Continuation of a Theme

A silly and naive breakdown of journalists’ silly and naive assumptions about how they can manipulate you — if you’re silly and naive.

 

Firefox Brings Back

“Brings Back”? Good!  I like returning to things I’m already familiar and comfortable with!  Good for you, Firefox!

Internet Icons

“Icons”?  As I said, I like returning to things I’m already familiar and comfortable with!  Good for you, Firefox!

For New

New?  That’s good.   Good for you, Firefox!

Anti-Tracking,

I’m all for anti-tracking.  Good for you, Firefox!

Anti-AI

I’m also anti-AI, although I’m not sure why, or what it does.  But good for you, Firefox!

Campaign

A campaign?  That sounds like they’re committed to taking decisive action for a principle, and have a plan of action, like Grant in the Civil War, or Washington at Yorktown, or Blackjack Pershing against the Humvees or someone.  Good for you, Firefox!

 

Sick of web browsers tracking your every move

I sure wouldn’t like that!  I didn’t know they did that, but I suspected it and now I’m sick of it.  You guessed my mood absolutely correctly, journalist (and Firefox).

and forcing intrusive,

Yuck!  No, thanks, journalist and Firefox!

unnecessary

Ugh.  You had me at “intrusive.”  You say they’re unnecessary, too, journalist and Firefox?

AI features on you?

I am not sure what AI features look like or operate like, but neither men nor women like things being forced upon them.  It sounds like I should join in fighting against “AI features.”  Joining together and fighting are good, especially if these features are as intrusive and unnecessary as you say, journalist and Firefox.

Apparently, you’re not alone.

You are such a comfort to me, journalist.  Just to know that I am not alone means so much.  It is a great comfort.  I am starting to like you.  And I suspect, (perhaps not mistakenly?) that Firefox too shares both your sympathy and empathy.  This would explain your following point:

Some of your favorite internet personalities

Who?  It is, by the way, a comfort that you know me so well.

— and real-life memes

I regret to confess I’m not sure what that phrase means.

from the late 2000s and early 2010s — are joining forces

They seem united, and unity is usually a good thing.  Not in communism, but in a “Let’s all band together to improve things” sense.  

to promote Firefox,

Hooray!  Icons putting aside any differences, to band together to promote Firefox!  But who are these favorite internet personalities of mine?  I could do with a memory refresher.

a browser

A browser?  That’s a good thing.  I remember clearly that I need one and use one.  Firefox is a browser, which is good.

that’s pushing back against

What?  Don’t give up the struggle, plucky Firefox!

online tracking

Boo!  Go, plucky Firefox!

and unwanted AI features.

Boo!  Go, plucky Firefox!

Mozilla, the non-profit organization

They are altruistic?  They don’t make any profit?  I like them.  I like altruistic.

behind the Firefox web browser,

Again, a browser’s a good thing, and I remember clearly that I need one and use one.  Firefox is a browser, which is good.

has just launched

“Just” is the same as “new.”  I’m really getting news.  Thanks, journalist.

a new ad campaign

See?  New.  I got there before you, journalist.  And new is usually good, or at least interesting.

to draw internet users away from AI-filled

If it’s filled with AI, that is bad.  At least, it sounds bad.  Like “filled with artificial ingredients” or something.   Those are those “AI Features” you warned me about earlier, aren’t they?  Thank goodness Firefox probably doesn’t use AI at all.

Google Chrome

No idea what AI-filled Google Chrome is, but it’s a computer thing for sure, not necessarily a browser — which is good — like Firefox.

and back to Firefox’s heyday

Heydays are usually good, and sound old-fashioned. 

in the late 2000s and early 2010s,

As I’ve said, I like returning to things I’m already familiar and comfortable with!  Good for you, Firefox!

when Firefox commanded

Commanding things is good, and doing it in the past is even better (i.e., familiar and comfortable)

up to 32 percent of the global browser market share.

Wow!  Is that a lot?  I don’t know.  “Commanding” is such a fluid term.  But note that it was a browser, as opposed to whatever Google Chrome pretends to be.  

To do that, Mozilla has brought together

Bringing together is awesome.  Sounds like unity, and also sounds altruistic. 

some of the biggest internet personalities of that era

Wow!  Who?

for a new

You know how I like “new.”

ad campaign

You know how I like “campaigns.”

called “Come Back to Firefox.”

You know how I like “coming back” to things.  As I’ve reiterated twice now and iterated three times, I like returning to things I’m already familiar and comfortable with!

Good for you for never using AI, Firefox!


 

I Wish Article Authors Weren’t So Verbose

Firefox brings back internet icons for new anti-tracking, anti-AI campaign
Mashable | October 26, 2026 | Matt Binder

Sick of web browsers tracking your every move and forcing intrusive, unnecessary AI features on you?

Apparently, you’re not alone. Some of your favorite internet personalities — and real-life memes from the late 2000s and early 2010s — are joining forces to promote Firefox, a browser that’s pushing back against online tracking and unwanted AI features.

Mozilla, the non-profit organization behind the Firefox web browser, has just launched a new ad campaign to draw internet users away from AI-filled Google Chrome and back to Firefox’s heyday in the late 2000s and early 2010s, when Firefox commanded up to 32 percent of the global browser market share.

To do that, Mozilla has brought together some of the biggest internet personalities of that era for a new ad campaign called “Come Back to Firefox.”

I know I’m absolutely fighting a losing battle.

And this is only one out of a hundred thousand current examples.

But did anyone learn, from the first four paragraphs, the information that was promised in the headline?

News articles do this just as frequently as feature articles.

Sometimes it’s four paragraphs.  Sometimes, five.  Sometimes they stretch it further, if one of the authors has thought of an anecdote they thought it a good idea to share, or want to enhance the description of the cafe in which an interview took place. 

 

I’ve started reading all articles at the middle, then from the ending backwards.  


 


 

Science!

… In a more recent study, this one conducted by researchers at England’s Manchester University in 2005, scientists actually came up with a mathematical formula to calculate the extent of the “beer goggle” effect on a given individual in a given situation. Their reasoning for creating this formula is that alcohol is not really the only factor affecting the drunken perception of beauty. Other factors, according to their research, include:

  • How brightly lit the area is
  • The observer’s eye-sight quality
  • The amount of smoke in the air
  • The distance of the observer from the observed

The formula goes like this:

where:

  • An is the number of servings of alcohol
  • S is the smokiness of the area on a scale of 0 – 10
  • L is the lighting level of the area, measured in candelas per square meter, in which 150 is normal room lightning
  • Vo is Snellen visual acuity, in which 6/6 is normal and 6/12 is the lower limit at which someone is able to drive
  • d is the distance between the observer and the observed, measured in meters [source: BBC News]

The formula works out a “beer goggle” score ranging from 1 to 100+. When ø = 1, the observer is perceiving the same degree of beauty he or she would perceive in a sober state. At 100+, everybody in the room is a perfect 10.

— Is There a Mathematical Formula for the ‘Beer Goggles’ Effect?

How Stuff Works | Julia Layton

 

They forgot a lot of stuff, like:

Let:

W = Willingness of the lady in question (Perhaps the largest variable here)

D = Desperation (Perhaps tied for the largest variable)

S(n) = Self-consciousness of Nerdiness (clothes, mannerisms, French Fry ketchup on tie, etc.)

M = Memory of previous similar escapades

$ = Realization you’ve already spent all your disposable income.  This will moot all other results.

F = Falsification factor: all studies should be falsifiable.  This category includes trannies, padded bras, hair dye, and other things I could mention.


 

Bond Girlathon Friday : Results from 10/23/2026 : New Matches for 10/30/2026

 

It’s Deja Vu all over again.

 

Results from 10/23/2026

 

 

(9) Lana Wood No Preference Akiko Wakabayashi
134 3 40

 

 

Tsai Chin No Preference Lola Larson
105 8 59

 

New Matches for 10/30/2026

 

Match 1

 

Karin Dor (Helga Brandt) vs Trina Parks (Thumper)

 

 

Contestant Record Total Scores
karin Dor 2 – 6 – 0 528 – 12 – 991

 

Helga Brandt

 

Actress: Karin Dor
Nationality: German
Bond Movie: You Only Live Twice (1967)

Synopsis:

Helga Brandt was a SPECTRE henchwoman who pretended to fall in love with Bond and switch to his side, only to try and kill him the next morning. For failing to kill Bond, Brandt is killed by head of SPECTRE Blofeld, who drops her into a pool of piranha fish. Helga Brandt was very similar to prior Bond girl Fiona Volpe, as the producers tried to replicate their prior success.

Karen Dor

 

VS

 

 

 
Contestant Record Total Scores
Trina Parks 0 – 8 – 0 90 – 9 – 1298

 

Thumper

Actress: Trina Parks
Nationality: American
Bond Movie: Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Synopsis:

Thumper and Bambi attack Bond, kicking him and using their martial art skills to overcome him. Bond was at a loss, the two girls too nimble for him. However, Thumper and Bambi then throw Bond into a pool, and they lose their advantage, Bond managing to push their heads underwater until they give in and reveal where Willard Whyte is being kept.

 

Trina parks

 

 

Who do you prefer?
33 votes · 33 answers

 

Match 2

 

(8) Jill St. John (Tiffany Case) vs Denise Perrier (Marie)

 

 

Contestant Record Total Scores
(8) Jill St. John 6 – 2 – 0 1155 – 6 – 610

 

Tiffany Case

 

 

 

Actress: Jill St. John
Nationality: American
Bond Movie: Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Synopsis:

Tiffany Case was a diamond smuggler in part of a pipeline of smugglers that ultimately ended at Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Courier Peter Franks was supposed to pass the diamonds to Tiffany, but Bond intercepted and impersonated Franks, and managed to take the diamonds for himself. Bond’s involvement saved Tiffany being murdered, and she eventually switched to Bond’s allegiance.

Jill St. John

 

VS

 

 

 

Contestant Record Total Scores
Denise Perrier 3 – 5 – 0 458 – 39 – 833

 

Marie

Actress: Denise Perrier
Nationality: French
Bond Movie: Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Synopsis:

As Bond seeks out Blofeld to get revenge for the death of his wife, the trail leads him from Tokyo to Cairo, where he interrogates a gambler about Blofeld’s whereabouts. “Marie… ask.. Marie.” Bond finds Marie, who asks “Is there something I can do for you?” Bond replies with “There’s something I’d like you to get off your chest”, and then removes her Bra and begins to strangle her with it.He gets the information he wants and pursues the lead.

 

Denise Perrier

 

Who do you prefer?
37 votes · 37 answers