Lee Feagin

Follow @leefeagin on Micro.blog.

In Need of a Trusted Source

Found this reel this evening. Here’s what the guy says:

You get the classic line “do your own research”. No, you didn’t do research. You watched content that agreed with you and ignored everything that didn’t. That’s not research. That’s the definition of confirmation bias. Real research is slow. It’s boring. It involves reading things that you don’t fully understand and taking the time to learn them. It involves questioning your own conclusions.

Not to sound too much like Aaron Sorkin speaking through the character of Will McAvoy, but it sure would be nice if we had a news source we could trust to do said research and present the facts that we are too busy or too ignorant (not in a bad way, just in a matter of fact way) to find on our own.

That’s what the news was for. It wasn’t for entertainment. It was to inform the public.

But no, ratings need to win. The almighty dollar needed to win. So now we are stuck in this never-ending everyone-argue-and-yell-about-every-single-point toxic cycle of crap. Where no facts exist. Only viewpoints.

And yes, I ultimately blame CNN (and their 24-hour “news” programming) for this. Because they felt the need to “fill air”, which led to Fox News, which led to everything that has been spawned since.

Sigh.

→ 6:27 PM, Apr 15

Is there a more old rich white woman car than a small to midsize Volvo SUV? I think not.

→ 6:15 PM, Apr 15

It’s been a while since I’ve seen an existing, previously-working stoplight just cease to function. No blinking lights. No sign of any light. Just nothing.

And sure enough, people just ignore it like it wasn’t even there, and chaos ensues.

→ 5:32 PM, Apr 15

Apparently, my driver’s license is good enough to pay my taxes with. But not good enough to vote.

Got it.

We also seem to do just fine by ensuring things are postmarked by 4/15. But we can’t do that for voting.

Got it (again).

→ 10:46 PM, Apr 14

For Entertainment Purposes Only
I was listening to the latest (4/8) Windows Weekly podcast this morning, and Paul (Thurrott) started describing a recent (October 2025) change to Microsoft’s Copilot Terms of Service. I’m glad someone reads these things. I certainly don’t. But what he was describing was so hilarious that I thought he was making it up. So, I went to research.

Microsoft Copilot Terms of Use

Yeah, it’s real. Here are some of my favorite nuggets:
- Copilot is for entertainment purposes only. It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk.
- Copilot tries to give you good answers, but it can make mistakes. Sometimes, the sources Copilot uses may not be reliable, relevant, or accurate, and sometimes, Copilot may give you wrong information. When responding, Copilot may use information it finds on the internet, and we don’t control that content. You might see Responses that seem convincing but are incomplete, inaccurate, or inappropriate.
- We plan to continue to develop and improve Copilot, but we make no guarantees or promises about how Copilot will operate or that it will operate as intended.
- You agree to indemnify us and hold us harmless (including our affiliates, employees and any other agents) from and against any claims, losses, and expenses (including attorneys' fees) arising from or relating to your use of Copilot, including without limitation your use, sharing, or publication of any Prompt, Responses, or Creations, or your breach of these Terms or violation of applicable law.
Really? So, what I’m gathering is that you don’t stand behind what this produces, I shouldn’t trust it because it’s only for entertainment, and when it does produce utterly inaccurate information, you’re totally not liable for it.

Cool.

Look, I grant you that these are the terms of use for individuals. And every other AI company is going to say the same thing. But come on. Every fucking news story I see has something to do with AI and its grandiose (false) promises. It just makes me angry to see all of the marketing (dollars and mindshare) and “see how magical this is” messaging to the unwashed (i.e. the non-technical public) that I want to rip my arm off just so I have something to throw at them.
→ 9:47 AM, Apr 14

The life of a transpondster…

→ 9:15 PM, Apr 13

The new City Connect jerseys just dropped. My favorites are Atlanta’s (yes, a little biased there) and Baltimore’s:

→ 2:13 PM, Apr 11

They could never get him!

I was scrolling through Instagram reels (as I do…also, I should probably stop, but that’s a topic for a different day). I came across a clip from a podcast that I had never heard of before. It’s called Macrodosing (from Barstool Sports). I don’t quite know what kind of show it actually is because this is the only clip I’ve ever seen or heard.

Regardless, in the April 9th episode, the host (who seems to go by Big T (or Big Tennessee) is speaking with Tim Miller (of The Bulwark) about politics and voting. Uh oh.

Yeah, uh oh.

Let me first set the scene with a screen cap. This is from the YouTube episode, so I’m not exaggerating anything.

Yes, over his left shoulder is a big University of Tennessee flag on the wall. To his right is a John Rocker Braves jersey. Yes, that John Rocker.

This is what we’re dealing with.

Back to Instagram clips. Like most clips, it starts with a spicy hot take. This one, from Big T:

Now the Dems could never get me, Tim. No matter what happens, they’ll never get me…lots of other speaking that doesn’t amount to much…I don’t feel there is any common ground anymore between myself and anyone running on a Democratic platform.

Ok, I have no issue with that, actually. People have different beliefs. Different viewpoints. Different outlooks. Cool.

After that nugget, though, Miller attempts to ask him “why?” He wants Big T to articulate why he believes he could never vote for a Democrat (seemingly over a Republican, if not Trump himself). After endless hemming and hawing, he finally drops the old familiar line:

But as an evangelical Christian, I find the current state of the Democratic Party just totally opposed to everything I believe.

Really? Is that right, Big T? The big, bad Democrats and their heathen ways. No self-respecting God-fearing boy would ever vote for no godless Democrat, right?

I just want someone, ANYONE, to follow-up a statement like that with the following:

“And what about the current Republican Party gives you those good vibes about being an evangelical Christian? Is it that bastion of Christian ethics and stewardship, Donald Trump? What teachings of Jesus, who you so longingly cling to as the right way, does a the current Republican Party adhere to? Please, give us some examples. I’ll wait.”

Why can’t anyone ask these people those (seemingly) simple follow-up questions?

It’s just angers me to no end.

→ 3:14 PM, Apr 10

This is from our every-two-year sexual harassment training. I guess dads’ opinions don’t matter so much 🤣

→ 12:48 PM, Apr 10

‘Scary, un-American s—’: Hegseth dragged for invoking God in Iran war press briefing

“Our troops, our American warriors, deserve the credit for this day,” Hegseth said during his media briefing Wednesday morning, a day after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran. “But God deserves all the glory,” Hegseth continued. “Tens of thousands of sorties, refuelings and strikes carried out under the protection of divine providence. A massive effort with miraculous protection. Dude 44 Bravo spoke for all of us: ‘God is good.’”

What the fuck does god have to do with refuelings and missile strikes? Is this the god y’all want to worship? The one wearing the army tactical gear?

What 👏🏻 the 👏🏻 fuck 👏🏻 are 👏🏻 we 👏🏻 even 👏🏻 doing?

→ 12:54 PM, Apr 9

Trump administration orders dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service | Hatch Magazine - Fly Fishing, etc.

The headquarters is going to Utah. Every regional office is being shuttered. The research program is being destroyed.

Sounds like what an out-of-control real estate developer with too much power would do.

FFS.

→ 8:31 AM, Apr 9

There are two days when I am ecstatic that I am no longer on Facebook. Easter and Election Day.

→ 8:46 PM, Apr 5

Caroline is home from college this weekend. We were getting ready to book her flight to Hawaii and we asked for her AMEX card. She handed Jayme the card she thought of as her AMEX card. Turns out it was someone else’s entirely. Where her AMEX card is? Who knows?!?

Thank goodness for card replacement services. And also thank goodness whoever did get her card back (probably from an Athens bar somewhere) hasn’t used it.

→ 11:30 AM, Apr 4

Donald Trump is the creepy, sleazy, car salesman of an uncle you tell your wife and kids to stay away from.

→ 6:42 AM, Apr 2

Douchebag of the day.

→ 5:22 PM, Apr 1

The billionaires made a promise — now some want out | TechCrunch

Not everyone agrees on what “giving back” even means. To the increasingly significant libertarian wing of tech, the entire framework is wrong: Building companies, creating jobs, and driving innovation are the real contributions, and the pressure to layer philanthropy on top is, at best, a social convention; at worst, a shakedown dressed up as virtue.

Few figures capture the current mood quite like Thiel, who never signed the Pledge himself and is no fan of Bill Gates (he has reportedly called Gates an “awful, awful person“). In fact, Thiel tells the Times he has privately encouraged around a dozen signers to undo their commitments, and has even gently pushed those already wavering to make their exits official.

It’s a real wonder why billionaires are under “attack” recently. To them, it’s the 1980’s again. And they fully believe they can make trickle down economics great again.

→ 9:36 AM, Apr 1

Judge orders Trump administration to halt construction of ballroom | AP News

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to suspend construction of a $400 million ballroom it demolished the East Wing of the White House to make space for, barring work from proceeding without congressional approval.

It’s not that hard to find the waste, fraud, and abuse.

→ 9:24 AM, Apr 1

Pete Hegseth’s broker attempted to make defense investments before Iran war

A broker for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to make a large investment in major defense companies in the lead up to the Iran war, according to the Financial Times. The Pentagon has dismissed the report.

Real shocker, that one.

→ 8:13 AM, Mar 31

Just happened upon an artist named GITA singing a song called “All I Ask” (a phenomenal performance in the video, by the way). Apparently, it was an Adele song from 2015 off of her “25” album. Here are the lyrics she sings in this video:

‘Cause all I ask is If this is my last night with you Hold me like I’m more than just a friend Give me a memory I can use Take me by the hand while we do what lovers do It matters how this ends Cause what if I never love again?

That is…so real. And so good.

→ 4:00 PM, Mar 29

This little lizard guy was giving me his best side eye.

→ 9:12 AM, Mar 28

It’s easier to not be disappointed if your hopes are never up in the first place.

→ 12:22 PM, Mar 27

Way ahead of you, bro.

→ 8:18 AM, Mar 27

Been listening to the now 20-year old Dixie Chicks’ hit “Not Ready to Make Nice”.

No reason.

→ 1:14 PM, Mar 26

Isn’t it funny how we can always find funding for ICE (even during a DHS shutdown), but not for the TSA? It’s almost as if that’s on purpose.

→ 9:00 AM, Mar 26

Daring Fireball: ‘A List of Chain Restaurants Whose Names Contain Unusual Structures’

The closest, though, is ShowBiz Pizza Place, a 1980s archrival to Chuck E. Cheese. (Instead of a pizza-cooking rat, ShowBiz had Billy Bob, a pizza-cooking hillbilly bear.)

I always thought Chuck E Cheese was an offshoot of ShowBiz. I didn’t realize it was a rival.

I was today years old, and all that…

→ 8:16 AM, Mar 26

Pentagon seeks $200 billion in extra funds for the Iran war, AP source says | AP News

The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a sizable amount that is certain to be met with questions from Congress, which would need to approve any new money.

We’d do almost anything to not pay for Americans’ healthcare.

→ 10:16 AM, Mar 21

This is just so gross. Gambling at our fingertips is quietly sneaking into every segment of our culture. It is a cancer, in every sense of the word, that has gotten lost in the news due to the revolving shit show that is the Trump administration.

→ 8:03 PM, Mar 18

“This Is Not The Computer For You”

Unrelatedly-ish, it is also really interesting that Apple’s answer to the AI gold rush is a $499 laptop (Neo price w/ educational discount). I don’t know if it suggests that the multi-trillion dollar, multinational corporation that Apple has become retains some institutional memory of what computing used to mean to people, but it’s something.

Agreed

→ 8:35 AM, Mar 17

Daring Fireball: Horace Dediu on Apple Sitting Out the AI Spending Race

Are they stuck in the past by sitting this out, or wisely passing on a mania?

Personally, I think they made the right call. The “Apple is falling behind” and “it’s all Tim Cook’s fault” crowd may disagree.

→ 8:30 AM, Mar 17

The Billionaire Backlash Against a Philanthropic Dream - The New York Times

Over the last two years, there has been a growing backlash from the billionaires who are its target donors. One of its first signers suggested he was “amending” his pledge to account for his for-profit ventures. Another signed it, and then in an occurrence without precedence, unsigned it.

No Oval Office visits anymore: President Trump’s team describes the Pledge as almost a punchline. There’s even a quiet campaign by one pro-Trump tech billionaire to destroy it. Instead of signing up for nonpartisan philanthropy, some billionaires seeking impact are looking for a more direct route, spending more than ever on American elections.

Imagine my surprise.

Why help people when you can hoard everything for yourself and your cronies? Where’s the fun in that?

→ 8:22 AM, Mar 17

I really hate that, in print, it says “Spotify Camp Nou”. It’d be like seeing “Nabisco Wrigley Field”.

→ 12:59 PM, Mar 15

4th time’s a charm!

→ 5:16 PM, Mar 14

Gone are the days when I just show up for a workout and go. There’s at least 10-15 min of warmup for my old ass.

→ 6:04 AM, Mar 12

Even 35 years later, too soon.

→ 8:16 PM, Mar 10

Never thought I’d see the day when my iPad fell into the devil’s space.

→ 4:58 PM, Mar 10

Democracy is dead in the bright light of midday, you fucking boot lickers.

→ 8:05 AM, Mar 10

This is my favorite line of code in our system.

→ 8:34 AM, Mar 9

Real Developers Needed

Here’s a situation where I don’t think plugging this into any of the LLMs is going to help.

We are exploring moving away from Great Plains to Microsoft’s online platform Business Central. In our current workflows, we utilize both GP web services and eConnect API calls. Custom-written middleware, to be sure. Yet, BC doesn’t have the same API calls. Not only that, some of the API calls don’t exist in BC at all. Meaning we have to lean on 3rd party solutions. The one we’re talking with now is very new. And even with them, there will need to be some custom development done to accommodate .

I don’t think AI (I hate that term now) is going to help here. Real engineers and real software developers will be needed to find a solution. So, please, spare me the “we don’t ever need developers again” thought leader rhetoric.

→ 7:22 AM, Mar 9

Do Waymos know each other as they pass by? Do they do some kind of digital wave to each other or something?

→ 6:37 PM, Mar 8

On the most recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, he had entertainment commentator Matt Belloni on discussing the WB/Paramount deal. And in the course of the conversation, Matt stated something we all should be thinking really hard about:

A guy should not make $800 million off of a financial transaction that causes thousands of jobs to be lost. Like, what are we doing?

And yet, here we are. Capitalism is certainly not broken.

→ 1:42 PM, Mar 6

United Airlines can remove you from the plane if you make everyone listen to your music

United Airlines is laying down the law…quietly and without much fanfare. The airline updated its contract of carriage (the rules you agree to when you buy a flight) last Friday, adding a rule that passengers who listen to audio or video without headphones can be kicked off the flight and potentially banned from the airline.

I am so on board with this. Well done, United.

→ 9:37 AM, Mar 6

You can’t make this shit up even if you wanted to. It’s like a Mad Libs game at this point.

→ 9:35 AM, Mar 6

OpenAI’s Altman says defense deal ‘looked opportunistic and sloppy’

Altman shared what he described as a repost of an internal memo on X, saying the company would amend the contract to include new language regarding its principles on topics like surveillance.

That included wording to clarify that “the AI system shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals.”

I, for one, totally believe him.

→ 9:28 AM, Mar 6

A Gift and a Calling

My wife, Jayme, received this lovely note from one of her students yesterday:

I personally want to thank you for everything. You’ve been a phenomenal professor. I was excited to take your class after reading reviews on RateMyProfessor and you did not disappoint. I’ve learned a lot, and much of that can be attributed to your carefully and thoughtfully constructed curriculum and course. I have never seen a professor create such thorough, detailed, and thought-provoking instruction. At the risk of sounding disingenuous, I’m genuinely disappointed that it’s already over. Thank you for everything you’ve done to foster an engaging and educational experience. There are few times in life where you meet someone that has so obviously discovered their gift and calling, and after being your student this semester, I honestly believe that describes you.

You grabbed all the best aspects of studying history (the critical thinking, asking questions, discovering different perspectives, imagining what it would be like to live in these different places and times, recognizing patterns, looking for the deeper lessons, and connecting all this to our own individual lives and future goals) and brought them to the forefront, inviting us not just to memorize dates and names, but to experience “doing” history. This was one of my favorite courses that I’ve taken and I really enjoyed getting to dig in and learn all that I did. I had no idea that world history was such a complex and unique approach to understanding the past. You really gave me an appreciation for this whole subject. This is definitely a class whose lessons will stay with me. Thank you for everything!

Whoever wrote this is spot-on. Jayme is, and has always been, a wonderful teacher. This is what she was born to do. No doubt in my mind.

So proud of her!!!

→ 8:30 AM, Mar 5

Not wrong.

→ 9:41 PM, Mar 4

Realizing that when I’m in “boss mode”, I can sound like a real nerd. Almost like the prototypical white dude nerd. Alas.

→ 9:36 AM, Mar 4

Daring Fireball: ‘Anthropic and Alignment’

I see it as the case against corporatocracy. Who sets our defense policies? Our democratically elected leaders, or the CEOs of corporate defense contractors?

In 2026, there is not a clear answered to this question. And that’s a problem.

→ 8:43 AM, Mar 3

Supreme Court blocks California schools' transgender policy | AP News

The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for California schools to tell parents if their children identify as transgender without getting the student’s approval, granting an emergency appeal from a conservative legal group.

The order blocks for now a state law that bans automatic parental notification requirements if students change their pronouns or gender expression at school.

God forbid we let people live their own lives.

→ 8:33 AM, Mar 3

Michelangelo’s ‘The Last Judgement’ restoration underway | AP News

Vatican Museum officials on Saturday described a simple but important cleaning operation to remove the white film of salt that has accumulated on the fresco thanks to the nearly 25,000 people who pass through the Vatican Museums each day.

My bad.

→ 8:29 AM, Mar 3

A big Happy 19th birthday to my baby boy!

→ 8:36 AM, Mar 2