Does the idea of humanlike machines or machinelike humans freak you out? Maybe, but if we want to stay relevant in the face of the coming robot revolution, Elon Musk says we’ll have to become more cyborg-like. [More]
resistance is futile
Elon Musk: Humans Need To Merge With Machines To Avoid Becoming Irrelevant
By 2.13.17 — Updated: 2.14.17
Girl Scouts Charging More Per Box Of Cookies In Some Areas Because They Know You Can’t Resist
By 2.2.15
Let’s face it: You want those Girl Scout cookies. Those Girl Scout cookies are going to be yours, and there’s nothing anyone can do to keep you from them. That’s why some cities might be seeing price hikes on Thin Mints and Samoas this year, as certain local councils adjust their prices for inflation. Because they can. [More]
Do Not Even Try To Escape Starbucks
By 5.17.10
The Seattle’s Best onslaught was just the beginning. Starbucks is ramping up efforts to make sure that, wherever you go, there it is (not that the brand was particularly difficult to come by before, but whatever). This includes making its Via instant coffee more widely available, and selling flavored coffee in supermarkets, all to bump up its share of the brewed coffee market from its current level of just 5%. [More]
Now Geek Squad Is Optimizing Girl Scouts
By 5.10.10
We applaud the idea of teaching kids how to use technology more effectively, so we’ll assume that Geek Squad Summer Academy, which teaches Girl Scouts and other youngsters “the basic components of technology through fun, engaging, and informative activities not likely found in a traditional school setting,” is a great program, and not an insidious plot to get them to go home and start optimizing their parents’ computers at the end of the summer. Then again, we bet the margin on those $39.99 tune-ups are better than what the girls make hawking cookies. [More]
MBNA Refuses To Appear For Binding Arbitration, May Still Prevail
By 8.11.07
Elizabeth Warren, the doyenne of consumer debt, received a frank email from a lawyer that shows the anti-consumer bias of binding arbitration. The lawyer was attempting to arbitrate a dispute with MBNA, a difficult task complicated by the bank’s refusal to participate.
