Pluralistic: Everybody pees (15 Sep 2026)

Today's links

Everybody pees: Even Jeff Bezos.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Zune won't play Microsoft files; Papercraft 1:1 Mustang; Third gender for Aussie passports; France hacked Canada; EC v links; Welcome to Night Vale; University spends librarian's bequest on football scoreboard; Everything is always broken.
Upcoming appearances: Budapest, Edmonton, Boston, South Bend, Hudson, Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Victoria, Ottawa.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Workplace "flexibility" isn't: What the gig economy calls flexibility is just risk-shifting.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: "Alanya to Alanya"; ToS are the internet's biggest lie; Soviet jokes; Fox rapists v gag orders; GBAO is the future; "Fun Family"; Sacklers get to keep the loot.
Upcoming appearances: London, Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Criticizing the everything machine: It slices, it dices, it even makes paperclips!
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Parliament v DRM; Colbert's commencement; Counterfeiting x luxury goods; Joule thief; Lean-back media.
Upcoming appearances: Kansas City, LA, Menlo Park, Toronto, NYC, Edinburgh, South Bend.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

The AI bubble isn't like the internet bubble: No one had to force-feed the web to workers.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Website graveyard; Anti-librarian witch-hunt; Denmark v Marmite; The unnecessariat.
Upcoming appearances: London, Kansas City, LA, Menlo Park, Toronto, NYC, Edinburgh.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Vicky Osterweil's "The Extended Universe": How Disney killed the movies and took over the world.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Zappa v censorship; Chemistry set with no chemicals; Short cons; Mitsubishi's Dieselgate; "Bellwether."
Upcoming appearances: Berlin, NYC, Barcelona, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Process knowledge: We also serve who stand and wash.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Chicken Little; "Anya's Ghost"; Ad-tech's algorithmic cruelty.
Upcoming appearances: Toronto, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Your boss wants to use surveillance data to cut your wages: Tech rights are labor rights (again).
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Arthur C Clarke v Buddhist monks (x DST); Bomb squad v life-size Mario power-ups; Panama Papers; Chinese antitrust; Consumerism v New Jim Crow; Absurd English spelling; Save Netflix! David Cameron's dad v Panama Papers; Trick photos with a giant coin; End-stage capitalism.
Upcoming appearances: Toronto, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Understaffing as a form of enshittification: A way to shift value from workers, patients and shoppers to investors.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Marvel v "superhero"; What's a photocopier?; "Up Against It"; "Medusa's Web"; AI can't do your job; Coping with plenty; "The Shakedown"; Chickenized reverse-centaurs; France v iTunes; Copyfight discipline; Mystery lobbyists; "Where the Axe is Buried"; Free/open microprocessor; Folk models of computer security; Bug-eyed steampunk mask; Academics embracing Wikipedia.
Upcoming appearances: Berkeley, Montreal, London, Berlin, Hay-on-Wye.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Three more AI psychoses: Everybody calm down.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: "Jules, Penny and the Rooster"; Superinjunction; Harper Lee's kids v cheap paperbacks; 3D printed cat battle-armor; Black sf.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.