declining that whole period. www.axios.com/2025/01/31/m...
Amazon actually brought the original way to review reviews by star again back! Thanks goodness - their attempt at totally curated reviews (such that I couldn't even search for 4-star reviews on products anymore) really sucked.
November 29, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Amazon actually brought the original way to review reviews by star again back! Thanks goodness - their attempt at totally curated reviews (such that I couldn't even search for 4-star reviews on products anymore) really sucked.
I'm not usually a fan of Mike Flanagan's penchant for monologuing in his mini-series on Netflix, but there's a scene on a beach in episode 2 of "Midnight Mass" where it really works to make a character seem as annoying as hell in a realistic way.
November 29, 2025 at 4:47 AM
I'm not usually a fan of Mike Flanagan's penchant for monologuing in his mini-series on Netflix, but there's a scene on a beach in episode 2 of "Midnight Mass" where it really works to make a character seem as annoying as hell in a realistic way.
It looks like Musk might be back in Trump's orbit again. Presumably mutual need - Trump needs Musk to splash tons of money since 2026 isn't looking so hot for Republicans in elections, Musk needs Trump to give him favorable contracts for his AI startup with the federal government
November 27, 2025 at 7:52 PM
It looks like Musk might be back in Trump's orbit again. Presumably mutual need - Trump needs Musk to splash tons of money since 2026 isn't looking so hot for Republicans in elections, Musk needs Trump to give him favorable contracts for his AI startup with the federal government
Three Year anniversary of Andor's season 1 finale. There are some good speeches in that show, but Maarva's speech is still my favorite. "There is a wound that won't heal at the center of the galaxy. There is a darkness reaching like rust into everything around us. We let it grow, and now it's here."
November 24, 2025 at 1:17 AM
Three Year anniversary of Andor's season 1 finale. There are some good speeches in that show, but Maarva's speech is still my favorite. "There is a wound that won't heal at the center of the galaxy. There is a darkness reaching like rust into everything around us. We let it grow, and now it's here."
The key to buying on Amazon is to only look at the 4 star reviews. The 5 star reviews are frequently gamed and spammed, but the 4 stars are “I liked it but . . .” and usually have a lot of useful info about flaws. If something comes up repeatedly there, you know it’s an issue with it
November 23, 2025 at 7:59 PM
The key to buying on Amazon is to only look at the 4 star reviews. The 5 star reviews are frequently gamed and spammed, but the 4 stars are “I liked it but . . .” and usually have a lot of useful info about flaws. If something comes up repeatedly there, you know it’s an issue with it
Ukraine probably is going to lose land in a peace deal, but they need something more than a "security guarantee" in exchange - they need NATO troops along the border to ensure Russia abides by the deal (assuming Ukraine would be okay with that as well).
November 23, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Ukraine probably is going to lose land in a peace deal, but they need something more than a "security guarantee" in exchange - they need NATO troops along the border to ensure Russia abides by the deal (assuming Ukraine would be okay with that as well).
Some of the screen-free parenting stuff makes me nervous. Anyone over 55 in the US was raised “screen-free” except for TV - do they seem like they have a predominantly healthy attitude towards social media and the internet? They fry their brains on it
November 22, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Some of the screen-free parenting stuff makes me nervous. Anyone over 55 in the US was raised “screen-free” except for TV - do they seem like they have a predominantly healthy attitude towards social media and the internet? They fry their brains on it
Utah’s defense is just awful today. Tons of mistakes
November 22, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Utah’s defense is just awful today. Tons of mistakes
You can tell how quota-driven the deportations are, by the fact that when people here offer to self-deport for the payout and to avoid the hassle of arrest, they're often just left hanging for months or more. Once they can't be a quota arrest, ICE isn't interested in getting rid of them anymore.
November 15, 2025 at 12:50 AM
You can tell how quota-driven the deportations are, by the fact that when people here offer to self-deport for the payout and to avoid the hassle of arrest, they're often just left hanging for months or more. Once they can't be a quota arrest, ICE isn't interested in getting rid of them anymore.
There might be one "win" in this deal, and that's the SNAP funding extension to September. Cold comfort for the folks who might lose their health care, but something.
November 10, 2025 at 12:52 AM
There might be one "win" in this deal, and that's the SNAP funding extension to September. Cold comfort for the folks who might lose their health care, but something.
Looks like sufficient Democrats are caving on the shutdown fight, for not much in gains. www.axios.com/2025/11/09/s...
Deal to end government shutdown in reach
At least 10 Senate Democrats are expected to support a key procedural motion.
www.axios.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Looks like sufficient Democrats are caving on the shutdown fight, for not much in gains. www.axios.com/2025/11/09/s...
One downside of Congress being dysfunctional is that it's hard to get any new laws dealing with the legal issues around handling sensitive data when it comes to AI passed. There are some records where it is very legally dubious to send them outside of your organization's system to an LLM as of now
November 8, 2025 at 7:24 PM
One downside of Congress being dysfunctional is that it's hard to get any new laws dealing with the legal issues around handling sensitive data when it comes to AI passed. There are some records where it is very legally dubious to send them outside of your organization's system to an LLM as of now
I think it's funny how Zuckerberg is the Big Loser among the Tech Giants. His company is a cash cow that is highly profitable, but he's basically done little beyond maintaining that and wasting tens of billions of dollars on mismanaged Big New Things for the past ten years.
November 8, 2025 at 5:38 AM
I think it's funny how Zuckerberg is the Big Loser among the Tech Giants. His company is a cash cow that is highly profitable, but he's basically done little beyond maintaining that and wasting tens of billions of dollars on mismanaged Big New Things for the past ten years.
Quantian had a good comment on this a while back, but you underestimate the ability of companies to continue going on hype and investment for a long, long time at your own peril. And Musk has a LOT of people highly invested in Tesla, people who will dump more money in when shares are down
November 7, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Quantian had a good comment on this a while back, but you underestimate the ability of companies to continue going on hype and investment for a long, long time at your own peril. And Musk has a LOT of people highly invested in Tesla, people who will dump more money in when shares are down
So a couple things with Musk's trillion dollar pay package. I doubt he'll hit all those metrics, but he'll definitely hit some - and each is worth tens of billions of dollars in stock. My guess would be the market cap, # of robots/robotaxis deployed, and revenue targets. Easiest to manipulate.
November 7, 2025 at 8:57 AM
So a couple things with Musk's trillion dollar pay package. I doubt he'll hit all those metrics, but he'll definitely hit some - and each is worth tens of billions of dollars in stock. My guess would be the market cap, # of robots/robotaxis deployed, and revenue targets. Easiest to manipulate.
Texas Tech might be favored over BYU, but don't underestimate. I'm a Utah fan, but I've followed BYU and they have a habit of pulling off some thrilling upset games against other-favored top teams . . . only to then meltdown and lose by 50 points against some unranked team the next week.
November 5, 2025 at 5:22 AM
Texas Tech might be favored over BYU, but don't underestimate. I'm a Utah fan, but I've followed BYU and they have a habit of pulling off some thrilling upset games against other-favored top teams . . . only to then meltdown and lose by 50 points against some unranked team the next week.