🚨 BREAKING: SpaceX Colossus-1 data center in Tennessee shows NO significant rise in air pollution or surface temperature, according to a University of Memphis satellite study. Gas turbines began operating September 1st, 2024.

As an influencer (often known as one fairly critical and seldom invited to events from any brand, much less Apple), let me put it this way: Are there influencers that are not journalistic in their approach and hold back criticism for fear of losing access? Yes. Is it my perception that Apple leverages an overwhelming number of these influencers to massage the narrative in their favor? No. While no influencer’s employment is bound to “journalistic integrity,” it’s unfair to suggest that there aren’t a huge number of creators that put moral honesty above all else. Michael Fisher, Dave2D, and many other creators are famously *not* Apple users and have previously had rather harsh criticism of the brand, and yet, they were both invited in September. Apple has done a better job than probably any other company I can think of at maintaining a healthy balance of traditional domestic media, foreign media, large-and-midsized “creators” as well as smaller and fledgling new-media creators and at no point have I seen unfair criticism of them result in the revocation of access. And I say that as someone who has never been invited. A final note, I have spent a lot of time with traditional journalists and the notion that they are somehow inherently more knowledgeable or trustworthy is laughable. I lost all respect for a highly-regarded automotive journalist who told me in a few words that if “[automaker] was hoping I’d spare some kind words for [unexciting car], putting me in a run-of-the-mill Marriott wasn’t going to do it.” Now if his EIC found out would he face repercussion? Probably. And an influencer that’s self-employed wouldn’t. But generally speaking, I think the onus is on the reader/viewer to determine the credibility and honesty of the journalist/creator, just as it ever was. Other brands have rather explicitly stopped inviting creators (or entire categories) that have shared harsh words about them or their products *ahem* mountain view *ahem* but Apple isn’t one of those brands, lest I can see.

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🚨ICYDK: A Texas police department that made national headlines after arresting a mother over a Facebook post criticizing her town’s dirty water has now been ordered to disband by the state.😳 The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement found that the Trinidad Police Department failed to meet minimum law-enforcement standards and was unable to provide evidence that the agency provided a “public benefit” to the community. Investigators also found the department was missing 18 required policies, including guidelines involving use of force, vehicle pursuits, professional conduct and active-shooter situations. The department came under intense scrutiny after Jennifer Combs was arrested and spent a night in jail in May after a Facebook post raised concerns about bacteria and problems with Trinidad’s drinking water. The felony charge against her was later dropped, while environmental officials ultimately confirmed problems with the city’s water system. Now, the state has stripped Trinidad of its ability to operate its own police department, with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office expected to handle law enforcement coverage for the small Texas community.

Joe Lonsdale: “These companies should be held extremely liable for any damage they do. We shouldn't be putting regulators in. They're just going to get captured... The right should be against regulation, but for liability to hold companies accountable.”

Yesterday I took my first unsupervised Robotaxi in 3 months and the car got stuck in an infinite loop at pickup It looped two times and failed to pull over at the original pin, looped again and failed on the auto adjusted pin, then it adjusted to another pin and failed to pull over again. After looping there it adjusted again to another pin even further away and finally pulled over. I waited for 20 minutes watching it circle around the block. I think this might be a new worst pickup in an AV for me, certainly not a great customer experience Other thoughts from my rides yesterday/today: - availability has been great, 15 mins or less every time I've opened the app - super quiet and smooth, no AV is even close - nothing beats the Tesla infotainment experience: amazing audio quality, very responsive, and fully featured media apps - almost never can edit destination (even minor pin edits next to each other): the same error message about end of vehicle service. the odd thing is when I cancel and rebook at corrected pin I get matched to the same car - lot of other random papercuts: one car I was logged out of my profile on both trips, another the audio seemed to be directed toward the rear, one where eta to pickup stalled because car was stuck in apartment complex dead end I think my takeaway is the same as it was three months ago. Robotaxi has the highest highs and the lowest lows of AVs. The floor has definitely risen though (the service is actually usable now), and excited to see things continue to move in a positive direction