All good suggestions, and I cannot emphasize the unemployment benefits application enough. Those applications can take time to get approved and may require some pestering on your part to keep the unemployment office moving, so the sooner you file (preferably same day) the better off you are.

Even if you have money saved and are hoping to not need unemployment before you find a new job, apply anyway. You’re entitled to benefits just like everyone else, and with the current craziness of the world right now that extra cushion could come in handy in a few months.

I have timers for my aquarium lights. They turn on and off at specified times each day so I don’t accidentally leave them on all night and get a ton of algae growing everywhere.

That was an interesting watch, thanks for sharing! I had a laugh when he said the Flaggy Flag rebels now have control of the subreddit.

I agree with your frustration about how the podcast ended. I get that listeners weren’t owed anything and that it was a very Grey way to go, but it just felt rude. At least we got an official announcement when Cortex said Grey was going on hiatus (and one that every HI listener knew how to interpret), but the lack of videos on his main channel over the last year is just plain odd.

Nevertheless, I hope this is all simply Grey being impolite and not, like, health problems or anything.

Hello Internet

Technically a podcast, but I listened to the YouTube version for whatever reason and occasionally go back for my favorite episodes.

Not on YouTube that I’ve noticed, but she still posts on Nebula.

Thank you for finding the link! I’ve no doubt Google will fight for as long as they can, but hopefully the German courts will hold their ground.

I’m far from an expert, but I feel like this is one of the limiting factors of LLMs - they have no sense of broader context. Truth vs. lie, outdated info vs. something that’s old but still correct… I’m not sure there’s ever going to be an LLM (at least one built in the way they are now) that will be good at actually producing correct responses. Maybe one day we’ll find a new way of achieving that goal, but I suspect what we’re seeing now isn’t going to be it.

As funny as this is (and I do find it funny), it’s also concerning on a wider level. A good number of people trust these AI summaries; they shouldn’t, but they do. And if it’s this easy to poison the AIs, imagine how easy it is for someone with an actual agenda to mislead people in ways that aren’t as fantastical and quickly spotted.

I seem to recall reading recently that a court in Germany wanted to hold Google accountable for the content of its AI summaries. (Someone correct me if I’m wrong, please.) If companies are going to shove these models in people’s faces they should absolutely be responsible for the results. If your model can’t tell fact from fiction, stop publishing - and promoting - it as fact.

I’ve done remote call center work in the past and have friends who’ve worked for a few others, and they were all technical support rather than sales work. Granted, some may want you to try to upsell services as you’re troubleshooting, but it’s not a true sales role.

As for the insurance places - yeah, those are basically all sales from what I understand. I’ve never worked for one myself, though, so I can’t confirm what the experience is like.

If neither of those options appeal and you don’t like the variability of the others I listed, I’d recommend searching for “remote entry-level work” and seeing the types of things that pop up. I personally prefer sites like Hiring Cafe over places like LinkedIn or Indeed for searching because there aren’t as may scams, but make sure to check the company out thoroughly before you apply regardless of the platform you’re using.

If your disability is such that you’re able to work so long as you can work from home, there are entry-level roles for several industries that can be done remotely. I have no idea of your background, but call centers and places that sell insurance over the phone are pretty much always hiring (the work’s no fun, imo, but it’s work).

If you’re completely unable to work and are on disability, I’m unsure what the rules are around making money while receiving benefits. I’d recommend looking into that if you haven’t already so you don’t accidentally cross a line somewhere and end up losing benefits.

If you’re truly looking to just make some spare cash (and it won’t cause any issues like I mentioned before), you’ve got a few options depending on your skills and what you consider “decent pocket change.” Off the top of my head:

• Online tutoring: Can be good money depending on the company and whether you’re able to build up a solid customer base, but highly variable.
• Survey sites: You’re never going to get rich and you’ll give a lot of data away, but I’ve known people who do this for Christmas money or to help with groceries or something. Some sites/apps are more reputable than others.
• Transcription services: Also never going to make you rich, but it’s an option. Don’t be fooled by the places advertising $15/hour - that’s per audio hour, and a single hour of audio takes multiple hours to transcribe.
• Hobbies: This is completely dependent on you and what you’re good at, but if you’re an artist maybe you could earn enough of a social media following to start taking commissions. If you’re crafty, maybe an Etsy store.

I recently watched a Joe Scott video about Love Has Won, which isn’t a cult I’ve had any direct experience with but was an interesting video to watch nonetheless. I saw it on Nebula, but it looks like he’s got a YouTube version too for those interested: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uxapSQdpFYE

Any recommended brands/models for the pillow? I’ve never heard of such a thing, but it sounds incredible.

In recent years there’s been a shift from “white/black list” to “allow/block list” in an effort to avoid the stereotypes associated with those terms. I wouldn’t say it’s the new norm yet, but it’s slowly becoming more popular.