I am always quite fascinated by the rise of dollar stores, especially in the small towns I often visit while traveling the state. I only stopped at one once, in Cattaragus to pick up a supply, and it seemed rather dingy, dark, and not even all that great of value. But I guess when the nearest "big box" or grocery store is 15 minutes away, it probably makes a lot of sense to go there then travel out of town.
Asking for their solidarity in his trade war with China, Donald Trump is urging Americans to boycott Chinese goods and “just buy things at Walmart.” Trump made his request via Twitter, where he told his fellow-citizens that it was their “patriotic duty” to punish China by buying as many goods at Walmart as possible. “If you go to a GREAT AMERICAN STORE like Walmart, you’ll find lots of cheap sportswear, shoes, and other items for you and your family to enjoy,” he tweeted. “What better way to show China that we don’t need their DUMB STUFF!”
There is a gut doctor, and he begs Americans: “Throw out this vegetable now.” This news is accompanied by a different image nearly every time. This morning, the plea appeared at the bottom of an article on Vox next to a photo of a hand chopping up what appears to be a pile of green apples. At other times, it has been paired with a picture of a petri dish with a worm in it. Other times, gut bacteria giving off electricity. The inside of a lotus root. An illustrated rendering of roundworms. The gut doctor’s desperation pops up over and over, on websites like CNN and the Atlantic (and as I said, this one), in what are known colloquially as “chumboxes.” These are the boxes at the bottom of the page that have several pieces of clickbaity “sponsored content” or “suggested reading.” They’re generated by a variety of companies, but the largest two are Taboola ($160 million in funding) and Outbrain ($194 million in funding), both founded in Israel in the mid-aughts.
If you don't want to read the article, apparently that evil gut vegatable is good ol' fashion sweet corn. 🌽 Apparently, it has a lot of sugar in it, and its hard for humans to digest the cellous on the outside of the kernel. But that misses the point of what article is about -- how click bait or chum is becoming a bigger part of the Internet.
I have to say this podcast episode is one of the most hilarious I've heard in a long time.
In an effort to improve confidence in elections, Microsoft announced Monday that it is releasing an open-source software development kit called ElectionGuard that will use encryption techniques to let voters know when their vote is counted. It will also allow election officials and third parties to verify election results to make sure there was no interference with the results.