Total game changer

October 7, 2024

Total game changer: Google’s NotebookLM AI is going viral. Audio Overviews turns written content into a conversational podcast style between two bots. Really, it sounds like humans. There’s a natural cadence with filler words like “uh” and “oh.” Try it: Sign in to your Google Account, go to the NotebookLM website, upload a doc or link, and hit Generate. Prepare to be shocked — I was.

Tags: AI (artificial intelligence), Google, Google NotebookLM

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A small town in Texas will soon house the world’s biggest bitcoin mine

Corsicana, Texas is a small town an hour away from Dallas. They kicked off the oil boom in the South 130 years ago, turning their land into a money-making machine. Today, it’s the kind of dreary town you don’t stop in because there’s nothing memorable.

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Your phone’s dirty little secret

True or false: If your phone’s got all four reception bars lit up and it’s displaying the 5G symbol, you’ve got A+ service.

The answer? False. When you see “5G,” all it means is there are 5G connections nearby. Whether you’re on that network is another story. I know, eye roll. Cell service bars don’t mean much, either.

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$12,000 to $800,000

Range in value of the watches in Tom Brady’s collection. They’ll be auctioned off by Sotheby’s. The white gold and diamond watch he wore during his Netflix special, “Greatest Roast of All Time,” is the hot ticket, and it’s expected to go for $400,000 to $800,000. Yeah, I hear you — my $30 Timex does the same thing.

$157 billion valuation

For ChatGPT maker OpenAI. They just raised $6.6 billion in funding. Some of the biggest investors include Thrive Capital, Microsoft, Nvidia and SoftBank. This surprised me: OpenAI expects to lose $5 billion in 2024. They have a heck of a lot of Nvidia GPUs to buy to power their models.

$400 million

Pink Floyd’s payout for selling the rights to their recorded music, name and likeness. Sony now owns the British rock band’s catalog. I smell a virtual concert coming to a city near you, where you can be comfortably numb. Btw, digital avatars of ABBA do concerts seven days a week in a custom-built London arena with a 3,000-seat capacity. They make $2,000,000 per week!

$575,000 stolen Ferrari

Found, thanks to a pair of AirPods. Thieves took the car in Greenwich, Connecticut. Luckily, the owner had left a pair of AirPods inside, and police tracked the stolen ride down at a gas station. They pulled over the suspects, who then fled the scene and were later captured. Dopes.

293% increase

In e-bike injuries between 2019 and 2022. Scooter injuries were up 88% in that time, too. FYI, injuries from e-bikes are much more likely to lead to a hospital visit than other “micro-mobility” devices like scooters and standard bikes. Just make sure your helmet is MIPS-rated to keep your noggin safe.

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94 years old

Clint Eastwood’s age — and he’s still directing. The trailer just dropped for his newest film, “Juror #2.” It’s a courtroom thriller. (I know, shocker.) Looks good! My goal is to be like Clint when I’m 94.

$1 to buy Dish

DirecTV is looking to buy its rival. If the deal goes through, they’d pay just $1 and take on Dish’s debt — about $9.75 billion. Why buy Dish? Separately, DirecTV and Dish are screwed. Together, they might be big enough to stand up to the streaming platforms.

45 days of parental leave

Can be transferred to a friend or family member in Sweden. Folks will earn 80% of their salary by looking after their grandkids. Sweden was the first country to allow parental leave, so maybe this benefit will spread to other countries, too. It makes perfect sense!