quote [ The long read: For more than half a century, one organisation has been certifying and cataloguing all of life?s superlatives. But has it gone from being about the pursuit of knowledge to simply another big business? ]

quote [ HomeVestors of America, the self-proclaimed ?largest homebuyer in the U.S.,? trains its nearly 1,150 franchisees to zero in on homeowners? desperation. ]

quote [ It would be difficult to say for certain whether or not pornographers introduced affiliate marketing before Amazon. But at the very least, they developed the programs in tandem. Yet, Amazon is the company historically associated with technological innovation and disrupting e-commerce. Pornography is not. ]

quote [ The collapses of Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank are like icebergs calving off from the Antarctic glacier. The financial analogy to the global warming causing this collapse is the rising temperature of interest rates, which spiked last Thursday and Friday to close at 4.60 percent for the U.S. Treasury?s two-year bonds. Bank depositors meanwhile were still being paid only 0.2 percent on their deposits. That has led to a steady withdrawal of funds from banks ? and a corresponding decline in commercial bank balances with the Federal Reserve. ]

quote [ Founded in 1986, the Basic Income European Network (BIEN) was established to serve as a link between all individuals and groups interested in Basic Income (that is, a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement) and to foster informed discussion on this topic throughout the world. In 2006, BIEN became the Basic Income Earth Network. ]

quote [ Google Ads allegedly submitted two bid prices, unbeknownst to advertisers and publishers, effectively controlling the winning bids and the price floors. To entrench its market power even further, the suit argues Google started manipulating ad prices under a different method, which it dubbed ?Bernanke.? ]

quote [ The most popular items are the ?sesame,? which is used for making cinder blocks, and the ?lentil-like? grind sent to cement-mixing factories. ]

quote [ The New York Times has the most robust online archives of any newspaper, but it?s proving difficult to square their handling of a recent controversy with the quality of those archives. ]

quote [ did you predict My Fat Greek Wedding (surprise!) ? 7,375% recovered ? grossing $369m against a budget of $5m?
[?]
Hollywood [is] so obsessed with horror movies [because] they make a **massive** return on their investment. ]

quote [ The story of the workers who made ChatGPT possible offers a glimpse into the conditions in this little-known part of the AI industry, which nevertheless plays an essential role in the effort to make AI systems safe for public consumption. ]