vxbush 8/7/2026 6:13:25 AM

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OR asked yesterday if minibars were disappearing. I so rarely travel I didn't know this was a thing. Claude claims: 

Yes — traditional hotel minibars have been steadily disappearing for years, and it's accelerated recently. A few reasons keep coming up:

• They barely make money. A TripAdvisor survey ranked the minibar as the least important hotel amenity, with only 21% of travelers calling it important, and industry sources report minibar earnings often account for less than 1% of total food and beverage revenue — not much to show for the hassle. aolHotelmanagement-network

• They cost more to run than they earn. Labour-intensive restocking, frequent guest disputes over charges, and the high energy use of minibar fridges have driven their decline. Restocking, food spoilage, operational costs, and theft all contributed to an amenity that cost more to run than it earned. Hotelmanagement-networkCNBC

• Guest priorities shifted. Hotel owners have been redesigning rooms around what they believe millennial travelers actually want — working and socializing in communal lobby spaces rather than the room itself, so old staples like the minibar, bulky dressers, and even closets have been getting cut in new construction. Hospitality Net

• Delivery apps made them redundant. Wyndham partnered with DoorDash in 2019, and Marriott partnered with Uber starting in 2021, giving guests easy access to food and drinks without needing a $15 tiny bottle of whiskey in the room. CNBC

• What's replacing them. Rather than vanishing entirely, minibars are morphing: hotels are increasingly swapping traditional minibars for digital ordering platforms and IoT-enabled in-room systems, with smart minibar setups reportedly boosting ancillary revenue up to 25% per room while cutting labor costs by around 30%. Hotelmanagement-network

That said, it's not universal — some boutique/luxury properties are actually leaning into a "minibar revival" with curated local snacks and drinks as a selling point rather than an afterthought, so you'll still find them in certain hotels, just reimagined rather than the old coin-slot fridge of soda and candy bars.

With citations, for what it's worth.

vxbush 8/7/2026 6:23:38 AM

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In other news: if it appears that Democrat states are coordinating to attack Trump and his presidency, you would be right. But I had no idea that the AGs for those states banded together to do it. Matt Margolis:

Records show that at least 22 Democrat attorneys general joined a coalition called the Project for Federal Accountability starting in April 2024, roughly seven months before Trump defeated Kamala Harris. Seven attorneys general signed the agreement on April 28, 2024. Thirteen more joined in May and June.
The pact was called "Privileged & Confidential Common Interest Agreement." It was built to do exactly what it sounds like: Keep the states' coordination hidden from the public and from anyone who might dare oppose them in court. The signers said they wanted to pursue their shared legal interests "while avoiding any waiver of the confidentiality of those privileged materials." Translation: Total secrecy while colluding against a sitting president who hadn't even taken office yet. 

So...At what point does it stop being about accountability and states rights and when does it cross over into insurrection?

vxbush 8/7/2026 6:38:50 AM

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Who else thinks this isn't going to turn out so well? FDA Greenlights Novel Moderna mRNA Flu Shots. Here's what bothers me: 

The shot, mFlusiva, was given a traditional approval for adults aged ‌50 to 64, and an accelerated approval for those 65 years and older…
Moderna has agreed to run an additional study and submit more data in adults 65 and older to confirm the vaccine's benefit in that age group…

So it hasn't really gone through safety testing. And given how they ran the trials for the COVID shot and intentionally hid and ignored the safety issues there, I don't trust them on this. When every COVID shot generates an inverse rebound effect, why would you take this when it is based on the same technology? When there is a clear documented trail that those people who take flu shots every year get sick more often? 

Kosh's Shadow 8/7/2026 6:57:47 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 3:
Fauci gets it first and ALL Big Pharma executives, especially at Moderna.

Then I'll wait a few years.

I haven't had any flu shots for years and got the flu fewer times than when I did get the shot.

A few years ago, I overheard how the extra strength one for seniors made people sicker.

JCM 8/7/2026 7:37:37 AM

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Same freaking playbook... except this time its on the (R) side.

Fishback: Florida gov. candidate Byron Donalds under federal sex-trafficking probe

One is from his opponent, it's a whistleblower, no actual evidence of anything. Lastly it's the desperation card.

JCM 8/7/2026 7:45:33 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 3:

My fundamental question about the mRNA injection. I refuse to call it a vaccine. Until Covid a vaccine was a dead, disable, or just the identifying protein of a disease. Enabling the body to identify it, and have a prepared response. The mRNA injection is not that. It is a string of Messenger RNA. the mRNA is what carries genetic information to the ribosome to create proteins. The body identifies proteins as "foreign" and triggers an immune response. When the body's own protein factory is creating the proteins to be identified as foreign, I see an issue.

JCM 8/7/2026 8:02:48 AM

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Reply to JCM in 5:

Fishback looks to be in the Carlson / Owens camp. Anti-Israel and other similar positions.

Lots of "I have this information" but never backing it up in that crowd.

buzzsawmonkey 8/7/2026 8:05:04 AM

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JCM 8/7/2026 8:16:07 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 8:

In my defense Cambridge is not my regular routine news rounds.

First thought? Plagiarism in academia? I'm Shocked! Shocked!

JCM 8/7/2026 8:31:02 AM

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Another front on de-industrialization.

We've finally admitted that electricity is as essential as water, but we did so too late to avoid disruption

So, the utilities didn't. The transformer makers didn't. The steel mills didn't. The workforce aged in place and the labor pipeline behind it ran dry.

We mistook a flat line for stability and in doing so, allowed a slow decay to occur. Then the line broke.

Facing resurgent demand, we went looking for the people and the parts to meet resurgent demand, and here is what we found: America had forgotten how to make pipes.

This wasn't oversight, it was intentional. Net Zero demanded decreasing energy production, the goal was control not climate. Now we are behind the energy curve. With that comes shortages. All the rest that follows.

buzzsawmonkey 8/7/2026 8:42:57 AM

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Reply to JCM in 9:

Jason Arday's story:

Severe childhood impairment + running prowess + later success + melanin.

In other words, Forrest Gump in blackface.

JCM 8/7/2026 8:52:47 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 11:

Well in that case plagiarism is completely justified! Reparations or something!

vxbush 8/7/2026 10:14:01 AM

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In #11 buzzsawmonkey said: In other words, Forrest Gump in blackface.

What boggles my mind is that apparently no one--absolutely NO ONE--ever asked him for any proof of any of his claims, despite his repeated ratcheting up of one more lie on top of another. 

Or: 

If they did, he immediately declaimed them as racists and no one in academia is allowed to keep their jobs once such claims are made. Therefore, the only place he *could* conceivably pull this off is in academia. The real world expects this crazy thing called "results."