The Whatever logo

The Whatever

Subscribe
Archives
January 11, 2020

The Weekly Whatever: Vulture culture

Quote of the week

“I give up my salary – it’s $450,000, approximately $450,000 presidential salary – I give it up, it goes to – usually I give it to drugs, I give some to Elaine sometimes for transportation”

— Donald Trump

Woodpecker engineering

  • Midwest farmers buying 40 year old tractors to avoid modern software and DRM which prevents unauthorized maintenance.

  • Boeing engineer described the 737MAX as “designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys”.

  • Boeing 737 NG screens go blank if the autopilot is directed to approach particular runways.

  • Software given quick lazy fixes for Y2K fails in 2020.

Wait, what?

  • Strip club gives tents to the homeless.

Dystopia technologica

  • New breed of PR firms will “use every tool and take every advantage available in order to change reality according to our client’s wishes”.

  • US government starts collecting DNA from immigrants temporarily held while crossing the border.

  • New surveillance startup selling cameras hidden in gravestones, child car seats and vacuum cleaners.

  • 23andMe sells rights to drug developed using its users’ DNA.

For science!

  • 17 year old NASA intern discovers new extrasolar planet on his third day.

Threat Level Orange

  • Cambridge Analytica worked to manipulate elections in 68 countries.

That’s some mighty fine police work there, Lou

  • 90% of NYPD ‘jaywalking’ tickets go to black or hispanic pedestrians.

Well, fancy that!

  • Captain of ICE detention center was a user of a neo-Nazi web site, and wanted to start a white nationalist group.

We’re fucked

  • Over a billion animals feared dead in Australian wildfires.

Sick, sad world

  • Cities move to ban dollar stores, blaming them for residents’ poor diets.

  • Kids throw snowballs at car, driver shoots them.

  • Iran may have a fleet of Communist killer dolphins.

  • Gwyneth Paltrow selling “This Smells Like My Vagina” candle.

  • Vultures take over Trump border patrol tower.

Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to The Whatever:
Powered by Buttondown, the easiest way to start and grow your newsletter.