Hello.
I have awoken from the world of dreams.
Because stuff has happened.
So what's up?
Hey, um, heads up if you're in New York a few hours ago.
Don't be at 41st and 10th Ave.
Cause a crane fell there.
A big old construction crane caught fire and crashed into buildings and into the street.
Yikes.
That is legitimately a fear that I have around construction sites.
Yay anxiety.
There have been very thankfully no injuries reported at time of recording.
I hope that stays true.
That'd be a miracle.
So yeah, if you are in New York several hours ago, don't get hit by a flaming crane.
GG.
Well played Teamsters.
The Teamsters Union has won big on negotiations with UPS, avoiding a strike and getting most
of their desired stuff from the contract.
It's very notable that at any moment UPS could have done this.
It's not like they couldn't do this.
They just didn't want to.
Until the workers collaborated and demanded more.
So while this company could have actually had the backs of their employees, they actively
decided to not do that.
And so here's what the employees get now.
Part time wages will be no lower than $21 an hour.
Wage increases across the board with the top average rate being around $49 an hour.
They're actually going to get MLK day off.
They didn't have that before.
Oh and delivery vehicles get air conditioning.
Doesn't seem like a big ask.
That's just a selection of a whole bunch of stuff they won.
The Teamsters Union put out a big old post saying here's all the details.
I recommend you go read it.
And then unionize.
It was ultimately about a $30 billion win for the workers.
Uh just some pocket change.
For real though that's $30 billion that UPS was previously like nah the workers don't
deserve this.
This is fine we're just going to keep this over here.
$30 billion with a B. That they just had in their budget.
That they just didn't give to the workers who produced the value.
Business.
Your thoughts are mine now.
Sorry.
So technology is advancing a lot right?
And we've got stuff like Elon Musk wanting to put a chip in your brain that's probably
not going to kill you.
But there's actual researchers and actual scientists who are making things happen in
the space of like mind reading.
There are actual ongoing research projects that have successfully transcribed human brain
activity into text.
Decoding thoughts.
And so there's a whole bunch of scientists and ethicists and policy makers who are like
what do we do about this?
Now on the one hand this could have huge medical implications right?
If you have a severe illness that renders you incapable of communication this could
be a way for you to communicate.
It's incredible.
On the much larger other hand literally every other use case for this is dystopian and horrifying.
Now to be clear we are not in a situation where somebody can point a thought stealing
gun at you and steal your thoughts.
That's not how it works.
It's a very invasive thing and it's not even all that particularly accurate.
But it's happening.
This is a very good example of why tech regulation being ahead of the curve is very important.
Cause I don't know about you but I've got a lot of thoughts in my head that I don't
want to share.
Writers and Actors Guild Strike Watch.
And strong you glorious thespian.
So first there was a rally in New York City and Bryan Cranston led a pretty awesome speech.
Here is a quote.
Quote, we will not have you take away our right to work and earn a decent living.
And lastly and most importantly we will not allow you to take away our dignity.
End quote.
So that's pretty dope and meanwhile Dwayne actuallyarockjohnson donated a seven figure
sum to the relief fund for the striking worker.
These funds help the striking workers cover basic rent and food and living expenses because
their employers won't do that.
On this day in 1951 Disney premiered Alice in Wonderland in London.
Two days later it premiered in the US but they did it in London first.
Haha.
I don't know what the haha was for.
Also relating to this release the marketing executives at Disney had this really interesting
idea.
They were going to use the new advent of television to promote the release.
They were like what if we did a television what do we call it maybe a television special
about the movie.
And then like several marketing executives just started foaming at the mouth and collapsed
under excitement.
And they were like oh my god this is a whole new world.
It's a little old Disney reference for you.
Lightning round.
While trying to remove the Twitter sign from the now ex office Elon Musk was stopped because
he didn't have a permit and was blocking traffic.
And what the fuck.
The EU has passed a law that requires electric vehicle charging stations to be no more than
60 kilometers apart from each other along the roads.
It also requires these charging stations have tap to pay and don't require a subscription.
That's some fucking policy.
More regulation that prevents me having to deal with more subscriptions.
Thank you.
Ocean water temperatures in Florida have clocked in at over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit.
That's 37 Celsius.
The lawsuit between Elon Musk and the SEC where the SEC is suing Musk for market manipulation
over tweets he made.
That's going to the Supreme Court.
This now actually has a chronological feed of posts from the people that you follow.
Incredible technology.
The new CEO of X has teased that X will eventually support banking and be powered by AI.
Tick tock now supports text posts because everyone's got to have text posts.
Genuinely though I think I'm probably going to use those text posts in like my story or
something on Tick Tock just to post random updates.
I don't know.
It's a weird feature.
Quick tangent.
I'm sorry.
I can see this actually being a pretty interesting feature if the text posts could have like
their own for you page, like their own feed.
That would be kind of cool.
As they stand right now, they're just kind of weird.
In the small town of Raymondville, Texas, everyone is out looking for a lost goat.
It's a rodeo goat that is lost and they're all searching like it's little Sebastian.
The price of chocolate is going to go up because a lot of places that grow chocolate are currently
dealing with flooding because climate change.
Yeehaw.
And finally for today, Spotify is increasing its premium plan pricing just across the board.
Just like a few bucks here, a few bucks there.
That's what they do.
Subscription services and slowly raising the price until you are paying $20 a month and
you didn't even realize it.
Name a more iconic duo.
Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of Stuff Keeps Happening.
Head to Stuff Keeps Happening.
Go online for sources, bonus content and high end expensive and rare art projects by yours
truly.
My name is Endeavorance.
I'll be back on Friday.
Take care and be well.