Today's Reading, by C.S.Lewis. On goodness...

Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. 

The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. 

An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.

From Mere Christianity

British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) rider survey

 

🚨 Got 2 minutes? It could be worth £200! 🚨

The British Motorcyclists Federation wants to hear from riders across the UK.

Complete our quick survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to WIN a £200 motorcycle accessories voucher – perfect timing for Christmas! (apologies we've mentioned "you know what" while we are still enjoying our summer riding 🌲 😂) 

Your feedback helps shape the future of motorcycling, so make your voice count. Take the survey by CLICKING HERE and good luck!

BMF Survey

How headlights got brighter, whiter, and more blinding after dark

 

Every so often, I’ll be piloting some sensor-laden, software-defined press car down a dark stretch of highway when an oncoming driver’s high beams arrive like a targeted retinal strike, an involuntary reminder that modern automotive lighting has entered its own lumen arms race.

Anyone who has driven at night in the last few years knows what I’m talking about: A modern crossover crests a hill in the opposite lane, and the cabin briefly fills with enough cold-white light to suggest a police helicopter has joined traffic. The obvious assumption is that drivers are simply leaving their high beams on more often, but the reality is more complicated. READ MORE...

www.arstechnica.com

New Mexico Court Orders Meta to Pay to Establish $567 Million Fund to Abate Harms to Youth

 

On Thursday, the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, New Mexico issued a decision in the remedies phase of State of New Mexico v. Meta Platforms Inc. The court found Meta's platforms created a public nuisance by contributing to the youth mental health crisis and by facilitating child sexual exploitation. It ordered a range of remedies, including the creation of a $567 million abatement fund to finance various measures intended to address the harms to the public.

“In sum, the Court finds that New Mexico is in the midst of a teen mental health crisis affecting public health and public safety in and throughout the state, and that Meta’s platforms are a significant contributing cause to the crisis,” wrote Chief Judge Bryan Biedscheid in the decision. READ MORE...

www.techpolicy.press

A Child of Hope video: Mary's story

 

Mary is a Child of Hope pupil who, after losing her mum, found herself caring for her younger siblings while still at school. This video follows our welfare team as they visit Mary at home and hear her story. Stories like Mary's are why Child of Hope exists. Our welfare team works hard to make sure no child falls through the cracks — and your kind sponsorship makes that possible.

Call to action: please consider supporting this wonderful Christian charity - by Prayer, donating or sponsoring one of the children. Thank you!

www.childofhopeuganda.org

Debt-laden TalkTalk offloads customers in scramble to raise funds

TalkTalk has offloaded swathes of customers to a start-up rival as it scrambles to raise cash.

The deal to sell 120,000 customers to fledgling provider Rise Fibre marks the latest effort by the debt-ridden broadband provider to shore up its balance sheet. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

It comes as the broadband firm, which was founded by Sir Charles Dunstone, struggles under a £1.4bn debt pile.

TalkTalk secured a £115m lifeline from Ares Management and other shareholders, including £65m in fresh debt, earlier this year.

This was less than 12 months after backers were forced to provide a £235m emergency bailout to avoid a looming debt default.

The deal with Rise Fibre marks the latest whittling down of TalkTalk’s customer base after it reached an agreement to sell 29,000 subscribers to Utility Warehouse for £5m earlier this year.

Is TalkTalk currently your Internet Service Provider? If so - do not wait for the inevitable to happen. Contact Donline about moving to a quality ISP. 

www.telegraph.co.uk

The OpenAI Bubble

Ed Zitron Writes: How much do you trust Sam Altman? The stock market and (to some extent) the global economy rests on your answer.

You see, OpenAI has become one of the largest liabilities in recent economic history. You can argue that OpenAI’s no longer the focal point of the AI bubble — you can talk all you want about open source models or Anthropic or any number of other elements — but without OpenAI, the AI industry doesn’t exist, and the justification for trillions of dollars of capex evaporates. 

The AI bubble isn’t a result of any actual return on investment — whether that be in purely monetary terms, like revenue or profitability , productivity gains, or anything tangible or measurable. Rather, it’s an episode of cult-like psychosis that infected the brains of some of the most powerful and wealthy individuals and institutions, where the powerful mythology of a company inspired — and been used to inspire — the greatest capital misallocation in history. READ MORE...

www.wheresyoured.at