Friday Night Open Thread: Never Underestimate Technology

I thought driver-less cars would only kill you and drive through active crime scenes when they’re not supposed to. I didn’t foresee this:

Runaway Waymo that dropped passenger at California airport is every traveler’s worst nightmare: ‘It’s not my mistake’
New York Post | May 1, 2026 | Nina Joudeh

A Bay Area businessman’s first ride in a driverless Waymo turned into an airport nightmare when the robotaxi allegedly sped off with his luggage still locked in the trunk — leaving him stranded without clothes, work materials, or answers before a flight to San Diego.

Di Jin said his Monday trip from Sunnyvale to San Jose Mineta International Airport went smoothly until he arrived at the terminal and tried to retrieve his suitcase.

“I pressed the trunk open button, tried to get my luggage, but it doesn’t do anything, and it drives away immediately,” Jin told NBC.

The stunned passenger immediately contacted Waymo customer service, only to be told the autonomous vehicle was already heading back to its depot and could not return.

One Waymo to another: “Have you any Grey Pupon?”

Other Waymo: “No, just some Di Jin.”

But this raises the question: What if you’re in Death Valley and ask the Waymo to wait a minute while you hop out and take a photograph — but you take two minutes?

I sense another screenplay coming on!


 

Science Nook

A meter is defined by taking the fixed numerical value of the speed of light in vacuum c to be 299,792,458 when expressed in the unit m/s, where the second is defined in terms of the cesium frequency ΔνCs (the unperturbed ground-state hyperfine transition frequency of the cesium 133 atom).

And now you know how far a meter is.

A foot is the length of some king’s foot.


 


 

Welcome to IMAO! If You Think You’ve Had a Bad Day, Think Again

Man cooked to death in oven with tuna in accident

________________ was performing maintenance in a 35-foot (11-meter)-long oven at the company’s Santa Fe Springs plant before dawn Oct. 11, 2012, when a co-worker, who mistakenly believed Melena was in the bathroom, filled the pressure cooker with 12,000 pounds (5,440 kilograms) of canned tuna and it was turned on.

Source


 

Bond Girlathon Friday : Results from 5/1/2026 : New Matches for 5/8/2026

T.G.I.F.

Results from 5/1/2026

Rachel GrantNo PreferenceValerie Leon
113751

Margaret NolanNo PreferenceTrina Parks
19608

New Matches for 5/8/2026

(7) Ursula Andress (Honey Ryder) vs (12) Honor Blackman (Pussy Galore)

ContestantRecordTotal Scores
(7) Ursula Andress5 – 1 – 0968 – 8 – 395
Honey Ryder

Actress:Ursula Andress
Nationality:Swiss
Bond Movie:Dr. No (1962)

Synopsis:

Honey Ryder dazzled cinema audiences, stepping out of the Caribbean sea wearing a white bikini with a large hunting knife at her side. She proved to be immensely popular with fans and set the tone for all Bond girls to come.

Ursula Andress

VS

ContestantRecordTotal Scores
(12) Honor Blackman5 – 1 – 0762 – 14 – 399
Pussy Galore

Actress:Honor Blackman
Nationality:English
Bond Movie:Goldfinger (1964)

Synopsis:

The evocatively named Pussy Galore was an original Ian Fleming character from the novel. Ms. Galore ran a flying circus of female pilots, who were hired by Auric Goldfinger to fly over Fort Knox and gas the soldiers, so that Goldfinger could break in to the gold vault.

Honor Blackman

Who do you prefer?
37 votes · 37 answers

Match 2

(15) Shirley Eaton (Jill Masterson) vs Aliza Gur (Vida)

ContestantRecordTotal Scores
(15) Shirley Eaton4 – 2 – 0689 – 14 – 422
Jill Masterson

Actress:Shirley Eaton
Nationality:English
Bond Movie:Goldfinger (1964)

Synopsis:

Jill Masterson was the scantly dressed girl who used binoculars and an ear piece to help Auric Goldfinger cheat at cards. Bond caught her at the game, and together they blackmailed Goldfinger into losing his money. After enjoying a few bottles of Dom Perignon with Bond, Masterson was killed by Goldfinger’s henchman Oddjob, in revenge for her betrayal. Bond awoke to find her covered from head to toe in gold paint.

Shirley Eaton

VS

ContestantRecordTotal Scores
Aliza Gur2 – 4 – 0332 – 30 – 610
Vida

Actress:Aliza Gur
Nationality:Israeli
Bond Movie:From Russia With Love (1963)

Synopsis:

Vida and Zora engaged in an intense cat fight, scratching, fighting and trying to strangle each other. The fight was broken up when an assassin attacked the camp to try and kill Kerim Bey. Bond saved the life of the camp’s leader in the process, who in turn honoured Bond’s request to end the fighting. Happy to have their leader alive, Vida and Zora warmed to Bond, who got to entertain them for the evening.

Aliza Gur

Who do you prefer?
35 votes · 35 answers


 


 


 

Straight Line of the Day: HR Questions About IMAO: …

Why did you choose to view IMAO?

What were your objectives in viewing IMAO? Were they met?

What were some of your biggest takeaways?

What advice would you give to someone considering viewing IMAO?

How would you describe IMAO’s value?

Where do you see yourself in three years? (Halle Berry answers not accepted)

Don’t panic: this isn’t an exit interview. But it could be, depending on your answers.


 

Bond Girlathon Wednesday : Results from 4/29/2026 : New Matches for 5/6/2026

I hope Mr. Walrus catches me laying down on the job!

Results for 4/29/2026

(13) Eva GreenNo PreferenceMonica Bellucci
167365

Catherina MurinoNo Preference(10) Lea Seydoux
139087

New Matches fro 5/6/2026

Match 1

(12) Olga Kurylenko (Camille Montes) vs Tonia Sotiropoulou (Bond’s Lover)

ContestantRecordTotal Scores
(12) Olga Kurylenko6 – 1 – 0757 – 10 – 460
Camille Montes

Actress:Olga Kurylenko
Nationality:French
Bond Movie:Quantum of Solace (2008)

Synopsis:

Camille Montes was a Bolivian agent who’s family was murdered by General Medrano. She slept with Medrano’s business acquaintance Dominic Greene to try and get close enough to Medrano to enact revenge. The plan failed and she was almost killed, so Camille teamed up with Bond to kill Medrano and Greene.

Olga Kurylenko

VS

ContestantRecordTotal Scores
Tonia Sotiropoulou2 – 5 – 0647 – 14 – 711
Bond’s Lover

Actress:Tonia Sotiropoulou
Nationality:Greek
Bond Movie:Skyfall (2012)

Synopsis:

Tonia Sotiropoulou was credited only as “Bond’s lover”, and appeared in a brief scene with no lines or conversation with Bond. They made love, and were then shown lying on a bed, Bond drinking a beer. She is the only girl on this list that didn’t have a speaking role, and is perhaps the least memorable of all Bond girls.

Tonia Sotiropoulou

Who do you prefer?
50 votes · 50 answers

Match 2

(4) Gemma Arterton (Strawberry Fields) vs Berenice Marlohe (Sévérine)

ContestantRecordTotal Scores
(4) Gemma Arterton7 – 0 – 01052 – 7 – 413
Strawberry Fields

Actress:Gemma Arterton
Nationality:English
Bond Movie:Quantum of Solace (2008)

Synopsis:

Strawberry Fields was an MI6 office worker in Bolivia at the British consulate. She was tasked with ensuring that James Bond flew back home, but she ultimately failed. She spent the night with Bond and went with him to Dominic Greene’s fundraiser, helping him escape by tripping one of Green’s henchmen. Greene got his revenge by leaving her dead on Bond’s bed, covered in oil from head to toe, in a throwback to Jill Masterson from Goldfinger.

Gemma Arterton

VS

ContestantRecordTotal Scores
Berenice Marlohe1 – 6 – 0430 – 17 – 881
Sévérine

Actress:Bérénice Marlohe
Nationality:French
Bond Movie:Skyfall (2012)

Synopsis:

Sévérine was a captive of Raoul Silva’s, who had taken her out of the Macau sex trade at a young age. Bond met Sévérine at a casino and convinced her that he could kill Silva and let her go free if she helped him out. After killing her bodyguards, Bond managed to escape the casino and travelled with Sévérine to Silva’s private Island. The pair were caught, and for her betrayal, Silva placed a glass of Scotch on Sévérine’s head and asked Bond to shoot it off. Bond purposefully missed, but Silva shot her in the head anyway, killing her and knocking off the Scotch. Bond coldly commented that it was a waste of good Scotch.

Berenice Marlohe

Who do you prefer?
52 votes · 52 answers


 

Straight Line of the Day: US Air Traffic Control Being Revamped. Key Upgrades Include:

US Air Traffic Control Undergoes Biggest Upgrade Since the Jet Age | Modern Skies Summit
YouTube | 04/28/2026 | The Daily Signal

The U.S. air traffic control system is getting its largest modernization since the jet age.

The Daily Signal’s Abigail Matsuyoshi reports from the Modern Skies Summit in Washington, D.C., where Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy unveiled sweeping upgrades to the Federal Aviation Administration’s aging infrastructure—some of which dates back to the 1960s and 1970s. The project aims to boost safety, reduce outages, and modernize how air traffic controllers manage America’s crowded skies.


 


 


 


 


 

Straight Line of the Day: Your Passwords Are Probably Screwed. What To Do About It: …

Your Passwords Are Probably Screwed
The New York Times | April 28, 2026 | Brett J. Goldstein

Anthropic recently sent a shock wave through the cybersecurity world when it said its new artificial intelligence model, Claude Mythos, had exhibited an extraordinary ability to find previously unknown vulnerabilities in software — a hacker’s fantasy. Concern over the tool’s power caused Anthropic to restrict its release mainly to bigger companies, allowing them time to secure their software.