Technology
No Helium, No Chips, No MRI Scans
Qatar produces a third of the world's helium. The Ras Laffan complex is offline, possibly for years. Without helium, chipmakers can't fabricate AI processors — and hospitals can't keep MRI machines cold.
Posts
Geopolitics
The Last Cheap Tank of Gas
On February 25th, I paid $2.499 a gallon at a Sheetz in Ohio. Three days later, the U.S. began bombing Iran. Five weeks later, gas at my local pumps in Connecticut hit $3.95 — and the worst-case scenarios haven't even started.
Technology
Google Moves Up the Quantum Threat Timeline to 2029
Google is setting a 2029 deadline for migrating to post-quantum cryptography, warning that current encryption could be easily broken by a large-scale quantum computer. Three recent papers have dramatically reduced the qubit requirements for breaking RSA and elliptic curve cryptography.
Customer Experience
They Made It Both Ways
A Subway crew in Shelton, CT noticed a regular's order looked wrong and made the sandwich both ways — no extra charge, no hesitation.
Technology
Oracle Cuts 30,000 Jobs with a 6 a.m. Email
Oracle eliminated up to 30,000 employees — 18% of its workforce — with a pre-dawn email signed 'Oracle Leadership.' The savings fund a $156 billion AI infrastructure bet that has already pushed the company's debt past $108 billion.
Technology
iOS 26.4: 37 Patches, No Zero-Days, and Stolen Device Protection by Default
Apple's iOS 26.4 patches 37 security vulnerabilities — including a Stolen Device Protection bypass and a Keychain access flaw — while enabling Stolen Device Protection by default for all iPhones.
Geopolitics
The Government's Own Books Say It's $136 Trillion in the Hole
The Treasury's FY 2025 financial statements show $47.78 trillion in liabilities against $6.06 trillion in assets — and that's before $88.4 trillion in unfunded Social Security and Medicare obligations. The GAO can't even certify the books.
Healthcare IT
CMS Killed the Fax Machine. Sort Of.
CMS finalized a rule to eliminate faxing for claims attachments, but the workflows that keep radiology groups sending tens of thousands of faxes a month are untouched.
Technology
FCC Bans Foreign Routers. Almost None Are Made Here.
The FCC added all foreign-made consumer routers to its Covered List, banning new models from sale in the US. The problem: virtually no consumer routers are manufactured domestically.
Technology
Apple's Background Security Improvements, Explained
If your iPhone or Mac updated itself overnight without a full version bump, you just experienced Apple's first Background Security Improvement — a quiet replacement for the failed Rapid Security Responses.